A huge fleet turned into an archipelago, and the great businessman Gould started this year's trade with great enthusiasm.
Lake Malaren is sparkling and boats are rippling on the lake. A large number of fishing boats are operating daily, as well as transport ships, carrying their various goods, trying to sell them at a good price at the market on the shore.
Gould's forty boats came from the north. When they arrived at the mouth of the lake, they attracted the attention of nearby fishermen.
"Guys, light up the sign."
He gave the order, and a large sail dyed with the Unclas tribe's emblem was revealed, and the top of the mast was the Gould family emblem.
Don't expect the fishermen to recognize Gould clearly. What they know best is the symbols of each tribe.
Are they from the north, are they Rus?
Turns out to be a native of Angklas. why is it them
Gould naturally had no time to communicate with the first batch of fishermen he encountered. They were by no means his buyers.
The villages where fishermen lived were built on a large number of shallow sandbanks. Hundreds of years later, the new market formed here was Stockholm.
Gould's destination was even more distant.
The fleet entered Lake Mälaren, and another whole day of sailing awaited him.
He will definitely sell out all the traditional fur goods shipped from the north in a short period of time, and he is very particular about who he sells the goods to.
Although the Melalen people are richer, it is very important for them to first satisfy the wealthy households of the Angkras tribe where they belong.
Besides, things are very different this year
The Russians not only sold a batch of high-quality furs, but also a large number of high-end goods.
Gould was in high spirits, and he already fantasized about making a lot of money.
"Master, there are more and more ships ahead. Should we?"
"It's not necessary that it's not a good time to sell. Let's go back to Anglas first." Gould rejected his subordinate's suggestion.
In fact, many of Yang Fan's men were rowing at the same time, and their bodies were feeling exhausted. They wanted to go ashore to rest.
For example, buy some food and drink at the market, buy some high-quality linen and make new clothes. Or simply find some pretty women and spend the night comfortably.
After all, these guys who had been following Gould for a long time saw Gould and the two maids having fun all day long. But those Ross women were not willing, even if the other party was a man from an allied tribe.
Because of Gould, he just wanted to go home early.
But he stood on the bow of the boat, squinting his eyes and staring at the lively market not far away.
The core of the Melalen tribe is a huge settlement with a population of up to 10,000 people. Together with the surrounding small villages along the lake, the tribe's population is as high as 20,000.
The core area was not given a special name. Businessmen visiting it all called it Mälaren, or gave it a place name suffixed by the noun "Fort."
Gould did not want to disturb the business here for the time being, but the small traveling merchants who followed him closely turned into the market one after another.
The most exciting moment is when a ship docks. The great leader of Mellaren is happy to see the merchants coming to trade in his territory.
Whether they were merchants coming by land or sea, or even Norwegian merchants coming from the west after crossing the mountains.
Only Danes and Gotland merchants, even if these people can disguise themselves, will have their goods confiscated and their people beheaded once discovered.
Gould's fleet was so large that they actually had no intention of docking. When the news reached the ears of the leader of Melalen, Onclas's transport fleet had already sailed upstream and headed straight along the waterway. their home port.
Those were indeed transport ships, none of them had dragon-headed warships, and the sails were also hung by Unclas.
However, any ship that came into close contact with them was shocked by the draft of those ships.
They gradually formed a giant python and traveled upstream in a small river, heading to Angklas in the northwest.
The forest is lush and green, and the Angklas people have opened up some farmland along the river.
Gould noticed that the wheat of his tribe had grown green, and there were still four months to wait.
Compared to the Russians, Gould was fortunate that his people had land that could be cultivated. As for the climate, Angklas is warmer than Roseburg.
Wheat, onions, cabbage. Rurik put down his bold words and would double the acquisition of them. Originally, trafficking in these crops could only make a small amount of money, but with Rurik's promise, the matter became profitable.
The entire Onkras tribe has a total population equivalent to that of the White Tree Manor in Novgorod.
They are deep inland and connected to Lake Mälaren by water. The environment determined that they could not become fishermen like the Russians who could sweep across the Gulf of Bothnia to catch herrings. They became farmers, and they were more willing to raise cattle and sheep during the off-farm season.
Of course there must be commerce, but there are too few residents in the tribe, and the richest ones are only a dozen families who are not prosperous in population.
Here, Gould is undoubtedly the richest.
Not only was he rich, he also maintained a guard consisting of fifty strong warriors. At least the tribesmen, and even the big leader, did not dare to challenge him.
Gould was even able to use money to win people's hearts, and he became the leader of the Onkras people.
He never had this idea. He didn't want to take on the responsibilities and obligations of a big leader. He just wanted to be a rich man.
However, wealth without power to protect it will always be a dream.
The Onkras are too weak compared to the Melalens, and in terms of population alone, the Rus are also much weaker than the Melalens.
Perhaps the balance of power is being broken by Otto and his son from Russia.
Spring is here, and after the ice and snow melt, the people of Mälaren have already rushed to the Mälaren market to sell their agricultural products. For example, leather clothing made of cheese, yogurt cubes and sheepskin, and even a small number of metal tools made by blacksmiths.
Apart from this, are there many other ways for Onkras people to earn wealth?
Everyone knew that no one in the tribe was richer than Gould, a long-time resident of Fort Ross.
Many people imagine that maybe a million silver coins are buried in this old guy's home
Of course this is a joke, but everyone is willing to believe that Gould's money is at least 100,000 silver coins.
Gould came back, and without bothering him to disembark in person, the mighty fleet had already proved its identity.
Many farmers working on the farmland by the river stopped to watch their fleet. From a distance, they could see a fat man standing on the bow of the boat. Who was fatter than that family?
Everyone in Onclas knows that Gould and his five sons are all fat men, and even their women are even more plump.
Word spread quickly through the settlement, and large crowds flocked to the tribe's riverside docks.
The chief leader of the tribe, Angreev, was very excited, "Is this news reliable?"
The groveling servant complimented him. "It must be Gould. No one among us has more ships than him."
What he said was the truth, and the big leader Angreev felt a little unhappy when he heard it.
He knew that his role as leader had not convinced people. Everyone knows that the Gould family is the richest, and it is not natural for that guy to be the leader.
As a result, the fat man spent most of the year hanging out with the Russians in the far north.
It seems that he has power, but unfortunately he cannot maintain a guard of fifty strong warriors for a long time.
The great leader Angreev, who gave the guards a salary of up to 600 silver coins a month, could not afford this amount of money himself for a long time. There are only a dozen followers with mediocre physical fitness around him, and they will only follow the action at critical moments. Because depending on his wealth, he can hire a small group of tribesmen to serve as "security guards" by paying only a small sum of money.
Ungreave twisted his beard and slowly answered the servant who was waiting for orders, "Let's go. Gather the men and let's go to the dock."
"Okay, big boss, do you need to put on your armor?"
"No, I'm not going to the battlefield. Bring me my sable coat."
At this moment, Ungreave hoped that a sable fur coat, which he spent a huge sum of money to buy, would reflect his wealth and status in appearance.
He happily led his men towards the dock.
Before that, Gould's family members had received the news and were already waiting at the dock, accompanied by fully armed warriors.
The tribesmen watching the excitement knew that they were unworthy of being close to the wealthy Gould because of their slovenly appearance.
Look at that guy's women. He actually has five wives. Each one has a ruddy complexion and is wearing a white ferret coat and a belt decorated with gold. Even the leather boots of these women are decorated with rubies, not to mention that they all have beautiful gold necklaces, and their ears are hung with huge cobalt sapphire earrings that almost tear off their ears.
The women are all luxurious, and the group of fat men around them are even more well-dressed.
These are Gould's family members, the people whom Gould loves most. It was precisely because they, Gould, wanted to have more sons to expand their family business that they married beautiful girls they met at the Melalen Market. Now that he has five sons, when he comes back today, he has to live a real life where his wives are jealous.
During his days in Fort Ross, only the two women from Britain around him gave him physical comfort. However, if they give birth to a son, the situation changes again. I'm afraid it will turn into a grand occasion where seven wives are jealous and competing for beauty.
Life has to go on, not to mention that when I come back this year, a major family meeting related to my family's future must be held.
Of course, before that, Gould still had to pay a visit to the chief of the tribe. First, as a "filial piety", Gould sold him some of the goods shipped "cheaply".
The ships docked one after another. Before that, Gould had already covered his old face full of fat.
Then he ordered the two maids, "Annie, you two get out of the way."
The two maids sat obediently, watching the oarsmen stand up and throw the ropes to the trestle with all their strength. People waiting on the shore took the cables and tried their best to pull the ship to the shore.
Gould's big feet stepped firmly on the trestle of the Onkras tribe's dock, as if the entire bridge was shaking due to his weight.
Oh, no that's because the ship is carrying too much cargo. The powerful momentum of the ship collided with the trestle. No, two of the tribe's more than 20 trestles were knocked down, even if the ship was very slow.
As soon as Gould landed, his five wives rushed over as if they had found half a piece of gold, for fear that the treasure would be snatched away by others.
It was fitting that the name Gould meant "a piece of gold."
They hope to get more favor from their men, even if some of these women are former slave girls.
No, after giving birth to his son, his status completely changed.
Gould's cheerful face showed displeasure.
He scolded vigorously, "You all go away. If anything happens, we'll talk about it when we go home." He tried his best to push away the hands stretched out by the women, and only got away after another scolding.
However, what really made him escape completely was the arrival of Angriev, the leader of the tribe.
Ungreave, this man with a slightly thin face, a long beard, and a scar under his eye, his name means "combat attack". However, they have transformed into an inland agricultural tribe and are now loyal to Farm and manage your own farmland.
Ungreave still has many scars on his body, which are the result of fighting the Danes when he was young.
Until now, this passion for fighting has not been worn away by the years.
As a big leader, if a powerful enemy attacks, he must lead his tribe to fight.
As for the dozen or so professional businessmen, they will probably run away with their families.
Regarding this matter, Ungreave could not restrain them, and could only mutter a few words.
Especially this Gould, what does this person want, even if he wants to ask for the position of the big leader, Angreev feels that if this is the case, he should withdraw.
"Oh, noble businessman as gold, you are finally back." Ungreave stretched out his arms and walked over accompanied by more than a dozen guards.
At this moment, Gould was not only surrounded by his family, but also dozens of loyal guards.
Especially the warrior Yevluo whom he bought from the market and trained for more than ten years.
These guards are only loyal to their financial masters, and the most powerful Jevro is only loyal to his master.
Ungreave came, and even though the other party had good intentions, they still remained alert.
He had to be good at appearance. Gould pushed his man away, stretched out his fat arms, and walked over with a strong step.
The two powerful men hugged each other. They patted each other on the shoulders and uttered some obviously polite blessings.
They let go of each other, and the big leader Angreev stopped dawdling and said straight to the point, "You still come from the Russians. It seems that this time you really transported a lot of good goods."
"Of course I never forgot who I am, I'm an Onkola. This year I bought more goodies from the Rus, some goodies that will shock you. I didn't set out in Mälaren at all. I didn’t even linger at all after entering the Great Lakes. Lo and behold, I came home, which was my only stop along the way.”
These words were still very polite, and the big leader Angreev was really happy to hear them.
Then he asked, "It should be a batch of precious furs."
"Of course it's more than just fur." Gould was about to announce some big things to Angreev, and he estimated that those things would definitely make Angreev dissatisfied. Of course, in fact, I don't need to consider the old guy's mood at all. There is indeed no one in the entire tribe who is more powerful than me.
After all, I have been an Angklas since my ancestors, so I have to consider the friendship between generations. I want to talk about "The Rise of Rurik" with more like-minded people, follow "Youdu Literature" on WeChat, chat about life, and find confidants~
