As expected, Otto's fleet was delayed again, and of course all this was within his expectation.
A very critical batch of oats arrived at New Roseburg, which was under construction, but it had not been seen for more than three months. What was originally a barbaric land has now turned into a settlement.
Under the leadership of the old guy who was appointed as the local leader, the first batch of Russian immigrants not only built a settlement, they even reclaimed a little land.
Settlers transformed axes into hoes, or simply pounded the earth with forest axes.
They also set fire to wasteland, creating soft farmland from the dark grass behind the fire. The newly reclaimed farmland is not ready for planting, but most immigrants have prepared some wheat seeds and plan to sow spring wheat seeds when spring arrives.
A large number of traditional Russian longhouses have risen from the ground. They are naturally built with unfinished tree trunks, and then the wooden walls are covered with warm earth. The roof is naturally made of a large amount of thatch piled on wooden boards, and parts of it are fixed with earth.
During this time, immigrants to New Roseburg did more than just build homes.
They are a group of pioneers who are willing to take the initiative to explore in all directions with their settlement as the center.
Because the huge demand for overwintering food forced them to explore more boldly.
So the local leader Konuson told Otto about their adventures during the expedition.
It is said that in the north of the settlement, and even on the northern shore of the huge Lake Ladoga, there are unidentified settlers. Even the Russian fishing boats were far away on the lake and saw the phantom of the canoe in the distance.
There were strange settlers in the northern lands. When Otto arrived at New Roseburg, the old leader who had experienced many battles insisted that the unidentified people were all Finns.
Are you going to attack them? No. If an attack must take place, it is not now.
Otto ordered his men to ban all adventure exploration before winter.
Of course, we still need to explore. After spring plowing is completed next year, it will be the so-called exploration season.
And throughout the Baltic world, the traditional trade season, or the so-called war season, has also arrived. At this moment, Otto took the initiative to have the idea of continuing to expand revenge, and he had a perfect reason for organizing an army to launch a war - to avenge the death of the old leader of Ostara.
Of course, the young tribesmen are eager for more money and even more female prisoners.
What about Otto? He thinks honor is more important. Using the banner of revenge for the allies can be said to be a deliberate overreach against the leader of the alliance, the Melalen tribe.
so what? The brave people of Mellaren became conservative, and the Rus were no longer a stone hiding in the north.
Otto revealed the idea of launching a war next year to the immigrants in New Roseburg, and also issued a magical decree to them.
"All the grain I bring is my property. You can rent my grain. As a price, you must hand over a certain amount of grain starting from next year's harvest season, and you will pay it forever."
At first, everyone was very surprised by the big leader's order. Everyone was shocked that the leader actually brought 50,000 pounds of grain! With this batch of food, all immigrants no longer have to worry about not having enough food to eat.
Since the total number of immigrants was less than 700, if everyone could share the food, people would be able to eat wheat alone for more than three months.
The leader's food was a real help in times of need, but many people felt that the leader was forcing his family to accept an unequal order.
Seeing people's mixed emotions of excitement and dissatisfaction, Otto immediately took out the so-called curved shaft plow and demonstrated in front of the police what high-speed and efficient land reclamation meant! In this era when the Nordics didn't even have the concept of farmyard manure, being able to cultivate more land meant more harvests.
One sow can yield up to five harvests. The Russians also believe this. Instead of using stored wheat as food, some people are also planning to store more grain. Want to gain more? It seems that the only solution is to cultivate more land and sow more grain.
Most of these colonists who left their homeland were people who did not do well in their homeland. They were the vulnerable groups of the Ross tribe. In a deserted land, it is really difficult to expect to hunt and catch fish to store an astonishing amount of food. What's more, these families must also work hard to build their own winter houses.
When it comes to building a house and stocking up on food to survive the long winter, few families can do it properly.
In fact, everyone hopes that the leader can give certain charity.
It's just that everyone didn't expect that the leader did give generous charity, but in return for this charity, it is the eternal feedback of the family.
It’s the so-called tax, the so-called tax.
Those who really didn't have the time or energy to collect more food had to accept Otto's food due to reality. As for the food that must be returned to the chief family every year in the future? We will talk about this later. The first thing that lies before me is how to survive the coming winter.
Otto gave ten pairs of ploughs, and gave each family receiving food some tools necessary for farming. He even asked people not to sow seeds randomly during next spring plowing, but every seed must be put into the groove dug by the iron plow.
All the immigrants actually came from 233 families. They basically built their own longhouses, so a real village was formed at the mouth of the Neva River. If a large amount of farmland appears nearby and low walls are built with wood and soil, it can be said that a city will be born.
Almost all immigrant families eventually accepted Otto's gift, and 50,000 pounds of grain were distributed to them. On average, a family received 200 pounds. The so-called price was the tax on wheat up to 200 pounds next year! Every year thereafter, if the leader does not make a new decision, he will pay taxes according to this amount.
As for this tax, residents of Novgorod are also ordered to pay according to this standard. However, it was completely different. The local manor owner was responsible for collecting grain from the farmers. In the end, Otto only needed to get the grain from the manor owner. The manor owner was the acting tax collector, and the Russian immigrants were the true yeoman farmers, small farmers with land.
After all, it was Rurik who proposed the rules, and his old father Otto implemented the new rules for his son. New Roseburg has become a test area for the implementation of the tax system.
Rurik did not intend to engage in loss-making business. If his people borrowed their own grain, they would have to pay the principal and interest, as well as taxes.
In the end, they paid taxes, and Rurik didn't need the wheat to expand his coffers. Wheat must be consumed, and the taxes paid by the Russians will eventually benefit the children of the Russians.
At least the immigrant families received two hundred pounds of wheat. As for tomorrow and next year, the tools are already there, so we’ll talk about everything next year.
The fleet unloaded a large amount of cargo, and the huge transport ship suddenly became very light.
The sailors raised by Gould helped Otto a lot, especially this time. The sailors on the transport ship relied on their sail control skills to row the boat without rowers. The ship took advantage of the north wind and sailed upstream on the Neva River. And up.
Ships don’t need oars at all and rely solely on the wind to move forward? Otto originally thought that sailing could not rely entirely on the wind, but he never expected that a transport ship could achieve the speed of a rowing warship with only sails.
On this trip, Gould's large sail transport really stole the show.
"Would it be possible if we formed a fleet of pure sails? Rurik, my son, perhaps you can accomplish this."
Otto had the idea of rewarding Gould.
His fleet arrived at White Tree Manor successfully, and the arrival date was far beyond the local harvest season.
The grain harvest in White Tree Manor and even the entire Novgorod region has been completed in late September. Compared with the situation in previous years, due to the beautiful weather during the harvest season, local people are happy to welcome a bumper harvest.
Of course, what they call a bumper harvest is when the yield per mu reaches one hundred and twenty kilograms.
There are still traces of the bonfires celebrating the harvest, and White Tree Manor has already completed its tribe’s priesthood of the Slavic god of agriculture and the god of Lake Ilmen.
The owner of the manor, Ligus, immediately called on people to give tribute to the Varyag people after the sacrifice.
In previous years, people were resistant to this. Only this time, the joy of the harvest has not faded. Everyone is even more looking forward to the arrival of the Russians and the fulfillment of their vows.
Otto's fleet entered the Volkhov River. All the ships raised their sails and moved against the current driven by the strong and cold north wind.
Otto landed at his loyal White Tree Manor, and a group of warriors wearing bronze and iron helmets jumped off the ship. They did not mean any violence, and many young men embraced women, who were the villagers of White Tree Manor.
The long-lost hometown is right in front of her, and she hasn’t seen it for only a few months. Lilia feels like she has been away from her hometown for many years!
She naturally took her husband Kawei's arm and walked towards her father who was shaking with excitement.
Yes, when the huge Russian fleet suddenly appeared, everyone in White Tree Manor happily gathered at the riverside.
Otto's steady steps, his deep eyes, flowing beard, and the posture of holding a sword in mail armor made him look like a deep old warrior.
Ligus, the head of the manor, knelt down on one knee with his rickety body and his family to salute this strong man.
Even that Svetlana knelt down on one knee very rationally.
Seeing the girl's golden braids and cute appearance, suddenly, an impulse arose to take her back to Roseburg and keep her in his own home to raise her. This thought also flashed past. Otto knew that there were already too many girls staying at his house.
"You all get up! Especially you, Rigus."
Rigus stood up slowly on crutches. He saw that right in front of him was the tall and powerful leader of Ross. Behind this man, there was a large group of Ross warriors holding shields and leather armor and holding bright white swords.
Rigus even saw clearly the new appearance of his eldest daughter Lilia. She was already dressed in Varyag, and the huge amount of gems she wore on her chest completely subverted Rigus's cognition.
"Chief, we welcome you and I will be happy to work for you."
Otto opened his arms and said boldly: "I keep my word. You are the loyal hounds of our Russians, so I will give you wonderful rewards. I want to explain the situation to you. Tell me now, the food is ready." ?"
"All ready. Happy to serve you."
"Very good." Otto shook his neck, indicating that Kawei could take his wife to face his father-in-law.
In full view of the residents of White Tree Manor, Lilia excitedly threw herself at her old father, then hugged her mother, eldest brother, and even her lovely sister.
She even touched her belly and announced the fact that she was pregnant to her family.
Daughter is pregnant? Doesn't it mean that half of his plan is completed? My daughter’s son will definitely become the blacksmith of White Tree Manor.
Ligus secretly watched Kawei coming with the sack.
As the tied hemp rope was opened, the old guy simply threw away his crutch and sat on the grass, his hands shaking crazily.
"It's iron! It's actually iron...could it be...it's all a gift to me."
"It's just for you." Kawei said gently: "Lilia and I have already discussed it, and our leaders have also unified. The wood-cutting ax in this sack is my personal gift to you."
Kawei still had a lot to say, so Otto stepped forward, put his big hand on Kawei's shoulder and told him to step back.
"Rigus, Kawei gave you a gift. Now, it's my turn to show you the gift."
Since most of the people in the manor came to join in the fun, Otto simply showed off the powerful plowing ability of the curved shaft plow in public. A large number of gullies instantly appeared on the grassland of the river bank. The depth of land reclamation it created completely overturned the local people's perception of land reclamation that only used wood to reclaim land.
Otto immediately announced that the ten sets of curved shaft plows were reclamation tools belonging to the White Tree Manor. So based on local people's beliefs, these tools are actually shared by the entire estate.
Rigus, he is not completely freeloader. Everyone is eager for these magical iron plows to complete the most thorough transformation of their fields.
This autumn, some young Ross people came to the manor to look for a wife as usual. Those who bring their wives to visit relatives are also called the focus of the wife's family.
They didn’t come empty-handed, they kept their word!
Those very poor ordinary families in White Tree Manor not only received salt as a reward from their son-in-law for marrying off their daughters, but they even received iron axes, daggers and other tools.
White Tree Manor instantly became lively, people started a new carnival, and a large number of bonfires were lit, as if they were a continuation of the previous Harvest Festival sacrifices.
Otto naturally became a guest at the welcome banquet.
He sat on the leather cushion, and within reach was the cute little girl Svetlana, who was sitting obediently. Although the child is not yet old enough to get married, her engagement to Rurik will remain unchanged. Because of this relationship, Otto seemed to regard her as his daughter in the true sense.
There was also a plate beside Otto, with dried meat, soft black bread, and slightly sweet and sour kvass on it.
However, the spirit that Otto brought out once again exceeded Ligus's knowledge, and the entire ruling family of White Tree Manor had to accept a miracle.
Under the oil lamp, Otto displayed a batch of glass bottles. What he especially showed was the special glass bottles and the spirits in them.
The trick of lighting the strong liquor seemed to Rigus to be magic, and Otto had no doubt about it.
He rubbed Svetalana's blond little head, and in a daze he felt that what he was touching was clearly his son Rurik. The two of them seemed to be husband and wife.
"All of this is Rurik's work, including those iron plows, the glassware you see, and many more things, all created by Rurik."
Ligus trembled when he heard this: "Has your son Rurik really received the favor of your great god?"
"Are you still doubting?" Otto asked, "Look at these objects! Svetlana must be Rurik's wife, and her children will inherit my family's power in the tribe. Rigus, you You should thank Rurik, and you should thank Svetlana.”
Of course Ligus wanted to be grateful. After the banquet, he didn't even have the heart to talk to his daughter and son-in-law, but was focused on studying the exquisite glassware.
It was only later that he learned from his wife that most of the glassware came from Lilia's hands. But this does not mean that Lilia has divine power. Rurik is still the god who created all this.
The Russians planned not to stay in Novgorod for a long time, and Otto planned to withdraw immediately after collecting the food.
However, Otto never expected that the abominable Pine Needle Manor would actually resort to dragging!
Dead wife. His daughter was kidnapped, and the surrender of the Lord of Pine Needle Manor was just superficial.
The reckless Vadim felt that his life had an important meaning, which was to resist the brutality of the Russians. If Vadim kept his desire for revenge bottled up inside him, his father had already taken action.
Pine Needle Manor deliberately delayed the delivery of wheat, either because the amount of tribute was too large, or because people were uncooperative.
After some warnings, Pine Needle Manor was still delaying, and Otto resorted to violent measures as a last resort.
"You idiots have healed your scars and forgotten the pain. Now, some of you are destined to freeze to death in the winter."
Otto burned some houses, expelled some people, and killed all those who resisted. What’s even crazier is that Otto personally beheaded the manor owner’s new wife and threatened: “Next year if you dare to neglect her, your eldest son will definitely die.”
Pine Needle Manor finally delivered a huge amount of tribute as scheduled. The Russians had a great harvest in the area around Lake Ilmen, and all the transport ships were full.
Yet Pine Needles Manor's plot worked.
A snowfall hit the Lake Ilmen area, and the entire land became covered in silver. In fact, the day after receiving the Quyuan plow, the people of Baishu Manor had already started plowing the land, and the speed of plowing subverted the local people's cognition. However, snow has covered the ground. Some villagers hoped to improve their fields during the snowfall, but now it seems that they must wait until spring.
Could the wind and snow affect the Russians?
The stubborn people in Pine Needle Manor believe that the Varangians are weird people who emerged from the snow in the north. They are a group of people who are not afraid of the cold. However, their ships could not navigate the ice.
Otto clearly saw this, but he had no time to retaliate against the Pine Needles Manor who insisted on resisting.
The Russians once again delayed their trip. They came to Novgorod in a mighty manner and put on a grand display. They gained a lot of popularity in the White Tree Manor and left more notoriety in the Pine Needle Manor.
The Russians withdrew, even suddenly.
Lilia had already told her mother what she had seen, especially everything about Rurik. Thanks to these apt words, Ligus realized that Rurik was by no means a god-like existence. The child did have supernatural powers, but aside from these magical powers, he was a lovely boy. It seems that he is much gentler than his father.
Lilia put on a beautiful glass bead mixed with amber necklace for her sister, and hurriedly boarded the huge Russian fleet returning.
The arduous return journey became full of dangers. The fleet rode the waves in the icy sea wind. The broken ice that began to appear on the sea aroused people's nerves at any time, but the huge amount of tribute they carried slowed down the speed.
Otto felt that this was the craziest voyage in his life. Perhaps when he arrived at his hometown, it was already a freezing November. Although the fleet is now moving through small pieces of ice, it is not a big problem to return home safely. However, everyone must be aware that soon after the fleet arrives, the entire sea area will be covered by thick ice.
The Russians returned home with difficulty, and Otto wished he could go home early.
Because Rurik will show some new tricks.
