Encountering and negotiating trade matters with merchants from the Balmok tribe was purely unexpected.
The ten travelers retreated to rest, and Rurik fulfilled his promise and gave them preferential treatment, such as providing accommodation and food, and their own boats were pushed ashore for necessary repairs.
Logically, these travelers need to pay all the expenses, but Rurik did not embarrass them anymore and announced that all expenses would be waived.
But it cannot be said that Rurik suffered a loss.
After those people left, the meeting place immediately became lively.
Rurik looked at Mechasta, the Kovin man who had been silent for a long time, with vigilance: "You already understand our language, although you don't speak it well. You should be able to understand the conversation between me and that person. Now tell me, have you ever known That Balmok tribe?”
Mechasta nodded calmly: "Of course I understand, my people have been in contact with them."
"Oh? Your people? In your tribe? Gee, I should call them back."
Mechasta smiled helplessly: "My lord, they all died in the battle! Most of the men in my tribe were killed by you."
Hearing this, Rurik couldn't help but stretch out his hands and slap his face: "It's true that arrows don't have eyesight! So how well do you know them?"
"They... probably just want to do some business, so they must sell us some salt. You know, we are very short of salt. In order to get salt, we have to carry a lot of leather to the south and exchange it with the Finns over there. Now. We have migrated to the sea and settled in this mountain fort near the sea. These days we have learned how to boil salt."
Rurik shrugged: "But the sea water here only has a faint salty taste. I dare say that the sea faced by the Balmoks contains more salt."
"Is this true?" Mechasta asked in surprise.
"Of course." Rurik deliberately raised his voice: "What they are facing is probably the sea at the end of the world. We are a world surrounded by sea water, and all the land is huge islands floating on the sea water. The ocean is so big, in some places the sea water is very salty, and in some places it is not sea water at all, but more like some kind of lake water."
The vast number of Russian warriors, mercenaries, and Coven's Mechasta heard Rurik describe the world like this for the first time, and it really changed their worldview greatly.
Because the speaker has a noble status and is a real wise man, everyone is willing to believe it, and it is worth believing.
Rurik continued to look into Mechasta's eyes and said firmly: "Since you have had contact with them earlier than us Russians, you should build this place well. I can be sure that in the future, Ailon Orava The fort will become a very key trading stronghold. Your people must try their best to learn blacksmithing and have iron tools to exchange for the best salt from the Balmoks. I also need your people to try their best to exchange salt with them, so that before winter, we You can pickle more food.”
"I understand, my lord."
Rurik nodded: "Step back."
Not long after Mechasta retired, another important person was invited to the house.
The person who came was none other than Si Puyute, who was ordered to explore.
But when the young man stepped onto the wooden floor, his sloppy appearance was really uncomfortable.
His beard was sloppy, his face was a little dirty, and his leather jacket was extensively damaged. He looked like someone who had survived a horrific battle.
"How...why are you like this? Did you fight the bear with your bare hands?"
Spyut didn't care about Rurik's surprise and became very excited when he mentioned the bear.
A pair of sharp eyes lit up on his sloppy face, with an expression asking for credit: "Sir, you would never imagine what we encountered in the river in the north."
"You met Balmok's travelers, I know."
"No!" Siputu's expression was even more exciting: "We found a small lake with a lot of bass in it. We further investigated and found that there are many rivers flowing into this small lake, and those rivers lead to distant places. We can definitely explore further."
"So, you went further north?" Rurik's nature was brought up.
"We didn't do that. We camped by the lake and were very lucky to encounter some bears and lone deer running around. We easily hunted two bears and ten deer with crossbows. The meat was eaten by us Eat them, and we have brought back the bearskins and deerskins. They are our gifts to you."
Rurik was satisfied, but then he thought, with these gains, why didn't they take the initiative to trade with the Balmok travelers instead of bringing them back?
Also, why didn’t those travelers mention the crossbow?
After further questioning, Rurik received a logically defensible answer - the encounter with the Balmoks was entirely an incident that occurred on the return voyage.
The fishermen have made significant progress in their exploration mission, which is to discover the outstanding freshwater fish resources in the upper reaches of the river. Also because of the factors of the river itself, in terms of fishing efficiency, catching freshwater fish can completely outperform the ocean.
In ocean fishing, the most efficient method is for two larger fishing boats to cooperate and drag a very large hemp rope net in one direction, and then close the net when the boat feels the time is right. With no sonar equipment at all, the boat is powered by a mixture of oars and sails. This kind of fishing is simply a matter of luck. Thanks to the abundance of herring resources in the entire sea area, the Russians have a harvest every time they cast their nets.
Of course, river fishing is still a similar routine, but it has changed from aimless sweeps to a big net sinking to the bottom of the river to catch the swimming bass and salmon one by one.
Of course, the Kewen people have a more primitive method, which is to create a calm pond to attract swimming fish, then seal the entrance of the pond and scoop out all the water to ensure that the fish swarm together.
Freshwater fish have more bones than marine fish. The small problem of fish bones is not a problem for the Russians at all. They all know where the fish bones of freshwater fish are mainly concentrated, so they just need to pay attention when eating.
Life is still poor, everyone has something to eat, so do they care about how many fish bones there are?
In fact, the small lake mentioned by Spuyut is actually the intersection of two larger rivers, and a large number of creeks flow into it, so a relatively small freshwater lake is formed here.
Its geographical location is quite advantageous, and it is reasonable to build a small city here.
Yes, she is Rovaniemi, the so-called hometown of Santa Claus.
But the current Russian people do not have any romantic imagination in this regard. Spyut simply called it "Perch Lake", which was just a name for it, nothing more.
Going north along the river, from Ironburg to the so-called Perch Lake, that is, "Rovaniemi", the geographical straight-line distance is ninety kilometers away. Considering the winding of the river, the expedition team actually went against the current. It is one hundred and fifty kilometers long.
It can be said that the discovery of Bass Lake by Spuyut and his guys is really a precious gift to Rurik.
The preciousness of this gift lies in the local freshwater fish resources.
If local fishery resources could be used nearby, it would be better than getting rid of Russian fishermen to catch marine fish from southern seas and then transport them.
During the transportation process, the marine fish was slightly rotten and smelly, which everyone could tolerate. The only thing that worried Rurik was that he needed to pay the fishermen to buy the fish and the transportation fee.
Until now, the Ross tribe's comprehensive tax system has not been established. A system often cannot be instantly supported by everyone just because of the leader's decision, not to mention that this system still requires some money from the residents' pockets. Even if the funds are collected, they are used for the purpose of building the entire tribe. Because in the past, everyone had no concept of taxation and everything was done quickly and quickly, Rurik was worried that the strong prestige he had established by relying on myths and stories would be damaged.
Based on this situation, Rurik must pay the free fishermen of his tribe.
There is no free lunch in the world. Even if it is charity, those who give charity must gain the satisfaction of reputation and even the satisfaction of their own values.
The various tribes in Kewen are themselves a fishing and hunting people, and they are also good at catching freshwater fish.
After all, the attributes of the Iron Squirrel tribe are slaves.
They are slaves. kindness? Will there be some kindness in women?
I very much need them to provide labor, give them high-quality food and accommodation, and even safety guarantees, in order to get more value for their labor. My purpose is to exploit them to maintain my financial turnover.
Rurik calculated that since the most consumed material by the Iron Squirrel Tribe was food, if they could solve these problems on their own, as their master, he would not have to suffer financial hemorrhage every day before the chrome steel ax became available.
At present, the fishery resources in the estuary are extremely poor. It is said that a huge team of salmon will enter various freshwater rivers in September. September is the traditional fishing season for the Kewen people, but September is too far away.
The Corvin people should find a way to go to the north, and even build a small settlement on the Bass Lake. The value of its existence is to catch fish to supply the food needs of Ironburg.
Thinking of this, Rurik felt that he must establish a formal contract with Mechasta.
The summer solstice is really getting closer, especially the dwindling night time, which means the arrival of the nightless night.
Five days have passed since the expedition team returned. In just five days, the construction of the third waterwheel was completed and put into use.
A large number of men died, and the Iron Squirrel tribe was very short of men. As the Ross warriors returned to Rossburg, the Elon Olawa Fort after their evacuation really became the mountain fortress of the Kovin people. The small-population tribesmen are Rurik's slaves, and they must give their masters the fruits of their labor - chromium steel axes.
It is unrealistic to expect the Kewen tribesmen who have started to have full exposure to iron smelting work to become excellent blacksmiths in just two months.
They did not understand the true meaning of the work of smoldering and carburizing. Fortunately, they finally understood how to operate a large furnace, burn sponge iron, and forge and quench.
How to become an excellent blacksmith? The best way is to train around the clock. Even a beginner, if he spends most of his time in smelting and training every day, his skills will become more and more refined.
Rurik was a little worried at first, but he felt relieved when he saw that those strong men could already swing the hammers in their hands and beat the embryos into "Nordic hand axes".
The return date was approaching, and before evacuating, Rurik summoned Mechasta, the leader of the Iron Squirrel tribe, alone in his mansion inside the wooden wall.
A dark room with only limited light provided by the dancing flames of several oil lamps.
Two men, one long and one young, were sitting in the room.
Needless to say, the young man is naturally the wise Rurik.
"Sir, I think you and I need to have a secret conversation?" Mechasta asked cautiously after settling down.
"Yes. There is indeed something that you and I need to talk about."
"What is it?"
"It's about the future of Fort Ellon-Olawa, and I think you've been paying attention to that."
"This..." Mechasta hesitated. In fact, he didn't think there was anything to talk about, so he calmly said: "Do we still need to talk about it? We are your servants, just like we agreed at the beginning. , we dig the ore, smelt it and forge it into usable tools, and we give the tools to you. As the master, you provide us with food and safety."
Rurik nodded and said calmly: "The crux of the problem is here. At the beginning, this was our preliminary contract, but now the situation has changed a lot! The city was established, and you also misunderstood my mind. The relationship between slave and master."
"So..." Mechasta hesitated.
Rurik immediately took advantage of his little head, and the dancing light of the oil lamp shone on his face, further highlighting the serious atmosphere.
"Now, you and I must sign a formal contract, and we must determine the relationship. Although I am your master, through this contract, we must determine the responsibilities and powers of the master, and more importantly, the obligations of the slave."
Mechasta could not immediately understand Rurik's somewhat convoluted words. In his mind, although he was a slave now, his life was actually more stable and prosperous than before. Is it humiliating to be a slave? Probably not!
There are more days to eat, and there is no need to worry about attacks from powerful enemies all the time. Everyone thinks that it is not bad to become the servants of the Rus. As for hatred, what can be done? The young leader of the Rus' people personally buried the dead, and the Rus' people still respected everyone's sacrifices!
Mechasta actually felt that the master had provided a lot of favors, and he could just continue to do what the master told him in the remaining days.
However, Rurik wanted to establish a relatively equal contract with his servants.
Youdao conquered by pure force and then used force to exploit it. It is purely a wrong act of killing the goose that lays the goose that lays the egg. Furthermore, Rurik's heart is not so violent. What he wants is the efficiency of production, and he wants to develop the productivity of the population under his control as much as possible under the existing conditions in order to strengthen himself.
