Gould wanted to describe the Ross people as a producer of leather and other economic goods. She had a larger population and a stronger military. It was entirely because the leader's brother was killed by the Gotlanders that the Ross people had become so miserable over the years. Has been trying to attack the Gotlanders for revenge.
The story of the Russians seems to end there.
This is how Gould told the story. The reason is very simple. The Ross people are not qualified to show off their strength to the alliance leader. Even if the tribe's strength is really comparable to the Melalen tribe, they still have to pretend to be weaker at such moments. Some signs are the best policy.
what is this? It was clearly some discussions that Rurik and Gould had had, and perhaps the concept of "keeping a low profile against the Melalen people" is more appropriate.
Elsewhere, the Rus are experiencing an unprecedented and active expansion accompanied by Iron and Blood, which is something that the Melalen people, who are obviously not enterprising and have begun to involute, do not possess. Regarding these, Gould showed the composure of an old businessman, and these "trade secrets" were best kept hidden from potential rivals.
Olegin believed this, because many of Gould's pragmatic words were worthy of belief.
Gould came in the morning, and it was a long time after this free conversation.
Olegin's eyes widened. He listened with great interest and even forgot about hunger.
So what does this guy know?
Yes, the Russians are really a commodity production base, and their population should not be underestimated.
Some of these products interested Olegin like never before.
"They can make some of the best swords. I know that. Since they can, they should make them in large quantities. Leather is used for clothing and armor. Soap and glassware are just things for cleaning and playing with. With it, it is more Well, life has never been found without it. But the sword! I need it."
With a strong business opportunity right in front of him, Gould asked in a hoarse voice that he had been popping for a long time: "Great leader, what do you mean?"
Olegin's face was solemn, and his ferocious eyes seemed to burst out of their sockets, "Give me the sword! Give me the spear! Give me the Russian weapons, I know you understand what I mean."
"ah?"
Of course Gould understood the other party's intentions, that is, the things involved were probably beyond his control.
"What? You still don't understand what I'm saying? Or are you pretending to be confused?" Olegin said straightforwardly: "I want weapons made of hard iron, especially swords. I need a lot of them, and I need them all." A big price will be paid.”
When money was involved, Gould's mind started racing.
He asked tentatively: "Money? Honorable leader, those Ross swords that can cut off ordinary swords are not cheap."
“How expensive can it be?”
Um? Could it be that he doesn't know the price? So for this fool, is there any reason not to kill him? !
Gould believed that his old friend Rurik would "kill him" when faced with such a person.
What happened to the people of Malaren? Maybe it's not a problem with the Melalen tribe, it's just that this guy Olegin intends to arm his private army of several hundred people with better weapons. He controls the mercenaries that are completely supported by this person. The key to power.
It's a seller's market today.
Now that we've talked about business, let's talk about business. Gould didn't know Olegin's psychological expectations. He deliberately said: "An ordinary iron sword. There are people selling these in the market. Over the past few months, I have found that the Gran people are selling the swords they made. Each handful sells for five silver coins. Sir, these still don’t satisfy you.”
"Forget it! It's not like I haven't seen Ross's sword before, and I happen to have one."
After saying that, Olegin stood up and suddenly pulled out a shiny sword from a neatly folded piece of leather.
There is a gem inlaid at the end of the sword hilt, oh, or it is a piece of colored glass. The sword is long and slender, and its entire body is bright white.
"My lord, how did you get this sword?" Gould asked in surprise.
"What's so strange?" Olegin shrugged: "My tribe is very powerful, and my market is very lively. There are all kinds of people in the market, and of course there are people who sell Ross swords."
Gould closed his eyes gently and rolled his eyes rapidly for a while: "Oh, my leader, actually you already have a psychological price."
"Of course. I bought this sword with two pounds of silver coins, but it is not the best sword. I heard that the leader of the Onkras people has a more exquisite sword, and it is your sword, but you use it. Sold it for two pounds of gold.”
Gould was a little surprised that Olegin actually inquired about this information, but after thinking about it, he estimated that it must be Ungreave of Unclas who showed off everywhere and made many people know about it.
"Then, noble, wealthy and great chief, you are willing to buy a large number of strong Russian swords. Do you mean to say that you will pay two pounds of silver coins for each sword?"
"Put away your compliments!" Olegin put his sword back into its oak sheath inlaid with silver. "I am indeed rich, but not rich enough to own a mountain of gold like the Gotlanders. Oh, but Wish the Gotlanders had it.”
"They do, so the Gotlanders are a nuisance."
"Forget it. They are just a group of upstarts who have fallen in love with the Danes. They are traitors to our alliance. I respect anyone who attacks them, including the Russians. So be it."
"Yes." Gould lowered his head slightly and obeyed.
"I don't believe that the Russians made a hard sword and sold it for 200 silver coins. The merchant must have made a lot of money from me. Its price is definitely not low. With a hard sword, all the opponent's swords become It must be an expensive weapon. Well, I'll buy a hard sword for a pound of silver, what do you think?"
Gould's eyes trembled a little. He was quite excited inside, but he remained calm on the surface: "Is this your price?"
"What? Too little? Then tell your new master that I intend to buy a hundred hard swords. My wish is one pound of silver for one sword. As for the spearhead, I also want one fifty silver coins for my wish." Hundreds."
"So, you intend to use 15,000 silver coins to purchase these weapons?" Gould was surprised that since it was to equip the private army with mass-produced weapons, why should each use the best? Wouldn't it be beautiful to have an ordinary iron sword costing five silver coins each?
Olegin secretly gritted his teeth and continued pretending to be indifferent: "If your master can provide more, I will also purchase more as appropriate."
"Oh? So you will buy it at this price no matter how much I ship next year?"
"Of course! I heard that the Russians also have a bow made of iron, which is very powerful. Tell me the price of this weapon."
Gould's strong business enthusiasm was severely hit by Olegin's words. He didn't understand. This guy was clearly talking about a crossbow, and he also knew that it was a monster made of iron. Maybe, it's still news spread by some businessmen?
Olegin took Gould's hesitation and fear as a matter of course that he was unwilling to cooperate, and here he put forward his own price: "Maybe it is very expensive, or the Russians don't want to sell this? Don't worry, I will pay more Buy it at the price."
"Ah! This... this thing, Chief Ross may not necessarily sell it."
“Not even a higher price?”
"Ah, it needs to be decided by Chief Ross himself. I am just a businessman, just a humble businessman working for Chief Ross."
Olegin curled his lips and shook his head: "You are an extraordinary businessman. There is no need to belittle yourself, your wealth is known to the world, and you are a big businessman. Do you still want to pretend now? You are indeed humble, the leader of Ross. A loyal dog of Rus, you are selling goods for the chief of Rus, an honor that no one but your family enjoys. Don’t think I don’t know it, Gould of Rus. I tell you the truth, I have a great appreciation for the weapons of the Rus. I'm interested, and I intend to make a big purchase. I want to give you a message from Chief Ross!"
When things get to this point, continuing to cover up becomes downright stupid and boring.
Guldera grimaced: "Dear Chief, I am indeed Chief Ross's eagle dog. So, what do you have to say to my master?"
"You finally admitted yourself? That's fine. Leader Ross must also have something to tell me. Gould, I'll let you have the last word. Now listen to me."
"As commanded."
"Tell Otto, the leader of the Rus' people, what you have asked of me. In the name of the leader of the alliance, I ask them to give me the best sword and give me the best spear. One pound of silver coins for each sword and half a pound of silver coins for each spear head. Give it to me. I will give you two pounds of silver for each of my iron bows.”
The sword is a steel sword, the spear is a steel spear, and the so-called iron bow is a steel-armed crossbow.
Gould nodded deeply and said politely: "I have written it all down, distinguished leader of Melalen, distinguished leader of the alliance, and I will implement it. I will give you an answer as soon as possible. I hope the Russians' answer satisfies you. ,.”
"I don't need any answer from you. I have a lot of silver coins in my hand, and I want to see the goods. Next spring, you just need to bring back the goods I asked for, which is better than any rhetoric."
"Yes!" Gould bowed fiercely.
"Then it's your turn to speak. Tell me what Chief Ross wants."
It is not so much the request of the leader as the request of the leader's son. Gould doesn't want to push Rurik to the forefront just yet. After all, he is still a child and is not qualified for many things.
"Yes, distinguished chief. The chief of Rus asked me to bring you a message. The Rus people live in a bitter cold land. They are eager to buy a lot of food to avoid starving in the long winter. The Rus people say that they can provide a lot of food. Yes, it’s the powerful Mellaren people. They intend to buy in large quantities, as long as you are willing.”
"They actually wanted food in a big way?" Olegin pinched his beard subconsciously and thought carefully about Gould. The big purchase of food last year was actually selling food to the leader of Ross. He was planning a powerful plan in his mind. It is possible to make money.
Don't look at Olegin's intention to buy excellent weapons from the Russians, as if it was not a waste of money. In fact, when this guy revealed his attitude, it was as if his skin was being cut with a soft knife, and he really felt pain.
It hurts, but due to the pressure of reality, Olegin must bleed heavily now to ensure that he can still have stable power in the future.
What Gould guessed was Olegin's true thoughts.
This guy dare not openly state that he needs the best weapons and equipment for his private army, so that it can become an existence with the most extreme combat effectiveness. At the same time, the Melalen people are also smelting iron and forging weapons by themselves. Although the quality of these iron weapons is definitely not as good as that of the Rus, it is probably enough to use them to arm their tribesmen.
Olegin's vision was that every man who could fight had at least a shield and a short spear.
In particular, he wanted to arm a "heavy infantry" that would take orders from him.
To accomplish this, he knew that it would cost a lot of money. However, his prestige was indeed indirectly damaged by the Russians' campaign against the Gotlanders. At the same time, he was not able to save Ostara from its destruction, and his reputation was even more damaged. .
Isn't the threat of war more serious than reputation? He must expand his armaments and continue to maintain his power, especially to show off his power to the tribes living in the entire lakeside plain area, and to reserve his strength for possible future wars. Moreover, having resumed close contact with the Russians, the leader of Mälaren, Olegin, really intends to reunite with the Russians.
Olegin wanted to meet with Otto, the leader of the Rus, but due to his status as the leader of the alliance, he simply convened a meeting of leaders involving the entire alliance. They must strengthen commercial ties with each other and strengthen military cooperation to fight against the aggressive Danes and their servants.
An alliance is not something that the allies can just say.
The Russians have been away for too long, and the relationship between the alliance is almost only maintained by a group of businessmen like migratory birds.
In order for the leader of Ross to come to Mälaren happily, Olegin boasted that he had to pay some price, and now an opportunity was in front of him.
"Since the Rus want food, I can sell most of the tribute collected to the Rus. What's the price to the Rus?"
The development of the situation was completely beyond Gould's expectation. He couldn't help but sigh. If his action of purchasing a huge amount of grain for Rurik could get the full cooperation of the largest landowner in Mälaren, the task on his shoulders would be unbearable. Not only can it be completed smoothly, but it can also be completed beyond the limit. Rurik has long said in dialect that regarding food, you don't need silver coins for food. Even if the silver coins in the "big money box" can be counted on one hand, you still have to exchange them for mountains of food.
Gould tried to suppress his excitement: "At the price of previous harvest seasons, one silver coin can buy fifteen pounds of oats."
"But the situation this year is obviously not good." Olegin responded calmly.
"Yes! I saw that only a few wheats have begun to ear. Damn the weather, spring has come too late, and there will be a large harvest failure this year."
"So prices will go up."
"Yes. But even so, the Russians still want to buy food, and they will be happy to pay a high price."
"Forget it, I'll give you a price, ten pounds of threshed oats for one silver coin. I can offer the Russians half a million pounds, and I hope the Russians have the money to buy it."
"Ah?!" Gould couldn't believe what he heard for a moment, "Half a million pounds? That's a lot of money. Sir, how did you get so much grain, especially since there will be a large wheat harvest this year."
Olegin was a little impatient, "Don't worry about it. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about whether your master can produce 50,000 silver coins in one go."
Hearing this, Gould cursed secretly that this guy really had no experience in the world. He was really a fish that could only swim in the lakes of Mälaren and did not dare to swim in the saltwater ocean.
But if this guy really spent 500,000 pounds of grain, he would have bought the wheat with all the money he had on hand.
Gould couldn't help but think of last year's harvest season. He collected a lot of cargo ships and went straight to Roseburg carrying as many as 23 pounds of sun-hardened oat grains. Also transported were large quantities of vegetables and cash crops such as dried flax stalks.
Wheat is beginning to ear, and some vegetables have been harvested, such as onions with a short growth period, which are already on sale in the market.
Wheat had to be purchased. In order to realize Rurik's great dream of "people being able to eat oats all year round," Gould wanted to make a great contribution, even if he had to pay for the food out of his own pocket first.
Olegin stressed that his attitude was that the Russians would give 50,000 silver coins and he would give 500,000 pounds of wheat. If even one silver coin was missing, the whole deal would be ruined.
Gould secretly cursed this as stupid stubbornness, but for Olegin, he regarded this matter as a test. The Russians really paid such a huge sum of money, which showed that the exchanges between the two parties had reason to develop in depth.
But the question also arises. If all the money is spent on food, vegetables, flax, oil, wool, slaves, or even hiring new mercenaries, what will be done with the money?
Gould finally understood that Olegin just wanted an answer. He didn't want to wait until next year to get the opinion of Chief Ross during the massive trade of grain during the passively postponed harvest season.
What should I do?
What is very bad is that Otto has asked a messenger to tell the tribesmen that his fleet will wait until Novgorod's autumn harvest is completed and return. A messenger secretly reported the matter to Gould. He knew that Otto was not ready at this moment. Not in Roseburg.
Olegin was pressing so hard. He needed Chief Ross to show his attitude and come up with real money to buy grain. At this point, Gould felt that this business had reached a point where it had to be done.
What's worse is that if you don't do this well, you will really alienate the already indifferent relationship between the Ross and the Melalen people and become a sinner.
"Action must be taken! Without Otto, Rurik must make the decision."
