In fact, from the beginning, Gould revealed that the alliance leader Olegin deliberately designated this area near his mansion as a full-time business area due to management needs, and even stipulated the location of the tavern he controlled. , and even places where slave traders from all walks of life sell slaves.
Whether it was the sale of slaves, the sale of cheap pottery, or the largest grain trade every autumn, Olegin stipulated that almost all of these transactions could only be completed in fixed markets.
Rurik guessed correctly, Olegin was indeed a greedy man.
The so-called greed is actually forced by practical reasons.
To support a "standing army" of up to 500 people, it is also necessary to prepare enough iron weapons to arm 2,000 people in a short period of time, and even include the cost of replacing and maintaining ships. These are simply the "defense expenditures" of the Melalen tribe, which are military expenditures in a real sense.
When the population of a tribal group reaches a certain critical point, a power structure equivalent to the king will be created, a group of courtiers who take orders from the king, and a standing army that only takes orders from the king will be born. In order to support the army, the tax system was naturally born.
The use of forceful means to restrain people from all walks of life who came to do business in Melalen was ultimately to meet the practical needs of convenient collection of tributes.
The times were like this, there was no papermaking technology, runes were only understood by a few people, and the text was often engraved on stones and wooden boards in the form of incantations, and only priests would use it regularly.
In people's daily life, words almost do not appear. It is for this reason that technocrats called scribes and tax collectors do not exist. This forces Olegin, who is the leader of the alliance, to personally decide to collect the tribute. He only has to decide how much tribute he can collect. It can be estimated because it is almost impossible to quantify taxes under such technical conditions.
Tributes are collected every year. Ever since the agent who infiltrated Rossburg told him that the Russians invented the concept of "tax", the behavior of the Russians alone caused him to misunderstand, but this was a misunderstanding that made him excited!
No, Olegin has to lead his men to play the role of tax collector again. This time he is not going to ask for tribute, but to collect taxes in the same way.
What exactly is the Mellaren-style tax? Olegin has a very reasonable explanation: "If you do business in my territory, you must pay tribute. If you make a lot of profits from doing business, you must pay me tax." ." He estimated that the businessmen were reluctant to spend another sum of money, but the money had to be collected. In order to crack down on those who refused to pay, the private armies they supported would have work to do.
From this point of view, Otto leading the Russian tribute voyage was an armed search for the wealth of the Novgorod people to enrich himself. Origen is doing the same thing, but his sickle is used to cut wheat. Whether in a realistic or metaphorical sense, the sickle is harvesting his own people.
For Olegin today, perhaps it is a day of great significance. He had already made a decision, so he put on gorgeous and noble clothes, organized as many as fifty private soldiers, and prepared to collect taxes by force.
In order to make another crucial sum of money before the late harvest season, which is destined to be a failure, he has prepared tens of thousands of dollars.
Inside the wooden wall surrounded by thick oak, his private captain asked cautiously again: "Master, are you really sure? If those people don't pay, will you really kill one or two?"
"Yes, if you insist on not giving money, two or three will be executed, so that others can obediently give money."
"But, they are not yours..."
"My people? Not just." Olegin finally looked at his men: "Brothers, think about the money in your hands. If we don't squeeze those people, how can I give you more money? ! Now someone actually intercedes with those guys? Don’t you love money anymore? "
Olegin does not have any mystical aura such as being "loved by the gods". He cannot use these means to win over people's hearts. The best means at his disposal are to support a private army and ingratiate himself with the wealthy households of the Melalen tribe. , in order to control the throne of the alliance leader, basically his power is maintained by a well-trained private army of more than 500 people. Don't look at the small number of troops at hand. His military strength is unmatched.
With Olegin's encouragement, people with compassionate hearts strengthened their beliefs. As the saying goes, if anyone wants to suffer poverty, as long as it is not me who suffers poverty, then everything will be fine.
The heavy oak door was opened, and a group of sword-wielding warriors wearing leather armor stepped out first, followed closely by the leader of the alliance, Olegin, who was wearing a ferret outfit trimmed with gold. He was not dressed like a warrior today, but A wealthy businessman. This is just superficial. Under his leather coat, he is wearing chainmail!
Rabbits can bite when cornered. Olegin felt that he needed to be more vigilant. He was afraid that the small businessman who had been plundered too much by him would suddenly turn into a desperado. He really understands the Mellaren people very well. It seems that his people have become farmers and fishermen who live in peace with the world, but in fact, they are all brave and ruthless people at heart.
But things are really different today.
Olegin saw that there was a large group of ragged children, with only a few fig leaves left on their bodies, and they all rushed towards him.
"Damn it! Is it an enemy attacker? Protect him! Protect him quickly!"
God knows why there is a group of children staying near the door of their house. They seem to have come out of a lot of adobe houses, but they are definitely not local children of Melalen, because the residents of the entire tribe are afraid of their power as the leader of the alliance. , as long as the anger explodes, all the children will be frightened and cry.
The guards were not in a hurry to draw their swords and axes. They stood in front of their master and formed a human wall very skillfully.
They are very good at this. It is said that if there is a war, everyone will wear heavy armor and cowhide shields and form a human wall to protect the master.
The children were hungry little wolves. Their target was Olegin, who was the most elegant and neatly dressed. They ran and shouted for food.
The private soldiers who only cared about protecting their masters raised their feet and kicked these skinny children violently.
After being violently kicked down, the children still stood up tenaciously, even if they were crawling, they still had to crawl towards Olegin.
They were all skinny children, and there seemed to be girls among them. Although they were young, their burst of willpower actually gave Olegin a hint of fear.
The children continued to be kicked down by the private soldiers, and they got up again, shouting about hunger, and continued to stretch out their thin and trembling little hands, reaching out to Olegin for help.
Their purpose is actually very simple, just to get a bite to eat and avoid starving to death.
Olegin had never encountered such a thing. How could he listen to a group of children who suddenly appeared? Seeing that these "dirty guys were determined to commit crimes", he became cruel.
"Guard, beat me! Beat whoever comes over until he's dead!"
Beating a child? Many private soldiers feel that they have insulted their reputation. Since the master is pressing them hard, they are no longer human beings.
Then a private soldier drew his sword and flashed the sharp blade. Many children who were begging for food finally felt scared and began to flee.
Could it be possible to avoid being killed by running away?
The escaping children were caught up one after another. The private soldiers did not actually kill them with one knife, but followed Olegin's latest order, which was to use their fists to torture these "wild dogs blocking their doorstep" bit by bit.
The children's wails kept coming one after another. Some locals from the Mellaren people came over quietly looking for the sound. When they saw that the one who was being beaten was not their own child, they sighed and consciously avoided it.
That is the most powerful leader! No one dared to stop the leader. In fact, when everyone saw that the children being beaten were beggars, some people secretly cheered, hoping that the leader would eliminate these potential thieves.
Some people came after hearing the news and actually smiled in public. Because what is happening now is exactly what they hoped for.
Yes, if they had not been instigated by others, how could the hungry foreign children who had fled from the refugee camp have the temerity to squat in front of the leader's house?
Children's screams and cries were heard not far away, and the cruelty of the sounds instantly aroused Rurik's alertness.
"Jevlo!"
"exist!"
"Are there parents beating their children? Didn't you say that the alliance leader's home is not far ahead? Is this how the alliance leader educates his children?"
Yevlo wanted to laugh when he heard this, but someone from the accompanying mercenaries pointed out: "Master, that Olegin's son is already thirty years old."
"Maybe to educate the grandson?" Rurik shrugged: "Let's go, let's look for the sound and see what happened."
After a while, Rurik and the others had already seen the wooden wall erected at the Olegin mansion, and the screams continued one after another.
After passing through several adobe houses and encountering several women with solemn faces and walking in a hurry, the chaotic scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Rurik's scalp tightened and his whole body was shaking.
"What's going on?! Jevlo, a group of men with swords and armor, they are...ah?! Beating children?!"
"Oh, it seems so." Aric looked at the atrocities of those armored men with a calm face. Under his robe was his contemptuous eyes. He shook his head: "I hope they will do this when they deal with the Gotlanders." Such bravery. Bah! I think highly of them, the Mellaren people are cowards who only dare to beat children, they don't dare to use force against the Gotlanders at all."
Rurik did not comment for the time being, he immediately surveyed the surrounding environment.
In front of the tall and thick wooden wall is a small square that has been trampled very solidly. A group of children with almost nothing but fig leaves gathered at the base of the wooden wall. They were surrounded by men wearing armor and holding swords, and they were trembling with fear.
There were more than a dozen children being beaten. Looking at the posture, a well-dressed man was obviously the leader. This man was instructing the torturers to beat them to death.
The more Rurik watched, the angrier he became. He also noticed that Carlotta was following him. The girl had quietly hidden behind the mercenary.
"No! We can't let them continue to commit violence." Rurik felt a sense of justice in an instant. After saying this, he wanted to move forward, but was grabbed by Yevro.
"What? You stopped me?"
"My lord, the man in the ferret suit is... Olegin."
"Huh? That guy?!" Rurik raised his head suddenly and couldn't help but clenched his teeth that had begun to loosen. "Then I have to stop him even more!"
Rurik suddenly broke away from Jevro's hand, and his little figure in a burqa walked in front. Feeling that his master was facing huge risks, Jevro shook his neck and ordered other mercenaries to follow hurriedly.
The strong Aric held the hilt of the sword in his robe with his right hand. He observed the perpetrators and already planned in his mind what technique he would use to cut their throats immediately.
More than ten people wearing burqas walked out from the cracks in the adobe house.
Olegin had actually noticed that there was such a group of people observing secretly. Thinking of the young boy from the winery who just came to report the important event, he could be sure that these were the Norwegians who dared to spend a lot of money to sell wine and perform arrogantly. .
wrong! Could it be that a group of wild children are making themselves uncomfortable, which is what the Norwegians do?
For a moment, Olegin felt that the child who was beaten was actually a slave child kidnapped by the Norwegians from nowhere. They asked the children to make trouble for themselves. They also caused trouble in the tavern. What ulterior motives must there be for his group of guys?
Those private soldiers who had not yet started to attack anyone also drew their swords. After all, the newcomers were uniformly dressed and walked steadily, and there was also a murderous aura invisibly. A gust of north wind came, and the chilling feeling made the private soldiers secretly fear.
"Stop it!" Olegin ordered, and the perpetrators put away their fists one after another, while the children who were beaten were already as limp as death.
The children with bruises all over their bodies and bleeding from the corners of their mouths were squirming hard, as if they were making their last struggle before dying.
Rurik couldn't help but stop, and he was soon guarded by his men.
Arik lowered his head slightly and cursed in a low voice: "You are such a reckless fool. You are just a child. Do you want to be beaten to death by them?"
"I……"
"Stand behind me now. If they dare to use force, I will chop off their heads." Arik ordered with gritted teeth.
Arik is young and energetic and has rich experience in killing people. Rurik is really glad that he has his protection now.
After a while, the door to the wooden wall was opened, and more than thirty armored men armed with short spears and swords came out, and they all guarded the leader.
The scene was quiet for a while, and for a short period of time, both sides looked at each other.
Olegin felt that he had enough manpower. He pushed back the wall of his private soldiers, held his long sword and asked: "It's you! Norwegians! The people in the tavern told me about you, you are so brave."
Arik now fully represents his brother, not to mention that the treacherous act in the tavern was entirely his own idea. Being able to be directly pointed at by the sword of the legendary leader of the alliance, Arik did not feel even a trace of fear, nor was he excited at all. All he felt was anger.
If you are threatened by someone, the best way to break the threat is to kill the person who threatens you.
Sure enough, he was regarded as a Norwegian? Then take advantage of the situation.
After being threatened with a sword, Arik's next move could be described as a conditioned reflex.
He suddenly lifted his hood, revealing his blond hair and thick beard that made him solid and reliable. He shook his robe violently, and with a strong metallic buzzing sound, he revealed his bright white sword under his eyes.
And this is just his first sword.
Arik also reached into his waist with his left hand and pulled out another bright white long sword with a more gorgeous pattern on the hilt.
Seeing a strong young man holding two swords high, the private soldiers were frightened by this aura and didn't know what to do for a while. Everyone has heard of heroic legends, that is, certain heroes on the battlefield can fight one against a hundred, and anyone who approaches rashly will be easily killed.
This man with two swords is so strange! Everyone is thinking, if the master orders an attack with a sword, should they be the first to charge?
The mercenaries present, and even some of the elite Ross warriors, had plundered and killed hundreds of enemies in the waters south of Lake Malaren two months ago. The brave Aric drew his sword. What about himself? ! Pooh! Who cares about the leader Olegin, he is a fool!
"Brothers, draw your swords! Prepare to fight." Jevro gave an order, and the others drew out their bright white steel swords one after another, and squatted down, forming an arc-shaped wall of people, with the sword tips pointed straight ahead. .
Steel swords, they are so dazzling in the sun.
The people in burqas were clearly not a mob. From Olegin's perspective, they were clearly a well-trained army!
