The group of people had finished wandering around the market, but they had to walk along the old road again on their way back.
Now that word of the "strange Norwegian businessman" has spread, the drama must continue.
Mercenaries will carry some tools with them, such as knives, axes, and thin hemp ropes for binding things. Rurik didn’t know what disaster had happened to tribes like Uppsala, which were clearly far away from the war. Anyway, a group of children fled to the Mälaren Market in search of a way to survive.
The children's hands were tied one after another, and Rurik and his party also acted as slave traders. Their swagger around the market attracted many people to comment, not on the slaves they controlled, but on their attire.
Word had spread and the burqa-clad Norwegians nearly came to blows with their leader. Are there only some bold Norwegians left who dare to challenge the leader of Mellaren?
The market merchants said that they were brave people. Unexpectedly, not long after Rurik and his party left, the whole market was in a state of uproar.
Without him, Chief Olegin brought his private soldiers to collect the so-called tax. The news had already spread, and anyone who refused to pay would be severely beaten.
At the dock, Gould had sent a long ship. Thinking that Rurik might purchase a lot of things, the ship was larger in size.
The sailor who was ordered to pick up the people was shocked to see Rurik returning. They landed with only a dozen people, but now they have become a giant of more than 40 people.
A large number of ragged children with their hands tied got on the boat. There was no fear in their eyes, only a strong sense of anticipation for the legendary Gould Island and Fort Ross.
The sailors are all self-aware. They don't ask anything and just control the sail. Rurik's mercenaries and even Arik are all working as oarsmen, just to return the ship to Gould Island as soon as possible. The brothers Can eat barbecue.
"Now, let's untie them!"
Rurik's order was immediately implemented. The mercenary gently pulled the rope a few times, and the rope on the children's wrists was loosened.
Yes, the mercenaries were tied with live buckles, which also proved that the swagger was just an act.
The children were freed from all restraints. They all held some dried fish in their hands and ate by themselves, even sucking the fish bones.
The sky was dark, and the cool lake breeze swept across the main water area. The wheat fields that were doing their best to ear were rustling in the wind.
Some vague fishing boats on the lake lit torches to lure fish, and large fishing nets have been sunk in the water, waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch bass.
The huge Lake Mälaren has huge freshwater fish resources, among which the intentional bass is the largest. And every autumn, salmon that inhabit a wide range of sea areas begin to return to their original spawning grounds, and a considerable number of bass must enter first. Lake Mälaren, then into small rivers and deep into cradle-like swamps.
The vast lake area is almost all the fishing grounds of Mälaren fishermen. There is also a group of bold fishermen who have entered the sea. Facing the Northern Rus people who have begun to compete with them for the ocean fishing grounds in the past two years, they dare to be angry but dare not speak out.
As usual, the Gould family is not involved in lake fishing. They and many business families who occupy the islands in the lake have very professional ethics, that is, they only do business and will never compete with the Malaren people for basic survival resources.
At least the merchants will not threaten the roots of the tribe. The traditional leaders of Melalen only require them to pay tribute when they go ashore to do business. Other than that, everything is free. Even merchants need to spend money to buy food to support a group of servants, and their consumption also makes the lives of the fishermen in Melalen easier.
Generally speaking, the Melalen tribe has more abundant materials and is more capable of resisting natural disasters and material shortages.
However, for those tribes living in the inland areas, the geographical location of the Uppsala people determines that they can hardly grab some resources from the rich Lake Mälaren, and their farmland is naturally poorer. Even the food they can grow is There are not many warm years. They are also actively raising livestock in order to obtain wool and milk so that they can support more tribesmen.
However, the autumn of 831 came too early.
A large rowing longboat full of people docked at the dock at Gould Island.
Rurik and his mercenaries were the first to step off the landing board and stand on the trestle.
"You all come down, children of Uppsala, this is your home for the time being."
The gentle call slightly dispelled the children's worries. They were still very vigilant in general. When the first boy tentatively walked out of the board, the subsequent children followed cautiously, and finally they all stepped onto the trestle.
"Very good. Now go away and I'll give you something to eat."
It was evening, the setting sun was spreading its last glow on the lake, and the world in the east was already filled with stars.
The whole island was filled with the aroma of food. As usual, the people on the island ate thick vegetable soup and a lot of grilled fish. Before the oats were harvested, Gould sent food purchasers and all they brought back were fresh fish and vegetables.
Almost everyone was eating, but there was no canteen here, and Gould had no plans to do so.
The core area of the island is wrapped by a wooden wall, which not only plays a defensive role, but also serves as a key leveling against the cold.
A large number of people were holding wooden bowls in one hand and several grilled fish skewers in the other, and sat on the wood deliberately placed horizontally at the base of the wall to eat.
The most ordinary people can only eat the most ordinary food, including the beggars from many tribes who were gathered by Gould early on. They have been eating surimi vegetable soup for a long time. Although the food is meager, no one will go hungry.
As for the mercenaries, they were naturally provided with beef, mutton and fish.
As for Gould himself, his greedy habit became more and more serious in his later years.
He deliberately kept some strong liquor and mixed it with ale or wine to drink every meal. When it came to meals, of course there was barbecue every meal. If you are satisfied with your food, you will naturally gain beauty.
Although Gould wanted to enjoy life in time and enjoy the rest of his life in his old age, he was not confused.
As usual, he and his eldest son Snoreva gathered for dinner, accompanied by his newest maid. Perhaps the only drawback was the lack of actors playing the harp and sheng.
Under the dim chandelier with dancing flames, the way the two of them cut and eat the barbecue with knives was really ferocious. Gould, an old guy, deliberately stuck a dagger into the meat and fed it into the mouth of the maid next to him. He also said some promising words and was moved to tears when he saw the servant eating meat, while he smiled literally. The 300-pound fat man had his round blue eyes narrowed into slits.
The two men of the Gould family were enjoying the dinner, and they seemed to have forgotten about Master Rurik's landing at the Melalen Market.
Finally, a mercenary hurriedly broke into the dining scene.
"Sir, Chief Rurik is back."
"He's finally back?! Oops!" Gould slapped his forehead hard and pushed the two beauties around him away. He glanced at his eldest son and said, "Let's go and welcome him in. It seems like there are going to be extra people at the dinner party."
Gould almost stood up with the help of the slave girl. He drank some strong wine and walked unsteadily.
At this moment, Rurik and the newly subdued children had just walked under the wooden wall.
The wooden door creaked open, and everyone entered the wooden castle in the core area of Gould Island.
For those children, they were surprised to see a large number of people carrying rice bowls. Soon as the wooden door was closed, they subconsciously gathered together because of fear, and because they smelled the aroma of food, they couldn't help but salivate.
After a while, Rurik finally saw Gould, who smelled of alcohol.
"you've been drinking?"
"Oh, my little master, all I can say is that Ross Vodka is really delicious."
"But it's not as profitable as I thought." Rurik didn't want to talk about the wine anymore, so he turned around and pointed at the children who had gathered in a dark shadow, "I went ashore. You see, this is me Children found at the Mälaren Market. Gould, you are guilty!"
Gould was shocked: "Huh? Am I guilty?" He couldn't see that Rurik was really unhappy, and he didn't know what the child meant.
He squinted his eyes and saw a group of trembling and pitiful children in the dim light, and he couldn't help but feel strange.
"You are guilty. Have you seen these kids?"
"I saw it, they..."
"I thought you gathered the beggars from the entire Melalen Market, but I met so many people today. Why? Please explain to me."
"This... is unjust!" Gould shouted confidently, but with a new group of children appearing in front of him, he couldn't say anything. "Perhaps another group of foreign children have fled here recently?"
"Huh?" Rurik narrowed his eyes suddenly, and inadvertently he felt that Gould had told a big secret. He didn't want to wait any longer: "I asked, these children are all from Uppsala. Maybe you know what Uppsala went through?"
Gould clenched his chin: "Are they all from Uppsala? There were also Uppsalas among the children gathered before. They claimed that there was not enough food to eat and they were driven out by their parents to fend for themselves. Could it be that these people …”
"Maybe that's true?"
Rurik originally planned to let these children have a full meal, put on new clothes, preferably wash themselves, and even have a good sleep, and then ask them about their experiences tomorrow. Since everyone has arrived at Gould's Island, let's just ask for clarification now.
Food, clothing, shelter, and a stable future life, Rurik made these four promises, and in exchange for these Uppsala children's immediate surrender. They are all simple. Hunger and cold stimulate their survival instinct. As long as they can survive, they are willing to do anything.
The children talked about their past. After all, they were real children. Their pure hearts made them have no reservations. One or two of them wanted to tell their new master everything they encountered on the way to escape.
The problem soon became clear, but the scene described by the children was simply described as "nothing to eat."
It turns out that the Uppsala tribe is experiencing a serious agricultural crisis!
The Uppsala tribe, located northeast of the Melalen tribe, also experienced a long cold winter this year. The sowing season has been delayed, but local farmers are still sowing seeds and praying to Frey, the god of harvest, and Odin, the incarnation of the sun, to give everyone a hot summer so that the autumn food harvest will not be too bad.
However, their food harvest was destined to be completely exhausted.
right! Complete failure!
They sowed seeds close to May. The low temperature caused many seeds to be buried in the soil and failed to germinate. When the seedlings finally grew, they did not grow well.
The temperature throughout the summer was not as warm as the people of Uppsala hoped, and the seedlings did not grow rapidly. Of course, there was no fertilizer at all and watering relied entirely on rainfall.
Autumn has arrived after many days of rain, but there are no signs of earing in all the farmland.
The autumnal equinox is coming soon, and in the hearts of local people, the first snow will fall soon after the day and night equalize in autumn.
They had no harvest during the short frost-free period. To make matters worse, most Uppsala people were unable to catch enough fish in the rivers and carried boats to the seaside for offshore fishing, and the profits were not high. The annual "battle" to reserve supplies for the winter has begun, and a very serious question is before the entire tribe - famine is destined to come, what should we do in the future?
Youdao is a person who flies away when disaster strikes. The wealthy members of the Uppsala tribe generally own a large amount of farmland, and a group of tenant farmers are taking care of the land for them.
There is no harvest from the farmland, but the tenant farmers still have to pay their rent.
The wealthy knew full well that their tenant farmers could not produce large amounts of oats and rye, and they did not even have the ability to catch fish to pay for their rent. The so-called tenant farmers are farmers who once cultivated the land. Natural disasters caused them to gradually lose their land and became "workers" for the wealthy tribesmen.
Now, the most tragic agricultural harvest has come, and the tenant farmers who have harvested nothing are completely in a state of abject poverty, that is, all their properties cannot offset the debts they owe.
In fact, they do have one last asset, and that is themselves.
It can be said that the Ross tribe’s class differentiation is relatively late compared to the entire tribal alliance. The various tribes living near Lake Mälaren have almost completed the evolution from tribes to states. To a certain extent, the Uppsala tribe It has become a slave city-state.
Those who could only sell themselves to repay the agricultural debts of the wealthy, in order to survive, they really could only serve as slaves, also known as serfs.
In this way, the wealthy people who own land have suffered certain losses in their lives due to this disaster, but because they have obtained a group of slaves, they may start the most thorough exploitation next year. After all, serfs had to farm all year round, and the reward they were given was only some food that would prevent them from starving to death.
In such a state, the wealthy people in Uppsala no longer care that the slaves under them are actually their own race.
mercy? why? The leader of the Melalen tribe has been doing this for a long time. The leader himself does not care that many ordinary tribesmen have become serfs of powerful people, and the leader has even become very powerful because of this.
A family is reduced to serfdom, and men and women are forced to face a sad fate. However, deep down in their hearts, they still have one last hope.
If the children are controlled by the leader, they will also be regarded as debts to be paid, and the children will be slaves for life.
The farmers in Uppsala, who were completely bankrupt, drove away their children in extreme grief and anger, ordered them to "run away from home" and fled to the Mälaren market to become beggars. Theoretically, the child's parents can drag their family with them to become refugees. This is just a theory, because the powerful families of the Melalen people will also select or even capture refugees as slaves.
They would rather let their children try their luck in Mälaren, while they would rather stay in their hometown.
Because some rumors are spreading among various tribes, that is, there are some businessmen with unknown motives in Melalen, and they are recruiting children. It is said that boys may be trained to be private soldiers, and girls may be trained to be servants, or even trained. After becoming the master's concubine, the child's situation will never be worse than it is now.
Almost overnight, hundreds of children, carrying little food, ventured toward the core territory of the Melalen people in the southwest.
Along the way, they either became weak and died, or were killed by wolves. More than sixty people remained and fled to the Mälaren Market.
The children all complained that they were cruelly driven away by their parents, but they did not know that their parents would face an even more tragic fate of lifelong slavery.
In fact, they were controlled by Rurik and faced a similar fate.
Hearing about "parents maliciously abandoning" children, Rurik is no longer surprised now. He is not surprised at all. It is like a grove near Roseburg called "Baby Cemetery", where babies cannot be fed. They will all be abandoned here. As long as there is food to eat, who would abandon a newborn child?
In just two years for the Russians, Rurik was convinced that the entire tribe had basically solved the problem of food and clothing for the whole year, and the incident of abandoning babies had stopped. Of course, this was also due to the death order issued by the leader Otto.
Some children who spoke clearly explained their tragic experiences, and Rurik felt a chill all over his body.
He sighed deeply: "Well, I really can't expect most parents to be kind."
"Mercy? The people of Uppsala have no food. When there is no food, the men will take up arms and plunder. I don't think Uppsala can rob anyone. They dare not attack the people of Mälaren, let alone Able to organize a fleet to attack the Gotlanders. Are you going to attack the Rus in the north? Attack us? If they dare to come and plunder, I think you will easily kill them as you are strong." Gould said coldly.
"Of course!" Rurik said without changing his expression: "If the Mellaren army comes to attack me, what awaits them is my ruthless killing. You know, our crossbows are invincible."
Hearing this, Gould suddenly recognized the murderous intent hidden in these words. war? The Malaren people attacked the Russians after they were full? Rurik happened to say this.
Gould asked in a low voice: "Rurik, did you encounter anything on the shore?"
"Yes. I met Olegin. He is such a hateful guy. He actually killed someone in front of me. How can he still be considered the leader of the alliance? He is simply a child killer. Hateful!"
Gould had no idea that Rurik's angry look could make such an overly kind child angry. That would have to be...
Out of surprise, Gould, who was slightly drunk, woke up and said, "Ah? You mean, Alliance Leader Olegin, he... he provoked you? Ah! Did you go to find him in person?!"
"It was just an accidental encounter." Rurik stretched his little head, "He actually dared to kill my servant. Sooner or later, he will lose his status as leader of the alliance."
Rurik had long had the ambition to become the new leader of the alliance, and his ambition was even greater, like being as great as the legendary emperor of Rome.
Ambition is ambition, and Gould knew that his little master was actually a very pragmatic person by nature.
"Alas! I don't know what happened between you and him, but we still have to do business with him."
"Only now." Rurik gritted his teeth.
"Okay." Gould shrugged, "I sent a messenger, but the messenger hasn't come back yet. Just come back and rest on the island. As for these children..."
"Follow the old rules." Rurik said in a commanding tone: "When we go back, I want all the children in Uppsala to be alive. You arrange their lives as usual. Treat the sick and healthy children. Tell them to do their job.”
"I understand." Gould nodded deeply: "They are already the new Ross people."
"Of course! I want all the beggars that the leader expelled, especially that Olegin!" Rurik continued baring his teeth, "Sooner or later, the children who survived his persecution will become my warriors. Mela The people of London will pay the price for their prejudice and arrogance!"
