The oats harvest is finally here.
Even though it came late and the harvest was terrible, the wheat finally started harvesting.
This year's poor harvest has become a reality as expected. Farmers are holding their own huge sickles. They stand in the ridges and look at the sparse and low-hanging wheat ears in their own farmland. How should they feel?
The ears of wheat are all withered and yellow. They are ripe, but the results are not much.
The farmers helped each other. A group of strong men controlled giant scythes and began to cut off the wheat stalks in large pieces. Then, with unique force, they moved all the wheat straws to one side of the field ridges.
The women, children, and even the elderly at home gathered the wheat, tied it into bundles with hemp rope, and began to carry it home.
Even though the harvest is almost complete, some women still stay in the fields, bending down to pick up the scattered ears of wheat and put them into their rattan baskets.
Since ancient times, they will not waste any wheat ears. Especially in this bad harvest year, it has become extremely important to do their best not to leave any wheat grains behind.
It is already mid-September, and although winter has not yet arrived, the coldness every morning tells the residents along the lake that winter is coming.
I'm afraid this will be a difficult winter. Even if everyone survives the winter, what will happen next year's spring famine?
Even so, do you still need to take out the grain and sell it in the market to earn some silver coins?
Each family began to clear the compacted land in front of their houses. This was their threshing ground, which also served as a drying ground.
All the harvested wheat straws were thrown here. The family held their own wooden flails and began to beat the wheat straws fiercely.
They had to use great strength, and only in this way could the oats be shelled effectively.
Hulled oats are grown throughout Europe. They are very cold and drought tolerant, but the shelling requires a lot of effort.
Farmers spend a lot of sweat to complete their harvests. A man can often take care of more than one hectare of farmland. Even with this yield, it is average even in good years. The overall yield of oats per mu is about one hundred pounds per acre, and a strong man can often take care of as many as 20 to 30 acres of farmland. In Mälaren, there are many strong men who can take care of a half-hectare farmland. After all, they are Nordic people who can naturally grow very strong.
The farmland is indeed vast, but even their planting and harvesting techniques cannot be complimented.
The Melalen tribe has never appeared from the beginning to the end. If the Novgorod Slavs have a traditional rural community based on blood and friendship, it is a community that is close to a natural village. They are fishermen themselves. After half a century of transition, the economic center of Mälaren has become more and more focused on agricultural cultivation in the region.
Most of the tribal residents have become small farmers, and the proportion of traditional fishing in the economy is declining. Of course, this year's poor harvest will force farmers to fish on a large scale in the coming years. When they start to worry about hunger, they will appreciate the gifts of Lake Mälaren.
In a good year, one and a half hectares of farmland under the care of a hard-working farmer can harvest up to two and a half tons of oats, which is 6,400 pounds when converted into the most commonly used unit of measurement in the Nordic world! This is an extremely astonishing number. A family of several people only needs 1,500 pounds of food rations a year, which is enough to survive. If there is a large amount of fishing during the off-season, they can further reduce their rations.
This is of course data from a good year, and it is also a data that can only be achieved by the hardest-working small farmers. It is not universal.
Most farmers who are debt-free can harvest nearly 5,000 pounds of shelled oats during a normal harvest season.
How to use this grain is very particular. First, 2,000 pounds will be deducted from the family's rations first, and another 1,000 pounds will be reserved for planting grain. Theoretically, the remaining 2,000 pounds of grain can be sold at the market. Even if the grain collector keeps the price very low, the farmer can still get more than one pound of silver in the end.
This is all a beautiful fantasy.
Greedy people will not expect to accumulate profits just by their own labor. For the wealthy families of the Melalen tribe, any year of famine is a feast for them to make a fortune!
Because there really aren’t many independent small farmers who are debt-free.
If you borrow grain from large households during the lean years, you will have to pay back more in the new harvest season. What is this amount?
Even if the areas of the Western European world that were once controlled by Rome became new kingdoms ruled by barbarians, the ancient Roman tax system was inherited. Agricultural taxes were also tithes that farmers had to pay to their lords. As for borrowing and lending, since the lords and farmers are all the Lamb of the Lord, the interest rate for borrowing and lending is in principle zero (the dirty work of collecting interest on mortgages is naturally done by Jewish businessmen for the lords). In order to protect the lambs in the actual sense, the lord naturally had to ensure that the residents in the territory could survive during the famine years. If the bandits followed suit, the lord would also build a wooden castle to protect the civilians, thereby ensuring that his source of tax revenue would not die.
The people of Mellaren have no such concerns, otherwise where would the fields of those big families come from?
Ordinary farmers, after tamping the wheat straw and sieving the wheat grains, the new wheat will be regarded as debts that need to be returned. They want to return more, and when the spring famine comes, they still have to borrow food.
Almost all debts started from the poor harvest in disaster years. They only borrowed a small amount of grain at the beginning. It is not a big problem to pay back more during the harvest season. Even the farmers are grateful to the big families and chiefs for their help in their difficult times.
However, in the Nordic region, the agricultural environment itself is extremely fragile. In this region, it is not impossible to rely on farming to maintain small farmers. It is just that the level of technology in today's era is too low. No one can expect to guarantee a bumper harvest with current technology.
No, every disaster year deepens the debt of farmers.
The big family and leader Olegin had no intention of harming their own tribe at first. They were willing to help the tribesmen in distress, and it was only natural that they would charge a certain amount of interest afterwards.
After all, the debts are getting bigger and bigger, and the strength of ordinary farmers has been declining, while the large households that have been accumulating wealth have already managed to ignore all kinds of disasters and famines. After they became stronger, their eyes became increasingly ambiguous when they saw their former compatriots. When they began to raise a large number of slaves and serfs who sold their land cheaply to survive, their trusting relationship with their tribesmen dimmed.
Quantitative change has finally arrived at the time of qualitative change!
I don’t know since when, the life of the Melalen people, who helped each other and stayed together, turned into the rule of the leader and a few big families over the entire tribe. In recent years, this dominance has become increasingly fierce.
Let’s talk about this year’s harvest.
The harvest season of 830 was an unprecedented disaster for the Mellaren people. It's not like there will be no harvest, 50% of the harvest is already confirmed.
Farmers began to count this year's harvest, and the result was a disaster of blood and tears.
Families that could harvest 6,000 pounds of grain in a good year will harvest only 3,000 pounds this year. If they had no debt, the harvest wouldn't be too bad, and at least starvation wouldn't happen.
But wait!
There are many farmers who have debts worth 1,000 pounds of oats to repay.
During the harvest season, there are many families who only harvest 2,000 pounds of wheat, but they still have to pay off their debts. In this way...
Although there is still a lot of wheat in hand, after paying off the debt, it will be left with more than a thousand pounds. The man was crying, the woman was crying, and the old man even had thoughts of seeking death. Only the innocent children didn't know what was happening. They clamored for new wheat, but they also cried.
Ever since, a very bad problem has enveloped the entire Melalen tribe.
Those people who already exist entirely as handicraftsmen do not farm their own land, but are waiting to buy large quantities of new wheat provided by farmers during the harvest season.
Although it is a year of famine, and even though the bad news of a failed agricultural harvest has long been reported in Uppsala in the north, people in Mälaren still have extravagant hopes.
However, the prosperous farmers' market that everyone hoped for has not replicated the prosperity of last year.
This year's situation is shocking to everyone. There are no farmers carrying their own grain to sell in the market.
At this moment, the plans of those grain merchants who conspired to negotiate the purchase price completely collapsed.
Yes, there is already only a handful of food left, and some of it is still left to grow, and the rest is all rations. Even if the rations are not large, at least they have to last the family through the winter, and they will think of a way to survive until there is really no food to eat.
No one selling food? !
The shocking news soon reached Gould Island.
Gould was so frightened that he had to tell the sad news to the wise Rurik at a dinner party and get a wise explanation.
And Rurik also knew the news early. Because it has never been a secret, there is already some trepidation on little Gould Island.
There was a ceremonial exchange of drinks, and Gould stated this fact in concern.
"That's it. It seems that there are really no farmers selling grain this year. I learned that everything is the result of a poor harvest, and they really don't want to sell grain. What do you think about this?"
What else could Rurik say? He seemed to be making a statement of fact, and his concerns were hidden in it.
"Oh? Are you worried that Olegin won't be able to get the five hundred thousand pounds of grain?"
Rurik pointed directly to the topic, and Gould nodded hurriedly: "That's half a million pounds! Even if Melalen has a large population, it will have to gather so much food in the famine years... I am really worried."
"Are you worried that the farmers won't be able to produce so much food, or are you worried that Olegin will break his promise?"
"Of course I am worried that Olegin will go back on his word. In my opinion, there is nothing he can do even if he drains his own people this year."
"That's his business, don't be too pessimistic." Rurik shrugged.
"Ah?" Gould was stunned for a moment, "I thought you would be kind..."
"What will happen?"
"Take a look at those farmers. After all, you are kind and you are friendly to the poorest of the poor."
"You are wrong." Rurik shook his finger, "Only those who are willing to submit to me will I regard them as my own people. Even humble slaves, as long as they are sincerely willing to do things for me, I can provide them with benefits. , This is my principle. I am not related to those Melalen people, so why should I care about them? Unless, they are almost starving to death, begging me to take them in, and swear to do things for me..."
"That's what you think." Gould sighed deeply, "Well, maybe at this time next year, you will add more servants."
There are some things that both Rurik and Gould understand, and the two of them now understand each other tacitly.
"Rurik, do you really believe that Olegin will fulfill his promise?"
Rurik looked strange: "You have been dealing with him for so many years, don't you feel worried about him?"
"I..." Gould wondered to himself how he could become so close to Olegin? "I'm just worried, Rurik. Among all the leaders, I only believe that you value the contract the most."
The flattery was good, Rurik chuckled and took a sip of the chrysanthemum tea: "Just believe him. Maybe he will go back on his word, at least not this year."
"Why? This year is a disaster year."
"Unless he feels that as the leader of the alliance, he can play with the Russians at will. Anyway, our alliance with each other is very fragile, and he doesn't want to lose us."
"Okay, but there are no farmers selling grain, so where will the five hundred thousand pounds we want come from? His own farmland alone cannot provide so much."
"What else can I do?" Rurik stared, and suddenly pulled out the dagger that was twisted around his waist. The buzzing sound was endless, scaring everyone present to look sideways.
"you……"
"Are you afraid? Gould? It's okay to be afraid. What method can Olegin use? This is the method!" Rurik held the dagger and stabbed it into the wooden table in front of him. This was self-evident.
How did Olegin get food? There is only one method: buying by force.
Fortunately, he is the leader and the leader of the alliance. To maintain the most basic face, he cannot simply plunder like attacking outsiders.
This is not asking for tribute from merchants. The tribute he wants is actually silver coins and copper coins. For a long time, he had no reason to collect taxes from those farmers who owned acres of land, because in normal years they could live and feed just on their own farmland, and it was still the case in famine years.
After all, Mellaren is not a city-state. It only has a prototype and has just begun to implement a tax system in the true sense.
There is no agricultural tax in Mellaren, but a commercial tax called "tribute" that is tailored to local conditions. The "tax" that has been levied now is also what Olegin calls a variant of tribute, and it is also a commercial tax.
In order to fulfill the contract, enough 500,000 pounds of grain were collected during the harvest season and handed over to the Russians. It was no longer just for the simple purpose of obtaining more than 400 pounds of silver, but also to regain the absolute support of the Russians. The Russians think they are weak, but if you believe it, you are a fool. Later, Olegin thought about it and decided that the Russians were actually very strong. Since they did not clearly show their coveting of his power, Olegin did not say anything.
In order to achieve his goal, Olegin began to carry out what he called "necessary evils".
He took a mighty move with his private army, and the people he wanted to "attack" were none other than the property-owning farmers of the same clan.
First, as the leader, he invited all the men of the tribe to hold an open meeting in an empty place.
At one time, nearly ten thousand people came!
It was really an extremely rare conference, and a large number of allied businessmen who were watching the fun also took the opportunity to join in the fun.
The tribesmen didn't know what important thing the leader said, but as expected, it was really important. The tribesmen were so angry that they stamped their feet and beat their chests.
In the final analysis, Olegin was explaining an order: "Each household must provide three hundred pounds of grain, and I will buy it at the price of fifteen pounds of silver coins. You must complete it within three days, and those who complete it will receive a reward from me." The wooden sign serves as a certificate. If you fail to give it after the due date, I will lead the troops to get it in person, and you will not get a single silver coin by then."
To put it bluntly, this is an open grab!
The powerful Melalen tribe is a giant with more than 20,000 people. The entire tribe has more than 10,000 mature men. There are three thousand small families of five or six members (a couple can have as many as they can).
In normal years, farmers don’t need to be forced at all. They often take out as much as a thousand pounds of grain to sell at the market. What does a mere three hundred pounds count?
However, this is a year of disaster, and the little food left has already plunged the entire tribe of farmers into pessimism. Unexpectedly, the leader not only refused to provide comfort, but also joined forces with the priests to emphasize in the meeting that the tribesmen must do this. .
What else can be done? After all, he is the leader of the alliance, and after all, the big families and priests support him.
After all, everyone was at the rally and saw the private soldiers raised by Olegin!
Five hundred warriors wearing leather armor and chain mail suddenly appeared. Who dared to question the authority of their leader? Really looking for death!
What else can an ordinary person do? It seems that the only way is to take out the grain obediently, squeeze out three hundred pounds from the gap between the teeth, and finally get twenty silver coins.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, sensible farmers know that if grain is really sold, fifteen pounds of wheat will cost one silver coin, which is really ridiculous. This is the leader's order. If you obey him, you can still get a sum of money. If you don't obey, the leader may not even be able to borrow wheat in the future.
In this way, Olegin's intimidation achieved satisfactory results. After the agreed time, of course, some farmers still failed to hand over the grain. The reason for their refusal was very simple: if they took out the last grain, the family would go bankrupt after the winter.
Expect Olegin to be merciful? No! He forcibly took away the grain. As for the bankruptcy of the farmers, he gave what he said was a very suitable solution to solve the worries of the bankrupt farmers - becoming serfs.
"Rurik, you Russians can make a profit, but I will never suffer a loss."
When the food that was forcibly purchased or even snatched was counted, the total amount exceeded one million pounds! And this is not counting Olegin’s own gains.
This was his plan. He delivered half a million pounds to Rurik and hoarded the remaining grain himself. As for how to use this huge amount of food, that is your own business.
For example, when farmers are hungry, they open warehouses to sell grain.
I am a forced purchaser with a silver coin of fifteen pounds. When the time comes to sell grain by myself, no matter what, I will not be able to sell it for more than ten pounds.
This was his plan, but he had not yet thought that his actions of collecting food would bring him a solid reserve of materials for his major decision a year later, and give his allies strong confidence to follow him.
