The rainy weather has finally ended, but the temperature has not yet risen.
Rurik was surprised to find that thin ice floes had appeared on the shore of Gould Island, and the fresh fish hanging outdoors had also become hard.
"Is it going to be a cold winter this year? If the lake freezes prematurely, won't I be able to walk?"
The Aurora lacks icebreaking capabilities, and other cargo ships can be even worse.
The sun has come out, and the world has begun to become dry and cold. Ice floes are a very bad omen, and there is not much time left for the Russians.
The elegant phantom of the Aurora appeared at the pier of the Mälaren Market, and her appearance once again attracted crowds of spectators.
Many people in Mellaren knew that the Russians were indeed attacking Gould because the Russians recruited troops under this banner more than two months ago.
The crusade against the Gotlanders had the same purpose of crusading against the rebels. Similarly, the second and third sons of various families, who had no right to inherit the family business, took risks and became mercenaries for the Russians.
After all, they are the children of their parents, so what happened to the people who went to war?
The Russians should have won, otherwise where did those guys get a lot of money and go door to door in the rain to hand it out?
Most of the farmers and fishermen families in Mälaren are complaining about the rainy days. The Russians bought a pound of wheat at an exaggerated price for no reason, and many Melalen people suddenly got ten silver coins. Their happiness came out of nowhere, and they didn't know what to say.
There are also families where the husband has died, and the weeping women cry even harder in ecstasy. Just because the messenger sent by the Ross people made a clear promise that the Duke of Ross cares about the soldiers of the kingdom who died in the war, and is willing to help the families of the soldiers pay off their debts, and that Ross is a suitable place to live and work in peace and contentment.
The latter promise was too vague, but the former promise was that the Russians promised to pay off their debts this month!
Public opinions are divided among the people, and they gather together to gossip when they lack entertainment. Some people say that the people of Russia are generous and the Duke of Russia is a good man. Some people say that the Russians must have some hidden agenda for doing this. There is also a group of people who are itching to wait and see everywhere. The so-called Russians are recruiting mercenaries again and they will sign up immediately.
The only thing they can be sure of is that the Russians really won, so those Melalen mercenaries after the victory may have benefited from it and will always work for the Russians. If that's the case, it's a good way out.
The people watched in horror as the huge Ross ship arrived at the port. People crowded around to watch. Then they saw the ship lowering its planks and a group of people dressed in very neat and uniform clothes got off the ship.
Just look at them!
The leading warrior has a white bear head on his head, and the bear's upper jaws and fangs shield him from the sun. This man was wearing a white bear skin that was excellent in keeping out the cold. Under the leather was a blue and white gown. A cowhide bag was tied around his waist, and a sword was hung on his body.
This man was holding a gold-trimmed Russian flag, and the ferocious beast on the top of the flag added to the aura.
Some dignitaries were guarded by similarly dressed warriors.
Someone recognized a rumored celebrity, and someone started shouting Rurik's name excitedly.
There were also people, especially women in simple clothes, who raised their hands to thank the Duke of Ross for the silver coin reward he received a few days ago.
"It seems that our actions have been very effective? They are grateful." Rurik said to Gould casually.
"Yeah? Who can refuse money. It's just adults, don't believe too much that they will just follow us for a small favor."
"I know. Haha? It's just that I enjoy this feeling. Are the people from Melalen gathered here? They are welcoming us Rus. Even the dead Olegin could not enjoy this when he was alive."
Otto listened to his son's words throughout the whole process, and he felt extremely comfortable. He liked the feeling of being welcomed along the streets very much. He was loved by the people of the Ross tribe, and now cheered for the more populous Melalen.
The entire Mälaren market fell into hilarity, and people gathered here. They came to see the Russians with a spectator mentality, and they also looked forward to more rewards from the Russians.
Sure enough, Gould, a big businessman, began to use tricks.
Gould's method caught Rurik by surprise.
The four followers of the big businessman took the cloth bags from their waists and began to throw money liberally at the welcoming people.
This move directly triggered a chaos!
"Gould, what are you doing?" Rurik was shocked. Just because these people were frantically picking up money.
"Haha, look at them! Hahaha..." Gould thought it was really fun to throw money away, and this move really left Rurik speechless.
Money Spreader kept shouting a simple sentence, repeating loudly without listening: "This is a gift from the Duke of Ross!"
Rurik was stunned: "Gould, do you deserve to spend so much money?"
"It's just some copper coins. Copper coins are no longer valuable to us? They are still useful to them."
"Copper coins? Okay then..."
Rurik didn't want to say anything else. After all, Gould had good intentions when he did this. If you betray your tribe and join others just because of a small favor? That is pure despicability without a bottom line.
The people of Mälaren who picked up money just needed money.
Who benefits from creating a stampede? Of course he is still a Russian.
No, the actions of the Ross people quickly reached Karl's ears.
"Russian!" Karl once vented his anger to a wife and concubine. As a result, the woman couldn't stand up for several days.
Now, Carne has deflated a small golden cup.
"Russians! Do you think you are your king? Rurik? You brat is so arrogant! You are humiliating me!"
Are the Russians showing their domineering power? Do their overlords have the confidence? After all, the great city of Visby in Gotland was destroyed by the Russian army.
Now back in his hometown, Karl cannot quickly organize a powerful private army that obeys his orders, and those big families who are greedy for power are ready to make a move. He was troubled by domestic affairs, and now the Russians came to do big things.
In order to raise food, Carl took it upon himself to do necessary evils. He is not a pure fool and knows that this move hurts people's feelings. However, in order to avenge his father and maintain the king's face, he had no choice but to make this move.
What else could Carl do? He could only suppress his anger and jealousy in his heart, seal up his former arrogance, and put on a smile to welcome the extremely arrogant Duke of Ross.
The wooden wall erected is like a fence, and Carl's mansion is here.
Rurik raised his head slightly and signaled his soldiers to ignore the fearful guard at the door and break through the door directly with brute force.
Of course, etiquette is required when facing a strong person. Rurik doesn't think that Karl today is any lighter. He doesn't even get the love of the people of Mellaren and can only shrink into his shell like a turtle.
The guard guarding the door wanted to say a few words, but he was pushed down by the arrogant Russians wearing bearskin, and the short spear he held fell to the mud.
The wooden door was opened easily, and the open door seemed to welcome its real owner.
"Let's go, Dad." Rurik said casually.
Otto was startled: "Are we being a little too outrageous in doing this?"
"I think my brother did a good job." Aric raised his chin arrogantly, "Karl? You tried to duel with me, but I easily pushed him to the ground. I don't recognize this kind of person as a king."
"That's what it is. We still want more benefits, and we will need this person in the future." Rurik said nothing more and urged everyone to enter.
The noise outside really made Karl sit on pins and needles while sitting in the dark inner courtyard.
Exactly a year ago, my father Olegin had his first consultation with Rurik here in Rus, and a year later Rurik came again. And he, Karl, needs to repay the huge debt he owes to his father!
He borrowed four hundred pounds of silver coins to make excellent weapons for the expeditionary army. The invasion was defeated, and all personnel and weapons were lost.
Even so, the defeat had nothing to do with the fact of borrowing money. He had to use food to pay the full principal and 100% interest.
The Russians appeared in the darkness with arrogant steps, but the first thing that caught Karl's eyes was the ferocious bear's head.
"Ah! Bears! Bears!"
Karl and the attendants and slave girls around him were so frightened that they retreated one after another. Their panicked faces were clearly illuminated by the bonfire.
"What? Are you afraid of bears?"
Rurik walked out of the darkness. He was now short in stature and thin in stature. Under the protection of a group of warriors wearing bearskin, he looked heroic.
"Ah, it turns out it's you. The Russians..." Carl gritted his teeth, hurriedly sat down on the original leather cushion, and finally straightened his golden crown.
Rurik and others immediately sat down. The Duke of Ross and the elite nobles were all here, but poor Karl was alone.
Poor Karl, until now he didn't have a staff to support him and make suggestions. All the former elite mercenary leaders died in the war. He was a pure loner and could only face the aggressive Russians alone.
Karl pretended to be tough: "You have made my market really noisy. My people told me that you are throwing money everywhere and causing chaos."
"Indeed." Rurik shrugged nonchalantly: "So what? Does your law here prohibit businessmen from spending money for fun?"
"You!" Karl was speechless for a moment. He thought for a while and then muttered: "Since you are very rich, why do you still ask me for food? You clearly know that after doing this, my people will complain."
"Really? You are the leader of the Mellaren people. What does their good life have to do with me, the Rus? I only focus on wheat. Now, have you prepared all the wheat?"
"Maizi? No!" Karl refused in an angry manner. Just from looking at this man's face, Rurik had already guessed that he did not dare to betray.
Arik couldn't see this layer for a moment, so he suddenly drew his sword: "Okay, Karl! I already knew you would do this. Then let's go to war, I will kill you now."
"Then kill it! If you kill me, you will kill the king. Those big families will be happy for you to do this, so that they can choose a new king. If you kill the king, you will betray the entire Sweden, just like betraying an alliance. Gotlanders. All the tribes will unite to conquer you! You will never get food again!"
"You think I don't dare?!" Arik gritted his teeth and his eyes were as wide as bells. Even the hand holding the sword kept trembling, just trembling.
Rurik had a sullen face, cursing in his mind why his cousin was so impulsive. However, I didn't expect that Karl would actually act like he was not stingy.
"I... we Rus people still recognize your king." Rurik tried his best to remain calm: "As my cousin said, if you don't give us food, the natural result will be your death. The fact is not only Therefore, your betrayal will bring destruction to your family. The question now is, whoever provides us with 800,000 pounds of wheat, we will recognize who is the king. After all, the payment for those weapons was sold to the Malaren people , the Melalen people launched an expedition, and we only do business with those who keep their promises. If those great families are willing, we can ask them to choose someone to recognize him as the king."
"absurd!"
"It's not ridiculous. A man named Bjorn came to me and hoped that we would recognize his power. I refused because what he promised was too little, not as much as your father promised." Rick said this deliberately, with a calm face as if everything was normal.
But to Karl, it sounded like a thunderbolt from the blue!
How did Karl not know about Bjorn? This person seems to have no ambitions, but he is just an inconspicuous person among the big land families. This person actually has the ambition to become a king?
Carl clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bleed.
Who are the potential rebels? Who is ready to make a move? ! In his rage, Karl did not even consider the question, how did the Rus know these things?
Now it is actually the Ross people who have pointed out the mastermind among the Melalen people.
Seeing that Karl was as angry as an inflated pufferfish, Rurik remained calm and continued to provoke: "In Visby, you put the blame for the defeat on us Russians who did not go south to support us. This is ridiculous! We Defeating the Gotlanders will prevent you from being attacked from both sides. Your Melalen tribe has a population of more than 20,000! Why are there only 1,500 people on the expedition? Why are all your private soldiers sent out? Why are those big families who own a lot of land Are you watching a show? They just want your family to be defeated and replaced. They have no lofty goals at all regarding the interests of the Kingdom of Sweden. All they value is your family’s property and slaves!”
With such a blow, Karl woke up as if from a dream.
In an instant, Karl suddenly no longer felt that the face of Rurik in front of him was abominable. If it weren't for this person's decryption, I would still be in the dark, and I might not know when he was killed by the rebellious family.
"It is precisely because you are the king that I tell you these things. What does the grudge between you and us mean? If those guys succeed, who will avenge the hatred of defeat? Remember, your family was defeated and you ruled The legality of it is controversial. Any resistance you have now will only bring death. We Russians do not want to kill you. If you refuse to hand over the food today, I can only be a bad person and support that Bjorn again. "
"Okay!" Karl stopped evading, and his inner defense completely collapsed.
The most dangerous enemies turned out not to be the Danes, nor the Russians, but the careerists within the tribe.
There was nothing more to say. Karl claimed that he would immediately arrive at his granary with a group of Russians. He would first show off a huge amount of new wheat, and then immediately send people to move it.
But Rurik did not finish his words.
"One more thing. Karl, the Melalen tribe suffered great losses. Hundreds of farmers died. They went out to the war just to get the spoils after victory to repay their debts. You did not give them any compensation. According to our custom According to the law, their wives and children will become your debt slaves."
"That's right. You...can't say this is wrong?"
"It's not a mistake, it's just too cruel to those who died in the battle."
"what do you want?"
"Sell it to me."
When it came to this matter, Karl immediately thought about it. He clutched his beard and thought about it, feeling that there was something profitable in it. "Do you need those women and children? Or do you need the farmland and the houses they own?"
"Just women and children, I don't want anything else."
"This is your style. I all know that you Russians have been getting slaves from our tribe and transporting them away, as if the Norwegian slave market was opened just for you. You took away all the dirty beggars, and I and My dead father was supportive. But you have to take away those women and children..."
"Tell me your terms."
"You have to pay more."
In the end, Karl couldn't answer what Rurik expected: "Money is not a problem. I can pay double the slave price, and I will directly give you the best Frank silver coins."
"All debt slaves, together with the debt principal and interest they owe. Will you pay them?" Karl has straightened his head.
"Of course. We came prepared, but we brought a lot of money."
"Then let's make a deal!"
The fortunes of Visby were wiped out by the Rus and they became very rich, as Karl knew very well. His attempt to extort some wealth as a king finally gave up. Now selling debt slaves has become a way to make money, which really surprised him.
The negotiations quickly yielded excellent results.
In the next three days, more than four hundred Rus warriors wearing gorgeous and heroic clothes landed at the Melalen Market and the core area of the Melalen tribe.
Rus warriors showed off their prowess here, supervising the slaves of the Carl family to transport a large number of sacks full of new oats to the dock.
There is an endless stream of long boats on the lake, they are fighting for food, and a huge amount of wheat is on Gould Island.
More supplies arrived on the island, a large amount of vegetables, mainly onions and yellow-rooted carrots, and a small amount of cabbage. The ships of the big landowning families are also constantly transporting to Gould Island. They unload the food and get enough good-quality silver coins as soon as possible to go home happily...
There are more than 500 women and children, they are all the debt slaves of the Karl family. The Russians helped them pay off their debts and arrived at Gould Island alone.
Reminiscent of the promise made by the Russians many days ago, they originally had the idea of immigrating, but they did not expect that the promise of the Russians had been implemented. This is far from happy. The child hugged her mother tightly, looking confused about the unknown future.
There are also more than a hundred men from Melalen, most of whom have immature faces. The younger sons in these families are destined to be unable to inherit the family business and find it difficult to marry within the tribe. Their destiny seems to be to work as mercenaries for big families, or to find ways to go out and make a living. Since they were all mercenaries, the Ross people promised more commissions, so these people came to Gould Island.
It was already the fourteenth day of October in the Julian calendar, and large areas of floating ice began to appear on the lake!
Only when the lake is generally calm can a large amount of thin ice be allowed to appear. It was already a signal of extreme danger, indicating that the huge Russian fleet would not be able to escape unless they evacuated.
The return time has been determined, October 16th, and the plan is to return to Roseburg before October 20th.
The night before departure, the entire Gould Island finally fell into peace.
All the preparations have been completed, and the new mercenaries who have defected and the debt slaves they bought, like most of the Ross warriors, are recuperating in a warm place.
Rurik was still holding a fish bone under his maid's post and picking a molar of a deciduous tooth that was about to fall out.
The Russians imported another batch of ale packed in oak barrels, all of which were distilled into spirits.
Otto happily drank several large glasses of wine, and suddenly spoke harshly while being tipsy, accusing his son of his wrongdoings. "Rurik, you...you shouldn't have told Karl about Bjorn."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"I think it's unwise. Tell me! Why...why."
"Let them fight among themselves! Let Karl and Bjorn or others fight among themselves. Dad, we don't need a king who tells us what to do. The powerful Melalen tribe must perish. Let those families blame each other, and we Just come and do business every year. Just..."
Otto was slightly drunk and his mind was still clear. He admired his son's ability to provoke conflicts, and then he laughed stupidly: "What else do you have in mind?"
"This year we imported an unprecedented 1.8 million pounds of wheat in this area. I calculated that it is enough for our tribe to eat for more than half a year without production."
"This is a good thing."
"It's not a good thing. This means that we will be dependent on the food output of the Melalen tribe, and our people will really have no production. Once the Melalen people encounter natural disasters and they suffer from famine, we will also suffer from famine. There will be many People's life is difficult. So I still want to actively develop the East. This year we have gained a large number of people. Next spring, we will transport them all to the East. We will give them farm tools to open up wasteland, and we will collect the taxes they pay. When we If you cultivate enough land, you can eat wheat every day.”
Otto couldn't think about that much, or he couldn't think of the wonderful scene that Rurik had sketched. He only knew one word to describe such beauty.
"It's so beautiful, like Asgard?"
"Yes, Asgard in the human world. Do what I say and it will come true in a few years."
"Then it's up to you." Just say that, a great body lay down, and then there were bursts of snoring.
"Okay! Okay..." Rurik was speechless. He gently pinched the two Slavic maids who continued to be devoted and affectionate: "Anna, Bella, your hometown will be my human Asgard in the future. .”
