This is actually a big city in the far north!
Eskil, he originally thought that the Birka Market in Mälaren was already the largest city in the north.
Reims, Hamburg and Bremen, these important Frankish cities, were densely populated and all had wooden walls.
A city with a population of tens of thousands, or even five thousand, is densely populated in his mind.
Although in Birka of Mälaren, the locals have barbaric beliefs and even kill people as sacrifices. He couldn't deny that in terms of population alone, it was already a big city.
What can you learn by going to the far north home of the Russians? Can Rurik, who is interested in holy faith, be converted into a saint? Even if that's not realistic, are there potential lambs for the locals?
But Fort Ross stands on the waterfront below the hills.
Tall wooden walls, as well as the duke's palace as high as a hill, and even the altar and granary enclosed by the wall. The densely and compactly arranged piers and piers have an astonishing number of ships arranged in an orderly manner.
Especially for the returning large ships loaded with various materials, he saw the Russians using a combination of levers and net bags to quickly unload the materials on the ship. They either shouldered or pushed the two-wheeled trolley to move the materials to the warehouse.
This is Roseburg! The agate of the north!
When he landed, he was shocked to see smoke continuing to billow from one side.
what is that? Are you afraid there was a fire? But it doesn’t look like it.
When he first came to Ross, Eskil received courtesy from Rurik, and the old guy was very smart to keep a low profile. The important matter of spreading the sacred faith must be dealt with according to the situation. If the Duke is disgusted, he may be in danger of losing his life.
Here he and his two followers enjoyed a small but warm room, where they could wipe themselves clean with floral-scented soap, take a hot bath in a bucket, and even descend into hell. In a normal sauna.
He resisted at first, thinking it was a devil's lair! However, once you accept the feeling of being surrounded by thousands of steam, it is really refreshing.
He originally wanted to have a good chat with the Duke early and take the opportunity to reveal his intention to stay at Ross Cap Abbey, but the Duke did not summon him and he was allowed to observe the entire Ross on the waiting day.
Maybe that's a good thing too.
One clear morning, a slave girl came to Esquier's current residence carrying a wooden box.
Compared with the past few days when he didn't get food until close to noon, today's situation really surprised him.
What surprised him even more was that it was a woman.
He wanted to avoid it, so he sent the little priest accompanying him to get the meal.
After a while, the little priest hurried back to the dormitory.
"Padar, the woman who delivers the food, she..."
"What's wrong?" Eskil pretended to be angry and put on a serious face, "Take out the wheat quickly. You know, I like this very much now."
"It's...that woman. That's a pious lamb."
"Alas?"
Now Eskil jumped up, "Quick! Let her in!"
The woman who delivered the meal knelt down as soon as she entered the room. Her heart was beating wildly and her whole body was shaking. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her trembling hands placed the wooden box filled with wheat rice on the ground.
"Padar, even here we have not forgotten our faith. You are here, this must be God hearing our prayers."
Eskil saw the cross on the woman's chest at a glance. The accent sounds like Saxon? It seems not.
wrong! This woman also has this orange hair.
"Get up! My child, you understand my language."
The woman stood up in panic: "Padar, I want to confess to you."
"Here? That's not appropriate. Confession is in the monastery."
"Ah! a monastery. Yes! We have a monastery."
The monastery, pronounced "Christini" in the entire European context, originally meant a temple.
This word was like a thunderbolt that struck his head.
"A monastery? There is a monastery in Ross! Quick! Take me there!"
"But Padar, your meal."
"Go to the monastery!" Eskil revealed again with high spirits, tears welling up on his furrowed face, "I didn't know that the leader of Ross had approved a monastery. Which friend came here to spread the news sacred……"
He took his entourage, led by this woman, and went straight to the prayer room of the Britton servant in Rurik.
And all this was Rurik's instruction.
Rurik even arranged for his servants to deliver meals, while he himself stood on the third floor of the palace, watching what Eskil did not far away. Everything is under Rurik's control.
Esquier hurried to the servants' prayer room, where ten people had gathered.
They are all women, their hair color may be blond or red, which shows the surprise of their ethnic groups, but they are all lambs.
Eskil came, and the arrival of a black-robed high priest shocked them to ecstasy.
They knelt down and begged the Archpriest to say a mass immediately, and then listened to everyone's confession.
"Get up, children. You have not forgotten your sacred faith in this far north. You are all the most pious."
That's all, he asked the little priest to take out the manuscript gospel that he was bound to carry.
This wooden house is small and simple, but the sacred faith also requires that devout people should not indulge in the glitz of the world, and devout people should live a simple life.
It would be good if the monastery is decorated with gold and silver, but even if it is a humble room, there is no problem.
The meaning of this cabin goes far beyond itself! Although it is very small and leaky, and even the cross is made of simple wooden strips, it is still a monastery.
Esquier immediately started his work, held a mass unexpectedly, and then listened attentively to the confessions of the imprisoned believers.
When he finished these tasks, the wheat rice had already turned cold.
As if their souls had been purified, these bought slaves began their noon work again...
The cabin became cool, and Eskil ate his cold meal and stood outside, looking up to the sky and sighing.
"What else can I ask for, Duke of Ross? There is clearly a monastery here! Rurik, no wonder you are interested in our sacred faith..."
"Padar, but this is just a simple wooden house." said one of the attendants.
"It's a cabin, that's enough. The monastery needs a priest. You, John, stay here."
"Me?" The young servant was shocked, "This is a wild land."
"Yes, and no. Child..." Eskil touched the back of the boy's neck affectionately, and the boy trembled subconsciously.
"Padar, do you want to be in a place like this..."
"God will not dwell on such things. This is our secret, and it is time to end it. I love you, so you stay here. The future priest of the Ross diocese."
Young John has mixed feelings, because he was originally a lowly slave waiting to be sold in the market of Hedeby, and was spotted by Esquier because of his good looks.
Eskil had many servants, and he deliberately trained the slaves he bought to become preachers. These little Saxon or Dane believers should be the ones with the strongest will.
But John, who was given a Christian name, was most moved by the fact that he could eat enough food. As time went on, his inner ambition also sprouted.
He was even willing to be a "rabbit" so that he could become a bishop by being loved and loved by Eskil, the future archbishop of a certain place. A slave becomes a master! He was willing to lift his robe and do whatever Eskil wanted.
But to open up wasteland in this barbaric land?
John didn't say no, maybe this was fate.
As a result of the morning's adventure, Eskil strategized his future actions.
"Maybe compared to Birka, Rossburg can become a holy place in the north. The Russians are good at architecture. If I finally influence Rurik, Duke of Ross, will he build a magnificent monastery for me?"
But the summons from Duke Ross had not come yet, and he did not dare to barge in to ask for an audience. Moreover, the monastery existed in reality, and he had no particularly urgent needs.
Armed with a wooden staff, Eskil began wandering throughout Fort Ross.
He walked to Ross's altar and saw the golden god standing inside from a distance, subconsciously thinking that it was gold.
In fact, it is indeed gold, and all the statues are plated with a very thin layer of gold.
He saw a large gathering of the people of Rus at the open altar. They lined up as much as possible under the management of the warriors, and saw them holding silver and copper coins, stuffing them into a wooden box under the gaze of the girl priest, and hurriedly entered the altar after hearing the jingling sound.
Believers in Rus knelt down and worshiped their gods, or prayed with their hands clenched and eyes closed, or even raised their hands in the air and made strange movements.
"This is useless witchcraft. What's the point of worshiping false gods..." Eskil muttered secretly and slapped John on the back, "Child, you have to make them give up this barbaric behavior. They are all lambs. All can be influenced.”
John nodded, "I will."
Will it happen? John didn't have any confidence in his heart, and was even very afraid.
Another day, Esquier and his entourage were awakened by the noise. They went to investigate and were surprised to see the Rus people starting to gather again.
It had been many days since I had seen Rurik and his face that was more handsome than a noble lady. Seeing Rurik again, this kid is standing with his father, the real Duke of Ross, and there are large fields of wheat at their feet!
"Are you actually selling wheat?"
I saw the Russians lined up in pairs again with the soldiers maintaining order. Carrying wooden boxes or linen bags, they walked to the big scale with their money and traded wheat from the duke's hand.
And this kind of wheat trading behavior? Unheard of!
It seemed like all the men in Roseburg had come, including women.
Of course, there were also noisy people and queue jumpers, but these people were pulled aside by soldiers maintaining order, and then dragged to the end of the queue.
The noisy business of trading grain lasted all day.
It wasn't until evening that Eskil understood the Duke of Ross's intentions - to be as fair as possible.
"Rurik, could it be that you are already using the Bible as a standard to learn what kindness and fairness are? If your principality fully accepts our faith, I am afraid that the Pope will canonize you as a saint in the north."
The Rus have a market that is not inferior to that of Birka. It is located in the easternmost area of the city, near the sea.
A large number of merchants and fishermen were selling their products, mostly fish and seal meat, and even a very small amount of live chickens.
He wandered around the market with great interest, comparing what he had seen in Birka.
Food, charcoal blocks, ironware, woodware, pottery, cloth, animal skins, wooden crafts, and even finished clothes are also sold here.
There is also crystalware! There are also weird crystals placed over the eyes!
There are people selling gemstones and colored crystals.
What shocked him most was that these were extremely expensive items that many Russians seemed to be able to afford.
But the biggest difference here, and what moved him the most, was that there were no slaves for sale in the Duke's market.
The market is lively and bustling, obviously more prosperous than Birka!
It was another new day, and driven by strong curiosity, Eskil decided to go to the "Land of Eternal Smoke".
It was what he saw at the market yesterday. He heard that the iron ax here was as cheap as only five silver coins.
Of course, this price is in Frankfurt, such as Reims, where I started. It is difficult for an ordinary farmer to spend five silver coins to buy an axe, but the local blacksmith also gets ten silver coins to sell an axe!
An ax costs five silver coins, which is more expensive than the one at Birka Market, but the goods are different.
The Russians' iron axes are more expensive and use more materials! When it comes to logging, obviously a larger ax blade is better.
Eskil bought one with a lot of money, and he had his servant John make a new wooden cross with this attack. Just when it was used, the excellence of this ax was shocking.
Now, Eskil has arrived at the "Smoke Place" in the northeast of the city.
Compared to other areas, it is really warm here.
He saw the strong men with bare backs covered with sweat. They were carrying ore, standing on a high platform, and throwing it into the blazing furnace. Someone else carried the framed black charcoal, walked up to the high platform and threw it in.
Eskil is a man of action, himself an old missionary who has traveled far and wide. If those lords were not easily influenced, he would go deep into the people and preach among farmers, shepherds and blacksmiths.
He knew how the blacksmiths smelted iron, but the strange smelting method among the Russians puzzled him.
"Padar, the heat of purgatory is here. It's really scary. Those who are carrying materials will fall if they accidentally fall..."
"John, stop talking."
"I want to be here..."
"This is your fate." Because of his nervousness, Eskil strangled John's neck with great force.
Suddenly, several men roared loudly, and Youbian used an iron rod to open the hole in the giant furnace, and a strange red substance slowly flowed. The strong man who was ready poured water on it, and the red stuff turned black and disintegrated in the steam, and was shoveled away.
After a while, the strong man roared again.
At this moment, Eskil was surprised to see that the "water", which was yellow, bright, hot and absolutely deadly like flowing water, began to be accurately poured into the pottery box.
"What's that?" John asked.
"I don't know, but we'll find out soon."
Eskil is a good observer, he sees and then understands everything.
Although it is incredible, Ross's blacksmith used a giant furnace to turn unburnable iron ore into molten iron.
They were casting axes, shovels this way.
Esquier did not continue to look at it, even though there were obviously other stoves. He was afraid he would be deported or arrested for spying on something he shouldn't have seen.
He left in a hurry and sat in his room, sometimes praising and sometimes sighing.
He said to himself, "I have traveled to many lords' territories, but I didn't know that the Rus people were so powerful. I didn't even know that they existed before."
"Padar, can they really be influenced?" John's eyes were full of fear, obviously frightened by the pillar of fire spewed out by Gaul.
"You will succeed. Ah... I just don't know when Duke Ross will summon me."
Observing the industrial area of the Russian "Carbon and Iron Complex", Eskil felt for the first time the power of industry.
The next day, he rushed to the largest shipbuilding base in Russia and saw from a distance the hull of a large ship that had been completed in the indoor dock.
Just the matter of building a ship changed his perception that he could build a ship.
The Rus are able to produce iron tools and build huge ships. Their cities are well-ordered and they produce strange things. Their leaders are very wealthy. They are very orderly, and their leaders are kind and fair to the people.
"Ah! If a cross is installed on the top of the Duke's palace, if the diagonal blue stripes of the Russian flag turn into a blue cross, if the Russians tear down the altar and build a cross on the foundation, then it will be perfect, it will be the great tower of the north. Les Salaam…”
Finally, on the tenth day after arriving at Fort Ross, Eskil finally received a summons from Rurik.
The reason why he was left alone for ten days was because of Rurik's arrangement. Eskil has been under surveillance these days. Rurik knows where he went, what he saw, and what he did.
Now, this old missionary, who has traveled almost throughout Denmark, should be able to understand the strong power and potential of the Rus.
He will definitely spread his knowledge to others in Frank.
With understanding, there are possible trade prospects, Russians can be sent to collect intelligence, and possible future military operations can be planned.
And this is Rurik's ultimate goal. So much for flexing muscles.
