Regardless of whether the Danish leader Hafgen was indeed buried in the sea, Rurik can be sure that this man's political life has ended.
There is a power vacuum in Denmark, and someone must step forward like a vulture to seize Hafgen's legacy.
Horik, Count of Friesland? A Dane who surrendered to the Franks? The nephew of the expelled former Danish leader? This person established a virtual "Viking Zone" in the Frankish Kingdom?
Others may find this strange when they hear this, but Rurik knows about the Danish French District in Britain and the Norman Dukedom in France.
He is not a witness to history, but a promoter of history.
There are also heroes emerging in this sea area who are writing the heroic era of Beihai.
If we don’t build ships, how can we fight this war?
The plan to build a fleet is brewing in Rurik's mind. There is a heavy snowstorm outside. While studying Latin, he has already figured out the preliminary lineup of the fleet.
And this is just like waiting for the wind and snow to subside, then personally finding the shipbuilding expert Huotra and submitting a new order.
Almost every year, the real start of winter in Ross begins with a snowstorm.
This year, it started with light snow and eventually turned into a snow disaster.
This year is indeed different from previous years. Pine wood is stacked to form a wall that wraps the entire Roseburg. The bottom is also reinforced with sand and gravel, and the hardened cement laid makes the wall more transparent.
It has become an excellent barrier to protect the people. Fewer snowflakes enter the wall. The people hide in warm wooden houses and find psychological comfort.
The snow lasted for more than two weeks, from flurries to blizzards and then to a return to calm.
The wind and snow swept away the world. People got out of their houses, breathed in the clear and cold air under the winter sun, and immediately began to use the tools in their hands to clear the snow.
Rurik's towering palace has become a real ice fortress in the world of ice and snow. Standing on the third floor, he can overlook the frozen sea, as well as the rows of sleepy piers and sandy beaches. Ships on the ice.
The winter life of the Russians has begun!
Unlike other Viking tribes who generally live at home and survive the cold winter like marmots, the Rus are even looking forward to the cold winter in these years.
Winter is indeed dangerous, but special needs give rise to special economic benefits.
Who would work in the winter if it wasn't profitable?
The men of Rus, and even a large number of women, were busy working during the winter to earn wages.
Going to the north for hunting is no longer a huge risk. Ironburg is already a great and staunch northern fortress, and the emerging Fiskburg is a new stronghold that is expected to expand, even the most northern one, standing on the sea at the end of the north. Murmansk, are all included in the construction plan.
Rurik's abundant funds encouraged the people of Russia to work. When people got money, they bought food, clothes, and daily necessities.
The core of the Principality of Rus is already an economy with strong domestic demand in the Baltic Sea, and it is still on the road to expansion.
The snow had stopped, and in the first-floor meeting room of the palace, Rurik held a principality meeting.
This meeting provides guidance on life this winter.
First, organize an expedition team of 100 people. According to the map and written description provided by Rurik, start from Fisk Castle (Rovaniemi) on the shore of the frozen lake, ride a reindeer sleigh along the glacier, and then Arriving in Murmansk under the guidance of the deer herder who served Rus, he immediately established a permanent base to obtain local leather resources.
Second, use winter to mobilize tribal men and women as usual. Men cut trees and hunt in winter, while women boil seal oil and make soap, etc.
Third, provide welfare subsidies of ten pounds of oats and a one-pound bar of soap to all women with children every month (Rurik cannot reward too much)
Fourth, build new ships, and at least complete the Four-Four Plan of four large and four small ships within a short period of time.
Rurik was the most powerful duke and the wealthiest man, and he also had a sacred status.
Of course, the people working for him are not all because of their divine status, because Rurik really gives money, and everyone can really get a lot of food. As long as they work for the Duke, they can get good benefits. Who would be lazy?
Rurik paid people to cut down trees in order to build ships.
The time was ripe, and he took his cronies straight to the Hotla family's shipbuilding factory.
Take a look here! Huge wooden buildings form an indoor dock, allowing construction to take place rain or shine.
This construction method is actually an innovation, and its significance is no less than the "Keel Revolution" launched in this sea area 80 years ago.
In other words, even if Rurik does not exist, the shipbuilding industry in the northern Baltic Sea will eventually change the entire world. This is the general trend.
It's just that they haven't built a dry dock yet, but fortunately the big ship they built is not that heavy.
They only built the hull, and after the key parts were built, they took it outdoors. With the help of wooden scaffolding, they successfully installed the tall mast.
When Rurik arrived, the hulls of two new large ships of the same class as the Aurora had been built and were waiting for the hard and tall spruce wood from the north to arrive this winter. The mast must come from the ice fields in the north. Compared with the summer, the frozen sea is the best way. A large number of reindeer can pull the mast wood, so-called transporting the logs like a semi-trailer, and arrive in Roseburg for the final assembly.
The large wooden door was opened, and workers were busy cutting and polishing wood, transporting and installing ship materials, and applying waterproofing rosin.
Some female workers were wearing headscarves, squatting on the ground and working together to sew a huge canvas.
Rurik arrived unexpectedly, and after hearing the news, Hotla hurried over.
"Sir, you are finally here. Take a look at the hulls of these two large ships. We are doing the final work. When those giant logs arrive, it is time to install the masts."
"I want to go up quietly." Rurik pointed to the bow of the ship casually.
After a while, Rurik climbed onto the carpentry scaffolding and stood on the bow deck. The feeling of standing was exactly the same as standing on the Aurora.
There is an old man named Huotra. Since he has been here for a few years, his family and accompanying friends have naturally formed a community of interests. They did not have such an intensive construction plan in Mälaren, and they could not make a lot of money from it. Now they employ some men in Roseburg to do the tedious and critical carpentry work.
Hotra leaned on crutches and stood on solid ground looking up at his sponsor.
"My lord, how do you feel?"
"Everything is fine. It's just..." Rurik paused for breath. He was already standing at a very high position. Standing here, he could clearly see the structure of the entire indoor dock and estimate its size.
He got off the hull and had no intention of accepting the hospitality of the Hotla family. He said bluntly: "Assemble your most capable craftsmen. I! I want to announce something extremely important."
Huotra patted his forehead and knew that a new ship must be built, which was a good thing. It meant that the brothers could continue to make wealth, their lives would become better, and the family's influence would also increase.
As many as twenty craftsmen gathered around Rurik. The strong man among them was shirtless and had some scary hair on his chest, while the young craftsman was still wearing a linen shirt, and his rolled-up sleeves no longer covered his muscles.
"Huh? Hotla, I remember that the best ones were ten people. What? Your team has expanded?"
Hotla laughed and patted several people on the shoulders casually: "I have been in Ross for two years. This is my younger son, and he has become a good craftsman now. You can be sure that we are very powerful now. . Lo and behold, in just one summer, the hulls of the two ships were completed."
"You mean, with your two indoor docks, you can build two ships in half a year?"
Hotla didn't mean this purely. When asked this question, knowing that the opportunity was rare, he immediately tightened his mouth and affirmed: "Yes, that's exactly the case."
"Oh, that means as long as there are enough materials, you alone can build four large ships a year."
"There are enough materials, and if we hire more people, we will... indeed."
In fact, Rurik noticed that Hotela was a little timid, but it didn't matter.
He clapped his hands and asked everyone to find a dry place, spread out leather and talk there.
They tried their best to suppress the ecstasy in their hearts. Based on the information Rurik just revealed, everyone speculated that maybe the rich Duke of Ross was going to take out four orders in one go? The cost of all this is not even a thousand pounds of silver coins? Now, everyone knows that the young Duke of Ross in front of them has excellent moral character, pays attention to contracts, never defaults on the deposit balance, and is generous with his money. Of all the clients, this gentleman is undoubtedly the most generous and decisive.
Rurik's request really hit their hearts like a rocket.
"I! Plan to build eight ships as soon as possible! These eight ships will be based on my actual needs and will no longer be the big ships you know. They are still larger than ordinary cargo ships, but they are not real cargo ships and will not be used unless necessary. Carry out cargo ship duties.”
Having said this briefly, Hotla was a little confused: "Sir, what kind of ship is this?"
"The keel is reduced to 20 stikas, the maximum height of the hull is reduced by 1 stika, and the width is reduced by 2 stikas."
Hotela closed his eyes. As a lifelong old shipbuilder, he closed his eyes and started 3D modeling in his mind, and he immediately made up the approximate appearance of the new ship.
"Ah! In this case, the ship will be slender. I know that the ship you require must have a deck and a forecastle and stern."
"No." Rurik raised his right hand to indicate: "This new ship does not need a forecastle. You have noticed that what I actually want is a ship that is slender and lighter than a large ship. I want it to have a tilting ship A bowmast, a central mainmast, that's enough."
"Then the stern..."
Before he could say this, Rurik actually burst into laughter. He said proudly: "For these eight ships, I will adopt a brand-new technology, which you have never seen before."
"What kind of technology is it?" Hotela probed his head warily, as did everyone else.
"It's a whole new paddle."
"Oars? Haven't you given up paddling and asked us to switch to sails?"
"That's not entirely true." Rurik shook his head, "Russ is the oar, and our principality has the best oars. Now my Duke, I should let Ross's oars flourish. I invented a brand new oar, that It’s a paddle like a spinning conch shell.”
"What...what is this? A paddle?"
Rurik was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Hortra had a puzzled expression. Looking at the others, could it be that they didn't understand propeller technology?
Propeller propulsion technology is essentially an excellent technology derived from divergent research on the "Archimedean propeller pump".
He added: "It is a wooden pole inserted into the water at an angle from the hull. There are specially installed paddles on the wooden pole. The wooden pole drives the paddle to rotate and can propel the entire boat. And our people Standing on the stern of the ship, I kept stepping on the wooden plank to rotate the gear and let the wooden pole follow."
Since it was something they had never seen before, it was difficult for them to associate it with the real thing.
But these men all understood the importance of bronze gears to ships.
The Avora has extremely strong maneuverability, not because of her wonderful triangular sail, but because of the rudder on her stern that extends from the stern of the ship into the sea. She can make short turns and other highly maneuverable maneuvers, which are difficult for traditional rowing long boats to do.
Under the current situation, it is difficult to let them understand what a ship's propeller propulsion system is with just one mouth, but new technologies must be embodied in new ships.
The atmosphere was a little awkward, and Rurik cleared his throat again.
"I am definitely not doing it on a whim. You don't know new technologies, so I will teach you. I will work with the blacksmith to create the corresponding materials, and I will also be with you in the days to come to guide you in building new ships."
"Oh! That's great." Hotla asked eloquently: "So, can you tell us what are the results of using the new technology?"
Rurik shrugged: "You are still doubting. That's okay. The result is that from now on, our ship can move forward in windless waters, and can enter and leave the port more smoothly, and no one can see anyone paddling. I felt that the ship was still moving forward even though its sails were furled, so it must have received the power of God.”
It sounds absolutely wonderful.
But this is not the most important purpose of Rurik's trip.
He cleared his throat again, pinched his fingers and said: "The eight new ships are larger than the cargo ship and smaller than the Aurora. They need to be built quickly. I have even thought of the names of the ships."
"What's the name?" Hotla asked again.
"Don't worry yet. You have completed these eight ships, and there are still four large ships like Afrola to be built. I have already made plans! Your indoor docks are very large, and each of them can build two ships. This winter, you must Four ships can be built, and there will be four ships tomorrow summer."
"This...sir..." Huotra coughed twice to show that he had something to say.
Rurik speculated: "Do you think my requirements are too high?"
"No. Sir. Actually..." Hotla looked around, and after seeing the eyes of the brothers, he raised his aging chest: "As long as you give enough money and the supply of materials is smooth, we can make all this this winter. Eight ships were built.”
"Are you sure? I don't want this to be bragging."
"We're not going to brag."
Things seemed to far exceed his expectations, and Rurik simply became bold: "Well, next summer and next winter, build four more large ships. In this way, we in Russia will have eight large ships and eight medium-sized ships. I have already thought about it. Okay, the big ships are called cruisers (fast ships), and the smaller ones are called destroyers (as the name suggests). This year is already at the end of 832. By the spring of 834, I want to see these sixteen warships! Don’t worry, Money was never an issue, I just wanted to get the big boat as soon as possible.”
The craftsmen immediately started talking among themselves, and Rurik thought they would spend some time discussing it. After all, this was a big project.
Unexpectedly, their decisiveness was as fast as the blink of an eye.
Hotra gave a serious answer on behalf of all the craftsmen: "We completely agreed and even agreed on the price of each boat."
Their decisiveness is beyond imagination!
The Principality of Rus must have a clear Baltic Fleet. After all, at the current historical stage, almost all Rus' activities are in this inland sea.
Perhaps three large ships as large as the Aurora are enough to suppress Denmark's maritime power, and actual combat has proven this to be the case. But with only three or four large ships, how can they demonstrate their power and perform tasks in the vast territory of Ross?
Besides, the Avora was only a big ship in these poor times, and with a full load displacement, it might be able to pile up to 300 tons at the risk of capsizing. But the Gothenburg ocean-going ship capsized, its standard displacement exceeded one thousand tons, and its full-load displacement could be close to two thousand!
It is for this reason that Rurik defined the Avlora and others as light sailing ships, also known as cruisers.
Eight cruisers, eight destroyers.
This is the 88th Fleet plan formulated by the Principality of Ross in the winter of 832, and this is only the beginning.
