Just as spring plowing was approaching, Rurik completed a deal with Kiev Horse.
According to Maksakye, the total price of the horses, two males and eight females, is equivalent to ninety pounds of silver coins, which is equivalent to nine thousand silver coins!
How could ten horses be worth this money?
In private, Sakye confided that the total price of these horses was at most forty pounds.
"You mean you feel guilty for deceiving me? You actually suspect that I am a stingy noble? The deal has been set, and I will not take back the price. You will get the money immediately, and I also encourage you to purchase products from our country locally. Supplies, this way you can make money at both ends." Rurik's generous statement once again shocked Sakhi to tears of gratitude.
The focus of this transaction was not at all the price of the ten horses. Rurik felt that he had made a huge profit.
Because intelligence information is also a huge wealth that is difficult to measure in terms of money. For the first time, the Rus' Principality received intelligence about the geopolitical relations in the southern region, which helped to formulate appropriate roadmap plans for future conquests.
In this way, Sakhi and his gang are still fed and fed, but now they have to spend their own money to buy delicious meals and even go to the market to trade.
It was already April, and most of the ice in the waters near New Roseburg had melted at the end of March. Everyone was hoping that the ice would break up enough for navigation.
As the high priest, Rumia worshiped the gods on the Spring Equinox in the Julian calendar according to the rules. She wanted to preside over a ceremony to worship the seven gods. Now that it involved the melting of ice and snow and the resumption of navigation, for the so-called safety of navigation, the sea gods and sea monsters also had to be sacrificed.
Ten years ago, the Rus people were also very fussy when offering sacrifices to their gods, because they really didn't have many large-scale animals to raise. Five deer would be an extreme luxury.
Times have changed, and now the sacrifices all start with ten deer.
The Principality of Rus inherited the traditional Viking customs and holds two grand sacrifices throughout the year. Worshiping Odin during the Winter Solstice is equivalent to celebrating the New Year. The Spring Festival honors the gods and the ocean, which is actually a celebration of the beginning of productive life.
New Roseburg is fully revived and the fishermen, farmers and merchants are ready!
However, because Ross lost the Danish market, the average price of all kinds of fur goods in New Rossburg's fur market plummeted.
The truth really turned out to be "Help us if the leather is unsaleable."
This was the moment for bargain hunting. Ryuri ordered Governor Konuson and his son to take immediate action and buy as much of the hunters' goods as possible with the money from the treasury.
Princes and businessmen worked hard to complete the acquisition, and as many as 100,000 squirrel skins, 5,000 ferret skins, 2,000 fox skins and 200 polar bear skins were acquired.
Merchants will transport their leather to Lake Mälaren as usual, at least Ross has not lost the Swedish market!
Rurik had at least fifty thousand squirrel skins on hand, as well as a thousand mink skins and all two hundred polar bear skins. What he actually paid to the hunter was part of the silver coins, copper coins, and a higher proportion of wheat in kind.
Lake Ladoga has dissolved, and thousands of streams, along with Lake Onega water, are pouring water here, directly causing the Neva River's water volume to surge!
This situation directly caused the waterway traffic between Novorosberg and Novgorod to become more responsible. Going down the river would be extremely fast, while going backwards would be an arduous battle with the river water.
But the prince ordered that large quantities of leather must be shipped to Novgorod.
What does Rurik mean? Nothing else, just because tens of thousands of Slavic women will suddenly be free after the busy farming season. In fact, they also do auxiliary work such as cutting grass, weaving baskets, making woodware, etc. However, the value of the labor produced is difficult to measure in terms of money. In other words, this kind of labor cannot be exchanged for real food rewards.
A fleet transporting leather moved up the Neva River, and a distinguished "great tailor" moved with his full set of handicraft workshop personnel on the order of the prince.
Times have changed, and Fodgen is no longer the owner of a small tailor shop in Lake Ladoga. He had as many as fifty slave workers under his command, and he also figured out a strategy in production, which was to group workers into groups, thus improving the efficiency of making leather clothes.
Since the principality can produce carbon steel, it is also possible to make steel needles. It's just that the principality does not yet have the fine processing technology of the East, and can only produce some quenched steel needles that are overall thicker.
Although this needle cannot reach the level of embroidery, it is very suitable for sewing leather and linen.
Making clothes does not require high technology. Even if you don't have a sewing machine, you can still ensure good efficiency by relying solely on handwork.
The entire handicraft workshop staff set out with the fleet, and ten rowing long boats worked together to pull three standard armed cargo ships towards Novgorod.
Leather and finished ironware are two key products. Slavic women will earn real money by participating in leather processing, and finished ironware directly enhances the work efficiency of Slavic men.
More importantly, the Novgorod Shipyard needs a large number of iron tools, such as steel axes, scrapers, and planes, and steel consumables such as nails are also in urgent need of a batch.
Soap, glassware, and pottery are also on the transportation list. At this stage, they are all commodities that Russian immigrants can afford. They can be small in variety but must be there because the people need to consume them.
A small domestic demand market is expanding, such as leather made into clothes, which first of all meets the needs of the people of the Principality of Ross themselves. This market is temporarily small, but as the population grows rapidly, it will expand rapidly!
After all, the Swedish Lake Mälaren market only has a size of 50,000 people, and the Principality of Ross can theoretically surpass it soon.
Having lost the Danish market, Rurik can only comfort himself that tomorrow will be better. At least for the foreseeable future, leather mixed with linen will make a batch of Novgorod new clothes. Changing into new clothes was a good thing to show off everywhere in ancient society. With the help of this generated domestic demand market, I can earn some scissor-difference profits.
For Vordegen, Novgorod is a novel place. Due to inner considerations, he is not willing to move to a new area just after he settled in Novorosberg. It is obvious that he can run a workshop in Novorosberg. Great, why leave?
Since the prince made the request in winter, he did not dare to disobey, and now the fleet also entered the Volkhov River, which runs north to south.
The small fleet from afar was really a distinguished guest. The arrival of Vodgen and the entire professional team did not cause much trouble. Only Rurik was very happy. What makes him happy is not even Fordgen himself, but the group of skilled workers under his command.
There is such a small group, they are all female slaves, and their own value is very pure. They are professional tailors, a group of tailors who are completely separated from land production. They make a living by making clothes for their masters. Therefore, even though they have excellent skills, they are still exploited crazily by their masters. As the master, Fo Degen feels that he is a good person. Without his leader, all the women would have met a tragic end.
Rurik received the anxious Vodgen with a smile. After some pleasantries at the dock, he invited him into the palace and had a secret conversation in a separate room.
This move made Fordgen even more uneasy.
The room is almost airtight, it is Indian summer outside, and the interior is quite dark, still requiring oil lamps for lighting.
"Sir, what do you mean, you have something secret to discuss with me?"
"Exactly. I...ask you to make a concession." Rurik hesitated, but still described firmly.
"What is it? I can't build a workshop in Novgorod and you have a new decision? Just do it. In fact, I am very willing to build a workshop in Novorosberg."
"Oh? You don't like this place?"
"No." Fo Degen hurriedly denied and agreed: "I owe my wealth today to your help. Under your protection, there is no problem with the safety of my wealth."
"Yes, you are also aging."
"Me? I'm a bit older, at least much younger than that old guy Gould."
"You're getting older and should make the most of your life."
Rurik was obviously trying to cover up the situation, and Fordgen was a little impatient, but he didn't dare to ask more questions, so he could only test: "What do you mean?"
"Then I'll make it clear. I fancy you as a slave girl."
"Huh? Them? You..." Ford simply wanted to say something very ridiculous, as if the prince was attracted by the beauty of those slaves. Wait a minute, those are just a bunch of old ladies, how can they be pretty? Just because he realized the absurdity, Fo Degen was afraid that if he spoke too much, he would be wrong and shut up in a hurry.
"Those female slaves. I!" Rurik patted his chest vigorously, "I decided to buy them."
"Ah! You!?" Fordgen understood everything in an instant, and his face became ferocious and frightened as he stood up suddenly, "You want to take away my wealth? That is my lifeblood, and I am a garment merchant. .”
"Sit down first!" Rurik scolded, causing the other party to collapse in a hurry. "You think I'm taking your life? That's ridiculous. I was just afraid that you would be too nervous, so I met you in the secret room. If you think my request is outrageous, then talk about it slowly. I tell you clearly that you still have to stay in Novosibirsk Gorod builds a permanent clothing workshop, only it will look very different from what you understand."
In this way, Rurik made his attitude clear. Because the core of the garment workshop is the female slaves, who are a group of skilled workers. Whoever controls them can build a factory immediately. No one could challenge the prince in terms of financial resources. Rurik's operation was to directly nationalize the purely private workshops that were responsible for their own profits and losses.
Rurik gestured with his hands to describe the grand occasion: "You don't have to pay for the construction of the factory yourself, and you don't have to pay for the accommodation, food, etc. of the slave workers. I will not charge even a copper coin in tax on your existing wealth. On the contrary, I will pay you a sum of money to buy this group of slave laborers. You are still engaged in this business, and I will hire you as a lifelong manager. I will pay you generous remuneration and will not collect taxes. Isn’t this very good? Okay, your purpose of setting up a workshop is to make money. If you follow my method, you don’t have to take all the risks, you will only get a steady stream of rewards, and you will become a respected master tailor."
"Huh? Then our previous contract..."
"Is the previous contract more favorable than my current proposal? You are a smart man. It's time for us to revise a better contract."
People like Vodgen were among the early industrial capitalists, and they were also the cornerstone of the Hanseatic League. As a businessman, he made a sudden calculation. Although he thought it was strange, after all, this must be a sure-profit business.
I thought that I had already fallen into the hands of the prince. If I wanted to refuse, this boy would find a reason to do it.
Prince Rurik is not just a handsome man on the surface, but a murderous madman. You must not be deceived by the kindness he shows now, and you must not disobey the prince's orders.
With a long sigh, Fo Degen felt that a great period of his life had come to an end, and the next step was to be forced to work for the prince.
Just after logging in, a secret contract was signed and directly replaced the old contract.
In a sense, the garment workshop that Vodgen has been running for 20 years has ceased to exist. All the factories in Roseburg or the Birka Market have been sold, and there is no longer any asset-heavy thing in the garment workshop. , leaving only a group of soft goods that can be transported quickly and a group of slave workers. These are light assets.
For a long time, Slavic clothing making in the Novgorod area was all family workshops. It was nothing more than women sitting at home, operating primitive looms to make linen and clothes. In principle, they all hope to make better clothes. Although they have mastered very advanced weaving technology, due to the lack of materials and tools, they cannot sew high-end goods, especially the lack of leather clothing and woolen clothing making skills.
In fact, apart from Vordegen himself, Rurik was still able to appoint Broma, the mother of his close comrade-in-arms Fisk, as the master tailor and quickly build a professional textile team.
Now that Fordegen agrees with the new policy, it is necessary to create a state-owned textile workshop and hire one of these two as a manager (factory director) and one as a technical director.
The biggest reason why Rurik was so quick to pay was that his treasury had always been full due to past wars and plunder. He bought the ownership of all the female slaves in Fordegen at a price 10% higher than the market price, and his next move was nothing short of fantastic.
For those slave laborers, they were happy to be the dependents of the prince himself. Everyone praised that working for the prince was always very profitable, and I thought everyone's treatment would be better.
On the second day after Fordgen arrived, all fifty slave workers were led to the entrance of the palace, a small open area.
Rurik announced directly in front of everyone: "You! All textile slave workers! You will have the opportunity to be completely free! Work for me for five years, and you will be free. When the five-year period is up, you can still continue to work For your tailoring work, I will give you extra rewards at that time..."
The prince never broke his promise, he promised room and board and one day off a week, especially the absolute freedom he would gain after five years, including the possibility of marriage. Therefore, some young slave workers can still get married and have children. At that time, according to the prince's promise, they will become "Russ natives" and belong to the first echelon of subjects in the hierarchical society of the principality.
They were so moved that they burst into tears and put aside the matter of freedom for the time being. The king would provide everyone with more daily necessities and promised a rest day every six days. Fordegen would not give all this. After all, in the eyes of that man, the sisters were destined to be cows and horses throughout their lives.
But they still can't rely on Vodgen's management. Although everyone doesn't understand, they still have to meet each other day and night.
A new factory building was to be built in the city. Fortunately, when Novgorod was enclosing the wall, it enclosed a lot of open space. The city is not the city of White Tree Manor. The population of other ethnic groups is almost all technical people, and they are destined to fill the space of the city.
A plaque covered with chalk mud and painted with carbon black was prepared in advance. It marked three words, which together means "Principal Tailor Factory".
This is the first state-owned textile factory in the Principality of Rus. All assets belong to Rurik personally. Of course, based on the principle of "I am the country", it is also state-owned.
The final form of leather is to become a variety of clothing, and there are processing profits and logistics profits in each link. Rurik directly connected the upstream and downstream of the industry, from catching small animals to making fur coats, completing the industrial ecological closed loop. Eat up all the profits that can be made in an industry.
The workplaces are large longhouses in the woodcarving style, which combine two Viking-Slavic styles of architecture and are most suitable for intensive workshop-style manual tailoring work. The same dormitory area has the same construction principle. Workers will sleep in Datongpu, but the buildings are built to accommodate 200 people at once.
How can a state-owned factory be just a small workshop with fifty people? The factory dormitory can only accommodate 200 people, which is just the manpower needed at this stage.
The plaque is now hanging on the newly installed pile foundation column. The load-bearing wooden piles of the first batch of houses were constructed quickly due to the generous reward.
Now there are two large construction sites inside the city: a school and a garment factory.
More than a thousand villagers, both male and female, were employed. The men were paid one pound of wheat per day, and food for their labor was provided by Rurik.
The booming urban construction has also led to the rapid destruction of forests outside the city. In the end, people even threw out the tree roots and leveled the land. This is the so-called "asking for farmland from the forest." The construction of the city and the pioneering movement were carried out at the same time. Everyone involved gained profits, and Rurik himself also gained more reputation. It was really a plan to kill four birds with one stone.
The Kiev horse riders were amazed by this scene. They also saw that the horses they had sold were already involved in pulling the carts, and they looked closely and saw that they were all mares.
Where are the two stallions? Ma Ke realized that the people of the Rus Principality were waiting for the farmland to become harder, and they had prepared a variety of farm tools. Horses are allowed to visit farming routes and are promised free meals in exchange for their labor.
While waiting, they stumbled across two stallions. The speculation came true, the Russians were indeed using Pecheneg horses to breed local ponies!
Finally, the spring plowing of 836 began!
The Russians, who have made adequate preparations, are sowing wheat seeds for this spring in various places. Compared with last year, more wheat seeds have been sown this year. In addition, in the Lake Ilmen area, because a large number of hidden people came out of the woods to open up wasteland, more people into agricultural production. Counting the acres of various grades of land in the area around the lake, as many as 30,000 hectares of land have begun to be sown with a variety of crops, among which oats, wheat and rye are naturally the absolute mainstream. Onions, yellow root carrots and cabbage are the third vegetables that need to be sown.
Naturally there is also flax, which is widely grown south of the lake.
Rurik set an example with his noble status as a prince. He was cultivating the land himself, and for this purpose he wrote self-proclaimed articles on paper to publicize it to the people. The image of him personally manipulating the plow was painted by himself. Not to mention, compared to a group of "handicapped" people, a person like Rurik who knew a certain amount of sketching knowledge could draw a "picture of spring plowing" properly.
This performance is to build a relationship with the Slavs, the most populous people, and also to experience with your own hands the effects of the curved shaft plow that integrates plowing, sowing and burying of seeds.
He even used a trick, which was to get ten Kiev horsemen to try the beauty of the curved shaft plow and the bound seeder.
Almost instantly, his goal was achieved.
Maksakye directly asked the dusty Rurik in the field: "Sir, this plow is very wonderful. How much does it cost? Let's buy it!"
"You want to buy it? Why buy it? I will give you a set! Wait, this is for your Kiev leader. Especially you!" Rurik patted Sakhi on the shoulder, "You will return soon, Tell your chief what you see and hear in Rus, and tell him our support for peaceful trade. We look forward to more merchants coming to Rus with their goods."
