Novorosberg was a completely different world for the captured Karelian women, who were all imprisoned and then uniformly purified.
They washed themselves with soap and ate large amounts of wheat, fish and salt to supplement their nutrition. Especially salt, this "delicacy" directly stimulates everyone's brain, and the sodium and potassium levels in their blood rise rapidly.
After ten days of cultivation, the complexions of these women have changed significantly. Just like raised cattle and sheep that can be sold, the time has come to wait for them.
They were not surprised that they would be betrayed. The most surprising thing was that they entered the city of the Russians and ate and drank every day. Although they don't understand it, they will naturally not miss the opportunity to eat and drink well.
They all put on new linen gowns, leather boots, leather coats, and leather hats on their heads.
They themselves are commodities, and their clothes are commodities. The soap consumed in transporting them back from Lake Onega, the soap consumed during purification, and the food eaten, all of this can be accounted for.
Hearing that the prince was going to sell the female prisoners, all the men and women in the city gathered in Harvest Square to watch the grand event.
It is still the old rule that those who have the right to purchase these women must be registered Russians with some assets.
An adult and young woman was marked with a high price of one and a half pounds of silver coins. If the woman also brought a daughter, the price for the two of them was two pounds.
As long as he is not a lazy fool, a Slavic farmer can definitely raise this amount of money, not to mention a large number of old Russians and other Vikings who have enjoyed the dividends of the war.
The buyer is a registered person, and if he gets a woman, he must first become a slave, and secondly, give him children. According to Viking tradition, a slave is also a member of the family, and her status is basically equal to a reproductive tool for the master, unless the master declares her to be the head wife or equal to the head wife.
A wooden platform foundation was built, and all the women climbed onto the wooden platform. The venue was filled with shouts. The woman who was being treated as a commodity had her hands trapped and an iron ring around her neck.
This is a rule to show their special status, not just to prevent them from escaping.
There were many people booing at the venue, and there were also many people interested in buying with money.
The businessmen who live there also want to buy some women, resell them and then buy them in Sweden to make a profit on the difference. It turned out that the price given by the prince was too outrageous. Do these women have gold teeth in their mouths? There is also such a market in the Birka Market in Mälaren, where the price of a local female slave is only half a pound of silver coins at most.
They felt that the Prince of Rus was the big profiteer, and they were surprised that these Rus buyers were really willing to give money.
As many as 200 Karelian female prisoners of various ages were digested by New Roseburg. Whether the buyer wanted them to be slaves or concubines, their right to life was now protected by the principality. They became registered personnel and had the right to enter the prince's various workshops to work and earn wages.
As for the remaining four hundred people, these Slavic men in Novgorod in the south will be greatly "cheap", especially the Slavic flag soldiers, who must all complete their marriages.
Rurik just observed the grand occasion at the venue from a distance. In principle, he didn't like this. This was because the times decided that Rose needed this.
"There are more people in the clan." Lanna couldn't help but put her hand on Rurik's shoulder.
"how do you feel?"
"What……"
"What do you think of the little black-haired dwarfs I keep asking to join us?"
"Me? I don't feel anything. It's just..."
"Don't like it?" Rurik asked warily.
"Some of them are too short. It is said that the children born to such women will not grow tall."
"But you are very tall." Rurik smiled and turned around, hugging Svetlana gently.
Indeed, compared to the tall Rurik, Svetlana is only half a head shorter. Even so, she was far superior to Kagan, the Pecheneg prince.
The main problem with Kagan's short stature was that he had short legs, and all Pecheneg warriors were somewhat bow-legged due to riding horses.
Svetlana has very long legs and a rather slender figure. She was at the most beautiful age for a Slavic woman. Her face was still a little childish, but her body was fully adult. It was this look that attracted Rurik the most.
Not only her, the one chosen by old Otto was a Slavic "firewood girl", but now she has completely transformed into a girl.
"Have you been here recently?" Rurik asked suddenly.
Lana was still pretending not to understand, but her fair face was already rosy: "Which one?"
"That's it! You..."
She shook her head and asked, "So you're counting the time?"
"I am indeed calculating. Ah... I understand completely by looking at your behavior." After saying that, Rurik smiled.
In this way, Lanna openly admitted that the days when her menstruation was supposed to come had passed, and the lack of menstrual period could only mean that she was already pregnant with the crown prince in her belly.
Compared to Lanna's happiness, Rurik was overjoyed and not ecstatic about it, as if everything was going according to plan.
Spring is not far away, and large animals are beginning to become restless.
Everyone is joking that their prince is a tireless bull. The prince is elegant and so are the people. In today's era, the material production efficiency of the Principality of Ross has increased ten times compared with the past. The sufficient materials have attracted the people to involuntarily increase their fertility.
The scale of Ross's baby boom continues to expand. This is the destiny of the country. Rurik himself cannot rely on decrees to limit it. The only thing he can do is to step on the accelerator again.
There have been big events recently, and the high priest of the principality has reached a critical moment.
Her belly was as big as a drum, which seemed extremely inconsistent with her short body.
Now she already needs help from others to walk. The lower priests all said that the high priest must be carrying a strong boy, and only a boy can torment his mother like this.
Her due date was imminent, and the Grand Temple of the Principality was brightly lit all night. The lower priests gathered together to pray to Freya, the goddess of fertility.
Rurik had already brought his Rumia to the palace, asking her to stay here for the rest of her life. He also invited the most experienced midwife in the city.
The kitchen began to prepare delicious meals, all of which were high-protein foods. Rurik had prepared confinement meals in advance, and everything was ready to wait for Rumia to give birth.
She is giving birth for the second time. Despite her short size, she has a rather strong body. Maternal mothers in this era have a high probability of dying from emergencies caused by dystocia with their first child, but when it comes to their second child, the probability of danger is extremely high.
Rurik knelt down at the scene, letting Rumia hold her arm tightly, and encouraged her to use her strength.
His group of wives and concubines stayed in the room, first to observe and prepare themselves mentally for the future, and they were also assistants to accompany the childbirth.
The baby was crying like an air raid siren, making the solemn delivery room burst into laughter.
The Slavic midwife excitedly announced that it was a boy, and Rurik laughed.
"Okay. His name is Oleg!"
"But it's not the name day yet." Lanna muttered.
"Nameday is a Slavic rule, I don't care. This little boy is called Oleg, and his name was determined by God before he was born."
Rumia relieved her burden, and a strong obsession rushed into her head. She wanted to do it, and muttered: "Give me the child, let me see him. Ah, his legs and feet are all there, no defects?"
"Everything is fine. I'll show you right away. The blood must be washed off the child first." Rurik comforted him.
Clean warm water washes the pink and wrinkled baby. His umbilical cord was severed and immediately clamped with a wooden clamp. The remaining umbilical cord and basin were removed from the mother's body, and Rumia's key parts were washed by the other sisters.
The Principality of Rus already has excellent surgical technology. Its biggest feature and advantage is that it ensured hygiene in this early era and was used for maternal and infant care, which naturally avoided many disasters.
The crying baby was wrapped in a soft cleaning rag. He was still crying. He calmed down immediately after being placed in his mother's arms.
Rumia was so happy that she wanted to cry. She insisted on checking the swaddling clothes and took a look, then she was satisfied.
The child closed his eyes and gasped quietly, and the originally wrinkled skin now began to become rounded.
"Like you, Rurik," she said.
"My son is naturally like me. This boy is Oleg, he must be my war chief."
"War Chief... that's fine too."
Within four hours, Rumia had already started breastfeeding the baby. Rurik does not need to find a wet nurse for his child, Rumia is enough on her own, but she will be absent from the sacrificial work during this period.
Sure enough, the high priest gave birth to a son, and the child's name was Oleg Rurikson, or Oleg Rurikovich as the Ezra people called him.
This is another male nobleman, and the first nobleman who will definitely enjoy some power within the Principality of Ross.
The news arrived in Novgorod with the messenger operating the reindeer sleigh. Now the old Ottos were eager to see the boy named Oleg.
"A slave girl who was captured by you finally gave birth to a grandson for you. It seems that it was very necessary for Rurik to treat her well at that time." Niya learned the news and couldn't help but sigh about life.
Old Otto was happy but also smiled bitterly, "For Rumia, Rurik dared to confront me with a sword. Also, Oleg will be the war chief. Maybe I can train him before I die of old age. .”
"It's better to train Regraf first. This kid is also a king." Niya said and laughed with a hoarse voice.
Another piece of news reached Old Otto's ears only later.
The messenger first informed Ligus of White Tree Manor of the secret news that the so-called Queen Svetlana might be pregnant. Neither Ryuk nor Lana can be completely sure about this situation, unless Lana can bulge her belly.
Ligus couldn't care so much. The suspected news was indeed true. After all, Rurik had grown as strong as his biological father, and his little daughter had reached an age that any Slavic woman could give birth to. If It's strange that there's no movement.
Regardless of whether Lana is a boy or a girl, the White Tree Manor has gained absolute political advantage because of this child.
In this way, as the first relatives of the duchy royal family, the family can successfully become the top nobles of the duchy.
Old man Ligus seems to be carefree, and his goal has been further achieved. He is looking forward to living to see his grandson grow up. Although this is a luxury.
When the news reached old Otto, he was a little angry. He was angry and happy at the same time. He was not in a hurry, because spring was coming and he would have to come back once the spring plowing arrived in Rurik.
Rurik will attend the Vernal Equinox Ceremony in New Rossburg on March 28th in the Julian calendar, which is also the traditional sailing festival of the Ross people.
Because the sea has essentially thawed and a large amount of ice has been washed into the Gulf of Finland by the Neva River, spring here comes earlier.
By the time the sacrifices began, the red pine trees that had lost their snow cover were already showing new buds, and everyone was complaining that the ground had become extremely muddy, which further highlighted the importance of building hardened ground.
Reindeer sleighs have been temporarily retired, and vehicles and ships have begun to travel together.
The guest merchants who bought a large amount of cheap leather paid a departure tax, rushed to the Gulf of Finland, and rushed westward to the mouth of Lake Mälaren.
The Rus, Slavs, and Suomi are all agitated. After completing the spring sacrifices, everyone is expecting that spring plowing is about to begin.
Rumia had finished her confinement, and she once again held the antlered helmet on her head to conduct sacrifices.
The high priest who disappeared for more than a month is back!
She personally announced the good news, and ordered the lower-level priests to hold urns containing the blood of the sacrificial deer and smear the blood everywhere on the boats that were deliberately washed ashore.
This is a newly added ritual content this year and has been well received by ship owners from all walks of life. The sea is unpredictable, and people need some mysterious power to keep them safe. Smearing the ship's hull with deer blood is equivalent to opening the light, which calms the ship owner's mind.
Of course, this service also requires payment, otherwise wouldn’t the priest’s work be in vain?
Rurik asked for 20 silver coins for the "deer blood consecration", not to mention that these businessmen were really willing to give it.
On the day of the High Priest of Spring, the New Roseburg Shipyard launched as many as four standard armed cargo ships. It is smaller than a sail destroyer and larger than a traditional cargo ship.
Two of the Ruriks were leased to Ragnar, and the naming rights were also in Ragnar's hands. He could then rob them as he pleased. But his troops, especially the women and children, should continue to stay in Novgorod! This is surveillance. Ragnar understands it but does not object to it. He is even satisfied with it. Firstly, he has no intention of conflict with Rose. Secondly, the female relatives can still create wealth.
Theoretically, Ragnar can now control the new ship all the way west to avenge his enemy Horik, King of Denmark. He did not rush to do so, but first took his brothers to complete the river trial.
A large number of people wanted to return to Novgorod, and all the war horses also boarded the ship and headed south.
The Russian fleet went south, pulled by long oars all the way, passed the Neva River and entered the Volkhov River.
The huge fleet entered Lake Ilmen in the flood season and arrived in loyal Novgorod.
Rumia came holding her son Oleg and pulling her daughter Velika! Carlotta also came with her son Karl I in her arms.
A group of top nobles arrived in Novgrod, and it was now certain that Svetlana was pregnant, although it was still not obvious, and her biological mother could confirm this fact.
This incident made Rigus so happy that he drank vodka until he passed out. Medved was also ecstatic for his sister.
The people of Baishu Manor are happy with their faces, and they are also taking active actions because spring plowing is about to begin.
But spring plowing began with a short, thick spring rain. Although the already muddy land became even muddier, the good weather continued as soon as the rain stopped. What was surprising was that the temperature was soaring, and many strong men from Ross and Denmark who were logging were already shirtless.
Kagan was arranging his troops and bundling bundles of Ross leather and floral cloth. He also purchased some reindeer as a tool for pulling goods.
He regretted that he had brought too few horses and Ross had bought too many supplies. Even so, he still had to go home quickly.
They decided to take the woman on horseback, holding the deer with one hand, and wander back to the grassland. This would be a three-month expedition, and everyone was full of confidence.
Because they did not go south by themselves, there were also envoys from the Kiev Slavs who had entered Novgorod long ago. They also returned home on their own ponies. Maksakoy bought another batch of Russian goods, not only to bring them back to open the eyes of his hometown people, but also to pay tribute to the leader of the alliance.
They had already set off first. For this reason, Rurik and his Pecheneg brothers had a good meal and drank. In the end, they simply gave away as many as twenty glass bottles of spirits for free. The so-called other batch was given to Pecheneg. A special gift from the Khan.
Not long after they left, Ragnar was also leaving with his chosen brothers.
Spring has arrived, and it’s time for the heroes of the sea to go out. Ragnar selected sixty of his subordinates and joined forces with the First Royal Pirate Spyot to form a pirate fleet and rush towards the Western Baltic Sea. As for the plan to set up a camp in Gotland, Ragnar thought rationally and considered Saaremaa Island as his base of operations.
However, this year the Russian army will still not attack the powerful enemy according to Rurik's plan, and the group of mares in the cavalry team left to start the pregnancy work. Rurik still had to be busy with production work and actively accumulate strength. No, he had already gone to the farmland in person and initially set an example by starting spring plowing in 838.
