In this way, on the small warship arranged by the girl, Balal and Ural arrived in Gotland.縰
During Ragnar's reign, Gotland was the capital of the pirate kingdom. At that time, there were only a few ships traveling to and from Gotland. Occasionally, fleets of ships docked, and they were also pirate ships belonging to lords from various places. The lords from all over the country basically only come to Gotland twice a year: once during the off-farm season, the lords gathered in Gotland to discuss the targets of this year's large-scale plunder; the other time was after they returned from the plunder. A portion of the looted property was to be paid as tribute to Ragnar.
After Hestein took over the pirate kingdom, the capital of the pirate kingdom was moved to Zealand, while Gotland was downgraded to become the capital of Sweden. Originally, Gotland would have declined somewhat due to this, but under Ayla's rule, it became more prosperous than during the Ragnar period. At first, lords from all over Sweden came to the university to study at Ella's forced request. However, after getting used to Gotland's bathhouses, water pipelines and other infrastructure, they were reluctant to return to their dilapidated territories. This was especially the case after Ayla attracted Alemanni caravans and turned Gotland into the trade center for all of Sweden. So far, 70% of Swedish lords have purchased real estate in Gotland, and they spend more than half of the year in Gotland.
Gotland's prosperity also attracted other lords of the pirate kingdom. Under this trend, Gotland transcended the period of Ragnar's rule and became the true political center of Sweden. In a sense, it even became the second capital of the Pirate Kingdom after Zealand.
Balal and Ural disembarked at the port and saw many people busy loading goods onto the merchant ship: dried meat, pickled fish, milk, honey wine, various vegetables, various soy products, and a large amount of bread. and rye. Ural felt a little curious and asked casually: "Is Gotland's trade mainly based on exporting grain?"
The soldier who sent them heard this and replied: "No, the largest foreign trade volume is all kinds of fish, and the highest profit is fur. As for food, it is too cold here, and there are more people in Gotland." After that, we basically relied on imports.”
"Then these grains are...?"
"These are to be paid as tribute to the King of Heroes. He went to sea for more than a year, and then sent us news that he had found the legendary Vinland. It seemed even wider than the entire continent of Oraba! But the place where they landed was The climate in the north of Vinland is as cold as here. In order to continue exploring south, he needs more food. So now you see us loading food onto the ship. We have already shipped two batches to Vinland before. This is This is the third batch."
Balal asked Ural in a low voice: "Brother, where is Vinland?"
Ural shook his head. He had only heard that the new Pirate King of the Pirate Kingdom took more than half of the pirate lords to the sea and headed westward after ruling the Pirate Kingdom for two years, and then disappeared. Vinland is a legend that only circulates in the Pirate Kingdom. Many people in the Pirate Kingdom, including Ragnar, question its authenticity. Of course, they, the Alemanni, have no way of knowing.
"I don't know, it's far to the west of the sea——"
The soldier proudly wanted to explain, but mid-sentence, he suddenly thought of something and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, this is a confidential matter of the Pirate Kingdom, I can't say it anymore."
But this only made Ural and Baral more curious. Ural knew that if he asked directly, the soldier would most likely not answer, so he began to make insinuations: "Far to the west? Then you have to sail on the sea for several months, right?"
"It's much farther than you think. These ships have to go to Iceland first, and then to Greenland. After two transfers, they can successfully reach Vinland - it doesn't matter even if I tell you, Iceland and Greenland are both with us Under our control, it is not open to the public. Without these two transfer points, no fleet can reach Vinland alive!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldier suddenly thought of something again and changed his words:
"Ah, the Flying Zealander should be fine. That ship is as big as a fortress."
Ural shrugged. He originally wanted to see if he could get any benefits, but since the soldier said so, it was probably out of the question. However, this information may be sold to others at a high price in the future. As long as the information such as being too far away and unreachable is hidden, it can be said that it is a rich new continent.
The soldier pointed the way to Ural and Barral: "The Alchemy School is in the southeast corner of the city, but it is a comprehensive university that teaches engineering, mathematics, etc., and alchemy is only one of its majors. The principal is the King of Sweden himself, who is not here now. But if you just want to enroll, you can just find a dirty teacher named Gottfried."
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion on one side of the port. People started to run away, and in the middle of the crowd, a fire-breathing monster was rampaging!
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Two pirates poked their heads out of the monster's belly and shouted to the crowd, "This thing can't stop!"
Ural took a closer look and saw clearly that this was not a monster, but a chariot with four wheels. Different from ordinary chariots, its upper and lower sides were covered with thick iron sheets, and there were no horses pulling it in front. Instead, it was equipped with a copper bear head that kept spitting fire outwards.
Before Ural could take a closer look, the thing suddenly slipped on the ground, turned a corner, and rushed straight towards them!縰
"Quick...run!"
Ural pulled Balal in front, and the thing was chasing after him. The distance between the two parties was getting closer and closer, and Balal screamed that his butt hurt when the hot fire spurted out from the bear's head. Just as the car was about to run over Ural and Baral, it suddenly bumped against a stone. Although the stone was not big, it caused the strange car to flip over and disintegrate into hundreds of small parts on the ground.
The two pirates in the car sat on the ground and rubbed their heads.
"What is this?" Ural asked with a trembling voice, "How does it move?"
"This is our invention, called a tank!" A pirate pointed to a high slope in the distance: "Push it down from there, and it can move as fast as just now! If it is on flat ground, you have to Pedal hard in there.”
"We need to add a device to stop the car." Another pirate looked at the cut rope in his hand and said, "This is not a horse. You can't pull it by pulling the reins!"
"There is also a big problem with the structure. The strength is too low." The pirate picked up a component from the ground and considered it carefully, "Should it be made heavier?"
"Are you heavier? Then I won't be able to step anymore! I have to let the horse pull me!"
"Then the meaning of the iron wrapping is lost! Once the horse dies, won't it become an iron lump?"
The two pirates were holding parts on the ground and discussing each other. Baral and Ural were stunned.
"Ah, these two are engineering students at the university." The soldier who followed Baral and Ural explained, "They are doing the graduation project assigned by the King of Sweden."
