Rise of Rurik Chapter 1037

To establish settlements at the headwaters of the Lovati River, it is destined to be far from Lake Yinermen.

A lonely city outside the core control area, it must have all the measures to be self-sufficient, especially the military defense must be done well.

Lukiholm, which was bound to be the first permanent colony city developed by the Rus southwards in the Eastern European part.

It has such an important strategic economic position, but it is too far away from Yin'ermen Lake, and the cost of its initial blood transfusion is too high to continue. It is better to solve the problem at the source and issue a permanent migration of some local residents to Lukiholm. These conscripted Slavs will also change their identities, from peasants from various farms to become subjects of the Principality of Ostara.

As usual, Rurik still arranged for Carlota, one of his wives, to guard the southern gate of the kingdom.

It has been discussed at the meeting that the defense of Lukiholm will be managed by the Principality of Ostara in the future, unless the main waterway of the Wang division can go south to help.

As long as you can row a boat backwards along the Lovady River, you can reach the big bend and build a city, and the cost of marching seems not to be high.

This time, Rurik intends to send a thousand people to go, and this is the biggest cost.

The three-year tax-free decree has been enacted, and the Boyars are rejoicing. They themselves are still in Novgorod and will never leave suddenly.

Kagan and his Pecheneg cavalry are about to end their guest life and leave with their purchased goods and a large number of strategic materials gifted by King Ross. They are the caravans and the guardians of the city-building teams. The huge horse team was about to leave Novgorod and return to the new city of Ostara at the southern end of the lake. The reason why Kagan was still dawdling was to wait for Rurik to finish the final meeting.

All the Boyars were gathered again, with happy smiles on their faces, whispering to each other, wondering whether the king was going to announce some more rewards and so on.

In anticipation, Rurik appeared kindly again. Unlike the last meeting, this time he was accompanied by a noble woman.

Carlotta is capable, with long hair tied into thick golden braids, a white fox hat on his head, and a fair and round face under the hat.

Carlotta has the same round face as her siblings, even though they are pure-blooded Nordics. It's probably because I always eat slightly hard food in my life, which just makes the muscles of the cheeks too strong.

Boyar can't recognize her face any more. After all, there is only one duchess in the kingdom, and legally her Duchy of Ostara was incorporated into Ross in the form of a dowry.

Her status is so special, and the wealth she has is also extremely special.

This noble woman is also quite vicious, and the slaves denounced her as a "forest mother bear", but Geboyar is very happy to have such a heroine in her side.

Carlotta and the king played at the same time, what's going on?

Rurik first clapped his hands vigorously to deter the noisy audience, and motioned those who stood up to sit down again.

He cleared his throat: "I have only one thing to announce today. Ross has already completed his expansion to the north, and we have discovered the sea at the end of the world. Last year we explored westward, and this year this matter is suspended. This year, I ordered the opening of the The exploration of the eastern forest has also decided to start the exploration of the south. You are all residents living near Yinermen Lake, don't you want to expand your living space? So, I will build another one on the upper reaches of the Lovati River. big city."

The construction of new settlements is pioneering and innovative, and of course a good thing in general. The boyars subconsciously signaled their welcome.

They were indeed welcoming, whether they were genuinely welcoming, perfunctory or agreeing, they were all firmly grasped by Rurik.

"Oh! It seems that you are all very supportive. Well, since you are so supportive, you will also support me if I make some requests?"

The boys looked at each other in dismay, and some people suddenly felt that it might not be a good thing. The happy face gradually became gloomy, and those who wanted to coax all shut up.

Rurik shrugged: "Don't worry, it's all good things. I counted, and there are forty-two boyars present. I want each of your farms to present ten men at once, no less than twelve years old. No more than twenty years old. These men have since left your farm and become subjects of the Principality of Ostara."

As soon as the words came here, those closed mouths buzzed immediately. It wasn't that Rurik's decision caused an uproar, but everyone just didn't understand what the purpose of handing over some young boys was.

After all, some farms have a population of two or three hundred people, and it would be a huge loss to hand over ten people at once.

Rurik had to explain a little more: "I know that it is a great loss of labor for the village to have you take out some young boys. But your boys will take up arms and build settlements in the south! It will be a fortress , an outpost. You haven't really lost them, but these boys will take the lead as warriors to keep the entire Lake District safe. This will be of great benefit to all of us, and the difficulties you face are only temporary ones. Rest assured, As long as you surrender ten people obediently, I will give you cash grants."

After all, Rurik touched Carlotta next to him again and asked her to repeat the arranged words.

Under normal circumstances, Geboyar does not have a cordial conversation with Carlotta, but the farms have more or less transactions with New Ostara, the southernmost of the lake, on livestock issues. Breeding some calves and lambs to sell and directly exchange food from farmers is also Carlota's business method.

She raised her chin, her posture was arrogant, and her tone was calm: "Friends, it is a loss for you to take out ten boys for the time being. They will all be managed by me, and they will become my subjects from now on, and they will be my family with me. . I swear I will not treat them badly, I will train them to become qualified warriors, and your dedicated children will eventually make great achievements. They will live in the emerging fortresses in the south for a long time, and I will allow them to regularly return by boat to visit relatives, you actually Haven't lost these children. Can't you trust me? The king will give you some cash as king, and I'll give you some lambs and calves as Duke of Ostara. Ten from each farm, I Give back five lambs and one calf."

Carlotta is serious, theoretically there will be 420 boys as his subjects, there will be 42 cows and 210 lambs.

Ostara is not what it used to be. Under the leadership of Duchess Carlotta, all the subjects are fully engaged in animal husbandry and breeding. The number of cattle, sheep, horses and reindeer is increasing. Among them, sheep have the highest reproductive efficiency. . In addition, sending their own cavalry to loot south, not only slaves, but also the livestock of the local people were taken away.

The number of livestock she owns is getting higher and higher, and it is no problem to give out part of the reward to the Boyar.

After all, these cattle and sheep are gifts to the Boyar family, and the compensation given by Rurik will also fall into the hands of the Boyars.

In today's era, Geboyar is still a face, and the entire farmer's residents are probably related to him by blood, and it is normal to eat more than half of the king's reward without swallowing it.

Hand over the ownership of a boy to become a subject of the Duchy of Ostara. For the cost of this change of relationship, Rurik was willing to give each of them a pound of silver.

Ten pounds of silver, five sheep and a calf, this is a good deal!

In Geboyal's view, human life is valuable. Those boyars with a small population of villages are in urgent need of a sum of cash to improve the life of the whole village, not to mention the current sheep means wealth! The state-run garment factories in Novgorod received a large amount of Western wool, and all the workers were working full-time in the textile trade and earning gratifying labor fees. Even if the salary is actually not high, it is enough to attract the eyes of a large number of unemployed peasant women.

Even without the opportunity to work in state-run garment factories, it's not unusual what those workers do.

Each farm can raise its own sheep, cut the wool regularly, or sell the wool to the city, or process it by itself, spin it with wooden needles, and wear wool clothes on its body.

It usually costs a fortune to buy one lamb, but now the Duchess is giving away five, which is really a delicacy.

Thinking about these people's hearts is very comfortable, and suddenly someone has to stand up cheaply: "Sir, how many males and females are these five sheep?"

"Give it all to your ewes," Carlotta said casually.

"This...at least, give us a ram lamb."

"Oh? I understand." Carlotta narrowed her eyes slightly, "Is it because you want to breed your own lambs. For the sake of all of you, you can."

Giving them rams is no threat to New Ostara's economy, wool is a good thing, the more the better. Carlotta had no intention of monopolizing wool production, but only wanted to expand output. After all, her husband Rurik had a way to sell excess wool products to distant places, which was also an important way to gain profits in a peaceful state.

So, the boys left the venue happily, and they got the cash on the same day, and every silver coin was of good quality Frank.

"Sword Comes"

They immediately made purchases in Novgorod City, and quickly returned the silver coins given by Rurik back intact, in exchange for a large number of high-quality agricultural tools.

The cost of cast plowshares is not high, and with the influx of hot money into the market, its price has also increased accordingly. If the plowshare is made completely as a curved plow, the price can be very high. It is natural to do this purely in the way of businessmen, but Rurik has to take into account the needs of the people. In essence, they only need plowshares, and even have no urgent need for curved ploughs. They only want a sturdy tool that can cultivate soil. .

Fitting iron plowshares to your traditional oak plow is also a hundred times better than wooden plows of the past.

Now is the period of the comprehensive expansion of more than 200,000 people around the Yinermen Lake area. The armed expeditions sent by Ross in the east and south directions are only part of the large expansion. The real expansion lies in the natural expansion of the farmers. Various farms, including the immigrant settlements of the old Rus, demanded a huge amount of ploughs and axes to claim farmland from the forest. Every small family needed its own tools, and the more the better.

The price of the plowshares rose to twenty silver coins, and Gboyar took the opportunity to buy them.

Rurik made an agreement with everyone, and the farms brought the boys to the southern city of New Ostara to gather at the agreed time.

He could probably imagine what kind of trouble Zhu Boyar would cause when he returned to the farms. After all, no parent was willing to let their son leave, let alone a son who was already a strong worker. These things are all Boyar things, and all the children must be assembled on the agreed day anyway.

Rurik herself will not go to the source of the Lovady River, but Duchess Carlotta will go there on horseback and lay the foundation in person. She also wants to bring her son Carl to meet the world, and also intends to let him experience the identity of the city lord in the emerging Lukiholm when he grows up.

After all, the establishment of a new city is a national-level project. Rurik organized a fleet in the lake area, and its task was to **** the immigrant team to arrive smoothly. The fleet is composed of traditional long ships, on which some tools and materials needed to build the city are also transported, especially a large number of iron nails and cables. There is also a large amount of grain to ensure sufficient supplies when the city is built.

So in Kagan's view, his Rurik brother's fanfare is indeed serious, and he really attaches great importance to Lukiholm.

Rurik rode his horse and led his cavalry quickly to Nova Ostara.

He traveled with Kagan's cavalry and made his final station here.

At this time, there were 200 Kagan mercenaries and 300 pure transport horses. There were hemp sacks hanging on both sides of the horses. Fortunately, the horses were all prairie horses with strong endurance, otherwise Rurik would not have thought that his sworn brother would be able to take away a large amount of goods. Iron pots, iron cutlery, glassware, soap, honey in jars, ale in barrels, spirits in bottles, clusters of arrows, steel swords, spearheads, burlap, cables, salt, vegetable dyes, deerskins, rabbitskins, bearskins , squirrel skins, walrus tusks, poultry feathers, raspberry preserves, sun-dried thyme, and many other small items.

Ross has been producing a wide variety of objects. The most that Cagan brings are the bulk materials necessary for production and life, and the rest of the small objects are mostly curious.

It is undeniable that the variety of goods that Rus can produce has been increasing, which the Pechenegs could not have imagined in the past, even if their trade volume is not high. Kagan is very careful that the trade route will become more and more stable in the future, and the transaction volume between the two sides will definitely increase year by year. The Pecheneg people can indeed rely on the power of Ross to grow themselves, and the heavy materials carried by these hundreds of horses proves everything.

This was Kagan's last personal escort, and the largest trade troop of both countries.

The two brothers continued to drink and chat in New Ostara, and waited for the children one after another before the agreed date.

Numerous boys, either by boat or on foot, were escorted by their clan to New Ostara. It is true that the word "escort" can be used here, and it is only from the faces of these children that Rurik can see their reluctance.

So what?

Moreover, Rurik felt that he was being played a little by a group of boyars. They did bring the boys in according to the regulations, but they all turned out to be immature. Obviously, they were all selected by the Boyars according to the lower limit of age. I am afraid that there are still eleven-year-old boys who have been drawn to make up the number.

The Boyars were all personally escorted, and their smiling faces made it difficult for Rurik to criticize anything.

It was Carlotta who showed great generosity and immediately accepted these thin boys with tender faces. After that, he shouted for the boiled wheat prepared by his subordinates, and then poured the boiled milk into the wooden bowl. Salty milk-foamed oatmeal was an odd delicacy, and the boys weren't picky and happily finished their meal.

After the boys were full, they changed their clothes as a group. All the clothes were naturally financed by Rurik. Unlike the uniforms of the Rus army, the robes of these boys were sewn into abstract bull heads with black cloth strips on the chest.

This is the badge of the Principality of Ostara. Put on this dress, put on new leather boots, and eat the food of the Ostara people, and they will say goodbye to their hometown farm. UU read www. uukanshu. com Even if their parents are still taking them with them in their hometown, at this moment all the children are transformed into Carlota's subjects.

The boys even performed a ceremony en masse, swearing allegiance to Duchess Carlotta.

It was a fine morning, with long boats lined up on the Lovady River, and cavalry on the bank.

The four hundred and twenty boys were short in stature. After all, they were too young. Carlotta smiled and accepted them, thinking that in a few years, these boys would grow up and be strong enough. She also really needs her new subjects to be younger, so that it is convenient for her own training and emotional edification. In her plan, these boys would all become cavalry, only because of the lack of qualified warhorses at hand.

Ostara wanted to send another 200 people to accompany him, and Carlo Taling hired hundreds of farmers from several nearby farms to assist. Rurik also brought some brothers from Novgorod, he himself did not go to the south, the task was assigned to the love of Fisk.

Coupled with the Pecheneg team that was about to go home, the number of people in the entire team along the Henan easily exceeded 1,000.

This is less like an immigrant team, more like an expeditionary force.

The boys got on the long boat and, accompanied by adults, took up the long oars like the Varyags and waited for the order to set off.

On the shore, Rurik raised his head and looked at the face of Carlota, who was riding, and Karl, who was sitting in front of him.

"Complete the task early, and the fort must be built this year."

"Okay." Carlotta didn't say more, she had already finished what she had to say.

Rurik also talked too much with Kagan, and he really didn't want to say anything at the moment of parting. Both are men, and this moment is divided into deep.

He signaled to the trumpeter on standby, and as the melodious trumpet sounded, the huge team began to move.

The action of the migrants going south to build a new city has begun!

Chapter end