Rise of Rurik

After the Spring Festival, it is the so-called Fishing Festival of the Rus.

Nearly 1,000 wooden boats of various types poured into the thawed sea. Even if there is still a lot of floating ice on the sea, it cannot stop people's enthusiasm for fishing.

Silver is a good thing, but it cannot be eaten as food. Many people saw the priests dissect two large fishes at the altar in person, which was an auspicious omen.

The most ice floes are near the coast, and things change when boats are rowed out of the fjords.

Cod plays a very important role in the entire Baltic Sea ecological chain. They are also a kind of fish with a great expansion spirit, so that they can be found in the entire huge sea area. The Gulf of Bothnia has a large cod stock, but they are not suitable for the Ross people to drag their nets for fishing.

After the fishing moratorium for nearly half a year, the cod, which has already eaten fat and strong, doesn't mind the sudden appearance of the bait.

Masses of hemp fishing line were thrown into the sea, and clumps of herring meat hung from barbed iron hooks to lure the herring on the bottom of the Gulf of Bothnia.

In one afternoon, at least 3,000 fishing lines were thrown into the sea, initiating a large-scale catch of cod.

Everyone scattered the boats spontaneously, so much so that some fishermen were doomed to wait until the next day to return to port.

All the hard work has paid off well. When the evening sun shone down on the whole of Roseburg, a large number of fishing boats have returned with their full catches.

Half of the boats were still working, they were just waiting for night to come.

The geographical location of the Ross tribe determines that the allies in the south are seldom willing to go to the northern waters to fish. In fact, due to the limitations of technology, all tribes could not imagine the grand occasion of casting a net to catch 30 tons at a time.

A successful trawling of a large net and five hundred pounds of herring, that is Odin's blessing!

Fishing for cod is different. If you are lucky and the hemp rope is strong enough, it is also possible to catch two cod with a length of nearly two meters.

On the night of the festival, the residents of Roseburg spontaneously lit an astonishing number of bonfires, and the quiet world was full of people's voices.

People grilled fresh fish around the bonfire, and Rurik also participated in this gluttonous feast!

Grilled fish, just sprinkled with a pinch of salt can bring the most unpretentious taste. Cod is very different from other fish, the fish meat is very low in fat,

Cod liver is full of cod liver oil.

Rurik could not only nibble on boneless fish steaks, but also nibble on cod livers, leaving his mouth full of oil.

Oil? Can fish oil make soap?

Forget it, fish oil soap must be fishy, ​​and you can use it to wash clothes without the fishy smell.

Around the bonfire, Rurik couldn't help but think about it. The so-called most efficient way to catch seals is to dig a hole in the frozen sea. When the seal floats to breathe, the harpoon directly hooks it and kills it on the spot. Currently, all soaps are made from seal oil, and its fat has no odor. The best substitutes for it are tallow and suet.

Soap does bring a lot of wealth, and without quality oils, nothing is said.

"Damn, if I want to make more soap, do I have to start with raising cattle and sheep? I'm really convinced."

Rurik's eyes caught his own father, the old fellow and a kind of close friend, laughing while holding their horn cups or oak cups and drinking the rest of the ale.

All the young people were in a carnival, their stomachs filled with fish and drinks.

According to normal habits, tonight, the entire tribe drank all the wine they brewed last year, and if they want to drink a new one, they must start over.

The carnival was only one night, and the next day, the Ross tribe officially entered the most active period of the year.

It is like a big tree waiting for spring. It feels that the time is right, and it desperately highlights new shoots. Soon, the dry trunk returns to the dense summer color.

The whole tribe has become busy, and the new busyness is really different from previous years.

Everyone is talking about a few powerful young men of the tribe who have gained the support of other young men and continue to seek revenge on the Gotlanders.

Another major event is proceeding in an orderly manner under everyone's attention, that is, the tax collection operation of the Rus' army traveling far east after fishing every year.

The trip is not too long, but participants still need to prepare some dry food.

Yesterday's cod catch was so large that people weren't luxurious enough to waste food intentionally, and new catches were being thrown in a steady stream.

The women began to make salted fish, dried and dried fish, and they also processed the little wheat left at home into hard wheat cakes, which were used as food for their husbands or sons on expeditions.

The great merchant Gould began to reorganize his fleet, and he hired a few more men from Roseburg as temporary sailors. Under Otto's personal supervision, Gould personally led his subordinates and pulled a two-wheeled wooden cart, and began to transport the yellow sulphur soap to the fleet. A large number of processed deerskins have been bundled up and thrown onto the boat.

Gould is about to make a lot of money, and for the blacksmith Kravason, he has made a lot of money, but his body is seriously exhausted. The huge demand for steel swords made him greedily sign huge orders to make two hundred? It's crazy.

What's more, now that Rurik's kid has a new idea. Burning bright sand and mixing some quicklime into it can make a transparent cup. It sounds very tempting and worth trying. But now, how can I have the time and energy to help him do things?

A child is a child. As soon as spring arrives, the child will continue to lead more children to the hillside for training. Not to mention, what Rurik has done is very interesting. These children will definitely be better than their parents when they grow up.

That's how Kravason felt.

Otto didn't know that some things were beyond his understanding, which Rurik didn't expect.

The tribe's five blacksmith families all believe in Thor, the god of thunder and the protector of craftsmen. Therefore, they naturally maintain a relatively close relationship. Although there is inevitable competition, the intensity of competition can be completely ignored.

If it weren't for the huge order that made it an impossible task, Kravason would not have thought of spreading the technology to his friends. What's more, his son Kawei has already made a steel sword for himself, and easily completed the test of "cutting the iron sword". A few days after the festival, Kawei will inevitably follow the leader and bring his own steel sword. Expedition to Novgorod.

There is one less excellent blacksmith, and Kravason, who has no assistants, even thought of asking his wife to help him.

Is that possible? into the impossible. It seemed strange to him that a woman would be a blacksmith.

The four blacksmiths knelt down and longed for the full set of steelmaking skills. They not only pointed out the friendship of several generations, but also made it clear that they would give a sum of money as a reward.

Essentially, Clavasson is a craftsman and a businessman. Since Rurik talked to himself about the share, the child does not need to work, because he can get 10% of each sword by selling the technology, why can't he follow the example?

Klavassen also understood that as long as the orders increased, Rurik would quickly accumulate wealth because of the "agreement". He knew that he was fully capable of greedy and greedy the money that he had given to Rurik. Considering that the kid would be the next leader without any accident, which fool would dare to greed for his money?

But my colleagues and friends need special treatment.

Clavasson and his four colleagues also made a similar agreement engraved on the board, that is, the diffusion technology with a price, and the price is a thousand silver coins.

It is true that it seems that this is an agreement that they cannot accept at all. As soon as Clavason explained it, how could the peers refuse to agree?

It turned out that the agreement he signed with each of his colleagues was to make twenty steel swords free of charge after providing the technology, and must successfully complete the performance test.

The price of twenty is a thousand silver coins.

While the others basked in the fiery night after the festival and feasted on the fish, the blacksmiths got together to complete the signing of all the terms of the agreement. Here, the deeper agreement is that since everyone can make steel products, everyone must make changes in business in the future.

The pricing power of any metal smelting products is no longer owned by individuals, but by five blacksmiths who get together to discuss. No one is allowed to raise or lower prices without authorization. All prices must be negotiated by everyone and cannot be changed.

They discussed and discussed many things for this, such as how to prevent the inconsistency of production and further dissonance of sales caused by one company's laziness and one's over-diligence. In order to avoid being too poor and too rich, all professional blacksmiths must make an even distribution of orders. That is, if a company gets too many orders to the extent that it cannot be completed at all, the orders must be distributed to others.

Taking advantage of the festive atmosphere, the blacksmiths successfully completed the signing of the agreement and formed an alliance for this purpose.

The five blacksmiths of the Rus, they made a great attempt.

In the ninth century AD, this Europe completely retreated to the agricultural era. The trade network in Western Europe collapsed almost completely, and only the Viking tribes were keen on trade.

Five blacksmiths of the Ross tribe, one of the Viking tribes, got together and decided to form a cartel organization, the so-called Price Alliance.

Since ordinary people disdain to change trust to become a blacksmith, the remaining blacksmiths have the motivation to unite.

Blacksmiths all know the Rune script of their own nation, and they also have a lot of practical experience in mathematics and physics. They are more knowledgeable than others, and they are naturally wiser.

When Clavason further explained his thoughts, others thought for a while, and they knew that the "agreement" they signed also established the existence of the alliance.

It is like the relationship between the Ross tribe and those tribes in the south, that is, the basic principle that when one side is in trouble, allies must rescue.

The covenant of blacksmiths must also be the same, and the fundamental purpose is to make money together.

Each of them engraved their own names on the wooden boards, and then performed a small ceremony under the stars, as if this would gain the affirmation of Thor, who believed in the blacksmiths.

Rurik had no idea that the blacksmiths had spontaneously organized a price alliance. On the new day, he took a young subordinate of his own and ran to the hillside, continuing to do pure militarization with a wooden shield and a wooden sword. training. From the adults' point of view, it is really a good thing that Rurik can train his children in an orderly manner.

Boys will soon be able to grow into warriors, to make contributions.

Rurik, however, has a way of making the children change complex formations through verbal slogans. In the future, their children will all follow Rurik. They have established a good relationship now, and they will easily become warriors in the future.

In fact, the child's parents are happier that they don't have to worry about their lively son doing something particularly dangerous and dying as a result. The two sons before the leader died because of dangerous games, and every year there are children who die in accidents, but it is not advisable to keep the sons at home because of the danger.

The future leader will bring young children together to train tactics, and the children's father and brother can feel at ease and boldly make greater attempts.

People, the most fearful thing is to worry about the future. Even the men of Rus who are willing to open up the land, they are also worried about the desolate situation of their wives and children after they die in foreign wars.

Although many women love their husbands so much that they will die in battle for their husbands, but what about their sons? Young children are usually raised by relatives and friends, can they really get good care?

Rurik's actions reassured many. They both believed that as long as they had a close relationship with their youngest son from an early age, they would never have to worry about their youngest child being bad. On the contrary, those little ones have become the lucky ones.

Three days had passed since the festival, and when Rurik visited the smithy in Kravassen himself, he saw a large group of people hammering iron blocks.

who are they? It's actually Kravason's colleagues.

The main purpose of Rurik's visit here was to collect the 10% of the profits that belonged to him. By the way, he continued to discuss the matter of making glass. He never thought that it would be like this after three days of absence.

"You actually handed me the technology you gave to others, and you are passing it on to others?" At this moment, everyone could see Rurik's naive expression of obvious anger.

Clavasson quickly and carefully explained: "Ah, my child. The tribe gave me an order for two hundred swords. I have worked hard for a long time, and still only made thirty. With the ability of me and my son, Even in the spring of next year, I still can't fulfill this order."

"So you're teaching the technology to others?"

"Yes." Cravason actually didn't think there was anything wrong with this, and continued: "Everyone is a brother of a tribe, can't I make a lot of money alone? So we also signed an agreement. From now on, We are an alliance, we work together, and only in this way can we complete the order for two hundred swords on the summer solstice that night without night."

"You!" In an instant, a word called Cartel appeared in Rurik's mind. "You actually cartel."

"What's wrong?"

"You actually formed an alliance."

"You" Kravason was stunned for a moment, and the other blacksmiths also stopped their work. "Rurik, don't you like it? Don't worry, we have made an agreement, we will all fulfill that agreement, it should be your money, we swear to Thor in the sky, we will never greedy you for even a single copper coin ."

Hearing this, Rurik felt a little relieved, but the shock and unease in his heart still lingered.

Rurik muttered in a low voice: "It seems that even if I didn't participate, you will spontaneously become different. Well, you continue to do it."

Clavasson couldn't hear the meaning of this at all, so Rurik didn't object, and continued: "You must rest assured, I know you are here today for money, Kawi, take the money."

Soon, Kawhi came with a burlap sack and handed it over to Rurik. There are heavy silver coins in it, and Rurik counted that there were indeed thirty coins, that is, the profit that he should get for the production of the six swords.

Undoubtedly, Rurik was very surprised by Clavasson's actions. He did not stay any longer and left with his servant Rumia hastily. He didn't even continue his lobbying for Kravason to make glass, and withdrew when he took the money.

Looking at his hurried back, Klaverson shook his head and couldn't help but blame himself: "Is it really wrong that we formed an alliance? We are all blacksmiths, and it is strange to be a covenant?"

Perhaps only by looking at the past from the perspective of the future can we understand the progressiveness of the actions of the blacksmiths.

Rurik was shocked! He hurriedly retreated to his home and calmed down.

On the way home, Lumia couldn't help but ask, "S, why did you leave so quickly, don't you have something to say?"

"What do you know!" Rurik exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry, master."

"No! Keep calling me s. Rumia."

"Yes, s?" Rumia answered weakly.

"You still have to keep learning. You still don't understand what the blacksmiths are doing now. They just want to get out of the leader's control. I don't like this. When I become the leader, the blacksmiths must be under my control."

Rumia really doesn't understand. The only thing she understands is that her master has a strong desire to rule at a "young age", so why must some blacksmiths be controlled by him?

She didn't say anything, just followed Rurik closely.

In Rurik's conception, the cartel price union, is always hated by a country. But it cannot be denied that it is actually a product that will inevitably appear when a commercial civilization develops to a certain extent.

Merchants were the first real bourgeoisie to appear, and such merchants often juggled production and sales. In order to compete in a more and more intense market, monopoly organizations will emerge as the times require. Without him, a single businessman is vulnerable. If he earns more, he is a fat sheep in the eyes of others. If he earns less, he will naturally starve to death. If he becomes an organization, it will be completely different.

The Hanseatic League was such an organization. First of all, it was a city formed by merchants’ fairs in Western Europe due to the recovery of trade. The merchants gained control of the city and formed a free city. Several free cities formed an alliance for the benefit of wealth. The merchants themselves recruited mercenaries to resist the attacks of the lords, and formulated their own business rules to coordinate various industries within the alliance.

Their origins are not aristocratic, and some are the desire for wealth and the determination to defend their wealth.

If you don't want to be the fat sheep that the lords slaughter at will, then unite. Since everyone is poor, only money is left, so use money to build a power.

The Hanseatic League is a classic cartel alliance. After all, this alliance was destroyed in the intensifying war of European powers, but it did not really disappear. As long as the business culture reaches a certain level, businessmen will definitely try to form an alliance in order to maximize their profits.

Some businessmen went to the New World. They did not want to be controlled by the European powers, so they established a new type of country dominated by pure big businessmen and big landlords. The monarch and lord's set is still efficient, and it is simply shocking that even the monarch doesn't want it.

But the era has also entered the modern era.

Great changes often start from small changes. Originally, Rurik felt that his people were generally due to the extreme lack of knowledge. Although they all have strong learning ability, it is not difficult to change their ideas.

Now, Rurik really feels like he has a pattern for his clothes.

Are they merely a spontaneous alliance of five blacksmiths? I am afraid that at the beginning of the Hanseatic League, several big businessmen in Hamburg gathered together to form a small alliance. Subsequently, more and more businessmen and industry experts joined it, and the quantitative change became a qualitative change.

After all, the five blacksmiths such as Kravassin have already mastered the technology of smelting low carbon steel in Europe. As long as their alliance has the opportunity to continue to develop, it is not as simple as making a lot of money.

"This is a danger, I have to control them, I have to form my own team of blacksmiths, I will obey myself. Yes. The salt and iron monopoly is never because of its huge profits. If the merchants of these industries form an alliance and develop, will they Will they still listen to the king? Bah! They will try to abolish the king and establish an obedient one, and even the king will not want it. They are Europeans after all!"

Thinking of it this way, Rurik increasingly needed his father to travel all the way to Novgorod to get some servants for him, and he also needed servants and mercenaries from the south from the great merchant Gould.

Rurik's ideas have changed a lot.

Clavason and the others are very smart, and Gould is even smarter. As a traveler, he can regret that they don't know what is advanced, and it is stupid to despise their IQ!

To control them, we must first compete with this group of businessmen and industrialists, and win with an overwhelming advantage. Only by establishing their own industrial chain and sales chain can they avoid future wealth being controlled by them.

Is it not?

Rurik pondered, an astonishing reality lay here. If the blacksmiths run away collectively, and the great businessman Gould no longer lives in Roseburg, where will his wealth come from? Although the industry can still be rebuilt, without this ready-made strong producer and seller, it must be a few years of northwesterly wind.

Their own wealth lifeline is actually controlled by these people. no! must change! Must completely change within a few years!

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