Rise of Rurik

A huge fleet turned into an archipelago, and the great merchant Gould started this year's trade with great enthusiasm.

Lake Mälaren is sparkling, with boats rippling on the lake. A large number of fishing boats are operating daily, and there are also transport ships, with their various cargoes, trying to sell them for a good price in the market on the shore.

Gould's forty boats came from the north, and when they reached the mouth of the lake, they caught the attention of nearby fishermen.

"Guys! Light up the sign."

He gave the order, and a large sail dyed with the emblem of the Uncles tribe showed up, and the top of the mast was the family emblem of Gould.

Don't expect the fishermen to recognize Gould, they know the symbols of each tribe best.

Are they from the North, are they Rus?

It was an Uncles. Why are they?

Naturally, Gould had no time to communicate with the first fishermen he encountered, who were by no means his own buyers.

The village where the fishermen lived was built on a large number of shallow sea sandbars, and the new market formed here hundreds of years later is Stockholm.

Gould's destination was more distant.

The fleet entered Lake Mälaren, where another day-long voyage awaited him.

He will surely sell out the traditional fur goods shipped from the north in a short period of time, and who the goods are sold to is a particular concern.

Although the Melalen people are richer, it is very important for them to satisfy the wealthy households of the Ankras tribe where they belong first.

Besides, things are very different this year!

The Rus not only sold a batch of high-quality furs, but also a large number of high-end goods.

Gould is in high spirits, and he has fantasized about making a lot of money.

"Master, there are more and more ships ahead. Are we..."

"No! It's not a good time to sell. Let's go back to Uncles first." Gould rejected his subordinate's suggestion.

In fact, many of his subordinates, Yang Fan, were paddling at the same time, and the feeling of exhaustion affected their bodies. They wanted to go ashore and rest.

For example, buy something to eat and drink at the market, and buy some fine linen to make some new clothes. Or simply find some attractive women and live the night comfortably.

After all, this group of guys who had been with Gould for a long time saw Gould and the two maids enjoying themselves all day long. And those Ross women are not willing, even if the other party is a man from an allied tribe.

Because of Gould, he just wanted to go home early.

But he stood on the bow, squinting and watching the lively market not far away.

The core of the Melalen Department, a huge settlement with a population of up to 10,000 people, plus the surrounding small villages along the lake, the tribal population is as high as 20,000.

The core area is not given a special name, and the merchants who come and go call it Melalen, or a place name suffixed with the noun "fort".

Gould doesn't want to disturb the business here for the time being,

But the small travel merchants who followed him closely turned into the market one after another.

The docking of ships is the most exciting time, and the great chieftain of Melalen is happy to see the merchants coming and going to trade in his lands.

Whether it is a businessman who came by land or sea, or even a Norwegian businessman who came from the west over the mountains.

Only the Danes and Gotland merchants, even if they were able to disguise themselves, had their goods confiscated and their men beheaded if they were discovered.

Gould's fleet is too big! They had no intention of calling the port. When the news reached the ears of the leader of Melalen, Ankrath's transport fleet had already moved upstream and went straight to their home port along the waterway.

Those were indeed transport ships, none of them were leading warships, and the sails of Ankrath were hanging.

However, all the ships that had close contact with them were shocked by the draught of those ships.

They gradually lined up into a giant python and went upstream in a small river to the northwest of Ankras!

The forests are lush and lush, and the Ankras have established some farmland along the river.

Gould noticed that the wheat of his family had grown green, and there were still four months to wait.

Compared with the Rus, Gould is grateful that his people have land that can be reclaimed. Besides the climate, Uncles is warmer than Roseburg.

Wheat, onion, cabbage. Rurik put down his rhetoric and would double buy them. Trafficking these crops would have made only a small amount of money, but with Rurik's promise, the matter became lucrative.

The total population of the entire Ankras tribe is comparable to that of the White Tree Manor in Novgorod.

They are deep inland, connected by water to Lake Mälaren. Circumstances determined that they could not become the fishermen of the Rus who could sweep across the Gulf of Bothnia to fish for herring. They became farmers, and they were more loyal to raising cattle and sheep in the slack season.

Of course, there is business, but there are too few residents in the tribe, and the richest are only a dozen or so families that are not prosperous.

Here, Gould is the richest.

He is not only rich, because he has raised a guard of fifty strong warriors, at least the clansmen, and even the big leader, did not dare to attack him.

Even Gould can use money to buy people's hearts and act as the big leader of the Ankras.

He never had this idea, he didn't want to take on the responsibilities and obligations of a big leader, he just wanted to be a rich man.

However, wealth without power to defend will be a dream after all.

The Unkraths are far weaker than the Mellarens, and the Ruths are much weaker than the Mellarens in terms of population alone.

Perhaps the balance of power is being broken by the Otto father and son of the Rus.

Spring is here, and after the snow melts, Melalen people have already rushed to the Melalen market to sell their own agricultural products. Examples include cheese, yogurt cubes, and sheepskin leather garments, and even a few metal tools made by blacksmiths.

Besides, how many other ways are there for the Unkraths to make their fortunes?

Everyone knew that no one in the tribe was richer than Gould, a longtime visitor to Roseburg.

Many people fantasize that maybe this old guy has a million silver coins buried in his house!

This is of course a joke, but everyone is happy to believe that Gould's money is at least 100,000 silver coins.

Gould is back, don't bother disembarking himself, the mighty fleet has proven its identity.

Numerous farmers working on the farmland by the river stopped to watch their fleet, and they could see a fat man standing on the bow from a distance! Who else is fatter than that family? there is none left.

Everyone in Onkrath knew that Gould and his five sons were a bunch of fat people, and even their women were plump.

Word spread quickly in the settlement, and large crowds flocked to the tribe's river pier.

The tribal chief Ungriff was in high spirits: "What? Is the news reliable?"

The servile servant complimented: "It must be Gould. We have no more ships than him."

The words were true, but the big leader Ungriff was a little unhappy when he heard it.

He knew that being the leader himself was not convincing. Everyone knows that the Gould family is the richest. Isn't it natural for that guy to be the leader?

As a result, the fat man spent most of the year mixing with the Rus people in the extreme north.

The power seems to be there, and it is pity that he can't maintain a guard of fifty strong soldiers for a long time.

Pay the guards up to six hundred silver coins a month? The big leader Ungriff couldn't take out this money by himself for a long time. By his side, there are only more than a dozen attendants with adequate physical fitness, and they will only follow the action at critical moments. Because according to his wealth, he can pay only a small sum of money to hire a small group of clansmen as "security guards".

Ungriff twisted his beard and slowly replied to the servant waiting for the order: "Let's go. Gather the people and let's go to the dock."

"Okay! Chief, do you need to put on armor for you?"

"No! I'm not going to war. Get my sable coat."

At this moment, Ungriff hoped that a sable fur coat, which he had bought at a great price, would show his wealth status in appearance.

He excitedly led his men to the pier.

Before that, Gould's family received the letter, and they were already waiting at the pier, accompanied by heavily armed warriors.

The clansmen watching the lively, knowing that they are sloppy, are not worthy of being close to the rich Gould.

Just look at that guy's women! He actually had five wives, each with a ruddy complexion, wearing an all-white ferret coat with a gold-trimmed belt around the waist. Even these women's leather boots were adorned with rubies, not to mention their beautiful gold necklaces, and their ears were adorned with gigantic cobalt sapphire drop earrings that would almost tear them off.

The women are all luxurious, and the group of fat dudes around them are even more well-dressed.

This is Gould's family, the people Gould loves most. It's just them! Gould just wanted to have more sons to expand his family business, and he married a beautiful girl when he met a beautiful girl in the Mellaren market. Now that he has five sons, when he returns today, he wants his wives to be jealous of the real life.

what! In Roseburg days, only two women from Britain around him gave him physical comfort. However, if they have a son, the situation changes again. I'm afraid, it will become a grand occasion where seven wives are jealous.

Life has to go on, not to mention that when I come back this year, a major family meeting concerning my future must be held.

Of course, before that, Gould still needs to pay a visit to the great leader of the tribe. First, as "filial piety", he sold some of the goods he had shipped to him "cheaply".

Before the ships docked, Gould had already covered his old face full of fat.

Then the two maids were ordered: "Annie, you two avoid."

The two maids sat obediently and watched the rowers stand up and threw the ropes desperately to the trestle. People waiting on the shore took the ropes and tried their best to pull the boat to the shore.

Gould's big foot stepped firmly on the trestle of the Ankras Tribe Wharf, as if the entire bridge was shaking because of his weight.

Oh no! That's because the ships are carrying too much cargo. The powerful potential energy of the ship collided with the trestle. No, two of the more than 20 trestle bridges of the tribe collapsed, even if the speed of the boat was very slow.

As soon as Gould came ashore, his five wives rushed over as if they had found half of the gold, for fear that the treasure would be taken away by others.

The situation is also appropriate, the original meaning of Gould's name is "a piece of gold."

They hope to get more favor from their men, even if there are former female slaves among these women.

No, after giving birth to his son, his status has completely changed.

Gould's happy face showed displeasure.

He reprimanded vigorously: "You all go away, let's go home if we have anything!"

However, what really made him escape completely was the arrival of the clan chief Ungriff.

Ungriff, this man with a thin face and a long beard and a scar under his eyes, his name means "fighting and attacking". However, incarnated as inland agricultural tribes, they are now loyal to him. Farm and manage your own farmland.

Ungriff has many more scars, the result of fighting the Danes in his youth.

Until now, the enthusiasm for this battle has not been worn away by the years.

As a big leader, if there is a powerful enemy attacking, he must lead the tribe to participate in the battle.

As for the dozen or so professional businessmen, they would run away with their families.

On this matter, Ungriff couldn't restrain them, at most muttered a few words.

Especially this Gould, what this person wants, even if he asks for the position of the big leader, Ungriff thinks that it is true, he should withdraw.

"Oh, noble merchants like gold, you are finally back!" Ungriff stretched his arms and walked over accompanied by a dozen guards.

At this moment, Gould is not only surrounded by his family, but also dozens of loyal guards.

Especially the warrior Yevluo, who he bought from the market and cultivated for more than ten years.

These guards are loyal only to their financial masters, and the most powerful Yevro is only loyal to his own master.

Ungriff came, and they remained vigilant, even with all the good intentions of the other party.

Superficial skills must be done well, Gould pushed aside his own people, also stretched his plump arms, and walked over with firm steps.

The two powerful men hugged each other, patted each other on the shoulder, and said some apparently polite greetings.

They let go of each other, and the big leader Ungriff stopped dawdling and said straight to the point: "You are still from the Rus. It seems that this time you really shipped a lot of good goods."

"Of course! I've never forgotten who I am, I'm from Ancora. This year, I've bought more good stuff from the Ross, some good stuff that will shock you. I'm not at Mellaren at all. Market stop, I didn't even have any stop after entering the lake. You see, I'm home, it's my only stop on the way."

This was still very polite, and Great Chief Ungriff was really pleased to hear it.

Then he hehe asked: "Should it still be a batch of precious furs?"

"Of course! It's more than fur!" Gould was about to announce some big things to Ungriff, and he estimated that those things would definitely displease Ungriff. Of course, I don't need to think about this old guy's mood at all, there is no one in the entire tribe more powerful than me.

In the end, he has been an Ankrath since his ancestors, and how the friendship of several generations must be considered.