Rise of Rurik

The caravan has begun to assemble!

Gould's ships were docked at Unglass's dock, and they formed a caravan of twenty.

Just like in previous years, Gould will transport the handicrafts made by the tribal farmers, such as some wooden tools and surplus linen, to the Melaron Market for sale.

Most of the other merchants in the tribe are also doing similar things, but the destination of those traveling together is not necessarily the Melaron Market. In any case, you can only make a small amount of money from trafficking in these items, and the two key materials that can really make a lot of money are grain and leather.

The bulk of Gould's shipments happened to have a lot of leather.

He pondered that the group of merchants who followed him a month ago also bought furs from the Ross tribe, and they must have sold them all at the Melalen Market.

Now that I transport the materials, I can definitely make a time difference. At that time, I will not have excessive competition pressure, so I can deliberately raise the price of fur goods.

On May 31 of the Julian calendar, which was the last day of May, Gould set the time for the caravan to depart.

On this day, the family members gathered at the pier. Gould set foot on his cargo ship, followed by his eldest wife, who was also the highest-ranking wife among the female family members. As for the two newly born maids from Britton, they already live in the hometown of Uncles, and Gould will not take them with them in the future.

Gould has no regrets about not having a young woman to accompany him.

Because he can get new young women at the Mellaren Market and continue to raise them. Is this body bone can restore the glory of youth? Gould doesn't have that much confidence anymore. He has self-knowledge, and it's not bad that this body can last until the age of sixty.

Gould temporarily appointed a mercenary to lead the other brothers temporarily to protect the wealth hoarded in Ankras's hometown and the safety of his family.

Although Yevluo, who was accompanying him, felt a little bit uneasy about his decision, it had been a long time since the night talk, and after thinking about it, he decided to go.

Yevlo got on the boat, and he asked bluntly: "My lord, maybe, it's just the last time I personally escort you?"

"You? No! The penultimate time." Gould laughed.

"Then the last time."

"Of course we're going to Roseburg in August. Yevro, do what you're doing now, and trust me, I've got a bright future planned for you."

originally,

It was time for Gould to talk to Ungriff, the tribal leader. He didn't want to say any nonsense on this year's commercial voyage, even though Ungriff had already run to the dock with the so-called guard of honor.

Two old guys, one on the shore and one on the boat, and they looked at each other and that was all.

Gould hired another group of hungry farmers in his tribe, promising to give them food in exchange for their paddles, instead of hiring a handful of excellent Rus paddlers who had long returned.

The fleet began to drift along the river to the vast Lake Mälaren, and Gould, standing on the bow, watched the homeland that was drifting away.

At this time, the whole world was lush and green, but a sadness poured into his heart.

Although the hometown is small and a bit shabby, it is also the homeland that my family has run for generations.

Gould felt that his decision was very correct, and it would be in exchange for greater benefits. Another problem now is that the ship has set sail, and there is no turning back for him and his entire family.

The sun spreads over the vast lake, and the surrounding scenery is lush and lush. Standing on the bow of the boat and looking around, there are a lot of small islands looming not far away.

Lake Mälaren is a vast lake area with numerous islands and a shallow overall lake.

Every winter, especially in October, when the first snow falls, the lake begins to freeze, and traditional business activities are cut off.

The warm summer is a good time for trade, and Mälaren Castle, which is built along the lake, has also entered the most prosperous time of the year.

Gould's fleet this time consisted of only 20 large cargo ships, but each of them was so loaded with cargo that the paddlers were worried that the wind and rain would strike and the water waves would overturn the ship. .

In the past few days, a rainfall that swept across Eastern Europe and Northern Europe did indeed have a certain impact on the maritime trade of the Baltic Sea, but it also brought benefits to the agriculture in the region.

Farmers simply cannot handle the high technology of waterwheel irrigation, and it is unrealistic to use wooden buckets to carry water to flood the fields. Generally, they are looking forward to rainfall and relying solely on the sky for food.

A May rain has brought great hope to the farmers of the Melalen tribe.

The Melalen tribe with a population of more than 20,000 people, and now, at least 5,000 people have poured into their market.

Most of the tribe's population is concentrated in Mälarenburg on the north shore of Amber, a giant human settlement with many small islands at the mouth of a river.

The population of the settlement exceeded 12,000 in a short time, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that she was a city.

However, Mälarenburg is not a real city.

A large number of traveling merchants are like migratory birds. The merchants of the alliance rowed boats to carry goods and built their own temporary shops on various small islands, where merchants from all over the world conducted traditional commerce.

When the wheat harvest was completed at the end of August, and after the last and the largest grain transaction of the year, the prosperous shops turned into depression in an instant.

Because everyone has to face the harsh winter, all tribes go into hibernation like bears.

The fleet approached the prosperous pier, and Gould, who was standing on the bow, saw more and more ships around him.

Those were mostly fishing boats, catching some edible freshwater fish.

There are also many chubby ships, which are the counterparts of the trade.

There were still some splashes on the water, but if you looked closely, it was the trick of a naughty child diving.

Seeing them, Gould also remembered his childhood.

Just look at my bulging belly and pinching my old face full of fat, let's forget it.

"Sir, we are about to enter the port." The mercenary captain Yevluo pointed.

Yevro's words ended Gould's stunned stun, and he cheered up, and in a low and honest baritone, ordered his flagship; "Brothers, pay attention to changing lanes and turn into our own island!"

After all, Gould is a big family, and his family directly occupies a small island off the coast of Mälaren Castle. He set up a permanent shop here, under the care of his eldest son, Snowreva, who was destined to inherit the family's main property, a fat thirty-year-old man. This is completely different from the Gould family and those traveling merchants, just like Gould always resides in Roseburg in winter, and the eldest son Snow Reeva has settled in Mälarenburg for the past five years.

The merchants of the Melalen tribe more or less know the Gould family. As a big businessman, Gould has a certain commercial influence in the Melalen tribe of the alliance leader.

In this era, the concept of tariffs has not yet been invented in the Nordic world, and commercial ships do not have to pay an entry fee when they enter the port, and they do not have to pay any money.

Orekin, the great chief of the Meralen tribe, never had the concept of collecting taxes in this regard. In fact, if he decides to collect customs duties, port taxes, ship maintenance fees, etc., which will be collected by various ports in a thousand years, it will be an astonishing amount of income.

It is a pity that Olegin never thought of it this way. He felt that the gathering of allied businessmen to him completely proved the strength of the Melalen tribe. At the same time, only relying on traditional trade, especially traditional leather and grain trade, the Melalen tribe is the tribe with the fastest accumulation of wealth in the entire alliance.

Of course, it's just that this old guy can't imagine that the Rus people in the north have begun to try to use high value-added economic products to quietly change the alliance business hegemony of the Melalen tribe for hundreds of years.

Gould's ship rushed over to aim at his own island. It can be said that this small island is Gould's "territory".

In this time and space, the thinking sub-tribal alliance still has a long way to go before forming a feudal country called Sweden. Swedes and Danes, still have no clear boundaries between each other. Specific to each tribe, there are no clear boundaries between each tribe.

The people of the Melalen tribe are only particularly sensitive to their own farmland. As for other unowned lands, as long as allies come over, they can declare the land private.

Therefore, the most powerful family of Olekin, forcibly claimed many wastelands within the sphere of influence of the Melalen clan, and attributed the ownership to themselves.

It's just a large number of islands near Mälaren Castle, but Olegin won't make a strong claim.

His family has held the power of the tribe for a long time, and even holds the title of the leader of the alliance. He has a very special understanding of the alliance.

The so-called alliance is an alliance based on commerce. The strong bond of the alliance is the trade route! If you offend anyone, you must not offend the businessmen of your allies.

He is actually very happy to see the merchants of his allies planting their own totem symbols on many islands, because when the merchants do so, they often establish a permanent business base.

Olekin of Melalen was most worried that those foreign businessmen had withdrawn from the commercial base and ran away. Seeing them planting flags under his nose, he was actually very happy.

A small flag floated on Gould's island. This flag was very simple and rude in traditional Rune script, marked with the words "ONKRAS GULDA".

Therefore, this island is directly called Gould Island by colleagues.

People on the island saw a fleet of boats rushing towards them, goodbye to the Peugeot on the sails, and everyone realized that their master was coming.

The eldest son, Snowleva, counted the days, and he knew that it was during these days that his father should come.

Because a month ago, he learned that his father's fleet had entered the Great Lake, and he still wondered why his father didn't rest here. Now, my questions can be explained to my father in person.

"Brothers, our big businessman is here! Everyone enter the dock and get ready!"

"Hey, you guys! Stop dawdling. When the boat comes to shore, you must hold on to the lines."

"The porter over there, pull the trolley over and prepare to load and unload the goods."

"Women, make a fire and cook immediately!"

...

Although the Snowrevans are fat, their brains are not mushy.

He tried his best to direct the people on the island and prepare for the arrival of ships.

At this moment, there were still a few merchants' ships stopped at the port. They saw Gould's own fleet rushing over, and they drove their ships away with a smile, vacated their berths, and counted them. With my own money, I plan to buy a batch of Gould's goods for the first time.

The merchants all know that this old guy must have brought a lot of good things from the Rus. For example, ferret skins, which have become very valuable today!

The ship loaded with cargo slowly approached the pier, and the people on the shore eagerly grabbed the rope thrown by the rower for the first time. The people on the shore fixed the boat in the shortest possible time. They were all well-trained, and the work of loading and unloading the material began when the boat had docked.

Gould disembarked, and his eldest son walked up to him with arms outstretched.

The son hugged his father, and in the eyes of outsiders, it was like two fat men hugging each other.

"Dad, you're finally here. You worry me so much, you should have stopped by me a month ago."

"Oh! My child, it's because of something else. You see, I'm already here." Gould patted the eldest son on the back enthusiastically, and Yevro was envious of this scene.

At this time, the eldest son's wife and two daughters came together one after another, especially the two girls, the eldest was almost twelve years old and could be engaged to her. The youngest granddaughter is also six years old.

In the end is his own flesh and blood, then it is a girl.

Gould gently pushed his eldest son away, struggled to pick up his two granddaughters one by one, and pressed his old face enthusiastically.

I have to say that the entire Gould family is all fat, including two granddaughters. They have lived here for a long time, and they don't know what hunger is in their short lives. Although they are young, they already have chubby faces.

Gould's island is small, it's only the size of two football fields.

It was originally a sandbar, and there were more than a dozen pine trees on the island. In addition, it was just some stones.

Melalen has the meaning of a stone beach, and it is true. There are a lot of stones on the shore of Lake Melalen. These stones, as well as the lush local trees, are excellent materials for construction.

What is different from his hometown of Anglath is that Gould's buildings on his island are basically stone-based.

Long ago, workers built stone walls out of irregular stones, created a sandwich of moss and dirt, and then built an outer stone wall. Although such a stone room has no foundation, its winter warming effect is actually quite good.

Many houses of the Melalen tribe were built in this way, and only poorer families lived in pure wooden houses.

The architectural styles are adapted to local conditions. Gould's home in Roseburg is mainly made of wood. Although it is wood, Ross and Melalen know the technique of using moss and soil for insulation.

Gould's fleet had just docked, and he sold 30 ferret skins and 50 fox skins in a short period of time, and officially started this year's trade.

A large stone room, this is the banquet room of the eldest son, but in the next few months, the father will become the owner of the island again, and the eldest son Snow Leva will become a second-class existence.

This time, Gould also brought his wife over. The family held a small family banquet. The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren sat together in a rare circle, and everyone was very happy.

With a perfect start, the eldest son is hopeful for this year's trade.

He smiled and said, "Dad, you are finally here. I saw that there was some sulphur in the goods you brought back? Although this thing is a good thing, I'm worried that it won't sell a lot."

"Silly boy, what's the brimstone? It's a kind of baby that can wash everything. It's a new thing created by the Rus people. Because of it, I've made a lot of money in our hometown." Gould showed his pride without hesitation.

"real?"

"Of course! Six thousand silver coins!"

Snow Leva was taken aback when his father showed such a show: "Dad! That thing is real... It's very valuable... Can it really wash everything?"

"The meat will be roasted for a while longer." Gould said with a smile, "Wait a while, we will grab the roast lamb with our bare hands and eat it, and you don't have to worry about the greasy hands. Finally, we can use the baby named soupa, which is the one that spreads The sulphur-smelling baby can wash away greasy!"

"Oh, that's wonderful."

Gould shrugged: "Son, is there anything interesting at the market these days?"

"Yes!" In response, Snowleva couldn't wait to instruct the servant, and after a while, two transparent quilts were brought over. "Look, Dad, this is the newest baby on the market."

"Crystal cup?!" Gould's eyes lit up when he saw this.

"Yes, the crystal cup. The merchants said it was a good thing from the Danes."

"Quick, show me!"

Gould carefully played with these so-called crystal cups, and couldn't help but lament its regulation. "Ah, it's wonderful, you must have spent a lot of money on this thing! The crystal bottle I bought cost thirty gold coins, how about you? Should it be more expensive?!"

Snowleva smiled and snapped his fingers again, and the servant brought a transparent jug filled with wine.

Seeing this, Gould was taken aback again. He saw at a glance that the two crystal containers were a set.

"The Danes got it all? Why didn't I get it before?!"

"It should be the treasure of the Romans. The Danes got it, and then some merchants risked it to us and sold it." Snowreva said: "I bought two sets and spent a thousand silver coins for this. "

"It seems that this is the only thing that our Olegin will not doubt whether the Danes are mixed in with the merchants. You are paying a hundred gold coins. In my opinion, if I sell it, I will price it five hundred gold coins. It's not an exaggeration. After all, it's a rare treasure!"

Gould felt that his son had picked up a leak, and he was very happy about it, but he didn't know...

After all, when Gould set off, Rurik's glassware was still limited to the concept, that is, it was sold to the triumphant warriors and the merchants who had not left Rosberg, and it was also a matter of May. When it comes to doing business, the merchants will take the treasures in their hands, run wildly on the sea, and transport them to the Melaron Market to sell them quickly.

Gould had no idea that his son actually suffered a big loss, and now he is happy that his son has some treasures.

"So, are these crystal utensils still in the market?"

"No more." Snow Leva said regretfully, "I bought those merchants as soon as they put them out. There are also many crystal bottles and cups, which were bought by the big boss. Dad, you know Yes, that guy is very rich, and he made a high price."

"It doesn't matter." Gould warned his son with a sullen mouth: "I can only say that it is your luck to get it, and it is your destiny to not get it. Child, remember my words."

"Yes, Dad. Next, our trade this year."

"Just in time, I want to announce a major event that is extremely important to our family!" Gould raised his fat chest and said honestly and solemnly: "I have decided that the main body of our family will start this autumn from this year. Begin to relocate all to the Rus. Our family's century-old era in Unkrath is over, and after that, we live with the Rus."

As soon as this statement came out, the eldest son Snowleva was in an uproar.