Rise of Rurik

During dinner that night, Rurik shared his gems with his family.

A beautiful sky blue gemstone, the only blue mineral pigment, it can be ground into powder and set on various metal utensils! It also includes melting into molten glass to create sky blue lenses.

Otto's thoughts on Denmark are very simple and straightforward. "Killing the Danish enemies you encounter" is just a casual remark. He is full of thoughts that let his army of hunters in the north have a pair of sunglasses to protect their eyes. The image of Rurik wearing sunglasses gave him a huge touch. It was a kind of handsomeness that was difficult to describe in words, and it also showed the wearer's unfathomable heart and wisdom.

The appearance of lapis lazuli made everyone very novel. As for the reception of the Danes at home, Otto's resistance was also very direct.

"Dad, I'm not afraid of the Danes, I even hope to have a naval battle with them, so that with the advantages of our ships and weapons, these enemies can be turned into fish food. Those Danes have been to the far east, it is unknown The world. They are still merchants living in Hazeby, which is a bigger city than Visby, and the locals just want to do business, they have no idea about war. In that case, have a good chat with them and we can too Sell ​​some leather and stuff to go over there and earn what we need."

Rurik felt that there was nothing wrong with his words, and Otto suddenly became extremely clear: "You...how do I think you are planning to make peace with Denmark?"

"I didn't mean that."

"It doesn't matter. Any good thoughts of yours will surely dissatisfy the Danish lords. Remember, the Rus army killed ten thousand Gotland soldiers under your command. I don't believe the Danes would ignore this. And do business with you comfortably."

Rurik shrugged: "Isn't this more indicative of the strength of our Rus? I am very interested in the businessmen of Hazelby, and the current situation is that the ordinary people of Melalen who produce wealth are destroyed by Melalen's businessmen. The scourge of the big family is miserable, and we can no longer hope to get a lot of benefits from them. We need to open up new markets. I have two ideas. First, go to the east and go directly south along the river to Rome to try your luck. Second, we develop our relationship with Hazelbi, and we find some middlemen because it is not convenient for us to do business in person."

"It's interesting." Otto nodded. "So that old guy named Eric is a tool that can be used? I think you still have to be careful."

"Dad! I will, I'm confident." Rurik assured, patting his chest.

Suddenly there was a flash of light! Otto suddenly pulled out his own knife for cutting meat, and in an instant, the blade touched Rurik's neck, causing him to go blank on the spot.

Otto said calmly: "Look,

I am so close to you that I could kill you in an instant. Boy, I suspect your notoriety has spread among the Danes. The great victory of the Rus army is a shame for the Danes, and you are the commander and you will bear all the wrath of the Danes. How do you make sure those merchants aren't assassins? "

"Ah, it shouldn't be."

Otto took the knife, inserted the knife directly into the table, and instructed: "I'll deal with the glasses, you can let Yevro and Arik be in this house, and send some soldiers to guard. Remember, those merchants have an audience with him. Searching all of the time..."

"Is it too cautious?" Rurik was a little impatient, but he knew that Dad's caution was necessary. As a de facto king, Rurik thought that he should also protect his own safety.

"Just like this." Rurik had a flash of inspiration: "The businessmen who will entertain the audience tomorrow should take a steam bath, give them soap to wash their bodies, and put on the clothes I provided before the interview. Afterwards, all their clothes will be returned. If they have any weapons hidden, take them immediately."

"Good idea, just do it like this." Otto applauded.

What can I do to get a batch of gems? Of course, it is used to make up his own power.

An idea that Rurik also came up with that can be implemented is to reward soldiers who have made meritorious deeds with a purely honorary token—a medal.

He didn't know the exact origin of the medal culture in history. He thought it must have something to do with the family crest and badge culture of noble warriors. In the end, both the people and the military can recognize the honorable meaning of the medal issued by the monarch, and the soldiers shed their blood to obtain it.

Perhaps the blood and spiritual descendants of the Rus people are destined to become the group of people who love the Medal of Honor the most.

Rurik rested clutching the lapis lazuli as a token, and he had to think carefully about the prospect before going to sleep.

Is it enough to simply give money, food and women to warriors who have made meritorious deeds? What a wonderful reward for a formerly poor warrior. It's just that human sex is endless, and when a person has enough wealth and wives and concubines, they will long for more. They will not necessarily degenerate into careerists who pursue extremely high power, but they will definitely find ways to gain honor and become the object of praise from others.

"Establish a medal, a medal called Hero of Ross?"

What is a heroic warrior? Heroes need to be quantified! Every hero needs a real token to symbolize that he is a hero to distinguish him from ordinary people.

"Gold or silver is melted into a circular base, which is smeared with lead white, then interlaced sky-blue stripes are painted with ground lapis lazuli powder, and finally a layer of molten glass is poured. A hook made of iron wire is installed on the back of the medal. The medal has one more hole for the string..."

Rurik estimates that the current lapis lazuli is probably used in this way, and his ideas are not different from those of the ancient monarchs.

The new day is clear and cold, and the sun is particularly dazzling due to the snow and ice all over the world.

Just at the winter market rising on the coast of Roseburg, Otto, Duke of Rose, set up a stall with a group of followers.

Word has gone viral all over Rosberg that Lord Rurik has produced yet another interesting baby, supposedly an eye-protection device that softens the harshest of eyes. Some people think it's optional, while others think it's a treasure.

The price of sunglasses was set at 20 silver coins, and now all the strong men in Ross enjoyed the war dividends. When they got the money, they first improved their lives. Obviously there was still a lot of money left, so they naturally wanted to buy some. peculiar stuff. Twenty silver coins are not too much, and good people rushed to the booth set up by the Duke. First, they came to see the second trouble, and second, they chose the opportunity to buy.

Hundreds of people gathered to listen to Otto's speech as he stood on a small snowdrift.

Today's Otto's appearance has become very strange. In the sun, he seems to have a pair of huge cricket eyes. Those are the so-called sunglasses, which hide the wrinkles of Otto's old age, and the whole person looks very energetic.

They held up the money bags in their hands and surrounded each other, for fear that the brothers of the same clan would snap up the limited sunglasses when they were finished.

In the evening of this day, as many as 150 pairs of glasses were sold out. The people who were fortunate enough to buy them changed their images one after another, and the whole world has changed a lot after they wear sunglasses.

Check it out! The frozen sea no longer reflects the sun that almost kills the eyes, and people no longer have to squint.

Those who did not buy it were disappointed, and the only relief was that the Duke had promised that the Clavasson family was still making this very special glass.

View to the other side.

Still in the early morning, a Danish businessman who got up early to go to the toilet suddenly noticed that there were some sneaky eyeliners outdoors. The man hurried back to the warm room and reported what he had seen to his father.

"Father, we...were careless. Will we be killed if we are targeted by them?"

Old Eric said it was a lie not to be nervous: "If the Rus people want to kill us, wouldn't it be safer to do it at night? Wait and see, maybe today the leader of Rus wants to see our father and son."

Soon, a group of Ross warriors came to knock on the door.

The leader was none other than Yevlo, who was wearing white bear leather and a white robe with blue strips. The Fen warrior with a slightly shorter stature and a flat face, now "arrested" these Danish businessmen as the Duke's messenger.

Yevlow and his guys acted rudely, and escorted the five men to the outside of a room where thick steam was overflowing.

"What are you doing? What's the situation? Did your leader ask our father and son to meet him candidly in this sauna? I was really eye-opening in your Roseburg." Eric, the old businessman, always had a feeling Feeling uneasy, he was a little worried that his family was locked up by the Ross people and then steamed to death.

This is not impossible. The well-informed old Eric knows that those people in the "Land of the East" like steam baths. When he traded leather with the local tribes, he was also invited by the local chiefs to try it many times. Trying the chance, he once felt that every inch of his skin was hot and hurt by the steam.

He really could not have imagined that the Rus who spoke the Norse language especially liked that of the people from the east?

"Don't talk nonsense! Take off your leather jackets and all your weapons immediately. This is your chance to take a bath! Your lord can't bear a filthy man to meet him."

"Oh, Chief Ross is really particular."

The next thing is to live for a long time, because there are other bathing equipment in the so-called sauna room, which is a shower.

There is a wooden barrel high in the room, hot water is prepared in the barrel in advance, and there is a wooden stopper on the side of the barrel, which is hot water when opened. The room was very dimly lit, but the yellow-white sulphur-smelling soap was clearly visible.

Of course old Eric had seen soap and knew how it was made. In Hazelby, as well as in the small town of Schleswig in the south, some craftsmen specialize in washing tools, which are expensive. If it is not for its good washing effect, no one will endure its poor appearance.

The yellow-white soap still smells of sulfur? He thought about the color of those sulphur ores. Driven by curiosity, old Eric was the first to eat crabs.

When he saw a strip of burlap hanging indoors, he naturally used it to rub himself up.

Finally, he experienced a very extreme bathing experience, as if he had washed away the mud shell covering his body, and his whole body was relaxed, and he even felt a little dazed when he left the steam room.

Father and son were forced to change into new plain, neat clothes, white linen on the inside and warm leather on the outside. There are also hats, which are sewn together with muslin and soft pine bark.

This time, old Eric completely understood the intention of the Rus leader, and when he realized that his sons were actually complacent about the clothes "rewarded" by the Rus, he immediately reprimanded: "Don't be happy. My old clothes were stolen by them. Thoroughly checked, the Rus are actually worried that we are assassins."

This remark happened to be heard by Yevro, and he did not give a good face: "I advise you to do it yourself. Listen, you are Danes, and you must keep a low profile here."

"Yes. We are now unarmed and have no malicious intentions." Old Eric could bow his head to show his cooperation.

After a while, they finally arrived at the mansion of Duke Ross.

This scene made old Eric a little surprised. He was not surprised that the houses in this area were all the woodcut buildings of the Slavs, but also that the so-called Ross Chief Mansion was not as majestic as he imagined.

"Let's go, my master is waiting for you in the house." Yevlo urged finally.

At the same time, Rurik and Arik were sitting cross-legged in the small living room indoors in gorgeous clothes. At the same time, there were more than ten strongest warriors selected by Arik.

How can the old Eric who entered the house not be afraid? There are two rows of bear heads hanging on the wooden wall, and the soldiers in the interior are completely uniform, not to mention that they all carry swords.

"You are Danish businessmen? There's an old man named Eric? That's you? Sit down."

Is the speaker a girl? Do not! The voice was clearly a boy, a handsome boy.

In extreme embarrassment, old Eric and his sons sat at the door one after another. He realized the current situation. The Rus people were afraid of the possibility that outsiders were assassins. But fortunately, the other party did not slap the knife when he heard that the visitor was a Danish businessman.

Old Eric's eyes detected another person in the room. This simple and honest old guy looked like a seal. On his gorgeous fleece jacket was either gold threads or gemstone pendants. This was a big businessman.

"I... I'm Eric Torulf. Thanks to the leader of Ross for not killing..." Now that old Eric has put away his surprise, he is willing to believe that the boy in front of him is Ross's elder brother. Chief, even if this is very fantastic.

"Oh? Are you very sure that I am the leader?" Rurik and old Eric looked at each other, not feeling excited.

"Exactly. You sit in the middle, with a bonfire behind you, and you die the most precious person."

"You are very winking. Listen, I am Rurik, Duke of Ross. I am the highest authority in Roseburg that you have seen, and it is also me who commanded the army to attack Gotland and wiped out 10,000 local enemy soldiers. .It was also that I commanded the army to participate in the expedition to Kalmar in Denmark."

Rurik didn't like to hide his achievements at all, he was not afraid of the Danes' naval power at all, and even expected a naval battle to smash the piles of power. He was expecting the angry expression of the Danish businessman, but looking at old Eric's expression, they didn't care.

"What? Do you think I'm just a child and that all these things I say are ridiculous?"

"Don't dare! I know all the news." Old Eric slapped his heart with his right fist, "Hafgen, the great leader of Denmark, I'm not his subordinate? Our family is only from the Hazelby market. Ordinary merchants, and even Hazelby as a whole, only nominally acknowledge that man's rule.

We are here for business, and it is because we heard about the great victory of the Rus army that we came here. You must have looted a great deal of wealth from Gotland, just as our family has imported lapis lazuli from the far eastern desert land. We lack a suitable buyer, maybe you are the most suitable. "

Rurik was moved for a moment, but Gould who was beside him immediately winked.

"Okay." Rurik sighed, "I'll assume you're being honest. You call yourself Hezeby from Denmark, and that's a very wealthy existence?"

Old Eric hesitated, he consciously smelled the breath of war. He must have seen many arrogant Danish lords, some of whom crossed the Great Wall of Schleswig to attack the villages of the Frankish Kingdom in the Saxony region, and more small lords went into battle in person, with dozens of brothers rowing two or three long ships The boat went to the Frisian region on the west coast to thresh the threshing grass, and even drifted all the way to the mouth of the Seine, snatching up the gold and silver of several monasteries at the mouth of the sea.

The Rus speaks the Norse language, and the leader of Rus seems to be just a child. He actually gave himself the title of "Principle (Duke)", which is a proof of his ambition!

They didn't kill themselves. Could it be that they knew about Hazelby and Denmark in preparation for a future large-scale invasion? Because the old Eric family dressed up as Melalen businessmen, rowing a boat with the mighty Ross Fleet to Roseburg, it was really an invincible fleet! So when Rurik himself said that he had wiped out ten thousand Gotland warriors, old Eric had no doubts at all.

Old Eric hesitated for a while, and then said: "My lord, if you want to have only anything about Denmark, I will tell you with all my knowledge and complete sincerity. Hazelby is indeed rich, but she Where is the rich Paris of the Franks? The ambitious lords of Denmark, who have gathered a large number of Saxon refugees, are also planning to attack Paris.

But what about Paris? Our family has also been to a country called Rome in the East, I hope the wise leader of Rus can understand. "

Hearing this, Rurik suddenly stood up with wide eyes: "Have you been to Rome? You have been to Constantinople. No! Have you been to Istanbul?"

This time it was the low-key old Eric's turn to lose his temper. He was shocked: "You! Lord Rurik, the leader of Ross, you actually know that common name?"

"I do know the common name Istanbul, which is Greek for 'go to the big city'."

Old Eric's heart was beating wildly, and his sons were restless with excitement. As businessmen roaming the world, they yearn for a confidant. They didn't expect the young leader of Ross to know so much. The Ross people are not as professional hunters nesting in the extreme north as they seem. They clearly know a lot. .

"Where else have you been?" Rurik pressed on. "Have you really been to Afghanistan? I mean, it was a cold, dry wasteland, full of dangers, but also where lapis lazuli came from."

This time old Eric said the truth: "We have not been there, but we know the term Afghanistan. It is said that there is a big mountain in the east, and a local businessman who likes to wear a headscarf said that if you cross the mountain, it is a desert, and if you walk through the desert, you will be The end of the East. There is a state of great power there, more powerful than I know of Rome."

"I know it's a dreamy place." Rurik didn't ask any more, because the Tang Empire in the current era is declining in the pattern of vassal towns, which is really a sad evolution. From this few words alone, he terribly determined that this Eric must have ventured all the way to the edge of the Central Asian world for the sake of business. This family is a crazy epitome of Viking merchants in this era.

Rurik solemnly announced: "I can protect you, and I won't use a knife just because you are Danes. I am not at all worried that you will tell the Danes what you have seen in Ross. We are not afraid of a full-scale war. I like you. The precious gems, I will leave and buy them all with silver coins. And you, be sure to tell me everything about Hazelby. Rest assured, I have no hostility to pure merchants, and Rus welcomes merchants to trade. And we Rus intend to To explore the Danish market, it is just that the current situation is not easy for us to end up personally, we need an agent, maybe your family is suitable."

There was a breakthrough in the matter, and old Eric applauded. He felt that he had bet everything right, and immediately began to talk and became a complete story king...