Rise of Rurik

A group of people gathered at the dock in Novgorod. It was not surprising that the Ostara people entered the city. The men and women watched with wide-eyed eyes, and the ten tall horses that accompanied them.

Carlotta, with a big belly, came ashore with a little trembling with the help of his entourage, and then walked towards Rurik's palace in the city.

Maksakyi and his group were unknown. They were amazed at the size of the city. Seeing that the noble woman was advancing, they led the horse and ignored the onlookers' pointers and walked inward.

Because of the construction of the school in the city, a group of workers always came in and out with lumber. This city is a society of acquaintances, and the gate guards will not stop them when they see a lot of familiar faces. When they see the distinguished Duchess Carlota of Ostara, she bows to her.

Only riders and horses were stopped directly.

"Ah? What does this mean?"

The gatekeeper, who was also a Slav, said casually, "You don't look like a native. It's very suspicious that you're bringing a horse."

"We...we want to see your prince."

It is this description that makes the gatekeeper even more vigilant. Six people gathered with their whistle sticks, and the leader said bluntly: "Your Majesty, how can you see it casually? Explain your identities, why you came here, and your horses... Shouldn't it be that you want to sell horses? "

The gatekeeper guessed the same, and the horse passenger nodded hurriedly, and even took out a silver coin from his pocket.

The head of the gatekeeper took a look, then looked at his subordinates, his face tensed and he said nothing.

"Oh, it's too little money." Sakey hurriedly took out ten coins to the obvious leader, and joked: "I would like to ask you to inform me."

When it was, Carlotta in the front saw that the fakes in the back did not follow up, but turned around and saw that the horse was being entangled by the doorman. She said casually, "They are my guests. Follow me to see the prince and let them in."

With the guarantee of the Duchess of Ostara, the gatekeeper was released. Of course, the ten silver coins were taken away in one go.

"How come the Rus people are the same as Smolensk here, and they have to pay for their territory? Well, ten horses are sold for a big price, and I will earn back what I lost." Sakey was obviously reluctant to pay. money.

However, as he really entered the city and saw the prosperity of the interior, he gradually understood the reason for receiving the money in an instant.

Completely different from the clutter of the Smolensk or the Kyiv settlement of his hometown,

The interior of the city, called Novgorod, is quite neat.

There is still a lot of snow outside the city, and not only is there very little snow in the city, there are straight roads here, and the wonderful thing is that the roads are not muddy. Just not being muddy is enough to give them a huge shock.

It turned out that Novgorod and other major cities in the principality followed a basic principle in the construction of internal roads. Naturally, the road should be rammed with stone piers to keep it flat. After the land is compacted, it can resist a certain amount of rainwater erosion, which is still insufficient in the long run. Muddy city roads can be a nightmare, not only do the roads have to be kept dry in a special way, but the water in the city must be dispatched quickly.

Look at these roads, because of the lack of stone, the Novgorod roads were replaced by a large number of pottery blocks. It is actually a kind of fired clay brick. Since it is only used for paving, there are no particularly high requirements on the shape. The only requirement is to ensure that it is hard enough.

The main road is densely paved with brick roads, and the rest of the roads are simply paved with gravel and broken pottery.

Today's vehicles are structurally incapable of hauling much cargo, and Rurik doesn't have to worry about the short-term damage to the road he paid for. He can completely build cement roads. The Principality of Ross has indeed mastered this technology, but the production capacity limits the paving plan. The cement roads will be built in New Rose Fort, and currently only a small number of roads can be guaranteed.

The brick pavement is an excess, and even so has given city dwellers a great deal of relief from the spring mud.

The Eastern European world must be faced with a nightmare of extreme mud during the snowmelting period. Some outdoor trails run by a pair of feet will be covered with mud that goes below the knees. Even if spring ploughing could theoretically begin now, no one wants to sow seeds in muddy fields.

Almost all urban residents belong to Baishu Manor. Fortunately, the brick road is firm and dry, and a group of residents are resting their farm tools on the public road.

Large, flat and hard grounds did not exist in the past. They openly repaired shovels and hoes, and inspected curved ploughs with trolleys. They took some of the crops out of their homes and dried them in the sun.

Some women also took out the stone grinding rods and small grinding discs at home, and after the outdoor light was bright, they sat down with a linen cloth on the brick road, and carefully crushed the grains of wheat into powder.

Even children are pounding in stone mortars, pulverizing thyme leaves that have been dried and stored in a building.

There are also markets in the city, with lots of perch hanging from wooden shelves, and fishmongers hawking them.

There are also traders selling live rabbits and chickens, which are put into wooden cages. There are also many women sitting and chatting with rattan baskets and headscarves in the market place. They are all selling eggs. In their spare time, they chat with each other to pass the time.

What Maksakhi saw was a tidy city, with no human or animal dung in the air. The roads here are clean, and it is obvious that small trees have been deliberately planted on both sides of the road. There are ditches on both sides of the path, and living water flows in it.

They were just watching the flowers, but someone suddenly stopped them with anger.

It was a soldier patrolling with a sword. Seeing that the horse-leader didn't stop, he simply stopped him.

"Huh? What did we do wrong?"

The patrolling soldier drew his sword directly, and the sword pointed directly at the horse dung on the road: "You are guilty! You dare to throw dung on the road, you are arrested!"

Sakey wanted to explain, but the soldiers acted directly. All the horse riders were arrested, and the movement attracted hundreds of onlookers, and also made Carlotta, who was walking in front of him, speechless.

Obviously Novgorod City is not very big, why are those Kyiv horses always causing trouble.

Indeed, this is not a big city. Rurik was busy compiling textbooks for the children in the palace, and the noise outside made him simply go to see what was going on, so as to change his mood.

Because Sakey's gang took the patrolling soldier's move to lead the horse as a robbery, and even worse, when he took a resistance move, in exchange for the soldier's body search. This time, they even confiscated the coils in the leather jacket, the hidden defensive daggers and short swords.

The soldier simply said bluntly: "We have learned that you are businessmen from a foreign land. You must be punished for breaking the rules. It is also very dangerous for you to carry weapons. This matter should be decided by the Governor."

At this point, the men and women who were watching the play had gathered to a size of 500 people, and a large group of children were running around in front of their parents, laughing and laughing as they watched the soldiers take people.

Carlotta stroked his forehead lightly and complained: "Can Rurik still do business with these guys?"

Medved was the first to be alerted, and he brought more soldiers to resolve the situation. A soldier rudely disperses the crowd, calling for everyone to disperse.

Seeing a big man, Sakey hurriedly expressed his intentions. The patrolling soldiers also quickly reported the situation.

"Selling horses? Selling to the prince? All right. But...you should be punished if you make a mistake. You still have weapons hidden on your body. You want to see the prince like this? There's no reason. Come on, put them in a cage and lock them up until the prince. hair down."

As soon as the words fell, just when Sakey was at a loss, the distinguished person finally arrived!

"Don't bother, let them tell the truth now."

It was Rurik who walked out of the palace with Svetlana.

Due to various actions in the past, Rurik has always been displayed to the public in an image that is too close to the people. The onlookers cheered the appearance of the prince and continued to watch the development of the situation.

At this moment, all the horse riders were pressed to the ground and had to kneel. Sakey raised his head and saw a blond young man with a mustache and another noble woman. He couldn't imagine that this was the prince of the Rus people. couple.

"My lord. These people from afar want to see you, and they seem to be selling horses." Medvedt endorsed.

"Selling horses? Merchants? You..." Rurik took a closer look at the horses, his heart beating wildly.

Oops, it's a heart-wrenching feeling!

Rurik didn't care about the others, he hurriedly walked over, stroked the horse's mane with both hands, and gestured between the height of the horse's shoulders and his own shoulder height.

"Ah, these horses are so tall. They... all sell horses?"

"Yes." Medved hurriedly responded.

Rurik's eyes were fixed on the horses, and without looking back he said, "Leave them all and bring them all to Rosduma. I've bought them all."

"But my lord, they should be responsible for the horse manure on the ground."

"So because of this, you arrested them?"

"Exactly."

"Yes, you must be punished if you dare to leave dung on the road, even if it is horse dung. I will settle the account first, and I will meet these merchants well. You shovel the horse dung into the drainage ditch, and this will be settled."

In this way, the dazed Sakyi stood up again. He was completely disarmed, and he had to admit one thing. The young man with the golden ponytail was the supreme ruler of the Principality of Ross.

Rurik had already seen the presence of Carlotta with a big belly. Compared with his own woman, the existence of ten horses was too bright.

Carlotta glanced at her mouth slightly, she just watched silently and didn't bother to interject.

After a while, Rurik came to chat with him in a friendly way, and of course he also asked about the situation of the child in his belly.

"All is well, your son will be born soon," she said.

"Indeed, everything is fine. Stay with me tonight, and you will stay in Novgorod until the child is born." Rurik had good intentions and was sure that Svetlana would fully support him.

Carlotta nodded, then pointed at the riders and horses and said, "They are from the southern city called Kyiv..."

"What?" Rurik was startled, and the sudden change in expression was startling.

"What's wrong?"

"What city?"

"ki~yev~" Carlotta read it straight, her pronunciation was very standard, and Rurik's expression was even more exaggerated.

"It's actually a businessman from Kyiv, from such a distant place. Quick! They are all guests! A banquet is held tonight to welcome the distinguished guests."

The words are all in Norse, and it is natural to speak with Carlota in the language of his hometown. All the horse riders didn't understand, it seemed that the brothers didn't have to worry about being hurt by Prince Ross.

Carlotta went on to explain, especially the horses, emphasizing the importance of a group of steeds to the principality, and also put forward her own excellent insights: "A strong bull is widely bred, and a large number of strong calves can be obtained. Here are two strong stallions, you control the most horses, and soon you will have a strong herd and you will be very strong."

Only a few elites have this insight, and she seems to understand something deeper.

Rurik pondered for a while, and he encountered a strong attack from cavalry in the war against Britain. Ross needed a cavalry, but he suffered from the fact that the existing horses were not suitable for riding. The horses brought by the horses are astonishingly high at the shoulders. They are clearly born to be war horses. The purpose of the horses is really not simple.

Could it be that they were still entrusted by the Slavs in Kyiv to contact Rus?

Carlotta patted Rurik, who was in deep thought, and chuckled: "I can't believe you are more concerned about horses. Anyway, how about father and mother?"

"They? All is well, now busy teasing the children."

"It just happened that I went to see them. You...let's be busy with your big business." Then she glanced at Svetlana again and said in a friendly tone: "Sister, I'm finally back. Let's go, let's talk to our sisters... …”

Because according to the traditional Nordic customary law, Carlotta is Otto's adopted daughter, and the relationship with Rurik belongs to the brother and sister without blood. With this relationship, Carlota and Svetlana sisters are compatible and compliant, and because there is no so-called favoritism between each other, the relationship is quite harmonious.

The female relatives left on their own, and Rurik was very pleased with their knowledge. In this way, you can negotiate trade with merchants very well.

In the parliamentary chamber of the Ros Duma, Rurik sat on one side and all the horses sat on the other side.

The house is spacious and more tidy, and the open wooden windows make the house brighter.

Rurik gave them a glass of ale with honey, and after drinking it went straight to the subject.

"Since you sell horses, say your price."

"Ah! My esteemed lord, I didn't even introduce myself." Sakey said while covering his heart.

"Really? Your accent is a little weird, but I can still understand it. Say it, your name."

"I'm Sakyi, a businessman from Kyiv."

"Oh, your name is a bird of prey, a very brave bird. You are from Kyiv, and I know the place."

"Then, you..."

"I am the Prince of Rus!" Rurik opened his eyes with a smile, "Here is Novgorod, my big southern city. Our territory is very vast and rich in products. My army is very strong, and I also have a lot of gold coins. and silver coins. What about the price of the horses you sell?"

The conversation really changed sharply, and Sakey, the horse, felt that he was a very noble person at a young age, and he was ordered to continue: "I have ten horses, two males and eight females, they are all very young horses, and I can't hide them. Your eyes. They are very good horses..."

"Are you hiding something? Tell me your selling price." Rurik urged with narrowed eyes.

Sakyi still insisted on his rhetoric: "We Kyiv people bought horses from the Pecheneg people in the steppe. After two months and a lot of hardships, we finally sent the horses here..."

"So, you're going to pay a high price? What are you talking about? The Pechenegs? Are these actually the steppe horses of the nomadic tribes?"

"It's true, it's just..." Sackey couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Actually, you knew from the beginning that these were excellent Pechenegma? You are really holy."

"It's too expensive." Rurik waved his hand, his heart was beating wildly, and he said, "You talk a lot, but you just want to show that the price is high and justified? You say the price, and we'll discuss it carefully. Don't worry, I'm very rich. , won't be frightened."

"Yes." Sackey swallowed hard: "They are all good horses. Five pounds of silver for a stallion, and ten pounds for a mare because it can breed foals." The unpleasant price caused by the price, he was afraid that Prince Ross would be disgusted and had to lower the price a little, but it was still a surprisingly high price.

"That's it?" Rurik, who was listening intently, was really startled.

"What? You think it's too expensive? You're interested in buying it, and we can talk about it. Just think about it, we've had too many adventures to get ten steeds to you with great difficulty."

"Forget it, I know your hardships." Rurik said frankly: "Actually, you can say what the price of the horses is. Indeed, this price is surprisingly high for ordinary people, rich and rich like me, there is no problem. I know the location of Kyiv very well, and I also know a little about the Pecheneg people. I actually like Kyiv especially, where the land is very warm and fertile, the grasslands there are running horses, and the grasslands are transformed into farmland, which is the best black field, which means The high yield of wheat..."

Rurik couldn't help but say a lot. At first glance, the horse riders felt that this adventure was a certainty, and Prince Ross showed great affection, and even claimed that a banquet would be held at night to entertain the brothers to celebrate. Great success in horse trading.

Horse riders are already basking in the joy of making a fortune.

The horses also knew this. They didn't know that Rurik's rhetoric from the bottom of his heart was clearly full of ambitions for the Kyiv region.