Chapter 479： Rurikchow vs. King Carl of Sweden

"The Rise of Rurik (

The rainy weather finally ended, but the temperature did not pick up for a long time.

Rurik was surprised to find that thin ice floes had appeared on the shore of Gould Island, and the fresh fish hanging outdoors had become hard.

"Is it a cold winter this year? If the lake freezes prematurely, won't I be able to leave?"

The Aphrora lacks ice-breaking capabilities, and other cargo ships can only be worse.

The sun came out, and the world began to become dry and cold. The floating ice was a very bad omen, and there was not much time left for the Ross people.

The elegant phantom of the Aphrodite appeared on the pier of the Merlaren Bazaar, and her appearance once again attracted the crowd's attention.

Many people in Mellaren knew that the Rus had indeed attacked Gould, because the Rus had conscripted under this banner more than two months ago.

Conquering the Gotland people has the righteousness to fight against the apostasy. Similarly, the second and third sons of those families, who have no right to inherit the family property, take the risk and serve as mercenaries to the Ross people.

After all, they are the children of their parents, so what happened to the people who went on the expedition?

The Ross people should have won, otherwise, where did those guys get a lot of money and send money from house to house under the rain?

Most of the farmers and fishermen's families in Mellaren have been grieved by the rain for a few days. The Ross people bought a pound of wheat at an exaggerated price inexplicably. Many Mellaren people suddenly got ten silver coins. The happiness came inexplicably, and they didn't know what to say.

There are also families with dead husbands, and women who weep bitterly cry more fiercely in ecstasy. It was only because the messenger sent by the Russ made a clear promise that it was the kingdom fighter of the Duke of Rus, who had died in battle, would be willing to help the soldiers' family members pay off their debts, as well as the promise of a livable Rus to live and work in peace.

The promises at the back were too ethereal, the promises at the front, the Ross people promised to pay off their debts this month!

There are different opinions among the folks, and they gather together to chew their tongues if they lack entertainment. Some people say that the Ross people are generous, and the Duke of Ross is a good man. Some people say that the Roths must have something unknown to do in this way. There is also a group of people, they are itching in their hearts, that is, watching everywhere, the so-called Ross people re-recruit mercenaries and immediately sign up.

The only thing they can be sure of is that the Russ really won, so the Merlaren mercenaries after the victory are afraid that they will always work for the Russ after gaining the benefits. If this is the case, it is really a good way out.

The people watched in horror as the huge Ross ship arrives in Hong Kong. People waited and watched one after another. Then they saw the big ship put down the planks, and a crowd of extremely neat and uniform people disembarked from the ship.

Check them out!

The head of a soldier headed a white bear, and the upper jaw and fangs of the bear covered him from the sun. This person is dressed in white bear skin that is excellent for protecting against the cold, and under the leather is a blue-and-white gown, a cowhide bag is tied to his waist, and a sword is hung on him.

This person is holding the flag bordered with gold silk of the Rus, and the ferocious beast on the top of the flag adds to the momentum.

Some distinguished identities were guarded by warriors in the same clothing.

Someone recognizes a rumored celebrity, and someone starts to yell Rick's name excitedly.

Others, especially the plainly dressed women, raised their hands to thank the Duke of Rose for the silver coin reward a few days ago.

"It seems that our actions have worked greatly, and they are grateful." Rurik said casually to Gould.

"Yeah, who can refuse money. It's just adults, don't believe that they will follow us if they receive a little favor."

"I know. Haha, it's just that I really enjoy this feeling. The people who gathered are Mellaren, they are welcoming us Ross people. The dead Olekin can't enjoy this while alive."

Otto listened to the words of the son throughout the whole process, and his heart was very comfortable. He likes this feeling of welcome in the middle of the road very much. He is loved by the people of the Ross tribe, and now he is cheering for the more populous Mellaren.

The entire Mellaren Bazaar was in hustle and bustle, and the people gathered, and they more took a look at the excitement to see the demeanor of the Ross people, and looked forward to more rewards from the Ross people.

Sure enough, Gould, the big businessman, began to use methods.

Gould's tactics made Rurik unexpected.

The four entourages of the big merchant took the cloth bags around their waists and began to throw money at the welcoming people.

This action directly detonated a chaos!

"Gould what are you doing?" Rurik was shocked, because these people were frantically picking up money.

"Haha, look at them! Hahaha..." Gould thought it was really fun to throw money, and this move really made Rurik speechless.

The money-spreader has been yelling a simple sentence, repeating loudly without listening: "This is a gift from the Duke of Ross!"

Rurik was stunned: "Gould, can you commit such an expense?"

"It's just some copper coins. Copper coins are worthless to us, they are still useful to them."

"Copper coins? Okay..."

Rurik didn't want to say anything, after all, Gould did it well. If you betray your tribe and join others just because of a small favor, it is pure inferiority without a bottom line.

The people of Mellaren who pick up money just need money.

Who would benefit from creating a stampede? Of course it's still from the Ross.

No, the actions of the Ross people quickly reached Carl's ears.

"Ross!" Carl once vented desperately to a wife and concubine in extreme anger, but the woman couldn't stand up for days after tossing.

Now Carne had a small golden cup.

"Ross! Do you think you are the king? Rurik, you **** are so arrogant! You are humiliating me!"

The Ross people are showing domineering, their domineering has the confidence, after all, the Visby city in Gotland was destroyed by the Ross army.

Now when he returned to his hometown, Karl couldn't quickly organize a private army that would take orders from him, and those big clans who were greedy for power were ready to move. The internal affairs caused him to be overwhelmed, and now the Ross people have come to do the big business.

In order to raise food, Carl claimed to have done the necessary evil. He is not a pure fool, knowing that this has hurt the feelings of the people. However, in order to avenge the father's great cause, in order to maintain the king's face, we can only make this bad strategy.

What else can Carl do? I can only suppress anger and jealousy in my heart, seal up the arrogance that I used to be, and put on a smiling face to welcome the extremely arrogant Duke of Rose.

The wooden wall erected is like a fence, and Carl's mansion is here.

Rurik raised his head slightly and signaled his soldiers to ignore the guards who were in fear, and directly broke into the door with brute force.

Facing the strong, courtesy is of course necessary. Rurik doesn't think that Karl is still a light one today. He can't even get the love of the people of Mellaren, so he can only shrink in his shell like a tortoise.

The guard at the door wanted to say a few words, but he was directly pushed down by the ruthless Ruth man in bear skin, and the short spear he held fell on the mud.

The wooden door was opened easily, and the open door seemed to be welcoming its true owner.

"Let's go, Dad." Rurik said casually.

Otto was taken aback: "Are we too arrogant to do this?"

"I think my brother is doing very well." Arik raised his chin proudly. "Carl? He tried to fight me and was easily pressed to the ground. I don't recognize this kind of person as a king."

"That's the case. We still want more benefits, and we will need this person in the future." Rurik said nothing, urging everyone to enter.

The noise outside made Carl sitting in the dark inner courtyard like sitting on pins and needles.

Exactly a year ago, his father Olekin had his first consultation with Rurik in Ross, and Rurik came again a year later. And he Carl needs to repay the huge debt owed by his father!

Borrowing four hundred pounds of silver coins to fill the expedition army with extremely good weapons, the invasion was defeated, and all personnel and weapons were lost.

Even so, the fact of losing the battle has nothing to do with the fact of borrowing. He must use food to pay the full principal and 100% interest.

The Roths appeared in the darkness at a proud step, but the first thing that came into Karl's eyes was the hideous bear head.

"Ah! Bears! Bears group!"

Carl and the attendants and female slaves around him were shocked to back away one after another, and his panic face was clearly illuminated by the bonfire.

"What? Are you afraid of bears?"

Rurik walked out in the dark, and now he is a short and thin body, and he looks heroic under the protection of a group of warriors in bear skins.

"Ah, it turned out to be you. Ross people..." Karl gritted his teeth, hurriedly sat on the original leather cushion, and finally straightened his golden crown.

Rurik sat down immediately, the Duke of Ross and the elite aristocracy were all there, but poor Carl was only one.

Poor Carl, as of now, he doesn't have an aide to support him and make suggestions. The former elite mercenary leaders all died in the war. He was a pure lonely man, and could only face the aggressive Ross people alone.

Carl pretended to be tough: "You made my bazaar really noisy, and my people told me that you were throwing money everywhere to cause chaos."

"It's true." Rurik shrugged indifferently. "So what can you do? Does your law here prohibit merchants from spending money for entertainment?"

"You!" Carl was speechless. He thought for a while and then muttered: "Since you are very rich, why should you ask me for food? After you know this, my people will complain."

"Really? You are the leader of the Mellaren people. How does their life have anything to do with my Ross people? I only pay attention to wheat. Now, are the wheat reserves ready?"

"Maizi? No!" Carl replied angrily. Through this person's face, Rurik had guessed that he would not betray.

Arik couldn't see this level for a while, so he suddenly drew his sword: "Okay Carl! I knew you would do this for a long time. Then go to war, I will kill you now."

"Then slash it! If you kill me, you kill the king. Those big families will be happy that you do so, so they can choose a new king. If you kill the king, you are betraying the whole of Sweden, like betraying the alliance. Gotland. All the tribes will unite to conquer you! You will never want to get food again!"

"Do you think I don't dare?!" Arik gritted his teeth, his eyes widened like a copper bell, that is, the hand holding the sword kept trembling, just shaking.

Rurik sullenly scolded his cousin for being so impulsive. However, he didn't think of it, Carl actually put on a sturdy posture.

"I...we Rusians still recognize your king." Rurik tried his best to remain calm: "As my cousin said, if you don't give us food, the result will naturally be your death. The truth is not only Therefore, your betrayal will bring about the destruction of your family’s retreat. The question now is, whoever provides us with 800,000 pounds of wheat, we will recognize who is the king. After all, the money for those weapons is sold to the people of Mellaren. The Mälaren people launched an expedition. We only do business with people who keep their promises. If those big families are willing, we can ask them to choose a person to recognize him as the king."

"absurd!"

"It's not ridiculous. A man named Bjorn approached me, hoping that we would recognize his power. I refused, because he promised too little, not as much as your father promised." Liu Rick said this deliberately, his face calm as if everything were normal.

But it sounds like a thunderbolt in Carl!

How did Carl not know Bjorn? This person seems to have no ambitions, but he is a relatively unobtrusive existence in the big family of the land, this person actually sprouted the ambition to be a king?

Carl clenched his teeth, his gums were bleeding.

Who is the potential rebellion? Who is about to move? ! Karl didn't even consider this question in his anger, that is, how do the Russ know these things?

Now it turns out that the Ross people pointed out the behind-the-scenes among the Mälaren people.

Seeing that Carl was angry like a pufferfish in anger, Rurik still faces like clean water, and continues to provoke: "In Visby, you put the blame for the defeat on us, the Russians, without the support of the south. This is very absurd! We! Defeating the Gotlans is to avoid your enemies. Your Mälaren tribe has a population of more than 20,000! Why are there only 1,500 people on the expedition? Why are your private soldiers rushing out? What are the big families with a large number of acres? Are you watching a play? They just want your family to lose and replace it. What interests of the Kingdom of Sweden, they have no lofty goals at all. What they value is only your family's property and servants!"

With such a blow, Karl woke up like a dream.

Suddenly, Carl no longer felt the odious face of Rurik in front of him. If it hadn't been for this person's deciphering, he was still in the dark, and I didn't know when he was hacked and killed by the rebellious family.

"Because you are the king, I told you these things. What is the result of the grievances between you and us? If those guys are allowed to succeed, who will avenge the defeated hatred? You remember, your family was defeated and you ruled. The legitimacy of yours is controversial. Any resistance you make now will only lead to death. We Ross people don’t want to kill you. If you refuse to hand over the food today, I can only be a villain, and then I will support that Bjorn."

"Okay!" Carl stopped avoiding, his inner defenses completely collapsed.

The most dangerous enemy is not even the Danes, nor is it the Russ. They are the careerists within the tribe.

There is no more to say, Carl claims that he will immediately bring a group of Ross people to his granary, first display a huge amount of new wheat, and then send someone to carry it immediately.

But Rurik did not finish.

"One more thing. Carl, the Mellaren tribe has suffered a great loss. Hundreds of farmers have died. They set out to pay their debts after the victory. You did not give them any compensation, according to our custom. According to the law, their wives and children will become slaves to your debts."

"Yes. You...can't you say that this is also wrong?"

"It's really not a mistake, but it's too cruel to those who died in battle."

"what do you want?"

"Sell it to me."

When mentioning this, Carl was immediately moved. He clutched his beard for a while, and found it profitable. "Do you need those women and children? Or even with the farmland and houses they own?"

"Just women and children, I don't want anything else."

"This is your style. I know that you Russ have been in our tribe to get slaves and then transport them away, as if the Norwegian slave market was opened for you. You took away all the dirty beggars, me and My dead father was supportive. But you have to take away those women and children..."

"State your terms."

"You have to add money."

Carl couldn't answer what Liurik expected: "Money is not a problem. I can double the slave price, and I will directly give you the best Frankish silver coins."

"All debt slaves, including the principal and interest of the debt they owe. Will you pay?" Carl has straightened his head.

"Of course. We came prepared, but brought a lot of money."

"Then make a deal!"

Visby's wealth was wiped out by the Ross people, they became very rich, and Karl knew this very well. He wanted to extort a little wealth as a king and finally gave up. Now the sale of debt slaves has also become a point of making money, which he did not expect.

The negotiation quickly came to an excellent result.

In the following three days, more than 400 Ross warriors dressed in gorgeous and heroic costumes landed in the Melaren Bazaar and the core area of ​​the Melaren tribe.

The Ross fighters are here to show off their power, supervising the Karl's slaves to transport a large number of sacks full of new oats to the dock.

The long boats on the lake are endless, they are fighting for food for fate, and huge amounts of wheat are all on Gould Island.

More supplies arrived on the island, it was a large amount of vegetables, mainly onions and yellow-rooted carrots, and a small amount of cabbage. The ships of the big landlord family are also transporting to Gould Island in an endless stream. They unloaded the food and got enough good-quality silver coins to go home happily...

As many as more than 500 women and children, they are all debt slaves of the Karl family. The Roths helped them pay off their debts and arrived at Gould Island in a solitary manner.

Reminiscent of the promises made by the Ross people many days ago, they had the idea of ​​emigrating, but they did not expect the promise of the Ross people had been fulfilled. This is not happiness, the child hugs the mother tightly, looking at a loss at the unknown future.

There are more than a hundred men from Mellaren, most of them with immature faces. The youngest sons of these families are destined to be unable to inherit the family property, nor to marry in the tribe. Their destiny seems to be to serve as mercenaries for large families, or to find ways to go out and make trouble. Since they were all mercenaries and the Roths promised more commissions, these people came to Gould Island.

It was already the fourteenth day of October in the Julian calendar, and a large area of ​​ice floes began to appear on the lake!

The lake is generally calm to allow the appearance of a large amount of thin ice. It is already a signal of extreme danger, indicating that the huge fleet of the Ross people will not be able to escape unless they are evacuated.

The time for the return journey has been determined. On the 16th of October, it is planned to return to Roseburg before the 20th of October.

The night before departure, the entire Gould Island finally entered peace.

All the preparations have been completed. The new mercenaries who defected and the debt slaves bought, like most of the Ross fighters, recharged in a warm place.

Rurik was still sticking to his maid's post, pinching a fishbone to pick a molar with a baby tooth that was about to fall.

The Ross people also imported a batch of ale in oak barrels, all of which were to be distilled into spirits.

Otto drank a few large cups happily, suddenly stern words while slightly drunk, accused his son of wrong. "Rurik, you...you shouldn't tell Carl about Bjorn."

"Am I doing something wrong?"

"I think it's too unwise. You say! Why...why let them fight! Let Carl and Bjorn or someone else fight each other. Dad, we don't need a man who tells us about us. King, the mighty Mellaren tribe must sink. Let those families blame each other, and we only need to do business year after year. It's just..."

Otto Weizui's mind is still sober, he appreciates his son's ability to instigate contradictions, and then silly laughed: "What else do you think?"

"This year we imported 1.8 million pounds of wheat in this area for the first time ever. I'll calculate it. It's enough for our tribe to eat for half a year without production."

"This is a good thing."

"It's not a good thing. This means that we will depend on the food production of the Melaren tribe, and our tribe will really not produce. Once the Melaren people encounter natural disasters, they will famine and we will also follow the famine. Then there will be famines. Many people live in difficulties. So I still want to actively develop the East. This year we will get a large number of people. Next spring, we will ship all of them to the East and give them farm tools for them to open up wasteland, and we will collect the taxes they have paid. We have cultivated enough land to eat wheat every day."

Otto can't think of so much, or he can't think of the wonderful scenes sketched by Rurik, he only knows one word to describe this kind of beauty.

"It's so wonderful, is it like Asgard?"

"Yes, Asgard in the world. Do what I say, and it will happen in a few years."

"Then it's up to you." Say, a great body lay down, and then there were waves of snoring.

"Okay! Okay..." Rurik was speechless, he gently pinched the two Slavic maids who continued to commit themselves to sticking: "Anna and Bella, your hometown, the future is my Asgard in the world." ."