Chapter 839： Country-level transactions

Those reindeer herds pulling sleds work hard, and a large amount of oatmeal is a reward for them.

For them, a high-intensity march of more than ten days is not difficult with sufficient feed supplies, and now they are able to cultivate well in the pen.

The supplies pulled by the reindeer herd, together with the sleigh carrying the supplies, were pushed to three separate wooden warehouses.

The bronze lock was firmly locked, and soldiers supervised the warehouse to avoid problems with supplies.

There is a saying that one hand pays for the delivery. The Pecheneg and Kiev people actually deliver the goods first, so the buyer's willingness to pay depends on the buyer's wishes.

Of course, Rurik is willing to do a good deal with friends from afar. For the benefit of the country, a profiteer still needs to do something.

After all, the total price of the six hundred horses has reached the level of five thousand pounds of silver, which is a bit ridiculously high.

In fact, the price of horses shouldn't be so outrageous, but the most outrageous problem is the economic situation of the Ross people. It is clear that the total amount of material production is not very high. It can only be said that the people under the rule of the principality have somewhat survived through the efforts of these years. However, after many years of victory in the war, the silver and copper coins circulating in the surrounding areas of the Baltic Sea flowed into Ross so much that copper coins were almost no longer in circulation. Silver coins became the most common currency and its purchasing power was also reduced.

Continuous war dividends have attracted huge amounts of hot money into circulation, and there is rare inflation in the core area of ​​the Duchy of Russ. The overall import of materials outside the region is very limited, so this inflation can only be absorbed by Ross internally.

In this way, guests from afar imported a large number of horses, and Rose took the opportunity to "economic blackmail" to rapidly increase the total wealth of Rose's society, which is a means to alleviate inflation.

In fact, if the Pechenegs took the initiative to lower the price of horses, they would better meet Rurik's needs. After they came all the way to the countryside, they did not hesitate to increase the price of horses in the face of the high prices in the Ross Principality society.

In a sense, the Pechenegs raised the price first, and Rose's price increase is just as reasonable.

The principle is that Rurik must take advantage.

The soldier opened the bronze lock, and the sledge parked in the house was still carrying a large amount of supplies.

Some materials have already been unloaded, and the wooden boxes for shipping the goods are uniform and neatly stacked. Each box is nailed to death and requires a crowbar to open it.

The boxes are stacked one on top of another, so that they form a low wall.

What's in it? Kagan and Maksakyi were not curious about that for the time being, because the large amount of leather deeply shocked them.

"Ah! These white skins!"

Sakyi rushed forward, stroking the leather with a smirk in love, and then exclaimed: "It's all white bear skins? All of them here are white bear skins?"

"There are brown bears too." Rurik shrugged. "Friend, you know how to do it."

"I understand! Of course I do. You provided some last year, but this year..."

Rurik had an idea, and asked, "How? How about the bear skins that Ross hunted in your Kiev market?"

"Of course it's a great one! Maybe you don't know that in Kiev, bear hunting is a huge risk, and even the entire bear hunting team has become a bear's meal."

"I mean the market. What about bearskin?"

Faced with a large number of bear skins, Sakyi trembled with excitement. He could only describe as hard as he could: "It is very valuable. Only noble people can enjoy it. If it is sold to the far south and sold to Roman merchants, one skin can be exchanged for several. Jar of olive oil."

"Olive oil?" Rurik understood what the guy said, and he was shocked: "Did you bring olive oil?"

"That kind of good stuff is too difficult to get. I heard that the Romans used it for sacrifices and other things, and they also drank oil. In short, it is indeed very good oil."

This guy didn't answer what he asked, and Ruriek sternly asked again: "You really didn't bring it?"

Sakyi said with a stubborn face: "Really not. If you want to get it, I will find a way to buy it."

"Then go! I hope you can bring me some olive oil when you come back next year. Wait a minute! If you can really deal with the Romans, you can bring me more southern goods."

Sakyi gritted his teeth and agreed, but seeing this guy's suddenly hesitant expression, Rurik could also guess that he must have safety concerns in his heart.

Rick did not want to go into the matter further.

Sakyi did have safety concerns. In fact, from the Slavic community in Kiev to Kherson or Odessa in the Roman-controlled area, you only need to drift along the Dnieper River.

But the Slavs’ shipbuilding level is always at the stage of canoeing, and that kind of boat can’t carry much supplies at a time, and they choose to dock at night at night. Once the Slavic merchants landed and started a fire, they would be attacked by the Khazarians cruising nearby. After going through the dangerous river, they entered the cities of Eastern Rome and had to pay a high tax to enter the city before they could trade. Because they did not believe in the Lord, and the Romans needed the leather from the north, and the merchants in the north were taxed and licensed to trade. This was a reward that the Romans considered themselves to be.

Except for some kind of weird alien-Varanga.

Lonely long boats will suddenly appear on the Dnieper River, they will suddenly attack the villages of the Kievans, and they dare to rob the East Romans, even the Khazarians are unwilling to chew on such hard bones.

The wise Kyivs can tell that the Rus is an outlier of the Varangs, and the Rus is the Varang, but the Varang is not the Rus.

The so-called Varanges by the Kievans almost always refer to the Danes who rushed to the source along the West Dvina River. They also seceded from Denmark, and lived in the Pskov area to the tribal living area of ​​Lithuania. Occasionally there is an intersection with the Danish homeland, but no intersection with Russell.

Sakyi pointed out that bear skins are very expensive in the South, which gives Rülik a huge opportunity to raise the price.

A bear skin of twenty silver coins, that almost only refers to the brown bear skin, and the white bear's activity area is further north, so the cost of hunting should be higher. Considering that Kagan must be over prices, it is not easy to simply fool him.

It just so happened that Rurik noticed that Kagan didn't seem to attach much importance to leather, but ran towards the bear heads piled up in small hills.

Kagan picked up a heavy white bear head, although the eyes, mandibles and brain marrow were all removed, only the upper jaw of the upper skull and the terrifying huge fangs clearly gave Kagan a huge shock.

"Brother, do you like bear heads?" Rurik asked.

Kagan suddenly looked back and his eyes gleamed: "Who doesn't like it? Mighty warriors can often frighten the enemy. In my opinion, these bear heads are the best decoration for my warriors. Just like you decorate your mercenary Rurik with it. Brother, if you put so many bear heads here, you are definitely not a soldier to arm you. I think they are all intended to be sold."

This kid is really on the road! Rurik snapped his fingers and happily introduced: "That's right! We are brothers, you come all the way and I will not treat you badly. I know, in fact, you know the whole picture of my bear skin. price."

"Yes, expensive but not expensive. I noticed that your people are very good at hunting bears. It is not at all difficult as the horse seller said."

Rurik's heart was cold, and he hurriedly explained: "It is true for us, it is difficult for them. Listen, no one in this world is better at hunting bears than we Rusians. Guess how many bearskins I brought this time. ?"

"There must be a huge number. I saw bear skins everywhere in the warehouse."

"Eight hundred sheets."

When this number was spoken, Kagan and Sakyi backed away one after another in shock.

"You are afraid."

"I...I'm not afraid." Kagan's words are already quite reluctant. He is indeed not afraid. It is simply that this number of times has far exceeded his expectations: "I am a little worried."

"worry about what."

"It can't be shipped back all at once."

When Kagan said so, Rurik laughed loudly. Kagan has also brought a lot of horses for simple carry-back work. In theory, those steeds can be sold, but if they sell the materials, they can't be shipped. Rurik has a clear understanding of this matter.

"Every bear skin is heavy, as heavy as a bear's head. But I know that for the sake of glory and wealth, you will do everything possible to transport them away."

"That's natural." Kagan bit his lip: "I want all your bear skins, and these bear heads, all sold to me."

"Yes, but..."

"How many horses are equivalent?!"

Kagan also toughened his words. Obviously he was a bit dissatisfied with Rurik's lack of decisiveness, so he continued: "We are brothers, we must complete the delivery of the goods immediately. I don't want to wait any longer, you give me a clear price. ."

"That's it..." Rurik gently stroked his golden beard: "Bear skin and bear head plus 100 silver coins, white bear skin forty silver coins, brown bear skin 20 silver coins..."

Leurix simply made a quotation for all the leather goods he brought. He was deliberately quoting too high, and Kagan would accept it best. If he didn’t accept it, he would have the first-hand advantage of bargaining.

However, Kagan, just like the prairie man's pride, had decisively agreed to the price that was twice as high as usual.

Although the price of brown bear skins has not risen here, but the brown bears hibernate in winter, Ross hunters enter the traditional winter hunting period after the winter, and they hunt all polar bears. In order to maximize the benefits, the clever hunters naturally aim at the big bear and fire the javelin with a torsion slingshot. In this way, the bear meat and liver can satisfy the food of the bear hunting team. As for the bear head, its decorative value is far less than the practical value of bear skin. Here in Rurik, a bear head is priced at thirty silver coins, which is really his crazy price increase behavior.

But the Pecheneg people need some fierce beasts to prove the military might of their army, improve the morale of their tribe, and scare the Lin tribe.

Kagan is not a businessman, he doesn't know and doesn't bother to think about whether he has been cheated by a good brother. Each bear skin is surprisingly big, and the fact that the white furry feels is much better than sheepskin. His pride paid a great price, and he bought all the bear heads and bear skins, and he had already spent three hundred and fifty good horses. Even so, Rurik also called it the price of friendship.

And this is just the expense of buying bearskins and bear heads.

The Ross people also provided some small furry leathers, which are from ferrets and snow foxes. The leather area is not large, and the soft hand feels like touching a lump of butter. The pure white coat color is hard to put down.

The price of a ferret was raised to ten silver coins by Lurik, and two hundred ferret and snow fox skins were bought.

Purchasing Rose Leather is one of Kagan's tasks, not even the biggest task.

"I basically bought all your leather. Now I want salt. I will buy all the salt you have."

Kagan's eyes were urgent and sincere. Regarding the purchase and sale of salt, Rurik estimated that even if the price increased, he would not be able to slaughter the prairie people.

Because the exchange ratio between salt and oats is dead by law, he is the legislator himself. The Rus Principality implements the principle of food-based. The princes control the management and dispatching power of the granary. There is a huge amount of food, and the entire Russ will not be economically chaotic due to the huge amount of silver coins and hot money. The price of food under official control is fixed to death, and the official conversion ratio of salt to food is also fixed to death.

The private buying and selling of food and salt by the people is another kind of existence, and the official price is more like a guide price.

Kagan knew the official price of a pound of salt for ten silver coins, and Rurik offered a higher price.

"A lot of salt is reserved for our own use by the Ross people. If you come to buy salt from our country this time, my subjects will be dissatisfied, even if you are my brother. If you buy less, forget it, you demand too much. In order to calm the anger of my subjects, all the salt has doubled in price."

"That's also a pound of silver to buy you five pounds of salt. I'll exchange a mare for fifty pounds of salt, and I think it's okay."

Kagan's expression was not unpleasant, but Rurik felt that his price was still too low. No matter what the words have been said, if you regret it, it seems that you are not enough.

Because the people in Shilla Fort were mobilized to make salt wildly, the cost of sodium chloride precipitation by boiling the seawater of the Gulf of Finland with extremely low salinity into brine is mainly due to the time cost. The local wood is almost inexhaustible, so fill in more firewood. The people have to bear it too. After all, the people exchanged salt for wheat, and Rurik didn't care how many pine and cedar trees were consumed by his subjects. The price he bought for salt was one hundred pounds of oats in exchange for one pound of salt. Salt cannot be eaten as a meal, but one hundred pounds of oatmeal is enough for a man to eat for two months. The people still feel that they have gotten a big deal.

The Atlantic sea salt transported by the Balmerks was mixed with the inferior salt produced by the Gulf of Finland assault by Lurik and mixed into 500 pounds of salt. This is the share to be sold to Kagan. After being forced to double the price, the price is exactly ten mares.

Kagan's mathematics is not high. He watched Rurik's "dazzling" sadness and found that the price of five hundred pounds of salt was not more than ten horses, and he was so moved that he cried.

He pulled Rurik's hand and spoke a bunch of Turkic languages ​​in excitement.

There is only one thing Kagan wants to express-the Ross people are really good people.

Because any bit of salt is cherished by the Pecheneg people, they will not make salt and cook a lot of bitter bitter at the most. The food is poisonous, so the people in the steppes would rather want to get salt through other ways. They have never been unable to live without salt, and they can get salt by drinking milk, but for the huge consumption of war, the combat effectiveness of the salt-deficient army is definitely not strong.

The Pecheneg people never thought that they could get 500 pounds of salt at a time, and Kagan really felt that his excessive demands could arouse dissatisfaction among the Ross people. Indeed, as long as the five hundred pounds of salt is transported back to the grassland, it will be enough for the Pecheneg people to use for a long time.

Everything went smoothly in the next transaction. Rurik provided a large number of steel sword embryos, each of which could be bent forcibly and then suddenly rebounded into a straight line. If it is a saber, it would be better, even if it is just a straight blade, bring it back to the grassland, and let Pechenegg's own blacksmith make a saber.

The sword was just a sword embryo, and the complicated processing was thrown to the buyer. A sword embryo was two pounds of silver coins. Rülik learned the lesson of just selling salt. He forcibly increased the price of the sword embryo to three times the original price.

Kagan was not angry, even if he knew the original price. He pointed directly to the Ross steel sword that he ordered hanging around his waist: "I am not buying this sword for two pounds of silver. I want to buy a lot, can it be cheaper?"

"Do you want to be cheap? That's not good. But..."

"how?"

"I can give you something."

"what is that?"

So, Rurik smiled unkindly...

A good thing plus some cheap gifts, and then mark a high price, to ensure that a group of buyers snapped up and felt that they were making a profit.

How has Kagan seen this kind of bundling? Lurik used this kind of measurement, bundling and selling a mass-produced axe, hammer, and iron spear seized in the Danish war.

Kagan couldn't distinguish the clear distinction between low-carbon steel, wrought iron, and gray pig iron. In terms of quantity, he felt that the Rurik brothers had given too much iron.

The essence is also that the Pechenegs were not selected. They only obtained salt and iron through looting and purchase. This is a strategic material. This is true for them, and the same is true for other grassland tribes. In the southern region, only Eastern Rome and the Bulgarian Khanate are the salt and iron producing countries. Other ethnic groups can only exchange cattle, sheep and horses. In the transaction, the Pecheneg people do not take advantage of the trade, and the partial salt and iron are consumables. After being supplemented, military strength has continued to decline.

Salt, iron, and leather, Kagan used more than five hundred horses and Rurik to finalize a large-scale strategic material transaction. UU Reading , even with all the recurve bows, exchanged equal amounts with the Ross crossbows without arms. Making a recurve bow is a craft, and the key to making a crossbow lies in the crossbow machine system, which is high-tech. The evaluations of Rurik and Kagan are equal exchanges.

At the same time, Maksakyi, as the full representative of the people of Kiev, completed the horse-for-material transaction with Ross.

Kagan still has a share of the wealth of some horses left, and these horses are exchanged for pure gems.

"You want lapis lazuli? You want amber? Yes. I remember you made it clear that you want to marry me your sister, even if you know that I have a lot of wives and concubines. For the friendship between our two countries, I accept this marriage, and I will I'll give you some extra gems and glassware." Rurik emphasized this again, moving Kagan to tears.

But the transaction is still not over.

Only this year’s transaction is over. In the future, the three parties of Rus, Kiev and Pecheneg will still start the transaction, and the scale of the transaction should be expanded.

The three parties have made an agreement. First, the three parties must ensure peace with each other, and secondly, it is to take tough measures against the Smolensk community sandwiched between the three parties.

With the smooth flow of trade lines, Smolensk has just become an obstacle. For the time being, fashion is not an opportunity to conquer Smolensk. The Rus Principality needs cheap labor. A simple method is to hire Pechenegs and Kievans to capture slaves. The first is to target Smolensk.

In this regard, Kagan and Sakyi readily agreed.

Attacking the village to capture the population and then sell it to Ross. Isn't this the right way for the Pechenegma team to go north to trade? In Kagan's eyes, the Smolensk villagers were just a group of walking silver coins. He had already planned to prepare more ropes to facilitate the transportation of captives when he came back to the Ross trade next autumn.