Chapter 1091： It's finally starting to look like Rotterdam

The poor are thin, and even the most common farmer seems to lack strength.

The overall state of the lower nobles, traveling merchants and priests is much better.

High-level nobles and their entourage, that is the real sturdy physique.

Of course, a person's wealth cannot be completely linked to his body, but a fat man is bound to be rich.

Henry Nassau admired the two brothers, Black Fox and Red Fox, because they were rare fat men. Of course, he loves his daughter, and as long as the conditions permit, Henry will choose a son-in-law himself. If there is a chance to choose a son-in-law with his own background, that is a beautiful plan.

He didn't know if there would be a better man. Obviously, the black fox who could speak Latin, was fat, had the status of a Rus nobleman, had no fief and no military exploits, and just came of age, was the perfect choice.

"This kid is willing to call me father directly? What a wise kid." Henry squeezed his beard, and the more he looked at the black fox, the more comfortable he became.

This kid can eat himself so fat, his daughter will be able to live a good life with him. I just don't know if this kid would like his descendants to have the suffix "Nassau".

The brief interview was followed by a long conversation. Henry intended to chat with the black fox in person. The content of the conversation should not be known to outsiders, not even the red fox, at least not the first time.

It is understandable that the old earl of Utrecht plundered the people to build his own mansion, and part of the money he plundered was also transferred to the expenditure of the parish, so the local church was built quite well.

A considerable amount of wealth was used to build the city of Utrecht. Naturally, its urban infrastructure is not very advanced, but there are many high-rise buildings. There are also a group of handicraftsmen and craftsmen gathered in the city, which has spawned a group of non-agricultural workers. The bourgeoisie can then provide high value-added handicraft output and generate more commercial profits.

If there is a peaceful environment, a larger local population, and the possibility of developing trade with the Viking world, the commercial rise of the Netherlands can be expected in the future.

It's just that the authorities are a little aristocrat who came out of a small inland village! Henry Nassau had an upstart mentality, and he was satisfied with just a light search in the new territory.

He felt that he was already very wealthy, and he could just live by collecting taxes step by step. As for the future, he was too lazy to think about it.

What Henry is thinking about now is the future of his daughter and the ownership of his hometown.

At night, the secret room of the mansion.

The oil lamp on the roof trembled, and the two people in the room were relieved.

Henry was in a good mood: "I chatted a lot with your brother and learned something about you."

"Oh? How much do you know?" The black fox with Erlang's legs crossed casually and thoughtfully.

"Not much. I know that you are a nobleman of Rus, but you have no merit. I have learned that you Rus are eager to gain military merit, so that you can be recognized by others. This is understandable! If you are a Frankish lower noble, in the key If you make achievements in battle, you may get titles and territories."

"So what? What are you going to say?"

"Being my son-in-law, you get more than my daughter. And! I will officially authorize you to manage my hometown of Nassau Baron. I can give you the relevant powers, and you can do whatever you want!"

Henry's attitude was firm, and the black fox could see that this middle-aged man must have thought about it for a long time.

"Do whatever you want?" The black fox, who felt that this person was not simple, thought about it, and deliberately tried: "If you can really do whatever you want, I can follow the rules of the north and marry a lot of women."

"This...this is impossible."

Seeing Henry's face change greatly, the black fox smiled naively and stroked the cross on his chest: "I have to give up a lot if I accept your beliefs. I understand! I'm just talking casually. But... it seems that the future I will not do whatever I want. ."

"Maybe so, but there are a few things you must know. I appreciate that you don't lie to you, the fact that your future is in peril."

"Crisis? It's just building our Rus shop in your Nassau village, and facing the military threat of the Franks. King Rus gave me an order, and after I settle down, I will take the initiative to cause trouble. Is it possible..." Black Fox Deliberately caressing and laughing: "Think I'm afraid of them?"

What is going through Henry's mind now? Although he admired this little fat man very much, as an older person, he just despised the arrogance of the young man. Unless, young people are as arrogant as Rurik, the king of Russ. What capital does this little fat man have? Are you fat?

"Young man, don't be too crazy! I know, you haven't fought a war. Have you...killed anyone?" Henry asked with a stare.

"It's not. But it's nothing. It will be soon."

"Flimsy words, boy, at least you're too tender in this regard."

"But the people I brought are full of ruthless people. They can help me to cut and kill, and I just need to strategize. I am a businessman, and I also admire my brother Blue Fox. I think I will also be a good fighter. Bar."

Henry didn't want to force the matter of the war. Realistically speaking, if this kid really died in battle due to recklessness, his family would lose a lot. Henry said: "If you can really manipulate behind the scenes, because the other side of Nassau Village is Lothair's territory. Do you know Lothair?"

"Slightly heard. It was King Ross who ordered me to attack and loot the target."

"Then act according to the ruthless means of your northerners. Now the crux of the matter is what your identity is."

"Me? The third child of Ross's Gould family. And... your son-in-law." Speaking of the last words, Black Fox's attitude was already very easy-going, and he had really regarded Henry as his father-in-law.

"I'm glad you called my father, but you really don't have a suitable title. The blue fox told me that because you are a Ross nobleman, you can't be granted a title except by King Ross. I wanted to canonize you as a knight, I want to come It's inappropriate. So, if you're willing to accept my arrangement..."

The black fox is interested: "But it doesn't matter."

"I am still the Baron of Nassau, and I have hired you as the baron's steward, with the right to manage all the affairs of the Baron of Nassau. There is no title for this job! However, the son born between you and my daughter must inherit my title. Only in this way can the entire Barony of Nassau and the local clergy obey your orders. I know! It may not be comfortable for a man, but for your Rus Kingdom and you personally, this is an arrangement that anyone can accept. "

Black Fox really listened, his tense spirit was completely relieved, and he even wanted to laugh. "Just that? I thought you were trying to say something. Yes, I totally accept it."

"Just accept it?"

"Otherwise? Isn't this the result that everyone accepts?"

The aristocrats of the Frankish world actually twisted their etiquette, which was unexpected by the black fox. He thinks that even if he accepts the canonization of the local nobles, the ultimate goal is for Ross, presumably King Ross can acquiesce?

Thinking about it again, Henry Nassau's move did protect the face of King Ross.

Face is very important, but unfortunately I am a businessman, a businessman is a sly fox, otherwise I would not be called this name.

He didn't say anything in his heart, and Heihu readily accepted the status of "Baron Nassau's exclusive butler".

For Henry Nassau, it would be foolish to expect his ignorant and greedy young daughter to have an overview of the baron's political affairs. She needs a husband with status, a wise steward, and an army at her disposal. She seems to have a lot to gain, but in fact, she can solve the problem in one package as long as she wins the little fat black fox.

Of course, he also planned for the worst, and said to the black fox: "If you take the initiative to provoke Lothair's people, once you encounter their revenge and you can't beat them for a while, you must bring my daughter and other Nassau villagers with you. Evacuate."

Heihu Xu and Wei She agreed with each other, and they were quite impatient in their hearts. When was the Rus army defeated? He could see that this man really loved his daughter, but this kind of love was too deep and obscure.

The third brother, Xiti Meiren, has obtained the status of "Nassau Baron's Butler" again, which is really the fourth red fox of Musha.

The red fox is really annoyed, how can he lose by guessing coins while sailing? He must have been fooled by Loki God.

But he also felt that since the black fox and that Henry had a secret conversation, the black fox had become a lot deeper, and it seemed that he had a lot of thoughts. After some inquiries, Black Fox did reveal some of his inner worries-going to Nassau Village, only God knows what kind of mess he will encounter.

Merchants are not adventurers. With stable supply sources and sales channels, as well as safe and stable trade lines, merchants can make steady profits without losing money.

The businessman is risk-averse, but he has to be an adventurer, although this is his own choice, and it is only now that he realizes the complexity of things for the first time.

It is a blessing to hold a beautiful woman, and the black fox is also slightly envious of the stability of the Rotterstad trading point.

"How about we change?" The red fox couldn't stand the so-called complaint of the black fox, it was a show off in disguise.

"No. I won't change it, let me do the dangerous things."

The two foxes could not have stayed in Utrecht for a long time. The black fox and Henry Nassau were like family, and the red fox was busy investigating the local business situation.

There are various ways of business. In today's era, whether in the Mediterranean or the Baltic, the form of business is nothing more than the cross-regional trafficking of specialty assets.

The prototype of high-end finance such as lending and foreign exchange does not exist. In other words, they actually exist, but only in the Eastern Roman world, while other regions are either savage, accumulating power, or fighting aristocrats on the ruins of Rome.

Barter is still popular in most areas, and merchants must also, according to the situation of buyers and sellers, almost all the materials they traffic are staples of daily life, most of which are agricultural products and cotton and linen. Like the business of selling gems, this is a high-end business and cannot support the prosperity of a small feudal country.

With the city of Utrecht as the center, farmland has been opened up near the passing rivers.

The locals are clearly growing spring wheat and spring oats widely, as well as some rye and buckwheat, which are obviously the most basic food crops for the locals. In addition, the red fox discovered a wonder!

He saw large fields of onion, cabbage and peas. These crops are also grown in the lake area around Lake Mälaren in Sweden.

"If you can plant a lot of them, I will transport the storage-stable onions to the north. The ships I own are all very large, and they can be transported at one time. Even if the price is cheap, the final cost-effective income is huge!"

Just like what the old Gould did back then, even if low-value-added materials were trafficked, they had to be mixed in with a small profit but quick turnover. The Gould family tradition is not to dislike low-value merchandise. If it were not for the order of King Ross, that is, the Goul family had no right to penetrate into the eastern market of the kingdom. The so-called avoidance of monopoly, in fact, several brothers of the Gould family believed that this was the king's selfishness. The reality is that the king's cousin Rurik He was busy developing trade in the East.

If infiltrated into the Frankish world, of course King Russ has nothing to say.

Moreover, compared with the northern world, the warm southern world can be seen from Utrecht alone, and there are more products, even if it is a trade in agricultural products, it is very profitable.

"It's certainly not just where peas are produced!"

The Red Fox has a fortune in hand, and he wants to build a Ross store in Rotterstad, very south of Utrecht, which is logically supported by Henry Nassau and the local church. They still don't believe in Danish immigrants. After all, Durist was a Danish pirate den in the past, and the Rotterstad that replaced it is probably just as dirty. Perhaps the nobles of Rus lived in it and could rely on the prestige of the northern hegemon to suppress those Danish pirates.

The Ross shop at the estuary of the Yin River had to be built. In order to make things happen quickly, Red Fox hired a group of idle laborers on the spot.

At least this year the Rus people have been nice, but hiring construction workers and paying them is really a good thing? What if it was actually a conspiracy? What if the villagers went to work for them and were sold as slaves.

However, some people are faced with huge debt pressure. If they can't repay the money on time, they can only be the debt slaves (serfs) of the knights. The situation is not much better than being a Norman slave.

The red fox then recruited more than 50 people locally, promising to take care of food and lodging, not to whip the whip, and to give five silver coins every month. After all, he completed his conversion, so he deliberately found the local bishop Arbery as a witness, and swore that he would fulfill his promise.

Is there such a good thing? Originally, these peasants who owed debts said that the total value of Podatian's debts was less than ten silver coins. The root of the problem is that local prices are very low, and monasteries and noble mansions are dens for hoarding silver coins, which is artificially created to create deflation. Therefore, when the monthly average price of hired strong laborers in the north skyrocketed to ten silver coins due to the influx of silver coins, the red fox did not consider the price of Utrecht thoroughly enough, and gave five silver coins for a month of work. Good things are enviable and suspicious.

After the contract was completed, the fifty or so people hoped that the Rus people could keep their promises. Others were forced to wait and see, and many of them even said sarcastically: "A bunch of idiots, you will be taken away as slaves."

The red fox and the black fox just didn't have the heart to argue with a group of farmers. They were destined to be businessmen from birth, and their lives are full of businessman thinking, and in their most critical growth period, they saw all aspects of Ross. Expansion, especially commercial expansion, is Rurik, King of Rus, who has repeatedly emphasized the importance of contracts, and even publicly signed a written contract. The two brothers felt that this was the truth and needed to be followed.

They are cunning and cunning, and they will not go back on the terms they set, unless the other party goes back first, then there is a reason for revenge.

Now the red fox is obviously a strong man, and subjectively he will pay the food, lodging and remuneration of these laborers, provided that they will not slack off.

So in his initial plan, the Ross store in Rotterstad is essentially a small castle that integrates business and military affairs, and the most critical matter is the construction of large-scale construction. Therefore, the people he brought are all powerful people, who can go into battle to kill the enemy or chop down a big tree in a short period of time, but the rewards for these ruthless people are too high.

Both the red fox and the black fox received the development funds given by King Ross, and they were quite rich themselves, so the red fox was very willing to spend money. Of course, this kid is too young, and it is easy to overspend with a large amount of money at a young age. At least now, there is still a dilemma of budgeting to the end.

So, the two foxes arrived in the entire Rotter River basin, which was being built up by the Danes.

The small Rotter River, both sides of which were occupied by the lords from the Danish island of Zealand, was indeed a strong man who wanted them to give up a large piece of land to Ross.

"The good places are all occupied by these guys who came first! If we knew this, we might as well play for a while before going to Utrecht." Red Fox couldn't help complaining.

Heihu didn't bother to complain: "Then choose another piece of land nearby."

"How shall we be?"

"Just to the west of the Danes! We open up wasteland to build ports so we can go to sea."

The Ross shop laid the foundation on the north bank of the Laike River, a tributary that splits off at the mouth of the Lein River. In view of the soft soil here, they began to cut logs and smashed pine wood deeply into the soil. The so-called wet thousand years dry ten thousand years, the red fox is to lay a dense pine pile foundation in this swamp, and then build a small fort on it. This does not reflect that the red fox is very smart at a young age, because the two brothers realized that the geographical conditions here are very similar to the Melalen Lake area in the ancestral land. There are also many islands and the earth is torn by lakes and lakes. The tricks of building houses on the ground, several tribes on the shore of Lake Melalen have already figured out the tricks.

Out of brotherhood, the black fox wants to leave after his younger brother stabilizes for a while. He supervises the construction of the Ross store, and also supervises that the purchased food can smoothly enter the belly of the laborers.

Those hired farmers really work hard They have the right to eat enough food. Fish and boiled peas are currently readily available food. Thanks to the trawling technology of the Rus, the harvest of herring in the coastal waters has greatly improved the food conditions on the construction site, and the heavy use of salt makes them very gratified.

At present, nearly 200 people are involved in the construction. Red Fox feels that it is the current progress. It is a bit far-fetched to build a wooden fortress that can survive the winter, unless it recruits labor. He has already planned a new recruitment plan and deliberately lowered the salary of the newly recruited labor force. The destination is Utrecht. He is sure that the local farmers will actively sign up when they see the profit and will not complain about the salary drop.

It was under these conditions that Ragnar's loot-dividing fleet, which had plundered Britain, drifted into the Leine.

Pepin III, another great butler from the Counties of Flanders, also took his entourage on a boat. As the special envoy of Count Baudouin, he wanted to directly negotiate business possibilities with the great merchants of Ross. Be sure that the opponent will never turn a blind eye - a ready-made pile of wool.

Various forces gathered in Rotterstad, and in an instant, this piece of salt marsh wasteland that was easily eroded by the tide at the estuary of the Yin River, the business atmosphere became lively.

It's finally starting to look like Rotterdam.