Rise of Rurik - Chapter 623

[Chapter 624 Furnace Town Planning]

Everyone was waiting for Rurik to announce a new important matter, and they probably guessed what it was.

Rurik solemnly declared: “Roseburg and other northern lands are too cold to grow wheat, but our people need wheat to fill their stomachs. We must rely on iron and copper to make metal utensils and sell them in exchange for the wheat we need. So, I want you to double the current production capacity! This must be implemented next year!”

This is really a bold decision. After people were surprised, they subconsciously began to imagine the beautiful scenery if the plan was successfully completed.

A large amount of metalware is produced, except that the Rus and allies can enjoy it immediately, and selling it will surely make a fortune.

Ideas are always good, and difficulties must be overcome in order to accomplish this task.

Old Klavatsen’s face darkened: “Rurik, we just discussed it. We don’t have enough labor force. If we have enough slaves, we should be able to do it. But…”

Rurik stretched out his right hand, and he also grimaced: “Yes. I know all about the problems! If I say that I will force you to mine frequently, it is very absurd. Time is very precious, and your work is also It’s cumbersome. Lack of labor? I have thought of some countermeasures for this problem.”

Kawei immediately echoed: “The labor issue is very serious. If there were enough workers, we would have expanded our production capacity long ago. As production capacity increases, our income will also increase. Who would complain about too much money?”

“Yes. I’m going to deal with it this winter, and there’s one more thing I have to tell you.”

Rurik cleared his throat again, pouted his head and said: “A large number of Balmerks are about to migrate to the British Isle. Their leaders have given up their homeland, but many people are unwilling to leave. They abandoned their homeland, which means they are Leave it to us. I will recruit those who stay behind to become us Ross, and soon a new workforce will arrive in Ross.”

“Oh? That’s a good thing.” Clavasen said so, and he also has his own opinions on the issue of labor: “Those Balmerks are allies after all. Can I talk about my own ideas?”

“Speaking.”

“Perhaps you can go east and get another batch of young men from Novgorod. I don’t know the Balmerks, but I know the Slavs best.”

“It’s a way.” Rurik nodded, “Balmerks, Slavs, and a group of Finns in the East. Of course, these labor forces can be used, but not for a short time. Therefore, I Going to use some female workers.”

“Female workers? Mining?”

“Exactly? Clavasen, you…you don’t seem surprised.” Rurik was slightly surprised.

The old guy was not surprised, and said slowly: “Of course women can dig mines, but they are not as powerful as men. My fellows and I are all fair. We only pay according to the weight of the ore we transport, and we don’t care about the ore.” Whether it was dug by a child or by a girl, even if the ore dug by a monster can only be brought in front of us, I am willing to pay for it.” After that, all blacksmiths sneered.

Rurik shrugged his shoulders, thinking that this group of guys really talked about contracts and had a simple principle.

“Okay. I’m going to tell you straight, I’m going to use women workers on a massive scale. Remember those Tavastian women locked up in the barn?”

Rurik reminded them of this, seeing their eyes, one and two are strange.

After a while of silence, Kawei slapped his thigh: “Oh! You mean those people? I remember someone carrying the corpses before. Aren’t those captives dead?”

“Most of them are alive and well.” Rurik was also surprised.

“Oh? My old friend, don’t you want to command these women?”

“Not only the women of Tavastia, but also the female captives I captured from the west of Britain. Give them tools, and arrange for them to dig ore. I will order them to work, and they will be punished for being lazy, and they will be executed for refusing to work! This I will not be merciful in this matter. The captive must be worthy of the food and furs I provide!”

Many people felt a murderous aura, and then trembled all over.

Rurik looked like a wolf baring his teeth, giving off a dangerous feeling.

Clavasen cleared his throat again: “Maybe they are suitable for mining, but from what I have seen, women are still better at transporting ore. Besides, now we are no longer raising sledgehammers to ram stones, covering branches and burning them, and pouring cold water on them.” , the ore disintegrates easily, and it is appropriate for a strong man to do this dangerous work.”

“It’s not a problem for a woman to do it.” Rurik continued: “Since you think that the method of thermal expansion and cold contraction is the most suitable for a strong man to deal with ore. Coincidentally, my mercenaries still have those one hundred Suomi Archers, they can just contribute labor. At present, I intend to arrange this way for motivation, but those Tavastia women will be given to the Balmerks after all. They are all spoils of the coalition forces of the Summer War, and I have no right to embezzle allies spoils of war.”

“Let’s have more strong men.” Kawei pouted and said, “I never liked those women. A thousand words of praise can’t cover up their disadvantages.”

“Exactly, this is a temporary expedient measure.” Rurik continued: “After Hanukkah, I will escort these women to Balmerk. Don’t worry, when I come back, I will definitely bring back a batch of Balmerk. Merk men. These Balmerk men are usually miners, lumberjacks, etc. Once there is a war, they are soldiers. I plan to create and organize a Balmerk flag team that obeys me and make meritorious deeds for me. On weekdays I am responsible for their food, clothing and housing, but they will dig ore to supply you, and you only need to pay the market price for the goods.”

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Clavasen instantly understood the meaning: “Aren’t they five hundred professional miners? No! They are actually your personal mercenaries.”

“You can also say that.” Rurik nodded deeply: “At present, I have exactly fifty Balmerk mercenaries under my command, and it is not a problem to have another five hundred. Oh no! I am afraid that there will be no more Balmerks in the future. They are the new Ross people. And the Balmerks who immigrated to Britain, they are the people of the Kingdom of York.”

The patriarchs of the various blacksmith families looked at each other and exchanged opinions in low voices.

It was Clavasen who took the lead in saying: “Rurik, your determination is always wise, and I support it.”

Others followed up one after another, and there was no objection in this chamber.

In fact, they have no choice at all, because the Principality of Ross, whether it is Roseburg or Elronburg, currently only these two have metallurgical industries, and the Duke family is almost the only buyer.

As for the Gould family, who was subordinate to the Duke’s family, and the old Harald family who later surrendered, the former monopolized the iron distribution rights in the Swedish market, and although the latter has not been in the business for a long time, it also monopolizes the distribution of iron to the Eastern Slavs. right.

A trade route of mining→transportation→smelting→distribution has been established. Ross’s blacksmith alliance currently monopolizes the metal smelting link, which is precisely the most critical link.

They are just craftsmen, and many young craftsmen are essentially servants of the Duke’s family.

The Blacksmith Union has no right to bargain with Duke Rurik at all. Although they have accumulated a lot of capital, they are powerless to change anything in front of the Duke. They must develop the metallurgy industry according to the Duke’s order. The so-called conscious will does not exist at all. of.

However, in the long-term future, the blacksmith alliance and the duke family will be a solid community of interests.

Since the adults want to produce, the brothers will produce.

Anyway, the Duke will definitely pay afterwards, and he will have to collect taxes again.

After removing the cost of materials and labor, everyone can still easily earn a lot.

Most of the planning of the labor force has come to an end, at least Rurik is full of confidence in his arrangement.

Of course, it is not enough to have a labor force. If you arrange a lot of people to mine, if the furnace can’t digest the ore, what you get is just a mine standing in Roseburg.

Another plan related to industrial upgrading, Rurik issued this along with the trend.

Compared with the labor problem just mentioned, his new arrangement is very simple and deafening.

Rurik’s request was very straightforward: “It is not appropriate to gather all blacksmith shops in the city, even if it is close to the city wall. I am most afraid that something will cause a fire and cause unnecessary losses to Roseburg. Therefore, we should build a new city, which was born for smelting.”

A new city?

All blacksmiths braced themselves.

“Is it necessary?” Clavasen was the first to ask cautiously.

“necessary.”

“It’s not just… just for fire prevention.”

“Of course! For many reasons, the most important thing is to control costs.”

Clavassen didn’t have the slightest intention of arguing, he knew he had to agree, and asked again: “Where is the new city of blacksmiths?”

Just west of Roseburg, deep in the fjord, next to that stream!

The point is that the city of blacksmiths is close to the mountains, so that the newly mined ore does not need to be transported very far.

If this is the reason, rational blacksmiths really have no need to question it.

Indeed, a major problem in transporting ore now is the distance between the ore origin and the smelting center.

Mountains cannot move their nests. If the disadvantage of distance is eliminated, there is nothing better than placing the blacksmith shop in a mountainous area.

If so, another problem is also very difficult-lack of fresh water.

The depths of the fjord are also at the foot of the mountain. Although there is a lack of flat land and vegetation there, building a small town that also uses metallurgy as its reason for existence does not need a large area.

Rurik specified his plan: “A small town is necessary. We will survey an area, cut down the trees on it, and build a group of houses after the land is leveled. We will build at least four more blast furnaces, build warehouses for storing fuel and The mold warehouse. The rest of the buildings and facilities must be built around these four blast furnaces, and you are very familiar with the facilities in this regard.”

“This is really a big construction project. After all, it is a small town.” It is obvious that Clavassen’s words mean what he said.

Rurik nodded, he guessed the old guy’s hint.

right!

money problem.

But the Duke who controls the military power of the entire Principality of Ross is here, who has the power to bargain?

Rurik didn’t want to use his power to order the blacksmiths to work hard to build a city of blacksmiths surrounded by mountains and rivers, but it really hurts to pay for it himself.

As the Duke of Ross, he has indeed mastered huge wealth, but the construction and investment in many aspects are all gold-swallowing monsters. If there is no desperate plundering of the outside world, especially the targeted search of Northumbria and Mercia, how can it be given to Ross? What about the development of the primary industry such as funds?

During these years of fighting, Rurik most intuitively understood that the most well-known saying is the truth-the basics of primitive capital are accompanied by blood and tears.

But in this world of great controversy, the Ross people either lived in the Northland Fjords and were annexed by the Kingdom of Sweden, or went out and became the new Rome, and there was no third way.

Therefore, Rose’s rise, some people have to make sacrifices.

Even those who make sacrifices are part of the Ross people.

Rurik mentioned a condition to them, the so-called blacksmith alliance should also pay the tax of the past year at the end of winter, because the blacksmiths have to spend money to build the city of blacksmiths, which is more than tax exemption, In other words, all tax money is used to buy local labor, whether men, women or children, who participate in the construction of the city of blacksmiths should be paid, and the rewards will be provided by the blacksmith union.

Do you have any comments?

Opinions are not small.

But Clavasen understood the overall situation, and he expressed his support, and others had no choice but to follow up and support.

As the most senior blacksmith, Clavasen can say that he watched Rurik grow up to the point where he started to grow a beard. He knew that this kid would never cheat himself. It seems that the blacksmiths will suffer a lot for the time being, but it is actually for the future. A smart investment for great wealth and glory.

“Then give the town a name,” Clavassen said.

Rurik scratched his head, when it came to naming, he didn’t bother to use his brain to choose a pretentious and elegant name, so he might as well be straightforward.

“It’s called Strofnstadt.”

The name is concise and straightforward, and no one has any objections.

Here comes a new question, when will Blast Furnace Town be built?

When the town is built, where will the old blacksmith workshop go?

Rurik has made arrangements, that is, adhering to his consistent action, he made a plan today, and tomorrow he will start publicizing the construction of Blast Furnace Town in the entire Roseburg, and the day after tomorrow will be the site selection and logging to start construction.

As for the destination of the old blacksmith shop after the event is completed, it is natural to retain some of the very mature traditional stoves and blacksmithing workshops, remove the old blast furnace for rough processing, and remove the old stock warehouse.

The only purpose of the existence of the old blacksmith shop is to finish the ironware, which is to rely on the steel frying method and the steelmaking method to manufacture low-carbon steel tools and weapons.

But it was still a long transition, and eventually there were no more blacksmith workshops within the walls of Roseburg.

Living quarters are separated from industrial areas, Rurik wishes to arrange a city in this way.

Especially at present, the construction of the city is made of wood, and a large number of blacksmith shops are placed in the city. Once a fire breaks out, it will not be a disaster for the whole city?

Even the existence of a large number of wooden buildings in other settlements in the principality of Rossburg is itself an expedient measure. When the cost of cement falls in the future and the production capacity of stone and clay bricks increases, it is necessary to completely replace the settlements with masonry buildings.

The rise of a country should first begin with the exhaustion of financial resources to develop the primary industry, especially the metallurgy industry and the manufacture of heavy equipment.

Rurik felt that he was actually investing heavily in real estate in Fort Rose and other territories. After all, he would build a new town, which would objectively provide job opportunities for the diverse people of Fort Rose.

Because not everyone is qualified to participate in the war of invading other forces to plunder the loot. If no one creates a lot of jobs, many people must waste their time in a daze.

This is no wonder for them, the cold and long winter has long been only the strongest who can go out bravely to catch wild animals and sell their leather to make money. The majority of the people are like hibernating black bears hiding in their homes to hibernate in essence.

Humans don’t really want to hibernate, but they are forced to do so due to the harsh environment.

Unless an opportunity to make a huge fortune is in front of them, they will take the risk.

Simple construction of towns, mining, logging and other jobs can make many people earn money, and it also allows them to buy enough wheat for their meals.

This is enough?

not enough!

Rurik was under a lot of pressure, and he found himself being forced to carefully run his principality under tight financial pressure.

The wealth obtained by various means in the past year should be consumed a lot this winter. Of course, selling steel products is very profitable, and it is also necessary to rely on other high value-added goods to obtain more wealth.

Regarding the steel industry, Rurik felt that he had made very detailed arrangements, and he also made other arrangements.

This time, Lilia became the protagonist.

Without him, the Clavassen family are all talents, and the married daughter-in-law has also become a new talent.

Lilia has become an expert at making glassware through continuous practice, she still dare not risk burning her lungs to engage in glass blowing, but the ability to die-cast glass is getting better and better.

She can mix and match glass raw materials by herself, and she has also figured out how to control the heat of the furnace, but the key to success lies in the excellent bronze mold.

But she was pregnant again, and it would be foolish to expect a pregnant woman to work hard.

Glassware is crystal clear, and anyone who owns it will regard it as a treasure.

Its added value is very high, but Roseburg’s glass production is too low, unless it really becomes an industry.

As the eldest sister-in-law of the Duke of Ross, the eldest lady of White Tree Manor, a natural and respectable doer, Lilia has her own opinion, that is, she calls on Ross to sail on the new Sorgon, and then from Novgorod’s hometown. Come a bunch of young women, preferably the girls from Whitetree Manor.

And it wasn’t just women who were recruited to make glassware, but also workers who distilled ale into spirits in new glassware.

This is a very constructive suggestion!

Rurik nodded, fully agreeing and deeply remembering it in his heart.

Indeed, he also planned to take Svetlana to visit relatives in Novgorod.

Besides, I still lack an Ilmen Slavic wedding with her. Such a public wedding will also have a strong political meaning, which is to express my gratitude to all the Novgorod regions living around Lake Ilmen. It was good for the Slavs to rule by showing the monarch a goodwill gesture.

[End of this Chapter]