Rise of Rurik - Chapter 659

[Chapter 660 Favor]

The twelve manor owners grabbed the barbecue and ate it tremblingly. They ate and drank with a group of fighting madmen. They were afraid that the other party’s sudden whim would cause their own heads to be chopped off.

A calf was eaten by the crowd until only its skeleton remained, and five oak barrels were drunk from the captured wine.

Are the Ross people enjoying their happy life?

The manor owners just want to go home and stay, hoping to escape from this ghost place as soon as possible.

Rurik only drank a glass of ale. When many people were a little dazed, and when the meat on the cart was only the skeleton of cattle, the banquet should come to an end.

Those manor owners who were always vigilant were on call at any time, and finally they waited for the new order from the young Duke of Ross.

“You manor owners, I see that you have been too cautious. Don’t worry, I will not kill you. I can promise that as long as you remain obedient, you will be rewarded.”

reward?

Can there be a reward?

They don’t have time to think, or they can’t think in this suffocating scene.

In fact, regarding the follow-up arrangements for these manor owners, Rurik boasted that his pending policies would effectively solve the stability of the region.

He also announced: “You will stay here tonight. Tomorrow, I have the most serious arrangements for you and all the Novgorod nobles. Come! Take them down to rest.”

Armed guards appeared again, and they dragged away the manor owners with floppy legs, and the courtyard of the banquet was filled with the laughter of Ross people…

“Continue to drink! Continue to eat!” Otto shook his head, asking the guys to drink and dance as usual. A group of manor owners who got in the way were invited away, and everyone could continue to eat and break up.

Rurik didn’t know how long the dinner would last, he left early because of embarrassment and fell asleep, and those who stayed at the banquet, no matter how big their appetites were, were satisfied.

At the banquet hall, there was a man who was the most able to drink and also the most daring to eat meat and wheat.

Medved was so excited. When he learned of the award from his brother-in-law Rurik in advance, his mind was filled with happiness.

He will gain a lot of power, even though this power will probably not be inherited by his heirs, but the supreme power of the Principality of Ross will definitely fall in the hands of his sister’s son.

Sister Svetlana, she participated in the war, fighting like the valkyries believed by the Rus people.

She no longer looks like a Slav, but a Rus?

“It doesn’t matter, they are all my sisters.”

Medved has realized the power and privilege of being a foreign relative and uncle, but his structure is limited. After seeing the strength of the Ross people, he only wants to rely on their strength to make his White Tree Manor stronger.

To rule the entire Novgorod on behalf of the Rus, like the self-proclaimed prince Vadim whose life or death is uncertain?

“No, I will take care of this place on behalf of Rose, that’s all. Don’t do anything wrong, only good days await the people of the tribe.”

On the whole, the Slavic people by Lake Ilmen are xenophobic. They are a purely agricultural ethnic group, and they are most afraid of outsiders encroaching on their land.

However, isn’t the White Tree Manor on the Volkhov River an external other to the Great Lakes?

The xenophobic Slavs, such as the Pine Needle Manor, have been wiped out, the hardcore rebels have been purged, and the rest of the people can only obey.

Wanting to understand this, Medved first thought of reconciling the relationship with the people by the lake.

After a hundred years, the squeezed out White Tree Manor has returned with a strong momentum and the prestige of Rose!

The White Tree Manor and his power were bestowed by the Duke of Ross, so he must be a good governor, and Dairyulik will take care of it.

Medved eventually got drunk, and he essentially fought alongside multiple Varyag tribes, participating in multiple bloody battles with the Varyag.

He is regarded as one of his own by everyone, a group of men gathered together to drink and talk happily, naturally talking about fighting, plundering, and even talking about getting married and having children…

Even, some people have begun to congratulate the soon-to-be powerful Slavs.

Medved did not get carried away with complacency, the bones of the beheaded manor owner were still fresh.

Some words are really unspeakable.

It is not a pity that those who were killed participated in the rebellion, but it seemed to be killing chickens to make an example to monkeys. It was my brother-in-law who used the blood of these people to frighten himself.

Some people fell asleep at the banquet, until the cool breeze and noise in the morning woke them up.

Rurik reappeared in front of everyone. His image was invested, with a washed face and blond hair. He was really a capable and handsome young man.

In this era, life during slack farming is always full of boredom, and it seems that the greatest entertainment is childbirth.

The Ross army stationed in the traditional Slavic farms did not receive an order to evacuate, and they were also asked not to attack other manors on their own initiative.

The army seems to be hanging here, but in fact, every Ross and Balmerk people are actively discovering the agricultural value here.

Who would go to sea every year to be a pirate if they could grow the land and get the output of their companions?

Even for fishing, the risk of fishing in the sea is much higher than that of rippling on the lake.

They went into the woods to hunt, and some ran so far that they saw new farms they hadn’t known before.

There was even an encounter between a Ross hunter and a farmer deep in the dense forest. The awkward meeting scared the other party to run for his life with a wooden hoe.

When the hunter encounters the news of the strange farmer and refuses to leave, the warrior of White Tree Manor points out that he is the so-called “hidden man”.

The Novgorod area centered on Lake Ilmen must have a population of 100,000, and Rurik firmly believed in it. As for the more than 20 farms distributed by the lake, the total population is actually not that large.

The vast majority of people absolutely hid, and I’m afraid they didn’t intend to hide. It’s just that this area is too vast, and the Slavic immigrants have a hard way, and it’s normal to build small settlements in the dense forest to live a closed agricultural life.

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To include those in hiding?

This is a must!

Those people must accept the rule of Rus, only this troublesome job can be thrown to the governor of Novgorod.

A lot of news reached Rurik’s ears, especially the vast farmland.

Rurik got up early today to go and have a look at his warlord’s farmland. Apart from appreciating the trophies, he also inspected the local people’s farming skills.

Look at the Pine Needle Manor that has been cleaned, their oat field nursery is in disarray, not as neat as the wheat seedlings of the White Tree Manor that have been sown with a curved shaft plow.

This kind of method is completely on the same level as those of the allied tribes on the shore of Lake Mälaren, but the latitude of Lake Ilmen is further south, and the accumulated temperature is high, which makes the rough agriculture have a relatively modest harvest.

But there is an astonishing room for improvement in agricultural technology, not only the plow to turn the soil, but also the means of manure and livestock manure and reed lake mud to fertilize the field, and even irrigation.

It’s just that these advanced technologies cannot be implemented immediately.

With the inspection in the morning, Rurik became more determined in his heart to reward the twelve farm owners.

The big stick has been rammed, and they are all afraid of Rose’s rights protection.

Now reward him with a carrot, so that Huai De can appease him.

If there were no “great man from heaven”, the farmers by the lake would still be able to cultivate the land for hundreds of years, and it would take too long for the local nobles to evolve into a country.

Now, the Novgorod region is already under the direct rule of the Principality of Ross, and the past strategies will be completely terminated today.

At noon, there is no banquet.

The twelve manor owners who were exhausted, and the three proud manor owners White Tree, Calf, and Fisherman, were invited by Rurik to the same house.

Medved and Svetlana were also here, and here Rurik held a meeting for a group of local Slavs himself.

He was sitting on a leather cushion, and beside him was the old Otto holding a patterned steel sword. He sat here like a god, staring at the group of manor owners with sharp eyes, which represented the old days.

Rurik was no longer polite, and treated everyone together, regardless of their expressions, and said bluntly: “Since ancient times, we Ross people have come here to ask for tribute every year, and everything has changed since this year! I! Duke of Ross, Rurik, from From now on, the entire Veliky Novgorod will be directly classified as a part of the Principality of Rus, and Novgorod will always belong to Rus. You manor residents are also new Rus people now!”

New Ross?

What does it mean?

What does direct rule mean?

The owners of the manor looked at each other, they wanted to say a lot but they dared not speak.

Rurik gestured and Medved stood up.

The man who ate meat and fish with the Ross army has become very burly now. If he didn’t speak fluent Slavic, standing here would be a standard Varyag warrior.

This son is the successor of White Tree Manor. After the death of the old guy Rigus, Medved will be the owner of the manor.

It must be useful for this person to be named by the Duke of Ross.

“However, the residents of Veliky Novgorod have their own lives, and this duke will undoubtedly force you to change too much. Now, I appointed Medved of White Tree Manor as the local governor, representing me to rule Veliky Novgorod All affairs. You must support Medved’s work, and I will restrain him from doing outrageous things…”

Rurik took some time to explain, and the tense twelve people listened, even the leader of the white tree, the calf, and the fisherman also listened.

Regus, he is very happy that his eldest son can take up this important position. It seems that Medved used the authority of the Ross people to make White Tree Manor gain the hegemony of this lake area?

No, that’s not the case.

The monarch appoints a governor to rule, which is an invention in Northern and Eastern Europe. Even in the Frankish Kingdom, the concept of a governor has disappeared since the collapse of Western Rome.

The governor defined by Rurik is actually an extended meaning of the old word “war chief”. As for this group of manor owners, they were also awarded a new title, that is, Bjorn, or Boyar, is “defending the monarchy”. powerful people”.

The fifteen landowners in this house all received the title of Boyar, or Landlord or Squire, this word is a standard Varyag vocabulary, and it was Rurik who declared to them that all The owners of the manor are the Duke’s bodyguards and are directly responsible to the Duke’s family.

Boyar’s power is recognized and protected by the Duke, and Boyar must also fulfill all kinds of clothes to the Duke.

As for Medved, he was first a boyar nobleman and then an appointed governor.

If Medved did not do well, the other boyars had the right to make suggestions to the duke.

Medved is not monopolizing power either, he only has the power to collect taxes on behalf of the duke, and the rest of the affairs should be decided by the boyar nobles of each farm.

Do most of the affairs have to be discussed by everyone?

Isn’t this a return to the old tradition of the past?

People with political acumen sensed the hidden interests in it, and the implementation of the Duke of Ross’s kindness, just as others were puzzled, they suddenly raised their heads.

“Our Redwood Manor fully supports the Duke’s resolution. We support Medved as the governor. We will continue to pay tribute to Ross as agreed.”

Someone makes the head start, and the hesitant follow up immediately.

The owners of various manors made positive statements one after another, for fear that future generations would be persecuted by the Ross people one step at a time.

Is it true that they are so supportive?

Rurik felt that the support of the owner of the mahogany manor was sincere, and most of the others were also sincere, after all, he was indeed giving favors and benefits.

They also have no choice.

Old Otto was laughing, and all the Ross people were laughing.

This is a confident smile. They saw a large group of local Slavic nobles scrambling to beg the Rus to rule. In the past, this group of guys only had fear and reluctant faces.

No, another smart sycophant fell to the ground and crawled up to Rurik like a lizard.

“Pine Needle Manor is vicious in its pursuit of supremacy. Rose is the best mediator. Rose eradicates the guilty. Once we fought each other, and now the great Duke of Rose has finally brought us peace. We welcome Rose’s rule .”

Rurik listened carefully, why are these words so familiar?

what!

Isn’t this just history?

“Their history books just record that the chief of Rurik and a thousand warriors mediated the melee of the Novgorod people, unified here as an arbiter, and established the Northern Ross Principality. A thousand warriors? The first and third A thousand soldiers in the banner team? I am Rurik, indeed I am the mediator, the arbiter, and the prince.” The more Rurik thought about it, the more interesting he became.

The process of history has entered the right path again in the East, perhaps this is the fate of the general trend.

“Which manor are you the head of?” Rurik asked.

“The sackcloth farm. I am Msti Vadisevich. We are good at growing hemp for sackcloth, my lord.”

This person is indeed flattering, and the way of flattery is also clever, and he actually recommended his own specialty.

Rurik’s eyes brightened, because this lake area is indeed easier to grow flax than Lake Mälaren in the north, and there are indeed masters of flax weaving here.

I’m afraid it’s not just that, each manor has its own specialties. I’m afraid that the manors around Lake Ilmen have already realized economic complementarity.

Discovering their industrial potential is a later matter. At present, what supports the life of these manors is the land.

The Principality of Ross directly ruled here in order to obtain a stable output of wheat, hemp, and leather.

They are all announcing that they will pay tribute, that is, taxes, in strict accordance with the Duke’s regulations.

It is the tax issue that is the most fundamental issue of this meeting.

Rurik ordered them all to be quiet, and solemnly announced: “I will launch a tithe tax on you. I will send someone to count your fields, and this project will be completed this year. What is a tithe tax? The output of a piece of farmland, One-tenth is the tax paid to Ross. How much tax you pay has nothing to do with your population, but only the area of farmland! Oats, rye, wheat, and flax are all taxed according to a tenth ratio.”

The national tax on imperial grain is the current tax revenue pillar of the Principality of Ross. In other words, in the tribal era of Ross, asking for food from the Slavs was the predecessor of collecting food tax.

Now, under the definition of Rurik, food is already a general equivalent with currency attributes.

However, Rose’s territorial economic model is substantially diversified. She is a civilization, so the civilization of the Principality of Rose is now advancing both by land and sea.

For these pure Slavic farmers, not only should food taxes be collected, but they should also enter the forest to catch wild animals.

Every year they catch squirrels, sledges, sables, weasels, or other big and small animals.

Rurik stipulated that each manor should produce 1,000 squirrel skins and rare leathers such as ferrets every year, and only 100 pieces per year would be sufficient.

Given the current ecological situation, precious leather animals can still be seen everywhere, and Rurik feels that his request is not a big problem.

This is just a rigid requirement of taxation. When he explained that he would come up with a price (market price) that everyone would accept, and purchase additional surplus grain, honey, dried fish, various leathers, woodware, pottery, etc., all the manor owners were delighted.

Those Varyag merchants come here occasionally, and the Rus people do not leave every year. In the past, they hardly did business and only thought of asking for it.

Now, Rurik, Duke of Ross is really different from his father.

Rurik’s promise is not only that, he is announcing: “I will build a trading place here, and openly sell iron farm tools, salt, gemstones and other goods to all your manors.”

Trade is everyone’s favorite, and if trade stabilizes, the Duke of Ross is a true saint.

Even if the price of the transaction is a little higher, or the price is not a problem, what Veliky Novgorod lacks most is a stable trading place.

Rurik’s favor continues.

“I will immediately sell a batch of iron farm tools to all your manors, and you can immediately use the surplus grain to buy them. Since this year’s situation is too special, I announce that this year is the only year I will exempt you from this year’s tax!”

They were all dumbfounded, including Otto who also understood the Slavic sentences, and immediately questioned them.

The Rus were complaining that Rurik was too kind, and the Slavs couldn’t believe it was true.

Rurik declared firmly: “This year, Novgorod is tax-free! My prince, my order is absolute. This is my gift to you. Listen, I can promise that you will live under the direct rule of Rus. It will get better and better. Your era of peace has arrived.”

A wonderful era of peace has come?

Yesterday, estate owners witnessed the horrific killing of the remnants of the rebellion.

Today they leave with boyar peerage titles.

Rurik said that grace is grace, he let these people go, and gave them a batch of wooden and iron farm tools seized from the Pine Needle Manor.

Even, a great privilege was given to these twelve manors-the remnants of the five manors who assisted in the rebellion were drawn from the bottom of the pot.

These manor owners have the right to carve up the women and children of those manors, and carve up their population to become their own, so as to enhance the strength of their own manors.

Their property can be plundered, and only the ownership of farmland belongs to the Duke of Ross.

Will such an arrangement make Conglong’s three manors jealous, and will Ross and the Balmeks complain?

True, Rurik observed this sentiment, but the complaint was quickly dismissed.

Because the most extensive farmland belongs to the Duke of Ross, Ross’s small family can own these property rights. According to the old rules of opening up wasteland in New Roseburg, Rurik provides grain and farm tools, and they should provide taxes!

It’s just that the property rights of these lands still belong to the family of the Duke of Ross.

The so-called newly reclaimed land belongs to the reclaimed land, and tax will be paid according to the regulations in the future after statistics.

The spoils of farmland after the suppression of the rebellion are the private property of the duke family in a full sense.

As long as the Rus people become farmers, they have to pay 10% tax. They are all smart people, and they know that being a farmer is very profitable after a little calculation.

During the busy season of farming, he plowed and harvested the goods, and other times he went fishing by boat, and even followed the Duke to fight the world.

Just like the days of the traditional Danes, spring planting and autumn harvesting, farmers turned into fishermen and even pirates in warm summer.

It’s just that the farmland and geographical environment that the Ross men are about to master are much stronger than the Danes.

[End of this Chapter]