Rise of Rurik - Chapter 832

[Chapter 833 Welcome to Year 839]

Two days later, Harvest Plaza was overcrowded.

It’s obviously not a festival, but people gathered like going to a market, fearless of the cold wind sweeping the world, scrambling to watch a murderous scene.

The people chanted slogans and scolded the conspirators with hemp ropes around their necks on the temporary wooden platform, cursing their souls to be ravaged by the gods after death.

Everyone has to swear a few words, it seems that not to swear is to be disloyal to the Principality of Ross.

The noisy crowd made the whole square too noisy, until Rurik showed his purposely blond ponytail on the stage kindly, and he opened his arms to signal the people, and the noise of the people slowly subsided.

At the same time, another man walked up the platform.

King Bjorn of Sweden, holding a big trumpet made of rolled cardboard, shouted to the calmed people.

He claimed to be King Bjorn of Sweden, and claimed that he had abdicated to Rurik, and it was stated that Rurik would be crowned king at the All-Sweden General Assembly next spring.

He tore his throat to announce the matter, preaching more than ten times in a row, repeating the words until his mouth was dry.

The people gradually understood, and Bjorn explained the matter himself to clear up the rumors at once, so the bad attitude of the people towards foreign businessmen was also eliminated.

But the people are eager to see the killing, especially the evil people who hurt everyone’s interests die in front of them.

The soldiers began to beat the leather drum, and the sound of the drum became extremely tight.

Thousands of people saw it, and as Rurik suddenly pulled out the shining sword, the wooden boards under the prisoners’ feet were removed, and the nine began to kick their legs violently, and finally gradually died…

All those who deceived the public with false words were killed, but the matter was not over yet.

Facing the people who were reluctant to leave for a long time, Rurik announced a great event in public: “Russians! We have suffered a snowstorm! This is not God’s punishment! It is God’s test for us! You have all suffered disasters, I sympathize What happened to you. I will release a batch of grain, and you will all get it at a lower price.”

The previous words are too high-sounding, but the latter sentence is the most important.

Soon, a new notice was posted.

The new notice clearly states that each household will produce a man, and if there is no man, a hostess will be produced. Bring a linen bag and a silver coin and line up at the gate of the granary on the appointed day.

This favor is only for the families of citizens of the Duchy of Rus who are registered, that is, only “Russ citizens” can enjoy the grand gift package of the prince.

But those hunters, merchants, and craftsmen who live here can also get another favor. When the benefits of the Ross people are distributed, it is the time to give those people winter benefits.

On the appointed day, there was a big scene in New Roseburg.

Men and women smiled and carried empty sacks, waiting for their turn, and bought fifty pounds of oats for one silver coin.

This price is five times cheaper than usual!

How is it not a great benefit?

Old Ross people, immigrants from various Viking tribes, Finnish immigrants and Slavic immigrants, all of them come from different sources, all of them are registered persons, and the names of their family members are all written in the booklet.

So you have to pay taxes, you have to contribute to the war, and you are eligible to receive various economic dividends.

This situation surprised the nobles and envoys of various tribes in Sweden who watched the grand occasion of welfare distribution.

The most surprising thing was undoubtedly Bjorn: “Rurik, you actually gave them gifts. There are too many of them, and you don’t feel sorry for them. Why bother? Why do you give gifts to ordinary people just because you want to To be kind?”

“It’s kindness, because I’m the prince of Ross.” Rurik shrugged: “It’s all because of the snowstorm. My people were affected, and your Mellaren must be facing the same snowstorm. What will happen to your people? Their houses It may also collapse on a large scale. I know very well that the houses of ordinary people in your tribe cannot withstand the power of the snowstorm.”

This remark was unexpected by Bjorn. What Rurik said was very true. Maybe his tribe really suffered a catastrophe.

“This is destiny.” Bjorn said helplessly.

“Well, that’s destiny. But as leaders, you and I should both do something to help the suffering.”

“Like you do now?”

“Exactly.” Rurik sighed softly: “What do they need most? Hope. What is hope? It’s food, it’s warmth. I will give them these.”

Bjorn never had the concept of charity, so he asked, “Are they worthy?”

“Why not?” Rurik was also surprised: “Isn’t that what the leader must do?”

“It’s fate for them to freeze to death and starve to death, and I will give them nothing unless they choose to be my slaves.”

“Just be nice to them, it’s your choice how you do it, and now I’ve decided to support my people. You all see that? I’m merciful.”

What the nobles saw was indeed Rurik selling grain at low prices on a large scale. The price was ridiculously low. Although the general principle of limited purchases, the group of Finns living outside the city bought low-priced grain.

The people have benefited and the food is in hand, and everyone is more capable of carrying through the winter.

Seeing that it was already the eve of Hanukkah, Rurik also negotiated with the Swedish nobles and envoys on the purchase of the ship.

The price of an armed cargo ship was raised by Rurik to 200 pounds, and everyone was surprised immediately.

“You think it’s expensive, but I think it’s too expensive? My workers are still building ships after the snowstorm. Do you want to buy it or not?”

Although the Ross fleet is invincible in the world, but his own tribe has a few large ships and can gain an advantage in Lake Mälaren.

Even at this exaggerated price, Bjorn gritted his teeth and ordered five ships. Even if he didn’t have to take out a thousand pounds of silver coins, the people of Mälaren could raise one million pounds of wheat in exchange, or take out flax stalks price.

Other tribes do not have such deep pockets, but Jermalen, Anklaas and Uppsala have all ordered one.

As for those micro tribes, they can only stare blankly, they really can’t afford such huge sums of money.

It is not difficult to get orders for eight armed cargo ships at once and complete them.

Rurik also made a promise that all eight ships will be delivered next year, and the ship purchase meeting ended in a happy ending…

Sweden’s traditional allies will hand over a total of 1.6 million pounds of oats in next year’s harvest season, which will put a lot of pressure on agriculture in the Mälaren Lake District.

Rurik couldn’t control their pressure, and even if he became king himself, he didn’t want to go to the trouble of governing his old place himself.

In his feeling, the appropriate way of governing at this stage is like establishing the “Karma Alliance” in advance.

As long as the Swedish nobles’ right to fight is taken back, they can live a traditional life.

The Swedish aristocrats and aristocratic envoys who lived in Novosburg, where they were destined to spend the Hanukkah that kicked off in 839.

The direction of the stars is the giant clock floating in the sky. The high priest Rumia, who has learned a set of traditional knowledge, can completely calculate the season on a sunny day.

She also implemented a set of means of recording time by hand, so as to check the dates of vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox and winter solstice, which also objectively assisted the agricultural production in the area around New Roseburg.

The most eye-catching thing is the construction of the giant tower.

Are the Rus so creative for Hanukkah?

Bjorn saw that a large number of pine logs were piled up, and the key parts were even tied with hemp rope.

They built a very high wooden tower, apparently taller than the palace that the Prince of Rus was still building.

It is said that this is a festival tradition of the Ross people.

The latitude on both sides of the Neva River is only a little lower than that of Lake Mälaren in Sweden. There is no polar night in Sweden, and of course there is no such thing as New Rossberg.

The atmosphere of the festival is getting stronger and stronger. With the complete end of the snowfall process, people are optimistic about life after adapting to the fact of the snow disaster.

At least the frozen Neva River is still a reliable pain. Although the forest is full of waist-deep snow, there are glacial seas, glaciers and even glacial lakes. There are no geographical obstacles for people to go to the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga.

This winter’s forest hunting is completely suspended due to the university, and the idle people have more time to develop other industries, such as ice fishing.

Now that the festive season is coming, people are willing to wear costumes to participate in ceremonies during the festive season, and they also need to add some new clothes and buy some new items.

Any snowstorm will not affect the work of the handicraft workshops in the city. In the winter market, a group of housewives deliberately choose to set up stalls in the square on the eve of the festival in order to sell their goods at a higher price.

They sell self-made leather boots, leather gloves, leather hats, practical wood, rattan baskets, and even simple carpentry sculptures.

These women are small businessmen, and when it comes to selling goods, they are “regular troops” under Rurik’s flag.

Rurik is the monarch and the most powerful property owner in all of Rus.

His state-run handicraft workshop and state-run blacksmith shop in New Roseburg also launched the use of ironware and other materials during the festival.

Because the festival brings people together, Rurik can also take the opportunity to make a fortune, and everyone can get the benefits after the transaction.

The people are willing to get together to celebrate the festival, largely because their daily life is too boring and monotonous. The prince ordered the construction of a giant wooden pagoda and then burned it.

The height of the wooden tower piled up this year is exactly the same as last year. A giant fir tree in the center is stuck in the dug hole in the form of a mast, and all the wood piled up is around it.

The wooden pagoda is wrapped in a large amount of oily turpentine, and each household is also very particular about taking out a bundle of firewood from their own firewood and throwing it over, and then suddenly praying.

Similarly, in the corner of Harvest Plaza, the whole body is covered with glass sheets, reflecting the orange light in the weak sunlight, which is really fragrant!

Rumia and Rurik’s wives and concubines acted as lower priests, standing outdoors in white bear skins, and the seven gold-plated statues of gods were also moved out of the room.

In front of them was a large wooden box, and the people lined up to drop at least one silver coin into the box, and then knelt in front of the statue of the god they worshiped and clasped their hands in prayer.

Does prayer really work?

This is very idealistic.

Some people seek wealth, some long for the power of a man, some hope for good luck, and some long for the safe birth of the child in their womb.

The seven gods are the main gods believed in by the Principality of Ross. They cover all aspects of daily life. A silver coin is nothing to an ordinary family nowadays. The sacrificial activities are endorsed by the royal family. It is better to pay for prayers publicly than anything else. It’s better not to do it.

This situation was also unheard of for Bjorn!

As the king of Sweden who has not officially abdicated, Bjorn’s personal belief is of course Odin, and he will also go to the Great Temple of Uppsala in Sweden to sacrifice to the sun after offering sacrifices to Odin.

In the culture of the Mälaren people, Odin is Odin, Uber is the god of the earth, and Sarah is the god of the sun. The three gods are different.

It seems that among the Ross people, these three people can draw an equal sign.

What does that Valkyrie of Sperosville mean?

Is that the Ross witch Vilia from back then?

A high priest turned into a new Valkyrie?

Bjorn couldn’t believe it, and he had to believe the current scene.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that many things made sense.

It seems that Odin really loved this tribe, he loved their priests a long time ago, and later poured this love on that kid Rurik.

He watched from a distance, watching a large group of people dressed as solid as brown bears line up to offer sacrifices.

Even his entourage was moved.

“My lord, the Ross people must have their reasons for doing this. If I go to sacrifice, I can also get benefits.”

Bjorn felt a little disgusted, and said sharply, “Go if you want. Bring the silver coin yourself, and I won’t give it to you.”

The attendant hesitated, and then changed his tone: “Maybe you can learn to do this in Mellaren. Our temple is not as good as that of the Ross people, and we don’t have the means of making money like Rurik. You see, the Principality of Ross There are a lot of people here, and if everyone takes out a silver coin, Rurik can get a hundred pounds of silver coins in one winter. There are tens of thousands of us in Mälaren, how can you not learn from it?”

The attendant’s words immediately moved Bjorn, he looked sideways at the subordinate who made the suggestion, and couldn’t help showing a happy smile.

“Learn! This must be learned! I will bleed a lot to buy their ship. What I need most now is money. I will do it when I go back. I will also build a big temple and find some gold to make statues. Haha ! I don’t believe that those farmers and fishermen didn’t come to sacrifice.”

Indeed, the “incense money” earned by temple sacrifices during the festive season is already very considerable. The priests are all Rurik’s wives and concubines, and all the donations collected will eventually go into the national treasury, and then returned to the folk in the form of wages. The overall economic activities in the principality are growing steadily. At least for the current period, the gold, silver and copper coins obtained by the principality through multiple wars and plunders can fully cope with today’s economic scale.

When the activities of offering sacrifices came to an end, there was only the last ray of the setting sun left in the short day.

No one can fall asleep tonight, especially at night, regardless of the cold outside, thousands of bonfire stalls have been lit outside the city.

Every household is willing to light a bonfire outside the city, bring prepared meat, other delicious meals, and ale, and men and women drink to their heart’s content.

Even taking advantage of the joyful mood of the festive season, they both drilled into the temporary tent to double the joy.

The inner city inside the wall has been turned into an empty city, and more than 8,000 people gathered on the riverside outside the city. People stared at the dark wooden tower under the night, watching it turn into a fire dragon soaring into the sky.

Finally, under the instruction of Rurik, the Balmok salt merchants from the port of Narvik collectively blew the vast horns.

The long sound of the trumpet seemed to be telling history, and then people heard the intensive drumming and the Viking battle cry.

Most of the men of the First Banner were unable to hunt due to the snowstorm. They stayed in New Roseburg and became fishermen directly. Now Rurik has chosen a good job for them.

Soldiers lined up neatly, banging their shields and walking ahead.

Behind him, a group of ten-year-old mixed-race Ross boys, dressed as soldiers, were also beating the shield tied to their left arm with a real dagger.

Behind the armed men were people holding auras, men beating leather drums, and Noren’s entire flute-playing band.

Such ostentation is already an old tradition, and the people in the team who were ordered to hold torches illuminated the whole team like a fire dragon.

Rurik himself was in the ranks with his first wife Svetlana.

Lanna’s theory is that she will officially become a mother when she is less than one month old, and it would be risky to walk a long distance with her stomach full.

She has been trained by the times to be a strong woman, and this dress is thick enough that outsiders can’t see that she has a puffy stomach.

The man she loves the most is holding another woman’s hand, High Priest Rumia is a little embarrassed.

But Lanna is a good woman, and her attitude towards Verika and Oleg is very good.

In the harem of the Principality of Ross, every woman has her own place.

The priestesses around Rumia are essentially Rurik’s wives and concubines, and the priestesses she personally selected have already gone to the fire tower to stand by.

She wore an antler helmet and a white bear fur coat richly embellished with stained glass beads and amber.

In her right hand is a wooden staff inlaid with gemstones passed down by the priests of the Ross tribe for generations.

And her figure was short enough that some elderly old Ross people would think of the dead old priest Velia in a trance when they saw her back like this.

Willia come alive?

Do not.

Vilia, who had no children of flesh and blood, did not die. This Rumia had completely inherited the mantle of the old priest.

Take a look, even the way they walk is quite similar.

Everything is a traditional program. Amidst the sound of drums, Rurik killed ten reindeer with his own hands in the stone boat altar by the river.

It is also a traditional event of cutting the deer liver, and Rumia declared good luck to the public.

The priests needed the singing to continue to brew the atmosphere, and finally the focus of thousands of people fell on Rurik.

Let’s look at the fire tower that needs to be ignited. Once upon a time, most of the Viking tribes mastered the craft of collecting nitrifying bacteria from corrupted things, but they didn’t know the principle and thought it was a gift from the gods.

Although the people of Ross don’t understand it, under Rurik’s guidance, there is already an official workshop for cultivating nitrifying bacteria. Although it is a by-product of composting, impure fire nitrate with a strong smell is already an indispensable point for military operations. Bonfire fuel.

Cherished things are no longer cherished, and Rurik has prepared a large amount of fire nitrate mixed with fish oil.

The boiled fish oil can burn violently, and when combined with fire nitrate, it will perform a miracle.

“God said to light up darkness with fire, so let’s make a little sun.”

Rurik shouted, and his words caught everyone’s eyes.

He threw the torch with all his strength, and the fire touched the prepared combustibles, and instantly detonated into a fireball, quickly igniting the prepared hay and broken carbon.

Immediately, people’s faces were illuminated by the fire, and then they saw the flames.

The entire wooden tower is burning at an unstoppable rate, and the intentional chimney configuration perfectly takes advantage of the rising heat.

King Bjorn witnessed the grand occasion with his own eyes. He opened his eyes and trembled his lips and sighed with emotion: “The Ross people blew up the cave? A fire dragon rushed to Asgard?!”

The scene was indeed very dreamlike, and it is no wonder that thousands of people insisted on guarding the riverside to watch the big show in the cold.

Now no one is talking about the cold, a fire dragon rushed into the sky, the heat forced Rurik to retreat quickly, and the entire stone ship altar was also attacked by the heat wave.

Bravely went into battle shirtless for a while, covered his body with snow, rushed to the fire tower with the deer carcass, threw the deer over with all his strength, retreated quickly, and threw himself deep into the snow pit to cool down.

People from far away can feel its heat, which is an unimaginable happiness in the year of snow disaster.

“Look! The earth has been baked dry!” Someone with keen eyes noticed the changes in the land.

The crowd continued to back off but no one left.

They sat down one after another, allowing their bodies to be baked by the flames, enjoying the fantastic warmth in the harsh winter, and kept guarding until the sun rose.

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Welcome to 839!

[End of this Chapter]