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Rise of Rurik - Chapter 364

Published at 21st of September 2022 05:58:46 AM


Chapter 364: When the keel of a big ship was laid

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When Otto returned to his hometown of Roseburg, on the surface, his hometown had already taken on a whole new look.

When he returned, he summoned many people and went to the long house to see the old high priest.

As for the ten Balmerk travelers who according to his son claimed to be from the other side of the mountain, Otto accepted their warrior salute as a king for the time being, and promised to have a good chat with them in a few days.

The soothing beach is full of gravel, and now there are a number of wooden trestle bridges.

In the old Roseburg, a large number of ships were pulled directly to the gravel beach, and even more directly to the big wooden shed, where boat builders and carpenters would repair them in winter. In winter, almost no ship owner will allow his ship to be frozen on the shore by sea ice and wind.

The times have quietly changed!

Look at those trestle bridges. They are the property of the Gould family and the real wharf of the Ross tribe.

Both sides of the trestle bridge are full of generous large cargo ships.

They are so heavy, it seems that I really don't want to push them to the coast, and there is no need for them. Their sturdy body has been completely immersed in the sea, forcibly resisting the pressure of the sea ice.

Compared with the past, the total number of ships in Roseburg is unprecedented, and there seems to be a gray forest growing on the coast, which is full of towering masts and winded sails attached to them.

After all, it is already October, and everyone wants to believe that Mo Kan is still bright now, and the first snow will always come suddenly.

It has been more than half a century since the tribes migrated to the fjord of Roseburg. The local people know very well about the climate and hydrology here.

After the first snow, the whole world will change. Even if the sea does not freeze instantaneously, the land is likely to be covered by knee-deep snow, and the lifestyle of the Ross people will undergo a complete change.

From a bright and cold beginning, Otto awakened from his comfortable bed. He gently pushed away the sleeping aging wife beside him, which undoubtedly disturbed the sleeping children in the other two rooms. The only child, Rurik, has experienced a thrilling and meaningful summer. A child is showing his father what a natural strong man is!

He stood in the empty hall, filled a few pieces of carbon into the fireplace, pushed open the thick wooden door, and a fragrant cold rushed over his face.

It was the Briton maids who were already cooking the morning porridge as usual.

After a while, the whole family regained consciousness.

The wooden table on the side of the wooden wall was put down, and the tiny family that used to have only three people has now become quite large.

Lulik’s side is surrounded by four girls of the same age as Lumia, Carlotta, Ella, and Seporava. They are destined to be Lulik’s women, and they are naturally a member of the leader's family. .

A large wooden bowl was filled with rotted wheat, which was filled with salt, which was more in line with Otto's appetite.

Soon, a pottery urn was brought to the table by two maids together, and inside was a big stew of yellow carrots, cabbage and onions.

Now that he has returned to his hometown, a bottle of spirits has become a standard for the chief's meal.

Is this breakfast? Not only. The Ross people often eat breakfast and lunch together. Otto is pleased to have this hearty meal full of grains, but he has to formally investigate the current situation of Roseburg.

After drinking half a bottle of wine and eating half a bowl of wheat, Otto really got up.

"Rurik, you did a good job."

"Huh?" Rurik, who was patronizing the grains of wheat with chopsticks, raised his head, and the other girls also put down their chopsticks.

Regarding tableware, Otto never felt that his son or even his trained men used two wooden sticks to replace the role of a spoon. Are children's little hands very flexible? Looking at your rough hands, you definitely can't do any delicate things, such as manipulating two small wooden sticks. Of course, he is handy to manipulate two big wooden sticks, that is, the oars!

Otto did not hesitate to regard "chopsticks" as a kind of alienated oars, able to manipulate it dexterously, which shows that his son has not forgotten his roots, and those children from various tribes are really actively becoming Ruths .

Otto was pleased to see it, and I have to say a few more words here.

"I inquired. The Gould's warehouse is indeed full of wheat. There are several large wooden sheds built by the sea, and slides that have been pieced together with pine wood. I know that those boat builders are already in our home. Settled. Many talents have joined us. This is a good thing you have done."

This compliment Rurik was a little complacent, and he modestly said: "Dad, you haven't gone to the Oulu River to the east to collect taxes from those Corvins. And me, I should also go to the north, to Elronburg. Take away the local people’s tribute."

"Soon, I will organize a fleet to complete the final Sorgon of this year. You don't need to worry about this. I just thought, are you serious? The tone has spread. Starting tomorrow, you will deliberately sell a batch of grain. ?"

"I had an agreement with Gould." Rurik made a serious face. "You complained that I was too expensive, which caused our family's silver coins to shrink drastically. I will sell a certain amount of food, a batch of silver coins in the hands of the people. It will return to our hands again. Dad, you know my attitude. Those silver coins are only silver coins. It is not silver coins that can warm people’s hearts in the cold winter, but food bought with silver coins. In my opinion, only for our tribe. , You and I never have to worry about silver coins. In the past when silver and copper coins were scarce in our tribe's hands, life was still taken. Dad, can you understand?"

Rurik said a big deal with great interest. How can the slightly drunk Otto understand? Besides, Rurik's remarks are a bit profound.

"In my opinion, silver coins, copper coins and gold coins are not that important. We really need them, but we cannot rely on them. In my opinion, the most important materials to maintain the stability of our tribe are two kinds of food. And what to wear. The most important thing is food! As a leader, we must stock a large amount of food and dried meat, just like the immigrants from Shilla Fort in the east did..."

What Rurik wants to describe is that under the Rus tribe under his rule, the core of economic operation should be the food standard.

Grain-based, this grain refers to a variety of storage-resistant foods, so that they can perform a certain monetary performance.

Now, the warehouse that can store 800,000 pounds of grain is really only owned by the Gould family. Is it risky to store all the food there? Rurik felt it was extremely safe.

Gould himself is like a loyal second wolf showing his soft abdomen to the head wolf. This old guy who claims to be less than ten years old is madly giving his heirs to the new leader of Ross. A noble position, and even a brighter future.

Big merchants like Gould, in order to stock up that huge amount of materials, have the motive to build larger warehouses.

The Ross tribe is essentially a thriving economy. In the final analysis, everyone is fighting for food. However, the medium of transactions in this world is the immortal gold and silver. If the trade is only trapped within the tribe, is the currency system composed of gold, silver and copper still so indestructible?

The entire tribe did not discover that the Russ’ commercial transactions have relied heavily on silver coins in recent years. Since visiting the Mellaren tribe and hearing other deficiencies, Rurik feels that the status quo in Roseburg is extremely abnormal.

The root of the anomaly lies in the fact that a large number of Ross families still have a large number of silver coins. After all, the victory looting a year ago, coupled with the usual trade, the amount of silver coins finally circulating in the Ross tribe is approaching a terrifying 200,000!

Its concrete manifestation is that the people of Rus suddenly become rich! The people of the tribe are deliberately high consumption, and labor costs such as shipbuilding, charcoal burning and pottery burning have risen sharply. Knowing that they had come to Roseburg to do business and began to pay taxes, a large number of southern businessmen came and vowed to make a lot of money from the Ross people.

The merchants can indeed make a lot of money, but they also love the extremely high-quality iron products that the Russians began to manufacture in large quantities, including steel swords ordered. For these appliances, they are willing to spend big money.

What is the result of this? !

A large amount of silver coins still circulate in the small world of Roseburg, but the economy based on silver is extremely fragile. Silver coins are not credit banknotes. There are almost two ways to obtain them, trade and war, both of which contain great uncertainty. Rurik’s understanding of history is that countries that rely heavily on silver capital, once Abnormal supply of silver, or its replacement by another currency medium, will inevitably encounter a serious social crisis.

Although Roseburg did not exist at the beginning of the crisis, Rurik had to think about his future, whether it was unfounded worries, a plan B must be established.

Since the price of wheat is fixed at ten pounds of oats for one silver coin, the oats must have certain currency attributes.

If there is a silver shortage, the Ross people must organize an army to go south to looting the Gotland people who like to bury the silver, and the amount they can grab is really by luck.

Food is not the case, it is much easier to obtain than silver coins.

The dining table is no longer quiet, and Rurik talks about the importance of his "food-based".

Although I don't understand, how does Otto not feel the great wisdom of his son?

After the meal was over, Otto changed into his imposing clothes, followed by an entourage, and even with Rurik himself, inspecting the entire Roseburg as a monarch.

He first came to the wharf area, where more than 20 cargo ships of very similar styles docked neatly and quietly. This was a shocking scene.

On the other trestle bridges, there are a large number of long boats arranged horizontally. The bows without any sculptures extending from their keels are fastened by a thick hemp rope.

How many ships are parked here? Otto didn't need anyone to tell him, he reached out and counted them personally, and came to an amazing conclusion-more than a hundred ships.

"Huh? Are these boats all yours?" Otto hurriedly asked Gould, the owner of the dock, who was eager to say something.

"Not all. The big boss, as well as Rurik's twenty boats, are also parked here. You see, those boats have hull numbers. There are also some tribal boats, they paid a little money, and they docked here. "

Another surprising news.

Otto stroked his son's little head: "Your boat? You made twenty boats in one summer?!"

"It's the Gotland ship that Arik looted." Rurik answered truthfully. "But I was in Mälaren and brought in the best local boatbuilders. Dad, what do you think of the buildings that were built on the beach?"

The rather sensitive Otto stomped his feet: "Shipbuilding?"

"Yes! There is an old man named Hotla. Dad, look at these cargo ships, almost all of them came from this old man's family."

The stocky cargo ship really gives people a sense of security, and the big mast soaring makes the whole ship completely overwhelm the long ship. Looking at it so close, Otto has to admire its majesty. What Otto saw was the largest cargo ship owned by Gould and the largest ship in Roseburg.

Gould seized the opportunity to brag about himself. Unexpectedly, Rick’s bold words came again: "Dad! What are these boats? I have made an agreement with that Hotla, and his family will spend the whole winter to make more for us. A large cargo ship. In this way, if you go to Novgorod to ask for tribute, you don’t need too many ships to venture at sea or even the work of oarsmen. It will rely solely on the wind.”

"Pure sails?" Otto didn't have so much confidence in this. "If the sails are really good, why don't I use them when I come back? Boy, are you sure you can do it? Some people can do it?"

"Of course, because it will be a brand-new sail, the sailors trained by the Goulds will have the ability to control it."

Rurik deliberately sold off his son, watching his son's confident appearance, Otto didn't ask much.

Since everyone is very concerned about ships, in the next step, Otto went straight to the shipbuilding platform on the coast under construction.

Before entering here, the sound of Ding Ding Dong Dong attracted the attention of Otto outdoors.

I saw a group of people approaching menacingly, and those little workers who moved wood had got into the wooden shed out of fear.

Soon, the men living with wooden sticks and carrying a ticket for shipbuilding shirtless, walked out of the wooden shipbuilding shed they had built to welcome the visit of Chief Ross.

Otto had never seen Hortra. He completely instinctively regarded a strong man with tense, sweaty arms and extremely developed golden chest hair as the so-called Hortra.

"You are Hotla? A shipbuilder? I think you are more suitable to be a warrior with a warhammer to fight for me."

Otto was dressed gorgeously on this trip. In order to show his dignity and beauty, the amber necklace around his neck is now mixed with some stained glass. Everyone knows Rurik, but if this kid calls this person father, then he must be the leader of Ross.

The real Hotla leaned on his turn and slightly hooked his head towards Otto.

In this situation, Rurik was taken aback: "Hotra, are you...sick?"

"Maybe it's not suitable for the first time in Roseburg." Hotra raised his head immediately: "The noble chief, I am Hotra. I am building a big ship for Ross. Everything is an agreement between me and your son. "

Big ship? Haven't seen the shadow of the ship now?

Look at this old-fashioned person, who is actually the best shipbuilder? Otto couldn't be convinced.

Otto quickly understood the reason. Hotla himself has become the "chief engineer". The men and women of the family are the craftsmen who truly implement the design into the finished product.

The huge ship, it doesn't even have a shadow now!

Otto approached the dim wooden shed, and everywhere in the shed revealed that it was hurriedly constructed. The scent of pine trees in the house is very strong, which means that the trunks that make up the wooden shed are only the pine trees that have been felled recently.

Compared with other shipbuilding sheds, only this shed is the tallest.

Thinking of the huge space inside, it doesn't happen to be able to accommodate larger ships. In the final analysis, the shipbuilding routine is to build the hull first, and finally push it to the outdoors before installing the mast.

"Where's the boat? I think it's empty. What do you call Hortra? You are the best boatbuilder in Mellaren. The big boat you built for us, hasn't it started yet?"

"It's just the beginning. Everything starts from the keel." As he said, Hotra used his walking stick to the extremely thick wooden pole on the ground. "My lord, this is the keel of the new ship."

"It? Are you kidding?!"

"I didn't joking," Hotra said very seriously.

Rurik immediately pulled at his father's clothes: "He really didn't lie."

Otto was still surprised. He pointed to the keel: "You call this a keel? Don't you think it is too strange? It is actually two pieces of wood... No!"

Otto suddenly realized that the keel of the mortise and tenon structure was pieced together with rather dry wood.

Liu Lixue simply told the truth: "Dad, many people demolished their old houses in the summer, and I bought the girders. You see, the two girders of the long house are put together. Since they are in the past few Ten years have proved themselves strong, and the ships built by them must also be strong."

Otto sighed slightly~www.novelhall.com~you kid, you really have you. It's..." Otto realized that there was something wrong again, and the more he thought about it, the more he trembled. "How long is the keel of your ship? "

"It's thirty stika." Hotra proudly said.

"Ah! So long?!"

Although this length was a requirement revealed by Rürik as early as when he was in Mälaren, now that it has been implemented, it is also challenging Hortra's shipbuilding level. Since the gold master thinks it is reliable, as a worker, what more nonsense?

Rurik's presence is to embolden himself! Hotra looked at the walking stick and said seriously: "It's that long! The great leader, the Ross tribe will have a big ship. I dare say that there is no second ship in the entire alliance that is more powerful than her."

Hortra is so confident. Looking at the sure face of his son Rürik, what else is Otto questioning? They will build the hull of the boat in the wooden shed throughout the winter. Even if it is cold and snowy, it will not affect their progress.

Because Rurik had planned a plan long ago, that is, in the next trade season, he strives to launch the big ship and embark on a brand-new Sorgon sailing to show off the authority of the Rus to the conquered people.




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