The pontoon bridge soaked in backwater was wet, and a large number of cavalry gathered on the right bank of the river, and they continued to pass the bridge in an orderly manner in a centurion.

At this time, Carlotta and Fisk had already crossed the bridge ahead of time.

The Duchess is still the familiar face, it seems that she has suffered from fatigue along the way, and she looks a little haggard.

She dismounted, and a handsome boy stood beside her.

The old man Jellinger Eriksson, who was ordered to guard Vitebsk, certainly knew this boythe next generation of the Duke!

"My lord." Under the gaze of all the Danish travelers, the old man greeted Carlotta with his right hand on his heart.

"Excuse me. Old man, it seems that the gods have given you strength, and you easily defeated Yan Dong."

The old man smiled slightly: "The fortress remains the same, we survived the winter safely, and the years to come will be so smooth."

"That's good." She winked again: "There are... a lot of guests behind you. What's the situation with them? And the boats here? Are they people from the Riga Bay?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to introduce."

As a result, the Danish guests went from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.

Vitebsk temporarily parked two long ships belonging to two caravans. They are indeed merchants, but they can trade on the perilous "Amber Road". In addition to transporting scarce goods to the far south, they also carry sufficient weapons. Capture slaves at great risk to make some money.

There are two bosses here, one named Harold and the other named Bjorn.

"Two too casual names. Doesn't matter..."

Carlotta kept her words in her heart, she had no ill will towards these Danes who were said to be from the Danish community in the Gulf of Riga and followed the boss of Strkander, and naturally she couldn't talk about good feelings.

On the other side, the mighty cavalry team crossed the bridge one after another. They had seen the Ross cavalry last year, and now the bald general is here again! Only Boss Strkander saw Rurik in person, the brothers had never seen him, only by name.

The noblewoman standing in front of her is the Duke of Ostara. Although she is a woman, the boy next to her is indeed a son of King Ross?

These Danes recognized the flag of Ross, and even more so, the bull's head flag of Ostara.

Having seen their combat operations last year, facing the brand-new cavalry tactics, we asked ourselves if a conflict broke out with these ruthless people, it was self-evident who would lose.

They were congratulating themselvesfortunately, the boss led everyone to surrender to King Ross.

The long march made the soldiers miserable, and of course the soldiers could continue to endure. Since the Duchess had long promised to recuperate in Vitebsk, now is the time to fulfill her promise.

The flat area is full of areas where houses can be built, the swamp can be transformed into farmland, and the meadows that can be seen everywhere can now graze cattle and sheep.

All the materials consigned by the horses were unloaded, and most of the horses were unloaded from the saddles and bridles. The soldiers took care of their horses and took them to the grass to graze freely.

Another group of soldiers buried stoves for cooking, and went to the nearby forest to cut down small trees to build temporary wooden sheds.

The current Vitebsk is just a military fortress with wooden walls. It can accommodate a limited number of settlers. After 700 soldiers are stationed suddenly, everyone can only camp outdoors.

They have no plans to build a permanent camp. After a few days of rest, the army will go straight to Polotsk in the downstream area. The army may be stationed there for half a year.

Carlotta has already made up his mind, as the so-called sudden army will terrify the locals, as long as the time is long enough, the locals will realize that this foreign army is not harmless, and will eventually get used to their existence, even if this This forced tolerance is extremely bitter psychologically.

In the west is a huge orange-red sunset, and the soldiers are drowsy under the soft light.

The oatmeal is mixed with wheat and boiled at once, and when it is almost cooked, add a piece of butter and a piece of salty cheese.

There was an indescribably mellow and strange aroma in the air. The people of Austala had long been accustomed to this kind of food, and it became a coveted temptation for the temporary Danes.

Everyone spoke Norse, and the Danes couldn't bear the temptation, so they simply took their pottery bowls and ran to the open-air pots and stoves to make friends with the Austalans or the Russ.

Relief or rejection?

Then give it to them.

Carlotta thought of a possibility. When his principality was employing people, if the Danish immigrants in the Gulf of Riga were willing to join him, it would undoubtedly greatly strengthen the principality.

This night, the fort is destined to last all night.

Supplies from the north have greatly filled the supplies of the defenders, and today there are merchants living here, and the situation in Vitebsk is good.

In the largest wooden house in the fort, a feast was naturally held.

All the oil lamps were lit and the room was brightly lit.

I saw the Duchess sitting cross-legged, her braids drooping on her chest, and her right arm holding a thick glass, which was poured with real wine.

"To the gods! Brothers, drink with me!"

The old man Yellinger and several other resident leaders are eligible to participate in the banquet. Glassware is not uncommon in Ross, but the rarity lies in the wine.

They were amazed that their lord duke specially placed a chunky wooden barrel on the rough table gum, pried off the special stopper on the wooden barrel, and what was poured into the cup was blood-like nectar.

What they didn't know was that the wine from the Lahn River in Nassau had already completed its first commercial shipment to Ross, and it was only the first time that the people of the capital realized that maybe wine was no longer an overly precious delicacy.

Even my own people were so surprised. The two Danish business leaders, Bjorn and Harold, were at a loss with their eyes wide open. The precious wine was poured into the crystal cup, and the Duchess could laugh. swig?

and

"Is this true? I can drink as much as I like?" The businessman Harold looked flattered.

"You are not lowly. I know you are Danes living in Riga, and your boss voted for my husband, Rurik. How about it? I will give you a chance. There are a lot of talents in the Rose Department, and many good guys lack the opportunity to show their fists. Why don't you follow?" Me! I went to my Principality of Ostara to be a mercenary. Look! This old man Olaf has been enjoying himself since he followed me."

"Him?" The businessman Harold widened his eyes, observed carefully, and blurted out: "Harold, when did you change your name to Olaf?"

"Just to avoid having the same name as you."

A cold joke that wasn't very cold, made Carlota smile lightly.

"Forget it. I have known Olaf's identity for a long time, and everything is fine. Thanks to this person, I have learned a lot about you."

Of course, Carlotta didn't know that this guy with the pseudonym Olaf had brought a group of brothers to work as mercenaries for the old Pine Needle Manor. That was already twelve years ago, and the insider either disappeared or died. Olaf was still only a businessman when he was informed by the community, and his identity was no different from the surprised Harold.

At this moment, the young Karl was sitting next to his mother. He imitated the adult appearance and drank some wine. Because the low-fermented wine was too sweet, the boy drank a little comfortably, but the feeling of being slightly drunk quickly made him fascinated lake lake.

Carl simply curled up next to his mother and fell asleep. She was a little displeased by his son's lack of manliness.

"Can't drink, what kind of man is he? Oh, Rurik doesn't seem to be good at drinking..."

Carlota herself blushed after drinking herself, her energy was not bad, and she couldn't help talking: "Harald, or Harald. Half of the hundred northern warriors can be called by this name, and the rest Half is called Erik again. So..." She looked at the two businessmen. "Where are you going? It's not always...doing business with the Smolensk people?"

"This..." Harold, who was also slightly drunk, hastily denied: "We all know that Ross is dissatisfied with Smolensk. If we do business with them, wouldn't we be asking for death?"

"That's good. I heard that you speak the truth after drinking, and I believe what you say is true. So, where are you going?"

"It's the south, to Rome." This time it was Bjorn who added.

"Rome?"

"Yes."

"It's so bold. Ah..." Carlota remembered many things, and she knew very well that Rurik was talking about the real and illusory Rome with confidence. "The Rome you went to? Is it easy to go?" she asked urgently.

"Easy, but not very easy."

"how do I say this."

"As long as we push the boat through the **** mud in the south, we can reach a big river. Then we only need to go down the river, and we can finally reach a place called Kherson." The merchant Bjorn said the action very simply, But the man was drunk, and God only knows if it was really simple or if he was bragging.

Let's just treat it as real!

Carlotta didn't take it too seriously, and continued: "Then, I will pray for you two little ones, and hope that such a business will go well. How will you return in the end?"

The businessman Harold hastily added: "Now those Polotsk people have no roadblocks. As far as we know, those guys are very respectful of you Rus people."

"Of course they want to be in awe of us! So, they really are in awe?" Even though she was drunk, Carlota realized that there was a hint of important information in a few words.

"In my opinion, they don't dare to rebel against you, and now they even allow us merchants from Riga to dock at their docks. It's unbelievable. In the past, they would actively attack us..."

After the merchant Harold finished speaking, Bjorn continued to add: "The road is fully restored. As long as you guard here, the Smolensk people will not threaten the trade line. Those of us can reach Kherson and Those Romans did business."

Carlotta nodded: "What will you sell?"

"It's amber. Lots of amber."

Bjorn said so, and Harold gave the brother a glance, thinking that such an important matter should not be disclosed to others, lest his goods be looted, but the words have already been spoken.

"What can you bring back?" Carlota continued to ask.

"Many interesting things in Rome are not available in the north."

"Like? Slaves?" she asked.

What Carlotta said was very straightforward. She really didn't know what good things she could get from the Eastern Roman Empire, and she was even very vague about the concept of "Eastern Rome". The biggest problem she faces is still that the population belonging to the Principality of Aostara is too insufficient, and now it is necessary to use various means to fill the population of the headquarters.

Even though the two businessmen were a little drunk, the drunkenness dissipated almost instantly when they mentioned business matters.

They heard that the female nobles had plans to rob people and couldn't help but gear up, and then they heard directly "what kind of slave do you want".

She didn't pay much attention to these matters at first, but she didn't expect the two businessmen to be serious, and she cheered up decisively.

"I want all but the old ones. If possible, young women are the best. The larger the number, the better."

Her words were somewhat surprising, and the merchant Bjorn asked cautiously, "Any young woman will do?"

"It's enough to bring them back to work. I need a large number of women. They want to marry my soldiers, and then give birth to more little soldiers. You can also catch some men and bring them back, as many as possible."

Carlotta has been emphasizing the verb "capture". It seems that these Danish business groups can catch people like rabbits when they go to the Roman-controlled area.

The merchant Bjorn had to explain: "If...we capture people in Kherson, we will be besieged and killed by the Romans! Even we ourselves will become slaves."

"They attack you, then kill them. I don't think...you don't seem weak."

"The Romans are very powerful." Merchant Harold had to explain again, "We have to pay a tribute to do business. As for getting slaves, the only way is to spend money to buy them. As for the young woman you need most... maybe It's a little difficult."

"What's the problem? Maybe you are too weak. Just wait and see! Sooner or later, the Russian army will go south. This year, Ross will attack Rome in the West (referring to Frank), and will also loot this Rome in the East in the future. Haha, They are all weak!"

Carlotta smiled, quite arrogantly. The "bald" Fisk here also joined in the arrogant laughter.

They had good reason to laugh, for Rose's reverence for the Frankish kingdom was now gone.

The two businessmen don't understand this. Is this a sign of self-confidence? More because of the conceit of what you know.

Harold, the old man who went by the pseudonym Olaf, couldn't laugh, and neither could the other two businessmen.

In jurisprudence, slavery in the Eastern Roman Empire had long been abolished. Of course, this is only the abolition in the legal sense.

The destination of the two merchants and their brothers was Kherson, the only stronghold of Eastern Rome in the Crimean Peninsula, which is the port city of Sevastopol today.

It was a Roman commercial city and the northernmost city of the empire. Did slavery really disappear in cities? Apparently yes, but the people working for the nobles are filled with a large number of unfree hired workers.

There is the end of the Amber Road. From the perspective of northern merchants, the so-called hired workers are essentially slaves.

It is not a problem to buy the ownership of some "hired workers" from Roman merchants or property owners, but the northern merchants do not believe in their gods, so there is an opportunity for the Romans to rip off.

Because it must be a loss-making business, merchants will buy other goods from the Romans, but they are not interested in population.

The two knew that this great northern nobleman would never pay a sudden sum of money for his plan on the wine table, so as to hire his brothers to buy people in Rome. Maybe she forgot what happened today after she was drunk.

For the two, the last time they went to Kherson was three years ago. That operation was full of risks. They sold some amber and imported rare goods from Rome, and the goods were quickly digested in the city of Riga.

Selling amber in exchange for lapis lazuli is a colorful stone, and the two are the hard currency in the trade.

The second important imported goods are daily necessities such as salt, cloth, and metal products. However, after the establishment of the trade line with Ross, Riga City received the first daily necessities imported from the Kingdom of Ross in 842. Rome imported almost only rare luxuries that could be brought back and sold for a good price.

Then try it!

Since the Duchess of Ostara wanted some slaves from Rome, the brothers tried one for her as long as she was willing to pay the right price.

No one guaranteed the empty talk on the wine table~www.mtlnovel.com~ Carlotta did not emphasize the matter again after regaining his sobriety the next day.

She didn't mention it, and neither did the two businessmen.

The sober merchants also deliberately paid attention to what supplies these cavalry brought.

As a result, they noticed that the dismounted cavalry was actually digging a hole in a selected flat with a shovel, and some green particles were stepped into the soil. Is it a kind of wheat? It is said that it is called peas, and it was obtained by the Ross army from Frank. It has been successfully planted in Inlmen Lake in the north. This year, the Ross Kingdom is promoting planting, and Ostara, which is an important part of the kingdom, cannot stay out of it.

No one has ever seen the growth of peas. Many people have seen the peas themselves for the first time. They only know that they are soft and glutinous after being cooked, which is very comfortable to eat.

Vitebsk also planted peas, no one knows what the future holds.

Carlotta still has a lot of bean seeds, which will also be introduced to Polotsk. In her opinion, this is a good tool for direct rule.