"The Rise of Rurik (

The huge Ross fleet arrived at the estuary of Lake Mlaren, and the people who lived in this shallow waterway watched in horror as the large ships with spinnakers floated into the lake.

Each gray sail is stitched with huge interlaced blue strips, and a unified flag is hung on the top of the mast.

The merchants around Lake Mlaren, they looked forward to the arrival of the Ross caravan, and then followed the Ross' fleet to the port of Roseburg safely.

It was already October. The defeat of the coalition forces and the heavy losses of the Mlaren tribe caused an obvious depression in the bazaar's trade.

Some powerful businessmen have heard a saying that the Rus defeated the Gotland and plundered a lot of treasure.

More businessmen want to try their luck in the north, even if they have to pay a tax.

They don't see rabbits or scatter eagles, because legends are legends. Even the mighty Melaren tribe was defeated, and King Olekin died in battle. How could the Ross native Hode really win a big victory on his own?

Only a few leather merchants went north spontaneously, and most of them were on the sidelines.

Of course, this year's Merlaren's industrialists need to buy enough food for overwintering in the market after the receiving season.

Buying rations for the whole family is not too high consumption, but something strange happened this year.

Because of those big families with private soldiers and large amounts of farmland, they joined forces with the new king Carl and almost bought the farmers' surplus food.

More than 20 large families with a large number of people set crazy food purchase prices, forcing all the free farmers of the Mellaren tribe to sell their surplus food at low prices.

Whether it is businessmen selling wood, concentrated ore, jewelry, metal, leather, etc., or even second-hand traders who do not produce, everyone has to find those big families who set up grain shops in the market. One silver coin can only buy ten pounds of wheat. ,the price is too high.

What price is this?

This is the price that owes the harvest!

And the purchase price offered by the big families, a silver coin is enough to buy twenty pounds, and they will make twice as much.

Merchants from all walks of life cannot buy food directly from farmers, they have to buy at high prices from large families.

The most powerful people in Mellaren have used force to monopolize the price of food.

This is not over yet.

A wave of price increases pervaded the entire Svealand region, especially the tribes around the Mellaren people. Their losses in the war were not small. In order to restore their strength as soon as possible, they needed a lot of money.

The tribes welcome the increase in food prices, and they hope to sell food in exchange for more wealth.

Melaren's grain has been concentrated in the hands of the major families, and the farmers' households only have rations and crops left. A good harvest? What an irony. The plunder of the big family is like a flood disaster, the people suffered another disaster after experiencing war losses.

As for the Yilmalun and Ankras people, the local big families are not as barbaric as they are, and their people may still make a fortune during the period of high food prices.

Also because the tribes were forced to obey the arrangements of the Mellaren people, the great family of Mellaren and the family of the great king set prices, and all the tribes must abide by it.

But the question is, who is the big buyer?

Merchants from all walks of life pinched their noses to buy food, and of course they can't say that the harvest was successfully digested. What about the leftover food?

The various tribes are staring at the Rus, and the Rus are the big buyers!

Each tribe has its own ideas, and if the Ross people are a good person and suffer a loss to buy food, then everyone will be happy. If they don't buy it, food is food, and people eat slowly, making wine is another option.

Especially Mellaren's big family, they hope that the Ross people can be taken advantage of.

The Ross people finally came.

The Aphrora reigned over Gould Island, and the elites disembarked from Rurik, Otto, and even Gould.

Hundreds of uniformly dressed Ross soldiers followed.

The docking of the huge fleet is truly breathtaking. A large number of masts form a forest on the lake, and a large number of cargo ships appear to be small and small.

With the return of the Arik sub-fleet, the Ross people had no time to repair the ships, so they had to order these hard-working ships to assemble all forty cargo ships and head towards Lake Mlaren.

They don't even have time to clean up a cabin of sheep dung eggs that were left behind when transporting sheep.

The cargo ship that has been transformed has the maximum cargo capacity of 20 tons! The overloaded Aphrora can carry 40 tons of cargo.

The Ross fleet came prepared and bought a million pounds of wheat, which is equivalent to more than 300 tons. They did have enough ships to carry it back.

The long voyage made Rurik languid, but the low-alcohol wine stored on the island resembling grape juice, his spirit recovered a lot after a glass of stomach.

The Ross people started to eat granola made from new wheat on the island and nibble on the newly caught grilled sea bass.

"The food is very good. It seems that the rumors are true. The people of Mellaren are welcoming the harvest." Otto was in a good mood. He gobbled and snorted and greeted Gould again. is you."

"Of course, we are big food buyers. This year, Lake Mlaren has a bumper harvest. We will use a sum of money to buy more food."

Gould was confident, and Rurik nodded and pointed, "According to our plan, we need to give the farmer a little more money. Our plan is to win over ordinary people and create conflicts between them and Yar (the big landlord family). "

"Well, I think we will succeed."

Gould laughed, but the eyes of the people who stayed on the island had been erratic, obviously there was something bad to report.

"You guys." Gould asked casually, "has something major happened to Lake Mlaren in the past few months? The Duke of Rose is here, and you will report like the Lord Duke."

Those few people are deeply trusted by Gould, and each of them can be regarded as an excellent accountant. They looked at each other and reported the most important things.

Their introduction was surprising, followed by rage!

Gould was stunned for a while, and then slammed the table: "Damn hungry wolf! Shameless mouse! Despicable Karl!"

Arik directly drew his sword, "Hateful! I knew I had cut him off in Visby! I never thought that this villain would dare to shame us on the issue of food."

Otto's eyes were bloodshot, and his anger was reflected in the deformed silver cup in his hand.

Fortunately, Otto didn't explode at one point. He hurriedly turned his head to look at his son, Leurik! A major test, Karl was a scumbag. What shall we do? Go straight to the shore and kill him?

Otto is not at all polite, because the whole Mellaren is talking about the crazy low-price mandatory acquisition and the crazier high-priced sales. Carl is the instigator.

Part of the fact is indeed the case. Carl didn't think so much. He sees using this method to establish a deterrent of his power. It's like a father can discipline his son at will. Isn't Karl his power being questioned? Now, the people have tasted the power of a tyrant, and he has demonstrated his power in this way.

The situation has changed drastically, and Lurik closed his eyes lightly, carefully calculating the current situation and planning a new countermeasure.

Everyone is waiting for the young think tank to come up with a new plan.

The situation of the mood was basically in Rick's prediction. Now that it was done, his mind opened his eyes after a high degree of calculation, and he thought of a new set of countermeasures.

"Our goal is still to create opposition among the Melaren tribe, to make ordinary farmers oppose those powerful landlords. Therefore, we still have to buy food from farmers."

"You want to buy farmer's food?" Gould stretched out his fat head: "The things my people are investigating are true. Karl scoured their wheat, and they are unlikely to take out their rations and sell them to us. ."

"No! They will. As long as we give enough money."

"This...this is also true." Gould shut up silently.

"Those farmers, they must save enough crops and rations. They have a lower limit. And we don't really want to take their rations away. I only buy a pound of wheat and pay them ten silver coins. "

As soon as this statement is made, who doesn't think it is absurd?

Gould judged that Rurik had a strategy, but sadly he claimed that the business elite could not immediately realize it.

"why?"

"I want to send people to buy a pound of wheat for every farmer from house to house. I want to tell them that the Mlaren people have lost a lot in the war, and this unequal business is an emotional compensation for them. Yes. The Ross people pity them."

"Is it just that?" Gould shook his head with his mouth sullen. "Do you want them to owe you a favor? Expect them to oppose the leader of Mellaren for this? I don't think it will work. These farmers will think that the Russ gave silver coins. This is what they deserve."

Otto also agrees with Gould's words: "Ruriek, I don't think this is appropriate. They are defeated, and even a defeated man dare to ask for the spoils? It's ridiculous."

Rurik shrugged: "I don't expect them to appreciate it. I only hope to tell the most ordinary farmers through this action that the Ross people are rich and will generously give them money. There are no farmers among them. The husband wants to get rid of Olekin, whose debts will die, fought. Now that her husband is dead, the family still owes debts. As long as we give such people a sum of money, the debts will disappear immediately. At this time, we will persuade them to emigrate, will it go smoothly? ?"

Gould thought for a while, he felt that doing things like this would have a positive effect, but the final result was really hard to say.

"Perhaps, the farmers will think deeply about not giving up their existing land. They are not fools, knowing that the soil of Roseburg cannot grow a seedling of wheat."

Rurik said immediately: "They may not want to emigrate right away. They at least know that if they can't live their lives, there is a new way to go to Rose."

"So, do you still pin your hopes on their own decisions?" Gould thought of one more thing, and still doubted: "You naturally subsidize their lives by giving them money, and the debtors can also repay their debts. But I I don't have any expectations of Karl. I believe this person will show many reasons, such as inventing a new tax and forcibly removing the silver coins from the farmer. In this way, the farmer is still in debt and his life is the same. Also because of the failure of the war. , The family of a man who has died, their debts will not be reduced, and their future life will be particularly difficult."

"Oh! That would be great! Carl did a good thing for me!" Rurik's attitude seemed rather abnormal.

Otto immediately asked: "What is good about a leader who abuses his tribe?"

Rurik laughed and stopped: "So you think that they have nothing if they are robbed of money?"

"Isn't it?" Gould asked rhetorically.

"No! They are still disappointed, disappointed with the leader of Mellaren and the big landlords. Disappointment will turn into anger, and anger will turn into hatred. Unfortunately, they are just ordinary people and cannot oppose the big ones. Their hatred is difficult to display. But they were really angry, and then they found their own powerlessness. At this time they would think of fleeing Mlaren to find a new world to take root. These farmers and fishermen are the real power of the Mlaren tribe, our Shilla Fort and the vast areas of the east. I can tolerate them. And what I have to do is to keep them alive and get support."

Now Gould understood it, and Otto understood it somewhat.

"It's amazing! So no matter what Carl does, things will develop towards the goals we designed." Gould praised.

"It's just that you can't take it too hastily. Mellaren will not fall apart because of a defeat that is not too great."

Otto nodded: "Just do what you said. Tomorrow, we will send people into the farmhouses living along the lake and give them silver coins."

That night, Rurik revised their old plan.

The ultimate goal of the Rus is to take away the civilians of the Mellaren tribe as much as possible. The Ross people will not take any violent means, even if there is violence, they will kill with the knife.

Duke Ross had to act like a sincere and good man, because Rurik didn't think the farmers had a lot of minds. Giving them money is a good person, and stealing their money is a wicked person.

After Rurik was anxious to give money to the civilians, Carl went to grab the money again.

The weather was getting colder and colder, and to make matters worse, the very cold rain fell on the second day after the Ross caravan arrived.

The rain started at night, and the rain itself was not big, but the temperature dropped to a very bad level.

It was this lodging where some poor and elderly Mellaren people were frozen to death in their sleep, but what does it matter to these big families with vast farmland?

The huge Ross fleet surrounds the wooden fort on Gould Island, and the largest Aphrodite is like a floating island!

The extremely humid and cold weather was really not a good time to do business. This day was supposed to be the Mellaren Bazaar, which was open to the Ross people, with all the wooden doors closed by the merchants. Based on their usual experience, only lunatics can ignore the mud and rain trade. Then the result of opening a business is that they cannot welcome customers, but only cold and humid air.

After all, they didn't even invent an umbrella, and they didn't even have a rain poncho. The so-called rainproof equipment is just leather.

The cold weather could not stop a brave man whose name was Bjorn.

Bjorn took a small boat, rowed under his private soldiers, and arrived at Gould Island in the early morning in the rain.

The light was dim, and he wiped his face full of water vigorously, noting that a group of small boats had also left Gould Island.

"Who is it? It will always be the leader of the Ross people? Or a businessman who negotiates to buy wheat?"

With many entrusted tasks from large families ~www.mtlnovel.com~ Bjorn was elected as the negotiator between the large families and the Ross people. He must try his best to facilitate the transaction and sell the excess food obtained by each family to the Ross people. Said, but also to make a fortune.

What's the situation with those boats? Why are there still boats rowing to remote places?

Bjorn didn't think much about it. He hoped that when he landed on the island, he would see the people of Ross who speak the weight. It would be better if the Duke of Ross himself should be here, so that his work would be easy to handle.

He is also an ambition, he hopes to get the second power of the Mellaren tribe. If Karl loses power, Bjorn should replace him.

As long as this is done well, each family can make a lot of money, and their strength will be recognized by each family.

The landing of an uninvited guest surprised the people hiding in the warm wooden fort.

The cold and dampness made Otto not want to move, but what about Rurik? He just wants to sleep well.

Only those sailors and soldiers who were ordered to give money to the poor Mellaren farmers worked hardest. As long as they completed their work well, the benefits were indispensable.

Now, the uninvited guest is here. This person claimed to be "Bjorn, the representative of all the landlord families in Mlaren", and he bluntly expressed his opinion to the guard at the door that he was here to discuss the big issue of food sales with the Ross people.

Now Rurik has no right to sleep soundly. He suddenly got up, intending to quickly discuss the matter of buying wheat with the representative of the "Melaren landlord class" named Bjorn, because the Ross people will always need a lot of wheat.

There is another key point. Rurik needs to know the attitude of the local big landlords towards the king Carl who succeeded the throne. If it is doubt and hatred, it must be provoked immediately.