The annoying snow in Roseburg turned into a snow-capped mountain on the frozen coast. In the open space near the shore, those merchants from afar rushed to set up their stalls for a short day and sold them from the Lake Mlaren area. Goods brought.

The whole business scene resembled a temple fair. Vendors wrapped in furry leather and shrunk into a ball showed their products for the rich Ruths who had heard the news to buy them.

What they sell is mainly daily necessities, with pottery and wood as the mainstream goods, and some vendors are selling small statues carved in stone or wood.

Individual merchants are doing big business. They are gem merchants. They sell ruby rough, amber rough, calcite crystal block, crystal block, zircon rough, and even extremely precious lapis lazuli.

The most precious gems are of course dedicated to the richest people!

At first Rurik didn't care about these at all, until Kravasson, who was busy making glasses, presented a gift in the evening, as well as important information about a group of strange businessmen.

Kravasson boasts that he has completed the task given by Rurik, and the people of North Hunter are about to be dispatched as a group, and his son will be among them on this trip. He deliberately went to the winter market to take a look, and wanted to buy some interesting things. He saw a stall with many people watching, and he leaned over and was surprised that there were rare treasures here.

Among the many treasures, lapis lazuli has an elusive noble blue. The adoration of the Rus people is blue, which is the color of the sea and the sky, and there are pure blue stones. It is extremely rare, and its origin is puzzling.

Everyone knows that the gems of this place are precious, but they don't know the extreme preciousness of individual gems.

Cravason opened his arms and all the people calling to the mast retreated.

At this moment, a businessman in bear skin sitting on the snow, he took off his woolen cap and raised his bearded head: "You are a craftsman? Do you have enough money? Do you know how precious the things I sell are? ?"

"Of course." Kravasson smiled knowingly: "I am also a jewel craftsman. I really can't think of the sky blue stone reappearing the sky."

"Oh? You know this?"

"Of course. It's lapis lazuli!"

The businessman and the brawny man who stood up all had their eyes trembling. "It's amazing. Since I opened, you guys in Ross have all pointed me at the price of gems and criticized me for asking too high. I thought that the people who live in this great city are not only rich but also well-informed. I was a little disappointed for a while. It seems I was wrong now."

Clavasson smiled again, thinking that these strange businessmen had never seen the wisdom of Master Rurik.

"Businessman, it looks like..." Cravason put away the sale. He also sat cross-legged on the snow and asked in a low voice, "You are not from Mellaren?"

"Of course. The leader there asked us for too much tribute. I heard that you Russ can open the tribute of fifty silver coins, and our party will come."

"Oh, so you are not from Uppsala, let alone Yilmalun."

"They?" The old businessman's eyes trembled even more, and he deliberately asked, "What do you think?"

"That's it." Klavasen squinted and nodded slightly, pretending to be a questioning attitude: "Do you find it interesting to continue to stay in the cold wind and sell gems? You know that ordinary people can't buy them at all."

Clavasson's ambiguity was already very obvious, and the old businessman suddenly came to an end: "Can you recommend a good buyer for us? If you don't mind... take a step to speak."

Soon, Kravasson came alone to the houses sponsored by these strange merchants.

This house is not good looking, it is clearly a longhouse abandoned by a Rus family. A large number of Ross families have completed housing replacements. They subsidize each other to build better woodcuts. Most of the old houses are used as warehouses. Nowadays, a large number of old houses are rented by new merchants.

This is a hidden place. As the wooden door is closed, a group of exquisite bronze oil lamps light up, and Kravasson sees a strange little world.

The merchants removed their rugged hides, revealing the thrifty and noble clothes inside. There are obviously several female relatives in the room. Look at their young appearance and cautious form. They are not the wives and concubines of the merchants, but their servants.

Is it a Merlaren merchant? Absolutely not! The Gould family, the most wealthy Merlaren merchant, has already immigrated to become the Roths. Besides, Gould bought real estate in Roseburg before immigrating. That is what the Merlaren merchant still has.

The merchants treated this old blacksmith in working leather with courtesy. The exquisite silver cup was poured with fragrant mead and served with dried fruit snacks, all placed on a low table.

As usual, the businessman greeted a young maid who was surrounded by Clavasson, who was already sitting cross-legged.

"Let her leave." Clavasson waved his hand impatiently, making the woman embarrassed.

The old businessman laughed while holding the wine glass: "We are all men. Why? Why is it that you only dislike women? By the way, I still don't know your name."

There is a kind of sarcasm in the businessman's words, and Clavasson is not angry. Looking at the things in front of him, the once precious wine and dried fruits are not unusual now. What is a silver cup? It is the only glassware manufacturer officially designated and authorized by the Rus Principality!

"You are low-key outdoors, but the inner house is quite extravagant. You came to our Roseburg for the first time, so naturally you didn't know me. I am Clavasson of Rose, and my family has been a blacksmith for generations, and is highly regarded by the Duke of Rose. People. Danes! Please remember this."

Hearing it, the old businessman tensed his face suddenly, and he slowly put down the wine glass with another meaningful smile.

"There is no disguise. Yes, our party is all from Denmark."

Clavasson shrugged: "It's true that only you dare to sell such precious gems. Ordinary people don't understand or understand, but those gems can't deceive me. But you are Danes!"

"Really? Do we have to fight each other?"

"That's not necessarily. Because the wealthy Duke of Ross is very interested in any merchant, but you friends from the south suddenly appeared in our bazaar, presumably you already know a lot. Tell you! The only one who can buy generously The only one of you is Duke Ross. You can choose to spend the whole winter quietly and leave quietly, but you insist on asking me to match the bridge, but you must be psychologically prepared. You may be beheaded."

These Danish businessmen obviously had some panic. The old businessmen in the lead pretended to be calm and did not panic: "If this is the case, then the Duke of Ross will lose the opportunity to trade with Hezeby."

They proposed a very important term, and Klavasen was stunned: "You are from Hezeby? The richest place in Denmark?!"

"Of course! What do you think of us? I'm just an ordinary businessman in Hezerby, and I gathered a small amount of money. I'm Eric from the family of Eric Torulf (Thunder Wolf). You see now There are also my four sons. We are very willing to do business with the leader of the Roths. If we are killed because we are Danes, it will prove that we have made a mistake in prediction and overestimated the mind of the leader of the Roths."

"Eric Torulf? I understand. But you are still Danes, and your identity will bring you great danger."

"Just as we go to the far east, to the country called Rome, to the hot desert, to the far east world to buy precious blue stones from strange locals, we know the dangers, and we are willing to take risks for the benefit. It's like you Russ defeated the Gotland with all your strength, you are also risking the future of the entire tribe for your own benefit. We are all the same."

Cravason heard his heart beating wildly. He didn't catch a business confession from a businessman. He paid special attention to it. This group of Danes knew very well about the military operations carried out by the Russ.

Just because they know this is a huge sin, they can claim to do business with peace of mind. No secrets of the Ross people will be revealed to the outside world, but who believes it?

Clavasson did not hesitate to point this out: "You have gone through many adventures in the legendary world. But you know too much. You will tell the Danish lords of our strength. Eventually, the Danish army will launch a battle. War conquer us."

"Perhaps, if the Danish leader is willing to use his own power to make a bet! Please remember, we are just businessmen, we don't want war, we just want to do business with peace of mind. I still hope to meet the leader of the Rus, I will enter Offer some treasures." The old businessman Eric winked a few times: "These women are all Saxons. They are trained slaves. They know how to serve men, and they are dedicated to the leader of Ross."

Hearing Clavasson laughed loudly: "Oh, our true leader already has more than a dozen wives and concubines, and the most beautiful wife is still my daughter-in-law's sister. Do you know that, I am sitting in front of you, too A noble person. It's just that I don't need gorgeous clothes to show my nobleness, and I'm not interested in these boring women. I like your gems, and presumably my leader will like it too.

"That's it. I want to meet with Chief Ross, not only I want to sell all the gems, I am eager for deeper cooperation. I hope that Chief Ross will not be full of anger because of our identity." Eric stretched out. Head, he planned to die from the moment he landed in Roseburg. There is a way of seeking wealth and wealth, and he is betting on the life of his family to bet on prosperity and wealth.

In order to make things go smoothly, the old businessman Eric took out a small piece of lapis lazuli with a little chalcopyrite attached to it and handed it to Kravasson.

Don't think that this rough stone is only the size of a fingernail, its current value is comparable to double the weight of gold, or twenty times the weight of silver!

Clavasson left this seemingly simple old long house with a complicated mood. He came to Duke Rose's residence alone with a solemn expression, and went straight to the door to be released by the guards.

He entered the Duke's house and saw Otto, who was a little dizzy after drinking a glass of newly distilled spirits.

He reported the incident truthfully, and Otto's fierce words were also within his expectation.

"A group of bold Danes? It's meticulous! Take their gems, then... behead them to avoid future troubles."

"Lord Duke, you have to think twice!" Clavasson hurriedly advised; "Those guys are not afraid of death at all. They want to sell gems and ask for a chance to cooperate."

"Oh? Really? It's really boring, or cut them just in case, so the gems are still ours." After that, Otto waved his hand and yelled: "The wonderful glasses that Rurik asked you to make are finished? Many brothers know about this, they are waiting to buy! Don't talk nonsense, get the glasses ready, tomorrow I will order the stall to sell. It will be hunting soon, for the eyes of the brothers, I need these treasures ."

Otto didn't say any more, but lay down directly on the leather, enjoying the graceful feeling of spinning around the world.

Clavasson sighed deeply. He decided to wait. The short day was about to end, and Rurik, who was out logging with a group of children, was about to return.

Soon, after doing enough exercise, Rurik returned, and it was surprising to see Clavasson waiting at home before dinner.

He confessed that his wife would go to rest, and it didn't matter if the father hadn't sobered up. He sat next to Clavasson and asked frankly about the glasses.

"Everything is done? You must be here to report this matter."

"It's all done indeed, and tomorrow we can open up questions. It's just..." Clavasson frowned deeply.

"Something went wrong?"

"There is a group of wonderful visitors, and they brought this." Kravasson took out the little gem.

At the moment he saw the stone, Rurik jumped up like a cat with blown up hair.

"It's lapis lazuli! It's actually it!"

"That's it." Clavasson looked solemn, "and these people have obviously been to its mysterious place of origin."

"What? Actually! Afghanistan? They are... really Vikings..."

Rurik said a very unfamiliar word, and Clavasson heard the word. It was obvious that Lord Rurik used this word to describe the origin of lapis lazuli. Moreover, Master Rurik clearly knows more!

The so-called lapis lazuli, when Rurik described it as "the stone of blue sky", he said the word "azur". The word itself is also derived from the classical Latin word Lazuri. The languages of various Indo-European groups have more or less commonalities, and the vocabulary that describes some common things has its origin.

With the wonderful color of lapis lazuli, anyone who sees it will think of two things, the sea and the sky.

It is almost exclusively produced in Central Asia, considering the current era, the local area is controlled by the food.

Rurik had come to have a strong interest, only because Kravassen said that these Danish merchants brought a lot of gems.

"Let them come to see me!" Rurik's excited face couldn't see any killing intent.

Clavasson still wants to suggest: "Whether they want to, they already know a lot of secrets about our Ross people. Please don't kill them rashly."

"Let them come first! By the way, tomorrow. You go to Arik and take care of the sale of sunglasses. I want to receive those Danish businessmen at home."

"Well, they live here..." Clavasson pointed out the Danish merchant's current residence. Rlik did not hesitate to assign his elite mercenaries. More than a dozen people were ordered to monitor those people for one night. All his "arrests" were sent to me.

After all, they are Danes. At present, the relationship between Sweden and Denmark is tense. The attitude of the Ross people towards the Danes is also simple hostility. Although many people have forgotten the source of hostility, hostility is hostility in short.

The Duke showed his politeness to the Danish businessmen, which was a wrong move that hurt the feelings of the people.

But Rurik didn't intend to make things too absolute. For example, he had no plan to kill him at all, even if this group of people would become informants with a high probability.

How is that? Could it be that the Ross people are powerful, and the confident Rurik doesn't care about revealing any secrets at all. UU reading www.uukanshu.com even accidentally revealed the true strength of the Rus people, letting the Danish authorities know that, not to mention making the opponent jealous, at least let the opponent know that there is a powerful Rus Principality in the Kingdom of Reddy.

If war is inevitable, Rurik is not afraid of naval battles with any enemy. After all, next spring, the Principality will have three Aphrolclass "Caravel-type warships". Actual combat has proven that Aphrora is basically a naval battle with a clear generational difference against traditional Viking long ships.

Rurik didn't fear war at all, but didn't want to take the initiative to provoke a war for the time being. The Principality of Ross was still actively preparing for the future. In the final analysis, any commercial activities must serve the rise of the strength of the Duchy of Ross under the overall plan of the Duke of Ross and Rurik himself.

The principality must use all forces to enhance the principality's overall strength, especially the development of its military strength.

Think about the scene next year! Three Aphrorclass battleships, and as many as forty modified armed cargo ships, each of which is taller, wider, and larger than the average long ship, each with a terrifying bow collision angle, on the deck They are equipped with torsion slingshots. The soldiers on the ship basically gave up the tactics of jumping and fighting, and replaced them with corner collisions and various long-range weapon shooting methods, chasing ships where there is no deck.