A gentle spring rain fell on the earth, which greatly accelerated the melting rate of the remaining snow. Although it created extreme mud in the whole area, everyone knew that after the rain ended, when the earth became dry, spring plowing could start in full. .

People waited at home for the last time. The farmers rectified their own crops, the columbine used for planting was properly repaired, and the plough was wiped brightly. They checked their shovel, iron hoe, and axe, checked their baskets and ropes, and washed the linen towels they used to wipe sweat.

Lurik is also preparing for farming. The specific planting work is of course handed over to servants or even hired by some farmers. In the preparation of planting tools and animal resources, it undoubtedly has excellent resources.

Almost all horses belong to it, whether the horses are allocated for riding or workhorses are based on his likes and dislikes in principle.

Although the direction of riding on horseback is in principle and only in war, it is really good to use it to carry things or pull the sloping plough at critical moments.

Whether to use horse farming or cattle farming, this has never been a problem for Ross.

Based on the status quo of Ross, or the status quo of the farming of the Slavs under Ross's rule, due to economic and historical reasons, they rarely get cattle and only a small number of horses, not to mention the extremely lack of ironware. It was ten years ago that the Slavs around Lake Ilmen received large-scale ironware output from the Rus for the first time, and only then began to sow innovation.

They have completely evolved from fishing and hunting nomads on the Vistula River to settled peasants. At that time, they relied on humans to pull wooden plows to turn the soil, and they were actually very few nobles who could use horses to reclaim the land.

Quyuan plough is one of the leading products of the Russian Principality to export agricultural technology, and its core component is the metal plough. The plough made of pig iron has become a mass production tool, including shovel and hoe, both of which are cast mass production tools.

You can buy a shovel head for only three to five silver coins. The farmer can make a wooden handle and fit it tightly on it to become a shovel or shovel.

The quyuan plough uses up to three shovel heads. As for the wooden structure on it, in principle, the farmer's family can make it by themselves. Mass production drove down the price, and the finished Quyuan Plow was calibrated to a pound of silver by Rurik. For ordinary Slavic small families, if the whole family takes good care of the farmland during the warm period, they will actively work as temporary handicraft laborers for the princes during the slack period, saving money and spending a year, and having enough surplus to buy a quyuan plow.

Even a group of farmers remodeled the shovel they purchased by themselves, learned the shape of a curved plough and made wooden parts with fir, and finally inserted the shovel in an incline. This is a spontaneous personality of their traditional wooden plough, although every family The new ploughs that were forcibly transformed have a variety of appearances, and they don't care about the result-oriented ones.

Farmer families raise some poultry and rabbits at most. The chickens raised do not eat meat, but simply consume eggs. Raising rabbits eat meat, and more importantly, stare at rabbit skins.

At that time, their productivity level was too low, and they had to rely on dozens of hundreds of blood-related families to get together, and it was all men and women, young and old, to reclaim, plant seeds, and harvest. Now that each small family has private property and private land, the basis of production materials to realize the small-scale peasant economy already exists, and the transformation of traditional farms to the vast ocean of small-scale peasant economy is slowly proceeding.

But their productivity level is still too low!

Even if it is sitting on the fertile acres of Lake Ilmen, the fertility of the land is relatively high compared to the forest area. In terms of high fertility, the fields in the Kiev region are really black soil, and the climate next to the Black Sea is also very good. The vast plains that control the south exist on the road map for the future of the Ross conquest, but not now, let alone something that can be done in the next few years.

The vast number of Slav farmers still have to rely on manpower to reclaim, sow, and bury the soil. At least these laborious operations are replaced with iron plows and columbine carts, which is much easier than before.

But the real descendants of Old Rose, as the top ethnic group in the Principality, they enjoy the love of the princes, and their farming will use horse farming in an all-round way.

There are and only cows in the Ross Principality. Cows are raised to obtain milk that is made into storage-stable cheese and butter. Their breeds are not Holstein cows with amazing milk yields, but are still in the preliminary domestication of European primitive cows in essence. Those cows have huge and straight forward horns. If this kind of domesticated cows are frightened, they can lift their hooves and crash wildly. It is not inappropriate to become a tool to kill the enemy.

Ross's cattle are not so docile, and Ross's horses are much better overall.

war horses transformed into farming horses, and when they completed spring ploughing, they entered the breeding period of the horse herd, when all the mares entered the cultivation and growth period of summer. Rose can also take the opportunity to get some mare's milk.

Mare's milk can make wine. As for how to make mare's milk wine, Rose has no related crafts. But horse milk can be drunk. As a special diet, Rurik himself is willing to taste it.

The spring rain nourishes the world, and people of all colors are preparing for spring plowing throughout Ilmen Lake and Shilla Fort.

The vast number of merchants simply have to wait for the end of the spring rain, because the ice sea has thawed, and all the ships pushing to the shore must enter the sea. The goods stored in the warehouse can be transported away as soon as possible. As for the freely transported goods to Mlaren, Sweden, they still risk being killed and quietly transported them to Denmark, entirely at the businessman's own wishes.

Ross has always been the fur supplier of this sea area for the past 100 years, and now the Ross leather industry, or the entire hand-made textile and leather industry, has completed its dominance.

Some merchants no longer transport simply tanned leather, but finished linen clothing, leather clothing, leather boots, hats, gloves, belts, linen pockets, and even backpacks. After processing once, the finished goods will naturally increase in price, and merchants are willing to spend more to buy them. As a second-door dealer, they can earn more as long as they successfully sell it again.

Lurik how to let various businessmen rob their own interests? The finished leather and hemp textile products are exported to the West by the Gould family. Since Ross's own consumption needs to be met first, the number of products exported to Sweden is not very large, and the price is not extreme. At least the peasant women of Mlaren Can afford to consume.

Only bear skins, mink skins and fox skins are the best leathers. For example, deer skins are too high in supply and the price can't go up, while squirrel skins have become absolutely cheap because of their extreme production.

The settlements are all agitated, and every day someone personally explores whether the earth after the rain is still muddy.

The Slavs need to worship the Spring God. The principle is that the beautiful girl gathers newly grown wildflowers to make corollas, presents bouquets to the woodcarvings of the gods, prays for warmth, and then offers wheat seeds to pray for the gods to give them a good harvest. Now that Ross has ruled here, the farming rituals continue to add "bloody" rituals.

After all, this year is different from previous years. It can be said that the three generations of Rus' princes gathered in Novgorod. There is no temple in this city, at least there is a stone ship altar made of granite.

The high priest himself was in Shilla Fort, and Rurik took the role of a priest of course.

Although the land is not completely dry, a **** is covered with mud from hands, and the opportunity for the sacrifice before spring ploughing is fully ripe.

The prince issued a notice for the holding of sacrificial activities. Thousands of people flocked to the altar outside the city. The people who put on spring clothes dragged their families and made the sacrificial scene crowded.

The young and extremely beautiful girl is in a plain white robe, with a corolla composed of tender pine buds and wild flowers on her head. In order to increase the gorgeousness, some glass beads are also hung on the corolla.

Old Otto never hoped that others would see his old age fade. Anyway, his face was white, so he smeared his old face with a small amount of chalk powder and tried his best to cover up some age spots. He has a strange braid in his beard, a leather helmet inlaid with gold on his head, bearskin, and a long sword on his waist. Using a halberd as a wooden staff, without any support from any entourage, he sits and supervises the normal sacrifice as an old general.

And Queen Svetlana is holding Osborne Slav with big light blue eyes. In principle, this boy is the first heir to the third generation of princes. The queen took the prince to participate in the priests before spring plowing, just to let the Slavs with the largest number in the area take a good look.

A stag was killed as a sacrifice by Rurik himself, and the land was moisturized with deer blood to offer sacrifices to the **** of spring and wealth of Rose. The ceremony must continue the process, offering flowers and wheat seeds to the Slavs' spring god.

This is not over yet. At night, a fire tower will still be lit. There is no special reason. It's just that Rurik likes it very much.

At night, the fire tower ignited. Although it is not large in size, it attracts a lot of onlookers. The people worship fire, so the prince's insistence on lighting the fire tower naturally has his intention. The flame represents power, and the blazing flame is also like a signal of initiation.

The next day, a perfect sunny day!

The time has entered April in the Julian calendar. Even though Rurik himself is not in Shilla Fort, he is sure that the merchants there have already started to act. Because Novgorod is here, many forces are just about to move.

Kagan and Maksakyi urged the Ross people to quickly start spring plowing. They took the opportunity to lend horses to the farmers as farming agents, and took advantage of the opportunity to earn more supplies. After that, they organized a horse team to go south home with a large amount of goods. Valley

The mood of King Bjorn of Sweden is extremely complicated. He is not really willing to give up the throne, but the current situation forces him to give up. Rurik of Ross rewarded himself with a decent opportunity. He knew that he could not delay time, but it was already April. Prince Ross himself should visit Lake Mlaren and ascend the king of Sweden at the Great Temple of Uppsala. .

The mentality of the other nobles was surprisingly consistent. They wished Liu Rick hurriedly arrived at Lake Mlaren to complete the throne, and wished to take the boat back now.

The Swedish nobles and envoys of nobility all arrived in the hinterland of the far east on the Ross ship. They all clearly noticed that the people here were preparing for spring ploughing with great fanfare, which suddenly made them very nervous, for fear of their own territories in the far west. The tribe can't do spring ploughing well.

These same people expect another thing-the big ship ordered.

The Hortra family built two new shipbuilding workshops in the East. The second oldest in the family, Karl and the third, Stein, were arranged and funded by Rurik himself. The managers of Shrosburg and Novgorod were arranged and funded. Two shipbuilding workshops.

In Novgorod, the elder Stein, who is in charge of the local shipbuilding business, mainly made traditional long rowing boats in the inner lake area due to industrial structural arrangements. This winter he has already copied the design according to the copy. Drawings to manufacture standard armed cargo ships/fishing boats.

As many as four big ships are hidden in a large and closed wooden factory building. Thanks to the inexhaustible giant cedar in this area, the factory building can be built huge with wooden materials.

Once Rurik was the first to announce that a standard cargo ship was sold to old Swedish friends, one for one hundred pound silver coins. He has very flexible standards, and he doubled the price on the grounds that he suffered a snow disaster.

Look at these nobles, they are scrambling to see how the boats were built for a winter season, and Rurik's deliberate price increase did not dispel their interest in buying ships.

Spring plowing is what will inevitably begin in the next two or three days. For the inland shipyard in Ross, because the land has become dry enough, critical work will also be carried out.

The Swedish aristocrats who had been waiting for the big ship for a long time have been asked not to spy on the shipyard's construction progress, but they still quietly sent spies to inquire about the information, and they were convinced that the Ross people were building the big ship at extremely fast shipbuilding speed, and the Mlaren tribe did indeed. Five ships can be ordered this year with huge sums of money.

The nobles all received the invitation, and one by one, under the guidance of Rurik, arrived at the outdoor of the shipyard.

"I saw you laying a lot of pine wood? What is this?" Bjorn couldn't help asking.

Lurik wondered why this guy hadn't seen the world? He pointed to the rows of stripped pine wood: "This is the track. They will push out the hull of the big ship in a moment."

Bjorn is a curious baby, and points to another wooden pole and hemp rope to build a huge ladder: "What's that again?"

"It's where the mast is installed. King of Sweden, don't ask more, just watch it with peace of mind."

is more talkative than Jon. The same are the onlookers of Pechenegg Prince Kagan and Marksacky. They are surprisingly curious as they watch the process of Rose man-made the big ship, because they don't understand at all and can't say anything.

The track began to be smeared with a mixture of whale oil and seal oil by a craftsman carrying a wooden barrel. Behind it, after opening the wooden door, two rows of brawny men walked out. More than 30 people reasonably pulled some cables and pulled out the inner hull abruptly.

The waterline length of a standard cargo ship is equivalent to 30 meters. It is quite slender, especially after being pulled outdoors, the main mast, small tail mast, and a forward mast like a narwhal must be installed when changing the shell. Even if it is a standard cargo ship, I have never heard of its improvement, the hull itself will not change, and the added objects on the hull are the imagination of the shipbuilder.

The process of installing the mast is wonderful. For the Hortra family, this is just a hard work. The brothers and the hired guys are very skilled.

It was the morning, and the four boats that were pushed out had all completed the mast installation and fixing, and even the mainmast's spinnaker was hung up.

These four boats entered under full view and were pushed to the shore of the lake. Each boat stood on a very delicate platform. Obviously if the four cables of the big boat were torn apart, each boat could slide on its side along the high **** slide. Lake water.

The launching process of the ship is another wonderful thing.

Each industry believes in its own patron saint, even if the blessed Rurik is on the scene, Stein Hotrasson upholds the traditions of the family and industry. The big ship must be careful.

Unlike Ross's customary sacrifice of deer, the Hortra family sacrificed fresh fish.

They offered sacrifices to fish and prayed to the gods of rivers, lakes, and seas. After that, the people holding torches rushed to the ships and directly burned the ropes.

Rurik hasn't paid much attention to this kind of thing, unexpectedly they used this method to break the rope? Obviously, this is the professional exquisiteness of shipbuilding masters, and he was so interested in watching the whole process.

The rope is burning! Slowly began to tear and was torn apart. A large ship suddenly slipped into the water and splashed violently. Although the hull shook very violently, it swayed from side to side for a while and then stabilized.

The four boats fell asleep one after another, and the onlookers cheered as they witnessed the grand occasion.

Bjorn's nervous face finally showed a smile. He approached Rurik, completely disregarding the attitudes of other nobles and envoys, and pointed to the four boats launched: "I bought five of your boats, and these four will belong to me! You want to help me lead me back to Mellaren!"

"Yes. But money..."

"I will pay in August, and I guarantee it with honor. If I break my promise, you can cut off my head. As for other things..." Bjorn said heavily, and squeezed his eyes again.

"I know, I don't need to remind you again."

Bjorn goes to the king~www.mtlnovel.com~ But it is difficult for Rose to directly rule Mellaren, so he still has to support an agent to manage it. This person is undoubtedly Bjorn. This is a secret political deal between Rurik and this guy.

Four boats were launched, but in fact, thousands of people watched the process. For the big boat as stable as the water, the onlookers felt that this was a good sign.

The spring plowing activity has finally begun. Almost everyone on the shores of Lake Ilmen, regardless of men, women, young and old, or status, is devoted to the buddies related to spring plowing.

As a monarch, Rurik deliberately made a show, working with Queen Svetlana in the eyes of the people to manipulate the Maraqu plough to sow wheat in the private fields of the princes.

He did the symbolic work, and after that, articles praising the prince and his wife for their hard work were printed and posted everywhere on paper. How the prince handles his private land is his. The people don't care about it, but the people are very happy that the prince has shown his emphasis on farming.

Horses are used for spring plowing as much as possible. Due to the sufficient labor force, the spring plowing work of Novgorod, Mstisk, Youth City and the three core control areas of the Rus people in Ilmen Lake will be fully completed within ten days. On the surface, it has entered a period of slack in the farming industry.

He also issued another order to gather the bravery of the principality, organize an army, and take the main force of the fleet directly to Lake Mlaren to obtain the Swedish throne belonging to Rurik.

In this way, the old Rus, the Vikings and the Slavs of all walks of life are boiling over. Everyone hopes that they can get this honor, witnessing that Rurik's honorary title has been upgraded from princep to kuniag.