Chapter 1,382 "West Coast" Businessman Osten in Riga

Latest website: When Rurik left Riga, the people here, as Ross's servants, for pure economic interests, they were working hard to produce a series of materials such as weapons and equipment, food, ship repair wood, cables, etc. that the Ross army needed.

Even some extremely critical information.

Count Spuyut of Saaremaa will not send troops to participate in the expedition this time. He has an important responsibility, which is to guard the entire Gulf of Riga, and his ships continue to conduct regular patrols in the southern Baltic Sea.

In the pan-Latvian region including Riga, a new power framework has been established, and the next step is for the canonized nobles to fill their living space.

So when Rurik officially began his western expedition, Rus's Principality of Ostara further started its southward expansion.

Although Carlotta is a female, in the hearts of the world she is the Valkyrie in the world.

She recruited another group of Slavic young people in the area around Lake Ilmen and made a major promise: "Although the old Polotsk collapsed, a lot of fields were empty. In the name of Count Polotsk, I call on you to go south. , all those who follow the army will get the land immediately and start farming immediately!"

Obtaining a mature field that has been developed is like holding a hen that can lay eggs. It seems that you only need to sow the seeds and wait for the autumn harvest.

Who is Count Polotsk? She is Sorkina Vyacheslavina, the granddaughter-in-law of old Otto, and the daughter-in-law of Carlotta.

Sorkina was just a peasant girl. As a remnant of the local aristocracy of old Polotsk, her existence itself was of great political significance.

Carlotta knew that he had to be fast, otherwise he would give the Latvian farmers in the Gulf of Riga the opportunity to occupy the land in advance, and he

It would be a bit tricky to lead troops there to deal with the problem.

The Ostara cavalry rode the remaining horses and arrived at Vitebsk and Polotsk at high speed. Behind them was the mighty army of immigrants dragging carts.

There are too many people around Lake Ilmen, and it is an option for people who want a better life to immigrate to live in a new area, not to mention that Polotsk has a lot of fields.

Mstisk, which is mainly descended from old Russian immigrants, when a group of young people joined the expedition, the remaining people were not idle. Some people continued to explore the source of the Musta River, and some rushed directly to the Smolensk Governorate, which had been under the control of Rus, and met with the local garrison under Arik's command.

The Supreme King Old Otto, as long as he lives, will be a pinnacle to Ross.

When the main threat in the Eastern European world collapsed and there was no threat from Russia's rear, Rurik boldly launched the Western Expedition without any worries.

However, from the standpoint of some nobles, although the biggest threat is gone, the threat from its remaining forces has not dissipated. The newly attached tribes and forces are now surrendering to Ross, and they themselves are also facing threats from others.

The port city of Riga has always faced threats from the Semigalians because the city has a lot of wealth that is worthy of being coveted by the inhabitants of the interior. At that time, there were only a few hundred Danish mercenaries in Riga as security guards, and the local Latvians could finally feel at ease.

When Latvia transformed into a county with the city of Riga as its core, and the village leaders became nobles, some inappropriate ideas also sprouted - we can take the initiative.

As early as 843 Bing

Before the snow melted, Rurik's team had just left. In principle, the three cavalry teams stationed in Riga were to be stationed there.

General Fisk is not willing to wait honestly. If conditions permit, he also wants to seize the opportunity to explore the area near Riga.

"Do the Latvians here say that the Semigalians not far to the south are a threat? If we leave, will those people feel that they have a chance?"

Fisk subconsciously thought more. He didn't make up his mind at first, until the people gathered in Riga planned to hold a small meeting in the future to discuss new strategies against those guys. After all, this kind of work of conquering small forces does not require the help of King Rus.

Riga is about to usher in spring plowing. According to the local Anshe Latvian village leaders, when the spring plowing ends, both Latvia and Semigalia will face the risk of spring famine.

What should I do if I don’t have enough food? Latvia, which controls the estuary of the West Dvina River, can also cooperate with local Danish immigrants to fish in the bay in small boats. The long-term cooperation has made the relationship between the two parties even closer. Now that the Kingdom of Rus is coming, Latvia is ushering in a better new era.

It seems that this is the last snow of winter.

Spjut moved his family to Riga, where he built the Count's Palace, a distant echo of the Latvian Count Stekander who also lived there. The Russians, Danes and Latvians have reached full cooperation in a city. Everyone has money to make together and enemies to kill together.

The Russian flag flies in Riga, and people of all colors, especially women

, are rushing to produce various military supplies.

Riga has never been as martial as it is today. They all believe in the promise of King Rus, so they do their best to mobilize manpower and material resources to produce materials in exchange for the necessary production tools provided by King Rus.

They were advancing so hard that the nobles, large and small, realized that they obviously had a lot of troops, so why should they stick to a corner of Riga?

The residence of the Count of Saaremaa in Riga, where Spuyut built a "Russ Duma".

When the flow of the West Dvina River ends, normal farming and fishing activities will resume. Not only that, some Danish Varyag merchants in the distance rowed boats on the intricate inland shallow rivers to Riga, just to sell the excavated amber and beeswax rough stones.

Now, the first wave of amber merchants have arrived in Riga through twists and turns after drifting and melting snow.

They were immediately stunned by the sight before them!

Ross? Has this completely become the territory of the Kingdom of Ross? !

The amber merchants who suddenly arrived not only knew about the existence of Ross, but some of them had already done business with Ross or Stockholm on Lake Mälaren in Sweden. However, Governor White Fox had no idea about it. Dialect, he was identified as "the Dane who sold amber".

There are more than 20 people in the caravan, including men and women, old and young. Rather than saying they are businessmen, they are better described as "armed immigrant families who rely on commercial activities as their way of life."

They traveled in five small boats, purposely designed so that they could be towed easily over mud and swamps as long as they were tied to cables. The seaworthiness of such a small boat in the ocean is unparalleled.

Yes, but it is a very maneuverable river barge.

A middle-aged man named Osten is the leader of the entire caravan, and there are twelve other men and women who carry weapons and can fight. Although there are only thirteen armed men, they are fully equipped with iron weapons and bucklers, and have many Danish-style iron helmets. Even the female warriors are close to 170 centimeters tall. This small size is something that all forces need to consider. .

Especially the family members of Se Mi, because such Varyag caravans pass through their living space every year.

Sometimes, the Varangians would provide the necessary salt, and sometimes they would launch sneak attacks on villages, kidnap people and sell them directly to Riga.

No one living in this land is purely good or bad, everyone is a gray existence.

Semigalia covets the fertile land in the Haikou area of ​​West Dwine controlled by Latvia, and hates those guys for buying the tribesmen who were kidnapped as slaves.

Riga knew these things very well, and the location of Semigalia happened to be on an inland river transportation line for transporting amber. If Semigalia moves en masse or is destroyed, no one will threaten this road.

The caravan led by Ostein finally arrived in Riga after many twists and turns. They immediately noticed the tense atmosphere here.

The large-scale presence of the Ross cavalry, which has never been seen before, and the Ross flag flying everywhere in Riga, which has not been seen in a winter, are all signs that the Ross no longer controls Riga remotely. They have completed the most thorough rule, and they have given them control over other areas in the north. Such control.

Ross established a system that was extremely conducive to free trade

With this system, Danish merchants can now not only reach the capital of the Rus directly, but also freely go to Lake Mälaren in Sweden, which was a restricted area in the past.

There are many buyers interested in buying raw amber stones, and businessmen who mine ore are naturally willing to try their luck in multiple places in order to sell them at a good price.

Those who owned long ships with ocean-going capabilities were naturally willing to sail north in spring and summer, so that they could float all the way to Stockholm at the mouth of Lake Mälaren without even having to paddle.

People like Osten, because they are relatively poor, can only use small boats to conduct safe short-distance inland river trade.

The Amber Road is a long trade route, and people walking on this trade path share profits at different levels. Riga, as an important distribution center, the merchants here have the pricing power of amber. Even the Danes living here will not show great favor to the same people who sell gems just because everyone has the same belief in gods. They deliberately lower the purchase price. , then process amber and beeswax into finished products, and then personally go on the long trade road to the Roman Empire.

Although Riga has undergone tremendous changes, because the islands of Saaremaa and Gotland on the sea have long been captured by the Russians, Osten witnessed the rise of the Russians in his prime, and now in middle age he is in the Russian society. He didn't feel there was anything inappropriate under the rule.

There is a great hero who ended the years of war between Denmark and Sweden. It seems that the Baltic Sea ushered in great peace for the first time. With the armed patrols of the Ross Navy, any maritime merchant no longer has to worry about pirate attacks, and some things that he did not dare to do in the past can now be done.

Osten and his party finally passed the Lielupe River

After arriving in Riga, they observed the situation and determined that commercial activities could continue as usual. They deliberately rowed the boat to the obviously newly built riverside port pier, and started chatting with the wanderers at the port before they even landed.

After learning about this group of amber merchants from the western coast, the locals fully knew where these guys came from. Rather than the specific location where the amber was dug, they not only invited them to enter the open-air market at the port immediately for normal commercial transactions. During this sensitive period, There was no doubt that they were being targeted by Spyout and Fisk.

For no other reason than they came directly from the so-called "West Coast" via the interior.

The existence of these people is something that the locals in Riga are accustomed to, and no one takes a high look at this group of businessmen. Fisk had no idea about the amber. What interested him most was the merchant himself.

Ostein and his people happily set up stalls in the riverside market where the fishy smell lingered. They immediately displayed all kinds of amber and beeswax in the cloth bags, and then sold some strangely shaped shells and seal skins (Baltic). ringed seal), and even lots of white salt.

Compared with the extremely low salinity of seawater in the Gulf of Riga, the "West Coast" of Osten and his group faces the South Baltic Sea, which has a higher salt content, and the cost of boiling salt is much lower.

Except for amber and a small amount of seal skin, other products are not competitive.

Businessmen in Riga gathered at the stall. Under the supervision of Ostein himself, those people began to comment on all the rough stones, and then started trading with silver coins.

Until a cavalry team broke into the market carelessly.

I didn’t meet Ostein along the way.

Real danger does not mean that no one covets the goods brought by the team. Realizing the sudden visit of the Ross Cavalry, everyone stood up one after another, holding the iron swords and hand axes hanging at their waists with each hand.

People who were looking at the goods avoided one after another, and some unruly people walked away with a few stones.

At this moment, Ostein no longer cares about someone stealing. He is more worried about Riga, which has a strong military atmosphere. The Rus rulers here are not unreasonable and have to confiscate all their goods.

"I'm not someone to be trifled with. If you dare to steal my goods, you'll be killed. This way, no one will come to Riga to sell stones in the future." Ostan made it clear that he didn't say anything. He looked up at the cavalry with eyes full of anger and his whole body tensed up. body, with his right hand always holding the sword.

The cavalry squad leader who was ordered to come here quickly reined in the reins when he saw this. Seeing that the other party was on guard, he also ordered his subordinates to be on guard.

"Russians! What's the matter with you guys?" After hearing the news, Captain Bu Lao, Osten asked first, with a hint of murderous intent in his tone.

The cavalry launched a large-scale military operation in Smolensk just a few months ago. They are all the most elite standing forces, and every soldier has made achievements in the war. They are all arrogant people. When faced with any hostility, their reaction is to draw their swords!

In an instant, ten cavalrymen drew their swords one after another, and the scene was extremely embarrassing.

The squad leader only used force as a deterrent, and his sharp sword was so aggressive that he pointed it directly at Ostan's head: "Amber merchant, I don't care about your origins, and I don't want to take away your stones. I serve under the command of the Earl of Saaremaa Island. The order requires you to go to Althing in the city to discuss matters with the nobles.

, there is a great man who wants to meet you. "

When the word "Althing" was mentioned, Ostein became much less alert. The so-called Ross Duma is the Ross expression of Althing. It is the traditional council. A similar institution will be established in each northern power. Based on tradition, people must discuss matters peacefully in it.

The resourceful Austen understood that Ross had no ill intentions towards him and his party.

"Who is your great man? Is he really your Count Saaremaa? Is he really great?!"

Osten is aware of Spuyut's group, which has been very active in recent years.

That was a group of pirates who were recruited by Ross. In the past years, the guys who went to sea to sell amber might encounter sneak attacks by this group of bandits. As a result, under the rule of Ross, the pirates became the navy. Although these gangsters were trained and the ocean became safe, Ostan had a grudge in his heart. He was willing to admit that the Ross Spuyut was a person. As for his subordinates, forget it. Bar! A group of human scum, a group of villains who destroy business...

The team leader didn't want to explain, and he didn't even bother to reveal his name, let alone find out the identity of the businessman.

This is the last sentence: "A great war chief, the cavalry commander of all Russia, he is determined to meet you in Althing. This is the last warning! If you don't go before evening, you will be treated as Semigalia. The human spy was caught.”

"Absurd! We are just selling stones, how can we become spies? Who are those Semigalians? Do you think we are the dogs of those fools?" Obviously, this misunderstanding is not entirely the focus of Ostan's anger. ,he

He looked down upon the Semigalians at all, and what warmed him the most was being humiliated as their servants.

The cavalry no longer explained, just like the ultimatum given by the squad leader, they quickly turned their horses and drove away.

Only Ostein and his gang were left dumbfounded on the spot.

As soon as the cavalry left, people who wanted to buy stones came over and beat them up.

"Friend, are you still selling amber?"

"Hey! Do you think you should send someone to make the appointment quickly? That Russian bald Fisk is very difficult to deal with."

"This place will be the territory of Ross from now on. If you guys from the west start trading, you have to give some tribute to the Ross nobles."

…

Whether it was out of good intentions or ulterior motives, Osten took it for granted that the Rus nobles were demanding tribute through these tongue-in-cheek words.

What else? I can only give some! After all, I heard that when going to Stockholm for trade, the local Rus people don’t want tribute, but what is the “ship berthing fee” if it’s not tribute? Just change it to a nicer name.

"Hey, you are just like the Semigalians. If you don't take something from us, business will be really difficult." After a few complaints, Osten whispered to the guys and had to bring a small bag. The amber rough stone was used as a tribute and he went directly to the location of Rosduma.

After all, Ostein had been to Riga many times, and this was the first time he actually paid tribute. He was very reluctant, but a little curious in his heart.

"The cavalry commander of all Russia? A bald guy? I want to see what you are."