Chapter 307: Report of the Speuter Fishermen's Expedition

Encountering and negotiating trade with Balmerk merchants is purely unexpected.

The ten travelers retired to rest, and Rurik fulfilled his promise, giving them preferential treatment, such as providing accommodation and food, and their own boats were pushed ashore for necessary repairs.

Logically, all the expenses had to be paid by these travelers, and Rurik did not embarrass them any more, announcing that all expenses would be waived.

But it cannot be said that Rurik suffered a loss.

After those people left, the scene of the discussion immediately became lively.

Rurik looked warily at Mechasta, a Kovin man who had been silent for a long time: "You already know our language, although it is not good. You should be able to understand the conversation between me and that person. Now tell me, have you ever known The Balmer clan?"

Mechasta nodded calmly: "Of course I understand, my people have been in contact with them."

"Oh? Your people? Right in your tribe? Oops, I should call them back."

Mechasta helplessly gave a wry smile: "Sir, they all died! Most of the men in my tribe were killed by you."

Hearing that, Rurik couldn't help but stretched out his hands and slapped his face: "It's true that arrows don't have eyes! So how well do you know them?"

"They... just wanted to do some business, and they had to sell us a little salt. You know, we're sorely lacking in salt, and in order to get it, we'd have to carry a lot of leather to the south and exchange it with the Finns over there. Now We have migrated to the seaside and settled in this mountain fort by the sea. These days we have learned how to cook salt."

Rurik shrugged: "But the sea here is only slightly salty. I dare say that the sea that the Balmers face contains more salt."

"Is this true?" Mechasta asked in surprise.

"Of course." Rurik deliberately increased his voice: "I am afraid they are facing the sea at the end of the world. We are a world surrounded by sea water, and all the land is huge islands floating on the sea. The ocean is so big, it's very salty in some places, and in some places it's not sea water at all, it's more like some kind of lake water."

The vast number of Ruth warriors, mercenaries, and Mechasta of Cowen, it was the first time they heard Rurik describe the world in this way, and it really changed their world view greatly.

Because the speaker has a noble identity and is a real wise man,

Everyone wants to believe, and it is worth believing.

Rurik continued to look into Mechasta's eyes, and said firmly: "Since you have contacted with them earlier than us Russ. You will build this place well, I can be sure that in the future Elon Orava The fort will become a very key trade point. Your people will do their best to learn to strike iron, and have iron tools to exchange for the best salt of the Balmers. I also need your people to exchange salt with them as much as possible, so that before winter, we More food can be preserved.”

"I see, my lord."

Rurik nodded: "You retreat."

Not long after Mechasta retired, another important person was invited into the house.

It was none other than Speuter, who had been ordered to explore.

But when the young man stepped on the wooden floor, his scruffy image was really uncomfortable.

His beard was sloppy, his face was a little dirty, and the leather jacket on his body was torn in a large area.

"You... how did you become like this? Could it be that you fought a bear with your bare hands?"

Spuut didn't care about Rurik's surprise, but when he mentioned the bear, he became very excited.

A pair of sharp eyes lit up on his sloppy face, and his face was full of expressions of merit: "Sir, you would never have imagined what we encountered in the rivers in the north."

"You met Balmer's travelers, I know."

"No!" Speuter's expression was even more flamboyant: "We found a small lake, and there are a lot of bass in the lake. We further investigated and found that there are many rivers flowing into this small lake, and those rivers lead to distant We can fully explore further.”

"So, you went further north?" Rurik's nature was brought up.

"We didn't do that. We camped right by the lake and were lucky enough to meet some bears, and deer running around alone. We simply killed two bears and ten deer with a crossbow. The meat was eaten by us. Eat it, we brought back the bearskin and deerskin. They are our gifts to you."

Rurik was satisfied, but after thinking about it, with these gains, why didn't they take the initiative to trade with Balmerk's travelers, but brought them back?

Also, why didn't those travelers mention the crossbow?

Upon further inquiries, Rurik got a logically sound answer—the encounter with the Balmers was entirely an event on the return flight.

The fishermen have made significant progress in their quest to find the outstanding freshwater fish resources in the upper reaches of the river. Also because of the factors of the river itself, to catch freshwater fish, in terms of fishing efficiency, it can completely beat the ocean.

The most efficient way to fish in the ocean is the cooperation of two larger fishing boats, pulling a very large hemp rope net in one direction, and closing the net when the boat feels the time is right. With no sonar equipment at all, boat power is a mix of paddling and sailing. Such fishing is simply a matter of luck. Thanks to the abundant herring resources in the entire sea area, the Rus people have a harvest every time they cast their nets.

Of course, river fishing is still a similar routine, except that it has changed from aimless sweeping to a nest of perch and salmon cruising after the big net sinks to the bottom of the river.

Of course, the Kewen people have a more primitive routine, which is to create a calm pond to attract swimming fish, and then close the entrance of the pond, scoop out as much water as possible, and implement a group of fish.

Freshwater fish have more bones than sea fish. The small problem of the fishbone is not a problem at all for the Rus people. They all know where the fishbone of freshwater fish is mainly concentrated, and it is enough to pay attention to it when eating.

Life is still poor, everyone has something to eat, do you still care about the number of fish bones?

In fact, the small lake mentioned by Speuter is actually the confluence of two larger rivers, and there are a large number of small streams flowing into it, so a freshwater lake is formed here.

Its geographical location is quite advantageous, and it is reasonable to build a small city here.

Yes, she is Rovaniemi, the so-called hometown of Santa Claus.

But the current Rus people do not have any romantic imagination in this regard, and Speuter simply calls it "Perch Lake", which is a name for it, and that's it.

Going north along the river, from Fort Elron to the so-called Perch Lake, that is, "Rovaniemi", the geographical straight-line distance is 90 kilometers away. Considering the meandering of the river, the expedition is actually against the current. Up to one hundred and fifty kilometers.

It can be said that the discovery of Perch Lake by Speuter and his guys was a precious gift to Rurik.

The preciousness of this gift lies in the local freshwater fish resources.

If you can use the local fishery resources nearby, it is better than getting rid of the fish from the southern seas that the fishermen catch from the southern seas and then transport them.

During the transportation, the fish was mildly rotten and smelly, which everyone could endure. The only thing that made Rurik a little worried was that he needed to pay the fishermen to buy the fish and the transportation fee.

So far, a comprehensive taxation system for the Ross tribe has not been established. A system often cannot be instantly supported by everyone just because of the decision of the leader, not to mention that this system still requires some money from the pockets of the residents. Even if the funds are collected, it is used for the purpose of building the entire tribe. Because in the past, everyone had no concept of taxation, and things were done for quick success, Rurik was very worried that the strong prestige he had built by relying on myths and stories would be damaged.

Based on this situation, Rurik had to pay the free fishermen of his tribe.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Even if it is to do charity, the charitable person must also obtain the satisfaction of reputation and even the satisfaction of self-value.

The various tribes of Kewen are fishing and hunting people themselves, and they are even better at catching freshwater fish.

After all, the attributes of the Iron Squirrel tribe are slaves.

They are slaves. kindness? Will there be some kindness to women?

I desperately need them to provide labor, give them high-quality food and accommodation, and even security guarantees, in order to get more of their labor value. My purpose is to exploit them to maintain my financial turnover.

Rurik calculated and found that since the steel squirrel tribe consumes the most material is food, if they can solve these problems by themselves, as their masters, before the chrome steel axe is realized, they will not be able to commit a daily financial hemorrhage.

At present, the fishery resources in the estuary are extremely poor. It is said that in September, a huge team of salmon will enter various freshwater rivers. September is the traditional fishing season for Kewen people, but September is too far away.

The Corvins should have figured out a way to go north, and even build a small settlement on that perch lake, the value of which is to fish for the food needs of Fort Elrond.

Thinking of this, Rurik felt that he had to establish a formal contract with Mechasta.

The summer solstice is really getting closer, especially the dwindling night time, which is the arrival of the night without night.

Five days have passed since the expedition returned. In just five days, the construction of the third waterwheel was completed and put into use.

A large number of men have died, and the men of the Iron Squirrel Tribe are very scarce. As the Ross warriors will return to Roseburg, the Elon Orava Fort after their evacuation has really become a mountain fort for the Cowen people. The small-populated tribesmen, as slaves of Rurik, had to offer their masters the fruits of their labor - chrome steel axes.

It is unrealistic to expect that Kewen tribesmen who have started to fully engage in iron smelting will become excellent blacksmiths in only two months.

They did not understand the true meaning of smoldering carburizing work, but they finally understood how to operate a large furnace, fire sponge iron, and forge and quench work.

How to be a good blacksmith? The best way is to train around the clock. Even a beginner, if he spends most of the day in smelting and training, his skills will become more and more refined.

Rurik was a little worried at first, but he was relieved when he saw that those middle-aged men could swing the hammer in their hands and beat the embryo into the appearance of a "Nordic hand axe".

The return date was approaching, and before evacuating, Rurik summoned Mechasta, the leader of the Iron Squirrel Tribe, alone in his mansion within the wooden walls.

A dimly lit room with only limited light from the beating flames of a few oil lamps.

Two men, one long and one less, were sitting in the room.

Needless to say, the young man is naturally the wise Rurik.

"Sir, you and I must have a secret talk?" Mechasta asked cautiously, who had settled down.

"Yes. There is one thing that you and I need to talk about."

"What's the matter?"

"It's about the future of Fort Aaron Olava, and I think you've been keeping an eye on that as well."

"This..." Mechasta hesitated, but he didn't think there was anything to talk about, so he calmly said, "Do we need to talk about it? We are your servants, just like the agreement at the beginning. , we excavate the ore, then smelt and forge it into usable tools, and we present the tools to you. As masters, you provide us with food and security."

Rurik nodded and said calmly: "The crux of the problem is here. In the beginning, this was all our initial contract, but now the situation has changed a lot! The city is established, and you have misinterpreted my mind. relationship between slave and master."

"Then..." Mechasta was vague.

Rurik immediately took advantage of his small head, and the beating light of the oil lamp shone on his face, showing a more serious atmosphere.

"Now, you and I must sign a formal contract, and we must determine the relationship. Although I am your master, through this contract, we must determine the responsibilities and powers of the master, and more importantly, the obligations of the slaves."

Mechasta couldn't immediately understand Rurik's tongue-in-cheek words. In his mind, although he was a slave now, his life was actually more stable and prosperous than before. Do slave humiliation? Probably not!

There are more days to have enough to eat, not to mention that there is no need to worry about a strong enemy launching an attack. Everyone thinks that it is not bad to be a servant of the Rus. As for hatred, what can we do? The little leader of the Rus people buried the dead personally, and the Rus people also respect everyone's sacrifices!

Mechasta actually feels that the master has provided a lot of favors, and the rest of the day can continue to do what the master has told him.

However, Rurik wanted to establish a relatively more equal contract with his servants.

Youdao is a purely military conquest, and then desperately exploiting it by force is purely a wrong behavior of killing chickens and taking eggs. Furthermore, Rurik's heart is not so violent, what he wants is the efficiency of production, and he wants to develop the productivity of the population under his control as much as possible under the existing conditions, in order to strive for self-improvement.