Rise of Rurik

The Kravatsen family is proud of their latest masterpiece, Otto is shocked by the ability of the new weapon to "smash through fishing boats", and the ordinary clansmen lament Rurik's intelligence and his luck as a Rus.

Rurik was also inadvertently showing off his muscles to the merchants in the guest house.

At this very special juncture, Rurik actually openly tested his new weapon, which was not a torsion slingshot, but six! Rumor has it that the Ross Blacksmith will make more, and the future will be standard for Ross warships.

A group of merchants had to be afraid. They felt that this was the silent threat of the leader of Ross, as if saying: "You all see the power of new weapons, which can easily smash your ships. Only those who hand over the taxes can Avoid punishment."

The sea is about to resume sailing, according to the agreement, this time Otto will organize a team, it will no longer run to Novgorod, but go straight to Melalen. Precisely, this fleet will be the leader, leading a huge commercial fleet built by ships of various people and others, heading for Lake Mälaren.

At least for those aboard, heading south this year they will have unprecedented security.

Rurik didn't want to spend too much time testing the weapon, and after the tests were completed, the full torsion slingshot began to be shipped to the ship.

Based on current technology, he had no choice but to install all six slingshots on the bow, the top deck of the so-called "captain's lounge".

The poop is actually higher, but the rudder is installed in it, and it will also become a sailor's lounge or even a small storage room during future sailings.

The loyalty of the whole ship is actually thick, because the winch responsible for raising and lowering the sail is installed on the deck of the poop, and because the rudder itself has a lot of weight. Another major problem of the Avroola is the sturdy body and shallow draft. Although this body has an extremely amazing cargo capacity, it needs the ballast to lower the center of gravity, and also to ensure the relative balance between the bow and the stern.

The top deck of the forecastle is a large space, the deck is also nearly five meters high from the keel, and the length of the platform is also more than five meters.

So Rurik installed all the torsion slingshots in a very compact manner, with three seats on each side of the ship. Thus, the broadside firepower is three, and the frontal firepower is two.

Naturally, such an arrangement could not maximize the effectiveness of the torsion slingshot. Rurik knew that he was fully capable of erecting three wooden stakes on the ship, with two torsion slingshots connected in parallel, like a cruiser with three twin turrets. All The six torsion slingshots can have the launch ports facing the same side, and even if only six cast iron "chisels" are fired, they can dig multiple holes for the enemy ship to a great extent.

Rurik did not do this,

Simply because to convert to three parallel torsion slingshots, it must all be mounted on the center axis of the hull. After all, the "tail" of the torsion slingshot is one meter five, and the stretched torsion crossbow arm is also one meter two. For this small boat with a deck area of ​​five meters, it takes up too much space.

In fact, it is only installed on the broadside, it also takes up more space, forcing the person on the forecastle to move only on the relatively spacious central axis.

But no one would complain about them getting in the way, because on the sea, in the face of sneak attacks by fishermen who turned into pirates, and even the Danish and Gotland ships that ventured north to loot, people always complained that their weapons were too weak.

A series of tests proved the strength of the torsion slingshot.

In fact, for people in this era, their acceptance of long-range weapons is very low. Basically, as long as an arrow can be fired to a distance of 100 meters, it is a good bow. Although their eyesight is very good, but the distance between the two sides of the battle reaches 100 meters, the long-range weapon basically becomes a probability attack.

The steel-armed crossbow controlled by the Rus is just beginning to change people's stereotypes, so everyone is very satisfied with the torsion slingshot that can hit a short spear 100 meters away and still can cut a hole in a pine board.

The ship will be launched soon. Even though the Avlora is still sitting on the shore and sitting on a lot of sleepers, she is already the flagship of the Ross tribe, and it has become the flagship that the leader enjoys, isn't it?

She was parked on the shore, and anyone who stood on a high place could see her huge figure. Especially the foreign merchants, the big ship under construction is like a giant sword inserted in the stone, it is a strong threat.

Besides, the time is coming, and the merchants are actively counting the silver coins they have earned this year, and even the large amount of goods they have purchased. They hoped to go to the Melaron market to make a fortune, and also to share some money, waiting for the leader of Ross to bring someone to knock on the door. Because that money is the business tax they have to pay.

Among the many businessmen, the Gould family unintentionally bears the heaviest taxes.

A businessman has done a great job, and the general taxation has nothing to do with them. This year's situation is very good. Soap, iron tools, iron weapons, all kinds of leather, a small amount of glass, and a small amount of flammable spirits are the main commodities of the Gould family. He himself has essentially become the "Trade Minister" of the Ross leader. Now that pure gold, silver or precious stones can no longer meet the needs of the Gould family, they want to have some power.

Of all the goods to be shipped, a considerable part is Rurik's goods. Gould is going to take an official position and sell it for the Ross leader, so that he has always enjoyed the best purchase price of various goods.

But he is not the "Minister of Trade". In essence, he is still a big businessman entrusted by Rurik and other Rus rulers. He is a tool person. The Gould family is self-aware and can only continue to be a tool at this stage to gain political capital for the family's future. Therefore, Gould himself was reluctant to let go of any opportunity to perform, and also told his children to perform well, as long as it was for the interests of the Ross leader, it was okay to suffer a little.

"Maybe this year is the same as last year?" Gould prepared a hundred pounds of silver coins as the commercial tax to be paid this year, and he waited for Chief Ross to come in person.

No, here comes the leader!

Otto began to preside over the tax collection this year. At first, he just announced the matter to all the merchants who lived in the guest house, ordering them to prepare silver coins and copper coins within three days. If there is no cash, prepare a batch of equivalent goods. He also made a stern warning that once the tax evaders are caught, all their property will be confiscated, and their entire family will be demoted to slaves for logging and sent to distant places.

The official tax collection schedule was three days after the news was released. Before that, Otto and Rurik, father and son, had conspired some things, and took the decision after discussion to Gu, who was ready to pay taxes. De Mansion, because father and son need the richest businessman of the entire tribe to make an excellent example.

The father and son came in plain clothes, and for Gould, an old friend, they could not afford to show any authority.

The two are dressed simply and decently, Otto looks vicissitudes, depth and strength, Rurik looks beautiful, calm and potential.

In contrast, Gould and his sons, who came to see the world, were like winter seals, that is, simply fat.

They sat cross-legged on the comfortable leather cushions, and they were just talking about things today, and Gould only prepared a little food and drink.

There were some red raspberry preserves on a glass plate beside him, which Rurik had no intention of eating.

He saw Gould's happy face, without any courtesy, and directly pointed out the purpose: "You should know the reason why we are here, then let's go straight to the topic."

"It's the tax," Gould said kindly. "The one hundred pounds of silver coins are ready. As long as the leader wants, I can send the box to the priest now."

"Huh? Very good, just this hundred pounds...isn't it..." Rurik gently hooked his head, clasping his already clean nails.

Who is Gould, he immediately understood the hint.

"Ah? Some additional taxes? That's . . . that's fine."

"You're very funny." Rurik raised his head, he glanced at the beaming father, then continued to sullenly, stretched out his right hand and made a "scissor hand". "This year we made a difficult decision to double the tax for all merchants. For you, Gould, the tax was originally for all foreign merchants. You joined us, but..."

"I understand! I totally understand." In order to show his loyalty, Gould not only grabbed the words, but also continued: "Maybe there are still many Rus people who have some doubts about my identity. If paying taxes actively can dispel this concern. , I'd be happy to take the money. Two hundred pounds of silver, I can take it now."

It can be said that it is hard to speak with money. After all, Gould himself bought a batch of grain from his own pocket in Melalen, and now the grain is basically sold out. Because the Ross leader enforced the grain price not to increase, the Gould family did not make any money in the grain trade, but it did not lose either. He has the right to pay taxes as the grain payment, after all, his business is basically on leather.

"I was moved by your positivity, but we still need to discuss this matter further." Saying that, Rurik straightened his back and looked left and right: "There are a lot of people here."

"Huh?" Gould smiled at a loss.

"Let your son go. Next, it's a secret conversation between the three of us, and it's a secret conversation between the Ross leader family and you. I don't want the fourth person to know."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and Gould's smiling face disappeared. He immediately turned his head and told his sons to avoid him immediately. Even so, Rurik still felt unsafe.

Otto also felt that his son was too meticulous, and the three ended up discussing matters in Gould's own bedroom.

Coming to Gould's own bedroom for the first time, Rurik had nothing to say about the taste of this fat old man, who was sitting on a lot of wealth and had also started sleeping on a wooden bed in the last year. On the wooden wall was a stuffed deer head, a shield smeared with indigo dye, and two axes. Could it be that this fat man also has a dream of a warrior in his heart? But he shouldn't expect to be a fighting warrior in his life.

Rurik sat on Gould's bed at once, while Otto and Gould, on the other hand, were sitting on the low wooden bench.

"It must be quiet enough here, please say it." Gould said cautiously.

"Actually, the problem is very simple." Rurik stretched out his head with a very serious attitude: "Everyone thinks that if you are a big family, you will naturally take more money. Just like last year, the tax you submitted alone was worth two hundred dollars. Merchant, you paid half the tax."

Gould smiled: "Thank you for your compliment. As a New Ross, I need to make some contributions. I will give out two hundred pounds of taxes this year."

"No, you're still a hundred pounds."

"Huh?" This time, Otto, who was able to listen quietly, couldn't sit still, because this was different from the conspiracy of the father and son. "Rurik, are you making decisions?"

Gould didn't know why, so shut up for now.

"Yes, it's a plot, otherwise I wouldn't have entered this place."

Neither Gould nor Otto understood what Rurik's strategy was. In fact, it was a bit "dirty".

"Gould, you must be a Russ. As the leader, how do we tax you according to the standards of outsiders? Of course you have to collect taxes, and this year's tax is still a hundred pounds."

"Then... two hundred pounds..."

"That's for those outsiders to see! You have seen the situation this year. In order to build our Avlora, I calculated, and I have spent one hundred and forty pounds of silver just to build it up to now. This money must be paid by me? No! The money needs to be paid by those foreign merchants, and I want to increase the tax. We Rus people can't have too much economic loss."

"Let me set an example for them?" Gould asked nervously.

"That's right, they're all looking at you! Your two hundred pounds of silver will be handed over to me in public, and I just want those merchants to see what the richest merchants do. I'm just worried. They are not happy after the tax increase, I have to appease them, let them give up and take their money out. And you! After that, I will return you a hundred pounds of silver."

"Ah? How could this be possible?" Gould fully understood and realized that the fourth person really couldn't know about it. If the news is leaked, what kind of trouble will those merchants make, such as tax resistance? That would not be. However, the reputation of the Ross chief family will be damaged, which may be detrimental to Rurik, who attaches great importance to the contract.

"That's what it is. They are afraid of losing out, they want an average, and they want to take advantage of it. You openly give me two hundred pounds of silver, and of course those people will complain that I have increased taxes, and they will comfort themselves that some people are forced to pay more all of a sudden. It's worse than them for a hundred pounds of silver. Haha, it won't cause trouble."

Rurik added: "In the end, it doesn't have to be the direct return of silver coins to you, it can be replaced by goods. You are an important seller of my goods, or I will give you one hundred pounds of the money you earn in the future. ."

Gould secretly underestimated "this kid really knows how to play yin", and he felt that he was really used by the Rus people. After a moment's thought, his family's fortune came down to the boat of the Russ, and the Russ rose, and his family developed along with it. In this way, if you are obsessed with a mere hundred pounds of silver coins, the pattern will be small.

Through Rurik's so-called reason for raising taxes, it was the shipbuilding that used most of the tribe's population, and paid them a small amount of compensation per person, and a thousand people added up to a huge scale. It is obvious that Rurik has been living wildly in the extreme north for nearly four months. He is just trying to get excellent shipbuilding wood, and he is announcing to smart people that the leader of Ross attaches great importance to building large ships.

This is the fact, Gould thought for a moment, and simply reciprocated!