Rise of Rurik

Regarding the kind of Slavic people living in Kyiv in this time and space, the Duchy of Rus will conquer and incorporate them sooner or later. Nothing is more important than the land around Kyiv than those inhabitants!

That is a large area of ​​black land, and even without farmyard manure, it can maintain high yields in the current time and space. As for the fact that it is a natural place of four battles that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is nothing compared to the unprecedented benefits that can be obtained.

Horses are not worth such a high price, and Rurik can also understand that the so-called price depends on the horse's mouth. These are indeed rare good horses, but these merchants are from the Slavic people's group in Kyiv, and they can naturally give a huge amount of information about the people in the south.

They are just businessmen, the south is the era of Slavs and tribal alliances. There is no large group of nations in the south, so businessmen have nothing to be loyal to. What I know and hear speaks clearly.

Hosting a banquet and entertaining horses is also to stabilize them. If they do have the identity of the season, they must do their best to win over them. It is extremely necessary to take the opportunity to grab some rewards and hang their appetites.

It is necessary to squeeze out all the information that the horses know, and express the goodwill of a Rus principality to the people on the Kyiv side from their mouths.

After all, the strategy of attacking far and near is really a great wisdom.

In the end, the Duchy of Rus wants to rule Kyiv. It would be better if it can finally win there by peaceful means. At least now and in the next ten years, there is probably a lack of strategic opportunities. Naturally, they have to trade safely with them in these years. To a large number of Pechenegma would be great.

Maksakyi and the others turned into guests. They were fortunate enough to enter the palace of the prince of Ross and have dinner with the prince and other elites of the principality.

Of course, Medvedt and Old Otto really felt that Rurik's etiquette was too much. They were all involved, and they only cared about their own food and drink throughout the process, and they didn't care about the group of people who came out of the pit and felt what they thought. All strange bugs.

The floor is flat and the table case is also flat. There are crystal plates and crystal bowls on the table in front of each person. Such miserable tableware carries a lot of delicious food!

In fact, it was just some dried fruit and cold meat slices at the beginning, which was enough to startle the Ma Ke and his gang to tremble.

Sackey stared at the glass plate, and he muttered frantically in his heart: "I'm afraid I can't even replace a horse with such a plate. If I accidentally break a corner, they won't cut my head off."

Using too precious tableware,

Instead, Sackey became apprehensive.

He very cautiously picked out the dark red dried raspberries from the glass bowl and put it in his mouth, enjoying the sweet taste that is extremely difficult to enjoy on weekdays.

Wait a minute, this dried fruit tastes extraordinary, it's definitely soaked in honey and it's an extremely sweet preserve.

There was also a generous amount of jerky on the plate, what seemed to be beef and what seemed to be venison, and they had just the right amount of salt, and to be fair this jerky was an excellent dry food for travel.

The clear glass holds the brown-yellow ale, and the other has a dark, slightly sweet kvass.

Seeing the guests start to move their hands, this Indian way of eating is really indecent.

Rurik knocked on the table deliberately: "Everyone, follow my rules in my territory. You... stop!"

The last word stopped the horse riders.

Sakey quickly put on a smile and apologized: "Great prince, what kind of etiquette should we..."

"Of course..." Rurik thought about it for a while, and had an idea, "How about having dinner with distant guests in your hometown of Kyiv?"

"We? Serve roasted leba and salt, and then have a roast sheep by the bonfire."

Bread and salt, the Slavic custom from the ninth century?

Rurik shrugged: "If it's just bread and salt, you're about to taste it. What's in front of you now are just some snacks before the meal, and the perfect meal is still to come. Then it's in our interest to hold yours high. Goblet, swig our Rus' ale, and the kvass that you Slavs like."

Rurik took the lead in raising the ale, implying that the Rus people of northern Europe were the true rulers. Otto, Medved and others raised their glasses with sullen faces.

Is this the etiquette of the Rus? If they like to drink, they are very willing to accompany them. Sackey drank a glass of wine with joy, and watched Prince Ross raise another.

It takes a little time to wait for a good meal, and the moment of waiting is the most chatting moment.

With the wine in the stomach, the alcohol removes a lot of restraint.

Rurik immediately asked about the people of Kyiv, and even the peoples living nearby, as well as about Smolensk and Pskov.

Sakey was in a hurry, completely unaware that he was caught up in the schemes of Prince Ross. He completely ignored the existence of the beautiful and young Ross Queen Svetlana, only the light in his eyes noticed that the woman was fiddling with a feather at the desk and that was all.

In fact, Svetlana is not moved by the current snack and the next big meal. She has a noble status, and it is normal to attend the banquet and sit next to her husband. In front of her was paper, quills, and ink, and she was instructed to jot down as much as possible Sackey's gushing words. Rurik's request was not extreme. He only asked his wife to record as much as possible and sort out key information from a large number of slobbery written records. This was the responsibility of the prince.

There is a saying that he tells the truth after drinking, and Rurik did hear some interesting and detailed descriptions of Sakyi.

A very striking fact lay before us: Kyiv and Smolensk, in principle, had a blood alliance, but in these days, this alliance has become rather fragile.

Kyiv, Smolensk, and Pskov all belong to the huge Krivic tribal alliance, and their meaning is just as its name describes, with a strong meaning of "blood is an alliance".

The brotherly tribes who have been united by blood will gradually split in the coming years due to scattered development, which is normal in Eastern Europe, where traffic is quite difficult. Besides, speaking of ancient history, the Ilmenslavs also split from the Krivics.

Rurik had to suspect that it was because of this unauthorized split that the other party's hatred was caused.

Can't a hundred years be enough to get rid of hatred? I'm afraid the hatred would have dissipated long ago, but this horse guest described with certainty that the inhabitants of Smolensk were not welcome to the northern Ilmen.

There is only one thing that Mark can be sure of: "Our great chief wants to go to the north to do business, but no one dares to take the risk. Countless pairs of eyes are watching the success or failure of our brothers, and once our deal with the prince is completed, there will be more Kyiv merchants from Kiev head north. We are not afraid of the Smolensk people charging tolls, our brothers have found another path that is a little harder but safer. If you need to sell, we are merchants you can trust."

Rurik was excited, but he still suppressed his excitement on the bright side. He deliberately asked: "So you actually got the order from the leader."

"No. We act spontaneously, but the action is known to everyone."

"Very well. Now I declare that your trade has been successful."

Hearing this, Sackey was very happy, so he said carelessly: "It's half done. We want to buy..." Under the influence of alcohol, he poured all the raspberry preserves in a glass bowl into the meat glass. On the plate, he held the bowl high and said, "I like this kind of tableware very much. It must be very expensive. Since we have sold horses, it is worthwhile to exchange some of these crystal tableware directly."

"You... want this very much?" Rurik was shaking with excitement, his entire body leaning forward.

Seeing this, Sakyi was misunderstood, thinking that the prince was unwilling to sell, and hurriedly lobbied as a merchant: "We Kyiv people often trade with the Pechenegs, exchanging wheat, linen, and slaves for their horses and iron. Love horses, and I love this crystal. If you can please my chief, you'll get more horses too."

Rurik suddenly narrowed his eyes: "You can still arrest slaves?"

"La's Mickeys, Delevlians, etc. We catch their men and sell them, women, hehe, naturally we keep them as wives."

"All slaves sold to Pecheneg's group of horsemen?"

"Exactly."

In fact, hearing these names, Rurik could conclude that it was some other Slavic tribe. Although they are all Slavs, it is normal for the major tribal alliances to constantly fight. They were supposed to be a unified nation, and obviously with their own strength, they could at most create a bunch of small emirates.

If anyone can unify them, it's only Ross!

At this stage, the Rus Principality lacks the strength to attack and destroy the Kyiv group, and has a deeper understanding of their situation until today. As for the southern neighbor Smolensk, they still know very little. The Principality of Ross is already too big, like a python swallowing a cow, it takes a long time to digest its prey. The reality forced the Principality to hurry up to rectify its internal affairs, and for a period of time, it was going to hang up the card of being exempt from war and implement the policy of keeping a low profile.

An extremely vicious situation was clearly laid out before the Principality.

The Principality's commodity dumping station in Denmark has been taken over by the enemy, and how can it be cured without a stronghold to make money? If there are no big buyers, every spring will become "squirrel skin slow-moving help us". Who will help in the end? Who has the money to help?

I'm afraid the Slavs in Kyiv will be the saviour. Because Kyiv residents themselves are not big buyers, they can deliver goods to the Pechenegs and even sell them to Eastern Rome. As long as they can make money as a middleman, they are willing to buy goods in Ross.

Rurik immediately slammed the table, a sound that shocked everyone. Old Otto, who was busy shaking his head, also raised his head to look at his son and complained, "Why are you making such a loud noise!"

Rurik raised a serious face, stretched out his right hand and pointed at Maksakey, who was bewildered, and he laughed out loud: "I like you! You want to do business with us, and I also want to trade with you. I appreciate your chief's desire. You can rest assured that you will return with a lot of goods, and as for the glassware, I will sell it to you."

"Ah! So what's the price?"

"The price of glassware? It won't be so expensive that you will faint. Two glasses of wine are not enough, let's continue drinking."

According to Sakyi's own account, gathering to drink in Kyiv was a means of pulling in the relationship. If this behavior is a form of friendship, it is evident that this routine has been found all over the world.

On Ross's side, the per capita food supply is extremely high due to special reasons, and the cost of brewing has dropped. Every household has jars to brew low-alcohol beer. Slavic families could not help brewing ale and, by the way, kvass.

Since there is a chance to stagger, you should drink it, so the nectar and jade liquid are offered.

Rurik was slightly drunk, and he had already thought of the grand occasion of selling goods to Kyiv to earn a lot of horses, and he had the first drink. Look at Otto and Medved, both of them talking about drinking, their sullen faces are all happy.

Holding the glass vial, Rurik gestured to the ten horses whose eyes were shining, and roared very loudly: "You! Look at what this is! Open the lid, this is the water of life! It is the most perfect wine! I drink!"

Her husband was already drunk, and Svetlana felt a little uncomfortable, so she didn't dare to stop her frowning for a while.

Rurik was excited because of his drunkenness, and simply poured the wine into a special glass goblet, and saw that the wine was as clear as water. Seems to be really water? The strange smell of alcohol in the air doesn't lie.

Sackey has never had a "room full of wine" scene, and the next scene is beyond his knowledge of the world.

The eyes of the ten horse riders stared like copper bells, and the eyeballs were one step away from popping out.

Look at Rurik, Prince Russ, the young man's glass has become a torch!

The burning goblet was held high, and Rurik muttered ceremoniously: "Life is like a fire, and in our limited life we ​​should all beat like a flame. The Slavs worship flame. The liquor is burning, and I will drink it. I dare say that Peron, the god of fire you believe in, will bless me, and I am indeed a great man."

The words are actually a bit headstrong, and Rurik is indeed incoherent because he is in a hurry.

A bottle of vodka is poured into a goblet about two or two, and the degree actually exceeds 50°. This is an Eastern European Erguotou brewed with wheat and oats, and the taste is naturally very strong.

Rurik held up this flaming spirit and drank it in public. Standing in the perspective of Sakey and other horses, he undoubtedly saw a kind of magic.

Forget it, Rurik hiccupped deeply...

"Sir. Are you... are you okay?" Sackey said in shock.

"It's alright, my stomach feels very warm. You... should try it too. If you want to do business with me, just follow my rules and don't live up to my expectations for you."

The goblets were handed over one by one, the spirits were pulled out of the bottle caps, and the liquor was ignited by the flame of the oil lamp on the table.

The ten horse riders all resisted at first. Could it be that everyone wants to eat a piece of flame in their stomachs, if they don’t have the blessing of the god of fire, wouldn’t they be burned alive?

Wait a minute! Rurik, the blond prince of Rus, is clearly a Varyag, and he himself has been blessed by the god of fire. Isn't he a born king? If you have a good relationship with him, will Vulcan also bless you?

Rurik took advantage of the situation and made the riders drink a glass of flaming spirits as a vote of honor.

Sakyi did everything he could, and the flaming spirits entered his stomach, and he didn't seem to feel crazy.

As for some people, it is quite unfortunate. The burning liquor burned off some beards, but fortunately, it was extinguished in time without causing bad consequences.

Rurik nodded and said deliberately: "This is the most perfect wine in the world, it has the power of the fire god, and it is an enjoyment that your leaders cannot experience. I am a benevolent prince, since you drank the fire The wine has been tested by the god of fire, and the goblet and the bottle will be rewarded to you!"

Raja Ross shot so generously? Sakyi's head has not been eroded by excessive alcohol, and he hastily shouted that the prince is a great saint, and even threatened to return to his hometown in Kyiv to introduce the kindness of Prince Ross to the people in his hometown.

Indeed, Rurik's oriental soul can't help but pay attention to courtesy. On the surface, this is the case, but in fact, he has established his position as a great parent. Subjects are all children under this philosophical system, and the prince is the father of all people. The father will naturally give more rewards to the son, even if it is possible to cultivate a rebellious son.

These horses are the unofficial messengers of the Kyiv people, and they can even be the official messengers of the Rus Principality.

Rurik can't be very aggressive in sending his own group to go directly to Kyiv. After all, the Kyiv horses have only worked for one day. In the future, they will need to live in Novgorod for a while and have a good observation, and even in the spring. Then make an agreement about trade. Because spring ploughing is also a good show, let the horses take a good look at the ploughing technology of the Principality of Ross. As the Slavs of the Kyiv community who were purely agrarian, Rurik was sure that they would be very interested in the curved plough, followed by a peaceful sale.

Finally, the real hard vegetable has completed all the complex processing procedures.

This is a roasted deer, and the venison was brushed with a layer of honey before being simmered, which means that the process of brushing honey is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The staple food is also a very Slavic toasted loaf, not used for rye bread, but all the bread slices are baked from high-gluten wheat from the hardy varieties of Britain.

It is vulgar to tear meat with hands and hold bread. At least in the Principality of Rus, Rurik ordered all the cubs of the king to observe and implement the three tableware principles of chopsticks, spoons and knives, and described eating with bare hands as stiff hands. for stupidity. The cubs who want to be strong in comparison naturally don't want to end up with their partners, and eat with chopsticks honestly. As a result, one or two training for a while is extremely flexible with their fingers. As for eating with a knife, without him, this is the method of the ancestors of the Rus people, which cannot be changed or changed.

It was everyone who was busy drinking, and the last liquor was about forty taels, which was a hundred milliliters of pure alcohol.

For this group of horses who can only drink a small amount of low-alcohol beer on weekdays, they drank such a large dose of wine and quickly got on the head.

They groggyly ate the barbecue and tore the fluffy slices of bread frantically, and they swayed and fell down one by one.

Then look at Otto and Medved, who are also slowly lying on the floor with a lot of giggles.

"Can I continue to eat like this? All of them have been drunk!" Rurik thought so subjectively, but his body refused to obey.

He muttered to his wife beside him, "This time I...really drank too much. Don't be afraid, I'm just drunk. Go...call someone. Pull everyone back to sleep."

That's all, he just put his pillow on his wife's lap, and after a while he snored. Svetlana, who was speechless, patted her husband's face hard and saw that the snoring still persisted, so she had to stand up and hurried to the gate of the palace to say hello. The guards moved people away. By the way, as a queen, I also ordered the guards present: "I don't care whether you have dinner or not, the roasted deer that has eaten part of it will be rewarded to you. Remember not to waste food."