Rebirth of the Viking King

There is no doubt that Merus struck gold when he came to Scandinavia with Mehrantin. His success attracted more small and talented noble families to this wild land.

By now, nearly a hundred people have gathered. They are mainly distributed in the three major provinces of Longxi Plateau, Shuanghanling, and Yinyuyuan. Their main business is mining, digging keels, and selling whale oil.

Merus, who had a great family and business, naturally became the "tribune" among the Byzantines in Scandinavia. In the social structure of Byzantium's "separation of powers", this was already a considerable official position. And Merus also had the responsibilities of an official. For his subordinates, he would regularly hold dances, dinner parties, social gatherings, etc., to allow this group of nobles in a foreign land to have as much contact with the Vikings as possible. , creating opportunities for them to meet new friends and get more business inspiration.

On the contrary, he will also actively contact the O'Sullivan family to seek as many benefits as possible for his businessmen. Merus deeply understood the importance of "identity". Holding high the banner of "Friends of the Viking Princess", almost all the Viking lords would be courteous to him.

When he enters their territory to plant and collect minerals, and when he buys slaves, he will receive preferential treatment in many aspects. He was so familiar that many Byzantine royal families would even ask him to help purchase some Viking mercenaries.

These powerful warriors who fight to the death are called "Varyag mercenaries" in the Mediterranean countries, and they have a very good reputation.

From top to bottom, from the Mediterranean to the North Sea, Moos Ferre's reputation increased year by year, and there were even faint signs of becoming the next patriarch of the Ferre family. And he never slacked off, and would only work harder every day, giving everything he had to Byzantium.

The night is already deep.

All the slave owners and slave workers in the mine have fallen into a deep sleep. Only Merus, who is wearing a citizen's robe, is still using the dim candlelight, holding a quill and using calculations to calculate the profits of the mine. There are still nearly 10,000 slaves under his command. If another batch of slaves die next spring, he may have to buy a new batch of slave workers.

Before Duke Mokrash went to sea, he had already warned that he must capture more slaves this time, whether they were men or women, young or old. The work in the mines can be done by slaves as long as they have hands and feet.

Most of them will die within 3 years anyway.

How to balance income and expenses on the annual summary report is a question he considers every day. Merus firmly believes that the reason why Rome is strong is because there are a large number of people like him who are working hard for the lives of Roman citizens every day. people.

(The Byzantines still call themselves Romans internally because they are inherited from Rome, and these two words also represent a very glorious period for their ancestors.)

"This year, 12 tons of brass and 3 tons of refined iron were dug out. Counting other miscellaneous ores, the mine's revenue increased by 20% compared to last year." In the study, the secretary made precise calculations with a quill pen. , handed a stack of papyrus to Merus.

"No, this growth rate is too slow!"

"You know, in the past three years, the production capacity of our Merus mine has increased by more than 30% every year! Although high labor intensity will cause slave losses, the price of a Slavic slave here is less than one The 50-pound goat is expensive.”

"There are also large veins of minerals in the mine. It's hard for me to use such cheap labor. I will contact other dukes this year and buy more manpower."

At this moment, there was a slight muffled sound of thunder from the horizon.

Merus shook his head and didn't care. Seeing that the candlelight was dim, he stirred the wick and just picked up the kerosene pot to add some oil to the lamp. However, at this time, he frowned——

——He saw the ripples caused by the vibration of the kerosene.

No, why did this thunder cause the ground to vibrate?

Moreover, how do I remember that before the sun set, there was no cloud in the sky! How could there be thunder in the sky just a few hours later?

It's too late to react now. Trembling, he opened the curtains and saw a group of knights holding torches and galloping towards him suddenly appearing in the rolling mountains outside the mine. They rushed towards their camp like a river of flames!

With their eyes widened in horror, Merus and the secretary looked at each other. This could never be Lord Mokrash's, because most of the Viking herders on the Dragon's Breath Plateau had already picked up their axes and followed the Lord out to sea to plunder.

Where did these cavalry come from?

The Mervus Mine is a vast area, so no defensive facilities were built at all. After seeing the fire in the mine, the Slavic knights threw away the torches in their hands and pulled out the bright long knives from their waists! Merus was dumbfounded. He didn't know where these knights who looked like heavenly soldiers appeared from.

But he knew that the garrison, which consisted of only more than 500 slave owners under his command, could not withstand such a strong cavalry attack.

At this time, Merus needed to make a quick choice, which was to assume the role of tribune. Should he run to the lookout and release the raven to alert other slave owners to flee immediately, or should he save his own life first, run to the stable, mount a horse and flee immediately?

(The stable is closer than the watchtower. There is still some distance before the Slavic cavalry rushes into the camp. If you run now, you may not necessarily die here!)

In the desperate situation, Merus only thought for two seconds and decisively ran towards the watchtower where the raven was. Before being a noble, he was still a tribune elected by Roman slave owners after all! There were no fewer than 1,000 Roman merchants in Scandinavia. They create the value of tens of thousands of gold coins for the country every year, and each one of them is a pillar of the country.

(I am an official of the Eastern Roman Empire!)

(Rome gave birth to me and raised me! If I die for Rome, I will die without regrets!)

Merus was a fat man weighing 200 pounds. The long distance from the study to the watchtower consumed all his energy. When he panted violently and ran up to the watchtower with the raven cage, what came face to face was a cold light that penetrated his skull! Merus was stabbed through the head by the sword on the spot, and his legs were weak and he knelt down.

In the last few seconds of his life, he saw an old but still strong figure.

"Lord Merus, when you get there, remember to tell Lord Hades: The person who killed you today was your former sanator Oleg!"

Merus opened his mouth weakly. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. In the watchtower below, the barbarian knights had rushed into the Merus mine like a tide. The heartbreaking cries of the slave owners came one after another. Oleg gently pulled out the rapier and shook off the blood in the blood tank.

Merus will not be alone on this journey, because every Roman slave owner in this mine will accompany him to death!