Rise of Rurik

An empty cloud suddenly shone, and some bright spots suddenly appeared on the dark sponge. The two strange scenes were intertwined to make this dark cloudy night extremely bizarre. The people living in Gdańsk have never seen this scene before. However, the night was covered with dark clouds, and it was the eighth month of the Julian calendar. During this month, Gdansk often had rainy weather that lasted for half a month. When night fell, people usually stayed in large family-style longhouses. A large family of nearly twenty people lives together, and only a few people know about some of the wonders happening outdoors. Gdansk is already a huge coastal residence. An impact plain with relatively fertile soil is formed at the mouth of the Vistula River. The coastal sandbar in the Bay of Gdansk is naturally expanding. Its sand spit continues to extend, and a new lagoon will survive thousands of years later. Connected to the Vistula Lagoon. The sandbar forms a breakwater, which greatly weakens the power of any degree of tidal flooding, so local residents do not have to worry about the sea erosion of coastal farmland due to rising tides. The Kashubian tribe developed quietly around the large settlement of Gdańsk, and most of the population was concentrated here, reaching Bydgoszcz, the Kashubian settlement on the uppermost reaches of the Vistula River. A family often has an old man or an old lady as the core, relying on blood ties to maintain multiple sons and their respective families. Multiple families are put together, and the entire family takes part in any production and living activities. With their living habits and production technology level, it is difficult for a single family to resist the various risks of life. If the brothers surround their old parents and the entire family’s ancestors, children, and grandchildren live in the same room, they can resist All kinds of suffering. As a result, the family became a big family. They set up a wall with a wooden fence for themselves, and raised some poultry and large cattle and sheep within the wall. They paid special attention to raising cattle, even though each family raised only a small number of cattle. They have completely given up on semi-underground buildings. Considering that there is a lot of rain in Gdansk in spring and summer, they have dug wooden piles to live in. They laid rough log floors on the piles and lived collectively in huge pure wooden longhouses. , they are always lively and lively every night, and every family is happy with this kind of noise. Many huge families are assembled into a village, and multiple villages form a city. The remaining villages along the Vistula River It rises from the ground and extends upstream for more than 100 kilometers from Gdansk at the mouth of the sea to Bydgoszcz. The 50,000-strong Kashu tribe mainly lives here. A state that can be called the "Grand Duchy of Kashuben" is developing steadily, and it seems that it is just a matter of time before the big leader formally establishes royal power. The big leader Bogslaw is a strong man elected by the villages, and his family has real power in Gdańsk. But his power cannot truly cover the entire lower reaches of the Vistula River. Many villages in the upper reaches respect him as "the leader of everyone", but each village cannot worship him. If some major events happen, the villages in the upper reaches have no energy or subjective attitude. Willing to send someone to Gdansk to help. Just this year, in AD 843, Swinder, who was named Count of Bornholm and held high the flag of Rus, took a caravan carrying urgent goods and rowed a long boat to Gdan in a peaceful gesture. In Sk, what arrived was not only the farm tools that the locals needed, but also a new idea. "So, King Rus conquered many tribes, and those people were loyal to Rus and received a lot of material benefits? If Rus starts a war, these tribes must be ordered to send troops to fight? As long as they join the war, they can freely plunder the spoils during the battle. Including taking away prisoners of war to be slaves?" "In the far eastern world, are there people very similar to me? And we can basically understand the language?" "We are worshiping Peron, the god of thunder and fire, in Gdansk, you Ross Even humans, Peron is considered a god? Aren't you northerners? Why do you worship our gods? Is it because you have our relatives in the territory of Rus?" "The Danish world has really changed? You northerners are internal Is this a good thing or a bad thing for us?" Bogslaw kept asking Swinder questions about Russia, Denmark and Sweden. Swinder is a decent man, which can be seen from his appearance. He was a nobleman personally named by Rurik, and he had to introduce to Bogslaw about the terrible experiences of Bornholm Island during the war many years ago. Intimidation was never his intention, but the information revealed by the ancient stories is very simple - those who did not submit to Rus' rule were killed in the war, and those who surrendered now lived a more stable and prosperous life than before. Swinder was not a man who came to Gdansk with a mission. He came with his caravan as a second-rate dealer. The caravans that have landed for several months have been under the surveillance of local militias. As they took out a batch of hammers, iron axes, and spearheads made from the northern mines of Ross, these treasures were snapped up by the locals at high prices. The vigilance of these blond foreigners disappeared as Gdansk residents actually got benefits. But in reality, these Kashu people actually suffered a big loss in this year's iron trade. But whether you make a loss or gain depends on the buyer's own feelings. The terrain of the lower reaches of the Vistula River is very flat, which is suitable for the development of farming and animal husbandry. However, this area is extremely lacking in minerals, so that the locals lack metal tools. The main population of the Polish tribes in today's era is in the south, the so-called broad Silesia centered on Krakow.

In Silesia, there are iron ore and copper mines. These mineral resources related to the military career are concentrated here, and not far to the east is the Lublin Salt Mine Area. Although the new Kingdom of Poland subjectively did not deliberately develop a salt and iron franchise, its Piast family was able to control the royal power by monopolizing the mines and metallurgy in the region to build its own army that was far superior to other tribes. In this era, the ancestors of the Piast family who could found the Kingdom of Poland were not in Silesia. Its ancestors were in Gniezno, and it is also known as the local name. It is actually the northernmost tribe of the Polish people in this era. The name of the Polish Gniezno tribe has exactly the same root as the name of the Gniezdowo tribe in Smolens in the far east. It is appropriately called the "Great Altar". Gniezno, which is very close to today's Poznan, was a large settlement built with the ancient Slavic altar as its core. Now, the north of Gniezno is no longer Polish territory. Bydgoszcz in the north is the living space of the Kashu family. Although the Poles and Kashu themselves are relatives, they have been separated for more than a hundred years and their relationship has weakened. The living environment of the local people in Gniezno also lacks iron ore and copper mines. Although the Polish tribes further south already know that there are such ores in the mountains of Central Europe, their poor metallurgical technology cannot produce iron and bronze wares on a large scale. There are no surplus metal products to be transported all the way along the Vistula River to the estuary of Gdańsk to be sold to locals. So while Gdańsk residents were still using wooden shovels and wooden plows to start this year's spring plowing, Swinder and his caravan were extremely thieves and brought Ross's iron tools to "help them in times of need." "I know that you are facing a spring famine, and you can't give us a lot of supplies at the same time. It doesn't matter. We will give you the iron tools first. When you harvest the grain and the cows give birth to calves at the end of summer, you will give us the new wheat and milk. Sell ​​us the finished product." This was a solution that satisfied both parties. Firstly, Chief Bogslaw felt that he had taken a big advantage, and secondly, Swinder knew that these Gdansk residents would fulfill their promises during the autumn harvest. In this way, a de facto futures trade was launched. In exchange, the Bornholm caravan built a temporary community in Gdansk. They wanted to live, so they happily used the Port of Gdansk as their temporary home port. Fishing for a living is also a way of exploring local fishing resources. …

End of this chapter

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