Rise of Rurik

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A cold autumn rain washed away an old era, and Tour entered Robert's era.

The sunshine in early winter brought some warmth, and the lives of residents in the city returned to the peace they deserved.

Regrave had decided to enter Shannon earlier, and Bruno agreed to go with him. Before that, the two still participated in the knighthood ceremony held at St. Martin's Cathedral.

Even if such a ceremony is done privately, it is not legal.

Archbishop Vivian put a helmet on the head of Robert who was half-kneeling in front of the cross. Look at the man's appearance. If it was not an iron helmet but a golden crown, it seemed more suitable for the current scene.

All the nobles present disarmed and even stopped using their meat-cutting knives. They sat on the benches in the church's preaching hall. After the archbishop announced Robert as the new earl, they all stood up and clapped, making the cathedral, which should not have been noisy, very lively.

Perhaps all the knights present should kneel down and pay tribute, but Robert refused such an arrangement.

Because according to the agreement with the deceased Hugo IV, Baron Regrave of Shannon was not allowed to kneel down to pay allegiance. In order to avoid the embarrassment of the situation, he simply asked everyone not to kneel down.

Regraf watched all this quietly. The cheers of those people had nothing to do with him.

Suddenly, Bruno nudged his good brother, turned his face sideways, and continued to pretend to applaud, but the other side of his mouth had no good words: "Look, maybe Robert should be given a crown. I know this, This is transgression."

"It doesn't matter, it's up to him to act however he wants." Reglaf shook his head indifferently.

"If that Charlie knew he did this, God only knows how popular he would be."

"Who knows? It has nothing to do with me."

"Indeed." Seeing his brother's indifferent attitude, Bruno asked again: "When do you plan to leave?"

"Three days at most. I must leave within three days. I have no memory of Tours."

"Do you want to talk to that guy before you leave?"

"I'm going. What else can I say to him? It's just a joke on the surface."

"It's better to say nice things. There's no need to estrange the relationship between us and Robert." After saying that, Bruno was busy applauding and making noises.

Bruno didn't really praise Robert. Cheering now was just following the crowd.

After the glimpse at the funeral of little Hugo, Reglaf really got to know Robert again. Now this guy wears an iron helmet as a crown, which really shows his unexplainable ambition. It's a pity, does this old guy still have enough life time to realize his ambition? Besides, what are his ambitions? He will not replace the top nobles who fought in the civil war and find a way to become the king of the Franks.

Robert, his Robertia family were indeed Franks, somewhat different from the local Gauls of Tours.

Now, because he had obtained the title and fief, Reglaf was now a real name and it was natural for him to lead his men to the fief.

After leaving the noisy cathedral, he quickly returned to the house where his people lived. The heavy wooden door was pushed open and he faced a group of blond warriors.

For some old soldiers, seeing Reglaf now is like going back in time. He is not Reglaf, but young Rurik!

Reglaf is much younger than he looks. This Nordic body develops very quickly with sufficient nutrition. Due to the general malnutrition of people in this era, he looks like a magical monster. In addition, The wonderful and wonderful things he says make people believe that his future is hard to estimate.

According to Frankish tradition, Reglaf is a child based on his age, and he has many powers that he should not have.

But when he put on his mail and helmet, he looked like a young man at first glance, which would have been more true if his beard had grown more quickly.

The soldiers stood up when they saw their boss returning.

"You all sit down and listen to me now." Regraf stretched out his hands and formally announced his decision to leave.

He declared emphatically: "Bring all your characters with you

Bring items, especially money. I want you all to prepare some money, and let's go to the cathedral to buy a batch of food. We can't go to Shannon empty-handed..."

Obtaining the title and fief also stopped him and his brothers from being supported by the Earl of Tours, which meant that everyone could only bear their own profits and losses within the fief.

When Reglaf explained this reality, no one took it seriously, but when he asked everyone to spend money to buy the church's food reserves, some brothers began to question it.

"Now that you have obtained the fief, you can ask the farmers there to hand over all their grains. You also promised us to go there and get wives. We can do whatever we want there." The old warrior Eric helped the brothers. All my thoughts have been said.

"I thought about it carefully. This is not possible. I have already promised Hugo that I will not continue to ask for money from the people of Shannon." Regrave shook his head.

"Why bother?"

"This is important. I promised to be kind."

"You remind me of your father." Eric thought too much, and his attitude was not that of relief. After he sat down, everyone could feel the questioning mood in the old guy's attitude.

"I know you have objections, how could I ask you to pay for it yourself. We have always followed the rules of the north here, and everyone plunders according to their ability. But it is true that I promised Hugo to treat the peasants in Hong Kong well. Of course we will leave empty-handed like this We can force them to provide us with another batch of supplies, but in that case, how will we continue to obtain wealth in the future?"

"It doesn't matter! We are us and they are them," Eric continued.

"The past was before, and now is now. In the past, we could always act in a pirate style, but now that we have a fiefdom, we don't have to harm our own slaves."

"Eh? You treat them as slaves?" Eric noticed that the word Regraf said had a profound meaning.

"Just like my father treats the deer herders, he is also like the herdsmen who raise sheep. Treat them better, and we will get more in the future. Besides, when I become the king of Mercia, you will all be knighted. You will have your own village and people in the future. You...wouldn't kill all your slaves as fat sheep just to gain a year of happiness. If you do, what will happen in the future?"

Reglaf talked a lot according to the theories Rurik gave him. Many soldiers also knew the simple idea of ​​not being able to catch all the water, but the key point here was actually not here.

It turns out that the Shannon area, as a territory directly under the earl's jurisdiction, has already paid a round of taxes during this year's wheat harvest. Two tithes and a number of miscellaneous taxes all fell into the hands of the earl family, and were provided in the form of military expenses for Robert's siege of Orleans.

The farmers have already paid their taxes. If they ask for it again, of course, they can put a tomahawk on their necks, but in that case, the villagers will have to use their crops to pay taxes. The result will be agricultural decline in the Shannon area and a scourge. Or my future self.

It is precisely because we have noticed that the life of the peasants in Tours, Le Mans and Orleans is not as good as the nobles boasted, or that the vast Neustria area is rich, but because of the demands of nobles large and small, the wealthy life belongs to The nobility has nothing to do with the yeoman farmers and serfs.

Regrave became the direct lord of the farmers of Shannon. He had no title or land grant to his one hundred brothers, so he found himself the sole lord of the entire area.

Of course, it is up to you to decide what kind of governing art you should use.

He continued to announce: "We are new to Shannon. If we make them afraid, it will be difficult for me to implement my future ideas, and they will not be willing to send beautiful girls into your hands. As long as you are nice to them, you will be there when the time comes. Shannon feels like you have returned home. If you marry a girl from a certain family, the girl's entire family will listen to you. We are already in our third year of exile. Ask yourselves, don't you want to have a family? ?”

The words reached the hearts of the brothers, and Reglaf also told the words to himself.

"I have been wandering for most of my life, but I really hope to settle down in Shannon. If it goes as smoothly as you said..." Eric's attitude really relaxed.

"It will definitely go very smoothly. Why don't we just follow

The northern method regards the Shannon as a tribe. The local people are our people, and we will need them in future wars. "

"You don't have to say anything anymore. I understand everything!" Eric stood up again, smoothed his gray beard, looked at the guys on the left and right and said pertinently: "Many of us believe in God for various reasons. , so we have no place to stand in the north. It’s time to end our wandering. I will fully support Reglaf’s proposition. If you agree with him, just bang the table!”

After fighting together for many years, everyone has seen what kind of young hero Reglaf is. Seeing that this boy is becoming more and more like Rurik, now everyone can only murmur and complain, and really oppose him. That is absolutely impossible. Impossible.

Everyone banged on the table together, and those who didn't have a table in front of them banged their thighs, just to make a lot of noise and respond enthusiastically to Regraf.

After a while, everyone finally calmed down.

Old Eric added: "You are so like your father."

To Regrave's ears, this was the highest praise. "But we are no longer Ross. However, the flag of Mercia must be erected in Shannon."

What is the “Ross-style governance model”?

Rurik knew that he owed his eldest son, so when he personally taught him life experience, he took the time to instill knowledge into the boy. As for how much he could learn and understand, it all depended on the boy's fate.

Regraaf learned one of the most critical truths through his father's theory and practice - the economic base determines the superstructure.

It's all about money! Money here does not refer to gold and silver coins, but to real things such as grain, cattle and sheep, copper and iron, population, etc. It is the sum of various economies.

How long the king and nobles can rule depends on how much money the nobles have and how much money the people have.

The people become poor, die of hunger and disease, or flee collectively. When they are too poor to survive, they may elect leaders to establish a new kingdom. Soldiers who were loyal in the past may also want to take advantage of the opportunity to establish another branch.

If the people became richer, the nobles collected more taxes. With abundant money in hand, you can organize a stronger army, and the kingdom will be stronger.

How about the Kingdom of Rus? All the materials needed for the expedition to Denmark and the Elbe came first from taxes paid by the people of the kingdom, and from an unprecedented innovation - borrowing money from the entire population.

The people believed that the king would win and get rich spoils, so they were willing to use their property to support the army in the hope of getting the interest promised by the king in the future.

The king even promised that as long as the war is completely victorious, the reward for all the people will be tax exemptions for certain years.

For the families of dedicated soldiers, the wealth plundered by the soldiers belongs to the family. If the soldier dies in battle, the wealth previously plundered will be inherited by his wife and eldest son. If the remains of the war dead can be brought back, we must find a way to bring them back. If this is not possible, they will be burned to ashes and brought back, and placed in the cemetery for eternal sacrifice.

Regraf was a witness to that expedition, and he clearly understood that his father had really fulfilled those promises.

As a price, naturally the rebellious forces in Scandinavia and Denmark were looted, and their wealth became the military expenses of the Russian army and war bonus rewards paid to the people in the rear.

If you can plunder the enemy through war, and the looted property is rich enough, there is no need to ask for excessive amounts in your own territory, even if you are a lord, you can be greedy.

During this year's war, Reglaf led his troops to plunder a batch of money and food. Even so, he still asked the Count of Tours for military supplies.

He and his guys existed completely as mercenaries. On the one hand, they received a steady stream of military supplies, and on the other hand, they pocketed the plundered property.

They always harvest some silver and copper coins from the villages outside Orleans. The coins are of little use in their pockets. It is a good choice to follow Reglaf's request and go to the cathedral to trade a batch of grain.

When everyone has prepared a large amount of food, there is no need to plunder the people of Shannon.

At this point, Reglaf also had deeper considerations, because he found that those

The temper of the priests, as long as they are as humble as students and not as arrogant nobles, priests are easy to talk to.

He thought of some words and decided to try them.

He settled his men here, and the next day he took off all his weapons and swaggered into St. Martin's Cathedral with his equally unarmed entourage.

With his status, it was easy for him to be interviewed by Bishop Vivian, and he was even led into an office filled with parchment books and scrolls.

After some polite greetings, the key question came to Reglaf.

The boy's art of speaking was very clever: "I am already the Earl of Shannon. I have learned that the former Earl of Tours collected tithes in Shannon but did not give the money to you. The deceased Hugo was seriously ill, perhaps He wants to hand over his taxes but his health doesn’t allow it.”

In fact, everyone knows that Tour's finances are controlled by Adelaide. She is the daughter of the old Count Hugo III, and her financial power will be taken away if she has a good status. The reason for refusing to pay taxes on the grounds of supporting war expenses was valid, but the Earl's family did not pay taxes in previous eras, so the priests had already acquiesced that they would never receive the money.

Reglaf wanted to get rid of this kind of avoidance.

No, he took out a cloth bag and shook it, and you could clearly hear a clattering sound. He then pulled back the drawstring and showed the silver coins inside. "Three pounds of silver, this is the church tithe that I, Shannon, give you, although it is not much."

Seeing the money, Vivian had no intention of thinking about where it came from. In fact, as long as he thought about it for a moment, the money was stolen by the Norman soldiers. As long as you don't think about it, you don't have to doubt it, and you won't feel guilty. You can just treat it as the long-lost tithe of Shannon.

Regrave said deliberately: "I know this is not enough to make up for this year's tax. Even if our life in Shannon will be difficult, the tax paid to you will be paid this year. I heard that cabbage is what the lower class eats, and meat is It’s a nobleman like me who enjoys it every day. I would rather take the lead in eating food. As long as I can pay the taxes you need, my hard work will not be in vain.”

"You don't have to be like this!" Vivian was so moved that he cried and laughed at the same time. He held Reglaf's shoulders with both hands: "You are really a kind person."

"Even though we live in poverty in Shannon," Reglaf continued miserably.

"Stop talking. How can I let you suffer? Compared to Robert, you are the one who moves me. I will accept this money, but you! I know you will need food when you go there, so I will give it to you. Your food."

"That's great." That's what Reglaf wanted. He suppressed the joy in his heart and continued to emphasize the tithe next year. And... preferentially in gold and silver.

There are some things that both parties reach a tacit consensus on.

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