Bab 146: 139
- I want to sell, you want to buy, we will definitely make a deal ... but I will not fulfill such an order. They are farmers, soldiers, hunters, fishermen ... I do not have blacksmiths or carpenters ... or women. In a year there will be a new supply of slaves, maybe then. (Ulf)
- I need people for the eastern border, maybe there will be a war with the kingdom of the Franks. I need people ... and I will pay well. (Customer)
- But they will be perfectly suited for preparing for war, digging pits or building fortifications under supervision, they will cope with such tasks. (MC)
Eventually we managed to make a deal, I even gave him a discount. It is not uncommon for someone who buys 300 Anglo Saxons. I also received information from him that the tensions between the Kingdom of the Franks and the Emirate of Cordoba are growing stronger and a war may even break out ... when we return to Kattegat, Gilles de Rais will have to free the Christians again.
In the weeks that we spent off the coast of Lisbon, we managed to sell most of the slaves, probably in two or three weeks I will sell the last thousand. Especially that recently my merchandise has become very popular with Berbers, although not many of them paid with gold or silver.
My people also behaved correctly and our contacts with the local people were good, there were no major problems ... of course it was only because no one wanted to slaughter a duck that lays golden eggs. If all goes well, the slave trade will become a big part of our economy ... England, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, tens of thousands of people to sell.
- How long will we be here? This sun is killing me. (One-eyed)
-When we sell all the slaves, but also hope it will be soon. There is a big war ahead, which means that we will be able to earn twice as much. (Ulf)
- Do you have a plan? (One-eyed)
- The one we have already done, we attack Arabs pretending to be Christians, and we arak Christians as Arabs ... and Jews are attacked by every side. (Ulf)
-... aha, maybe just say you don't want to go back to Kattegat. (One-eyed)
There was some truth to it, a bunch of kids and one more on the way ... I missed Lagertha and Hild, especially since I was trying to be a faithful husband ... but the choice between kindergarten and celibacy was not difficult ... it wasn't that I was having fun away from home, my job simply requires dedication.
After another two weeks, we only had three hundred Anglo-Saxons left, I decided to leave them as part of the tax settlement with the Lisbon authorities. In total, we earned 612 pounds of gold, 2448 pounds of silver and several hundred pounds in fabrics, spices, ornaments and one camel which I decided to take to Kattegat to show my children ... although I was not sure how the camel would survive winter in Norway.
Unfortunately, the taxes we had to pay were not small, Lisbon demanded 122 pounds of gold and 450 pounds of silver, but subtracting the value of 300 slaves, we only had to pay 450 pounds of silver ... It was not an ideal solution, but their land and their right. Perhaps next year, apart from slaves, we will also bring animal skins, food, salt and other products here.
After all taxes had been settled, Abbas arranged a little farewell feast ... thanks to us, for several weeks, Lisbon became an even larger merchant city, and with our return next year, Abbas appetite only increased. When I mentioned the possibility of visiting other ports, he immediately promised lower taxes and a permission to moor more ships. I did not intend to gain any benefit, but only a stupid refuses when someone proposes it.
Two days later we left Lisbon and headed north. After a week of sailing, we came ashore ... we went deep inland and I divided my men into smaller armies and we invaded Spanish settlements.
- You spare Christians and churches, kill all Arabs and burn mosques. As always, you take women captive. Happy hunting. (Ulf)
Over the next two weeks, we captured thirteen smaller and larger Arab settlements, mostly not well defended. We destroyed mosques, synagogues, houses and even crops. We also captured more than three hundred Muslim and Jewish women... and the name Gilles de Rais was on everyone's lips again.
Then we sailed east and looted the Christian lands in a similar way ... Our attacks became bolder, whole settlements burnt, people and animals nailed to the crosses, we spared no one ... the coast of the Frankish kingdom ran red with blood.
Of course, we left a few clues that pointed to the perpetrator of these crimes. - Why are we doing this? (One-eyed)
- Do you think my kingdom is strong? (Ulf)
- Yes, we can summon 5 or 6 thousand warriors. (One-eyed)
- King of the Franks can summon 30 or 40 thousand warriors. The Emirate of Cordoba probably has a similar number of soldiers. They will become weaker by fighting each other ... and by attacking both sides, we make good money. (Ulf)
- You don't want to conquer them? (One-eyed)
- No, conquest is like mead, if you drink too much of it, you feel bad the next day. Big kingdoms are collapsing because they can't control their subjects and lands ... When will we be in Jorvik? (Ulf)
- In two days, then two more weeks and we'll be in Kattegat. (One-eyed)
I was going to leave some of the loot and valuables to Leif so that he could work more freely in England, I also had to take care of the people who fought for me ... they would be given a choice, land on the islands or silver.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone