The temperature has begun to drop, and the people around them have also put on fur and other clothes to keep warm, in this world where medical skills are not developed, illness and death are almost equated things, for ordinary people, every illness is a confrontation with death, as much as possible to escape from its sickle.

After all, healing with magic is a service that only wealthy or high-ranking people can enjoy, and the vast grasslands are not full of herbs that can cure diseases like forests.

However, this year's Rus' people have a lot of confidence to survive this winter, and those merchants from the other side of the Baltic Sea have brought them a lot of goods, exquisite tents that can shelter from the wind and rain, a stove that can keep the whole tent warm without fear of fire, and trinkets that are blessed by magic and only need to be held in their hands without fear of the cold.

These once-unimaginable things spread at a rapid speed among the tribes of the Rus' steppe, whether it was humans, centaurs, or uncivilized gnolls, all competing to buy these things, in order to survive the cold winter of the steppe, in order to resist the threat of cold and disease.

All they had to pay for was the mountains of fur that they had to put in warehouses, and the beef and mutton that they couldn't eat, and these cheap things could be exchanged for good things that they had never dared to think of, in exchange for these treasures that could keep them alive.

You read and heard it right, for the people in this area of the Ross steppe, cattle and sheep are the cheapest, because of the fierceness and savagery of the inhabitants of this area, predators such as wolves have been driven out early, and the fertile races such as jackals have also been suppressed by other races.

Therefore, these little ones have no natural predators in this grassland, they can run on the vast grassland without worry, they can bow their heads to block the fresh grass, and they don't have to be afraid of the predators who don't know when to lurk around them, grow up healthily, and wait until the day when they are harvested by their masters.

Of course, in addition to selling things that would help the natives of the Rus' steppes survive the winter and keep them warm and cold, the merchants also sold a large amount of equipment from Jutland factories, which was normally only available to the regular Baltic army.

The delicate armor with strange patterns, the sharp knives that could cut through trees with a single swing, the sharp arrows that could easily pierce five or six layers of wooden planks, made everyone who saw these things involuntarily linger, and couldn't help but pull out the last gold coin in their pockets.

With these things, it is possible to kill the enemy

Without these things, there is a risk that someone will be killed.

Like it or not, like it or not, when the first man disembarked from the ship with a smile of joy and a splendid outfit, the whole Rus' steppe had to step into the trap laid by the Baltic people.

However, compared to the previous goods, the price of these weapons and equipment is much more expensive, or the price between the two is not at the same level at all, not to mention that ordinary tribesmen cannot afford to buy them, and even some small tribal chiefs cannot afford to wear them.

"No money, it's okay, we don't just want gold. ”

"Cows, sheep, magical materials, wood, stones, of course, if you don't have them, we will also consider other strange things, if you really don't have anything, then it is okay to sell yourself as a slave to us, we are your best friends, the Baltics, and we will not make you feel embarrassed in this regard. ”

With a kind smile, the merchants said the same words to everyone who had seen the goods, like a spring breeze, but there was a cold murderous intent hidden underneath.

It's not that no one thought of doing anything to these merchants, and getting the goods on the ship at no cost, but the Baltic merchants were able to survive at sea and did not become shark dung, and they were also a group of experienced fellows, who had also been friends with the people of the Rus steppes for a long time, and had long been wary of their methods, knowing that under their rough appearance, they had an unreasonable and unruly heart.

Instead of sailing their ships directly into the harbor docks, the merchants docked at a distance of about a kilometer from the docks, and let some of their sailors carry samples to sell on the docks, and if the business was done, they would use the small boats to transport the goods to the docks for the final handover.

They also don't have to worry about the safety of the boats, because as long as the Rus' people still want to buy their goods, they are still safe in the Rus' steppes, and they don't need to worry too much.

In contrast to the merchants, who were more comfortable and confident, the Rus' were troubled, and they found that the wealth in their hands did not allow them to obtain much equipment.

The value of cattle and sheep is so low that there is no way to exchange hundreds of heads for a sharp weapon, and the further back you go, the lower the purchase price of cattle and sheep.

Magical materials?These things are in the hands of the shamans and priests in the tribe, and the magic materials are a necessity for them to cast spells, so they will not be willing to exchange them, in their opinion, no matter how many people are killed by a sharp knife, it is not as good as releasing one or two magic.

Timber and stone are even more impossible, the Rus steppe is a vast grassland area, there are no mountains and no forest trees, they want to get wood and stone, they have to go far away from the Rus steppe, come and go, winter is coming.

As for the strange things, there may really be very precious things in them, but in the mouths of the merchants, no matter what the facts are, what the real value is, they will be degraded in a few words as inferior to the stones on the side of the road, and finally even a knife to cut meat, in exchange for a cart of strange things.

So...... If you want to get advanced weapons and equipment from these merchants, then the only thing you can choose is slaves, ten adult slaves or twenty underage children, regardless of gender, can be exchanged for a weapon, so that the price of these weapons is not as expensive as imagined.

This autumn, under the charm of weapons and equipment, the entire Rus' steppe was plunged into war, and before the cold winter came, the disaster called war befell this region first, from east to west, from south to north, almost all tribes were involved in this war.

Wage war - defeat the enemy - gain wealth - get slaves - exchange for weapons and equipment - start a new war

It seems to be stuck in a dead loop, in order to survive, in order not to be defeated by others and become captives, all the tribes began to attack others around them frantically, and in this madness, the scale of the victorious tribes grew like a snowball.

"Lord Alia, our cabin can't fit anymore. ”

With an unconcealable smile on his face, a sailor walked up to Alia's side, hunched over and whispered.

The sailors had indeed had reason to rejoice, for this trip from Zealand to sell their goods to the Rus' steppes had yielded an unbelievable amount of wealth that would belong to them according to the rules of the Baltic Empire.

Like the captains of merchant ships, that part of the money will be preserved and will not be paid to the sailors when they retire, and if they die in battle, then the money and the imperial pension will be distributed to the sailors' designated heirs, especially the latter, so that the sailors can leave their worries behind and devote themselves to every battle, without fear of the life of their relatives after death.

They didn't have to worry about the Baltic Empire going back on it or playing with words, because this clause was something that Alice had personally agreed to, and that she had signed a treaty with every sailor in black and white, unless Alice wanted her and the Baltic Empire's credibility to be ruined, and these things had to be observed.

"Do you want to throw away the meat and furs and make room for the slaves? ”

Compared with meat and furs, for the vast and sparsely populated Baltic Empire, slaves, which can be transformed into population, are the most needed and critical things for the development of the empire now.

"Those furs are what Jutland has designated for them, and those foods, throw them away, what do we eat at sea? What do the slaves eat? What if the slaves starve to death? You will be responsible?"

A stinking scolding crackled down, and Alia took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in her heart.

"All the equipment in the warehouse is sold out?"

"There's a third left, because we're raising prices too high. ”

"That's right. ”

Hearing the sailor say this, Alia closed her eyes and fell into deep thought.

As a member of Alice's maid team, and having studied politics with Semiramis for a certain period of time, Alia can more or less see the layout of several highnesses in the Rus steppe, and can guess the purpose of several of them through means.

The Rus' steppe, scattered into hundreds of tribes, was one of the first territories to be conquered by Attila, and their loyalty to Attila was much higher than that of Finland and Karelia, providing Attila with a large number of logistical supplies and soldiers to fight.

Otherwise, with the already shattered territory of Karelia, there would be no way to feed the great appetites of the army, especially the terrible Beamon beast.

Now that Attila has dealt with the rebels of the Frost Giants and Centaurs, I think that this winter, when the Baltic Sea is frozen again, the girl known as the [King of Destruction] will definitely be unwilling to be lonely and make something, the target is either Siegel's Scandinavian Empire or Alice's Baltic Empire, and whether it is the former or the latter, it is not good news for Alice.

Although Alice didn't want to admit it, the fact was that if the battle was fought on a frontal battlefield, the nascent Baltic Empire would not be able to resist the attack of the other party, especially when the other two knights could also join the battle, but with the strength in their hands, it was impossible to maintain the balance at both ends of the scale.

And the same is true of the Scandinavian Empire, because of the last grand fireworks display of the Yeats, the newly established Scandinavian Empire is also in an extremely weak state, and is now silently lying on the ground licking the wounds on its body, and there is no way to return to the heyday of Beowulf in a year or two.

There is no need for Attila to take action personally, as long as the scale of the attack reaches the level of the last time, then this new empire, which has not yet been established for a year, may really only have a lifespan of one year.

For this reason, it is only natural for Alice and Semiramis to find a way to do something in Attila's backyard, as long as a victor can appear in the chaos of the Rus Meadow in a short period of time, then it is easy to evolve into a situation like the Frost Giants and Centaurs to challenge Attila's supremacy.

After all, no matter what race it is, after having a certain strength, such a thing as ambition will naturally arise, plus with the equipment obtained from the Baltic people in his hands, just thinking about it, Alia, who is loyal to Alice, has a trace of heart, let alone others.

It doesn't matter if the centaurs, the gnolls, the humans, or any other race, as long as they can complete Alice's vision, cause problems for Attila, and hold her back, then it is acceptable to pay a little bit of equipment.

If she can, if she has time to walk away, Alice also plans to personally promote the unification of the Rus steppe, so that before next spring, Attila's energy will be firmly attracted to the Rus's side.

As for how many people will die, and how many families will die and leave their homes, that's not something Alice needs to consider, her kindness will only be her own people, and on the Ross Prairie side, no matter how you look at it, there is no way to equate it with her own people.

"Anyway, give those things away. ”

Thinking of this, Alia gently patted her face with her hand and made a decision.

The sailor next to him opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Alia is the captain of this fleet, and she has a lot of power, as long as it is for the benefit of the entire Baltic Empire, and can explain it in front of Semiramis afterwards, then it doesn't matter if you give away these equipment, or destroy the entire fleet.

"Captain, who are we giving these things to?"

"I haven't thought about it yet, I'll talk about it tomorrow morning. ”

With that, Alia stepped into the cabin, as one of the vampires, the sun's rays outside were still so annoying, and she also needed to check on the slaves in the cabin to prevent any accidents.