king of ros

Chapter 28 Family Conflict
Like the Nordic city in the north, life in Kyiv is also full of strong Varangian style. The unrestrained feast is dazzling, piles of food and barrels of fine wine show the luxury of Kyiv, and the people from Constantinople The handicrafts set off the taste of the rich and powerful of Ross, and also indicated the close connection with the imperial capital.

The grand duke's red house (the residences of princes and princes are called the red house) is always the place for banquets. At the birthday party of the son of Vsevolod, the Russian dignitaries gathered together, and the sound of the banquet was full. , Everything is so brilliant under the light of candlelight.

Like their distant relatives in Navia, most of the Ross people have long hair, and most of them still maintain the northern wanderings, while a small number of them are as cautious as the Greeks, which makes them a bit incompatible with this banquet.

Yaroslav presided over the banquet alone, and the grand duke entertained the chiefs, great merchants, nobles, and foreign envoys with a calm demeanor.

As the eldest son of the eldest son, Rostislav naturally received special care. After considering his opinion, Yaroslav put him in a remote corner without losing his status.

But even sitting in the corner, Prince Nuocheng could still feel some sight. This feeling of being spied on made him very uncomfortable.

Because with the news that the Grand Duke valued him, those who thought that Rostislav was out suddenly found that he could still enter the game. After all, the performance of the Grand Duke was there.And the most important thing is that the Grand Duke has not announced the distribution of Ross's power yet!
Rostislav didn’t think too much about it. After coming to Kyiv, he either wrote in his father’s red house or went out for training. These guests who visited from time to time made him upset, but he had to meet them, especially the remnants left by his father.

His father's death was too sudden, and there were people everywhere in Ross who bet on his father's succession, and they would not be able to disembark. They were almost desperate, but Rostislav's rise made them see hope again.

Rostislav is also happy to accept this political legacy, after all, who doesn't want to be stronger.

"That's third uncle's wife."

Rostislav looked at the woman holding the baby. Her clothes had a strong imperial style. Her face was filled with a happy smile, which belonged to a mother.

"In other words, that's Monomakh."

Monomakh, this is the third uncle's father-in-law, the nickname of Constantine IX of Constantinople "The Alone Fighter".

However, the prince was not referring to this one, but to that baby. He knew very well what kind of achievements this baby with the name of Monomakh would make in the future.

Vsevolod stood beside his wife excitedly. Although he hated making noise, the young prince was extremely satisfied with the blessings and compliments. He was immersed in the joy of being a father.

When he noticed that the son of the dead brother was staring at him, the third uncle returned a friendly smile, and Rostislav raised his glass in return.

These days, Rostislav also met his uncles. Among them, the third uncle has a strong bookish atmosphere and is proficient in Greek literature. Perhaps it is because he found the same atmosphere in his elder brother and son, and there are common topics, so he waited for promises. Prince Cheng is the most cordial.

Suddenly, there was noise among the crowd, and the voice became louder and louder, as if there was a quarrel.

Yaroslav appeared quite calm, and the slightly changed expression was quickly covered up. He first apologized to the Polish envoy who was having a good conversation, and then walked towards the direction of the quarrel.

At the center of the quarrel was Vseslav of Polotsk (note 1), the famous witchy prince, whose reputation was notorious in Kyiv, it is said that his mother taught him witchcraft, and that he would turn into a werewolf at night rumors.

Moreover, as a Christian prince, he even let pagans into and out of his court, and had a close relationship with a powerful pagan group called "wolves", which is one of the reasons for his bad reputation.

As for the person who quarreled with him, it was Yaroslav's eldest son, Izyaslav, the prince's uncle.

The uncle is of medium height and slightly bald. He gives the impression of mediocrity, and he was indeed a mediocre person in history.

And the second uncle is standing beside the brother, expressing his silent support.

As for the reason for the quarrel, Izyaslav talked about the fact that Vseslav flinched during the battle against Poland (Remark 2), which obviously insulted the wizard prince.

When Yaroslav arrived, he demanded that the grand duke maintain his honor and emphasized his blood relationship status.

Regarding this, Yaroslav said:

"My lord, honor must be maintained by the sword. As for your service, I have already rewarded you, but I will not punish the Ruth people who tell the truth."

Vseslav's face turned red and then pale. Obviously, the words of the Grand Duke of Kyiv in public greatly stimulated his nerves, and the prince of witchcraft even trembled slightly with his beard.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me, Grand Duke, but this banquet must no longer be suitable for me to be present."

After finishing speaking, Vseslav left the banquet hall straight away. Yaroslav's face was a little gloomy, but he didn't get angry.

The second uncle clapped his hands wisely, indicating that the banquet will continue, the musicians continued to play cheerful music, and the people continued the banquet, and the episode passed like this.

Rostislav paid attention to his uncles. He knew that the one who had conspired in the north was among them, but who was it?

There is still too little information, and I can only keep a low profile and keep a low profile. I don't know when I will find that conspirator.

However, the conspirator seemed to have noticed that someone was looking for him, so he disappeared without a trace, and there was no activity. That's why Rostislav was actually not so nervous in this regard.

"What the hell is this doing?"

Watching the farce come to an end, Yang, who was sitting next to the prince of Nuocheng, was a little puzzled. He didn't figure out what was going on from the beginning to the end, why the quarrel started, and why it ended like that.

"It's just a rejection of Briaslav's descendants. That incident is just an introduction."

Rostislav began to explain to Jan that there was nothing to do now anyway.

"The Polotsk family is not the descendant of grandfather, but the descendant of grandfather's brothers. Although they are blood relatives, they are not their own people after all. They are one of the few independent princes in Ross today, and they once fought with grandfather. Grandfather has always Don't like them all."

The ancestor of the sorcerer prince was the brother of Yaroslav, after the death of this brother his sons received Polotsk from Vladimir the "Holy One", the Principality of Polotsk was born and they have been independent ever since Ruled outside the Kyiv court to this day.

Thinking about the history of the Polotsk family, Rostislav couldn't help thinking about himself. After all, the situation of this family is similar to his.

Now it seems that his grandfather will give him land, but he just doesn't know which piece of land it is, which is really distressing.

But what Rostislav didn't expect was that after the banquet was over, the captain of the personal army, Zika, who settled him, found him, and the reason for looking for him was very simple - his grandfather was waiting for him.

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Remark 1: The center of Polotsk is Minsk, which is now the capital of Belarus, and the principality is roughly here.

Remark 2: After marrying Poland in 1041, Yaroslav sent troops to help Kazimierz I return to Poland and suppress the uprising peasants and tribes.

(End of this chapter)