king of ros

When Kievan Rus came back to life under the rule of Rostislav and slowly changed, a group of uninvited guests came to Rus, and their arrival was completely unexpected by Rostislav.

It was a fleet with a purple flag, which was much larger than the long ships commonly used by Ross. They docked at the port of Kyiv, and a group of envoys dressed in classic Greeks came out.

They announced that they were entrusted by the monarch of the imperial capital and asked to meet the new ruler of Kyiv.

Rostislav, who knew the news, was once surprised, how could the emperor of the imperial capital have an envoy to the north.

Even in the period of grandfather's rule, at most people from the church would come here from time to time. Except for trade, the emperor in the south had no interest in this barbaric land in the north.

Although surprised, Rostislav remained calm and received the emperor's envoy according to the established etiquette. In the Vladimir Palace, he met the visiting envoy.

The leader of the imperial team was a Norman who called himself Russell de Bayeul. His hair was shaved, and his bald head was very conspicuous in the crowd.

Under the hall of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, he said a lot of routines, mainly congratulating Rostislav on becoming the Grand Duke of Kyiv, and then presented a gift, expressing that the Eastern Empire wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with Ross.

The envoy of the imperial capital is a strong warrior. Being able to come to Kyiv as an envoy representing the imperial capital, he must have had a high status in the imperial capital. It seems that he is a Norman adventurer who established a career in the empire.

While the Grand Duke was observing the envoy of the imperial capital, Russell was also observing the Grand Duke of Ross.

As the rumors said, the Grand Duke was very young and quick-thinking, and his demeanor undoubtedly showed that he was well-tested in battle.

The Normans never underestimated the young man who defeated his uncle and became the Grand Duke, but now he pays more attention to it. This Rostislav is definitely not an easy person to deal with.

Rostislav accepted the flattery and gift calmly, he knew that the emissary must not have come north to say these auspicious words to him, a wild man in the north.

In order to entertain the visitor from the imperial capital, Rostislav held a grand banquet.

During the banquet, the aristocratic merchants of Rose frequently respected the envoy and flattered him. The envoy seemed to be the core of the entire banquet.

Rostislav didn't feel that there was anything wrong with this, because this is the heart of Ross, and this is the general trend of Ross.

Everyone is importing a large amount of goods to the southern imperial capital to earn gold, silver and luxury goods. The emperor of the imperial capital is everyone's parents.

The Rurik family became Grand Duke because he was able to lead everyone to do business and make money, otherwise he would have been thrown out long ago.

Although there have been outliers like Svyatoslav (not the second uncle), that era has passed.

Moreover, the result of his destruction of the Khazar Khanate greatly strengthened the economic ties between Ross and the imperial capital, making the two seriously bound. The prince who had been fighting all his life actually promoted the economic ties between Ross and the imperial capital.

That's why Rostislav was never interested in the imperial capital. He didn't even want to touch the pit in the imperial capital. Even if all the power of Ross was thrown into it, he couldn't even see a single splash. He didn't even look at Svia, who wanted to conquer the imperial capital. Toslav played so embarrassingly.

...

More importantly, if he wanted to conquer the imperial capital, even after his heavy blows, Ross would have to rebel everywhere.

The reason is very simple, where are the goods sold without the imperial capital?There is only one imperial capital in the south that can eat such a huge amount of supplies. What about the people and nobles who are supported by this trade route?
At most, everyone accepted sending troops on the grounds of trade disputes. My grandfather had done this before, because in the end it was just negotiating terms with the imperial capital, not smashing the field, turning the table, and leaving everyone without food.

After the banquet, Rostislav put on a performance by the Alexei troupe to demonstrate their skills to the Grand Duke of Kyiv, and it was also at this performance that the envoy who had been seated next to Rostislav revealed his purpose.

"Lord Rostislav, I would like to know, since the civil war in your country is over, is there any fighters in your country who are willing to go south to serve Maharaja Mikrigad?"

These words brought a smile to the corner of Rostislav's mouth. Sure enough, this is the reason why the imperial capital is interested in Ross. The emperor will soon use troops against Seljuk. Naturally, he will look for mercenaries everywhere.

"What? Does the emperor need soldiers? Did you choose to come at this time because you want to reproduce the scene of accepting five thousand Varangian warriors at once?"

What Rostislav said was the story of the "Holy One" Vladimir having sex with [-] mercenaries from the imperial capital at one time. This army bought a princess in purple and the Orthodox faith for the "Holy One". It is a well-known story in Ross.

"The emperor is currently gathering troops to conquer the heretic Turks. My majesty thinks the more troops the better. It is said that there are already 7 people in the city of Constantinople."

Russell showed the strength of the imperial army in his words calmly, but Rostislav did not speak, he just took a few peeled nuts from the plate beside him and stuffed them into his mouth. The strength of the imperial capital did not affect Ross, he wanted to hear something more valuable.

It is really a master who does not see the rabbit and does not scatter the eagle.Russell thought this in his heart, but his face was still so kind, "The emperor of Constantinople is rich in the world, he will be very generous to those who are willing to provide mercenaries, Lord Rostislav, let's discuss some details Bar."

Rostislav looked away from the stage and nodded in satisfaction. This is the meat scene he needs. Although he has prepared some mercenaries for the south, the cards don't have to be played immediately.

In this way, the Grand Duke of Kyiv and the envoy of the imperial capital began to discuss the details of the mercenaries. The most important point of the discussion was how much gold and silver Rostislav could obtain from each mercenary of the imperial capital.

Regarding this, there are too many things that can be discussed. There are many things that can be discussed related to the soldier's stomach and physical condition.

The two sides didn't talk too red-faced, because Rostislav's attitude was that it was enough to just take some money, after all, he didn't expect to make money from it.

Soon, the two sides reached a consensus that Rostislav would recruit mercenaries for the imperial capital and draw gold and silver from these mercenaries.

...

There will always be people in Ross who want to take risks in the south, except for the disguised exiles he gathered, there will definitely be many people who can be pulled out.

After completing the most intense conversation, the atmosphere between the two sides immediately eased up, and the smell of gunpowder was not so heavy. They also talked about the performance of the actors on the stage together.

The topic also changed to their personal situation. Rostislav accidentally learned that the Norman in front of him was the leader of the Norman mercenaries in the Eastern Empire. When he mentioned this identity, Rostislav immediately recalled what this person had done , Thinking of what this person has done in history, a subtle smile appeared on his face.

Before Rostislav had time to sigh, Russell told him a few important things, that is, he had a lot of Ross people, except for some Ross mercenaries who had served in the Eastern Empire for a long time. two Ruriks.

"Those two boys have gone to the imperial capital, that's fine, that's fine."

Rostislav shook the wine glass, watched the bright red liquid sway, and sighed repeatedly, it’s fine, it’s fine to run to a place out of his reach, he doesn’t want to destroy the blood of his uncles, so it’s good to start a business in the south like this of.

The Normans saw all the changes in the expression of the Grand Duke of Kyiv. In fact, he mentioned this on purpose, just to observe Rostislav's reaction.

And this reaction reassured him that this Grand Duke is not a bloodless person, so since he is a normal person, the possibility of flagrantly breaching the contract is also very low.

"Master Russell, I heard that the Hauteville family is very successful in southern Italy?"

Rostislav deliberately mentioned the success of the Normans in southern Italy. This topic was completely correct. When he mentioned the Norman fellow who founded the country in southern Italy, the expression on Russell's face was very unnatural.

"Well, many of my boys have been successfully attracted by Otterveld, but I heard that the Duke William of Normandy also had this problem, but he is the king after all. If the emperor did not start the war on my side, my men would soon There will be no one left."

Russell gulped down the contents of the cup, his face full of melancholy. Any Norman adventurer is eager to succeed overseas. The success of Hauteville made everyone's desire to build a country overseas even stronger. And he Although Russell is considered successful, he is still too far away from that kind of achievement.

"My lord Russell, don't belittle yourself too much. I think the emperor's war is an opportunity. Although the emperor of the imperial capital has assembled such a huge army, my lord, you and I are both soldiers. I also know that the bigger the army, the more powerful it will be." It’s difficult to adjust, and most importantly, the contradictions among the imperial powers are very serious now. And the current emperor has been in power for less than three years, and there are undercurrents surging in the imperial capital.”

Rostislav said leisurely, although he said that he did not have much information about the imperial capital, but the information was enough to see the internal problems of the empire.

And Russell immediately became alert, "Lord Rostislav, what do you mean?"

"I just advise you to seize the opportunity. The empire looks extremely powerful, but the potential undercurrent is also very terrifying. When the undercurrent stirs up, isn't that just an opportunity for outsiders?"

Rostislav grabbed another handful of dried fruit, then lay down in the chair to enjoy the performance, and did not continue this topic, but beside him, Russell began to think, and Rostislav's words touched him a little.

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