king of ros

Chapter 438 Ocean Hegemony
When things in Kiev came to an end temporarily, Rostislav left Kyiv. He recalled his son Rurik to guard Kyiv and let him familiarize himself with Kyiv government affairs. Now Kyiv is stable enough for him to manage.

And he himself went north to Novgorod to inspect the territory that belonged to him.

Rostislav's team was very large when he traveled. He gathered a huge fleet of nearly a hundred ships. When this fleet appeared on the Dnieper River, no one could ignore them.

However, only [-] of the long ships belonged to the Grand Duke of Kyiv, and the others were merchant ships following the Grand Duke northward, but Rostislav wanted to make the momentum bigger so that the residents along the coast could see the momentum of the Grand Duke of New Ross.

The merchants are very willing to follow the Grand Duke to go north. Although the Grand Duke has carried out several waves of raids on the bandits, instability still exists, and everyone still wants to follow the powerful team.

Rostislav raised the flags of all the ships, and all the sails were raised, and the front of the ships was covered with heavily armed soldiers, showing off their power to both sides.

And this did achieve the effect Rostislav wanted. The speed of news spread was much faster than the speed of Rostislav's fleet. Therefore, Rostislav often found that the shore was full of people watching Rostislav. Slavic army.

This is exactly the effect that the new Grand Duke of Kyiv wants. Nothing can show momentum like boasting of force.

Rostislav stopped in only two cities along the way, Chernihiv and Smolensk.

In Chernihiv, Rostislav went to see the Cathedral of the Epiphany, which was no less than Kyiv's Hagia Sophia, prayed there, and radiated goodwill to the city.

Then the Grand Duke met Jan and asked him about the situation in the Chernihiv area. Rostislav was very concerned about this area, after all, it was the second largest city in Southern Ross.

Yang said that everything is under control, but it will take time for the city and its subordinate areas to truly belong.

Rostislav expressed his relief. Among the commanders deployed in Zhucheng, he was only relieved of Yang. His comrade-in-arms, Jian Faxiao, was the only one he thought he could entrust with the policy and let him implement it independently.

Rostislav told Jan to set up the Chernihiv Battalion in Chernihiv, to strengthen his control over the area, and to show goodwill to the locals and win them under his command.

Next came Smolensk. While waiting for the ship to be transported to the northern river by dry land, Rostislav had a long talk with Jan's father, Veshata, his uncle who was always wise and profound, He needs the advice of Veshatta.

The mayor of Smolensk first congratulated Rostislav on gaining power, and then discussed the implementation and rationality of some policies with the Grand Duke of Kyiv. Rostislav came to see him for this.

At present, what Rostislav wants to do is to establish a military service list in various places in Ross. The so-called military service list is to count the males who can participate in the war and equip equipment.

And Veshatta's suggestion is to establish such a roster in some areas. For example, Moscow is a very suitable place. At present, all parts of Ross are not long under the rule of Rostislav.

The military service list seems to be just a statistics of the national manpower, but every noble and businessman will realize that this is a violation of their power. This is not something that Rostislav can do now. It will be much better after five or six years of rule. up.

Rostislav was persuaded by Veshata, and he felt that this was also feasible. The Grand Duke of Kyiv sent an envoy to Moscow at that time, asking Vanigo, who now rules that town, to register in the military service list. Conducted.

After bidding farewell to Uncle Veshata, Rostislav came to his destination, which was Novgorod.

The mayor of Gavrila gave a grand welcome to his master, but Rostislav left here after consulting the military and financial records of Novgorod during the recent period, and his purpose of going north was not here.

Then went to a place, and this is Ivangorod.

Ivangorod, this emerging city is becoming more and more prosperous. Although its history is short and the city was founded less than five years ago, the resources in Kyiv are tilted, the export of salted fish is developing rapidly, and the city's trade is increasingly prosperous , it has become a small city with a population of 3000, and all kinds of facilities have been built very well.

This place is also a manifestation of Rostislav power, exerting influence from the grand dukes on Northern Rus.

However, Rostislav made a special trip to the north not to see how the salted fish was selling. He came mainly because the shipyard in Ivangorod recently produced something that Rostislav had been longing for for a long time—Kirk Boat.

The task of developing the Kirk ship was actually carried out as early as when Rostislav was a simple prince of Moscow. Rostislav had hired people to explore and build some simple small boats to test the rationality of the structure.

But at that time, Rostislav didn't invest too much in these explorations. After all, Moscow didn't need a navy very much at that time.

When Ivangorod laid the first cornerstone, Rostislav gathered all the shipwrights that could be found in the Baltic Sea region, and let them work with those explorers to start real shipbuilding, big ships.

According to the vague memories of later generations, Rostislav told the shipwrights about the appearance of the ship and the method of making it, but it was a pity that Rostislav could not understand these craftsmen at all with just a few words. The statement is trial and error one by one.

But this is much better than nothing. It is better to have an idea than not to know anything and have to fumble directly.

They produced a lot of failed products, but fortunately, the most indispensable thing in the north is wood, so the cost is still acceptable, but Rostislav became impatient after the number of times.

It has been four years since the manufacture, and Rostislav even abandoned the idea for a while, and thought about whether to cancel the project.

Fortunately, these researchers are still up to the mark. After consuming a lot of resources, they produced the results for Rostislav, the Kirk ship he wanted.

Rostislav, accompanied by Ivangorod Mayor Roman, inspected the Kirk ship, which was built strictly according to the Grand Duke's description.

The ship has a total length of 30 meters and a width of eight meters. It has only one mast and is located in the center of the hull to spread out the rectangular sails, and there are shooting platforms like the top of a tower at the front and rear.

Rostislav was very satisfied with this ship. Whether it was fighting or transporting cargo, the Kirk ship was undoubtedly better than the long ship.

In history, such ships were the main force of the Hanseatic League. They supported the trade in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, as well as the Hanseatic maritime hegemony.

Rostislav was very happy, he saw the future of Ross's Baltic hegemony, and his Baltic trade alliance, the glory is beckoning to him.

He immediately invested more resources in Ivangorod, and the city no longer had to pay taxes, and all resources were invested in reproduction.

In addition, he asked the city to give him a fleet of Kirk ships within three years, the number of which should not be less than ten, and this fleet would allow Ross to establish an advantage in the Baltic Sea.

Roman readily agreed to this. With Ivangorod's current level, it is really more than enough to build ten Kirk ships in three years.

A powerful fleet is the foundation of establishing Baltic hegemony, which is why Ross did not start the expansion of Baltic hegemony and establish a trade alliance. Without a strong fleet, all this is just a dream.

And even if it is established, it is just a wedding dress for people.

After spending some time in Ivangorod and Novgorod to make sure the land was functioning properly and without problems, Rostislav left for Moscow.

In any case, this land of Longxing has to be taken a good look at, the people above are also looking forward to seeing their Grand Duke.

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(End of this chapter)