king of ros

Chapter 446 Trade Conference
While the war in the south was in full swing, the ruler of Kyiv left his city and once again traveled north to Ivangorod.

The reason why he went to Ivangorod was very simple. His hegemony in the Baltic Sea was about to kick off, and the situation in Kyiv was generally stable, and his son had already been regent in Kyiv, so he could leave with confidence.

Ivangorod has established a fleet of thirteen Kirk ships, plus the original long ships and the ships that can be recruited, it is enough to come up with a large fleet of nearly a hundred ships.

This was the basis of Rostislav's maritime supremacy, and with this fleet he could do many things.

However, this fleet has not yet experienced the test of war, and its reliability is still unknown, but Rostislav is not worried. This number alone is enough to serve as the basis for Rostislav to build hegemony.

According to Rostislav's order, Roman, the mayor of Ivangorod, ordered this large fleet to visit various important ports along the Baltic Sea coast, saying that it was to escort merchant ships and make friendly visits, but in fact it was a show of force and strength.

And the effect of this forceful visit was very good, and the trading cities in the Baltic Sea suddenly realized that another strong player broke into the chess game, and the Grand Duke of Ross seemed to have a lot of ideas about the Baltic Sea.

Right now is the power vacancy period in the Baltic Sea. The still-formed Sweden is still busy with its internal affairs and has no ability to act externally. The two traditional Baltic powers, Norway and Denmark, are busy promoting domestic production, while the other is interested in the English crown.

This sea area finally calmed down because of the actions of these powers. At first, everyone thought that it would be quiet for a while, but now, another ferocious dragon crossing the river has arrived, and the sea has to be in a commotion again.

After a show of force, Rostislav sent envoys to the Baltic trading powers, inviting them to send envoys to Ivangorod.

Rostislav has a big plan covering the entire Baltic Sea that needs to be discussed, which is related to the future of the entire trade network, so everyone is invited to come.

No matter what Rostislav's purpose is, everyone thinks that it is still necessary for them to listen to the thoughts of the Grand Duke of Ross. The will of this emerging powerful player cannot be ignored.

For a long time, Ross has only been a passive player in this trading system. Although there are quite a few ships, he seldom actively interferes with anything.

But now it seems that the Grand Duke Ross intends to change this reality, so it is even more important to see what this person thinks.

So Ivangorod quickly gathered envoys from all sides, Gotland, Bremen, Pomerania...even Denmark and Norway sent envoys.

Norway is even more important. The young king Olaf came in person, which shows that the king attaches great importance to it.

As a result, Ivangorod gathered a large number of ships, and all kinds of ships crowded the port trestles. If Rostislav had not ordered the construction of many trestles in advance for future expansion, otherwise so many ships would not be able to stop.

This town has already declared the ocean because of the export of salted fish. The local area has always been prosperous, and there is an endless stream of ships on the port, swallowing a large amount of goods every day. These experiences have also greatly helped the town managers to coordinate.

The King of Norway's fleet arrived with the greatest momentum, and King Olaf's own car was a Norwegian sea monster, a super long ship that no one in the north could match.

All kinds of flags and languages ​​float over this port city, making it look like the construction site of the Tower of Babel, and making the city look chaotic, after all, nearly three people have flooded into the city in a short period of time one-third of the population.

But the chaos ended with the arrival of Rostislav. The Grand Duke of Kyiv brought two hundred entourages and five hundred soldiers. No one dared to stand up.

With his arrival, everyone realized that the time for the meeting was coming, and now they could hear why the Grand Duke Ross called the meeting.

Soon, in the hall of Ivangorod, Rostislav held this meeting that brought together most of the Baltic forces.

The Grand Duke of Kyiv sat where the mayor of Roman used to sit, which was a well-made bench, and the next seat in Rostislav was envoys from various forces along the Baltic coast.

Olaf, the young Norwegian king, sits on Rostislav's left hand, showing his status as the only master.

"Everyone, everyone, I, Rostislav Vladimirovich of the Rurik family welcome you here, and thank you for giving me such a face."

Rostislav's opening remarks won a round of applause, but it was only because of his dignity as the Grand Duke of Ross, and what happened next would depend on what the Grand Duke said.

"And why, my lord Rostislav, have you summoned us?"

The person who asked the question was the envoy of Pomerania. This country has always been the key target of the Polish king, but they are also important participants in the Baltic Sea trade. It is precisely because of the benefits obtained in the trade that they can maintain the war with Poland. .

His question elicited a burst of response, and everyone still doesn't know why they came here.

Only King Olaf of Norway remained secure, for Rostislav had already confided with this kinsman.

"Quiet, quiet, my lords, next, let me show you my grand blueprint, a grand blueprint that will benefit everyone."

There was a strong temptation in Rostislav's words, which successfully attracted the attention of many people. They looked at the Grand Duke, hoping to hear what Rostislav would say.

"My suggestion is very simple, let us build a great trade alliance! Let's unite the forces of the entire Baltic Sea, and together we will fight against rampant piracy in the Baltic Sea, promote the development of trade routes, bring prosperity and peace, and let this This sea area will become a sea of ​​peace, and it will become a sea of ​​prosperity!"

Rostislav did not throw everything at first, but used the clearing of the sea route as bait.

When the Viking Age has not yet passed, pirates are still a huge problem that plagues the trade of various countries. Pirates of all nationalities are all over the Baltic Sea, destroying trade. These pirates have caused great harm to trade networks and destroyed trade. Development is a big problem facing everyone.

For small and medium-sized trading cities, Rostislav's suggestion is very tempting. They don't have much strength to face pirates, and those large forces actually have this demand. After all, they can't defend against such attacks.

And if the pirates in the Baltic Sea are wiped out, then everyone will benefit from it, but everyone still has no words, and they still have to wait for the real masters of the Baltic Sea trade to come, and they are the real leaders of the situation.

"Then Lord Rostislav, what should this trade alliance look like?"

The key question was posed by the German from Bremen, behind him was the Diocese of Hamburg-Bremen, a strong player in the northern trade, the Church of Kings of the North.

Rostislav focused on this man, Hamburg-Bremen is very important in his trading system, and the Grand Duke gave the German a friendly smile.

"We will establish the headquarters of the alliance in Ivangorod. My suggestion is that this alliance should be called a free trade alliance to defend the free trade rights of all participants. In order to better unify the participating countries, we will also open Preferential trade, reduce tariffs among participants, maintain peace and order in the Baltic Sea, and make this land more prosperous!"

Rostislav's words undoubtedly detonated a bomb among the crowd, because what Rostislav said plainly meant, "I want to be the lord of the Baltic Sea.", "I want to unify the trade of the entire Baltic Sea."

Rostislav spoke very frankly, he didn't want to hide it, and it was best to explain things clearly at the beginning, so as to avoid any problems afterwards.

Naturally, his words aroused strong opposition from important people in the trade circle, and the situation that followed became exciting.

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(End of this chapter)