king of ros

Chapter 489 Mercenary Agreement
Under the watchful eyes of the guards, Alexios was able to enter Rostislav's camp and meet the famous Grand Duke, Rostislav Vladimirovich.

In the Eastern Empire, most of the impressions of the northern lord came from "The Road Through the West Sea". The public image of Rostislav in the imperial capital is a northern chief who is good at writing.

But those military nobles knew more about Rostislav. Most of them had read Rostislav's "Journey in the Army" long ago, and absorbed the military knowledge contained in that documentary novel.

No matter where in the world, the principles of war are universal, so the documentary "Military Journey" can be used as a war education book to a certain extent.

Alexios naturally read Rostislav's works in the same way, and he went a step further. Rostislav's four works now, "The Biography of Yaroslav", "The Trailblazer of the Forest", "Journey in the Army" and He has read "The Road to the West Sea", and he was surprised by Grand Duke Ross's historical research methods, and he likes Rostislav's writing very much.

Of course, it is more important to understand the society in the north through Rostislav’s brushstrokes, and understand the grand duke Rostislav. The relationship between the empire and Ross is very close, and there is nothing wrong with knowing more about it.

But he didn't want to take it anyway, so he met the Grand Duke of Ross, the monarch of Kyiv, and the king of Ross.

Alexius was not surprised the first time he saw Rostislav. After reading Rostislav's works, he had already outlined a typical "civilized barbarian" image for the Grand Duke in his heart. , and that's exactly what he was dressed for.

Rostislav is dressed in a typical northern monarch's dress. Under the expensive fur is a thick chain mail, as if he will go to the battlefield in the next moment, but his temperament is gentle and elegant, exuding the atmosphere of a literati .

Alexios had only seen a person with such a temperament on the campus of the University of Constantinople before. Such a temperament made him involuntarily have a sense of intimacy in his heart, because it proved that the other party was also a person who was accustomed to civilization rather than destruction. people, which means they will have a lot in common.

But he didn't relax because of this. The Grand Duke Ross in front of him is by no means easy to deal with. While saluting, he conceived the script that he might encounter next in his mind to prepare for the conversation.

While Alexios was looking at Rostislav, Rostislav was also looking at the young Komnenos Emperor in front of him while returning the salute. The monarch of the empire now stands before him humbly.

But Rostislav did not despise the person in front of him because of this, he is Alexios, that natural political animal, facing such a cunning and cunning guy, he can't relax all the time.

Afterwards, the two monarchs just looked at each other in the big camp. Neither of them spoke, and the others did not dare to make any moves. They could only wait silently. The atmosphere seemed quite delicate for a while.

Finally, Alexios took the lead to break the silence, "May the Lord bless you, Lord Rostislav, why did you come to the south?"

The corner of Rostislav's mouth couldn't help showing a smile. Since he didn't launch an attack or arrest him, the leader of the rebel army, it was very obvious why he came here.

Originally, Rostislav’s plan was to blackmail Alexios, who had captured the imperial capital, but when he came to the south, he discovered that Emperor Komnenos should have captured that city long ago, but in fact But he was still trapped in front of the city wall.

That being the case, the policy of doing things next has to be changed, and most importantly, now it seems that he may be going to do something that he has never even thought about.

But there is a saying that the drama still has to be sung after all, and everyone has to pretend to say what should be said.

"God bless, of course I am here to support the real emperor, His Majesty Alexios."

Rostislav emphasized the pronunciation of the word "Your Majesty", which is already a direct statement of position.

Although Alexios was well aware of this, he was still uncontrollably excited. When he needed it most, a Ross army came like this. How could this not make him excited?

Of course, Alexios is also very clear that it is impossible for the Ross people to do charity. If he wants to get the help of the Ross people, he must pay a price, but as long as he can sit on the throne, no matter what price he pays. worth it.

"Of course, Your Majesty Alexios, my [-] troops are not free. You need to pay a price for hiring us. How about giving us the holy relics of Constantinople?"

Rostislav went straight to the point, and then he threw out a condition that could not be agreed, and the purpose of throwing out this condition was very simple-it meant that the negotiation had begun.

"Of course it's impossible, Grand Duke."

Alexios said firmly, but looking at his eyes, Rostislav knew that he was on the right track, and then he just needed to continue to negotiate the terms.

This kind of thing is so troublesome, they can't get straight to the point with each other, they need to keep talking nonsense and making riddles, but as long as the other party is also knowledgeable, then the matter will be easy to handle.

Then they spent an hour making the impossible possible, then they spent another hour making the possible possible, and then spent two full hours making the impossible possible. Strive for more benefits for yourself.

The argument between Rostislav and Alexios surprised every onlooker. The two of them hadn't eaten anything for four hours, at most they had red wine to moisten their throats, and they were full of energy the whole time.

And just after such negotiations, they reached a final agreement.

Because Alexios is actually at a disadvantage, the Greeks paid a lot in this agreement. Alexios needs to pay Rostislav a sufficient amount of gold and silver after becoming emperor-as for how to define this amount , then it depends on the situation after breaking the imperial capital - then some holy relics must be handed over, among which there must be a holy relic left by Jesus himself, and then there are trade tax exemptions and some trade privileges for Ross merchants, And the emperor contracted the logistics of these 2 people.

What Alexios will get is [-] troops to fight for him. Rostislav promises that he will take Constantinople for the emperor, and Rostislav will pay for Alexios at a relatively low price. This is a long-term contract, because Rostislav knows very well that Alexios needs mercenaries after he becomes emperor.

After signing the contract, no matter how red-faced the two were fighting for various conditions before, but at this moment, both of them had smiles on their faces, as if they were the best allies. As for how the two looked at each other behind their backs, That's another story.

"That Rostislav, really knows how to do it."

This is what Alexios said after returning to the camp, because although Rostislav's requirements seem harsh, they are actually within the range of Alexios' acceptance. How much is easy to handle.

As for trade tax exemptions and trade privileges, they are actually just making the capital less profitable. Don’t forget that Kyiv has always been a supplier of raw materials for the capital, and the capital can still make a lot of money.

That's why Alexios said that Rostislav was right in the cracks, because what he wanted was the limit of the privileges that the Ross people could get, that is to say, even if Alexios made the empire glorious again, the possibility of these privileges being abolished not big.

But Alexios didn't understand why that Rostislav was so sure that he could become emperor, but he didn't think about it in the end. Anyway, since he came to provide strength, he sent this to him Use your strength.

The news about the Ross army joining Alexios also spread quickly. The joining of [-] Ross people will undoubtedly make the turmoil in Alexios army disappear without a trace, and even more neutrals will choose Joined the emperor's army.

No one is surprised by the joining of foreign races. I don’t know how many such things have happened in the history of the empire. It is never considered shameful to use the power of barbarians. On the contrary, it is a manifestation of wisdom.

And Rostislav's army, as agreed, came to the city of Constantinople, facing this huge fortified city unique in the Christian world.

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(End of this chapter)