After a long day of official duties, Rostislav always likes to go to a high place and overlook the city that can be said to have been built by him.
The first thing the prince saw was the inner city of Moscow. At this moment, several brick towers stood proudly. This was a very rare sight in Northeast Russia. It once surprised the people, but now it is commonplace.
Parts of the wooden walls in the inner city have begun to be demolished, and the next brick wall is under construction.
These towers and walls were designed by a German named Robert, a bearded Catholic who is now Moscow's great engineer.
This Germanic man also had a difficult fate. He was forced to leave his hometown due to persecution and wandered around Europe, building castles for local lords and learning the architectural art of various places.
He traveled to many places, including France, Spain, Italy, and even Byzantium. He worked in these areas and at the same time learned all the local construction techniques worth learning.
But just when he left the imperial capital, he unfortunately encountered a group of Russian pirates, and was taken to the northern land as a slave and sold to the slave market in Nuo City.
Because he didn't speak the local language, no one noticed his skills. Rostislav discovered that he was also lucky, because this man was locked in a cage and had nothing to do, drawing drawings on the ground. They were very complicated engineering drawings, which made him
The prince discovered his abilities.
Rostislav bought him and found that he had found a treasure. This man was versed in Byzantine and Italian architectural techniques, which was the style that the prince wanted to learn.
Rostislav told him that he could use architectural design to redeem himself, and the Germans would naturally not let go of such an opportunity.
So he became a great engineer in Moscow. The prince had only one request, which was to add a little bit of Ross's style to the original technology as much as possible.
The inner city is still very wide, and there are still large tracts of open space. This is the construction land prepared for the future. Rostislav is very much looking forward to filling this place with buildings designed by Robert in the future.
After seeing the inner city, the next step is the outer city. Today is the market day in Moscow this month. Farmers outside the city bring a large amount of agricultural products to the city to sell in exchange for the handicrafts they need.
Now the streets of Moscow are crowded with people, and citizens are everywhere bargaining with vendors. Caravans loaded with goods advance in an orderly manner on the streets. Vicher's soldiers maintain order while looking at the colorful lights around them.
Various sounds come together to form a symphony called prosperity.
Rostislav liked this scene very much. He finally gave this barbaric land some civilized atmosphere.
And with this scene in mind, Rostislav personally ordered the chairs to be brought in, and he was about to start creating.
Many things happened in these four months, and these things made the burden on the prince of Moscow instantly lighten, and also allowed him to start doing his own hobbies.
Negotiations with the Bulgars have been completed, and the captives were sent back after the ransom arrived.
Rostislav still remembers the scene when he was calculating the ransom that day. Boxes and boxes of silver dirham coins and silver ingots were placed in front of him, which was simply a sea of silver.
With this money, Rostislav's construction pressure was relieved. This money promptly covered the shortfall caused by the start-up expenses and the war, and provided compensation to relatives.
After spending all this money, the prince's funds were still very abundant.
As for those who had no one to redeem them, they were the Fens and nomads who joined the army. The prince screened them.
Some of the peaceful ones who were willing to obey were all dispersed in the settlements centered on Moscow, while the other hard-line ones were sold through Abdul.
The Seljuk dignitaries inherited the habits of the Abbasid Dynasty and also liked to purchase foreign slaves to serve as guards. These slaves would have a great market in the south.
Thinking of Abdul, Rostislav couldn't help but sigh. This businessman relied on one speculation to make him extremely wealthy.
Abdul's current net worth has increased ten times compared to when he first came to Northeastern Rus. Moreover, he still has more than 300 slaves. If he sells these people, it will be a huge fortune.
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The Persian merchant has been away from Rus for several months, and when he returns he will bring the talents the prince needs.
Rostislav is looking forward to that moment. Although Northeastern Russia is prosperous, there are still many talent gaps.
But in general, these are not urgent. What is needed now is time, waiting for everything he has arranged to be implemented over time.
Whether it is implementing the union system, controlling rural areas, or building infrastructure, all these can only take time.
After the burden on his shoulders was so much lighter, the prince naturally picked up his pen and continued his writing.
The prince of Moscow is currently recording his pioneering history. The prince has recorded all the major and minor affairs since he came to Northeastern Rus in 1053. His purpose of writing this book is very simple, which is to leave a reference for this period of history for future generations.
This will be a very long job, because in the eyes of the Prince of Moscow, it will take at least ten years to complete the work.
So on the other hand, this is also the diary of the prince of Moscow, recording the history of opening up this wilderness.
What the Prince of Moscow is writing now is the story of Varin. The story of this castle lord is a typical example of a commoner getting rich. The civilian made meritorious deeds and was granted a land, and then he had a castle and a beloved wife. Then he lost his life because of his resistance to the invaders.
More land was acquired.
Rostislav is thinking whether Varin's story should be spread and encourage people to come to Northeastern Rus to start a business and develop. After all, such a story is really inspiring and can be set up as a model.
The prince did not write for long. After all, although he wrote this on a daily basis to some extent, it was not really a diary. What he recorded were all kinds of influential things, not things like what he ate today.
Putting the books on the other side, the prince picked up a frontier epic from the imperial capital and started reading to pass the time. This was from the batch of books given to him by his grandfather and third uncle.
The so-called frontier epic describes the war between the warriors on the eastern border of the Eastern Empire and the fanatical Arab Ghazi. This is a literary form that is very popular in the Southern Empire.
Although the whole book is written in Greek, it does not affect the prince's reading. He has been learning this language since he was a child.
But the more he read, the more the prince frowned, because the content of this book was all kinds of wild and unrestrained, and full of vulgar and erotic plots. It was not so much a frontier literature as it was a frontier in the eyes of the intellectuals of the imperial capital.
Thinking of this, the prince couldn't help but think of Kiev.