Led by Wallachian guides, the Russian army headed north, following the old path left by the Romans in the past. The existence of this road pointed the way forward for the Russians.
This road is said to have been built by Emperor Trajan to conquer the Kingdom of Dacia. It is the ancient Trajan's Military Road. This road has experienced thousands of years of baptism and lacks maintenance. Many parts of the road have become overgrown with grass. Once paved,
The bricks and stones have also disappeared, but the location of the avenue can still be vaguely distinguished.
This made Rostislav uncontrollably disappointed. He was originally quite curious about the ancient ways of Rome, but what he saw was a scene of overgrown grass. The great engineering and national power symbols of the past empire had completely declined in the hands of the barbarians.
"This is true. No empire lasts forever. The empire of the Romans eventually passed and will never return."
Looking at the neatly arranged Russian soldiers walking on the road covered with grass and corruption, Rostislav couldn't help but imagine the scene when they were still intact, how the imperial army marched on such a road, and how they
Conquer all directions.
"What you said is right. The residents of the southern imperial capital won't think that way. If they hear it, they might not immediately jump up and scold you."
When the Prince of Moscow was sighing with emotion, Vsevolod's voice intervened.
Rostislav's third uncle was riding a horse in an imperial-style robe. Compared with the advancing Russian soldiers behind him, he looked like a Roman general leading a barbarian mercenary army.
Svyatoslav rode behind his third uncle. He was still dressed in a standard Russian prince's attire, wearing a fur coat and a fur hat. The second uncle obviously had his own views on the empire in the south.
"The Greeks, they just continue to play the role of monarchs of the ancient empire in the ruins of the ruins. The people who have come and gone on the throne of the imperial capital in the past hundred years are just miserable Greek kings."
The second uncle's disdain for the emperor of the imperial capital was palpable. His eyes were shining with a light called ambition. He did not put the ancient empire in his eyes at all.
And he also spoke of a Greek. Words such as Greek King were the most likely to highlight the Eastern Empire. It would not be hundreds of years later. In this era, a single word of Greek title would be enough to cause a diplomatic accident.
"The future belongs to us 'barbarians' after all. Sooner or later the fallen empire of the Greeks will collapse. At that time we will show the glory of God and let the Lord's eternal kingdom come, not those Greeks who are good at conspiracy. They will only
Use money to solve problems and not dare to fight.”
When he said these words, the enthusiasm on Svyatoslav's expression became more and more obvious. It was obvious that his uncle, the Messiah (savior), had a serious plot.
Rostislav couldn't help but take another look at his uncle. He didn't expect him to be so disdainful of the Eastern Empire, but his self-regard as the Messiah was in line with his religious piety.
In addition, considering the second uncle's admiration for the Bulgarian Emperor Simon the Great and his love for the Bulgarian priests and the articles they wrote, it is not surprising to have such an attitude. Those Bulgarians and articles would not have a good look on the empire in the imperial capital.
As for that point of view, it is a bit of a rehash. About the Eastern Empire being destroyed due to decay and depravity, these things have been said for hundreds of years.
When the Arabs conquered the country, they were talking about its demise. The empire has been destroyed for hundreds of years, but it persists until now.
However, I believe that if my second uncle could see the current situation of the Eastern Empire twenty years later, he might think that he had been inspired by the apocalypse.
At that time, the Eastern Empire was almost on the verge of collapse. These words were almost coming true, and the demise of this ancient country seemed to be imminent.
"Maybe, uncle, but I don't think the southern imperial city will collapse so quickly. Its glory may last another hundred years."
Through the collapse of the Eastern Empire, Rostislav thought of the hero who saved the country from collapse. The dynasty he founded allowed this living fossil of ancient history to continue gloriously for another hundred years.
"Uncles, I think it's better for us to move forward."
The prince of Moscow shook his head and put the thoughts away from his mind. The Southern Empire was still too far away from him. He would probably not be able to intervene in things there until he became the Grand Duke of Kiev. Next, he should focus on his feet.
Then Rostislav and his two uncles rode side by side, and the Prince of Moscow changed the subject to something else.
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Following the old Roman route, the Russian army quickly crossed the southern Carpathian Mountains.
The mountains in this direction are obviously much lower than those in the north. It is easier and faster for them to pass through the mountain passes. There is not so much snow, and the roads are much easier to walk.
In addition, it was already 1061 when they passed. Finally, in the first week of 1061, the Rus reached the land of Hungary and arrived in this country of nomads.
After crossing the Carpathian Mountains, they arrived at the later-famous Transylvania, a land closely connected with the symbol of vampires.
However, after passing through Wallachia, Rostislav had no interest in this land. It was just a gloomy land, so he might as well continue to conceive of the novel.
This is a land where you can see hills everywhere. It would be quite troublesome to walk without roads, but they are walking along the old Roman roads. The situation of the old Roman roads here is not much better than that in the south, but at least it is a bit different.
It seems that after all, local residents still use this road to some extent, and at least it is still somewhat maintained.
The local residents were poor and indifferent, just like those in Wallachia. These people were not Magyars, but conquered locals.
This land has not been devastated by the civil war. It remains mild and peaceful, and agricultural production continues smoothly.
However, the impact of the war was still felt, as evidenced by the soldiers running around collecting supplies.
In their words, the civil war seemed to break out again in the next moment. It seemed that even if the war ended, the local lords would have to take this opportunity to give the peasants a blow.
This made Rostislav sigh repeatedly. He didn't expect that he could continue to shave like this.
The residents here were also very indifferent to the Russian army, as were the local lords. However, after learning about their victory over the Pechenegs, the locals became much more enthusiastic and hurriedly sent gifts.
This was Rostislav's idea. Hungary was also a land invaded by the Pechenegs. For the locals, nothing was more exciting than those nomads being taken care of.
So they spent a lot of money to hire local poets and asked them to write poems to praise their achievements. However, what Rostislav did not expect was that the news spread faster than he imagined - this is a story for another day.
The local Magyar lords were more enthusiastic. Along the way, Rostislav and others basically had to enjoy banquets when they met Magyar lords, and the banquets at the level of governors were even more grand.
Bela ordered the Magyar lords to warmly entertain the Russian guests who came from afar, so that they could feel the enthusiasm of the Magyar country and the power of the king.
And the lords did do this, even those who were non-violent and non-cooperative with Bella. After all, most of them warmly entertained the guests who came from afar. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you not to entertain them?
Rostislav has lost count of how many Hungarian delicacies and wines he has tasted during this period, and how many local nobles he has had a good drink with.
Many people's gratitude was sincere, and the spread of the news about the Russians' crusade against the Pechenegs made many Magyar lords very happy.
In this farewell atmosphere, the Russians also relaxed their vigilance. After all, this is a friendly land.
It was also here that many merchants and princes parted ways. Now that they had arrived in Hungary, they were going to sell their goods.
The uncles were even more complacent when faced with the flattering Hungarian nobles. Rostislav still remembered that his uncle kept bragging about his reputation, and the nobles also launched bursts of flattery in time.
And amid such joy, they left Transylvania and entered the Pannonian Plain, a land populated by the Magyars.