On the way back, Rostislav also inspected the fortresses built along the way.
These fortresses and city walls were related to Rostislav's national strategy, so the Muscovite princes spent a lot of energy on them.
Especially Nizhny Novgorod, this walled city with a town as its construction goal is the core of Russia's eastward expansion.
It was also for this reason that Rostislav handed over the management of this place to the third son of the Serikhov family. The third son was already known for his coordination and management. By the way, he also solved the family inheritance problem for the family, leaving the old Serikhov to leave.
Such a headache.
The establishment of Nizhny Novgorod marked the end of the settlement of the tribes between Rus and Bulgar. The surrounding tribes also defected due to the power of Rostislav, which meant that the collection of furs, beeswax and other materials
The increase in collection volume means that more money can be made from selling.
During the few days when Rostislav was stationed in Nizhny Novgorod, the local Malians and Mordovans expressed their surrender to the Prince of Moscow, sent a large number of furs, and declared that they would always be loyal to the Prince of Moscow and the Prince of Moscow.
his descendants.
And Rostislav did not listen to their beautiful words, because he knew that the beautiful words were useless. He just made a request to these tribes, asking that as long as he, Rostislav and his descendants were still ruling, then they would have priority in selling furs.
Sold to the Russians.
The requirements of the Prince of Moscow were not harsh, and the chiefs naturally agreed readily. Moreover, the current general trend is that the Russians have completely surpassed the Bulgars. If they don't do business with the Russians, who will they do business with? The tribal dignitaries also have to do business with them.
The materials collected by ordinary tribesmen are exchanged for iron tools and handicrafts.
Before leaving Nizhny Novgorod, Rostislav left another five hundred immigrants here. Most of these people were farmers who felt that Nizhny Novgorod was full of development opportunities, and the prince was already using preferential treatment to attract people.
Immigrants, they simply took the Bulgar women they snatched or bought and took root in the local area, strengthening the power of the city.
Shortly after leaving Nizhny Novgorod, the Russian army entered the territory of Northeastern Rus and returned to its hometown. From this moment on, the winter army began to disintegrate.
This disintegration happened faster than Rostislav thought. As they got closer to Russia, there were more and more rumors about the chaos, and the soldiers changed from not believing it at all to becoming more and more convinced.
After entering Northeastern Rus, they saw those scenes with their own eyes, so naturally they had to believe it or not, because the facts were right in front of them.
After learning about the chaos, their first reaction was naturally to go home and take a look. This was the case for ordinary soldiers and the same for vassals.
At this moment, Rostislav simply told everyone everything he knew and the current situation in Northeast China.
During this period, as the winter army got closer and closer to Moscow, Rostislav obtained more and more complete information, so he knew which vassal's castle was destroyed and which vassal's castle was still holding on.
As for the various types of armed forces, the attitude of the princes of Moscow is still the same. You can leave if you want and will never stop you.
When they heard that the walled city was still there, the vassals naturally led their troops to help in a hurry. As for the ones that were gone, they could only stay in Rostislav's army because the prince of Moscow promised compensation, and these compensations made them stay.
.
Then, Rostislav led a large army to encircle and suppress all gangs and rebels along the road.
Facing the huge Rostislav army, whether it was the Veles Gang, the Eyegouging Gang, or various bandits who simply wanted to rob, they all had no choice but to collapse and disintegrate.
Under the strength of the Moscow army, a large number of bandits were suppressed, executed, and their bodies were hung on the roadside.
Of course, the massacre of rebel villages was indispensable, and Rostislav was ruthless in matters of rule, killing the traitors with heads rolling, letting them know how powerful Moscow's swords were.
During the absence of the Prince of Moscow, the road network that originally covered Northeast Rus was greatly affected. Pedestrians and caravans who could have traveled safely on it suddenly found that the road was full of bandits.
Even the cities and villages that were originally built along the roads to maintain the condition and safety of the roads were destroyed. Most of them were burned to ashes, and some were turned into bases for bandit exploitation.
After realizing that the Moscow army was consciously clearing the roads in Northeastern Russia, the smarter gangs immediately ran into the woods, and the prince of Moscow did not pursue them, which undoubtedly caused more people to run away.
But there are fools among smart people, and these fools swarmed into the roadside fortress they occupied. They planned to defend the fortress and thwart the advance of the Ross army.
For Rostislav, this was naturally a great thing. If someone took the initiative to give him a head to establish his authority, he could not accept it generously.
The attack process was very simple. Rostislav asked German engineers to tie iron chains to the crossbow arrows, and then shot the crossbow arrows on the wooden wall of the walled city, and then dozens of cattle and horses pulled them desperately under whips.
, directly pulling down wooden walls.
Let alone what happened after the wooden wall was pulled down, the Moscow army went straight in and easily killed all the gangsters inside, and there was no loss because these people lost their battle the moment the wall was pulled down.
I can only wait there to be slaughtered.
Next, Rostislav ordered his soldiers to cut hundreds of heads on the surviving outer wall of the original city wall. Since the city wall was at the heart of the road traffic, it was chosen as the center of exploitation by these bandits.
, so now visitors from all directions can see these heads and see the power of the Prince of Moscow.
With the news of Rostislav's return and his massive suppression along the roads, the road network in Northeastern Rus quickly calmed down. Rebel bandits from all walks of life were moving into the forest to avoid the army that had returned victoriously from Bulgar.
The cutting of the rebel forces has been temporarily completed.
Exchanges between the cities also became more frequent because of the victory. Armies from various places were cooperating with each other to suppress the rebels in the countryside, and the trade that had been blocked was revived.
And the most important thing is that with the return of Rostislav, most of the people who took advantage of the general situation to cause chaos felt that it was almost over and it was time to stop. There would be no good end for going against that prince.
So it’s better to put everything away before he calls, and then go home honestly with the money.
Moreover, those who returned from Bulgar had bulging pockets and spent a lot of money. They were full of support for Rostislav and praise of Rostislav's team, which also caused many people to quit.
fighting.
Because of this, both the Veles Gang and the Eye-Gouging Gang are constantly losing manpower, slowly but surely, and they have no way to avoid it, so they are helpless about this.
It was in this general environment that Rostislav returned to Moscow, to the capital he had built, the center of Northeastern Rus'.
On the day of the prince's return, the whole of Moscow was rejoicing. Everyone was excited for the prince's return, and he also brought victory from afar and a large amount of loot.
The princes of Moscow generously sprinkled silver dirham coins from Bulgaria on the streets of Moscow. As the silver coins rolled, the people's mood was as high as theirs.
Moreover, Rostislav also announced that the expropriation will end, the war has been won! The war is over! There is no need for expropriation now.
For the people, this is the most closely related to their lives, so they cheer this order the most enthusiastically.
The returning soldiers also received a warm welcome, and they were treated like heroes, which is what they longed for.
But the most important thing is the stability that the prince's return brings to people's hearts. Everyone knows that with the return of the prince's team, Moscow will soon settle down, and the entire Northeastern Rus will soon settle down.