As the mother of cities in Russia, Kiev has always been the most prosperous place in Russia, so every prince of Rurik wants to become the ruler of Kiev.
And even if they cannot return to Kiev, they will use Kiev as a blueprint to build the city.
While they were doing this, the culture from Kiev also spread locally, and the Rus nation was also formed during this spread.
It can be said that the spread of Russian culture is closely related to Prince Rurik. The Russians themselves are a nation that lacks culture and cultural groups. If you want to spread the culture of Kiev, you can only use these to grow up in Kiev.
Kiev served as a template for building the city as a foundation for the princes.
A paradox arises here. If Prince Rurik is not enfeoffed to various places and does not establish cultural and ideological unity, then the Rus nation will not be formed, and complete division will be very easy to come.
And if the prince of Rurik is divided into various places, it will certainly lead to the political fragmentation of Rus, but a national community in consciousness will remain.
Rostislav is also very confused about this problem. Although he has a bureaucratic group, this group cannot even fill Moscow and its surrounding areas, and he does not know how to solve this problem.
But the focus at the moment is not this, but the current Kiev.
As the ruler of Kiev, Ijaslav Yaroslavich Rurik should have been the least troubled person in Russia.
All of Russia surrendered under his authority, and all the princes paid tribute to Kiev (through the caravan division). Countless gold and silver entered his treasury every year, and his army was the most powerful in the entire Russia.
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But now, he is suffering in Vladimir Palace, sitting on Yaroslav's throne and suffering.
Yaroslav's palace has changed a lot over the years. If the Vladimir Palace used to be like the residence of a scholar-type ruler, where books and cultural relics could always be seen, then now it just looks like an ordinary ruler.
The decoration of the palace is mediocre and boring.
Since he became the Grand Duke of Kiev in these years, Izyaslav's power has become stronger and stronger. The momentum that was once only seen in his father Yaroslav has now gained a lot. Now he is more like the Grand Duke of Kiev.
The reason that troubled him was simple. What happened in the north last month was so dizzying, and the relationships inside were so intricate.
First, Vseslav's army from Polotsk unexpectedly attacked Novgorod, then his son fled the city, and then his nephew saved the city and was elected Prince of Novgorod.
There were many things that Izyaslav did not expect. He did not expect that Vseslav would directly attack Novgorod, he did not expect that his son would directly abandon the city, and he did not expect that his nephew would react so quickly.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Novgorod was captured.
At first, Ijaslav doubted whether there was any conspiracy, but as the information increased, his thoughts disappeared, and then he felt a headache and shame again.
"So, what do you think?"
A meeting was held today to discuss this matter. The dignitaries of the Grand Duke of Kiev's court are all here now. Originally they were still whispering secretly, but as the Grand Duke spoke, they immediately became quiet.
The first person to speak was Izyaslav's eldest son, Yaropolk.
"Father, we should ask Rostislav to give up Novgorod immediately. It should be the property of the Grand Duke of Kiev. We are fully qualified to get our property back. After he gives it up, we can go to Polotsk.
"
As the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Kiev and the future Grand Duke of Kiev, Yaropolk sees Kiev and Novgorod as his family's natural property, so he naturally wants to ask for Rostislav. The most they can give Rostislav is some
A reward, but the city would never give it to him.
Faced with his answer, the Grand Duke of Kiev shook his head in disappointment. Either he was talking in these scenes or chanting scriptures. According to the scriptures, all heretics would have died. It seems that this child still needs some experience.
Noticing the disappointment of the Grand Duke, Kosniyachik, the steward of Kiev, immediately spoke. This was the most important figure in the Kiev court, in charge of the city's military and administration, and was Izyaslav's most trusted subordinate.
"After all, Rostislav's election as Prince of Novgorod is reasonable and legal. It is difficult for us to find fault... Grand Duke, I suggest that things in Novgorod should be slowed down. The key now is not Novgorod."
Gorod, it is time to attack the rebellion in Polotsk. It is time to use your authority to summon the entire Russian army and let the rebellion see your power."
The old official's answer was extraordinary. He grasped the key to the question right from the start. The Kiev chief's answer made the Grand Duke nod with satisfaction. This was the answer he wanted to hear.
Originally, he thought his son could tell these things, but instead he was chanting sutras there, and ended up having to ask his court officials to come here to smooth things over, lest he end up in the position of having to explain himself.
As Ijaslav thought about it, he couldn't help but look at his son with disappointment. If the manager hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been embarrassed in front of everyone.
Yaropolk still looked confused, and he was unhappy because his father ignored him.
This made the Grand Duke feel even more troubled. Why couldn't this boy be like Rostislav? It was clear that the Prince of Moscow was only a few years older than him. Why was his nephew so powerful while his own son was still like this?
"Then just do what Kosniyachik said. Controller, go ahead and issue the order to my brothers. There is no need for Rostislav. The kid must have been preparing. Okay, then
Everyone except Yaropolk can retreat."
The Governor of Kiev left immediately after receiving the order. Following him, other people in the room also moved quickly, because everyone could see what the Grand Duke wanted to say to his son.
"Father, I don't understand, why don't you go and get Novgorod back? It's obviously our family's property! Didn't my grandfather give it all to us?"
As soon as the court members left, Yaropolk complained to his father, why did his father just ignore him? He had never been like this before.
In response to this, Ijaslav looked like he had a toothache. How come this kid doesn't understand anything, and why is he still saying these meaningless words here?
Yaropolk was also inexplicable. His father first ignored his own advice, and then agreed to the manager's suggestion that was contrary to his. This was really inexplicable, so he became angry and got angry directly at his father.
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"That's enough, haven't you figured out what's going on?"
Ijaslav, who has always been good-tempered, finally got angry and yelled at his son.
After being yelled at like this, Yaropolk finally became honest. No matter how old he is, a child is still a child, and he will subconsciously cower in the face of his father's anger.
And he knew that his father had always had a good temper, and if he got angry, it meant that he was really angry, and he had better keep his head down.
"It is completely reasonable for your cousin to take Novgorod. This time it was your brother who was too useless, which made us fall into such a dilemma. Now we can only recognize Rostislav's throne. And this is not
The most important thing now is to suppress the rebels in Polotsk!"
The Grand Duke of Kiev rubbed his temples to relieve his head that felt heavy due to anger. He didn't want to do this to his children, but if he didn't do it now, when would he do it? Should he let their mother who always defended them do it?
"The blatant war in Polotsk is the number one problem. As the Grand Duke of Kiev and the defender of order in Russia, what I should do is lead the army to encircle and suppress this guy as soon as possible. Do you understand? This is related to the family's safety in the whole of Russia.
Authority, if we can't even do this, then don't be the Grand Duke of Kiev. So do you still think Novgorod is important? Don't be stupid! What's important now is to destroy Polotsk! How can you even
I don’t even realize this!”
Under Izyaslav's series of reprimands, the dissatisfaction on Yaropolk's face disappeared. The Kiev prince realized that his father was right, even though he was reluctant to admit it.
"Moreover, Mstislav's performance was too embarrassing, which greatly damaged the family's prestige. Now go to your brother and ask him to prepare for battle. I am very dissatisfied with his performance in Novgorod, very dissatisfied.
I hope he can perform well in the next battle, understand?"
The Grand Duke of Kiev finally said this, and this time Yaropolk did not have any aura of going against the bull. He then expressed his agreement to his father just like his father's subordinates.
Then Izyaslav asked his son to leave. This time his son obeyed the order honestly, and watching his son leave, the Grand Duke of Kiev did not feel any looser in his heart because of the obedience he showed. His two adult children
My son's behavior is so... sad. What should I do in the future?
In comparison, Vladimir (referring to the protagonist's father)'s son is so outstanding, Izyaslav is really in tears. I can only hope that this kid can grow up in the future, otherwise they will inherit in their current state.
In his own position, Ijaslav couldn't even imagine what would happen.
However, his depression did not last long. Ijaslav was not a person who was immersed in emotions for a long time. Then he collected his emotions and started working again. The war was about to start, and things would start to increase immediately.