When Kievan Rus regained its vitality under Rostislav's rule and slowly changed, a group of uninvited guests came to Rus, and their arrival was completely unexpected by Rostislav.
It was a fleet with a purple flag, much larger than the common longships in Russia. They docked at the port of Kiev, and a group of envoys dressed in classic Greek costumes filed out.
They announced that they were entrusted by the monarch of the imperial capital and requested to meet with the new ruler of Kiev.
Rostislav, who knew the news, was surprised for a time, how could the emperor of the imperial capital send envoys to the north.
I think that even during my grandfather's reign, at most people from the church would come here from time to time. Apart from trade, the emperor of the south had no interest in this barbaric land in the north.
Although surprised, Rostislav remained calm and received the emperor's envoy according to the established protocol. At the Vladimir Palace, he met the visiting envoy.
The leader of the imperial team was a Norman, who called himself Russell de Bayolle. The hair on his head was shaved, and his bald head was very conspicuous in the crowd.
In the hall of the Grand Duke of Kiev, he said a lot of clichés, mainly congratulating Rostislav on becoming the Grand Duke of Kiev, and then presented a gift to express that the Eastern Empire wanted to maintain friendly relations with Rus.
The imperial envoy is a strong warrior. He can come to Kiev as an envoy representing the imperial capital. He must have a high status in the imperial capital. He seems to be a Norman adventurer who established a career in the empire.
While the Grand Duke was observing the envoy from the imperial capital, Russell was also observing the Grand Duke of Ross.
As the rumors said, the Grand Duke was very young and quick-thinking, and the temperament in his movements undoubtedly showed that he had been tested for many years in battle.
The Normans had never looked down upon the young man who defeated his uncle and became the Grand Duke from the beginning, but now he paid more attention to him. This Rostislav was definitely not an easy person to deal with.
Rostislav accepted the flattery and gifts calmly, knowing that the envoy certainly did not come north to say these auspicious words to him, a northern savage.
To entertain this visitor from the imperial capital, Rostislav held a grand banquet.
At the banquet, the noble businessmen of Rus frequently drank to the envoy and spoke flatteringly. The envoy seemed to be the core of the entire banquet.
Rostislav did not feel anything wrong because of this, because this is the people of Russia and this is the general trend of Russia.
Everyone is importing a large amount of goods to the imperial capital in the south to earn gold, silver and luxury goods. The emperor of the imperial capital is everyone's food, clothing and parent.
The Rurik family became the grand duke because he could lead everyone to do business and make money, otherwise he would have been thrown out long ago.
Although there were exceptions like Svyatoslav (not the second uncle), that era has passed.
Moreover, his destruction of the Khazar Khanate greatly strengthened the economic ties between Rus and the Imperial Capital, severely binding the two. This prince who had been fighting all his life actually promoted the economic bond between Rus and the Imperial Capital.
This is why Rostislav has never been interested in the Imperial Capital. He doesn’t want to touch the pit in the Imperial Capital. Even with all the power of Russia, he might not even see a splash. He didn’t even look at Svia who wanted to conquer the Imperial Capital.
How miserable Toslav fought.
More importantly, if he were to conquer the Imperial Capital, even after his heavy blows, Ross would have to rebel everywhere.
The reason is very simple. Without the imperial capital, where will the goods be sold? In the south, only one imperial capital can absorb such huge supplies. What will happen to the people and nobles who are supported by this trade route?
At most, everyone would accept using trade disputes as an excuse to send troops. My grandfather once did this, because in the final analysis, it was just negotiating terms with the imperial capital, rather than destroying the place, overturning the table, and leaving everyone without food.
After the banquet, Rostislav asked the Alexey troupe to start a performance to show their skills to the Grand Duke of Kiev, and it was also during this performance that the envoy who was arranged to sit next to Rostislav revealed his purpose.
"Lord Rostislav, I would like to know, now that the civil war in your country is over, are there any soldiers in your country who are willing to go south to serve Lord Mikrigad?"
This sentence brought a smile to Rostislav's lips. Sure enough, the imperial capital was interested in Ros for this reason. The emperor would soon use troops against the Seljuqs, so naturally he would look for mercenaries everywhere.
"What? Does the Emperor of the Imperial City need soldiers? Do you choose to come at this time to recreate the scene of accepting five thousand Varangian warriors at once?"
What Rostislav was telling was the story of the "Saint" Vladimir having sex with five thousand mercenaries from the imperial capital at one time. This army bought the "Saint" a princess in purple and the Orthodox faith.
It is a well-known story in Ross.
"The emperor is currently gathering troops to conquer the pagan Turks. My Majesty seems to think that the more troops the better. It is said that there are already 70,000 troops under the walls of Constantinople."
Russell showed the power of the imperial army in his words calmly, but Rostislav didn't answer. He just took a few peeled nuts from the plate beside him and stuffed them into his mouth. The power of the imperial capital had no influence on him.
Ross, he wanted to hear something more valuable.
He is really a master who doesn't let go of eagles when he sees rabbits. Russell thought in his heart, but his face was still so kind, "The emperor of Constantinople is rich in the world, and he will be very generous to those who are willing to provide mercenaries, Rostislav
Sir, let's discuss some details."
Rostislav looked away from the stage and nodded with satisfaction. This was the meaty show he needed. Although he had prepared some mercenaries for the south, not all cards had to be played immediately.
In this way, the Grand Duke of Kiev and the imperial envoy began to discuss the details of mercenaries. The most important point of the discussion was how much gold and silver Rostislav could obtain from each mercenary.
There are so many things that can be discussed about this, including the soldier's armor and physical condition, there are many things that can be discussed.
The two sides did not talk too red-faced, because Rostislav's attitude was to just take some money. After all, he did not expect to make money from this.
Soon, the two sides reached a consensus that Rostislav would recruit mercenaries for the imperial capital and draw gold and silver from these mercenaries.
There will always be people in Ross who want to venture south. In addition to the disguised exiles he has gathered, there will definitely be many people he can draw out.
After completing this most intense conversation, the atmosphere between the two parties immediately relaxed, and the smell of gunpowder was no longer so strong. They also talked about the performance of the actors on the stage.
The topic also turned to their personal situations. Rostislav unexpectedly learned that the Norman in front of him was the leader of the Norman mercenaries of the Eastern Empire. When he mentioned this identity, Rostislav immediately recalled what this man had done.
, thinking of the things this person had done in history, a subtle smile appeared on his face.
Before Rostislav had time to sigh, Russell told him some important information, that is, there were a lot of Russians under his command. In addition to some Russian mercenaries who had been working in the Eastern Empire for a long time, some of them had recently come here.
Got two Ruriks.
"Those two boys turned out to be going to the Imperial Capital. That's fine, that's fine."
Rostislav shook the wine glass, watching the bright red liquid sloshing with it, and sighed repeatedly. It didn't matter if he did this or ran to a place out of his reach. He didn't want to wipe out the blood of his uncles, so it was good to start a business in the south.
of.
The Normans saw all the changes in the expression of the Grand Duke of Kiev. In fact, he mentioned this deliberately, just to observe Rostislav's reaction.
This reaction reassured him. The Grand Duke was not a bloodless and tearless person. Since he was a normal person, the possibility of him breaking the contract blatantly was very low.
"Lord Russell, I heard that the Hauteville family is very successful in southern Italy now?"
Rostislav deliberately mentioned the success of the Normans in southern Italy. This topic was completely correct. When he mentioned the Norman countryman who founded the country in southern Italy, Russell's expression was very unnatural.
"Well, many of my young men have been successfully attracted by Otterveld, but I heard that Duke William of Normandy also has this problem, but he is the king after all. If the emperor hadn't started a war on my side, my men would have been very quick.
There will be no one left."
Russell drank the contents of the cup in one gulp, his face full of melancholy. Any Norman adventurer is eager to succeed overseas, and Hauteville's success made everyone's desire to build a country overseas even stronger, and he
Although Russell can be regarded as successful, he is still too far away from that kind of achievement.
"Lord Russell, don't belittle yourself too much. I think the emperor's war is an opportunity. Although the emperor of the imperial capital has summoned such a huge army, sir, you and I are both soldiers, and we also know that the bigger the army, the better.
It’s difficult to adjust, and the most important thing is that the conflicts between the imperial dignitaries are very serious now. The current emperor has been in office for less than three years, and there are undercurrents surging in the imperial capital."
Rostislav said leisurely. Although he said that he did not have much information about the imperial capital, the information was enough to see the internal problems of the empire.
Russell immediately became alert, "Lord Rostislav, what do you mean?"
"I just advise you to seize the opportunity. The empire seems extremely powerful, but the underlying undercurrent is also very terrifying. When the undercurrent stirs up, isn't that an opportunity for outsiders?"
Rostislav grabbed another handful of dried fruits, and then lay down in the chair to enjoy the performance without continuing the topic. Beside him, Russell began to think, and Rostislav's words touched him a little.