At Manchiket, the Eastern Empire suffered a disastrous defeat as history did, and just as history did, Seljuk Khan released the captured Emperor Romanus after just one week.
Arslan Khan was undoubtedly wise. His decision can be said to have doomed the subsequent civil war in the Eastern Empire, while the Seljuks were free to concentrate on dealing with the Fatimid dynasty in the south.
In the Eastern Empire, Romanus returned to the country and suddenly found that he was facing a civil war. A rebellion broke out in Constantinople. At that time, everyone thought that Romanus would never come back, so those people couldn't wait
Action has begun, and the new monarch Michael has ascended to the throne.
And all Romanus could do was to summon all available troops to fight against the new emperor of Constantinople. Fortunately, the elites of the empire were still willing to follow him to fight. These elites were originally scattered throughout Anatolia.
The elites are gathering together one after another, and the flames of war are gathering.
Rostislav, who returned to Kiev from Northeastern Rus', was not surprised by this. He knew that the civil war in the Eastern Empire had begun. This was all expected. He had already been making arrangements. Rus' businessmen in the imperial capital were already in the process.
Under the order, he began to recruit Greek immigrants.
Unfortunately, the recruitment effect is still very low. Except for some people designated for exile by the new emperor of the imperial capital, only a small number of Greeks have decided to immigrate. After all, the war has not yet affected Constantinople.
And to these citizens, this is really not a big deal. It is just a change of emperor. This kind of thing has happened from time to time in recent years.
As for the civil war, they believed that the war would end soon, and most of the people in that city would continue to live their old lives.
Rostislav didn't panic. After he learned about the situation, he didn't do anything. He just ordered the Russian merchants in Constantinople to build a Russian office in the imperial capital. It was mainly used to entertain Russians and handle various matters related to the imperial capital.
For example, long-term recruitment of immigrants.
The Grand Duke of Kiev firmly believes that as the chaos develops, there will be Greeks who want to leave the imperial capital, and they must do a good job of publicity now so that they can receive people in the future.
With the strength of the Russians in the imperial capital, there is no problem in opening an office with a few people stationed there. However, Rostislav still wants to go one step further and turn this place into a Russian embassy. Unfortunately, the current situation still does not allow it, but Russia
Tislav can afford to wait.
In addition, he also had the idea of war refugees. Although the struggle between the various parties in the empire still has a bottom line, and the chaos has not spread generally, Rostislav knows that sooner or later, these imperial elites will tear themselves apart, and what will happen next
Turks have entered the country. Under the influence of these military disasters, the number of refugees will definitely not be small.
However, there was still some time before the entire empire was in chaos. The one who really broke the order in history was Russell's Norman rebellion, and Rostislav knew that after his instigation, this man would only become more rebellious than ever in history.
Morning, he was looking forward to that moment.
Rostislav has also recently built a group of apartments in Kiev. They are all built based on the imperial capital apartments as a template. When the chaos in the south intensifies, many wealthy Greeks will definitely be willing to go north to Kiev to take temporary refuge for a few years. Then he plans to
Earn the money from selling the house.
In addition, while these apartments were being built, there were also large-scale construction projects in many places in Kiev. As we all know, Rostislav liked brick houses. With his encouragement, the construction and brick-making industries were booming, and many places in Kiev also began to build houses.
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Kiev now is like a big construction site, with construction going on everywhere, both in the inner city and in the outer city. This kind of scene is not only seen in Kiev, but is reflected to some extent throughout Russia.
Rostislav's rule has also become stable, and the new atmosphere brought by the new ruler has also been reflected. Naturally, everyone began to cater to this ruler, and some upstarts even paid for the construction of brick houses for the public.
Nothing was more pleasing to the eyes of the Grand Duke of Kiev, and the icing on the cake was that shortly after Rostislav returned to Kiev, the Grand Duchess finally became pregnant.
Regarding the matter of getting his wife pregnant, Rostislav actually once suspected that he could no longer do it. After all, it had been eight years since he gave birth to Vasiliko. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with him or Zoe.
But now this pregnancy broke Rostislav's worries, and the pregnancy after eight years made Rostislav and Zoe very happy. They both wanted a child, preferably a daughter.
Rostislav and Zoe have always had a regret, that is, their three children are all boys. They have always wanted a daughter, and they really hope it is a daughter this time.
As the ruler of Kiev, Rostislav knew one thing very well, that is, his family affairs were also national affairs. By celebrating his wife's pregnancy, Rostislav set off a grand celebration in Kiev.
On the one hand, it was because the Grand Duke and his wife were excited about finally getting pregnant after such a long time. On the other hand, Rostislav had actually always wanted to be kind to the people of Kiev, but unfortunately he had never found any good opportunities.
But now that the opportunity has fallen in front of him, he will naturally not hesitate.
The "bread and circuses" policy once again showed its power. The whole of Kiev was immersed in a joyous atmosphere. Cheap food was everywhere on the streets. Performances by 100 opera artists could be seen everywhere. You could also watch them on the huge stage on the St. Sophia Cathedral.
to a performance by the Alexey Theater Company.
What ignited the excitement of the people of Kiev most was the fact that the Grand Duke's entourage threw coins along the streets. These coins were the product of the past six months since Rostislav ordered the minting.
On one side of the coin is a portrait of Rostislav wearing a crown, on the other side is a Rurik trident, with the inscription "Rostislav Rules" on both sides.
As these brand-new coins rolled through the streets of Kiev, Rostislav's popularity reached its peak, voices of support were heard, and the city's support for Rostislav continued to surge.
None of the previous Grand Dukes of Kiev were so generous. Needless to say, the stingy Izyaslav spent all his money on the army and had little money for construction.
The only Kiev aristocrats who could stand in the way of this matter had been severely damaged by him. Through the Civil War, Rostislav liquidated a large number of nobles. The remaining nobles were even more afraid that Rostislav would come to trouble them and did not dare to do anything.
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Sometimes, when the most difficult period is over, the next step will undoubtedly become easier and easier, and this is the case in Rostislav.
In fact, this is also because he won the final victory. The victory allowed him to mobilize all the resources of Russia to do what he wanted to do without any scruples. He did not have to worry about war and only needed to develop with all his strength.