While the war in the south was raging, the ruler of Kiev left his city and once again went to Ivangorod in the north.
The reason why he went to Ivangorod was simple. His Baltic hegemony was about to begin, and the situation in Kiev was generally stable, and his son had already served as regent in Kiev, so he could leave with confidence.
Ivangorod has already established a fleet of thirteen Kirk ships. Together with the original longships and the ships that can be recruited, there is enough here to produce a large fleet of nearly a hundred ships.
This is the foundation of Rostislav's maritime dominance. With this fleet, he can do many things.
However, this fleet has not yet experienced the test of war, and its reliability is still unknown. However, Rostislav is not worried. This number alone is enough to serve as the basis for Rostislav to build hegemony.
According to Rostislav's order, the mayor of Ivangorod, Roman, sent this large fleet to visit important ports along the Baltic Sea. It was said that it was to escort merchant ships and pay a friendly visit, but in fact it was a show of force and strength.
The effect of this military visit was very good. The trading cities in the Baltic Sea suddenly realized that another powerful person had broken into the chess game, and the Grand Duke of Russia seemed to have great ideas about the Baltic Sea.
At the moment, it is a period of power vacancy in the Baltic Sea. The still-forming Sweden is still busy with its internal affairs and has no ability to act externally. The two traditional Baltic powers, Norway and Denmark, are busy promoting domestic production and the other is interested in the crown of England.
This sea area finally calmed down due to the actions of these powerful powers. At first, everyone thought that it would be calm for a while, but now, another ferocious dragon crossing the river has arrived, and the sea has become turbulent again.
After this show of force, Rostislav sent envoys to the Baltic trading powers, inviting them to send envoys to Ivangorod.
Rostislav has a big plan covering the entire Baltic Sea that needs to be discussed, which is related to the future of the entire trade network, so he invites everyone to come.
No matter what Rostislav's purpose is, everyone believes that they still need to listen to the thoughts of the Rus Grand Duke in person. The will of this emerging powerful player cannot be ignored.
For a long time, Ross has only been a passive player in this trading system. Although there are many ships, they rarely actively interfere.
But now it seems that the Grand Duke of Ross intends to change this reality, so it is even more important to see what this person thinks.
So Ivangorod quickly gathered envoys from all sides, Gotland, Bremen, Pomerania...even Denmark and Norway sent envoys.
Norway is even more of a heavyweight, and the young king Olaf came in person, which shows that the king attaches great importance to it.
As a result, Ivangorod gathered a large number of ships, and all kinds of ships crowded the port pier. If Rostislav hadn't ordered the construction of many piers in advance for future expansion, there would have been so many ships that could not be accommodated.
This town has already made a name for itself by exporting salted fish. The local area has always been prosperous, and there is an endless stream of ships at the port, swallowing a large amount of cargo every day. These experiences have also greatly helped the town managers coordinate.
The fleet of the King of Norway arrived with the greatest momentum, and King Olaf himself was driven by a Norwegian sea monster, a super longship that few people in the north could match.
Various flags and languages floated over this port city, making it look like the construction site of the Tower of Babel. It also made the city look very chaotic. After all, nearly three people had poured into the city in a short period of time.
one-third of the population.
But the chaos ended with the arrival of Rostislav. The Grand Duke of Kiev brought two hundred personal followers and five hundred personal soldiers. When this armored team arrived in Ivangorod, the lawbreakers immediately became honest.
No one dares to take the lead.
With his arrival, everyone realized that the meeting was coming, and now they can hear why the Grand Duke of Ross convened this meeting.
Soon, in the hall of Ivangorod, Rostislav held a meeting that brought together most of the Baltic forces.
The Grand Duke of Kiev sat on a finely crafted bench where Mayor Roman had been sitting, and under Rostislav were envoys from various forces along the Baltic Sea.
The young King Olaf of Norway sits on Rostislav's left hand, demonstrating his status as a master.
"Everyone, everyone, I, Rostislav Vladimirovich of the Rurik family, welcome you all, and thank you very much for giving me such a face."
Rostislav's opening remarks won a burst of applause, but this was only for the sake of his reputation as the Grand Duke of Rus, and what happened next depended on what the Grand Duke said.
"Then, Lord Rostislav, why did you summon us?"
The question was asked by the envoy from Pomerania. This country has always been a key target of the Polish king, but they are also important participants in the Baltic trade. It is precisely because of the benefits gained from trade that they can maintain the war with Poland.
.
His question elicited a flurry of responses, and everyone still doesn't know why they came here.
Only King Olaf of Norway remained stable, because Rostislav had already had secret talks with this relative.
"Quiet, quiet, gentlemen, let me show you my grand blueprint, a grand blueprint that will benefit everyone."
There was a strong temptation in Rostislav's words, which successfully attracted the attention of many people. They looked at the Grand Duke, hoping to hear what Rostislav would say.
"My suggestion is simple, let us build a great trade alliance! Unite the forces of the entire Baltic Sea, and together we will fight against rampant piracy in the Baltic Sea, promote the development of trade routes, and bring prosperity and peace to this country.
A sea area becomes a sea of peace and a sea of prosperity!"
Rostislav did not throw everything out at the beginning, but used the clearing of sea routes as bait.
While the Viking Age has not yet passed, pirates are still a huge problem plaguing the trade of various countries. Pirates of all nationalities are roaming the Baltic Sea and disrupting trade. These pirates have caused great harm to the trade network and destroyed the flow of trade.
Development is a big issue facing everyone.
For small and medium-sized trading cities, Rostislav's suggestion is very tempting. They have little power to face pirates, and those large forces actually have needs in this regard. After all, they cannot prevent all attacks.
And if the pirates in the Baltic Sea are wiped out, then everyone will benefit from it, but everyone still has not said anything. They still have to wait for the real masters of the Baltic Sea trade to come, and they are the real leaders of the situation.
"Then, Lord Rostislav, what form should this trade alliance take?"
The key question came from a German from Bremen, and behind him was the Diocese of Hamburg-Bremen, a strong player in northern trade and the King of the North of the Church.
Rostislav paid close attention to this man. Hamburg-Bremen had a very important position in his trading system. The Grand Duke also gave the Germanic man a friendly smile.
"We will establish the headquarters of the alliance in Ivangorod. My suggestion is that this alliance should be called the Free Trade Alliance to defend the rights of all participants to free trade. In order to better unify the participating countries, we will also open up
Preferential trade, reducing tariffs between participants, maintaining peace and order in the Baltic Sea, and making this land more prosperous!”
Rostislav's words undoubtedly set off a bomb among everyone, because Rostislav's words simply mean the same thing, "I want to be the Lord of the Baltic Sea.", "I want to unify the trade of the entire Baltic Sea."
Rostislav spoke very straightforwardly. He did not want to hide things. It was best to explain things clearly at the beginning to avoid any problems later.
Naturally, his words aroused strong opposition from important people in the trading circle, and the next situation became exciting.