Surrounded by soldiers, Rostislav came to the closed door of the town hall.
The Russians did not launch an attack on the city hall rashly. Rostislav urgently sent an envoy to convey the order to besiege but not to attack. It was useless to push the Visby people too hastily. It was better to give them time and let them think carefully.
Think, time can do things that swords cannot.
So the Russians just surrounded the hall, and more troops went to occupy other parts of the city. This was a more important thing.
"Are you ready?"
Rostislav rode forward, and the soldiers made way for the Grand Duke like Moses parting the sea. What he asked about was another of his orders, which was to pile fuel in this building to put some pressure on the people inside.
"I'm busy, my Grand Duke. It will be completed soon. There are materials everywhere nearby."
Domhnall assured the owner, and just as he said, some Russians were busy demolishing nearby houses and throwing all the debris in front of the hall. Most of the owners of these houses are still there, but they are also
Just don't dare to resist the Russians.
The Northmen in the city hall have very limited means of counterattack. There are very few windows through which this guy can shoot, and these few windows are also stared at by Ross crossbowmen. Once the figure appears, he will be greeted by a round of crossbows, which is a great cover.
Russian activities below.
"When you are almost ready, you can shout inside and ask them to surrender. If they are unwilling, just set fire to it."
Rostislav still hopes that the Visby people in the hall will surrender. It is crowded with dignitaries from Visby and even Gotland. If these people cooperate, it will be very simple to control Gotland.
Yes, by controlling Gotland, Rostislav will seize this existence, which can be called the central trade hub of the Baltic Sea. If he seizes this place, the Free Trade Alliance will undoubtedly become more prestigious.
Then the Grand Duke of Kiev gave some instructions to his captain of the soldiers. While the two were talking, the huge Visby City Hall opened the door.
A group of Norsemen came out of the fortified hall with their hands raised. The man at their head was holding a head. Rostislav knew the head. It was Haakon, the mayor of Visby.
Rostislav's strategy worked as it should. If he stormed the city hall, he could achieve the desired effect.
"After all, there are more smart people."
There was not much surprise in Rostislav's tone. This was one of the situations he had expected, a very common betrayal.
"In that case, go and restore order in the city and don't let them rob you anymore. It's not very honorable."
Rostislav knew that victory was already his, Visby, the center of Gotland, would now be captured by him, and this also meant that he had completed his control of Gotland.
Now that it's under control, we can't let the people below continue to act recklessly. Before, we could just smash it because it didn't belong to him, but now it belongs to him.
"The port side tried to find a way to spread the news of the surrender here. The people over there knew what to do and organized manpower to put out the fire. I don't want the fire to burn out in such a disorderly manner. Prolev's operation
It's fierce, but it's also a bit too scary. It will cost me a lot of money to rebuild the port, and I don't know how much trade will be delayed."
Rostislav knew that everything was the work of Prolev. For this Vinland captain, the Grand Duke of Kiev really did not expect that he could achieve such a feat. This is really surprising, but fortunately here
An accident is a good accident for him.
After all, if it weren't for that fire, it would be difficult to win so quickly.
In this way, after becoming the conquerors of the city, the Russians immediately began to put out the fire and restore order in the city, and the fleet in the port quickly surrendered upon the news of the city's surrender.
Since the disorderly looting almost led to the defeat of the army, Rostislav was very ruthless in restoring order in the city. Soon a dozen of the blind guys were hanged in the square, and soldiers
They also gave Rostislav a bucket full of bloody trophies from rapists caught by the Janissaries.
Rostislav's severity this time also scared the Russians. They had never seen the Grand Duke so angry, so they immediately became honest.
And this is the only good news for the people of Visby. At least they don't have to worry about being robbed or their wives and daughters being raped. Finally, they don't have to worry too much.
While restoring order in the city, Rostislav was on the other hand purging Gotland's powerful class - referring to the top group of people. For those powerful middle-class people in Gotland, Rostislav was completely
Attitude to win over.
Based on the identification of those who were once imprisoned and now released by him, the Grand Duke of Kiev picked out the people who were determined to oppose the Free Trade Alliance, and then killed their entire families.
As for their property, a small part was used to appease the citizens and rebuild the city, and the other part was distributed to the soldiers under his command, which made these guys immediately forget Rostislav's severe punishment and began to shout about the greatness of the Grand Duke.
As for their industry, it naturally has to be used as a carrot for the upstarts who are bound to rise in Gotland.
Based on the personnel of the Rus' trading post and some pro-Russian dignitaries - more accurately, those with trade contacts with Rus' - Rostislav formed a new Gotland government to help him manage the city.
Gotland thus became the territory of Rus.
However, there are still many Gotland assets to be dealt with. For example, the most troublesome one now is the Gotland fleet. Although many ships were sunk and damaged during the battle, there are still half a hundred intact.
For a while, Rostislav simply couldn't find that many reliable sailors to turn these ships into combat effectiveness, so he could only leave them on the coast to mold, and only later did he think of a way to deal with them.
Among these ships, those in better condition and with larger tonnage were sent to Ivangorod as the next supplement to the Ross fleet, while the remaining ones will be sent to the small and medium-sized cities that belong to the Free Trade Alliance.
Give it to them as a gift to strengthen their fleet.
On the one hand, this pleased the allies and strengthened their strength; on the other hand, it promoted his victory. When seeing these ships that once belonged to Gotland, everyone understood who had won the victory.
And the news about the victory of the Russians did indeed spread like uncontrollable wildfire. Such big news continued to spread, and the power of the Free Trade Alliance - or to be precise, the Russians greatly increased.
But in any case, this victory was a product in the name of the Free Trade Alliance. This victory undoubtedly announced that a trade behemoth would appear on the Baltic Sea.
Now the game can be said to have come to an end. Many cities and forces that were still on the sidelines before are now sending applications to Ivangorod to join, and many people have sent envoys to Visby to meet Rostislav.
.
According to the news Rostislav received in Gotland, after the news of victory spread, almost one-third of the Baltic Sea joined his alliance.
But it is a pity that this is only one-third of the Baltic Sea after all. After all, many forces feel that they can make profits without this alliance to maintain the status quo.
But for Rostislav, this is enough. As for other forces, the surge in profits brought by the alliance will undoubtedly make them take the initiative to join - but this takes time, a lot of time, and this is a long-term job.
.
Rostislav's free trade alliance successfully took the first step, which can also be said to be the most critical step. He did so very solidly, very firmly, without making any mistakes, and it is a solid foundation for future hegemony.
This can be said to be an excellent start. Therefore, Rostislav also has strong expectations for the future. The Baltic Sea hegemony will be his possession sooner or later.