Holy Roman Empire, on a hillside near the Lübeck construction site. This hillside is very unremarkable, but now it is full of armored men.
The seven vassals under the military shield system of the Holy Roman Empire were neatly arranged according to their hierarchy, and the Ross personal soldiers faced them tit for tat, also standing in line.
Compared to the Russians, the Germanic people were obviously more humble towards their monarch, especially the Germanic guards. Whenever the emperor appeared in front of them, they would nod and bow crazily. No matter how much the Russian soldiers treated the monarch, they would never do so.
But no one despises these Germans. The bodyguard is the most important force in the hands of the German emperor. It is a powerful army with experienced warriors. This is something that everyone can feel.
A faint smell of gunpowder filled the air between the two sides. The Russians and the Germans had the idea of competing with each other. Some militants wanted to fight against each other. However, the direction of their relationship still depends on the two people who are talking.
Big shot.
"Look at this busy construction site, Your Majesty. This place will be more prosperous in the future. Think about how much wealth it can bring at that time. This wealth not only belongs to the Free Trade Alliance, but also to the empire, and the empire can also benefit from it."
Rostislav looked at the construction site from his perspective. The busy workers were like ants, constantly moving various materials here and there, or working under the supervision of supervisors.
Some shacks have been built next to the construction site, which are full of life. Thousands of residents are crowded in this place. Livestock such as chickens, ducks, and pigs can also be seen on the road. The shacks are built around Ross Barracks and warehouses. From time to time, people can
Ross soldiers wearing blue smocks are seen patrolling among them.
This city is to be built as a stone city, and stones can be seen everywhere on the construction site.
Unlike Eastern Europe, which lacks good stones, there are many good stones here, which are much cheaper and more reliable. The only stone produced in Ross is white limestone, which is almost the most unreliable stone, but here they have many choices.
.
This is why there are few stone buildings in Ross and there are wooden cities everywhere. The local stone is so bad that Ross can only take the road of brick construction.
"Indeed, Grand Duke of Rus, this land will be more prosperous in the future, but what I and the empire really care about is why Rus came here. Lord Rostislav, please don't give me those diplomatic words.
That's not what I came to the North for, and I hope we can come to conclusions on topics of mutual interest."
There was a Germanic man beside the Grand Duke of Kiev. He was wearing a gorgeous fur coat. Under the coat was chainmail. The edges of the armor were exquisitely carved. He wore a sword on his waist with a fine scabbard.
Wrapped in cowhide, dressed like a war lord.
His face is very young, and his black hair is gathered at the back of his head. He looks very capable and gives people a very powerful look. However, impatience appears on his face from time to time, which destroys the whole person's temperament.
"Oh, Emperor of the Empire, I have told you that Ross is just for trade, nothing more, and has no other plans."
Rostislav once again repeated what he had said at the beginning of the meeting, his tone still calm and without much emotion.
Because it is better to be more sensible when talking to the person in front of you. He is not an easy person to deal with, and he still has people to ask for.
"Maybe, Lord Rostislav, but it is a real fact that you are building a military fortress on the territory of the empire. I cannot simply regard such behavior as a trade behavior."
The young imperial monarch continued to say that he was Henry IV, the current ruler of the empire. This monarch's tone was full of distrust.
His attitude is normal. This young monarch can be said to not trust anyone. He still can't forget that the lords took him away from his mother, and these lords were only given land by his mother.
After he came of age, he found that many of the royal territories were given to the nobles by his mother. He worked hard for a long time to regain some land, and then continued to follow in his father's footsteps and began to strengthen the royal power. However, problems came one after another, and domestic opposition to
The opposition of the royal power, the nobles' preparations for action, and the damn struggle over the appointment of bishops...
Recently, he had to bow to Rome because of the rebellion in Saxony, temporarily slowing down the struggle for the right of appointment, and abandoning the originally scheduled expedition to Poland. This made him feel very bad, and he was still very distrustful of outsiders.
Rostislav also understood this distrust. Based on what the Russians had done, he would also be very distrustful if he were the emperor.
Strictly speaking, the Slavic princes are all vassals of the empire. Although Lübeck has the name of an imperial city, it is just a name. Everyone knows that this is actually the city of the Grand Duke of Rus.
But the most important thing is that Lübeck is very close to Saxony, which is undergoing a rebellion, especially East Saxony. That is the base camp of the rebels. If the Russians provide support to the rebels, the situation will not be good.
The rebels in Saxony are the emperor's current key target. If these people can be dealt with smoothly, then some things will be easy to handle, but if not, it will be terrible.
Rostislav knew the situation of the Holy Roman Empire very well. It was precisely because of this that he came to meet with the emperor. If he could not explain some things to the young emperor, the construction of Lübeck would be really difficult.
The biggest problem in the Holy Roman Empire at present is the rebellion in Saxony. The rebellion in Saxony started because Emperor Henry strengthened the royal power. The emperor's officials strengthened their rule and corvee. In the end, this caused a rebellion. The peasants and nobles stood up and killed
The emperor's officials attacked the emperor's garrison, and finally formed a rebel army that affected the situation of the empire.
The local nobles who did not participate in the rebellion were actually sympathetic, not to mention the Duke of Saxony. They were all watching the show to see how Emperor Henry would clean up this mess. If he showed weakness, these guys would not hesitate.
Pounce on it.
The Dukes all despised Henry very much. In their opinion, it was too easy to deal with this young man. They never took him seriously and treated him with contempt.
The Dukes of Southern Germany expressed support for the rebellion in northern Saxony. They said that it was Emperor Henry's actions that led to the rebellion. Some even expressed their intention to use force to support the rebels.
But after all, they were just showing up. For the emperor, as long as the rebellion in Saxony did not continue to spread, he did not have to worry about the Dukes of South Germany who would only talk about overthrowing the emperor.
The appearance of Lubeck seems very subtle. If Rostislav wants to do something to the empire, then this will be an excellent entry point. With the resources of the Russians, if they help the rebels, the consequences will be disastrous.
Emperor Henry knew what was happening on the Baltic Sea. Since the Grand Duke of Kiev had made such great progress, would he go further and mess up the empire to fish in troubled waters?
After all, chaos is always the best way to go, and creating war is always the most profitable way. If the entire empire is in chaos, then the benefits will be too tempting for this group of businessmen.
Maybe these guys will hook up with those dishonest dukes... If this is the case, it will be too bad for him. He has many plans. He wants to restore the glory of the empire instead of wasting his life in endless
During the civil war, the King of Poland and the Pope of Rome were still waiting to be dealt with by him.
Therefore, the emperor wanted to see the Grand Duke. He wanted to understand what the Grand Duke was thinking and see if he was as non-hostile as he said, so that he could formulate strategies.
"Your Majesty Henry, let's get straight to the point. I know you are worried about Ross's aid to the Saxon rebellion and even his collusion with the Dukes of South Germany, but I can guarantee that Ross will not interfere in the internal affairs of the empire. All this is just for the betterment of the empire.
It's good to just expand trade to the west. In comparison, the king of Denmark should be more worried."
At this stage, Rostislav also knew that he must be open and honest. Only openness and honesty can solve this problem.
He did not want to conflict with Emperor Henry. Although this man was famous for the humiliation of Canossa, how many people knew about it and soon expelled the pope? And he won the victory?
He was actually on the losing side in the dispute over clerical power, and he was still fighting a civil war at the time.
"For Ross, we cannot benefit from participating in the internal affairs of the empire, and the distance between our two countries also determines that all investments of manpower in the West will ultimately be a loss. As for war, war will only destroy trade and will only
Destroying a stable environment is something no one wants. There is no need for conflict between our two countries. On the contrary, we can further cooperate, such as in containing Poland. I remember that your expedition to Poland last year was because of Saxony.
The rebellion ended, I think what you are most afraid of now is Polish intervention, and Russia can also play a role in containing Poland."
Rostislav's words clearly moved the monarch. Although he had organized a lot of forces to contain the Polish king who was obsessed with war, there was never too much force to contain that guy.
The guy's series of actions seriously affected his plan. If he could make him settle down, Emperor Henry was willing to pay something. He was already attracted by Rostislav's proposal. He could hear the sincerity in the words of Grand Duke Ross.
, and Ross indeed does not gain much benefit here, let alone the need to participate in the internal affairs of the empire.
"And Ross can also provide you with mercenaries. Your Majesty, with Ross's connections in the northern world, it is very simple to find some North mercenaries. We can even introduce you to thousands of them at one time. I think this is what you need.
It is urgently needed now, and with their help, you can end the war as soon as possible."
This sentence made the emperor even more excited, and it was also more practical for the emperor. He now needs troops, but due to the bad relationship between the empire and the north, it is no longer possible to hire a large number of Norse people, but if there is a Russian matchmaker …
Rostislav did not boast. With Russia's influence in the north, it was very easy to achieve this point. It was so easy that some people even doubted the fact.
After all, news of Denmark's Sven's failure in the west has come, and Norway has no intention of going to war, which means that many northern warriors have no work to do, and it will be very easy to recruit mercenaries.
Rus has always maintained extremely close ties with Northern Europe. The Rurik family has never cut off their ties with their hometown. Vladimir once took refuge in the court of the King of Norway, and Yaroslav married the daughter of the Swedish monarch. , these relationships are intricate, and Ross still has strong connections in the north.
"It seems that I have indeed misunderstood you, Lord Rostislav, well...but regarding the rebellion, you don't have to worry too much. The rebels will be finished soon."
Emperor Henry relaxed a little because of Rostislav's assurance, but his words remained firm, showing his toughness and strength. He said this as if he was stating a fact.
He once wanted to involve the Russians in the war of the empire and directly ask the Grand Duke to lead the army to participate in the affairs of the empire, so he hesitated, but in the end he killed this idea.
If he could marry the Russian monarch, he could still do so, but neither he nor Rostislav had children of the right age, so he had to forget it.
On the other side, Emperor Henry's determination made Rostislav a little curious, but then he recalled some things about the Saxon War in his mind, and he was immediately relieved.
"Let farmers loot the graves of their ancestors? This is really cruel work. It can indeed make everyone afraid and unable to give support to the rebellion. It is indeed smart, but it hurts the ancestors. I don't want to have such descendants."
Grand Duke Ross muttered in a voice that only he could hear, this guy is really ruthless - precisely for this reason, Rostislav did not want to conflict with this person, so he had better avoid too many Western things.
"I will allow your construction, Grand Duke. This construction will also benefit my people and allow the Christian power to expand. I am sorry for my previous distrust."
Emperor Henry, no matter what Rostislav was mumbling, he finished speaking what he should have said, and the emperor's emotional posture was indeed different. If it was a bit aggressive before, now it is very gentle and refreshing.
This emotional change made Rostislav even more concerned. This 23-year-old young man is like a seasoned politician in these matters. It seems that his difficult and turbulent childhood has trained him well.
"It seems that our negotiations have reached a very effective result. Your Majesty, I wish our country will be more prosperous."
Rostislav's tone also brought joy. In any case, after spending a lot of words, this matter has come to an end, and it is still a good result.
The Grand Duke of Kiev actually wanted to draw the emperor into the Free Trade Alliance, but he finally decided to let it go. Joining with the size of the empire would only be bad for the alliance, and it would be even worse for Russia's control over the alliance.
"May our country be more prosperous."
Emperor Henry responded, and his words also announced the end of their meeting. The two then signed an agreement, which was roughly about establishing friendly relations. After the meeting, the teams from both parties also left one after another.
The hillside has also returned to its daily calm.
After the meeting with Emperor Henry, Rostislav did not leave immediately. He went to the construction site in Lübeck to meet his new subjects. He had not met them before. He came directly to this place.
On the hillside, he met Emperor Henry who was also in a hurry.
The Slavs and Germans who knew the arrival of the Grand Duke rushed out to greet him. They were so humble before this famous northern monarch that they almost kissed his boots.
These people could all see Lübeck's potential in the future, so they tried their best to please Rostislav and wanted to get more of the future power.
However, it is useless for them to please Rostislav. In the future, Lübeck will be a city whose status is determined entirely by ability. Rostislav is very clear about the importance of this city to the Free Trade Alliance. He must let capable people control it.
this city.
After learning about the arrival of the Grand Duke, the Germanic and Slavic lords also came one after another. They were among the last group of people to receive the news and expressed their loyalty to their lord. Rostislav also generously gave them gold and silver, and
Encourage them to expand their land.
Rostislav attaches great importance to these landed lords. Lübeck will have to rely on the troops provided by these lords for a long time in the future. They will be the city's staunchest guards.
The prosperity of a city takes time. This is not Rus. Rostislav can directly draw a large number of people to enrich the city and can only let it develop naturally.
After the meeting, Rostislav took a good look at the land. He even went to Hamburg to visit the King of the North of the Church and talk with him about future cooperation for a while.
The resources that Hamburg-Bremen can provide are very important. It can be said that it is with the support provided by this church's King of the North that the Free Trade Alliance has been so successful within the empire.
The meeting also went smoothly. The two sides decided to deepen cooperation, further develop trade lines, and also decided to jointly face challenges from Denmark in the next few years.
In this regard, in addition to promoting trade, Hamburg-Bremen also has its own needs. In terms of parish division, Hamburg-Bremen dominates the entire north, and the northern North countries are obviously very dissatisfied with this.
It is necessary to suppress the North countries.
Of course, this means that there will definitely be conflicts between Hamburg-Bremen and Norway, but these conflicts can be put back later. After all, Denmark must be the first to be resolved.
Moreover, Hamburg-Bremen had no objection to the agreement between him and Emperor Henry. The King of the North of the Church had always been neutral in the internal affairs of the empire. After the Free Trade Alliance, all its energy was devoted to the development of trade.
After staying in Lübeck for a period of time, Rostislav left here and returned to Gotland. After a short stay in Gotland, Rostislav began to prepare to return to Rus. This wanderer who left his hometown finally finally