Within the city walls made of wood and stone, cheers echoed throughout the sky. It was the citizens of Kiev cheering for their Grand Duke.
Although Rostislav couldn't see it, he could definitely imagine the scene. Wherever the Grand Duke on horseback passed by, his subjects lined the streets to welcome him, the Vitch militiamen tried their best to maintain order, the girls blew kisses, and the trees and rooftops were crowded with people.
People, hats, scarves and all kinds of things were thrown into the sky with cheers...
However, when the citizens cheered, they probably did not expect that the Kiev dignitaries who were bidding farewell to the Grand Duke had a quarrel with the Grand Duke before leaving for the expedition. As for the content of the quarrel, Prince Rus did not know. It was said that it was about the Kiev market, which had nothing to do with him anyway and he did not care.
Prince Rus put away the parchment full of words in front of him and mounted his horse. The troops were waiting for the prince's order. Since the Grand Duke had set off, it was time for them to move.
Rostislav avoided the farewell ceremony for the army's departure. It was not that he was not allowed to participate, but that he simply did not want to participate. What followed was a real war, and he had a lot to do.
Moreover, Rostislav actually had some resentment in his heart. Before he could be gentle with his wife, he was asked to go into battle again. He originally thought that it would take half a month for the army to attack, but it turned out that the army set off four days after he came back.
Rostislav had no choice but to bid farewell to his wife. He now recalled that the angry expression of his little Greek cutie immediately appeared in front of his eyes. At that time, he pinched the angry little face, and the result was that his wife immediately exploded, like
He was like a cat having a tantrum, so he comforted her for a long time, and finally "persuaded" her on the bed.
The relationship between the prince and his wife is very deep. Both young people are full of longing for each other's bodies. The separation makes the longing even stronger. They were supposed to indulge in eating marrow for a while, but the war just interrupted it. How about now?
It's easier to have a breakup than a newlywed, only to end up getting married again.
But once again embarking on the journey, Rostislav's team became stronger. He had an additional 1,500 people under his command. Some of them were Kiev citizens who came to join because of his military reputation, but most of them were Iraqis.
Manpower provided by the Metropolitan of Lyon.
The metropolitan was very satisfied with Rostislav's achievements and did not hesitate to increase investment. Thousands of armed monastic peasants and nearly a hundred church guards were handed over to him.
There's nothing much to say about those armed farmers. Apart from being better disciplined and no different from ordinary farmers, the Guards are worth talking about. They are an armed force organized by the church with great difficulty. They are all devout Christians. When missionaries go to barbaric areas,
When preaching in the land of Rus, protection was provided by them.
Their equipment is the best in the whole of Russia. It can be said that they are armed to the teeth. They wear two pieces of chain mail and scales, covering themselves until only two eye sockets are exposed. They are all skilled in tactics and tactics.
They are elites who have experienced hundreds of battles.
Giving all this power to him shows the trust of the church. After all, this is their ultimate strength.
When Rostislav accepted this kindness, he couldn't help but wonder why the Metropolitan did this and why he gave such a huge investment, but there was no point caring about it now until this war was over.
As the prince issued the order, the army moved forward according to the established route, met up with the main force of the Grand Duke, and marched together. However, not long after they left, they encountered a strange team.
It was a group of ragged strong men with strange white ash on their faces, but they were surrounded by a crude statue of a god that was lifted up. Rostislav saw the symbol of lightning on it, which was the emblem of Perun.
The leader was an old man with bare feet, tattered robes and a flower crown. He had a spruce cane in his hand and a small bag at his waist filled with herbs. Seeing these features, Rostislav realized that this man was a sorcerer.
The so-called warlocks are those who worship the pagan gods on the land of Rus. They often have a huge say in the local area, and they can speak better than any prince or noble.
They had obviously walked for a long time, and many of them looked very tired, but their faith still drove them to move forward surrounded by the statues of gods. Some even beat themselves with whips. The blood that poured out from time to time and the stench on these people's bodies combined,
The smell is really too strong.
Some of them were wearing wolf skins, with wild wolf heads stuck on their heads. They looked like they were not easy to get along with, and Rostislav subconsciously wanted to stay away from this group of people.
Seeing such a team, Rostislav's expression changed uncontrollably.
"Pelun's pilgrims? There must be at least a hundred of them. Why did they come to Kiev at this time?"
No one answered the prince's question because no one knew how to answer it, and the pilgrims ignored the marching army and just walked over carrying the statue.
This made the prince a little annoyed. The pagans actually ignored him like this. Presumably in the eyes of these fanatics, he, a descendant of Rurik who betrayed the gods, was not worthy of respect at all.
But even so, Rostislav did not choose to do anything - what could he do? Use force against Perun's followers?
This kind of behavior will break the tacit peace and understanding between paganism and Christianity, and it will lead to another bloody storm. If the Archduke is held accountable, he will definitely not be able to escape his involvement.
When the statue of the god was carried by, many soldiers were afraid to give way. Many people even prayed with crosses that resembled pagan emblems in their hands, and some even took out the pagan emblems directly.
After all, Rus's pagan beliefs are deeply rooted, and even the Grand Duke is surrounded by them. This is why Rostislav, as the prince of Rurik, does not dare to attack the pagans rashly.
Only a few staunch Christians have no fear of this, and the guards are especially typical among them. They look at the pagan idols with contempt, and their hearts are full of contempt for false idols.
As for these believers who despised Perun, they acted as if they didn't see their disrespect and disrespect, and just walked past them expressionlessly.
Fortunately, these escorts did not directly insult each other's beliefs. Rostislav could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that they were not so fanatical that they lost their minds.
But think about it, since these people are escorting missionaries to preach in Russia, they should already know what they should and should not do.
"These people are going to Kiev at this time...that's all, maybe I'm overthinking it."
After the parade passed by, Captain Granva murmured, and this happened to be heard by Rostislav.
"Granval, what's wrong with those people?"
The prince asked aloud, although Kievan Rus is an Orthodox country today, paganism can still be carried out openly. Rostislav also saw pilgrims carrying pagan statues in Kiev, but those people were smaller than the ones he just walked through.
It's much more civilized.
Therefore, it is not unusual for pilgrims from other places to go to Kiev. Although they are rare, they still exist. After all, there are always country magicians who want to go to Kiev to compete with Christ for their faith.
"I'm overthinking it, sir."
Gvalan did not express his thoughts because he felt that he was too vague. The activities of pagans were normal, so what was there to be surprised about?
Rostislav glanced at him. Since the captain had said so, he would not ask further questions.