In January, Rostislav received information from a Rus businessman who had returned from the imperial capital. It was this information that made Rostislav take action.
The content of the message is actually very simple. Emperor Nicephorus in the imperial capital suspected Alexios, his man who had quelled the rebels in the west. Because of this, the entire Constantinople was in various rumors. It was said that Alex was
Hughes' mother assured the emperor of her son's loyalty and he was able to leave.
For a long time, the Russian merchants who returned from the imperial capital had the task of reporting news about the imperial capital to Rostislav. Rostislav would pay for it, and it was also because of this that the Grand Duke of Kiev could learn about various things in the imperial capital.
Rostislav has always cared about things in the imperial capital. After all, it is Russia's largest commercial source of wealth.
However, in the past, the news that most interested the Grand Duke of Kiev was about the prices of various commodities in the imperial capital, so that he could calculate how much Rus could earn, and use this information to adjust the commodity output of Kiev and the whole of Rus.
The second is about the popularity of his works in the Imperial Capital. "The Road Across the West Sea" is now the most popular work in the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Capital has the largest group of citizens in the entire Christian Market. Only here can the works of the printing workshop be consumed.
The chaotic empire made many Greeks choose to indulge in the world of books, so the sales of his books can be said to be extremely hot. Rostislav, the little-known Rus Grand Duke in the south, is now well-known there.
Therefore, the businessman just reported the news as a routine. In his opinion, this matter would only develop into a common rebellion in the Southern Empire, and it was not a big deal at all.
But he didn't expect that Rostislav almost jumped up when he heard the news. Then he got a huge sum of money. When the businessman left Vladimir Palace, his feet were light and it felt very unreal.
What surprised him even more was that shortly after he left Vladimir Palace, Rostislav suddenly sent countless envoys to announce one thing - he was going to the imperial capital.
The reason for Rostislav's reaction was simple. As a time traveler, he understood very well what the young man named Alexios could achieve, and this was his intervention in the situation of the Southern Empire.
But although it was said to be an intervention, Rostislav was actually just planning to make a fortune.
When Alexios ascends the throne, the Russian army that appears under the walls of the imperial capital will definitely give him a "surprise".
And then, Rostislav can extort something.
The Imperial Capital can provide many good things, including gold, silver, sacred objects, various masterpieces and even titles from the Imperial Capital. These are all things Rostislav wants. In normal times, he would never be able to obtain these, but it is different now.
So he summoned the entire Russian army and assembled an army that could be said to be unprecedented, just to go to the Queen of Cities in the south and surround it.
However, although the army was going south, Rostislav had no intention of doing anything to the Greek Empire, let alone taking control of that city. He only had the intention of blackmail from the beginning to the end.
That city is not something that a barbarian like him can touch. He has no interest in it. He just wants to seize the opportunity. This opportunity is unprecedented and he must not miss it.
After the blackmail, he planned to restore relations with the Greek Empire and win more trade privileges for Russia, but he could not go too far.
No matter what, the Imperial Capital is Ross's biggest customer. If you want to do business for a long time, you have to know how to give each other benefits. Benefits are the most important thing that keeps everyone connected.
And the most important thing is that Rostislav knows that the new monarch of the imperial capital will need mercenaries very much, and Rostislav can make a fortune, which is also a big sum of money.
It's just that the quality of the assembled army is really worrying in Rostislav's view. The long-term general peace has destroyed many once brave armies. Some former veterans obviously need a lot of recovery training, but they don't have much time.
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In terms of supplies, the supplies were sufficient. Ten years of peace had kept granaries across Russia full. Although a natural disaster occurred during the period and a lot was consumed for disaster relief, it was still enough to support a large-scale expedition.
Fortunately, the Greek empire in the south, after experiencing the torture of civil war and Turkic invasion, was not much better than the "smashing army" in Rostislav's words. Anyway, it was just worse. He took this
If an army of nearly 20,000 people is brought to the gates of Constantinople, it will be a victory.
In addition to coordinating the army during this period, Rostislav mainly summoned generals and nobles from all over Russia to teach them. The proportion of young people among these people was really high. Rostislav
They must be taught some principles of war.
The place where the class was held was also the Vladimir Academy. Rostislav taught him almost all his war experience over the years. To put it bluntly, these are not advanced things, just the basics of war, but war is based on these principles.
operate above.
But facing the young people below, Rostislav felt as if he had returned to his youth, surrounded by those followers who were full of muscles. It made no sense to talk to them about strategies and tactics. He only knew how to chop, chop, kill and kill.
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However, the relatively small number of middle-aged people have benefited a lot. At first, many people were dissatisfied with the fact that they were brought here by the Grand Duke to listen to the lectures like those young people. As the prime lords from various places, their experiences in the war (referring to the tribes)
There are always a lot of conflicts), so naturally I think I don’t need to go to class.
But as the course progressed, as Rostislav talked about terms such as "inside line" and "outside line" that were unfamiliar to them, as well as the Grand Duke's own integration of some war experiences, they realized the value of this class.
, and then they became the group of people who listened most carefully.
There is no general war experience in this era. In a northern land like Rus, it is even more dependent on everyone's own summary. As for Rostislav, a famous northern general, the summary was so perfect that those who knew it quickly realized it.
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As for those young people, what they look forward to most every day is after class. After class, they hang out with their friends, either looking for women or eating and drinking.
The boy Volorida became the most prominent thorn among them. Every time Rostislav heard what kind of work his second son had done, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.
As for Rurik and Vasilko, Rurik has been coordinating the armies of all parties. In the eyes of everyone, the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Kiev has begun to take shape as a ruler, and everyone obeys his management.
As for Vasiliko, he mainly hung out with Leo and the others, discussing the situation in the imperial capital with the old bureaucrat and his men.
Rostislav's three sons were obviously very eager for war. All three of them wanted to go to the giant city to have a good look. Zoe was quite worried about her husband and sons, mainly because she was worried that they would fall in front of the walls of the imperial capital.
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As for the Imperial City, Zoe has no feelings at all, and even wishes it would end soon. Her experience as a young girl made her lose her appetite for the Imperial City, and she has no feelings for the empire at all.
Moreover, she was a little afraid that her husband would be tempted by the throne in the imperial capital. To her, that place was an abyss, and even if her husband put all his strength into it, it would not be enough.
Worry about her loved ones made Zoe uncontrollably entangled with Rostislav. Zoe was relieved until Rostislav promised that he would not attack the walls of the imperial capital foolishly and revealed his true purpose.
The reason why Rostislav told Zoe this was not because of Zoe's entanglement, because this was originally what he wanted to tell her. After they left, Kiev was to be handed over to his wife, and Zoe must know his true purpose.