On September 17th, after nearly two months of intense recruitment and material preparations, Rostislav's army of immigrants finally set off.
Many people came to see them off as the team departed, because the families and friends of many people from Kiev and nearby areas were in this large immigrant group.
The farewell gifts included dry rations and blankets, as Northeast Rus' was distant and desolate; after this parting, they didn't know when they would see their loved ones again.
Many shed tears as they left their hometowns, but more simply grabbed a handful of soil from their native land, carefully wrapped it as a memento of their homeland, and then marched forward resolutely.
Rostislav's farewell to his uncles was also full of familial affection, especially his eldest uncle, who seemed to find it tormenting for such a young descendant to go to such a desolate place, but Yaroslav's arrangements were thus, and the younger generation could only comply.
They did not forget to give parting gifts; the eldest uncle presented military armor, enough to serve as a gift for recruiting warriors, the second uncle gave warhorses from the steppe, which he had carefully selected from his spoils, and the third uncle presented a batch of precious handwritten books he had personally made and bound, with covers decorated with gold, silver, and jewels.
Whatever Yaroslav's sons and grandsons thought in their hearts, at least at this moment, they were filled with familial affection.
This also emitted a strong political signal: Yaroslav's descendants were friendly and united, telling those with ulterior motives not to make any moves.
As for those with ulterior motives, the most obvious one, of course, was the Sorcerer Prince of Polotsk; Yaroslav discovered shortly after the riot in Kiev that these pagans all came from Polotsk, but he did not launch an expedition due to lack of evidence.
Although there was no expedition, deterrence still had to be maintained, especially now that Yaroslav had left, and the blood ties between Polotsk and Kiev were already very distant; in the eyes of the Yaroslavich, those from Polotsk could be considered outsiders.
After bidding farewell to his uncles, Rostislav mounted his red warhorse, stroked the bright red fur of his old comrade, and set off on his journey north.
The massive immigrant convoy slowly snaked forward like an endless long snake, winding along the banks of the Dnieper River.
According to the pre-arranged groups, strong men carried their luggage and walked on the outside, holding weapons like hunting spears, vigilantly watching the forest along the riverbank, ready at any moment to protect the women, children, and elderly on the inside; the weakest and sickest could sit in wagons, staying with large amounts of heavy luggage, while everyone else—even the elderly or young children—had to walk on their own feet, carrying small bundles.
The Nomads drove their livestock forward, their families staying in covered wagons; even after years of semi-settlement, the Nomads still maintained their ability to migrate quickly.
Bodyguards were dispersed throughout the immigrant convoy, maintaining order in their assigned areas as much as possible, ensuring that these immigrants did not fall behind or do anything foolish.
A fleet laden with provisions sailed on the vast Dnieper River, ready to resupply the immigrants at any time, or to disembark soldiers to solve problems when trouble arose, or to separate quarreling immigrants, or to encircle and kill reckless beasts.
On both sides of the long snake, a small team of cavalry accompanied them every hundred meters, including Rus' noble cavalry, the Prince's personal cavalry, and Nomads holding composite bows; together with the fleet on the river, they were important presences for maintaining order.
When seeing large cavalry units sweep past, even the most timid person would feel courage surge within them, and they could also quickly support locations attacked by wild beasts.
Fortunately, upon seeing such a large human group, most wild beasts, except for a few starving ones, only dared to let out eerie wails from the forest, scaring some cowards into sleepless nights.
As for the local communes and tribes, under Rostislav's silver bullet offensive and princely authority, they all chose to cooperate obediently with the passage of the immigrant army; they sent guides and supplied provisions, and in return, Rostislav gave them precious silver.
Although many preparations had been made, Rostislav's immigrant convoy still had to stop every few hours of progress, as the main body of the group consisted of undisciplined immigrants, and it was occasionally necessary to stop to reorganize the ranks, otherwise the formation would have long been unrecognizable.
Rostislav was mentally prepared for this; he prepared so much food precisely to deal with such situations, as the Rus' Princes had long been ready for a protracted struggle.
In this massive migration, the most exhausted were the leaders, headed by Rostislav.
Rostislav was troubled daily by various large and small trivial matters within the group, and many problems required him to personally appear before the people to handle them.
However, he was not averse to it, as only by frequently displaying authority before the people could he leave a deep impression on their minds.
In this era of undeveloped productivity, in this Rus' with backward political systems, the most convenient and simple way to establish authority among the people was to judge civil disputes; the lord's power was exercised through these trivial matters.
While dealing with various trivial matters, he also had to respond to letters from all sides: Kiev, Smolensk, and even Rostov; many, many things required his decision.
The letters from Kiev were mainly from his uncles, especially his eldest uncle, asking if he needed any help; Rostislav could only politely decline, as he had already received so much kindness from his eldest uncle, how could he make further demands?
From Smolensk, it was from Uncle Vishata; Vishata spoke of the stockpiling of various materials, saying that not only would countless provisions be consumed on this journey, but even more would certainly be spent after arriving in Northeast Rus', for without initial investment, how could later development occur?
As for Rostov, this city, where Rostislav nominally took office, showed great enthusiasm for their New King and had no resistance to the large-scale migration of Rus' immigrants; they even proactively offered maps of Northeast Rus' they possessed, showing extreme humility.
Rostislav was very satisfied with the city's attitude, but he did not relax his vigilance; he would not easily let down his guard until he controlled that place himself.
As for trivial matters, Rostislav regarded all of it as training; if he couldn't handle these now, how would he govern the vast Northeast Rus' in the future? How would he transform that wild land into a civilized and prosperous place?
During this journey, this massive immigrant convoy finally approached a crucial point in their journey: Smolensk, this hub city of Rus'.
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