After a few more audiences, it was finally the turn of the envoy from Volga Bulgaria.
The Bulgar envoy, named Aleff, did not wear a turban like a Muslim; instead, he wore a pointed fur hat, a type favored by nobles of the steppe.
His white robe, adorned with a few red embroideries, was cinched at the waist by a leather belt, from which hung a scimitar with a sheath depicting nomadic warriors drawing bows and arrows. On his feet were shiny, slightly upturned leather boots.
Just like the Bulgar ruler's title of Khan, even after settling for many years and becoming civilized, the customs of the steppe would occasionally emanate from the Bulgars, reminding people of their connection to the steppe.
"Greetings to you, Prince of the Rus', I bring the regards of the Bulgar Khan."
The envoy bowed, holding up a rolled parchment in front of him. Rostislav's personal guard took the letter, unrolled it, and presented it before the Prince.
The parchment was full of Cyrillic letters, indicating that the Bulgar Khan had someone proficient in the Rus' language, which was not surprising, as Rus' had been Bulgaria's primary trading partner for many years.
In the letter, the Bulgar Khan simply congratulated Rostislav on his assumption of the title of Prince and expressed hope that the peaceful relations between Rus' and Bulgar would continue during his reign. Finally, he stated that the details would be discussed between his plenipotentiary envoy, Aleff, and the Rus' Prince.
Simply put, the Khan had uttered a lot of diplomatic platitudes; the real main event was what the envoy in front of him wanted to discuss.
"I have received the Khan's greetings. So, Aleff, what do you wish to discuss with us? Trade conditions or trade privileges?"
Rostislav looked at the waiting Bulgar envoy. He was very curious about what the Bulgar Khan intended to discuss. Since "Saint" Vladimir's army appeared before Bulgar, forcing the then Khan to sign a treaty under duress, Rus' and Bulgar had maintained peace for half a century, with no military clashes.
At most, there had been numerous small-scale wars over the right to levy tribute from the various tribes between the two countries, but these wars were products of unwritten rules between the two sides, and the disputes did not affect the peace between the two nations.
This could be seen from the hostility emanating from the crowd behind the Bulgar envoy. The small groups led by Rus' nobles had not infrequently clashed with the Bulgars in the forests, and they had accumulated considerable animosity.
However, some people's eyes were quite gentle, even welcoming. After all, no matter what, Rostov and Bulgar had a trade relationship where one was upstream and the other downstream. Trade ties between the two sides had always been significant, and cooperation was necessary for mutual prosperity.
"The Khan desires the right to levy tribute from the Mari people."
At these words, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone looked at the Bulgar envoy, hostile gazes surging like a tide.
The right to levy tribute, in this Northeast Rus' region, was a very serious term, for it concerned silver and gold, wealth, and the future.
Like Northeast Rus', Bulgar's exports of beeswax, honey, furs, and other goods were actually derived from tribute levied on the people living in this land. Without this tribute, they would not even have goods to trade.
Therefore, to contend for the right to levy tribute, both Rus' and Bulgar tacitly allowed small-scale wars, because it was simply too important, concerning the future and development of both sides.
And now, the Bulgars actively demanding the right to levy tribute from the Rus' was undoubtedly breaking the rules, and the Mari region had always been a contested area between Rus' and Bulgar. This was undoubtedly demanding concessions from the Rus'.
Hence the widespread and unified hostility—Bulgar was trying to smash the Rus' rice bowl.
The people in the hall even became boisterous, clamoring to throw the Bulgar out, but Aleff remained incredibly calm.
This Bulgar envoy had seen countless more dangerous things, had once had a Polovtsian knife at his throat, and had led armies directly into battle. This little commotion was truly a minor scene.
"Is the Khan demanding this from me?"
Rostislav ignored the clamor and merely asked the envoy.
"Of course not, Prince. The Khan is willing to pay to redeem these rights."
With a wave of the envoy's hand, two groups of Bulgar warriors carrying large chests entered. They wore painted coats over their armor.
The chests made a considerable noise when placed on the ground, indicating a very substantial amount of contents.
The two chests were opened one by one by the envoy, revealing a gleam of silver. They were filled to the brim with silver coins. The Prince recognized them; they were Dirham silver coins, the greatest driving engine of the Volga trade route, for which his ancestors had come.
But Rostislav felt a hint of strangeness. These items were too new; their shiny, unblemished appearance was very noticeable, as if they had been placed in these chests right after being minted. This was a very rare occurrence.
The envoy grabbed a handful of silver coins, then let them slide through his fingers, the coins clinking together with countless crisp sounds.
For many present, this was an incredibly beautiful sound, and some even showed greedy expressions.
"They come from the mint in Bulgar city, forged by the previous Khan in imitation of Dirhams, and their silver content is even more substantial than Dirhams. These two chests are just a down payment; the Khan will send three more chests of such silver coins later. Do you think this is acceptable?"
To be honest, Rostislav was tempted. This was a considerable sum of money, enough to fill his depleted treasury and allow him to do more things.
But the next moment, he dismissed the thought, because he knew that this was not some ordinary commercial transaction, but a cunning plot by the Khan to harm him.
Yes, as the Prince of all Northeast Rus', he certainly had the right to sell the right to levy tribute from the Mari people, but how would the nobles who relied on Mari tribute for income view this? They wouldn't get a single penny from it.
What would inevitably follow was resentment towards Rostislav. Even if he distributed all these silver coins to those nobles, the resentment would still exist, because he would be the primary person responsible, and any blame would be pushed onto him.
Moreover, as a contested area, there would certainly be people who would ignore this transaction and enter the Mari region, which would inevitably lead to conflict. And if conflict arose, Bulgar would have a reason to make demands, extort... or even wage war against Rus'.
Rostislav understood these stakes very well, so his answer was very firm.
"I refuse."
"That is truly a pity, Prince."
The Bulgar envoy was not surprised by this, a polite smile appearing on his face, a smile with a meaning Rostislav could not fathom, and he bowed ceremonially again.
"I hope we will have opportunities for cooperation in the future."
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