Luka Zhidiata was dressed in a simple black robe, holding an ordinary staff, and had a thick beard on his face, looking no different from an ordinary missionary.
Only the crucifix carved with the Passion of Christian on his chest and the jewel-encrusted icon held by his student behind him could indicate his extraordinary status.
Luka stood on a large rock, at a crossroads under a large tree where travelers usually rested and exchanged news, and merchants sold goods.
It was estimated that if it continued to develop like this, it would soon become a settlement, and then a town, but that was a very distant matter.
The Moscow Bishop was surrounded by people, who listened to him recount the great deeds of Saint Vladimir and his conversion story.
Some people listened intently to everything the Moscow Bishop said, while others treated it entirely like a story, even eating while listening.
Luka showed no anger at any of this; he simply continued to quietly tell the conversion story.
The Moscow Bishop was a very skilled storyteller, and more and more people were drawn to listen to his tales; when the story ended with Vladimir's conversion, there was even a round of applause.
Some people offered the Moscow Bishop food or furs, which he had his students accept. The students were quite puzzled, wondering why they still needed to accept things from the people when their own supplies were so abundant.
But if their teacher told them to do it, they had to do it.
After the crowd dispersed, someone approached the Moscow Bishop and couldn't help but ask their questions:
"Why do we tell stories to the people? Shouldn't we be preaching? And why do we accept things given by the people? Don't we have resources and money?"
Looking at his students, Moscow Bishop Luka couldn't help but smile. These young people were all educated at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, generally from privileged backgrounds, and had excellent academic records.
But for these scions, practical experience was still somewhat distant.
The Moscow Bishop was not annoyed; he simply explained gently to them:
"The people are not interested in lengthy sermons. It's better to tell interesting stories, at least to make them interested in Christian. As for why I still accept things from the people, do you think missionaries always have so many resources? When a person preaches in the wilderness, many times they have to rely on the charity of the people to survive."
What Luka spoke of was based on experience. Although he was Jewish, he converted to Christian very early and preached in the wilderness. His fruitful missionary work earned him the appreciation of the Novgorod Prince at the time, and he became the Novgorod Moscow Bishop.
As the Moscow Bishop spoke of these things, he couldn't help but recall his glorious past, but he quickly shook his head. He had already left Novgorod, so why dwell on those things?
The students were all amazed by what the Moscow Bishop said. They had not thought of so many things and were truly too green compared to the Moscow Bishop. They still needed to learn a lot, and the Moscow Bishop just shook his head silently as he looked at them.
After resting for a while longer, this cross-bearing procession set off again.
Moscow Bishop Luka rode in a carriage, with students and guards walking alongside. This was a fifty-person team, a reinforcement force dispatched by the church to Northeast Rus', and also the escort for the newly appointed Moscow Bishop.
Originally, the Kiev church had applied for the Rostov Moscow Bishop, but because Rostislav changed his residence and established Moscow, the church had no choice but to send the documents to the imperial capital to amend them.
The back and forth took a full year, but fortunately, it was finally sorted out.
The carriage traveled on the well-maintained dirt road. Along the way, pedestrians and merchants driving carriages could be seen. These roads were much better than the wilderness they had traveled before; they were all built under Rostislav's orders.
Most importantly, these roads were very safe. Every so often, the Moscow Bishop could see a standing chieftain.
The chieftains' chieftains were placed by the roadside to protect the safety of the roads, and at the same time, the chieftains also had the responsibility to organize the people to maintain or repair the roads.
Luka felt that his student had done very well. Safe roads could bring prosperous trade, and prosperous trade could bring abundant income. This child was indeed putting into practice what he had once said.
As the Moscow Bishop's entourage approached Moscow, the number of Christians clearly increased. Many villagers showed submission and respect for Christian's cross, which was completely unseen before.
"My student has done quite well."
Watching these scenes, Luka murmured. He had originally thought he would face a wild land full of pagans, but now it seemed his student had achieved a lot in this past year.
Suddenly, a cavalryman rode up. A long sword hung at his waist, and he held Rurik's trident banner in his hand.
He was a fully armed Slavic warrior, wearing a long-sleeved chainmail, and looked at the pedestrians with a hint of arrogance.
But upon seeing the cross banner, his expression immediately became humble. He approached the Moscow Bishop and shouted:
"Is this Moscow Bishop Luka's entourage?"
"Yes."
The Moscow Bishop naturally answered instinctively. This was clearly someone his student had sent to meet him.
"I am Vasily Ivanovich Khrensky of Suzdal, Moscow Bishop. The Prince entrusted me to welcome you."
The knight humbly said before the Moscow Bishop, his former arrogance seemingly nonexistent.
This Slavic warrior was the brave captive from the Bulgar camp. His family was also a powerful noble in Suzdal, but because he opposed the traitor Olaf at the time, Olaf threw him into the Bulgar prisoner-of-war camp.
As for now, after taking over a quarter of Olaf's territory, his family grew even stronger—this was the Moscow Prince's reward for loyalists, and Vasily was sent to Moscow to serve the Prince.
"Then, I'll trouble you to lead the way."
With this knight and his Rurik banner, now not only Christians, but everyone they encountered on the road showed respect for this entourage, because the authority of Moscow now protected this group.
During this time, several waves of welcoming cavalry arrived, but Vasily sent them back, informing the Prince that his teacher had arrived.
When Moscow appeared in the Moscow Bishop's sight, he saw a growing city, with construction sites everywhere, new buildings everywhere, and people busy within them, striving for a better future.
Crowds from all directions converged in this city, making it even more prosperous. Undoubtedly, Moscow was already the largest city in Northeast Rus', and it continued to develop rapidly.
The Moscow Bishop was very pleased to see Christian's cross already standing above the city. Such a great city naturally had meaning only if dedicated to Christian; Christian's glory would surely make it even greater.
It was as the Moscow Bishop was looking at the city that all the bells of Moscow rang out. This was a gift Rostislav presented to his teacher, and also his highest form of etiquette; the Prince believed his teacher deserved these honors.
And before the city gate, the Moscow Prince, dressed formally and appropriately, along with his entire court, stood there to welcome the Moscow Bishop's arrival.