After the evening banquet concluded, Rostislav, feeling somewhat weary, returned to his Red Mansion.
He had drunk a truly insane amount that night; his uncles had entertained Rostislav with immense enthusiasm, raising their cups without a moment's pause, as expensive Bulgar and Moldavia wines were poured down their throats glass after glass.
Furthermore, his uncles' children, his younger cousins, also continuously raised their cups, and drinking with so many people, Rostislav truly almost collapsed from the alcohol.
Even with Yan and Meshko rushing to block a good deal of alcohol for him, Rostislav still nearly couldn't hold on.
Speaking of Meshko, this Polish Noble, who due to his status had to stand aside during Rostislav's previous meetings with relatives, performed remarkably at the banquet; he nearly drank every person who came to drink with him under the table, a drinking capacity that Rostislav greatly envied.
Fortunately, his eldest uncle eventually gave him some face, seeing that his nephew really couldn't drink anymore, and had his personal guard leader Vasily escort him away, back to Rostislav's Red Mansion, for an early rest.
The Red Mansion left by his father still belonged to Rostislav, and his servants maintained its daily cleanliness.
Besides constantly keeping the mansion clean to welcome the Prince's return, these individuals had another important task: to record all major events in Kiev.
Or, more accurately, to record the actions of his uncles.
Tonight was a night of hangover; when Rostislav woke up the next day, he only felt a throbbing headache and a strong sense of nausea in his mouth. The Prince quickly drank several sips of milk with honey, and his condition significantly improved. After he managed to forcefully break free from that state, he walked to the table and began to work.
On his table lay a stack of documents, all written on parchment. Rostislav was never stingy when it came to intelligence, spending money as if throwing it away.
These documents recorded various information collected by the Red Mansion's servants, and the Moscow Prince's task was to browse and summarize these files.
Moreover, he had gathered a good deal of information at yesterday's banquet, and by combining it with these records, he could uncover many things.
Over these past seven years, Rostislav had not really paid much attention to his uncles' developments, at most giving them a cursory glance. He understood Rus' history well and knew that his uncles had not undertaken any major endeavors during this period, so he hadn't paid much attention.
However, he still dispatched people to meticulously record the circulating information and his uncles' actions. After all, although later historical records stated they hadn't undertaken major deeds, there was no record of what exactly they did or how their territories developed. Now, he naturally had to pay close attention to these matters.
Furthermore, from another perspective, these materials could also serve as a reference for future studies of this era—Rostislav was very willing to leave information for posterity.
Izyaslav Yaroslavich, the Kiev Grand Duke, the patriarch of the Rurik Dynasty, has now completely solidified his position. All Rus' territory acknowledges his status, including the always unruly Sorcerer Prince.
The Sorcerer Prince has ambitions, very great ambitions, but even with all his ambition, he dares not do anything against the united Yaroslavichs.
However, the stinginess of this Kiev Grand Duke is quite dissatisfying. The generous gifts to nobles and warriors from Yaroslav's era were directly cut, and the Rurik Dynasty's royal merchants suddenly found that the new Kiev Grand Duke was scrutinizing their accounts.
As for the populace, the citizens discovered that some taxes, which had been loosely enforced during Yaroslav's era, were now strictly implemented. This also caused continuous grumbling among the people, but no one dared to do anything, because Izyaslav's personal guards' support for him had never wavered.
There's nothing for Rostislav to worry about regarding his eldest uncle; he is still the good-natured elder of the family. He only wants everyone to be well, only wants the family to prosper and grow stronger, and harbors no ill will towards others.
As for his second uncle, he has truly flourished in Chernigov over the years. That city has completely submitted to him, and he has dispatched many missionaries to the countryside to spread Christian faith, tirelessly building churches.
He also gathered many priests and religious texts from Bulgaria and Greece, having them work alongside local Rus' priests. He seems to be planning to compile a collection of religious writings.
Additionally, the construction of the church left by his grandfather's brother is still ongoing; Sviatoslav has a strong obsession with completing this church.
After all, this church is on the same level as the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev; its completion is the wish of everyone in this city—Chernigov has always resented Kiev's status as the capital.
More importantly, due to his second uncle's significant investment in religion, the Cave Monastery seems to be somewhat inclined towards this Rus' Prince.
This is a bad sign for Rostislav; his second uncle is trying to win over the Cave Monastery, the largest Monastery in Rus'.
This made Rostislav decide to increase his support for the Monasteries—over the years, the Moscow Prince's support for Monasteries has never ceased. Rostislav is well aware of how important the support of those monks is.
While continuously achieving success in civil administration, his second uncle also remained militarily strong. Conflicts with pagans were never scarce, and his second uncle could easily defeat them. His second uncle's heavy cavalry unit has now begun to gain a reputation after a series of battles.
Regarding his second uncle, Rostislav is the most worried. This person has always been regarded as his greatest rival, and there is some animosity between them...
However, now is not the time to initiate conflict, nor will Rostislav actively stir up trouble. He is the junior; if he were to proactively cause issues, it would be self-destructive. He has always been waiting, waiting for his uncle to make his move.
As for his third uncle, compared to history, he is much, much more at ease. In history, he faced overwhelming Nomad cavalry and was busy maintaining the border defenses.
But now, the South Russia steppe is still in chaos, with Nomads busy slaughtering each other. He only needs to deal with a few scattered Nomad tribes, most of whom came to Rus' to escape the war and are unwilling to antagonize the Prince.
Pei City (Pereyaslavl) is very peaceful now, and Vsevolod's life is also very peaceful. He leisurely studies and reads in his residence, learning languages, constantly improving himself. That's how his third uncle is; he only wants to devote himself to scholarship and has no desire to contend for anything.
Additionally, one more person needs to be mentioned: the Sorcerer Prince of Polotsk.
Polotsk has had many dealings with Moscow over the years, mainly because Sogier of Riga led the city to side with Rostislav, and Rostislav naturally had to speak for his vassal, defending his power and territory. For this, he had many exchanges of letters with the Sorcerer Prince.
During this period, the atmosphere between the two sides was once very tense. After all, Rostislav's reach was limited, while the Sorcerer Prince's forces were right on the Riga border.
But in the end, they reached a compromise. Rostislav is a descendant of Yaroslav; provoking him would be provoking the Yaroslavichs, which would inevitably draw in his uncles.
The Sorcerer Prince believed now was not the time for a challenge, so he chose to back down. Ultimately, they equally divided the tribute resources of that area, and the matter was considered resolved.
Of course, conflicts over tribute quotas would naturally not be absent, as both sides would vie for more allocations. But that would be a conflict between Riga and Polotsk. Rostislav had resolved the life-or-death issue for Riga, so now Riga itself should resolve these future military issues.
However, Rostislav thus completely offended the Sorcerer Prince, but he wasn't worried. Given the trade rivalry between Polotsk and Novgorod, they were bound to be rivals sooner or later.
Overall, Rus' is still relatively peaceful at present. Everyone is quietly focusing on development, showing no hostility or provocation. It seems everything will continue to follow historical trajectories, and the peace among the Rurik Dynasty will last for many more years.
This is good for Rostislav; in the future, he still has to campaign in the East and doesn't want to fall into the whirlpool of civil war so early.