Yes, agricultural Rus' has a long way to go, but Rostislav has no choice.
The core profits of commercial Rus' belong to the southern cities. As a Prince of the remote Northeast Rus', if he wants to seek development, he can only seek it from the land and acquire wealth from the farmers on the land.
This is also the situation faced by many Rurik Princes who were enfeoffed to various places in history. Trade with the south could indeed bring wealth, but this wealth was difficult to increase.
To seek an increase in power and money, there is only land; one must find money on the land.
Moreover, as a time-traveler, Rostislav had another reason for doing this: although it was difficult in this era, he knew that the decline of the south was inevitable.
Even though the Imperial Capital of the south was brilliantly dazzling, Rostislav knew better than anyone that this city was steadily moving towards decline.
Indeed, according to history, the Greeks' Empire still had a hundred years of glory, and even the subsequent disasters could be salvaged by someone, but this could not change the actual decline of the entire nation's power.
And if the Greek Empire declines, what will happen to Rus', which relies on trade with the Imperial Capital as a connecting link, is naturally self-evident.
Therefore, Rostislav had to prepare early for this, because trade with the Imperial Capital would not last long; ultimately, he would have to rely on the output of the land.
As for that Greek Empire, if its historical decline could be reversed, then things would indeed be different, but why should he, a Rus' man, interfere in the affairs of that Greek Empire?
Rostislav never believed that the claims brought by his wife could help him in any way. In the eyes of the Greeks, he was ultimately an iron barbarian. Why should he bother to curry favor with the Greeks?
And most importantly, what necessity did he have to abandon the medium difficulty of Rus' to choose the extremely high difficulty of Greece?
The problems of the Eastern Empire had accumulated over several centuries; they were not something he, a Rus' barbarian, could interfere with. He might even get trapped in them. Moreover, if too many resources were invested in the Eastern Empire, what would happen to Rus'?
After inventorying the materials collected this time, the next agenda naturally began. This was also an order from Rostislav before he left, which was to count the mobilizable manpower and resources within the cities of Northeast Rus'.
The reason Rostislav wanted to make this count was simple: in his schedule, sending troops to Volga Bulgaria was a necessary step, his most core strategy. Therefore, Rostislav needed to organize and count the resources of Northeast Rus'.
Although it was not happening immediately, preparations had to begin early.
This matter was naturally reported by Steward Anwar. This Persian, Anwar, was now completely Rus'-ified in dress and accent; only his face could reveal his origin.
Anwar had always been actually responsible for affairs outside Moscow City, so it was perfectly normal for him to implement this matter, and the results obtained were quite abundant.
Anwar first counted the population of the towns, fortresses, and their surrounding areas in Northeast Rus'. These populations were undoubtedly under the control of the Moscow regime and were 100% mobilizable by the Moscow regime.
And Anwar's final count was 40,000. Yes, according to the standards, the population under the jurisdiction of the Moscow regime's officials and nobles was only 40,000.
According to Rostislav's contracts with the communes, landowners, and towns, out of these 40,000 people, 2,000 could be called upon at any time to fight for Rostislav, and with a little more time, even 3,000 could be called upon.
However, these troops were destined not to fight long-term outside, as these able-bodied men were an important part of local production and life.
Only the thousand full-time soldiers under Rostislav could fight long-term outside, and these soldiers were basically supported by prosperous commercial trade.
Of course, the forces Rostislav could mobilize were certainly more than these 4,000, and the population that could influence and recruit manpower and resources was also more than these 40,000.
For example, materials: circuitous tribute collection was an ancient tradition of Rus'. Many, many lands not controlled by the Prince's regime had already come to view tribute collection by armed men on tall horses as a matter of course. Rostislav could collect far more materials than what was on paper.
As for military strength, in the land of Rus', it is very difficult to quantify a Prince's military strength, because the mobilizable resources and forces depend more on the Prince's reputation, sphere of influence, and financial resources.
And fortunately, Rostislav possessed all of these points.
The Moscow Prince's reputation goes without saying; even foreign countries knew of his illustrious military achievements. His influence also expanded through his continuous fortress advancements and troupe tours over the years. As for financial resources, Rostislav never gave people the impression of being stingy; in everyone's eyes, this Prince was incredibly generous.
According to Anwar's estimate, given Rostislav's situation, once he raised the banner of expedition, at least 5,000 people would come with dry rations and weapons to answer the call, and many of them would be veterans who had fought with Rostislav.
As for the maximum, in Anwar's estimation, it might even reach tens of thousands of people.
These people came from various tribes and communes in Northeast Rus', and even mercenaries from outside Northeast Rus'.
It is very difficult for an ordinary Prince to achieve such influence. This is the abundant fruit of a series of efforts Rostislav made over the past five years to spread his influence.
The Moscow Prince spent an unknown amount of money to expand his influence, and the results were indeed as he wished.
However, such an army comes for plunder and victory. If they are not given these, then the army will quickly disband on its own, and the soldiers will leave automatically.
Anwar's report made Rostislav very satisfied. If 5,000 people could come, plus his own 4,000, and some able-bodied men picked up along the way, it would directly form an army of over 10,000. Such a large army would indeed be a legitimate intervention in Bulgar.
Moreover, in Bulgar, he also had local collaborators, and the opposing ruler was unpopular. He was not facing a powerful nation, and the war would certainly not be difficult in any way.
However, although he was very excited internally, Rostislav knew that it was not yet time to send troops. To achieve that mobilization number, it would first take a lot of time to spread the word.
And after the war in Hungary, Rostislav and his retinue really needed to rest for a while…
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