After reporting the armaments situation to Rostislav, Vanigo saw the satisfied expression on the Moscow Prince's face, and then, before the Prince could give an order, he waved his hand towards the door.
As he waved, two craftsmen immediately pushed in a small cart, on which was a suit of armor placed on a stand.
Rostislav's attention was immediately drawn to this armor; it was a long-sleeved, gold-ringed chainmail, with each ring painted in dark gold, perfectly suited for a battle commander.
The cuffs and collar of the chainmail were also inlaid with copper rings, further increasing its defense.
Moreover, this chainmail was double-woven and extremely finely crafted; such chainmail was more robust, though it required a great deal of labor, which was precisely the kind of armor Rostislav preferred.
"Lord Rostislav, this is a small token from our Blacksmiths' Guild; please accept it. We expended a considerable amount of labor and materials for this armor," Vanigo said with a smile, while Rostislav walked over to the armor, touching it. It was indeed fine armor.
He immediately picked up the chainmail and put it on, finding that its size perfectly matched his physique.
"I accept this gift, Vanigo. Tell me, what does your Blacksmiths' Guild want?"
Rostislav, wearing the armor, returned to his original seat and then asked Vanigo for his request.
Although this set of chainmail was meticulously crafted and made of solid materials, to a Prince like Rostislav, it was not considered overly valuable.
Therefore, this gift was merely a pretext, a reason for the Blacksmiths' Guild to ask Rostislav for something. This something would not be too important, otherwise the Blacksmiths' Guild would not have sent only such a finely crafted suit of armor, but a more valuable gift.
"My Lord, it's like this: we wish for you to open up the sale of weapons and armor in the Moscow market. To be frank with you, there are many complaints about our guild outside, saying that we only sell weapons and armor to outsiders and not to locals, and some even say that it's because I, a Merya, deliberately do so…" Vanigo, being a straightforward person, immediately stated his request.
And there was a reason for his directness: this issue was related to whether he could firmly hold his position as Guild Master.
The Prince appointing a Merya as the Master of the Rus' Guild had made some people very displeased, and these people were taking advantage of this opportunity to exert pressure and incite discontent, encouraging guild members to oppose their Master.
As for why such a situation arose, it was because Rostislav had always restricted the sales channels for the Blacksmiths' Guild's weapons and armor.
Apart from foreign merchants, the guild's goods could only be sold to the Prince's armory and could not enter the Moscow market.
Rostislav did this primarily to attract foreign merchants by concentrating goods on foreign trade.
This was indeed a very successful strategy; through the large-scale export of weapons and armor, Moscow's reputation spread throughout All Rus'.
The large number of merchants attracted also stimulated the production of other guilds in Moscow, allowing Moscow's guilds to usher in a peak of development, which could be said to be a typical example of stimulating the whole area through a single point.
However, by this time, Moscow clearly no longer needed to continue in this manner, but this policy remained due to inertia.
And Rostislav, due to his indecisiveness, had also put this matter aside, as he still harbored a faint fear of the proliferation of weapons and armor, intending to maintain the status quo.
However, now that Vanigo had brought the issue to his attention, he had to face it seriously.
Facing Vanigo's question, Rostislav couldn't help but scratch his head.
The Merya's request was entirely reasonable; opening up the sale of weapons and armor in Moscow should be a matter of course, but the Prince still had some concerns; he was somewhat afraid of weapons and armor spreading among the populace.
However, after a while, Rostislav himself came to a realization. He found that he was indeed overthinking things. In this era, armed and armored civilians were everywhere; on the one hand, they were indeed a threat to the princely authority, but on the other hand, they also constituted the princely army.
And more importantly, with the temporary satisfaction in foreign trade, there was no longer any need for him to restrict the trade of weapons and armor.
Most importantly, if he didn't occupy this market, someone else would. The arms trade has always been a highly profitable industry, capable of bringing in immense wealth. In recent years, the money from Moscow's grassroots weapons market has probably all been earned by those foreign merchants.
Once this thought opened up, there were naturally no more problems. Rostislav directly told Vanigo: "Then go ahead and do it. Expand sales in Moscow. I hope this will increase the Blacksmiths' Guild's monthly tribute."
Rostislav's words were about an exchange of interests; the Moscow Prince would not simply hand over power, even if that power was rightfully theirs.
"Of course, Lord Rostislav, we will provide the tribute." Vanigo readily agreed. This was entirely within his capacity; after opening the Moscow market, the new profits would be enough for a portion of the tribute.
After discussing the most important transaction, the two then began to chat casually. The conversation here was much more relaxed, with both recalling past memories.
After all, Vanigo had followed the Prince's footsteps not long after Rostislav arrived in Northeast Rus', and he had even led his neighbors to help the Prince in battle. All of this had now been six years.
They talked until someone knocked on the door, saying that the guild's masters had arrived to visit the Prince as scheduled, and then they stopped.
These individuals were the most skilled group within the entire Blacksmiths' Guild. They were called masters, and the weapons and armor they produced were the best. They even enjoyed a certain reputation throughout All Rus' due to their excellent works—of course, Vanigo was one of them.
Next, Vanigo introduced the masters within the Blacksmiths' Guild to the Prince. The skill level of these masters and the Guild Master was on par, and several of them had once been Vanigo's competitors.
Due to that competition, they usually showed little obedience to Vanigo, only doing what they were supposed to do.
Now, standing before the Moscow Prince, they were obsequious and utterly submissive, completely devoid of the pride of a master.
The reason for their behavior was also very simple: the Moscow Prince could decide the future of the guild and the selection of the next Guild Master, so everyone naturally wanted to curry favor with the Prince.