To welcome these distant guests, the July feast lasted for three full days.
Even after a long time, these three days were still talked about by many, because Rostislav's scale this time was the grandest since Moscow was founded.
Moreover, this feast was not only a welcoming banquet for the southern guests from Rostislav, but also Rostislav's declaration of war against Bulgar.
On the last day of the feast, Rostislav, accompanied by Tiberius, the future Bulgar Bishop, and Luka, the current Moscow Bishop, declared that the conquest of Bulgar was a matter blessed by God.
Under God's blessing, this country on the Volga River would inevitably become a Christian nation, and the souls of all who participated in this conquest would receive salvation, and all sins would be washed away.
Rostislav also declared this to be a Crusade, a great Crusade to bring salvation to the distant unbelieving lands.
Of course, this had no impact on the vast number of pagans in Northeast Rus, at most inspiring the will of Christians, and more importantly, it showed Rostislav's firm resolve.
Furthermore, in this era, few people knew the concept of a Crusade; this time, Rostislav deliberately mentioned the term, and when he mentioned it, most people actually didn't understand—What is that person above saying? That was their thought.
As for why and how, that was, of course, Rostislav engaging in his favorite act of pre-emption.
These minor details still seem insignificant, but they will inevitably be mentioned in future studies, and some people will surely write long theses about them.
Perhaps in the future, someone will even use his words to call him the earliest Crusader, but in reality, his goals were entirely secular; establishing Christianity was outwardly religious, but inwardly still secular, which is quite interesting.
After the feast ended, life in Moscow seemed to return to its usual tranquility, with no significant changes except for the citizens receiving a special birch bark document recording their family information.
But change also arrived subtly; as time passed and the autumn harvest concluded, farmers from various places rolled up their grain and carried weapons and armor to Moscow, the rallying point spoken of by Rostislav.
Initially, there were only a few individuals, or teams of dozens, who set up their sheds and tents on the vast open fields outside the Moscow city walls.
As the time drew nearer, the arriving contingents grew larger and larger, and the composition of their personnel became more diverse, ranging from farmers to distant mercenaries, all readily available.
Various merchants and followers of all trades also gathered here; everyone knew that when large armies assembled, it was also a time to make big money, and many of these people even planned to continue accompanying the army, conducting business until the war ended.
Rostislav welcomed the arrival of these people, because if so many strong men crowded outside the city walls could not have their various needs met, major problems would arise.
However, he did not allow these people to enter Moscow; if they were let into the city, it would surely descend into chaos.
chieftains and urban dignitaries from various places also arrived with their subordinate troops, and the arrival of these contingents made everyone suddenly realize how close the war was to them.
A large number of Nomads also arrived; these were the southern guests whom the Moscow Prince had taken in.
Although many of them had already started farming, these few years were not enough for them to lose their steppe skills; they remained powerful Nomad cavalry.
Moscow was immediately organized under the Prince's command; the Veche organized citizens from various districts, forming them into temporary companies.
The guilds also fielded a force of three hundred men, though most of them were substitutes and mercenaries hired by the guilds; the guilds would certainly not let their craftsmen participate in any distant expeditions; if they did participate, it would be in the Prince's craftsmen's corps.
As for the villages within Moscow's jurisdiction, all the able-bodied men in the villages gathered and went to Moscow to serve their Lord Rostislav.
Soon, a huge "city" appeared outside the Moscow city walls, and this city continued to grow daily, as eager volunteers arrived every day.
Rostislav's personal guards and retainers did nothing else every day but focus on organizing these troops, teaching them hand-in-hand how to line up and how to maintain order.
The surging population brought significant security problems to Moscow; after all, those crowding here were all able-bodied men, full of vigor, and all were battle-hardened warriors with weapons and armor in hand; conflicts and even crimes were all too normal.
For instance, some time ago, a prostitute in the city had her head cut off and thrown into a pond, and the murderer has still not been found.
There were also brawls in taverns that directly escalated to knives, with five people dying on the spot, and Rostislav subsequently hanged all the remaining people.
Currently, various criminals' corpses are hanging beneath the Moscow city gates, and some living people are confined in cages, left to die of thirst and starvation; only such actions can deter potential criminals.
During this time, good families in Moscow did not allow their daughters to go out; God knows what those restless beasts might do, and the common people were very experienced in this regard.
However, although all this was chaotic, Rostislav was only busy, not flustered, because this was the expected chaos, and he just needed to respond as planned, as there were already contingency plans in place for this.
Citizens, farmers, forest dwellers, tribesmen, Nomads… Moscow was now crowded with all sorts of people, and naturally, there were all sorts of conflicts, but Moscow's officials were already well-versed.
The recently joined Greek officials, facing all these unfamiliar circumstances, were also at ease, because although the appearance had changed, the core remained the same:
Crowds speaking different languages, various conflicts arising from cultural differences, and crowded streets; they experienced all this daily when they were in the imperial capital.
Of course, there were also problems hindering their work, most notably the language barrier, which could only be overcome by relying on their "predecessors" for translation.
As for Rostislav, he was busy meeting with various groups of people: dignitaries, chieftains, tribal chiefs, village elders…
These people were loyal subjects who had answered his summons, and Rostislav needed to feast them and build relationships with them.
And feasting with these people was not easy, especially with the tribal chiefs and village elders; it was just endless drinking until these fellows passed out, which, in the eyes of these guests, was a sign of hospitality.
Fortunately, Rostislav was a very capable drinker and did not fall behind in drinking contests with these old alcoholics, which earned him a lot of praise.
Although the Moscow Prince had always been famous, those old conservatives rather looked down on this young man due to his age, but after Rostislav drank them under the table, these people had no complaints whatsoever.
Bishop Luka was also very busy, because the crowds visiting the Moscow St. Sophia Cathedral were truly endless; Moscow was now packed with people from all over Northeast Rus, and naturally, there were many Christians among them.
Normally, these people would not perform any worship; their attitude towards Christ was simply that of worshiping a deity.
But since they had come to Moscow, they naturally had to visit the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Moscow and worship beneath the holy icons of the deity they had converted to.
Quite a few polytheists also came, and their reasons for coming were purely utilitarian; visiting the Christian deity in Christian territory might even protect them on the future battlefield.
However, after arriving in the Lord's temple, many converted because of its grandeur, and although the motives were often very utilitarian, and some even believed just for fun, it is said that actions speak louder than intentions.
And once conversions occurred, Bishop Luka had to become busy; although the conversion matters could be handled by his subordinates, the Bishop always did it himself, because he always liked to do so, and for him, nothing was better than converting unbelievers.