"I roughly understand the theoretical situation now." Guo Kang nodded: "Then what we should do now is Lixin first."
"Lixin." Tuohuan muttered the word: "This is also...ancient political wisdom."
"Old, but very important." Guo Kang emphasized: "You see, the local situation is very obvious. Their city is better said to be the prince's headquarters tribe."
"Only relying on people in the city cannot meet our needs, but people in the countryside are seriously opposed to the city. In this case, it is impossible to get the response of the local people and take the first step without establishing mutual trust first."
"Then we have to publicize it well." Tuohuan thought about it: "We have to find a way to let them know that we have changed the military system now and it is fair to everyone."
"Yes. This is the difficulty." Mrs. Elena agreed: "Since the Rurik era, the Rus region has experienced many rounds of military reforms. But over the years, there have been few reforms that have benefited the countryside. Change: To the residents of the village, the army came from the city to rob.”
"At the beginning, these armies were mainly Nordic-style infantry. Later, influenced by the grasslands, they gradually evolved into cavalry. Earlier, many people still used leather armor and cloth to make protective gear. Now there are many main soldiers. Armored."
"But to the villagers, these military changes are actually irrelevant. Even if we continue to implement reforms, in their eyes, it is nothing more than changing to more advanced tactics and weapons, and then continuing to rob the village. There is no way to change Their attitude cannot solve the problem."
"Then where do you plan to start? After so many efforts, there should have been some breakthroughs in your hometown, right?" Guo Kang probably understood her thinking, so he continued to ask.
"Yes, in my hometown, we have a certain foundation now. But this is not mainly due to me, but the legacy left by my father." Mrs. Elena said.
"In the Principality of Ryazan, the prince is very powerful. Of course, this may be due to a coincidence."
"At that time, like other principalities, we were also mired in civil strife for a long time. The noble assembly had a great influence on the city-state, and the inheritance of princes was mostly from brother to brother, so there were always disputes between uncles, brothers and nephews. Endless fighting.”
"But then suddenly the Mongols came."
"Ryazan was one of the principalities closest to the steppes, so it became Batu's first target. The city was quickly captured and then completely destroyed. At that time, my ancestors happened to fail in the fight for the Grand Duke and were forced to flee Ryazan. , took shelter in the fiefdom of Pereslavl, so he survived.”
"At that time, almost everyone in the city, including the entire clan of the rival grand duke, and most of the nobles who could challenge the prince, were all killed by the Mongols. Later, the Golden Horde needed someone to rule the area on its behalf, so they looked for Liang Members of the line of the Prince of Zan found that only my ancestor was left, so they appointed him as the new Grand Duke. This is the beginning of the history of our line."
At this point, she paused slightly. Everyone else also started thinking about it.
"Should I apologize, or should I...congratulate?" Tuohuan hesitated and said cautiously.
"Maybe." Mrs. Irina herself seemed unsure: "After that war, the old city of Ryazan was destroyed and has not been rebuilt since. Ryazan now is actually Pereslavl at that time. .”
"Because this is the traditional sphere of influence of our family, we did not encounter the same resistance from the citizens as those princes who changed their territory. Moreover, the bloodline of Rurik gradually only left us and Prince Vladimir. Therefore, the legitimacy of the family is rarely challenged. In addition, there are no big nobles who can restrain the prince, which makes the rule much smoother."
"Since then, within the principality, a relatively stable father-son inheritance system has been maintained in accordance with the wishes of successive grand dukes, and there has been no serious civil strife."
"That's right..." Tuohuan nodded: "By the way, I remember that at that time, the late Emperor Basil II married his sister to the prince of Russia in exchange for the people of Russia to be baptized. Are you the descendants of that princess? ? If this is the case, you and Rome will have another level of relationship."
"Probably not." Mrs. Elena shook her head: "The one you are talking about is called 'Anna of Constantinople' in the Russian history books. She was depressed after marrying Grand Duke Vladimir until her death. They are all engaged in religious activities and there is no news about their heirs.”
"Our chronicles record various wives of Vladimir and their descendants, but none of them are related to her."
"So that's how it is." She seemed a little regretful when the relationship failed.
"Princesses that get married generally end badly. It seems that this is not the case only in Rome." Theodora sighed beside her and glanced at Guo Kang.
"But that is also their responsibility." Joanna, who had been silent until now, suddenly interrupted: "The descendants of the nobles have always enjoyed the benefits of blood. Then they should also serve the interests of the family, among which Including marriage, of course.”
"Your family is considered a noble, right?" Theodora retorted: "Then do you have this awareness?"
"Of course." Joanna did not hesitate: "I know very well how to marry is best for the family, and I am indeed willing to do it."
She answered so readily that Theodora couldn't follow her for a moment.
"Okay, let's not go too far." Tuohuan instinctively felt that the atmosphere was not right, and quickly brought back the topic: "Madam, please continue. What did you do after the rule was stable?"
"Oh, at that time, they chose to establish a code." Mrs. Elena replied.
"The earliest Russian law is said to have been formulated during the period of Vladimir I Svyatoslavich. The main part currently circulating is the 'Yaro Law' compiled by Yaroslav I Vladimirovich Slavic Truth'. These laws were compiled into the earliest code of law, called the Rus' Truth."
"However, these laws are basically a compilation of the customary rulings of the Russians at that time, mainly Nordic-style rules, and overall they are very crude."
"This...I probably can't remember this name either." Tuohuan muttered.
"It's hard for us to remember it ourselves. There are too many people with the same name." Mrs. Irina said in a fit of laughter and tears: "You can call Yaroslav 'The Wise Man'. This is his nickname. It will be easier to remember." "
"What about Vladimir?" Tuhuan continued to ask.
"That person is the one I just mentioned, the one who was baptized first and then married the Greek princess, right?" Guo Kang thought about it.
"Yes, that's him." Mrs. Elena nodded: "This person is one of the most important figures in the history of Ross. But he doesn't have a particularly popular nickname."
"Then let's give him a code name." Guo Kang couldn't stand the name and decided to start one on the spot since he didn't have one: "Isn't he the first to be baptized and the ancestor of each principality's lineage? Then call him 'Fu Zu' 'Bar."
(End of chapter)
