"Lord Adam, I want to ask you about the situation in the East. How are the internal conflicts within Bulgar now?" Rostislav asked casually, popping the expensive walnuts from a small plate into his mouth.
Adam, facing Rostislav, appeared quite nervous and instinctively shared everything he knew about Bulgar.
"The internal situation of Bulgar… it can be said that various factions are emerging, but they can generally be divided into three branches: one that firmly opposes Akad, one that supports Akad, and finally, the neutrals and fence-sitters in this chaotic situation. Suvar's attitude remains ambiguous, seeming to be waiting for the best offer."
The increase in Bulgar's chaos was not far off, occurring shortly after Rostislav left Northeast Rus in 1060.
Although there had been internal skirmishes in Bulgar before, those hadn't escalated to full-scale conflicts.
Mostly, it was Akad suppressing some brainless rebel to make an example, rather than the subsequent large-scale uprisings by opponents and Akad's massive suppression.
"I was asking about the waxing and waning of power among the internal forces in Bulgar, Lord Adam. I already know all of this," Rostislav's tone showed a hint of displeasure. This non-answer was not what he wanted to hear.
"Oh, oh, that's right, my apologies, Lord Rostislav." Adam wished he could slap himself. How could he make such a mistake?
"Akad has been clearing out his opponents for years, and the situation of the opposition in this major rebellion is also unfavorable; their power is indeed getting weaker. However, Suvar recently stepped forward and provided refuge to the opposition forces, causing the war to pause and return to minor skirmishes."
"A smart person, knowing when to intervene. Much stronger than most of the fools I've met," Rostislav praised Suvar's actions.
After all, if the determined opposition were eliminated, fence-sitting would naturally become impossible, which was unacceptable for Suvar, who had always harbored ambitions.
Rostislav knew that Suvar was to Bulgar what Chernigov was to Kiev: challengers whose economic positions highly overlapped.
Such challengers would not miss any opportunity, just like Chernigov's support for his second uncle.
They wouldn't mind putting someone forward to help him ascend to that position, and they wouldn't mind paying some price.
This included many things, and religion was one of them, for in this cold northern land, how many truly devout people were there?
"How are the contacts with Suvar progressing? Are they willing to support you?" The Moscow Prince asked about the matter he cared about most. Whether the campaign against Bulgar could be smoothly launched, and whether the Ross Army could enter smoothly, depended on this.
"We have talked many times, but Suvar stated that they would only commit troops in response after seeing the Ross Army." Adam spoke of the result, which was neither good nor bad, then continued to look nervously at Rostislav, awaiting his reaction.
The Moscow Prince merely stroked his chin calmly, muttering to himself: "Not showing the rabbit before releasing the hawk, eh? Very good, these people are very wise. They will surely make a wise choice when the time comes."
The reason for the Prince's reaction was simple: these were smart people, and smart people knew the prevailing trends.
So, upon hearing this answer, Rostislav knew that it was basically settled; Suvar would definitely make the right choice when the time came.
Adam remained silent, completely unaware of the Prince's intentions or what he was thinking.
In such a situation, the correct response should be to remain silent, neither accepting nor rejecting.
Rostislav seemed to sense Adam's attitude. He said nothing about it, only feeling a bit bored, so he very simply changed the subject.
"By the way, how many people are in your secret camp now?"
As Rostislav spoke, the performance below was nearing its end. The cheers of the crowd erupted, momentarily drowning out the Prince's voice.
The "secret camp" Rostislav referred to was where the Bulgar exiles were located. Since the major internal conflicts in Bulgar began, people had continuously come to Ross to seek Adam, and many of these people were warriors.
At that time, Zoe was governing Northeast Rus. Her arrangement for these exiles was very appropriate: openly accepting them would be too provocative to Bulgar, but they could be accepted secretly.
Thus, secret camps were built to house the Bulgarians who came to Ross due to war or politics.
When the war ended, many Bulgarians would certainly leave, and as soon as they left, the Ross people would immediately take over everything they left behind, acquiring a small town just like that.
Rostislav smiled, looking at the fervor below. The actors were now taking their bows, preparing for the next performance.
The open space was quickly filled with various vendors hawking food and kvass. Theater opening days were their favorite times because they could always make a lot of money.
"It's truly lively; I like scenes like this," Rostislav said, his tone genuinely heartfelt. For the Moscow Prince, nothing pleased him more than witnessing prosperity.
This was a mindset he had developed during his construction efforts; seeing the prosperity and liveliness of his territory, his satisfaction nearly overflowed.
In stark contrast to Rostislav's contentment, Adam had no mind to look at the scene; he only found it incredibly noisy.
Although the sound was loud just now, he had clearly heard Rostislav's words, and after Rostislav finished speaking, he immediately followed with an answer:
"There are almost a thousand men now. Akad's persecution and plundering have forced many to flee here, and thanks to your resources, I can support so many people, but most of them are not soldiers; they are just civilians."
As the legitimate heir of the Dulu Family, the greatest benefit Adam's identity brought him was the influx of exiles.
After all, even if he had converted, he was still the true ruler of Bulgar, and there would always be people willing to pledge allegiance.
Moreover, the Ross people's attitude toward conquering Bulgar was so obvious that many people harbored the idea of returning as kings by leveraging this momentum. As for whether this momentum came from pagans, they simply didn't care.
"Civilians are fine; as long as they pick up weapons, stand in formation, and kill a few people, they become soldiers. I will give you more of those in a while." Rostislav stated that it was an easy problem to solve. In this era, to be a soldier, one only needed to be a man; throw them a spear, push them onto the battlefield, and then see how many are still alive. A qualified soldier would emerge that way.
Rostislav's satisfaction in his words made Adam sigh in relief, but he also felt a bit annoyed by Rostislav's attitude of treating people as consumables. However, Rostislav's next words made Adam forget his annoyance and his heart tightened again.
"However, how many of these thousand people have converted?"
This hit Adam's sore spot immediately. Conversion—he hadn't even dared to discuss this with Rostislav.
Although many people were in exile, it was still very difficult for them to abandon their old faith all at once, and Adam did not dare to be too forceful in this regard, as he needed manpower, more manpower, right now.
But now that he was asked, there was no other way.
"Only two hundred…"
"What? Two hundred? Adam, my friend, even with your old subordinates, you only have a little over two hundred Christians. Are you sure you intend to rely on such a small force to persuade your country to convert to Christianity? You must understand, I can help you in the early stages, I can even provide you with a Christian garrison to deploy, but I cannot help you for a lifetime."
Rostislav's words made Adam feel very downcast, and as he felt low, another cheer erupted from the stage below. That cheer stood in stark contrast to Adam's dejection.