The merchants accompanying the army had considerable objections to the decision to turn south, pass through Moldavia to Wallachia, and then cross this land full of Pecheneg tribes.
It wasn't that they were afraid of fighting; as merchants who traveled everywhere, they were actually accustomed to and unafraid of robbery.
In Europe today, even the powerful Greek Empire can't claim absolute safety outside its city walls, let alone other regions.
Therefore, these merchants had more or less experienced many trials by combat, as encounters with robbers were never few.
And it was routine to fight alongside the guards to protect the caravan against amateur robbers, who were either professional bandits or local residents in disguise.
But even so, they were unwilling to pass through the land of Wallachia; in the eyes of these merchants, who had experienced many trials of plunder, this land was too dangerous.
Pecheneg tribes, like vultures searching for carrion, patrolled this land, and once they found active enemies, they would fiercely bite down and greedily devour the flesh and blood.
Moreover, these Nomads often moved in groups of hundreds or thousands, and even if you were lucky enough to defeat them, new Pecheneg tribes would quickly bite down.
And seeing that you were a tough nut to crack, the tribes would even unite to plunder, and then divide your caravan equally.
For the merchants, this was a dead end, the kind where you would surely die if you went there.
Although Moldavian nobles had connections to allow their controlled caravans to pass through this land, these ordinary merchants simply couldn't find such connections, and didn't know how to pay protection fees even if they wanted to.
However, even if they could make contact, it would be...
And those nobles, through this connection, earned gold and silver, becoming immensely wealthy, as they virtually monopolized this trade route, while those small merchants could only envy them.
However, the Yaroslavichs were not in the mood to listen to what the merchants had to say; how could such a large elite army not be able to pass through the lands controlled by those bandits? That would truly be a laughingstock.
It should be known that over a thousand people in this army were personal guards clad in armor; this was the essence of Rus', the elite of Rus', and could these combined forces not defeat those robbers?
It was also for this reason that while a small number of caravans decided to leave, most caravans decided to continue following the Rus' Princes' army; the reason was very simple: the elite of All Rus' were gathered here, and passing through with such an army would definitely be safe.
Thus, the army changed direction and headed south.
First, they had to cross Moldavia, a land located beyond the Carpathian Mountains, a land full of hills.
Because it was far from Kiev and close to the steppe, although it was also an Orthodox territory and inhabited by Rus' people, Kiev's control over it was very weak; the local rulers basically acted on their own, ignoring Kiev.
However, this land was very famous in Rus', for a simple reason: it had a large number of vineyards that produced the best wine in All Rus'.
This was also Kiev's most important economic link with this place; Kiev would import a large amount of wine from here, in large and stable quantities, and the Kiev Grand Duke's private cellar even made room for Moldavian premium wines.
When the Kiev Grand Duke came to Moldavia, the local rulers who managed the vineyards naturally came forward to greet him with utmost respect; no matter what, the Kiev Grand Duke was the supreme ruler.
Moreover, they welcomed this army very much, because such a large army would inevitably purchase a large amount of wine from them.
And just as they thought, the Rus' people were indeed buying large quantities of wine.
For the merchants, since they came to Moldavia, they should buy more of these local wines, which could then be sold elsewhere.
As for the ordinary soldiers in the army, it was a rare opportunity to travel so far, and it would be a shame not to bring some back; whether they drank it with friends or sold it, it would be worth it.
It was through such purchases that the locals became increasingly enthusiastic about the Great Duke Rostislav's army; if the Great Duke Rostislav had brought a small team for official inspection, they would have entertained him according to their feudal obligations.
But now the Great Duke Rostislav had brought so many 'gods of wealth,' they had to be revered like gods of wealth.
As a result, the army received increasingly enthusiastic hospitality; many villages and towns even provided supplies to the army for free, just to thank these 'gods of wealth'; the more they bought, the happier they were.
And Great Duke Rostislav was able to take this opportunity to taste all the good wines of Moldavia; the local nobles had brought out all their best goods, so he naturally had to taste them with all his might; many wines that only the Great Duke Rostislav in Kiev could have, he could now drink freely.
At the same time, he did not forget to buy a large batch; this time he brought many carriages south, and these carriages, which were empty after the food they carried was eaten, were now perfect for holding these fine wines; after arriving in Hungary, this batch of wine could be sold for a huge profit.
Many people were carrying wine, and they used all sorts of methods to bring more wine to sell or enjoy back home, but none of them were as convenient as Great Duke Rostislav; he was pulling it by the cartload.
At the same time, taking advantage of the opportunity to buy wine, Great Duke Rostislav established relationships with the local nobles, and through these relationships, Great Duke Rostislav was able to contact some brokers who specialized in acting as intermediaries between the steppe tribes and the caravans.
As Moldavia bordered the steppe, its ties with the steppe were naturally close.
Being a ruler here inevitably involved dealing with the steppe tribes, and over time, professional brokers also appeared here, responsible for facilitating connections.
Yes, crossing Wallachia is extremely dangerous, but if you have connections to brokers and bribe the Pecheneg tribes, you can also gain safety and pass through this land smoothly.
So, if that's the case, why is this land still considered extremely dangerous? Why don't many people take the route of paying for safe passage?
That is mainly because these tribes are too greedy; they have informants in Moldavia.
And these informants will assess the value of the goods passing through the caravan, and then demand a price based on that value.
And this asking price is often half the value of the entire caravan, which many caravans find difficult to accept; they either choose to refuse and take other routes, or they try to force their way through Wallachia.
And the fate of those who force their way through is uniform—they become corpses.
Of course, the Pechenegs' asking price also varies depending on the situation; for example, if a caravan with a local Moldavian noble background comes to negotiate, the asking price will be very reasonable; this is part of their dealings with the Moldavian nobles.
So, even if those ordinary caravans find a way to contact the Pechenegs and take the route of paying protection money for passage, they would have to bleed heavily and wouldn't make any money.
The Pechenegs are not intent on being enemies with all their neighbors; they will leave an opening for external relations and importing goods, an opening that can always be used, and currently, this opening is Moldavia.
Through contact with the local nobles, Great Duke Rostislav easily found brokers, and the brokers worked very efficiently, quickly bringing back the asking prices of their respective steppe tribes.
To Great Duke Rostislav's surprise, the asking prices of these steppe tribes were actually very fair, a price that was acceptable, and not the exorbitant demand he had imagined.
Great Duke Rostislav had originally planned to haggle, but the other side was surprisingly straightforward.
However, considering that the Moldavian nobles could obtain a fair price from the Pecheneg tribes, he was no longer surprised, as it seemed these Nomad tribes completely adjusted their demands based on the person.
Great Duke Rostislav immediately took this negotiation result to his uncle, and Izyaslav was very pleasantly surprised by this; he was still racking his brain on how to approach those Pecheneg tribes, and Great Duke Rostislav had already settled the matter.
As for the Pechenegs' asking price, it was indeed very reasonable, and Izyaslav readily agreed; they even met and drank with several Pecheneg chiefs, finalizing the cooperation at a banquet.
And after the transaction was completed, the army thus began its journey to Wallachia.
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