The battle on the Kama River sandbar was known as the Battle of the Sandbar, and in that battle, the Rus' suffered 635 dead and 1,030 wounded.
There were no seriously wounded, because in this era, severe injuries on the battlefield were equivalent to death, and those severely wounded had long since been executed on the spot and counted among the dead.
Although many people died, most of the deceased were not from Rostislav's direct fiefdoms, so Rostislav did not have to pay a pension for them.
Pensions were a privilege exclusive to the Prince's direct territories; after all, how could such a thing as a pension exist in the North's normal state of affairs? Rostislav, in order to increase the appeal for people in his governed areas to become "registered residents," proposed this preferential treatment.
The pension itself was not very high, uniformly one grivna, and this was only for urban residents; those outside the city only received one-third of that, nothing more, but it was enough to create some appeal.
This was essentially a small favor, but the Moscow Prince knew very well that such small favors could play a very good role.
However, even so, the Prince was still afraid of too many of his subordinates dying; after all, even if one person's pension was a small amount of money, when the numbers accumulated, it would become a large sum.
Leo didn't need to say that there was no need to fear such a thing; he would just play a data game, finding a way to count the dead as missing. This old bureaucrat from the imperial capital had experienced such things many times and was very skilled at them.
And for the common people, since there was money to be had even if they died in battle, where else could they find such a good deal? So, for that money, wouldn't they just register in the Prince's household ledger and get some identification documents?
As for whether other lords would provide pensions to the families of the fallen, everyone understood: if they died, they died; don't expect anything else.
If these deceased still had wives and children, their families could only remarry or become prostitutes; that was the way of this era.
As for soldiers from areas in the forests that even local lords and towns could not control, the fate of their families was largely unknown.
For their wives and children, they only knew that their husband had heard some news about making money, took his weapons, went to join some army, and then never returned.
In contrast to the Rus' casualties, the Bulgar bodies counted on the battlefield reached 3,500, and the number of surrendered captives was even greater, reaching 2,000.
Of these 2,000 people, except for a few unlucky ones, most were placed under Adam's command. Adam now commanded 5,000 men, and people were continuously coming to pledge allegiance to him.
As for the weapons and armor collected from the battlefield, they were countless. Although most were damaged, they could be used after minor repairs. The soldiers did not have high demands for these; they didn't mind that some people in the camp still used clothes with obvious large mended holes in the chest.
After the battle, the spoils of war market was full of soldiers selling various deceased people's belongings. Merchants bought heavily, as these common soldiers did not understand the true price of these items, and many were experiencing the market for the first time.
In addition, Rostislav also plundered the Bulgar camp not far behind the sandbar, obtaining a large amount of armor and supplies, as well as the gold and silver Akad used to reward his subordinates, and most importantly, grain. This grain alleviated Rostislav's somewhat awkward reserves.
The consumption of grain was the most unexpected for Rostislav; his stored grain was heavily consumed in this short period, and now it was somewhat unable to keep up with the supply, which made Rostislav particularly depressed.
However, fortunately, after Akad Khan's defeat, this vast Bulgar land was basically at their disposal. After discussing with Adam, Rostislav decided to send some troops to Bulgar rural areas to requisition and purchase grain.
And these troops also had a task: to liberate slaves. In the Bulgar hinterland, even some villages had slaves, and liberating slaves was Christian political correctness.
Adam was very supportive of this; in his view, slaves could become very good Christians and form the basic support for his rule.
Dealing with nearly a thousand corpses on the battlefield was still somewhat troublesome, and not clearing them was not an option. If bodies were left unattended, it could easily lead to epidemics, and digging pits and carrying bodies required a lot of manpower.
Only a small number of bodies were claimed; these were mostly people who were wealthy in life, and naturally, servants or friends would take their bodies back. As for ordinary soldiers, the only good thing for them compared to the Bulgars was that they at least had something to cover themselves when buried, and had a separate pit, unlike Bulgar bodies which were haphazardly thrown into large pits like a pile of garbage.
Many wounded also needed rest, so the Winter Army did not continue its advance.
Furthermore, some bodies of high-ranking officials and nobles needed to be sent back, such as Sasha, the son of the Rostov mayor, and Varu, the lord of Torzhok. These two were also important vassals of Rostislav, and they had to be sent back to their families.
And the Prince also had to write letters to comfort their families, and had to send some spoils of war. The death of nobles was different from that of ordinary soldiers.
Rostislav was not worried about Mayor Sanya; that mayor had other sons, and although he was old, he was full of energy, and it was clear he had several more years to live.
As for Varu's family, the Prince was very uneasy. Orphans and widows would definitely be bullied by those below them. Varu's weakness over the years had already caused those nomadic tribes to stir up trouble in secret, and the situation for these orphans and widows would definitely be even more severe.
Some vassals from Novgorod and Moscow had complained to Rostislav about the wanton behavior of the nomadic cavalry. Now, if orphans and widows were in power, the situation would certainly be even more severe.
Rostislav intended to replace the person in charge of these nomadic tribes, and he happened to have a suitable candidate at hand—John Sokar.
The Rus' were not eager to advance further, because Akad's main force had been annihilated, and his active forces had been dispersed.
For a usurper, without military power meant death. The capture of famous Volga cities like Bulgar and Suvar was only a matter of time. Akad would only be courting death by holding out in the city.
So Rostislav simply let Adam take his Bulgar army to take over one town and village after another.
This aroused opposition from many of his subordinates, but Rostislav strongly suppressed this opposition.
Some people, seeing this great victory, wanted to change their minds, wanting to permanently incorporate this land into their territory, wanting to turn Adam into their puppet, but Rostislav would not agree; this did not align with his goals or his long-term interests.
Inside the Winter Army, Rostislav also had to reward his subordinates for their merits.
In the luxurious tent in the military camp, Rostislav sat on a carved long chair. The chair was carved with Persian flowers, obtained from the plunder of the Bulgar camp.
Behind the Prince were warriors in armor, standing like a wall, displaying the majesty of the Rus' Prince.
Even the most unruly barbarians would feel genuine fear upon seeing such a sight. This scene undoubtedly gave the petitioners a great visual impact, allowing them to witness the spectacle brought by power.
Next to the Prince, someone was preparing to record; such matters as commending meritorious officials must leave a written record. If there were no written records, many things would be difficult to manage.
However, this was actually a custom that arose under Rostislav's advocacy; before this, no Prince would do such a thing.
And at the Captain of the Guard's call, the meritorious officials entered one by one.
The most meritorious official in this war was undoubtedly Valin Kashensky; he planted the flag in the Bulgar main formation, securing their victory.
Rostislav generously allocated ten villages to Valin; of course, these were villages where the princely authority had only just begun to enter, and Valin would have to establish his power himself.
However, what the Prince did not know was that three of these ten neighboring villages he allocated had already been absorbed by Valin.
As for why Valin did not report it, it was because more territory meant more taxes. It was better to keep it hidden. Although that small amount of tax was indeed nothing, it was better to pay less for one day than not.
The Prince also presented Valin with a set of gilded armor, which came from a fallen Bulgar lord, and also gave him a long spear with a pure silver hilt, and a small box of silver coins.
These long spears were a batch that Rostislav had specifically ordered to be made before setting out, to be used as rewards for these warriors.
Valin was very satisfied with these rewards; both the land and the wealth were excellent. Most importantly, he gained recognition in front of the nobles who had ruled this land for generations.
Although he was seen as a parvenu, this also meant that his family had entered that upper circle, the circle around the Prince.
After a few more generations, his descendants would stand beside the Prince, becoming a part of the Rus' aristocracy, and everyone would take it for granted.
And thinking this, Valin became even more loyal to Rostislav, who had given him all this.
After Valin withdrew, the next meritorious official was undoubtedly Meshko. This Polish Knight showed great courage when the Bulgar warships attacked, saving the chaotic situation.
For this, the Prince allocated him a territory of five villages. Although it was only five villages, these were all under the Prince's direct authority, meaning they would submit to corvée labor and pay taxes on time.
Rostislav knew that Meshko had a difficult time taming his territory, and many people there were still dissatisfied with him due to his past harsh actions. So, he naturally had to use this opportunity to give Meshko some reliable territory.
Of course, no one else present knew the inside story. Rostislav held the entire Northeast Rus list of villages and territories that could be involved, and only he knew these details.
As for gold and silver rewards, Meshko directly refused. As the illegitimate son of the former King of Poland, he lacked nothing but money.
King Kazimierz could not arrange for his children within Poland, so he could only place Meshko in a remote place abroad. And to compensate for this guilt, he gave Meshko a great deal of gold and silver.
Furthermore, Poland would provide him with an annual cash sum. Bolesław had a very good relationship with his illegitimate brother, and after every victorious battle, he would send his illegitimate brother some spoils of war and captives.
Otherwise, Meshko would not have been able to maintain so many Polish Knights as a chieftain, and he was not as good at interpersonal relationships as Edward. The number of these knights was even more than the Druzhinas of many town nobles.
Next were the Scherihov brothers, Yegor and Anton. One held the line at the most critical moment for the Rus', and the other personally slew the Bulgar Prince Selim.
Originally, Rostislav wanted to grant them both territory, but unfortunately, both Yegor and Anton refused. One stated that he was determined to develop in Moscow and did not want land far from the city, while the other stated that he would go to the imperial capital after this battle.
Rostislav had no choice but to give the territories that should have been granted to them to Vasily, the third son of the Sherikhov Family and the Lord of Lower Novgorod, and then gave them more gold and silver.
Rostislav was not lacking in gold and silver now; the amount seized from Akad's tent alone was enough to reward the meritorious officials of this battle.
Rostislav was not surprised that Yegor wanted to develop in Moscow, but he greatly regretted Anton's decision to go south to the imperial capital. This was a student from Constantinople University, and a Rus', it would have been better if he could have stayed in the North.
But after understanding that Anton was determined to leave, he did not try to persuade him further. He understood the principle that everyone has their own aspirations, and rather than spoiling the relationship by forcing someone to stay, it was better to leave a good impression for future encounters.
Valin, Meshko, and the Scherihov brothers were the most outstanding individuals in this campaign, so there was nothing more to say about the meritorious officials after them. They received land and wealth from the Prince for their contributions.
The only one worth mentioning was John Sokar. This nomadic chieftain displayed extreme bravery in battle. Although he did not achieve any specific combat results, he was still a highlight.
Rostislav intended to have him take over Varu's responsibilities to control and settle the nomadic tribes in the northwest. Varu's children could not do such a thing, and those tribes must be kept under control; they absolutely must not cause trouble.
After the final awards were completed, everyone in the hall cheered in unison. Rostislav's generosity satisfied everyone, and they praised Rostislav's name, shouting, "Long live God!"
And then the banquet in the military camp began, with the meritorious officials and those who had plundered the spoils of war immersed in joy.