To avoid being seen by the soldiers after their ambush, Rostislav and Adam changed into fresh clothes before entering the camp, making sure they looked normal rather than disheveled from an attack.
Although the attack had been thwarted, such an incident, if spoken of, would still affect their authority. Rostislav didn't want to see rumors like "Moscow Prince beaten to a pulp" flying around, and Adam felt the same way.
However, he had one more concern than Rostislav: the fear of new rumors spreading. He was thoroughly disgusted by such things and didn't want a second time.
As for Jia Dabi's body, it was, as always, sent to a nearby town for display, showcasing the fate of rebels.
It wasn't until three days later, when someone attacked that town and stole Jia Dabi's body, that Rostislav realized he was an important figure.
But he didn't take it to heart; he was just a guerrilla leader, and such people were everywhere. If the body was stolen, then so be it.
None of this affected Rostislav's withdrawal arrangements. The Moscow Prince merely treated the incident as a minor interlude, a thrilling adventure before the withdrawal.
Especially after Rostislav received a detailed description of the chaos in Northeast Rus, he accelerated his retreat. Damn it, with such a big mess at home, he had to rush back!
Finally, about four days after the ambush, Rostislav announced the news of their return home to everyone, but he did not mention the chaos in Northeast Rus, as it was not suitable to discuss at that time.
This made the entire camp cheer. Everyone had been waiting for such news, and now that they could finally set off for home, how could they not be happy? Some even shouted excitedly, eager to return to their hometowns immediately and show off their spoils to their fellow villagers.
But for the Moscow Camp, it was not so joyful. They were forced to remain outside this happiness, as they were ordered to stay in Bulgar to assist Adam's rule and suppress Bulgar resistors.
This army was consequently very disheartened, but Rostislav stabilized morale with triple pay, using a half-bribing, half-coercive method to make them obey orders and stay.
However, this time Rostislav had a different purpose in making them stay. After receiving a detailed report from Moscow about the rebellion, and learning that four-fifths of the Rostov Camp had defected during the rebellion, Rostislav couldn't help but worry about the Moscow Camp, which had a similar personnel composition.
So, rather than letting them return, it was better to keep these men in Bulgar. Rostislav couldn't imagine what would happen if the Moscow Camp were influenced by the rural environment and large numbers of them flowed into the rural rebel forces.
Later historical experience taught Rostislav that rebellions themselves were not terrifying, but if a large number of professional soldiers joined a rebellion, the intensity of the fighting would significantly increase.
This was something the Moscow Prince absolutely did not want to see. He did not want to spend a lot of time on such matters; it was not worth it and lacked cost-effectiveness.
Not to mention, the Moscow Camp was a battle-hardened army. Rostislav believed that if the soldiers of this camp caused trouble, The Sherikhov Family's young master might not be able to control them.
Therefore, the Moscow Camp must stay, absolutely must stay, to avoid those chaotic influences, and only return when Northeast Rus has regained peace.
Moreover, at that time, the Prince would also have to conduct a screening of this unit, filtering out potential dangerous elements as much as possible.
And if necessary, disbanding the entire unit was not out of the question. Loyalty is paramount for standing armies; if they cannot meet this, what good are they? It's best to disband them.
On the day the Winter Army left, the Bulgars who knew the news were all joyful; finally, they could send off these devils.
Even the Bulgar guerrillas were not very active; no one wanted to stir up trouble at this time. Once the Rus' left, the living conditions would improve.
The collection of civilian supplies also went much smoother. Again, no one wanted to cause trouble when the Rus' were about to leave.
Now the consensus throughout Bulgar was to first send off these Rus' gods, and then deal with their own grievances.
Adam gave Rostislav many gifts upon his departure and was even more generous with supplies.
In his heart, he was still somewhat reluctant for the Rus' to leave, but he understood even more clearly that if the Rus' did not leave, he would never become a truly independent ruler.
As he left, Rostislav gave Adam much advice, all based on his experience in governance. He hoped that Bulgar under Adam's rule would stabilize soon, no longer requiring him to invest resources there.
And so, the Winter Army left. They departed in a grand procession, their vast military might carrying joyful spirits, heading towards their homeland.
However, it wasn't just members of the Winter Army who left; they also took away many Bulgar women and children. Some were spoils of war for the Rus', while others voluntarily attached themselves. These women were often forced into becoming military prostitutes for the Rus' due to their circumstances. They knew it was best to leave with the Rus', as Bulgar was no longer suitable for them, to avoid being purged afterward.
Besides them were groups of merchants. After all, following the large army was the safest. They were laden with goods, and this massive caravan followed behind the Winter Army.
Therefore, compared to when it arrived, the Winter Army was even larger in scale, completely unaffected by combat or attrition.
This campaign brought Rostislav far more gains than losses. He successfully made Adam the Bulgar Khan, extending his authority throughout the Volga River, allowing Rus' merchants quicker and better access to Eastern trade.
And what he paid was merely a few hundred dead men—of course, these were from the Prince's core forces, meaning the subordinate townspeople and peasants. Their families could receive some meager compensation, but that was still money.
As for the vassals below and the various armed plunderers, Rostislav didn't care about their lives or deaths. Oh, no, he did care about the vassals, after all, loyal vassals were a reliable source of combat power; he was mainly concerned about whether they had died.
As for the armed groups from various parts of Northeast Rus, they could die as they pleased; they were all disposable soldiers anyway. They came lured by spoils, so dying for spoils was only natural.
And according to the approximate data in the Moscow Prince's hands, about a thousand of these people were gone, which was not a very large casualty count. Anyway, this group was like cockroaches, incredibly tenacious, and who knew when another nest would pop up.
Although Rostislav did not treat these people as human beings, they were still very happy, and the reason for their happiness was nothing else but money. They followed the Prince on campaigns for money, and now their pockets were full of gold and silver, so how could they not be pleased?
Their support for Rostislav also grew stronger, and this was why Rostislav dared to lead them directly back.
With their pockets full of money, these people would not cause trouble casually. They were too busy enjoying a good life with their money to even think about rebellion.
Many people were thinking about how to start a new life with what they brought back. Some planned to expand production, buying plows and farm tools from towns, while others intended to spend all their money on wine and women. As for what to do when they ran out of money, they would just re-enlist.
Moreover, even if they did cause trouble, their limited military capability was just an extra. It wouldn't add much threat. What's more, there wouldn't be many troublemakers, as he had fed them well.
Due to their joyful mood, they were full of laughter and cheer as they returned along the same path they came, their steps lightened.
And without Rostislav's urging, they walked quickly, each person eager to return to Northeast Rus, to their homes, and start a good life with this money.
Watching this scene, the Moscow Prince was quite emotional. Before, commanding these people had given him a massive headache; he had to think of every possible way to make them speed up.
And now, he had to worry if they were walking too fast. This truly was unpredictable.