On the day of the celebration, the entire city of Novgorod was filled with joy.
Banners covered the sky, citizens wore their finest clothes, a joyful atmosphere permeated the air, and smiles graced everyone's faces.
No matter how hard or difficult their daily lives were, with the arrival of the celebration, they could temporarily escape these trivial matters and immerse themselves in happiness.
Therefore, everyone loved celebrations: the ruler won the hearts of the people, merchants earned gold and silver, and the citizens gained happiness.
The first event of the celebration was a grand parade, where people watched the Prince and the city's dignitaries parade before them in their finest attire.
The Prince's attendants continuously scattered silver coins into the crowd; these coins were foreign trade currency minted during Yaroslav's time, and production had ceased after the Grand Prince of Kyiv's death, but Rostislav still held a batch.
Rostislav had expended considerable effort to acquire this money, specifically sending people to Kiev for it; he held this batch of money for no other reason than to give alms, as the Moscow Prince disliked scattering foreign coins to the masses.
In fact, he had considered minting his own currency several times, but considering that he could not overstep Kiev's authority and lacked a stable source of silver, he ultimately had no choice but to give up.
However, with the capture of Novgorod, Rostislav's idea resurfaced, as Novgorod had always been steadily importing silver.
But this thought only lasted for a while; the matter was still too distant, and the focus should be on the present.
Novgorod had already witnessed his power, and now he wanted Novgorod to see his wealth.
Silver coins rolled among the crowd, and people cheered for "Yaroslav" (referring to the portrait on the silver coin), while the Prince's attendants continued to throw out more silver coins, making the cheers even louder.
Next came the procession of the Novgorod Militia and the Moscow Army; they were also dressed colorfully, with many officers dressed like proud peacocks displaying their feathers.
Militia from various districts stood tall, showcasing themselves before the city, bringing glory to their neighborhoods, and the residents naturally gave them the grandest cheers.
The key to the parade was to ignite the atmosphere, and in terms of effect, it was very well done; the grand processions ignited the passion of the people, plunging them into a frenzy.
As the parade passed, the streets were naturally reoccupied by the crowd, and the long-waiting vendors, prostitutes, and performers also became active; they were indispensable presences at every celebration.
But the grandest place was still Novgorod Square, where Master Alexei's Troupe performed the best show in all of Slavic lands, something rarely encountered normally, as the Master's performances were not always available to watch.
Rostislav naturally had the best seat; the Moscow Prince had erected a high platform opposite the stage and sat with his wife and children, enjoying the Alexei Troupe's performance.
Zoe was very happy and not displeased by the long journey, because for her, nothing was more joyful than seeing her husband's authority increase.
As for the children, they were curious about everything in this city; this was their first time leaving Moscow to visit another Slavic city.
However, Rostislav knew long ago that the children would be mischievous, so he arranged for people to keep a close eye on his sons; now they were all forced to sit in their seats and watch the play.
People were immersed in joy, delighted by all the grandeur; with the people's joy, Rostislav's support rapidly increased, and the Prince was also happy; he also loved celebrations.
The previous Prince of Novgorod had not held any celebrations during his long reign, yet Rostislav, soon after arriving, held such a grand ceremony; shouldn't it be obvious which Prince was better?
"It seems we have truly chosen a reliable ruler," said Gavrila, the administrator who performed excellently during the Polotsk attack, as he looked at the vast crowd in Novgorod Square.
Gavrila wore a fur coat and a fur hat, typical attire for a Novgorod dignitary, but since he had few attendants, those who saw him instinctively assumed he was a merchant.
As the best-performing administrator during that chaos, Gavrila was naturally promoted afterward; Rostislav evidently wanted to win over this capable Novgorod official, and many people now rumored that he would become the next Mayor of Novgorod.
Gavrila was not very concerned about these rumors; he cared about the city of Novgorod; he not only loved his district but also loved this city, otherwise he would not have fought so desperately for it.
As long as this city could develop smoothly, he would be willing to let even a pig be the Prince.
And now Gavrila's praise was because he saw a Prince who knew how to rule, a Prince who not only possessed military might but also knew how to win people's hearts.
This was especially important in Slavic lands, where the city militias had always been the most powerful force in this confederation of city-states; one who did not know how to appease these people could not rule.
In fact, Rostislav did not fully understand this principle at first, as Moscow was built from scratch under his supervision, and most Moscow citizens were previously dependents.
In such circumstances, the Moscow Militia was naturally not as unruly as most Slavic city militias, and they were very submissive to the ruler's authority.
It was Vyshata's letter that reminded Rostislav: Moscow was built by him, but Novgorod was already the second largest city in Slavic lands, and the city's militia had caused so many major incidents throughout history; wasn't he worried?
Thus, this celebration came to be; Gavrila naturally did not know, but even if he did, it would not change his evaluation of the Prince, because while anyone can listen to advice, ultimately only a few adopt it.
"I hope Novgorod will fare better and better under the leadership of this Prince in the future."
Gavrila expressed his good wishes; the administrator's wishes were simple and unpretentious, but previously, due to Novgorod's chaos and the Prince's incompetence, even dreaming of this wish was a luxury.
While the people of Novgorod were immersed in joy, the people of Moscow were also joyful; Novgorod was the second largest city in Slavic lands, and this city was also full of fun.
During this time, the Moscow soldiers had been enjoying themselves in Novgorod, but their enjoyment did not cause any trouble.
This was because Rostislav was very strict about military discipline, and the Moscow Prince had also allocated a special fund for the soldiers to enjoy themselves.
Novgorod's service industry, which had been somewhat sluggish due to the war, was revitalized by the presence of these thousands of soldiers; what these merchants most wanted to see were the Moscow soldiers, who were generous spenders, allowing the proprietors to earn a fortune.
Some Moscow people even married and settled in Novgorod, as Rostislav had recruited as many able-bodied men as possible on his journey.
Many of these men fled during the subsequent forced march, but as long as they persevered, they would find the opportunity to settle in Novgorod and instantly become citizens.
Rostislav strongly encouraged these people to settle in Novgorod; the more supporters he had in Novgorod, the better.
And in the evening, bonfires were lit in the square, illuminating the entire city brightly; a lavish night feast began, for which Rostislav had purchased all the supplies from the surrounding villages of Novgorod, and then countless foods were brought before the people for them to enjoy.
After the feast, people began to dance, circling the bonfires, and some restless youngsters secretly slipped into the darkness.
Amidst these harmonious scenes, Novgorod's joyful atmosphere reached its peak.
While Novgorod was in joy, far to the south, the Yaroslavichs stirred due to the major events happening in Novgorod.
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