After the great battle, Kashin returned to peace in just one week.
Rostislav did not hold a grand celebration feast, because the immense spoils of war obtained by everyone were enough to rival any magnificent banquet, and most importantly, the celebration feast should not be held here.
After leaving a small number of selected militiamen, Rostislav dismissed the conscripted soldiers, allowing them to return home with their wealth and a belly full of stories.
The news of the Bulgar Army's annihilation also spread, and the tension that had once affected the entire Northeast Rus' dissipated with it.
His uncles, upon receiving the news, also sent congratulatory letters; his eldest uncle's letter was as kind as ever, while his second uncle's was full of formalized words, and his third uncle meticulously chose his words, never forgetting to display his culture and knowledge.
His uncles were very surprised by Rostislav's achievements; they had originally thought that their nephew would at best hold the city until their reinforcements arrived, but Rostislav proved with his strength what he was capable of.
And in Northeast Rus', the local magnates who had once ignored the Prince's orders now flocked to Kashin, where the Prince was; the battle had already been decided, and now was the stage to pledge loyalty to the victor.
As for taking money from the Bulgars or anything like that, that, of course, did not exist; it was all fake.
Rostislav received these magnates gently; he saw awe and fear in their eyes; these people had originally thought the Bulgar Army would devour this young newcomer, but he proved that the Bulgars were the ones devoured by him.
The Prince knew that at this moment, he had finally subdued this group of people; no matter what their true thoughts were, submission had been etched into their hearts.
And for the residents of Kashin, while surviving was certainly joyful, the fact that the Kashen Silver Mine was flooded was an immense blow to them.
After retaking the Kashen Silver Mine, the news of the mine being flooded spread throughout the entire army, and naturally, Rostislav had to face accountability from all sides, but our Prince's countermeasure was very simple.
It was all the fault of those pagans!
Facing this unassailable reason, everyone did not know how to refute it and could only agree repeatedly.
After all, the silver mine was indeed ruined by the Bulgar pagans; this already belonged to a natural disaster, and what could anyone blame when facing a natural disaster?
The magnates of Northeast Rus' only hoped that the Prince would not blame them for their inaction; they had no courage to challenge the Prince.
As for his relatives, they found it difficult to say much in this situation, as none of this could be considered Rostislav's fault—in their view.
The Prince's trickery achieved complete success; he successfully got rid of the big bomb named Kashin.
Of course, there was a price; this matter more or less consumed his trust among his relatives, but thanks to the Bulgars taking the blame, plus his promise of compensation, this matter was considered settled.
The people sent by his uncles, after communicating with their respective masters, all decided to return to their masters, but Meshko and Edward stated that they would stay in Northeast Rus', and many of their warriors would follow.
Rostislav naturally welcomed this immensely; what he needed now were nobles who controlled land; he promptly allocated land to both of them and their subordinate warriors, telling them to go and build fortified settlements.
Rostislav was not surprised at all by their choice, as in a sense, they were sent to Northeast Rus' to acquire land.
However, the Prince was very surprised that they were still willing to stay here; the Kings of Poland and Hungary sent them here because of the silver mine, and at that time, acquiring land and establishing a city here was a rather good option, but without the silver mine, this land was just an ordinary wilderness.
For Rostislav, the victory at Kashin resolved all the problems he faced; not to mention the immense prestige, nearly ten thousand captives represented immense wealth, and even after half of their equipment was distributed, the remaining value was still considerable.
This money was enough to do many things after compensating his relatives.
But he dared not relax; those were nearly ten thousand captives; if these people revolted, it would be disastrous.
And given the current dilapidation of Kashin and the fact that the mine pit was flooded, Rostislav simply turned Kashin into a large prison, locking the Bulgars inside.
He treated these people well, providing them with good food and drink; he was not short of provisions now; the Bulgar Army's supplies had all been confiscated by him, and he also obtained everything they had plundered along the way, which was enough to feed these Bulgars for several months.
He had already sent envoys to Bulgar City and was now waiting for them to send people to redeem the captives.
While waiting for the ransom to arrive, personnel from all sides arrived in Kashin, and the Prince took this opportunity to bestow rewards upon the meritorious officials.
First, Yang, who achieved the greatest merit in this war; although he was not active on the main battlefield, his activities cleared the Prince's hidden dangers, which was also a great achievement.
Moreover, Yang was the most important attendant by the Prince's side, and such an attendant naturally deserved a generous reward; Yang was thus appointed Mayor of Suzdal, which made everyone feel envious.
Although Suzdal was just a small city, it was still a town; it should be known that the total number of towns in the entire Northeast Rus' did not exceed ten, and Yang, at such a young age, became the lord of a town.
Placing Yang here had a deep meaning; Olaf, that traitor, had a very strong influence in Suzdal; the Prince needed his own person to be stationed here to eliminate the influence and ensure this land was under control.
Next to be rewarded was Poleye; this former chiliarch from Kiev had been stabilizing the situation in Rostov; if it weren't for his presence, an unstable situation in Rostov would have caused very adverse effects.
So the position of Mayor of Beloye Lake City, the town Yang had seized from the Vesi, belonged to him; for Rostislav, having trusted individuals stationed in border areas was a very good choice; to the north of Beloye Lake were many unruly Finn tribes, and control over this area had to be strengthened.
Beloye Lake City was also a wealthy town; the local area had a developed salt-boiling industry and could collect a large amount of tribute from the Finn, making it a very lucrative position.
As for the position of Mayor of Rostov, the Prince gave it to Old Sanya, in return for the Kul'kant Family's loyalty.
Vanigo, for his efforts, saw Old City gain equal status and various rights with New City; when the Prince made this decision, his new Mayor of Rostov could only agree; Old Sanya, under the gaze of the New City magnates, did not raise any objections to this, because he understood that this was the price of gaining power.
As for Valin, this lucky fellow's territory directly doubled.
The land was all acquired from Olaf; the Prince's warriors divided the traitor's land; as for his children, his son was killed, and his daughter was married as spoils of war—this was the fate of the defeated; Olaf's family ultimately met its downfall in his generation.
Coupled with the fortified settlement repaired by the Bulgars, Valin was now undoubtedly a noble-level figure.
As for ordinary mercenaries and warriors being enfeoffed with land, there were too many to list here.