king of ros

Chapter 35 Full Invasion
The so-called Vladimir Palace refers to several palace buildings built by Vladimir around the Tithe Church.

The Tithe Church is a Christian church dedicated to God established by the "Saint" Vladimir after he converted to Christianity.

Before the completion of St. Sophia of the Wise, this was the iconic church in Kyiv. Although it is now inferior to St. Sophia, it is still the power center of Ross, because it is next to the Vladimir Palace.

When the spire of the Tithe Church appeared, Rostislav saw the Grand Duke's soldiers in front of the Vladimir Palace.

These warriors wore uniform armor, and their entire heads were covered by helmets and chain veils, with only two eye sockets exposed. They carried Dan people's axes in their hands, and they looked murderous.

But thinking back on the various panic scenes he saw along the way, Rostislav is not surprised why he is so nervous:
Kyiv came to a standstill in the shadow of the grassland. A large number of merchant ships set sail and went up the Dnieper River to avoid the chaos of the war. There were basically no people in the prosperous docks.

Many residents started hoarding food to cope with the possible siege of the city, which caused the price of food in the market to soar, but even so, there was still an endless stream of people buying, and those who had no money could only watch desperately on the street.

The streets are full of panicked citizens. When Rostislav passed by, he saw an old man who kept saying the name of God and Perun (Note 1). It is estimated that the old man was afraid of being confused. The names of the hostile gods are read in succession.

If it weren't for the guards of the Grand Duke of Kyiv and the militia of the city's Wecher to maintain order in the city, there would have been chaos here long ago. For those who tried to cause chaos, the guards of the Grand Duke and the militia of Wecher would directly execute them without hesitation.

Patrolling soldiers can be seen everywhere on the street. They maintain the order on the street, and it is precisely because of their existence that the order has not collapsed.

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As the eldest grandson of Yaroslav, the guards at the gate naturally knew the young prince, and he entered the palace smoothly after a simple identification.

Under the leadership of the messenger, Rostislav quickly came to the conference room of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, and then he was surprised to find that all of Yaroslav's sons and generals had arrived.

"... Bruce Khan's army has completely surrounded Pereyaslav. Our defense system has completely collapsed under their attack. The enemy is expected to send more than [-] troops, but there are still more nomads The tribes are coming in a steady stream, and the strength of the Khan is increasing..."

Rostislav came at the right time, because the captain of the Grand Duke's bodyguard, Tika, who was in charge of conveying information on the battlefield, had just begun to explain the current situation.

"We are not facing a raid, my lords, but an invasion!"

Ji Ka's words caused a commotion among the princes and generals. They originally thought that this was just the daily looting of the new shepherds, but now it seems that this is not the case.

This caused some people to start whispering that the sudden war broke their original itinerary. The rich and powerful in Kyiv relied on the existing business routes to make money, and the most feared thing was the destruction of the war.

While everyone was whispering, Yaroslav raised his hand, and when he raised his hand, everyone shut up, which showed the power of the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

Rostislav hurriedly found a corner and stood up, but just as he stood up, he found Tika, and Captain Yaroslav's personal guard gave him a deep look.

And the information contained in those eyes, the prince couldn't understand it at all. He only knew that it was very complicated. He didn't communicate much with this person. Except for the day when he came to Kyiv, the two sides had no intersection.

"There's going to be war again...but, gentlemen, since the Polovets have thrown their spears (note 2), then we should fight back too."

The Grand Duke of Kyiv spoke slowly, but the attitude contained in it was very firm.

"The whole of Rus will be mobilized to deal with this war with the heathen. Don't be afraid, everyone, because we will win. God bless us!"

"God bless us!"

No matter what kind of mentality you have or what attitude you have toward Christianity, when this sentence is heard, they all have to say it together.

"Now our main task is to defend the surrounding areas of Kyiv, waiting for the arrival of troops from various places."

When the Grand Duke said this, everyone cheered up immediately, because it meant that the next deployment of the defense was assigned.

If you are unlucky and are assigned to a certain defensive position that is too far ahead, it will be terrible. If it is not good, the whole army will be wiped out. to perform dangerous tasks.

"Let the cavalry of the Black Hat Army go to investigate the enemy's situation first, and then the defense of Kyiv City will be in charge of I and Izyaslav's personal soldiers. Yacheslav went to Galicia and Volhynia, and Ivan cooperated with them on missions..."

Listening to Yaroslav's words, Rostislav couldn't help but gradually lost his mind. After all, the names of people and places passed by like a horse, and his consciousness would inevitably lose consciousness after a long time.

"Rostislav!"

Suddenly, he suddenly heard his name, which made him a little flustered, for fear that his previous desertion would be discovered.

"Let your team go out to investigate and investigate the situation of Polovts, but everything is to save yourself. If it is difficult to collect information, you can return to Kyiv."

After finishing speaking, the Grand Duke continued to give orders without any emotional fluctuations, as if unconsciously, he gave the eldest grandson a difficult task.

And Rostislav managed to put away his shocked expression, and then saw the expressions of the people around him, expressions mixed with pity and gloating.

When Rostislav left the Vladimir Palace, he could not help feeling light under his feet.

Although he said that he was eager to continue to make contributions on the battlefield, he never thought that his grandfather would give him the task of going out to investigate. This task seems simple, but if a main force that encounters the enemy cannot be handled well, then immediately It's over, and the enemy is still a nomadic army, and they won't even be able to run.

Even though the conditions given by his grandfather are very loose, Rostislav understands that this is an inspection by his grandfather, and his performance is mostly related to the future territory, that is to say, he must show some achievements instead of leaving Go through the motions.

Thinking of this, Rostislav couldn't help feeling distressed, but it was useless to worry, he had to face it.

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Remark 1: Perun is the god of thunder in East Slavic mythology, and is the main god. Veles mentioned later is the god of agriculture and faun, and also the main god.

Remark 2: Throwing a spear means starting a battle. In the Russian tradition, a prince threw a spear to indicate the beginning of a battle.

(End of this chapter)