king of ros

Chapter 473 Tbilisi
"Monomacher is really desperate this time, do we really want to go with him?"

In a hidden camp in the mountains of Georgia, Anton told Radko that both of them were fully armed, and they looked around vigilantly as they walked, as if they were afraid of being attacked in the next moment.

It was Anton who spoke, and the words of this top student at the University of Constantinople were full of worry.

"On the contrary, I think we should keep up. This may be a good opportunity. That Rurik boy is very courageous. It is true that he is a man of high art. Judging from the current situation, it may really succeed."

Radko didn't worry so much, he still had great confidence in Monomacher, and he felt very good about this young man.

Along the way, he remembered Monomacher's performance in his heart. This person is not proud when he wins, and he is not discouraged when he loses. Even after he is stable, he is still tense all the time.

In Radko's view, such a person is doing great things, and it is absolutely right to follow him, but Anton doesn't think so, it is really difficult for him to feel at ease with this person.

"Radko, half of our brothers have lost, do we really want to continue to follow him instead of stopping the loss?"

Anton didn't want to continue to follow this military adventurer. Although he had achieved success and glory under his hands, he continued to encounter obstacles and setbacks, and the number of mercenaries under him continued to decrease. Come to annihilation.

"Hey, what is this? It's nothing more than doing it all over again. Not only did we escape from it back then, but it didn't take long for us to pull up the team and become the largest mercenary in Anatolia. one of the teams."

Radko's tone was full of indifference. The reason why he didn't mind taking risks was that no matter what kind of environment he was in, this old mercenary had the confidence to run smoothly.As for just avoiding it, it’s not a big deal. Even if the situation in the empire was stable back then, they could quickly pull up another mercenary team, let alone this era of war.

In this era when various warlords and careerists are conquering each other, there are restless people who are dissatisfied with the status quo, and there are always people who can't survive to join the mercenary team.

What he said was indeed the truth. The two of them had faced worse situations several times, but they hadn't survived in the end. No matter how difficult it is now, it can still be as difficult as it was back then.

And Anton's face was a bit ugly, because that failure was the product of his leadership. At that time, they had just entered the empire's mercenary world not long ago. Although they pulled the team up with the money in hand, he was still a rookie After all, I am not familiar with all this, but this unfamiliarity ended Anton's first mercenary team. In that border battle with the Slavs, the mercenaries who were supposed to guard their flanks retreated directly, while Anton Dong's army was thus defeated.

Although it was said that Anton pulled up the team again and made it stronger, he was still in a bad mood when he thought of that, because it was so tragic, and half of the brothers who were pulled from the north died.

"But I don't want to be like that. I'm still afraid when I think about that narrow escape... Forget it, let's continue with this big gamble. If we succeed, we will really be prosperous."

Anton's tone became weaker, because what Radko said was true, the big deal was to start from scratch again, with the current chaos in the empire, as long as there was fame and money, it would be easy to pull up a mercenary team, and these they Both.

And the "developed" Anton said is indeed a very attractive thing, because if Monomakh's plan is successful, then they can enter a big city comparable to Kyiv, not to mention that they are in this adventurer. The silent cost invested is not small at all, and it would be best if it can be recovered.

As for why this happened, it would be a long story. First of all, he had to mention his experience in the past two years.

After Monomakh and his army arrived in Georgia, he traveled to Kutaisi, the present Georgian capital, to meet the king, George of the Bagration family.

This king gives people a strong feeling of mediocrity. From the temperament, he feels that he has been busy all the time, but in the end he was busy and lonely, and the situation he is facing now is also the same.

Although it was hard to get rid of the intervention from the Eastern Empire, his efforts have failed in the face of the Turkic people's pressing every step of the way and the arrogance of the domestic nobles. Even nomadic tribes can be seen near the capital of Georgia. And many parts of his land have been turned into uninhabited ruins under the plunder of these tribes.

King George was indeed as generous as his letter said, giving Monomach an extremely large piece of land.

The location of this land is very interesting. Monomakh’s new territory is a prominent part of Georgia’s territory. Facing the front line of nomadic looting, most of the Georgians on this land have been lost. Such nomadic tribes occupied those valleys.

Monomakh knew very well that King George and the Georgian nobles were using him as a barrier against nomadic tribes, and the continuous influx of nomadic tribes into Georgia had brought great trouble to the country.

At this time, Monomakh caught their attention, so they invited Monomakh to come to Georgia and use the land that had actually been looted by nomads to recruit thugs.

Monomacher was well aware of all this, but he didn't say anything, and just quietly completed his task. Although they regarded themselves as cannon fodder mercenaries, what they didn't know was that from the very beginning Monomacher fought That's the idea.

The most important thing is that Monomakh is very confident in his ability, and it is true. After Monomakh arrived in his territory, he first solved the salary problem of the local garrison, and then controlled the people on this land as much as possible. Then came the most important attack on the Turkic tribes.

Under his battle, the nomadic tribes that had invaded the river valley stopped migrating, and the scattered tribes couldn't stop Monomakh's army at all, and were blocked on the border, and some tribes even defected to him.

On the one hand, while using the limited resources in his hands to complete the task as much as possible, Monomakh summoned resources from other parts of Georgia within his scope of authority, got to know the nobles there, and made new contacts.

Due to the excellent talent of the Rurik prince on the battlefield, Monomakh's battles are often without any losses.

The act of mobilizing resources and manpower was also very smooth, and King George supported Monomakh in all his actions as much as possible because he had indeed achieved results.

Monomakh's achievements are also one of the methods used by the king to compete with the nobles in the country, so he has never received a lot of support, and Prince Rurik is also willing to serve as the king's pawn for mutual benefit.

Under his governance, the desolate land that was under the continuous impact of nomadic tribes gradually prospered, and the farmers who left to escape the military disaster also gradually returned, and the land finally had vitality.

However, it is not difficult for the Rus people to govern. This land is an Orthodox parish with a long history, and the locals do not object to the Rus people. The cavalry came to seek refuge with the rising warlord.

Georgia’s heartland also benefited from this, with some relief at last from the involuntary migration of tribes that had plagued the country for years.

But everyone did not expect that after two years of stability, the situation changed drastically. The Seljuks assembled a huge army and headed towards Georgia.

The news of the appearance of this army caused great panic in the entire king. In the past ten years, Georgia has only suffered one failure after another against the Turks. army.

As a result, a large number of fugitives appeared in a short period of time. The nobles either ran further west, or focused on guarding their castles. The same was true for the land of Monomakh. In just a few days, this Rurik Except for those near the castle, the farmers summoned by the prince basically ran away.

It was at this same moment that the vast Seljuk army crossed the frontier, and it was at this moment that the prince of Rurik had a plan.

If the nomadic tribes want to plunder, let them plunder, and Monomakh wants to make another gamble for his future.

And he has only one goal, the ancient city of Georgia, Tbilisi.

Tbilisi, a city with a very long history, can be called the oldest and most prosperous city in Georgia.

But it is a pity that this city keeps changing hands between Persia, Rome, and Arabia, just like the fate of this mountain. Georgia and Armenia are just a small pawn in the game between the powers, even if the Kingdom of Georgia is established , it failed to regain the capital.

After the rise of the Arab Empire, Tbilisi fell into the hands of the Communist Party and became the Emir State in the Arab Empire. After the collapse of the Empire, the Emir State became independent.

Relying on the key location of Tbilisi, the city has gathered a large population and made a lot of money from trade. The entire city has become the capital of the entire Caucasus region. After a strong time.

When the Seljuk Turks arrived, the city quickly surrendered to the Seljuk people, so it became the starting point for the Turkic people to continuously invade Georgia. For more than ten years, the Turkic people have migrated or migrated from here. Invasion of Georgia.

From the very beginning when he came to this land, Monomakh's goal was in that city. The Emir of Tbilisi was not strong. It has been unable to mobilize the power of the city.

This is a big city with a population comparable to that of Kyiv, with developed agriculture and prosperous commerce. If you can control it, then whether you choose to govern the city here, or use it as a springboard to jump further, you can get a lot of bargaining chips. The goal is definitely easier to achieve.

Since coming to Georgia, Monomakh has been working hard to establish a connection with Tbilisi, playing warmly with the Christians in that city, and successfully cultivating a group of insiders.

And this group of insiders is his confidence in seizing the city. There are many members of the Tbilisi Guard among these people.

However, Monomakh also admitted that if these guys retreated after his army came to the city of Tbilisi, then his adventure could be said to be in vain.

But now that the main forces of the Turks and Tbilisi are attacking the hinterland of the Kingdom of Georgia, he will be able to retreat by then.

Although they said that they were ready to face various problems, Monomacher never expected that this road would go so smoothly. They were advancing on the uninhabited mountain road that they had explored in advance, and they did not encounter a single enemy. It turned out that I only met a few hunters, and they were all Georgians. These people chose to cooperate with the Christian army, and they really hoped to drive the heathen off their heads.

With the cooperation of the locals, Monomakh's team naturally moved forward more smoothly. The hunters took them many shortcuts, bypassing many dangerous places and Turkic army stations. Finally, the rich plain of Tbilisi appeared. before their eyes.

It's just that the scene of this plain being ravaged is very obvious. Many villages have been burned by flames, and there are corpses on the uncultivated fields. Occasionally, farmers can be seen desperately rummaging through their burned homes for usable things.

Although Tbilisi succumbed to the Turks, this does not mean that the Turkic tribes who acted on their own would be kind to this land.

In fact, the Seljuk Khan could not control so many tribes. The Khan’s authority was limited to his own tribes and cities. In other places, everyone moved on this land by themselves to find a suitable place to live.

However, the closer you get to Tbilisi, the rarer such a scene is. It seems that the Turkic people still have to show some face, and they didn't run amok in places too close to the city.

The locals are not opposed to Monomakh's team. Most of them are Georgians and Armenians, and they are some Orthodox Christians (although the Armenians have their own set).

First of all, Monomakh did not plunder here, and his team was wearing a cross. In addition, because half of the 2000 people he brought this time were Georgians and Armenians, Monomakh let these people walk outside, Let the Georgians see these fellow villagers who speak the same language as them, and increase the intimacy between them.

There were even many people who joined Monomakh, most of them were peasants who could not survive due to the destruction of the Turks. They followed Monomakh's team with their families, and soon there were more behind his team There are 2000 people, but only 200 of them are men who can fight, but it is completely enough to make a big splash.

Some small and medium-sized nobles in Tbilisi who had communicated with Monomakh also came with their own troops and supplies. Monomakh’s continuous behavior of pulling people made his momentum increase, and as a result, seeing this momentum, A few faltered and came to join the military adventurer.

Monomacher's team snowballed, getting bigger and bigger.

Under such circumstances, Monomakh's army came to the city of Tbilisi, and when he saw the city, Monomakh couldn't help but sigh its beauty.

Tbilisi is a city with Persian, Byzantine and Arabic styles at the same time. Domes of various styles occupy the sky, and tall stone walls surround this city comparable in size to Kyiv, making it extraordinarily magnificent.

The news of the arrival of Monomakh's army has already arrived, so the city is already in a state of combat readiness. What's more, his insider has promised to open the city gate for him.

According to the agreement, Monomakh's subordinates waved the flag three times before the city, and with the shaking of the flag, the situation changed suddenly. A local guard composed of Christians suddenly rose up, and they attacked the city gate. Killed the Chief of Police there and drove out the nearby guards.

The defenders did not expect this to happen at all, so they were controlled by the city gate without reacting at all, and when the traitors who captured the city gate opened the city gate, others rushed to take back the city before they could react. The gate line was even halfway there.

However, the troops on the city wall were shaken on a large scale. Many Christians dropped their weapons and ran away, leading others to collapse.

Monomakh's army naturally rushed towards the open city gate. The arrows of the defenders on the city wall kept falling, and some people in the attacking team did fall down, but this did not shake everyone, and those arrows were relatively weak compared to the impact of this attack. The number of teams is really too small.

Prince Rurik took the lead and rushed into the city gate. His spear just killed the group of army officers who came to recapture the city gate, and his subordinates immediately dispersed like birds and beasts.

Then a group of Normans rushed in. Monomacher had been restricting these guys from plundering before, but now they planned to enter the city to plunder first. Damn, such a big city must have a lot of money and women.

"Come on! Go on! This city belongs to us! Long live! Long live victory! Let those heretics die and victory is ours!"

Monomacher's shout was full of excitement, because he knew that the victory had fallen in front of him, and all he had to do next was to pick it up.

And his soldiers from various nationalities rushed in frantically, and all kinds of languages ​​echoed in the sky, hello, making the scene as noisy as the construction site of the Tower of Babel.

This ancient city of Tbilisi has completely belonged to him since today!He will be the ruler of a city comparable to Kyiv!
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　[-]D supplement

　　
　
(End of this chapter)