Chapter 439 The Beginning of Chaos

While Rostislav was enjoying the welcome of the people in the land behind the forest, a scene of vigorous vitality and the advancement of all things, the situation of his cousins ​​in the easternmost part of the Eastern Empire in the south was not so good.

"It has been confirmed, Lord Russell, that Ducas has escaped, the army has collapsed, Emperor Romanus has been captured, and the army has been completely destroyed."

Monomach was facing his commander. Norman Russell reported that the round-headed Norman wearing short chain mail bit the thick glove on his hand and took it off. It could be seen that he was in a bad mood.

good.

The two men were in a military camp. Although purple flags symbolizing the empire could be seen everywhere, the words of northerners were floating in the air. Russians wrapped in fur clothes and Normans with shaved heads were everywhere.

, and some Armenians were standing aside chatting.

Further outside is the barren mountains and Gobi. Only a few shrubs and small trees live stubbornly on this land, bringing little green to it. The military camp in this earthy yellow is very eye-catching. This is the most common sight in this mountainous area.

.

Although the neighboring troops have been defeated one after another, the chaos has not spread to the northerners' array. After all, the northerners have calmly retreated from the battlefield before, and there are even Norman knights running horses leisurely, while the Russians are still calm.

of polished weapons.

However, their luggage has basically been packed and they can set off for a run at any time. Although they are all running, they will definitely run more calmly than those Greeks.

They also accepted a lot of broken Greek troops from the east, took these people in, and tried to increase their strength as much as possible. The more people they had, the better.

"Such an outrageous thing really happened. Well, luckily we left quickly enough. Lord Vladimir, the employer is finished. Let's go to Ankara, which is relatively safe."

The Norman said, signaling Monomach to step back. He used honorifics to this descendant of Rurik, because this Rurik was very capable and completely different from the playboy Russell expected.

"We must win over the Russians..."

Watching Monomach's strong figure leave, Russell, who was tossing his other glove, muttered that he had decided to do something. After this defeat, the empire's powerful people were already ready to move. It is estimated that Constantinople will soon

A new emperor will be born, and there will be a good show when that happens.

Russell knew that the opportunity had now fallen in front of him, and it was up to him whether he could seize it. After the powerful men broke up with each other and started a melee, that would be the moment for him to found a country in a foreign land, and he might even be able to enter the country.

Lord Constantinople.

On the other side, Monomach walked through this military camp that still maintained order despite the prospect of a great collapse. Looking at the leisurely and calm soldiers, Monomach couldn't help but admire Russell's ability to manage troops. This soldier under the Norman general

Even in the face of such a scene, they maintained confidence in their commander, and under their influence, even the Russians became stable.

But even at this moment, he could not imagine that the army collapsed like this. It was an army with a total strength of nearly 80,000, which was the entire strength of the empire.

The great battle in Russia that shocked half of Christendom only had 50,000 people. The Greeks sent more troops than this number, and it seemed that it was not difficult for them.

Monomach could never forget the scene when this army advanced. At that time, he really felt that he was in the midst of a great cause. He saw many peoples that he had only seen in books before, and saw a real endless army.

.

But then the situation took a turn for the worse. This huge army was defeated in the first round of battle with the Seljuk Turks. The emperor fell directly into a tight siege and is now captured by the Turks.

Monomakh couldn't help but feel ridiculous. This army should have disappeared like a child's play. This army was supposed to crush those Turks.

But he didn't plan to leave just yet. The emperor still owed them wages, and it was okay to follow a veteran like Russell. Anyway, we would see what happens next.

Returning to their camp, Monomakh saw that Oleg had just sent away a soldier, and he walked up directly after the soldier, "Oleg, how are you doing to win over Sherikhov?"

?”

"It's not bad, Sherikhov accepted my kindness, and it won't take long for him to get closer to us, but Monomach, why do you want to win over that Anton?"

Oleg walked to the grill on the side and took off the lamb chops. Monomakh put it on the marching table, tore off a few strips of meat with a dagger, and then drank a few sips of Greek wine.

"That Anton is actually similar to us. They are both exiles. He just chose this path by himself. Now that we are far away from home, we still try to unite our fellow villagers as much as possible. The situation will definitely become more difficult in the future. We all joined forces before.

I’ve got the Russians sold by my cousin, so it’s no problem to win over them.”

Although Monomach only stayed in the Greek Empire for a few months, the various nonsense stories among the imperial dignitaries in the ranks along the way made him aware of the undercurrents of the Greek Empire, and this failure was also the cause of Duka's failure.

The result of the Si family's mischief.

In such a chaotic situation, there are naturally opportunities everywhere, and what he can do is win over his fellow villagers, unite them to his side, and use this power to wait for opportunities.

"Monomach, speaking of it, in the first few months when I was a mercenary, I doubted whether we could only continue to be mercenaries for the rest of our lives, but now the chaos in the Greek Empire has made me realize that we might really be able to

Create a new legend here."

Oleg's tone was full of excitement. He originally thought that he would spend the next few years as a boring mercenary, but he didn't expect to encounter such an interesting thing so soon.

"Maybe. Although the prospect looks attractive now, we still have to wait and let our commander-in-chief try the situation first."

Monomacher continued to cut meat and continue to analyze the situation. Anyway, a newcomer like him shouldn't take the lead. He doesn't have the strength or the reputation. The highest popularity he has accumulated since he came here is just a few acquaintances.

an Armenian lord.

"What, that bald guy?"

Oleg was a little surprised. The Norman didn't show much ambition. He looked like a loyal mercenary.

"Well, I can see the fire of ambition in his eyes. He will start to rebel sooner or later. Don't forget, he is a Norman. Well, he is just dormant now, waiting for the imperial dignitaries to fight first.

Waiting for the changes in the imperial capital."

In Monomach's view, it was only a matter of time before this mercenary commander rebelled, because the first moment he saw this man, he knew that he was the same kind of person as them, an ambitious man who wanted to make great achievements.

"This is really interesting, but it doesn't matter, it's okay to have that person in front to hold me up. I'll go run for a while."

Oleg stood up and dusted himself off. Monomach raised his eyes and said, "What? Are you playing the Norman tricks again?"

"We can learn a lot from the Normans. I think they are very strong in the use of cavalry, and their mastery of cavalry is much more unique than those of the nomads. There is no harm in learning from it, and it can also strengthen our cavalry. Oh,

If news comes again, you can deal with it. I know you are good at winning people's hearts, much better than me."

Oleg waved his hand, and his soldiers brought a war horse. Prince Rurik got on the horse and ran out.

Monomakh watched his cousins ​​leave with a smile on his face. He smiled for Oleg's learning and the development of the situation. While smiling, he continued to put the mutton into his mouth.

Now it seems that the road to the south is really the right one.

There is a saying that chaos is a ladder, and now this empire is about to be swept by an unprecedented chaos, and he now controls an armed force of nearly 2,000 people. Aren't opportunities everywhere?

But he can't act blindly, it won't help him, it will only kill him. Let the Norman see the situation in the empire and see if it is feasible to become the emperor, and he only needs to hide behind

Just observe.

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Chapter completed!