Moscow, this city already looks like a prince's garrison. The once dry moats have been filled with water from the Moskva River, and the wooden walls have become taller and stronger.
Behind the wooden walls, people's houses and farmland are neatly arranged on the ground. Roads covered with wooden planks extend in all directions, giving people a sense of order and beauty. The towering churches have also taken shape.
The docks were filled with goods, the trestles were filled with ships, and sailors and laborers were busy all the time.
The flag of St. George Slaying the Dragon overlooks all of this, towering over it all, showing the power of the princes. No one will doubt that this place is a city of princes.
But now the city is filled with the atmosphere of war, and armed pedestrians can be seen everywhere on the streets. They are either saying goodbye to their families, or forming a queue under the leadership of the managers of their respective blocks. The weapons dealers are always crowded with the largest number of people.
Even if the prices continue to increase, there are still people buying armor and weapons. These are the things that protect people's lives on the battlefield, so they cannot be careless.
The cavalry were running up and down the streets, conveying orders from the prince's palace. When they saw the Rurik flag hanging on their saddles, everyone hurriedly avoided it. It would be a grave sin to collide with the prince's messenger.
However, even though the smell of war is so pervasive, there is not much panic on people's faces. War is a part of people's lives, and many people who gather for war have experienced it many times.
Large groups of soldiers gathered at the predetermined assembly area. They formed a neat queue under the continuous beating and scolding of the soldiers.
The beauty of that order made Rostislav on the palace observation deck intoxicated for a while, but only for a while, because he still had work to do next.
After receiving the news of the Bulgar invasion, the prince immediately returned to Moscow. After all, this was where his strength gathered, and he felt at ease only here.
And he held this meeting immediately after returning to Moscow. He needed to understand the situation.
In the prince's hall, all the city lords and city dignitaries under his command gathered here, as well as his relatives from outside Rus. Everyone was wearing armor and helmets, sitting on benches, looking like they were going to die in the next moment.
It feels like going to the battlefield.
Rostislav's hall adopts the style from the imperial capital. The bright stove illuminates the entire hall and brings warmth to the room. Decorations from the imperial capital and bookshelves filled with books fill the walls.
It shows the Moscow prince’s yearning for civilization.
"Nestor, please inform everyone of the current situation."
Rostislav called out to the future author of "Chronicles of Past Years". This monk also followed the prince to Northeastern Rus. The prince of Moscow was his biggest financial backer, so he naturally wanted to follow him.
After arriving in Northeastern Rus, he took up the role of palace recorder. Recently, he took over the information sent to Moscow from all parties, so it was naturally his task to report the situation.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
The recorder bowed humbly, with a slight blush on his face. This was the first time he faced so many important people, but then he controlled his emotions and began to explain the matters he had memorized by heart.
"Two weeks have passed since the Persian merchant named Abdul informed us of the Bulgar invasion. Our scouts indeed discovered the movement of the Bulgar fleet and army in the Kama River. Now we can confirm the Bulgar invasion.
The news is undoubtedly true."
The recorder's words caused a small commotion among the crowd, but it was just a small commotion. Everyone had already known the news of Bulgar's invasion, and now it was just confirmed.
"So do you know their size?"
The person who asked the question was little Meshko, Rostislav's "relative" who could not name him. This young man had a solemn face and a serious expression.
"The scouts estimate that there are at least 10,000 of them."
This answer made the commotion more obvious, and Rostislav couldn't help but rubbed his head in distress. With ten thousand people, Volga Bulgar was really willing to spend a lot of money this time.
However, the expression of the young man from Poland did not change. On the contrary, the prince also saw... a fighting spirit?
"How many people can I mobilize at the moment?."
Having no time to respond to the "relative's" expression, the prince stopped the discussion of the people below with his words. The recording officer's face, which was a little flustered because it was the first time he faced such a situation, calmed down and continued talking.
"Including the troops stationed in Kashen and reinforcements from all parties, the number currently in our hands is roughly four thousand, sir."
Faced with such a number, Rostislav is not happy. This number is seriously insufficient for your Bulgar army.
"Four thousand, the number of enemies is at least twice as many as ours. It's a headache. What do the towns say? Are they willing to send troops now?"
"The cities expressed that they must guard their own gates to prevent Bulgar invasion, so they could only... send some of their forces."
"Tsk, even though I knew this would happen a long time ago, I still feel very uncomfortable."
Rostislav has known this news for a long time, and he is asking again just to let everyone here understand the seriousness of the matter.
And it would be better just not to send troops, and there are even some who are causing trouble in private... If not for this, he would not send Yang to deal with these matters. Otherwise, if the flag officer is still there, he should be doing the reporting work now.
.
"Okay, everyone must be aware of the situation, so what are your ways to deal with it?"
Signaling the recorder to leave, Rostislav looked at the room full of military lords. He had to listen to the opinions of the audience first.
"Your Majesty, I suggest that we launch a surprise attack directly. Now we are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered. Only a surprise attack can reverse the situation. We can ambush the enemy on their only path."
The speaker was Ori. The prince's uncle Harald recently sent him. He has two hundred elite men under his command, all of whom have experienced the test of the Baltic War. Harald's help can be said to be very powerful.
Ori looked like a replica of Harald. He was tall and strong, and he always wore a chainmail shirt, exuding the aura of a warrior.
After seeing him, the prince was not surprised why Harald chose this man as his son-in-law. After all, he was exactly like Harald. He was also an elite warrior, and his uncle liked him the most.
That's the kind of person.
Ori's proposal aroused a burst of approval. These people believed that this was the only way to reverse the situation at the moment. The Bulgar army's destination could only be Kashin, so they only needed to set up an ambush on the road to Kashin.
"I think this is very inappropriate."
At this moment, objections also came out, and it was the Polish Mieszko who had just asked about the number of the Bulgar army.
Little Meshko was also wearing a chainmail, but the chainmail was covered with a coat painted with hills and densely packed red leaves. He looked like a standard knight, but he still gave people a sense of youthful impulsiveness.
"I think we should take the initiative and fight the Bulgars. Christ will definitely favor us and win."
Rostislav, who thought this relative could have any high opinions, immediately had a few black lines on his head. This guy knew that there was such a big difference in the numbers between the enemy and us, but he still took the initiative to attack. Isn't this looking for death?
Everyone present basically had the same view as the prince, and believed that this was courting death, so not many people agreed with little Meshko's opinion.
This made the young man's face a little uneasy, and his face turned red visibly, but the anger was obviously still there, just holding it there.
However, Rostislav's idea here was correct. His relative was "looking for death."
"Go away, young man who has never experienced war, stop talking nonsense here, war is a matter for adults."
"Are you questioning the authority of God? With the blessing of the Lord, we will surely win, we just need to move forward bravely!"
The prince just felt a black line, and the grumpy Ori started to sneer. In his opinion, the young man who had never experienced war was clearly provoking him. And the young Meshko on the opposite side was not to be outdone, and directly used the name of Christ.
The scolding back just relieved the embarrassment just now, and for a while the whole hall was filled with the sound of these two scolding each other.