The winter sun is very mild, but for soldiers who have gone through a long march, no matter how mild the sun is, it is so poisonous and fatal.
Only the cool breeze blowing in front of them can give them some comfort and relaxation.
A soldier raised his leather water bag and took a swig. His throat was so dry that he wanted to drink every drop of water in the water bag.
After taking a few sips, he licked his lips and handed the water bag to the fellow countryman behind him.
However, the fellow in chain mail just shook his head and focused on moving forward. He had no choice but to tie the water bag back to his waist.
The soldier looked back at the long queue behind him. Countless sharp spears flashed in the sun, and countless heads wearing helmets marched under the cross flag. This army of "faith" was heading to Bulgar to fight against those degenerates in the name of God.
man of.
The soldier wiped his mouth, then picked up his spear and moved forward, continuing the difficult journey.
If there were roads for the Yaroslavl immigrants to use before, now there are no roads where they are marching, and the soldiers are walking directly on the fields.
Many soldiers' shoes were severely worn during the march in the past few days. Fortunately, Rostislav had already considered this situation and brought several carts of shoes for the soldiers to spare. There were also several shoemakers with the army who could repair the shoes.
Repaired as much as possible, and also brought a pile of straw sandals.
But even so, shoes are still in short supply. In the black market when camping every day, a good pair of shoes is always the most sought-after item, because it can protect your legs, and your legs are directly related to your combat effectiveness.
But this does not mean that Rostislav's actions are in vain, because of his operations, at least no one is marching with bare feet now.
If you march barefoot, it will seriously cause non-combat attrition. This is Rostislav's experience.
This road has been difficult to walk, and many times they had to cut down trees and build bridges over water to repair these routes.
Difficult roads will inevitably lead to deserters. After all, there are too many "volunteers" here. As their passion for the beautiful fantasy of war dissipates, their fear of hardship and hardship comes up.
And for many people, this strange land is very unfriendly. It is the dense forest that scares them. As for the faint strong wind blowing by at night and the howling of wild beasts, many people think of what they heard when they were children.
horror stories.
But how could Rostislav let them escape at this point? The nomadic cavalry under the prince directly captured these guys.
The deserters were then hanged at the front of the line so that everyone could see what happened to the deserters.
Such behavior greatly boosted morale and discipline, and everyone was able to understand that this was no joke.
Today, this huge army has been advancing for almost four hours without any rest, and some troops have already become disorganized.
Fortunately, the prince did not deliberately speed up the march, otherwise many people would have fallen behind.
After resting for a period of time in Yaroslavl and converging with the armies stationed in Yaroslavl, the Winter Army started its journey again.
The Winter Army first crossed the Volga River, and on the other side of the river they received troops and guides from the Serikhov family, who would lead the army the rest of the way.
Rostislav divided his army into three divisions, starting with a vanguard composed of his various standing troops and trusted soldiers - usually from Moscow and its surroundings - totaling 3,000 men.
Secondly, there are the troops recruited by local dignitaries and city lords. These troops are also trustworthy troops.
At least they won't cause any trouble, and sandwiched between these troops are stragglers from all walks of life and mercenaries from God knows where.
This is the method Rostislav came up with after summarizing everything he experienced on the march some time ago.
Since they are easy to drag, just wrap these guys up with reliable troops.
The number of this group of people is as high as 7,000. They are the main component of Rostislav's army and the most likely to cause problems.
Finally, there are the troops escorting the huge logistics team, a total of 2,000 people.
Although the soldiers all carried food with them, the things they brought from home would eventually be used up.
And when that moment comes, Rostislav will have to use his own supplies to support these soldiers, and he must not let them starve at all costs.
Adam's army also belonged to these 2,000 people. Of course, Adam himself and his guards were at the forefront of the team.
As for the reason for this arrangement, it is because Rostislav hopes that the Bulgar troops can arrive intact, and these people will be of greater use than their value as top soldiers.
In addition to Adam's team, there is also a special force here, which is the Moscow Engineer Battalion.
This engineering battalion was developed during the construction of Moscow over the years. At first, they were just a temporary construction team to build the city wall.
As Moscow's chief engineer Robert selected many experts from among them, the Moscow Engineer Battalion was established.
Engineers have great abilities in building fortifications and siege equipment, and many of them also have skills as carpenters or blacksmiths. These skills allow them to cope with many kinds of consumption on the road, such as repairing horseshoes.
of.
These warriors escorted countless carts filled with boxes of salted fish, dried meat, cheese and black bread so hard that it could grind teeth.
Fresh vegetables are the most sought-after items, but they can only be enjoyed by the nobles in the army. As for ordinary soldiers, they can pick wild fruits and vegetables from the roadside.
Most of these dried meats come from the hunting that has been carried out in Northeast Russia over the years, and these hunts can obtain large quantities of prey.
These prey will not be eaten directly, and people cannot eat that much.
After being stripped of their skins, their meat is often pickled and stored until it is ready for use.
In addition, according to the suggestions of the Serikhov family, Rostislav modified all the carts into sleds, or directly manufactured many sleds, and this indeed played a great role in the march.
As for the food, although the taste is not very good, the quality can still be guaranteed, at least it will be okay to eat.
Some large vehicles are equipped with a series of camping equipment such as tents, as well as crossbows in parts.
However, the logistics of the winter army did not entirely rely on this rearguard force, but more on the ships on the Volga River.
These ships all come from Yaroslavl and White Lake City, but most of them are small ships, but they are enough to replenish the army with supplies every day.
Although logistics has been guaranteed, Rostislav has deliberately left a military depot as a logistics connection point along the way.
These military depots can store food and ensure the connection between the winter army and the rear, and only need to leave a small garrison of dozens or hundreds.
In addition, in some suitable places, Rostislav also directly used the power of the army to build castles as a stronghold to actually control the "terrain" between Rus and Bulgar in the future.
Rostislav planned to bring these lands directly under his control, and Adam naturally expressed his approval "on behalf of" Bulgar and agreed to Ros's possession of this land.
Regarding the construction of these cities, Rostislav mainly listened to the opinions of the Serikhov family. This family has experienced many years on this land and is extremely proficient in these.
In addition, the three Sherikhov brothers also reported to Rostislav the resolution of internal problems. The Prince of Moscow was very satisfied with this - after all, he also had a similar experience - and the same was true of old Ivan's expectations.
In return for his kindness, Rostislav solved the problem for Vasily, the only one of the three Serikhov brothers who had not yet found his future.
He built an important city at a node on the Volga River, and the prince named it Nizhny Novgorod.