The area where Nizhny Novgorod is now located happens to be stuck on the Volga River. Rostislav plans to develop this area into a town in the future and become an important node for Rus to control this area.
Therefore, the scale of the construction of this walled city is also very large. It was originally aimed at the scale of the town. In the future, it will inevitably become a major trading town.
However, if you want to develop well, you must require the local ruler to have the ability to deal with various affairs in this region, otherwise the resources obtained will be useless.
Therefore, the Prince of Moscow chose Vasily Ivanovich Serikhov to help the family resolve the last possible turmoil within the family.
The Sherikhov family was very satisfied with being granted this land. They had been cultivating this land for a long time and knew this land better than anyone else.
They naturally knew that a city built at such a node would soon experience rapid development, not to mention that the princes of Moscow also showed their desire to invest heavily in resources.
So Vasily accepted the appointment and was directly retained. At the same time, he was also responsible for the command and maintenance of the logistics line of this series of military stations, ensuring the safety of the Moscow prince's rear route and ensuring the logistics of the winter army.
Rostislav has been observing the three Sherikhov brothers during this time and understands their abilities and deeds.
After understanding it, Rostislav made this choice because it was the most appropriate and the best for everyone.
In addition, it is a pity that Prince Anton has to leave Northeast Russia. He lacks such secular Russian intellectuals under his command, but everyone has his own ambitions, and Rostislav cannot force him to stay.
While building and marching, Rostislav's army continued to advance.
Next, the road they walked became more and more difficult. They had to cut down trees and build bridges before when they encountered obstacles, but now, they were required to forcefully clear the way.
These areas are covered with dense forests, and in many places the forests are so dense that even carriages cannot pass through them.
There are not even many tribesmen in this forest sea, so it is extremely desolate.
Such a local building is a paradise for ambushes, but fortunately the local tribes have no desire to attack Rostislav and the others, and many tribesmen even joined them for plunder, so the winter army was able to pass here smoothly.
Faced with this dilemma, Rostislav had to summon all the guides and vassals to discuss what should be done. After all, they could not always open the way.
After the discussion, the Prince of Moscow came to a conclusion that made him feel quite miserable.
If you want to have a road, you can only cross the Volga River again and go to the Bulgar territory on the other side.
Yes, the Winter Army has entered Bulgar, and they have bypassed Bulgar's defense line on its western border.
Now the Bulgar territory is across the river from them, and there are already Bulgar military activities on the other side, but it is obviously just the troops of some local lords, and their existence is only to monitor the movements of the Russians.
These guys looked surprised, obviously not expecting the Winter Army to take this route.
This is not because the Winter Army's secrets are so tight. The route of the Winter Army's advance has long been reported to Bulgar. It's just that no one believes that the Winter Army will take this relatively remote road instead of going directly to Bulgar.
Regarding crossing the river, Rostislav really didn't want to do this, because crossing the river was a very dangerous thing.
And if we cross the river here, we have to cross the river again to go to Bulgar City, which is really redundant and troublesome.
But it is a pity that Rostislav only faced this choice. If he did not cross the Volga River, the rest of the way would be impossible.
So in the eyes of everyone, Rostislav made the decision to let his troops cross the Volga River.
Fortunately for the Russian people, on the day when the army crossed the river in winter, there was a thick fog on the river, so thick that it was difficult to see even one's fingers.
This was an excellent opportunity for them, and there was no better time to cross the river.
In order to set an example for the other armies, Rostislav made his personal troops the first group to cross the river.
The first group to cross the river is always the most dangerous, but Rostislav has confirmed that there are not many enemy troops on the other side, and they can handle it even if the enemy attacks. Now they just need one person to embolden everyone.
The crossing of Gvalan went very smoothly. The ships loaded with Russian soldiers broke through the foggy Volga River and reached the other side of the river very smoothly.
When the Russian ship appeared on the river bank, the Bulgar soldiers were still very confused. After all, these people had never thought about fighting. They were only temporarily recruited by the local lord to guard the ferry.
The Bulgars thought that the Russians would not cross the river rashly, but the result was beyond their imagination. The Russians not only dared to cross the river, but also dared to attack them.
So when Gvalan, dressed like a tin can, jumped off the ship and struck the Bulgar man on the head with his Danish axe, the man was still extremely confused.
Then countless (in the eyes of the Bulgars) Russian soldiers rushed off the ship and slashed their axes on the Bulgars. Veterans who had experienced countless battles were able to kill these Bulgars as easily as killing chickens.
The Russians quickly cleared the Bulgar troops on the river bank. They encountered no resistance worth mentioning on the way. The Bulgars were either killed or routed.
After completing all this, Gvalan, who was bathed in blood, immediately lit three bonfires on the river bank according to his previous preparations.
After the bonfire was lit, Rostislav immediately ordered the engineer battalion to build a pontoon bridge. With the support of a large number of ships, the pontoon bridge was quickly completed, and then the winter army passed here at their fastest speed.
In order to ensure the speed of crossing, Rostislav ordered three pontoon bridges to be built at the same time. The prince's intentions were undoubtedly good, but many problems also occurred in the chaos of crossing the river.
After some troops learned that the opposite side was the Bulgar territory, they immediately began to act on their own and attacked the nearest nearby Bulgar village.
The fog had dissipated at this moment, and as the fog dissipated, the Russians saw those Bulgar villages.
Although Rostislav had given an order not to start violent expropriation immediately after entering Bulgar, they were nominally escorting Prince Adam back to the country, so they could not do things too hastily, rob or anything, and they could not come right away.
But these stragglers from all over Northeastern Rus don't care so much. Aren't they following the Lord's order to fight against the heretics? Then they should start killing them back then.
Now Rostislav had tricked himself, and his trapping remarks gave some people a reason to plunder.
But if it was an ordinary robbery, the prince of Moscow would not say anything. After all, this era is full of wars and killings, but the prince never expected that they would set fire to the massacre from the beginning.
Massacre. Such a thing happened as soon as the winter army entered Bulgar. It would be too troublesome. It would have a great impact on the reputation of their army, because some people could interpret this war as a Russian attack on the Bulgars.
Massacre of the Gars.
Although this is not an era of nationalism, simple national views must exist objectively, and if resistance is aroused, future wars will be troublesome.
This made Rostislav numb. Although he immediately sent soldiers to catch the wanton troops after the incident and executed several leading guys, he looked at the hidden expressions on the faces of the surviving Bulgars.
With endless hatred, Rostislav finally understood that his first step was really a bad move.
However, the prince's mood did not change. He was still optimistic about the war. After all, this was just the beginning. There was still a long way to go. This expedition was just the beginning.
While Rostislav was thinking this, he asked Adam to raise his banner to appease the surrounding Bulgar villages, and sent envoys to request soldiers and supplies, asking these villages to serve their legitimate prince.