Although Mstislav Ijaslavich Rurik has always been the prince of Novgorod, he has never had a sense of belonging to this city.
From the beginning, he was unwilling to go to such a northern place. Kiev was the place where he grew up and his hometown. He did not want to go to a strange place, but his father's will finally made him give in and honestly go to this big city in the north.
.
After coming to this city, Mstislav still didn't like everything about the city. He didn't like the unruly people here, he didn't like the too cold weather, and he didn't like the pits and valleys outside the city.
of savages.
But he has come here and can only accept it. He hopes that time will allow him to successfully rule this city, but the reality often backfires.
He has been here for twelve years, but he has never obtained the power of this city.
In the past, he could be used as a excuse because he was underage, but now that he is an adult and Ostromir is dead, he still cannot get close to the real power of the city.
The chief executive below used various methods to deal with this young man, and their eyes were full of contempt and disregard for him. These people always compared Mstislav with his cousin Rostislav, thinking that Mstislav was more powerful than him.
Rostislav was too far behind at his age, and then he continued to belittle him.
Therefore, young Mstislav is unwilling to fight for Novgorod. Anyway, this city has never welcomed him as a prince or recognized him as a prince. Since they like his cousin Rostislav so much, then let them go
Find Rostislav.
So he ran away, after hearing rumors about the vastness of Polotsk's army.
Escape was very simple, just find a city gate that did not face the Polotsk army, and no one dared to stop him from leaving the city gate, so he left with his personal troops.
Mstislav wants to return to Kiev, to his home, to his father. He has been despised enough in this damn city. Let them do whatever they want. He doesn't care at all about the fate of these people.
As for how his father will be angry because of his behavior, let him go, he will return to Kiev no matter what, he is already disgusted by this city to the extreme!
So when the people sent by the administrators entered the castle, they found that the prince had run away, not even taking away this year's Novgorod taxes.
After learning that the prince was gone, everyone was undoubtedly panicked. They no longer took the prince seriously, and they all understood the importance of the prince to the city. Without the prince, the soldiers' morale would be lost!
Novgorod has always wanted to get a Prince Rurik who belongs to them. This has been going on for hundreds of years, but in the end they still haven't gotten it, which shows how important Prince Rurik is to this city.
The news of the prince's escape quickly leaked out. After all, it had to go through the hands of so many chief executives at the same time. The more people who handled it, the greater the possibility of leaks. Soon the entire city wall knew the news, and the militiamen also
Yelling in a panic makes the news spread faster.
Even people outside the city heard the news. Vseslav, who was wearing bright gold scales, a dragon pattern on his gauntlets, and a pointed helmet embroidered with various monsters, laughed. Everything developed as he expected.
Moreover, the Yaroslavich inside turned out to be even more useless than he thought, and he actually ran away and gave up the entire city to him.
But I still need to add some ingredients to them to help fuel the fire.
Vseslav thought, and then he raised his right hand high. As his palm was raised high, war roars came from behind the prince.
This war cry is the local dialect of Polotsk, and these Novgorod people naturally cannot understand it. To them, it is the war cry of distant pagans, the roar of the black magic army under the command of the wizard prince from hell.
It can't help but make them feel afraid.
In fact, Vseslav has never understood what the outrageous rumors about witchcraft around him are about. Isn't it because his mother gave him a piece of amniotic membrane as an amulet? Why are things spread so outrageously?
But although it was outrageous, and although it made the wizarding prince complain in private, he soon realized the benefits that these terrifying reputations could bring.
Fear is a very useful tool. If you can't let yourself be loved, then they are afraid of you.
But the key is to use the right position, and Vseslav is a person who knows how to use fear.
This scene horrified the Novgorod militiamen on the city wall, and their fear of the enemy was amplified by this scene.
Seeing that the fire was almost done, Vseslav waved his hand and ordered an attack. Looking at the state of Novgorod, his army could definitely win it, so he just let his soldiers go in and kill it.
But also at this moment, a group of cavalry suddenly rushed out from the other direction, coming from the other side of the Volkhov River, moving across the Polotsk army.
The target was none other than Novgorod, and their momentum was very loud. The raised dust almost obscured everyone's sight, which showed the huge number of cavalry.
The sudden appearance of the cavalry confused both sides. Novgorod thought it was Polotsk's cavalry coming from another direction. They instantly became more panicked. There were not many defenders in that direction.
And this way they wouldn't even have the possibility to escape.
The Prince of Witchcraft was very confused. He clearly did not arrange any troops there? What happened to this cavalry? Who do they belong to?
Now the witchcraft prince did not dare to launch an attack, and immediately stopped the troops preparing to advance. He had to figure out what was going on over there before he dared to take action.
But it's hard to know what's going on across such a river, and it will take time for the sent scouts to come back and report.
Just when all parties were hesitating, the cavalry arrived at the gates of Novgorod. However, they did not immediately start climbing the city, nor did they make a move to attack the city. Instead, they shouted under the city gate.
"I am John Sokal, Rostislav asked me to come for reinforcements! I am Rostislav's vassal! Open the door! Open the door quickly!"
This news is undoubtedly life-saving for the panicked Novgorod people. Anyone who comes to help them at this time is very welcome.
The Novgorodians know with their toes what the Polotsk bastards would do if they came in, so they need reinforcements.
And hearing that Rostislav also made the Novgorod militiamen on the city even more excited and welcomed Rostislav to Novgorod. After seeing the series of achievements of the Prince of Moscow, Novgorod
, it is a pity why Rostislav is not their prince, after all, Novgorod has always been longing for a talented prince to lead them.
Rostislav is the most suitable. His father is the Prince of Novgorod. He grew up in Novgorod. In the eyes of everyone, Rostislav is a native Novgorodian.
But then another question arose on the city wall: How can we be sure that you are from Rostislav? Is it possible to rely on that flag?
It's normal to be cautious. If you open the door hastily, God knows who is underneath. If it's an enemy, you're doomed.
This immediately put Sokal at the door. He really didn't have any good way to prove his identity.
Although he lives in Setorzhok, which is the closest to Novgorod and is the Rostislav vassal who can reach the city the fastest, he does not come to this city very often.
At this time, Edward stood up and directly announced his identity, Edward Wessex.
After seeing Edward's face, a call for a friend came from above, and then the door opened. This quickly made Sokal stunned, but he didn't think much about it. The key now was to enter the city.
Later, Sokal found out that when Edward was still in Rus, he often went to Novgorod to play, and he met many people there, and many people also knew him, and these people were from Novgorod.
A powerful person of virtue.
Even after so many years, these people still knew Edward, and the current commander of their city gate was Edward's friend back then. This shows how much impression this Anglo-Saxon left on them.
Next, the Sokald nomadic cavalry naturally ran towards the other half of Novgorod, rushing to assist the situation there. Reinforcements were not yet known to be entering the city, so the situation did not collapse.
As they walked through the main roads of Novgorod, they all shouted that Rostislav was coming to calm the chaos caused by the Polotsk army "falling from the sky" in the city.
The reputation of the Prince of Moscow is very loud in the north, and countless songs praise his martial virtues, which reached its peak especially after the conquest of Bulgar.
Moreover, his father once served as a prince in Novgorod, which made the people of Novgorod feel even more affectionate towards him. When his name rang out, when the flag of St. George Slaying the Dragon representing him was displayed on the street.
After flying above, the originally chaotic citizens of Novgorod also calmed down.
On the other side, Vseslav of Polotsk saw that the cavalry entered the city so smoothly without causing any shouts of killing, and he also realized that the people coming were reinforcements from Novgorod.
He immediately ordered a strong attack on Novgorod. The wizarding prince felt a little bad at this moment. The arrival of reinforcements would undoubtedly give the city a reassurance. If this continues, the situation will not be good, it will definitely not be good.
"Take Novgorod! Quick!"
Vseslav, who subconsciously felt anxious, shouted that before the Novgorod militia on the opposite side had stabilized due to the arrival of reinforcements, he wanted to quickly capture the city.
Although he didn't know the number of those cavalry, as long as his army entered the city, victory would definitely belong to him.
The wizarding prince said firmly in his heart.
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