After that small interlude, the army continued to pass through the gate, and the army starting from Kiev soon embarked on the road to the south.
At the beginning, the energetic young men in the army looked fearless and excitedly discussed what they would do if they went to the battlefield.
As the team went further south and entered the grassland-forest transition zone, the surrounding scenes became novel to the young people. They had only heard of such scenes in poetry.
In the words of those poets, such a place was the place where strong men made great achievements, where generations of Russian warriors fought against the eternal enemies of Russia, the enemies of the steppes that seemed to come endlessly, and those who made military exploits were able to become famous throughout Russia.
Their discussion became even more heated, even when they set up camp at night, and did not stop until the officer ordered them to sleep.
It's a pity that they are still full of energy now, but it will be different next time. After seeing the novel sight many times, they will just feel tired.
After the excitement faded, there were complaints about the boring march.
Many times, the army had to march forward in the deserted wilderness, seeing nothing but sparse forests and boundless wilderness every day. Over time, the young people's hearts were filled with complaints.
Moreover, there is another problem with these young people, that is, their subconscious disregard for discipline. This is a situation that the Grand Duke's officers cannot change no matter how many times they deal with them. In the end, everyone no longer cares about it. Just do whatever you want, as long as you are punished.
Just make a fuss.
This road has been passed by countless armies, nomadic armies passed here to Kiev, and Rus' armies passed here to the steppe, but those people don't care about history.
They did not join the war to walk around in this incomparable wilderness! What they saw in front of them really disappointed them, and some even began to encourage their companions to leave the army. Rather than walking endlessly in the wilderness, it was better to go back directly.
Home.
At this time, they knew the seriousness of the army.
In response to these noises in the army, Ijaslav chose to suppress them without hesitation, and directly hanged the most irritating ones in front of everyone, so that the entire army suddenly became peaceful.
To be a general requires a heart of stone, and when the order of the entire army is shaken, heads must be sacrificed.
Now these young people know that war is not a joke, and the blood of their peers makes them understand the seriousness of the matter.
The Grand Duke of Kiev didn't take these things to heart. It was normal for young people to make trouble. It was normal to chop off a few heads and then let them go to the front line to bathe in some blood.
However, there were a lot of newcomers this time, so some generals asked if this was not a good idea, but Ijaslav said that there was no problem.
There is indeed nothing wrong with what the Grand Duke said. Does it mean that a few young people are making trouble? There is no trouble among the militiamen and soldiers. After all, we have to rely on them to fight the war.
But what Ijaslav didn't know was that many of these people had objections to the Grand Duke's behavior. They thought that the Grand Duke was too cruel this time, and those nomads were so weak, so there was no need to do this to these young people this time.
As for why they are like this, after all, this time the army is filled with children of Kiev people, so many people naturally want to speak for their own children.
Svyatoslav noticed this trend, but Prince Chernigov did nothing about it.
In Izyaslav's view, the prospects for the entire army are not generally good, and he has also received news of another victory from Pereyaslav.
Vsevolod sent a letter to tell his brother that he had defeated tens of thousands of Porovets, and the situation in Pereyaslav was greatly alleviated.
This news undoubtedly caused quite a stir within the coalition forces. Both veterans and newcomers called for the march to be accelerated immediately.
It seems that if the soldiers do not rush to the front line, they will really not be able to even drink soup. If they cannot participate in the war, they will not be able to get the spoils, and then they will really become traveling.
In response to everyone's appeal, Ijaslav also increased his speed. After increasing his speed, they quickly arrived at the Ross fortification area facing the grassland.
This is an area full of earth embankments and trenches. There are also many strongholds that can accommodate soldiers. Even the villages are armed to deal with all enemies coming from the grassland.
The Grand Duke's soldiers asked all the way and found that most of the men in these villages and strongholds were absent. After asking, they found out that they were fighting under Prince Pereyaslav.
Among the local population, the Grand Duke heard many news of victory, and the Polovets were constantly defeated under the blows.
This war is really much smoother than the one fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago, the entire Pereyaslav region was ravaged by nomadic armies, but now the nomadic army is effectively blocked in Pereyaslav.
Under the Slavic City.
This made Izyaslav speed up his march even more. Damn it, it looks like Vsevolod can win by relying on his own strength. If this continues, he won't even be able to pick up any bones.
Under acceleration, the two troops led by Yaroslavich finally arrived at the city of Pereyaslav, where Prince Pereyaslav was located.
Vsevolod has a total of 6,000 men in his hands. This is the product of gathering men from the entire Pereyaslav region. This force has indeed maintained the security of the city.
The local residents were happy to accept the prince's conscription. As border residents, they understood the principle of unity better than anyone else. If they wanted to stop the nomadic frenzy, the only option was to unite and apply for the conscription.
In addition, many border nomadic tribes have joined them. There are also a lot of nomadic tribes living in the Pereyaslav region, and these tribes have been more or less Russified, so they are very willing to join the army of Prince Pereyaslav.
The morale of the Pereyaslav army is very high. After all, they are in the stage of moving from one victory to another. Continuous victories have made them highly morale and they are increasingly looking forward to the next war.
The arrival of the Kiev and Chernihiv armies was undoubtedly welcomed by Vsevolod. The more boots on the ground the better at any time.
With the city of Pereyaslav at its back, the Russian army camped here. On the one hand, it was because the city did not have space to accommodate so many troops, and on the other hand, it was because they were not worried about the enemies that might exist outside the city.
Moreover, these three Russian princes saw that the Polovtsians were so weak in combat effectiveness, so they began to consider whether they should march into the grasslands with a large army to destroy the nests of the nomadic tribes and make some preparations for the future.
However, it was so harmonious at the top, but that was not the case below. Due to the continuous victories, the Pereyaslavs had a lot of arrogance in their hearts, and some people even thought that they did not need reinforcements from the north.
This creates a contradiction. It seems that Kiev and Mrs. Chernigo have traveled so far to support you, but you have such an attitude. What do you think this is?
Naturally, there will be a quarrel next, and when there is a quarrel, there will be a fight. After all, there are too many young and energetic young people in the Kiev army. Who can stand such anger? If you are angry, you have to vent it immediately, so you fight with your fists.
stand up.
The situation even developed into a group fight at one point, with hundreds of people participating, and more people were ready to take action. In the end, the prince's personal soldiers came to forcibly clear the place and separate the fighting parties.
The final solution was a mixed bag. The leaders of the fight and insults on both sides were all hanged. But even so, both sides were still very unhappy. It was obviously the other party's fault. Why did their people have to die?
The morale of those young people was greatly affected by this. In the end, they came with enthusiasm. As a result, they did not only march, but also marched, and then they were ridiculed by Mrs. Pereyaslav.
So far, they haven't seen the shadow of the battle, so what does that mean? Their morale has dropped visibly, but for the upper echelons, this is just a sideshow.
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"This is really, damn enough, this is the first time I have seen such a bad army."
In the allied military camp, a veteran general, Ivan Tvorimilic sighed like this.
It's a pity that not many people listen to his words, not many people care about this old man, and even his children are not very willing to obey.
In Old Twolimilic's combat career, such a unit was almost full of elements of collapse, and its demise was only a matter of time, but after all, he was a man of few words.
Although he has a high status among the Kiev aristocracy, he has little say in the military. Everyone thinks that he is from a backward era.
Seeing those confused young people and proud militiamen, as well as their loose atmosphere, old Twolimilic had a headache.
He wanted to persuade some people to wake up, but the whole army was trapped in a loose atmosphere.
These actions of his were regarded by others as a lunatic. What nonsense did this old lunatic say? If it hadn't been for his age, he would have been beaten long ago. As for his words, they were regarded as crazy words.
So he could only lament here, could only lament watching all this.
But when he sighed, he didn't see a young man stroking his chin thoughtfully behind him.
His name was Vladimir Vsevolodovich Rurik, but everyone more often called him by his other name, Monomakh.
Monomach was also the one who felt that the situation of this army was not good. In any case, this army was too lax, and the enemies they faced were the Polovets who were always known for their maneuverability and cunning.
Moreover, those few victories were actually doubted by him. He was also someone who had been active on the border for a long time. In his opinion, it was too deliberate. How could the nomads collapse so easily.
It's a pity that just like the advice of old Twolimich was not taken seriously by others, Monomakh's doubts were not taken seriously by his father, and the whole army was in a blindly optimistic atmosphere, which made him feel a little bit.
confused.
It was also under such circumstances that Monomach discovered the old Tvorimilic who was spreading failed remarks everywhere. For this purpose, he dedicated a day to listen to this old man's opinions. Of course, this was all without his knowledge.
in the case of.
A servant once asked him why he didn't contact this person. Wouldn't it be better to ask directly? Monomach's answer was that this person was really conspicuous, and being mixed with such a conspicuous person would make himself conspicuous.
So he could only listen secretly, and after listening to a series of rants from the old general, Monomach decided that he had to make preparations early. At the moment, the coalition looked strong, but in fact it was full of loopholes.
No matter what happens, you can cope with it yourself.
————————
"The troops from Kiev and Chernihiv have arrived?"
"Yes, I'm quite sure, Khan, they're already here."
While the coalition army was sleeping, in the camp of the Polovts, Khan Salu of the Polovts army listened to his subordinates.
Although they experienced many defeats, the morale of the Polovtsians was not greatly affected, because those were just bait.
The Khan who now leads this army is very tall, but he is blind in one eye, so that eye is covered by a black eyepatch.
The remaining eye always exudes the gaze of a predator, which makes him look more majestic, and there are many horrific stories about him, all about how he cruelly treats his opponents.
But this is exactly the kind of ruler that the grassland needs, especially in this grassland that has just experienced a wave of collapse of order. If you want to rule the grassland, kindness and kindness are of no use. The only thing that can control those cruel nomads is cruelty.
.
"Very good, very good. It's finally time to attack. The patience during this period is undoubtedly worth it."
Saru, the son of Bruce Khan, threw the riding crop on the table. His words were full of joy that burst out of suppressed emotions. He had been waiting for this moment for too long, and now the troops from the three cities of Southern Rus have finally arrived.
But what he regretted a little was why Rostislav didn't come. Salu had not forgotten that it was he who killed his father, which led to the defeat of the Polovtsian army and his miserable fate.
Yes, Salu is the son of Polovts Khan Brusz who came to Kiev back then. Now he sits in his father's position and leads the Polovts tribes.
"Gather all the tribes scattered all over the place and tell them that we have to show our true abilities and stop hiding them from me. Whether we can develop or not depends on this time!"
Fifteen years have passed since the last time I came to Kiev, and Salu has changed a lot.
The ignorant boy back then has now become an experienced prairie wolf, just like his father, no, more cunning than his father.
Saru has suffered a lot over the years and has been on the verge of death countless times, but he has endured it, and every time he has won by being more desperate and crazier than his opponent.
After adventure after adventure, he regained the authority of his fathers and made them fear and fear him through countless fights.
Then, under the combined effect of the threat of force and a glass of poisoned wine, the tribes submitted to his command.
After completing this feat, Salu Khan immediately began to invade Rus. Revenge was one aspect, but more importantly, he led his tribes to win trophies and consolidate his position.
The authority of Saru Khan is no stronger than that of his father Bruce. If the cities of Rus are united around the Grand Duke of Rus because of commercial profits, then the nomads are united around the nomads for plunder. A man who cannot lead
A khan whose tribesmen win spoils of war cannot gain support.
This is the ecology of the grassland. They are either fighting each other or plundering others. Anyway, it is either at this stage or at that stage.
This Khan planned to play big, and he described a very bright future to the chiefs.
In this future, the entire Rus will become the hunting ground of the Borovets, where they can get all the prey they want, food, handicrafts, slaves... whatever they want.
It is also because of this promise that Salu can let the chiefs "defeat". People in the grassland know that if you want to get something, you have to pay first.
But this does not mean that he has no pressure, because if he cannot fulfill his promise, his future will be very miserable.
The Borovets are very cruel to those who break promises and losers - in the steppes, these two words are often synonymous - and the rule he has finally established will definitely collapse.
But Saru is determined to complete this matter. Over the years, he has shed blood countless times on the tip of a knife and has never been averse to taking risks and gambling.
Even if he fails, it doesn't matter. At worst, he can just go back to the grassland and start over. He is still young now, and even if he loses everything again, he can still take it back with his sword.
But it was Salu Khan who had such a mentality that he recently received a letter, a letter from the north.
Although the person did not name his name, and the handwriting on the letter was obviously written by several people at the same time, making it very difficult to identify, Salu still knew that the person who sent the letter was Svyatoslav Yaroslavich.
It's not difficult, just follow the logic.
Saru has been paying attention to the internal political affairs of Ross over the years, and he has never forgotten it even when he was at his lowest, because he always wanted revenge, even if it cost him everything, he would take revenge.
So Saru understood the purpose of the owner of the letter at first sight. He just wanted to borrow his knife. But he didn't mind making a gun for this person, because in this, he could also
Get what you want.
But having said that, it is probably because the prince of Chernigov who wrote the letter knew this very well that he dared to write the letter. Anyway, everyone is just doing what they need.
It's just that none of the conspirators thought that all developments would eventually turn into a scene that no one expected.