To the south of the Northern Army's line was the powerful array of the Southern Army. At a glance, all you could see was the endless black line.
Hundreds of flags fluttered in the breeze, and groups of Confederate soldiers continued to file out from behind the hillside. Compared with the tight front line of the Northern Army, the Confederate Army looked a bit messy, but fortunately the whole was still intact.
Compared with the Northern Army, which has more organizers, the Southern Army has some shortcomings in this regard, but after all, Southern Ross has much more foundation and population than Northern Ross, and these foundations are enough to provide some organizational strength and catch up with some.
The gap with the Northern Army.
The center of the Southern Army is composed of the Kiev militia and Chernigov militia, which constitute the thickest part of the entire army and the most powerful part.
They did not form as large a phalanx as the Northern Army across the street, but instead formed dense small phalanxes. The chiefs of their respective neighborhoods led their neighbors, who were also their subordinates.
After the militia came the Grand Duke's personal soldiers who were holding down the formation. The advancing ranks of these personal soldiers were covered with armor and scales. There was no doubt that this was the majesty of the ruler of all Russia belonging to Kiev.
But Sviatoslav was not happy because of the grand procession. Instead, he glanced at the janissaries uneasily.
Svyatoslav's Janissaries have expanded significantly recently - mainly to incorporate Izyaslav's Janissaries - the short-term expansion has made the quality of the Janissaries uneven, but they are still a strong force.
"My lord Svyatoslav! Your flag, my lord!"
The Grand Duke of Kiev, who was sitting in the saddle watching the advance of the Chinese army, turned around and saw a messenger struggling to squeeze through the densely packed infantry around him to get closer to him. There was a rolled-up flag on the cavalry's saddle.
The Grand Duke wears a helmet with gold and gems inlaid on the edge, and his scales are even plated with gold. Combined with his strong body, the Grand Duke looks very dazzling, so the cavalry can find the Grand Duke at a glance.
.
"Ah, it's finally here. Go and rest in the back, kid."
Svyatoslav took the flag and handed it to the flag bearer.
The flag was then unfolded, which was a howling black eagle. Side by side with the black eagle was the Rurik trident and the portrait of Saint Greb of Rus.
Among the only two native saints in Russia, Sviatoslav respected St. Gleb the most, so he printed this saint on his flag and let the saint protect his army.
of war.
"Oh, my father-in-law, this eagle looks good. This is the first time I have seen your military flag."
Boleslaw, who was wearing chain mail, said that the Polish king's helmet was originally a visor, but he didn't like the restricted vision, so he removed the visor directly.
Interestingly, this set of armor and helmet were actually gifts from Rostislav, and Boleslaw has been using them because of their good quality.
"Boleslaw, shouldn't Poland get some flags? When fighting the pagans, you can also draw crosses on your shields to distinguish yourself from the enemy. But how do you distinguish yourself against the Christian army like this?"
Svyatoslav continued talking on the topic of military flags, while Boleslaw showed no concern for his father-in-law's suggestion, "Flags are too troublesome. Anyway, on the battlefield, everyone looks at their clothes and their accents."
You have to come out, there’s no need to do so much.”
While the two were discussing the military flag, a group of nomadic cavalry was arriving at the ruined monastery in the center of the battlefield at extremely fast speeds.
The nomads quickly began to circle around the monastery, shooting arrows into the monastery.
The crossbowmen on the high tower of the monastery fired the crossbow arrows decisively, and the Porovets were soon knocked upside down under the crossbow arrows. Their armor could not stop the crossbow arrows accelerated by gravity, and stirred up a lot of dust, making them look embarrassed.
Extremely.
"What a pity. In the end, the Northern Army was allowed to occupy the monastery. With Rostislav's crossbowmen on top of the tower, it is almost invulnerable."
Boleslaw said with regret that the King of Poland was also a battle-hardened man, so he knew at a glance the importance of the monastery.
"We need a strong army to conquer the monastery. How about letting my people come? Sichech is here too this time. He has many elite men. They can definitely capture the monastery. And Magnus
, this young man from England is very willing to fight, so it is suitable for him to go into battle and charge."
"No, there are plenty of ways to clean up the monastery. Look over there."
Svyatoslav pointed behind him with the finger holding the riding crop, and saw a tractor-trailed trebuchet appearing on the hillside at some point. There were several ballistae next to the trebuchet. Civilians and engineers were constantly adjusting around, and
Apparently more equipment is being delivered.
"Those instruments are enough to clean up the monastery, let Rostislav's people guard the ruins."
Sviatoslav's tone was full of pride. After taking control of Southern Rus', he also took control of the powerful technical craftsmen of the entire Southern Rus'.
And with these people, they have these powerful instruments in their hands, which is why Sviatoslav doesn't seem to be very concerned about failing to master the monastery.
But the next moment, a heavy rain of stones and crossbow arrows hit the siege equipment on the hillside, and dust immediately flew up.
Several trebuchets were turned into ruins. The worst thing was that one man was hit by a stone and split into two pieces. Blood mist filled the sky for a while, and panic sounded immediately afterwards.
"Father-in-law, it seems that my men will have to attack the monastery in the end, so let Sichech do it. He is very good at this kind of hard battle, and he has also had contact with Rostislav's army and knows them well."
Boleslaw looked at the siege equipment on the northern hillside. It seemed that before these projectile weapons decided the winner, the protagonists of the battle on the battlefield were still the soldiers after all.
"Okay, Boleslaw, let your people do it."
Svyatoslav said with a livid face, that was all that could be done for now, and the King of Poland immediately sent an envoy. The king completely ignored Svyatoslav's ugly face, but then mentioned another thing.
"What about Vsevolod? Why haven't I seen him?"
Boleslaw got along very well with Prince Pereyaslav in Hungary, but it is a pity that he has not met this scholar prince until now.
"He is staring at Salu Khan and his Polovts on the right wing. In Vsevolod's opinion, the Polovts will rebel sooner or later, so he must keep an eye on them at all times to prevent these guys from looting our territory.
Camp.”
Svyatoslav was a little dissatisfied and even twitched the corners of his mouth a few times. This brother was completely disobeying his orders and doing his own thing. Originally, Mrs. Pereyaslav should be in a more important position.
But since Prince Pereyaslav is like this, let him be like this. After all, he is an independent prince, not a complete subject of Kiev.
"Those nomads? Well, this caution is indeed understandable. They are exactly opposite to my people. It seems that we can only meet after the war. I hope we can still meet by then."
Boleslaw was quite sorry. Battle formations are always so unpredictable. Who knows if we can see each other again after the war?
"Oh, father, look over there, Rostislav has raised his flag."
Gleb's voice rang out, interrupting the conversation between the two monarchs. Their eyes extended and they saw Rostislav, surrounded by his personal entourage, patrolling the battlefield. There were three kinds of flags on his head, Liuli.
Trident, Saint George slaying the dragon and Virgin Mary.
"Haha, Rostislav looks more and more majestic, and his army looks okay. Yes, I really hope to have a good encounter with him on the battlefield. I hope his generals will not show any signs of deterioration. I'm already looking forward to it.
How could the poet praise this great war!"
The fanatical fighting spirit echoed in the Polish population. Sviatoslav couldn't help but glance at his son-in-law, a little dissatisfied. He was not so fanatical about war. He was still a little displeased with war madmen, and more importantly, he boasted
Rostislav.
"Don't be too anxious. The battle will begin soon. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to perform."