While Rostislav was on his way to hegemony in the north, in the Eastern Empire in the south, his two cousins and the other two Ruriks were in great trouble.
The listless troops marched on the road going south. They once went north along this road with great brilliance and energy, but now they are only powerless and dejected.
An atmosphere of sadness permeated the queue. Many people had lost their comrades, and some had lost all their property and armor, which completely demoralized them.
"The battle in the past six months has resulted in this, it's really true..."
Monomach looked at his listless subordinates and sighed sadly. His head was still tied with a blood-stained bandage. Prince Rurik was injured in the previous battle.
Although he had already anticipated this day, when he faced the facts, he still couldn't help but feel sad.
"Yes, this is really too tragic, too tragic, this loss is really..."
Oleg echoed, he was not as see-through as Monomakh, he was more sad about the heavy casualties suffered by Russell's army, a team that was clearly expected to take over the imperial capital, but ended like this.
"We have to look forward after all." Monomach continued.
For the past six months, the two Rurik Rusians have been fighting under the imperial capital. At first, the situation was very smooth. They first spent a few leisurely months sieging the city, looting the suburbs of the richest areas of the Eastern Empire and letting them
Make a lot of money.
Monomach also looted an emperor's palace that he couldn't name. At that time, he even had the illusion that they might really be able to take over the imperial capital - at that time, the entire army was filled with such a sentiment.
Even several tentative attacks on the imperial capital ended in failure, but Russell's army was not affected. Facing those big cities, it would be impossible if they could easily win them. It would take a long time to prepare.
Therefore, these failures did not affect their morale. The soldiers firmly believed that as long as the siege equipment was repaired, they could easily scale the city wall, and then the Greeks would be defeated.
It's just that they forgot a sentence at this time, "In a fortified city, one can fight ten."
After being prepared, the attack on the imperial capital killed all illusions. Under the tall city wall, the various siege equipment that Russell's army spent three months building seemed extremely powerless. They just wanted to touch the city wall.
They paid a huge price and countless deaths, and then the Greeks easily pushed them off the city wall.
The siege ended in failure, and everyone could only drink the bitter wine of failure. They were so powerless in the face of the wall that they could not conquer the wall at all.
Monomach no longer had any illusions at this time. They should immediately return to Asia and Ankara to consolidate their base. However, Russell was obviously stunned. Faced with this unfavorable situation, he insisted on surrounding the imperial capital.
I firmly believe that I can take over this city.
The situation they faced became increasingly unfavorable. The Bulgarian and Pecheneg uprisings in the north were suppressed, and the imperial army was liberated and headed south.
There were more and more battles between Russell's army and the imperial army, but Russell's side still had the advantage most of the time. After all, they were experienced soldiers and they were always victorious.
This is also the reason why Russell can still persist in the siege under the walls of the imperial capital even after the imperial troops have returned to support, because the victory gives everyone peace of mind, and it seems to everyone that the Greeks will definitely not be able to defeat them.
And people continued to join in. The imperial capital was a trophy that attracted countless desperadoes and mercenaries. The continuous arrival of these people made Russell's army expand.
But with the arrival of more imperial troops and two people, the situation changed. One was Nikephoros, an experienced imperial veteran, and the other was a newly rising imperial general, the Komnenos family.
of Alexios.
Facing these two men, Russell's army suffered more defeats. Their generals were obviously much more sophisticated than the imperial generals that the Normans had come into contact with before.
The Normans also realized the threat posed by these two men and could not let them continue to consume his strength in a small-scale war of attrition, so he invited the Greeks to fight and use battle to solve this supporting army - this
It was also an idea of Russell's, that is, to surround the spot and call for reinforcements.
It's just that this time the reinforcements were obviously a bit large. The number of imperial troops was twice that of Russell's army, but Russell was still undaunted because he had seen worse situations and would never do it again.
But this time it was different. The Normans' lances failed to break through the Greek defenses, and then turned the battlefield into a sheep herding mode. On the contrary, they were surrounded by the Greeks. The Normans finally paid the price of more than half of the casualties before killing them.
Came out of the battlefield.
Seeing the frustration of the Normans, the desperadoes and mercenaries who had been lured by the booty ran away directly, followed by the forcibly recruited Greeks, which undoubtedly led to further chaos.
The Russians became one of the few troops that could maintain their fighting position in this chaos. They supported the entire battle situation for a time, but even so they could only retreat because this was no longer a situation that could be changed by manpower.
The failure eventually turned into a rout, and the army built by Russell collapsed. They abandoned the camp filled with loot, ran to the seaside desperately, and boarded the ship one after another.
This was thanks to Russell still controlling his fleet across the sea, otherwise his army would have been driven overboard.
The emperor whom Russell supported also ran away. He lost his imperial title and once again stood under Emperor Michael.
This relatively large fleet sent the chaotic but complete Russell army that fled to the sea to the other side. The Russians ensured that the complete army came to the other side, but still lost a lot of people, thanks to Monomach.
Although they stayed to break up the rear, the Greeks did not dare to pursue too hard, so they saved their troops.
But there was a price, that is, Monomach's forehead was grazed by Komnenos' arrow and he almost died.
After this round of defeat, Russell only had 4,000 people left. Under such circumstances, he had only one choice, to admit the fact, and that was to go to Ankara, the city he had been running for several years, relying on
Stay there.
So the whole army was in a very sad mood, and they left their weapons and trophies behind.
But what was most annoying next was that the Greeks were inflicting insults on their defeated army. The Greeks were attacking them along the way, and they naturally burned and killed several villages without hesitation, but this would only lead to more resistance.
"We can't follow Russell anymore. He is finished. Following him back to Ankara will mean death."
Oleg said that the situation is now obvious. They must get rid of this guy and can no longer follow him. Now that a disaster is approaching, everyone must rely on their own abilities.
"Well, I'm already prepared. I've connected some Normans and Armenians. I plan to put some distance between ourselves and Russell's team first, and then we'll leave."
Monomacher touched his chin and said, in fact, he has been preparing for a long time. He was preparing before Russell was defeated. Russell's failure also made some people willing to join his team. Monomacher was happy to accept these people.
To work independently, after all, it is better to have more and more people.
"Then where are we going?"
After being excited for a while, Oleg thought of this key question, and Monomakh immediately answered what he had been preparing for a long time.
"Now let's go to Trabzon first, which is relatively remote. Let's occupy that land first and settle down for a while before looking for other opportunities."
As Prince Pereyaslav, Monomakh still knows the situation in the south very well. In terms of temporary peace, Trabzon is indeed suitable. It is an independent unit geographically.
"Trabzon? That land is quite rich. Okay, let's go there."
Oleg obviously knew this name, so he agreed. Trabzon was indeed a very suitable place for cultivation. They should stay there for a while, renovate and reorganize the army, and then look at the form.