Rostislav took three steps at a time and walked to a hill on the beach, overlooking the landing scene.
And the scene he saw was still the one he didn't want to see. It didn't change because he climbed to the heights. The chaotic scene made Rostislav feel bad, and it also took away all the joy of landing.
Already.
He originally thought that relying on the booklet summarizing various experiences and lessons after the landing in Gotland, this landing would be at least better than the last time. However, he underestimated the negative impact of a large number of newcomers in the army.
So when he came up, he saw a horrible sight.
At a glance, excluding those teams that have already assembled, there is a bad scene everywhere, filled with the kind of disorder that Rostislav dislikes the most. Many people need to be scolded by their superiors before they can act. Some
Sometimes punches and kicks are needed.
But fortunately, everything is developing in a better direction, and more and more places have restored order and look normal, otherwise Rostislav would really not be able to bear it.
"The departure and ferry trip looked fine, but why did it get so bad when we got here? Alas, I originally thought that my experience in the north would be enough, but I didn't expect it to be like this."
The Grand Duke's words made everyone behind him look embarrassed, but that was all, because this was everyone's responsibility. In other words, no one was responsible.
For Rostislav, he originally thought that the chaos on the way out and on the voyage was the lowest limit for this army, but he did not expect that the landing would be so chaotic.
There were several problems with the organization of the fleet at the time of departure, but they were successfully resolved in the end. Although the situation continued during the voyage, the permanent losses were really not much.
Now, just looking at the current reports, the material losses and ship losses incurred during the landing process have exceeded the sum of the first two, which is really difficult for Rostislav to accept.
And the losses are still increasing, but these losses are worth it. With the progress of various practices, the Russians have gradually figured out the correct method of landing.
Rostislav's three sons are now distributed on this beach. The identity of Prince Rostis is enough for them to reorganize the chaotic situation, and the janissaries and standing armies have also arrived. With the blessing of these forces, the chaos
It was eliminated little by little.
More and more troops were organized and positioned at various key points. This scene made Rostislav's worries finally dissipate. As long as the troops were deployed, there was no need to worry too much about driving his army into the sea in one attack.
Such a situation occurs.
But having said that, complaints are complaints, but bringing this army to the beaches of the Eastern Empire is already a success. As long as the landing is completed, the next thing will be natural.
There was no need to worry about the loss of supplies, because Rostislav knew that the Greeks would send it themselves. As he got closer to Constantinople, Rostislav became more and more aware of the situation of Alexios's army, and
These circumstances were very favorable to Rostislav's plans.
"Lord Rostislav." A crossbowman wearing chain mail came behind the Grand Duke. Behind him was a group of crossbowmen who were arranging their armor. The crossbowmen came ashore with Rostislav, "A
A group of Greeks arrived, and he claimed to be Alexios, the emperor supported by the Greek rebels outside Constantinople."
"Well? He came in person? This really surprises me."
Rostislav was a little unbelievable. Although he had shown a friendly gesture to the Greeks and was waiting for them to come, he did not expect that the emperor would actually come in person.
"He is indeed a monarch who has achieved such great achievements... Well, let me come and meet him!"
The first half of Rostislav's sentence was his own mumbling, and only he could hear it.
The last sentence was an order. Since the Greek emperor wanted to see him, let him meet him. It could be said that he came all the way just to meet with the emperor.
Just as Rostislav was heading to his camp, on the other side, Alexios was crossing the Russian landing site under the guidance of the Russian cavalry.
When they approached the Ross camp, a group of nomadic cavalry surrounded them, and just as Alexios expected, these people did not embarrass them, but after understanding the Greeks' intentions, they started to lead them down.
The leader of these nomadic cavalry is named John Sokal. This man speaks broken Greek. Although it is difficult to understand, he can at least communicate.
And from his words on the way, Alexios knew that the Grand Duke of Kiev had indeed come to the south, right at the landing site.
After confirming Rostislav's arrival, Alexios paid more attention to the next meeting. Grand Duke Rus came here in person. It seemed that he wanted something big.
After entering the Russian landing site at close range, Alexios clearly felt the hugeness of this army. There were busy sailors everywhere, whole teams of soldiers could be seen everywhere, and there were piles of supplies everywhere. The Russian king in the north
The army they brought was very large.
Most of the Russians he saw were just levies in the general sense. Alexios didn't care about these troops of poor quality. What he cared about were the elite Russians.
He noticed two well-ordered troops. One was under the banner of St. George Slaying the Dragon and wore similar uniforms. It obviously had a strong professional military feel, while the other was standing under a different flag.
Under the circumstances, although the equipment is messy, the troops have a sense of discipline.
In the emperor's view, the former should be Rostislav's standing army. He knew this army, while the latter was the backbone of the city militia in the cities of Russia. The order displayed by these two teams in this chaos was very eye-catching.
.
Alexios was able to gain this knowledge of the Russian army thanks to the popularity of Rostislav's works in the south.
But after all, it was only on the horizontal line. Alexios often came into contact with such armies. What really concerned him were the Ross heavy cavalry. These guys looked very powerful on the battlefield.
The Russians even have a uniformed cavalry team, and this team is obviously a well-trained elite. When they line up in a neat queue, just standing there makes people feel a lot of pressure.
However, what surprised the Greek emperor was that although the Ross camp was in chaos, the chaos was being restored in an orderly manner. As a general, he also knew very well how difficult the landing operation was, and now the Ross people are overcoming this difficulty. Obviously
Also very efficient.
The Greeks quickly arrived at Rostislav's camp, and what they saw next was a heavily defended camp lined with quarrelsome people. The camp was located on a slope near the beach, overlooking the entire beach.
Alexios examined the place from his perspective and found that the camp had fully utilized all the advantages it had. It seemed that the person who designed the camp was a battlefield veteran, which reminded him of the battles he had fought against in the civil war.
Those famous imperial generals.
Here, the Greeks were stopped by a group of soldiers wearing heavy armor and holding crossbows. While Sokal was communicating with them, Alexios observed these people carefully, which could be seen from the calluses on their hands.
, this is a real crossbowman, and the armor on their bodies does not affect their movements.
Even in the south, it is rare to see such a large number of elite crossbowmen. It seems that these are Rostislav's elite.
Next, in front of the gorgeous tent belonging to the Grand Duke of Kiev, he saw the famous Rus' Guards. When he saw these people, Alexios remembered the Varangian Guards he had seen before, and how they were dressed.
Very close to the temperament.
Behind the janissaries was Rostislav's tent, where Alexios saw Saint George slaying the dragon, Rurik's trident and the banner of the Virgin fluttering in the wind.
Alexios suddenly felt a little ridiculous. He was also an emperor now, but he took the initiative to meet a barbarian monarch. However, the situation forced him to do so.