Although he paid a lot of price, Alexios felt that the price was worth it compared to what he gained.
As the Russians joined the ranks of the siege of Constantinople, the Russian army allowed Alexios to truly blockade the city. After all, Alexios's rebellion was launched in a hurry, and his military strength was still limited.
However, with only 10,000 people, it is still very difficult to truly blockade the city.
Moreover, the Ross fleet helped him even more at sea. Now they have blocked the port. There used to be many ships coming and going, but now they don't think about it anymore.
However, the Russians were also trapped by the chains pulled up in the Golden Horn and could not go deeper, but Alexios no longer wanted more.
Rostislav didn't care. This had been expected by him. Anyway, he had never successfully entered the Golden Horn. His initial plan was to sail on dry land and directly pull a fleet there.
Go to the side and force the defenders to disperse their forces.
Yes, spread out the troops, after all there is a wall on the other side of Constantinople.
In addition, what the Russians did most was digging soil and building siege equipment under the walls of Constantinople.
The former is to pave the way for the attack and to better blockade the city. Along those deeply dug trenches with wooden roofs, the soldiers do not have to brave arrows to advance. Anyway, they are the least in Rostislav's plan.
They all have to stay under the walls of Constantinople for a month, so make the most of your time first.
As for the latter, building siege equipment is the key to siege, so Rostislav brought a large amount of materials that could be used directly, as well as stranded or damaged hulks, dragged them to the shore and lifted them directly, a
The turtle shell just appeared, so the soldiers could hide under it and move forward.
In addition, Rostislav was very fortunate that Alexios' men had almost done the work of blocking the moat, so that he did not have to let his soldiers plow the soil under arrows.
Rostislav received the help of many Greek engineers. These people were sent over by Alexios. Anyway, these people had no use. It was better to give them to Ross and let them build better siege equipment.
Rostislav welcomes this. For his craftsmen, such a good learning opportunity cannot be missed.
Of course, there have always been many probing attacks on Constantinople. Unfortunately, every attempt ended in an embarrassing retreat. But it still had to be carried out, which was very helpless. However, the losses were within an acceptable range.
It was Edward Wessex who led the offensive, and he had great experience in this.
The only thing the Russians don't have to worry about is food. Alexios will provide Rostislav with everything he needs.
In exchange, Rostislav restrained his men from looting the suburbs of Constantinople and the Thracian plain, which had been devastated by successive rounds of war.
The nobles in this army are relatively leisurely. After all, it is still in the preparation stage and there is not much they can do. So many people simply visit the vicinity of Constantinople to see the scene of the southern empire.
Even Rostislav's sons were no exception, so in order to keep them from being too idle, the Grand Duke arranged some work for them.
"Is that Constantinople? This kind of city is really huge. Kiev is probably not even one-fifth of its size."
"Maybe less than one-sixth of it. This is really a big city."
"It doesn't matter how big it is, this city will definitely be captured by us anyway. Brothers, think about how many things we can rob if we go in."
On a hill overlooking the city in the distance of Constantinople, three Prince Rurik and their entourage were observing the southern imperial capital. The entourages were discussing with each other, and the three
Rurik said nothing and looked at the city intently.
From here, you can see the traces of war under the walls of the imperial capital: corpses and arrows, trenches and barriers, busy attackers and leisurely defenders.
"Vasiliko, you have read a lot. How many people do you think there are in this city?"
Finally, Volorida broke the silence. His tone was full of curiosity about that huge city. The prince liked to accept unknown things, and the city in front of him naturally aroused his strong interest.
.
"About four to five hundred thousand. There has always been only one estimate of the population of Constantinople. It is impossible to know exactly how many people there are in that city."
Vasilko pondered for a moment, and then gave the answer. Volorida didn't care about that estimate, but dilated her pupils in surprise.
"So, the population of this city alone is almost the total population of all the cities in Ross?"
"Absolutely... maybe I'll pay you back a little less."
Vasiliko's tone was also full of emotion. It was indeed an ancient empire. The scene in front of him was a reflection of its heritage. In the past, Vasiliko was very doubtful about the greatness of Rome, but now, after seeing this city wall,
, his mind completely changed.
"You two, don't just sigh. Don't forget what father asked us to do. We are here to see if there are any weaknesses in this city that can be overcome, not to lament the power of the Greek Empire."
Rurik's voice intervened at an inappropriate time, which made Volorida and Vasilko very unhappy. After all, they were chatting happily, but suddenly someone interrupted.
"Brother, let me tell you there is no need to do this. Look at that city. Can we see the weaknesses of the three-layered city wall just by looking at it from here? Father must have sent us out to do something to prevent us from being too idle, so
Brother, it’s almost enough, there’s no need to take it so seriously.”
Volorida didn't like that her eldest brother always put responsibility first. Sometimes he could obviously let things go, so why did he have to rush in such a hurry?
"Maybe, but when dad asks, we have to say something."
Rurik's face softened a lot. He was not someone who didn't know how to defecate. It was just that some things had become a habit, and he would always do it subconsciously.
"I have read a lot of books about Constantinople. Brother, I will tell you some things to deal with father when the time comes. Now we can chat leisurely. Don't be so anxious. Father and the others must have their own ideas.
We’ll just wait and see what arrangements are made.”
Vasilko said after Rurik, and when his younger brother said this, Rurik couldn't help laughing, "Okay, okay, let's enjoy this rare leisure time."
So Volorida and Vasilko started chatting enthusiastically again, and the topic they talked about was also about the current city. Whenever Vasiliko mentioned various aspects of the city, Volorida always
Will be amazed.
And Rurik continued to look at Constantinople, at the triple city wall that made countless enemies fall in front of it, and at the densely packed towers. He couldn't help but wonder, could they really conquer such a city?
To be honest, Rurik didn't know that although with the strength of the Greek emperor, the number of troops in their hands was almost 30,000, could these 30,000 people really succeed in attacking such a huge city?
This city has faced many more exaggerated sieges than this in history. For example, the sieges of the Islamic believers are not much stronger than them. How can their army be better than those who came with fanatical beliefs?
Did the Army of the Prophets do better?
But on the other hand, Rurik trusted his father very much. He grew up in the stories of his father, Rostislav Vladimirovich. As a poor prince, his father could be said to have created a series of stories that others saw as
It was something that was impossible, and he had personally experienced it several times. In his opinion, there was nothing his father could not do.
So even in the face of such a fortified city this time, Rurik still had confidence in his father, which is why he felt that the outcome was hard to say.
"No matter what, I hope this will have a good outcome."