It was September 1106 when the Russian army set off for the expedition. On that day, when the huge Russian army left Kiev, it seemed as if the whole world was shaking.
The largest army ever seen in this land marched southward along the Dnieper River, followed by a huge fleet on the Dnieper River, which contained supplies for the army.
In the past few days before preparing to set off, the number of the army increased a lot, mainly because many Polovets tribes said that if Kiev was willing to give some money, then they would fight for Rus, so Rostislav did not hesitate to
hired them.
Now the total number of the army has reached 53,000. When such an army appeared on the grassland, the Borov sub-tribes who had enmity with the Ross fled away one after another. They were afraid that the Ross people would hug and kill rabbits, so they easily gave them to them.
Annihilated.
The Seven Dangerous Banks, which were originally extremely dangerous for merchants on the Dnieper River, have now become extremely safe. There are a large number of people to help tug the boats, and there is no need to worry about raids by nomads.
It is precisely because of this reason that the caravans heading south along the way are also very fast. When the army travels, merchants also follow it for safety. This is a normal sight, not to mention that the army is still traveling on the extremely prosperous main Vashi trade road.
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The army soon arrived at Korsun, a trading city of the Eastern Empire on the Crimean Peninsula. The local imperial officials warmly received the imperial allies and provided them with a large amount of supplies. The army repaired here for a few days and then prepared to set off eastward.
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During the few days of repairs in Korsun, Rostislav received a letter from Alexios. After seeing the emperor's letter, Rostislav couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. His Majesty was really trying to find every opportunity.
Alexios plans to take this opportunity to recapture Trabizon. This land of the empire has been lost to the Russians for a long time. Alexios has always wanted to get it back, but now that Monomach is dead, the opportunity is gone.
Here it comes.
Regarding Alexios's hint, Rostislav understood very well, and he had no objection. What the Eastern Empire did had little to do with Russia. People who were willing to inform Russia showed that they regarded Russia as an ally, but the people of Russia had no interest in that land.
territorial claims, so they have no conflict.
Under this bold hand, various constructions were completed before the arrival of the Ross army. The most important and most expensive of them was the port, because it related to the materials coming from the Ross mainland, and the final bill was also
The three Rostislavichs were stunned.
In the past few decades, Rostislav has been promoting infrastructure construction in various places, but he has always promoted it in a slow and steady manner, and actually does not spend much money every year. But now Rostislavich and others are focusing on construction in Temutorokan.
, a lot of money was spent all at once, which looked very scary.
Rus sent troops for the purpose of retaking Georgia for Tamar Georgishvili Bagration and her husband Mikhail Rurikevich Rurik, and Trabzon did not claim
inside the range.
Around Tbilisi, the three parties are constantly fighting. The wealthy suburbs of Tbilisi have suffered unprecedented torture in this round of military disaster. All parties have almost looted and burned this land, and killed countless people.
people.
The decisive battle took place not far from Tbilisi. Oleg's 17,000 men faced Anton and Radko's 15,000 men. The two sides fought from morning to afternoon that day, and the battle lasted for six full months.
Hour.
The locals were so frightened by this army that the entire population of the Ross Territory combined could not compare with this army. The local prostitutes were so busy that they couldn't close their legs - and sometimes they even had mouths.
In the end, Anton was able to escape from the battlefield by relying on his father-in-law's Armenian soldiers, while Radko relied on his fellow Bulgars to fight hard. Both of them almost lost their troops in this battle.
But they all had nothing to do with Tbilisi. This huge city still stood proudly, and Amvrosi had already prepared a huge amount of food, and with those being transported into the city one after another, the city just couldn't stand it.
What happened?
The result of the battle was the defeat of Anton and Radko. There were too many unstable elements in their army. Many Armenian lords defected directly at the beginning of the battle, and by the middle of the battle, many Armenian lords also joined the military group.
The man was shaken and ran to the other side.
The fortress was directly made of bricks, the port was expanded eight times, and roads were built all the way to the Georgian border. In order to complete these projects, Kiev directly sent tens of thousands of workers (although most of them were hired)
Living nomadic tribe), working overtime to complete the work.
In comparison, Oleg's team consists of the Trabzon nobles whom he won over through marriage alliances and enfeoffments, and the proud Mona Pasa of Georgia. They are not people who will easily switch sides on the battlefield.
As Rostislav expected, Rus's pressure failed to unite Monomakh's successors, and the peace between them only lasted three months. Three months later, they went to war.
Under such circumstances, the three parties all understood that they had to defeat their opponents in order to encircle the city and then attack, so they fought a decisive battle.
Among the successors, Oleg is undoubtedly the most powerful. Trabzon and Georgia are both in his hands. The Georgian nobles support him as regent. In everyone's eyes, he is the most likely to clean up the mess.
people.
But everything was worth it. As they saw those ports and roads, they felt that the money was well spent. Without these, the army would have been paralyzed for a period of time when they first arrived here due to the speed of material transfer.
Oleg did not continue to pursue the enemy, but instead besieged Tbilisi, because taking this city was the key to victory. As for Anton and Radko, they had to be busy cleaning up the mess caused by the defeat.
Inside the newly built brick fortress, Rostislav learned about everything that happened in the Transcaucasus in the past.
After leaving Korsun and crossing the Kerch Strait, the Russian army arrived at the southernmost territory of Russia, Temutolokan.
In Armenia, the situation is even worse. This land has been ruled by independent Armenian lords for who knows how long. Now these guys jump out one by one to fight for independence, like endless gophers.
In order to speed up the progress, Kiev also hired a construction team from the imperial capital. Although it cost a lot of money, as the construction speed increased, the money was well spent. In addition, due to the chaos in the Monomakh Kingdom, the south came
Many refugees were also hired and joined in the construction work.
Therefore, Anton and Radko formed an alliance. Radko had the support of the adventurer military group, but he was still too inferior to Oleg, and Anton's rule in Armenia was very unstable. God knows those Armenian lords.
What will they do, so he needs an ally who can suppress the situation.
People regard this war as a successor war in the Transcaucasus, because all parties involved in the war are Monomakh's former generals and subordinates, and they are fighting for the kingdom left by Monomakh.
The center of the war is Tbilisi. Although there is no capital in the Monomakh Kingdom and the royal family is always patrolling various places, as the largest and richest city in Transcaucasus, it is the center of everyone's competition.
Local fortresses, ports and roads are all under construction. This will be a crucial springboard for the Russian army to enter the Transcaucasus in the future, so infrastructure construction must keep up, otherwise it will become a material hub for the next expedition.
But as soon as Monomakh died, various constructions here began to advance. The locals understood that they could no longer jump and could only stand on Rostislav's side, so this was the time to build.
Many people in the Rus' army were novel about the land of Temutolokan. It was a place where Rus' culture and steppe culture were mixed. To them, this place was like those wonderful distant places in the story.
However, Oleg's siege of Tbilisi did not go smoothly.
The composition of Anton and Radko's army means that something like this will inevitably happen, because in any case, their army is composed of a group of lords and mercenaries from the Changing King's Banner on the top of the city. For them, changing the gate is a matter of course.
A completely normal thing.
As the Ross territory closest to the country of Monomach, not many resources have been invested in this land in the past few decades. After all, the local nobles are just a bunch of losers, and there is no need for much investment in this frontline area.
The controller of this city, Amvrosi, refused to persuade the three parties to surrender. He said that he was waiting for the real king, the one who could truly bring peace to Transcaucasia. Therefore, he defended the city and faced all threats firmly.
Successor.
In Sylvain, many military nobles began to rebel and began to openly challenge Radko's leadership, so the old mercenary had to suppress his former comrades as soon as he settled down.
This city was particularly strong. No matter how Oleg launched an attack, he could not do anything to his city walls. During the eight months of siege, he adopted a series of siege methods such as storming, tunnels, and towers. As a result,
All were cleverly resolved by the opponent.
There is no use in estrangement and persuasion to surrender. Tbilisi simply united around Amsirov. This was the result of Monomakh's purge of Tbilisi's powerful people. It was just because the Georgian who was a spy was very
He is good at disguise, so no one has ever discovered him, but now that person has revealed his identity.
Oleg was unable to defeat Tbilisi, but suffered heavy casualties under the city. The war weariness of the troops continued to increase. In the end, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops for repairs. After withdrawing his troops, he received news that Rostislav in the north was approaching.