king of ros

Chapter 33 The Prairie Threat
After the wedding, Kyiv gradually returned to calm. As the nobles left, the crowd that followed also began to disperse.

The joy of the bed is indeed intoxicating. The young couple both have a strong desire for each other's fresh flesh, but Rostislav restrained his desire. On the one hand, he was out of consideration for his wife's body, and on the other hand, he Continue writing and training from the past.

In this chaotic era, only the weapons in your hands are the foundation of your life, and you must rely on them to restore the glory of your parents. The blood of the Varangian descendants is the blood of war, so the training must continue. Neither can be wasted.

In terms of writing, his wife can give a lot of help. After all, Zoe has received the top women's education in Constantinople, and her cultural attainments surpass most people in Kyiv.

For example, Zoe, who is from the south, is more familiar with the writing of the script of the miracle drama than Rostislav. After all, there is no shortage of such plays in the south, and Zoe's improvement makes the overall performance better.

The most important thing is that for this young couple, such discussions are an adjustment to the life of the couple. After all, there is nothing that can enhance the relationship than the same hobbies between husband and wife. Sometimes the discussion becomes too heated and then turns into intimate physical contact , In the end, all the time was wasted (forced).

However, literature is a sideline after all, and Rostislav spends most of his time on warfare and research on cavalry warfare.

Unlike many Russians whose concepts still stuck in the old days, Rostislav, as a person with the vision of a latecomer, was extremely keen on cavalry warfare, which made him naturally mingled with the black hat army outside Kyiv.

Yes, it was the black hats who were hunting slaves in the north, those people he hated so much, but after adjusting his mentality, he made up the relationship with the black hats, and these people will have a great role in the future.

Most of the time, the Black Hats were allies of Ross. They participated in the battle as auxiliary cavalry. They built cities on the border of Ross, lived a semi-settled life, and also served as the border guards of the Grand Duke of Ross.

It is also because of this relationship that the nomadic tribes that constituted the Black Hat Army were able to move around Kyiv and even set up camps. Their ethnic groups are very complicated, such as Torks, Pechenegs, Polotsks...

It is simply an exhibition of grassland nations. Most of these tribes are the losers of the eternal struggle in the grassland.

The rise of the Polovites in recent years has greatly increased the number of tribes gathered here, and the power of the grassland upstarts is increasing. The prince knows that these guys will be Ross's enemies in the future, so he dare not relax.

Rostislav often came to the camp of nomads with his partners, and these nomads from the prairie also liked such a prince on horseback very much. At the same time, through his wedding, he met many nobles in the prairie And forged friendship with them, which further narrowed the relationship between the two parties.

As early as half a month after the wedding, on the nomad’s racecourse—actually just a field—they held a grand celebration today, and the herdsmen of the grasslands and the citizens and farmers of Kyiv all came to participate in this event event.

The businessman with a keen sense of smell even started business directly, and the whole venue was crowded with people and it was very lively.

Figures wearing felt hats are everywhere, and herdsmen like to use feathers as decorations. When all the riders gather together, the scene is so spectacular, like a sea of ​​feathers.

His uncles were not keen on gatherings of grassland herdsmen, and most of the time they stayed away from such celebrations.

But Rostislav is different. He understands the challenges that Ross will face in the future, he also knows the direction of the future, and he understands what a powerful cavalry team can do. Therefore, he also brought his entourage to this event. .

Rostislav is riding a 1.5-meter-high red steed. The veins of the tendons are clearly visible, and the nostrils are like those of a cow, which is enough to see the bravery of a war horse.

This is a gift from Yaroslav, for his grandson, the little Alexander, and it also represents the "wise man"'s expectations for his grandson.

The Maharaja wears spurred boots, his legs are strong, and he can control the direction of the horse's movement with his legs and the rein, and his movements are very skilled and extremely smooth.

The grassland chiefs present couldn't help but marvel at such riding skills. Even among the grassland tribes, it is very rare to master superb riding skills at such an age.

How could a grand event be without lively competitions, among which the prairie wolves like horse racing and galloping and flying shooting are absolutely indispensable.

Rostislav naturally participated in the competition, and he won the first place strongly. Whether it is a spear, a long sword, or a bow and arrow, the prince's skills are always so superb.

The battlefield skills displayed by the prince of Ross won unanimous praise from everyone present. The people in the felt tent were overwhelmed by this rare martial art even among the tribes of the grassland, and the people of Ross were proud of their prince's ability to fight on the grassland. Show off your talents at the event and cheer.

Winning the contest crown made Rostislav famous, and now it was known that Kyiv had a prince on horseback.

After the game, Rostislav recruited [-] grassland players, including Ross's old friend Tork, and the upstart Polovts (also known as Kipchak or Kuman), and The Pechenegs who are active in the west are all masters of riding and fighting.

Although his finances are tight, there is still no problem in supporting dozens of herder warriors.

The reason for recruiting these riders was also simple. The memory of the latecomers told Rostislav that the conflict between Ross and the steppe would come sooner or later.And he had to prepare early and strengthen his understanding of the grassland, so that he would be safe from danger.

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The time of peace is always very short. When Rostislav was still carrying out his day-to-day life in Kyiv, war came unknowingly.

In the autumn of 1053, a large Polovian army arrived near Pereyaslav (hereinafter referred to as the city of Pe).For the nomads, this season is the season of war, and the autumn is high and the horses are fat, which is the time to start the war.

Since the collapse of the country of the Khazars, the prairie has ceased to exist in disorder, and the flames of war have completely become the norm. Grassland overlords rise suddenly and then fall, and the nations on the prairie continue to change.

The Polovets are the upstarts of the prairie in recent decades. The former overlords the Ogus (that is, the Torks) and the Pechenegs have been defeated by them. These nomads now dominate the Congheng Steppe across Eurasia.

But now, this prairie upstart army has appeared on the border of Ross. The momentum of the huge prairie army advancing is simply earth-shattering. Countless war horses are galloping on the ground, and the riders are wearing leather boots (Remark 1), The dust kicked up as we moved forward covered the sky.

Their goal is the city of Pei, which is the barrier of Kiev and the only place for nomadic looters to go to Kyiv.

It was here that the "Holy One" Vladimir fought with the Pechenegs and established a series of fortified cities here, as well as defensive earth embankments and wooden walls that run through the entire area.

The population of this area is very mixed, with Slavs who migrated from all over Ross, Chuds from the Baltic coast, and Poles from Chervin.

They are placed here for only one purpose, and that is to take up arms and bravely fight the enemy when the nomadic army strikes.

But now, due to the slack caused by the long-term peace, the Polovian army has easily broken through the defense line composed of earthen embankments and wooden walls, massacred and looted a large number of settlements that were unable to respond, and then came to the city wall of Pei City. Down.

And it was Rostislav's third uncle, Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who commanded the army in Pye.

After attending his nephew's wedding, the prince returned to Peicheng, his residence. This place is too important, so the third uncle has been staying here on behalf of the Rurik family, and is alert to all movements on the grassland.

Because the enemy came too suddenly and the defense line was broken too quickly, the third uncle could only gather the citizens of the city and the nearby farmers.Even though he tried his best to recruit soldiers, the number of qualified soldiers in his hands barely exceeded 2000, but they faced more than [-] enemies, and more nomads were coming.

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Remark 1: Leather boots are generally a sign of nomadic residents, and the agricultural residents of Ross mainly wear bark boots.

(End of this chapter)