"Keep your formation, hold on! Control your horses, don't let them lead you away!"

In 1052, at a small school field on the outskirts of Novgorod (Note 1, hereafter referred to as Novgorod) - or a simple open space - dozens of teenagers were training.

The young men wore helmets and armor, and bows, arrows and swords were hung on the saddles. Although most of them still had a little childish look on their faces, they looked like adults as they skillfully controlled the horses. Their heroic appearance made people look forward to it.

The performance of these future warriors on the battlefield.

The one who gave the order rode his horse and stood in front of everyone. Under his command, the teenagers tried their best to control the horse and maintain the stability of the front.

It's a pity that even so, the formation is still uneven, because the nature of war horses is to be competitive, and it is too difficult to curb their nature. Even the experienced riders may not be able to do well, let alone these young people.

But even so, the performance of the teenagers was much better than that of most riders in this land, but the prince who gave the orders - Rostislav Vladimirovich was still very dissatisfied with this.

Rostislav sighed uncontrollably. He understood that this was the limit that a young man could reach, but since his grandfather was about to come to Nuo City, he couldn't help but become anxious, and scolded his followers more. He always wanted to see

Better performance.

In the long run, the Grand Duke of Kiev will die in two years. At that time, there will not be a strong force to protect himself, so it is difficult to say what will happen.

Yes, Rostislav knows what will happen in the future, and this also explains his identity, a time traveler from later generations.

In his previous life, Rostislav was a Seris history enthusiast who studied ancient Rus. He spent a lot of energy on this hobby and was even willing to travel thousands of miles to foreign countries to get in touch with first-hand manuscripts.

But when he came into contact with the ancient manuscripts of past events, he lost his will after a sudden electric shock. When he woke up, he came to Kievan Rus in the 11th century and became a Rurik noble.

At first, it was difficult for him to accept the idea of ​​time travel, and it was even more intolerable to this era. After all, this was an era of bloody barbarism and underdeveloped productivity. Modern people would naturally not be able to bear it if they entered it rashly.

But as time goes by, he has no choice but to accept everything here and work hard to survive in this cruel world.

It has been five years since he came to this world. During these five years, he has not done much. Due to his age, he fought hard and was allowed to form a personal team, so he has these trainings now.

boy riding a horse.

In this barbaric era, only force is the foundation for establishing oneself. As a future landless prince, if his followers are not skilled in battle formations, how can he gain a foothold in future wars?

If he died on the battlefield in the first battle, it would be really speechless. Did he come to this world just to die in obscurity on the battlefield? And there are still things that he should have, could he?

As far away from him as the trajectory of history?

Nuo City, this magnificent city should have been his property, especially the throne of Kiev, but in history, with the death of his father, everything disappeared, as if it had never existed.

As a person who knows history, he wanted to avoid the death of his father in this life, but in the end he could not avoid it. His father still died at the hands of the Chude (note 2) tribe. After all, disputes and even wars are common in Russia, and he

How could it be possible to convince my father not to deal with these matters that were an integral part of the life of the Rus princes?

The natives of Estonia are now united around Aral to confront Rus, and the reason is that the tribes are dissatisfied with the increasing tribute.

The Chud people are a branch of the Finno-Ugric people. They paid tribute to Rus in exchange for protection and goods from Rus. However, the increase in tribute now made them very dissatisfied, so there were disputes and struggles.

On the day his father was attacked, he happened to have a meeting with the tribes of Chu De. It was not a pleasant meeting, and then his father was attacked on his way home.

The attackers were numerous and well-prepared, and in the end the soldiers just snatched back my father's body.

This undoubtedly turned the situation into the worst possible situation. The situation around Nuo City suddenly became tense, as if it was about to explode at any time.

The situation in Yuriev on the other side of Lake Chud (note 3) has reached the brink of war. As Ross's bridgehead in Estonia, scouts from the Chud tribes have appeared near it, and there is even news that the chiefs of Chud are approaching

Raise an army and prepare for war.

But these are not important to Rostislav now. After the news of his father's death came, his mother was too sad and died with his father soon. Now Rostislav has completely become an orphan. Elders

Their deaths made his situation even more difficult.

In today's Rus, the deceased father's estate will not be handed over to his son. The Grand Duke of Kiev - his grandfather - who gave this power will take back this power and then distribute it again among his sons.

In other words, as the heir to the throne of Kiev and Novo, Rostislav will lose his inheritance rights and become a landless prince.

"Lord Rostislav."

At this moment, a rider wearing a linen robe rode toward him from the direction of the city. Prince Nuocheng looked at him and recognized him. He was one of his father's messengers.

"The Grand Duke has arrived, please go and greet him."

"Grandfather has finally arrived?"

Rostislav's face twitched unnaturally, the day finally came, and the somewhat annoying wait was finally over.

"Then let's go back and face that damn fate."

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The cavalry galloped on the road to Nuo City, and armed teenagers in bright clothes and angry horses formed a queue. The teenagers maintained a queue and silence as they moved forward. The effect of years of training was fully reflected at this moment. The neat queue showed that they belonged to

The power and power of the ruler.

On both sides of the road are vast farmland, which is the collective farmland of the village, but it is now bare, and nothing can be grown in the north in winter.

Further out in the fields, shepherds could be seen driving their sheep toward the village, while farmers' thatched houses stood not far from the fields, protected behind by wooden walls.

This village is on the road to Nuo City, so it is also the starting point for business travelers to Nuo City. Many businessmen will rest here for a period of time before heading to their destination in one go.

The tension of the current situation is also reflected in this village. A gray-bearded sentry stands on a simple wooden sentry box. Whenever a suspicious person is found, the old man will ring the copper bell to warn everyone to take refuge behind the wall.

The prince's team advancing on the dirt road was very eye-catching, and the merchants and farmers couldn't help but look up at the team in surprise, watching the young warriors riding away in a mighty manner, and then most of them lowered their heads and were busy with their own things.

The locals all know about Prince Nuocheng's young cavalry, and the farmers in the village see it a lot. The cavalry have to travel on this road every day, and they see it every day.

A small number of business travelers from other places asked which prince's team this was, and it was so neat.

Some well-informed business travelers lamented that they did not expect to see such a capable cavalry team in the north. Some people who have experienced war can tell that these young men are not mounted infantry, but real mounted warriors.

This is quite rare in the north, which prefers infantry warfare.

Some farm girls looked at the armored boy with fascination and longing in their eyes, even if they had seen him many times.

After all, Rostislav's followers are like the warriors in the heroic song, the spouse template that every young girl desires most.

Occasionally, a girl would show off to her companions that she was in the prince's guard, which aroused a lot of envy, and then there would be a fight between the little sisters until they were called back by the adults.

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When passing through a wilderness, Rostislav stopped the team. It was only 20 minutes away from the city of Novo. Rostislav hoped that his followers would take a break here, tidy up their appearance, and enter the city in a better attitude.

The teenagers naturally obeyed Rostislav's orders. They dismounted skillfully, sat on the roadside to rest and tidied their clothes, or took care of their horses.

Their actions are orderly, and the influence of training since childhood is reflected in this. Over the years, they have developed a strong military style.

The scenery on both sides of the road leading to Nuo City is actually more of wilderness and forest. This is also the most common sight in the vast Ross. A large amount of land is still in a barbaric and ignorant state, and the pioneers holding high the torch have still not arrived.

The prince sat on the stone pier beside the road, overlooking the wild scenery, thinking about how to deal with his grandfather, but there were too few things he could think of.

Rostislav couldn't help but look around melancholy. He was really confused about the future, but what was the use of being confused? After all, he had to pick up his mood and move on.

The wilderness on both sides of the road was very desolate, with shrubs and scattered trees scattered nearby. This was a very common scene in Russia. But Rostislav felt a little disharmonious when he saw all this, but he couldn't tell what it was.

.

What is it? Rostislav thought in distress, his eyes scanning around, hoping to find the problem.

It was a sound! Rostislav suddenly realized that there were no insects or birds at all nearby!

At this time, the war stories told by my deceased father naturally came to mind. In these stories, the disappearance of the chirping of insects and birds only meant one thing.

"Pick up your shield! There's an ambush!"

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Note 1: The second largest city in Russia is Kiev.

Note 2: A large lake located at the junction of Russia and the three Baltic countries today.

Note 3: In the concept of Russians, it refers to the Finno-Ugric people in Estonia, Karelia, and northwest Russia. In this context, it refers to the Finno-Ugric people around the city of Novo and Estonia.

(A map of this book can be found in the book review area)
Chapter completed!