"I truly can't believe that this city has returned to my hands just like that… so easily, so effortlessly, after all the preparations I made…"
Inside Novgorod's Saint Sophia Cathedral, Rostislav Vladimirovich Rurik exclaimed in front of his father's burial place.
The last time Rostislav stood here, he was a young Prince, orphaned, but now, he is the Moscow Prince, and is about to become the Prince of Novgorod.
The former Prince of Novgorod had once predicted that he would return to Novgorod in many forms, bringing the city his father ruled under his dominion; he had fantasized about it many times.
But he never expected that with just one charge by two thousand cavalry, he would accomplish this; it felt so easy, like a dream.
"Thirteen years, it has been thirteen years since I last returned to this hall, Father. Yet now I return so easily. How unpredictable life is, how unfathomable fate…"
The Moscow Prince continued, speaking to his father's tomb, and sat down on a chair he had pulled over, directly facing the tomb.
And then he recalled the journey he had taken, sighing at the impermanence of life.
Initially, when news arrived from Torzhok that the Polotsk Army was marching towards Novgorod, Rostislav immediately mobilized all forces that could be dispatched: the Druzhina, the standing army, the city militia, and even Gulag prison guards… he gathered three thousand men, and along the way, he pulled in every soldier he could.
In fact, Rostislav had long been prepared for this day, as he knew the flow of historical development, but he did not know the exact time of Vseslav's invasion.
Moreover, this era had changed so much due to his appearance; would everything truly follow historical development?
It was hard to say, so Rostislav did not make any prior arrangements, at most strengthening the troops' combat readiness, and then quietly waiting.
During the march, Rostislav thought a bitter battle awaited him in Novgorod. Historically, the Polotsk Prince had successfully taken Novgorod and destroyed the city.
He also did not have high hopes for the Torzhok forces. In the Moscow Prince's imagination, if they could control a part of Novgorod, that would be a success, providing positions for his troops.
It was not surprising that the Moscow Prince was so cautious in his estimations, because he knew that the Polotsk Prince's advance was the beginning of the great chaos in All Rus.
After these few years, the entire political situation of All Rus would undergo earth-shattering changes, so he attached great importance to it, and at the same time, overestimated the enemy as much as possible. This was always better than underestimating the enemy and then facing defeat.
Moreover, the Polotsk Prince in history could only be subdued by the combined strength of All Rus. Nestor, the author of the Primary Chronicle and now Rostislav's chronicler, called this battle the most intense in all of Rus'.
The refugees encountered along the way also confirmed the Prince's conjecture: the Polotsk people's momentum was immense, and Novgorod had many problems. These commoners believed the city could not be defended at all, so they did not go to the city from the beginning, but chose to flee east.
This made Rostislav even more anxious and worried about Sokar and Edward. He hoped nothing would happen to them; one was an important vassal who managed the unruly Nomads, and the other was an important relative who had traveled thousands of miles to join him, both important personnel of the Moscow Court.
Losing either of them would create a lot of trouble for Rostislav, so the Moscow Prince was very nervous, and thus, his urging of the troops became more urgent.
Under the Prince's urging, naturally, people constantly fell behind, especially those conscripted by Rostislav. These people quickly could not keep up with the army.
Only the troops from Moscow city could keep up, but even they were experiencing dropouts.
Forced marches were very arduous. The Moscow soldiers could only eat cold cheese and dried meat as they walked, and at night, they would just spread their blankets and sleep. The soldiers' condition was continuously deteriorating.
Rostislav didn't bother with those who fell behind. Where would he find the energy to care for them? Just keep moving forward! The Moscow Prince was like a slave driver wielding a whip, driving his subordinates forward.
However, the sacrifices of those who fell behind were worth it. The Moscow Army rapidly approached Novgorod, but the closer they got to Novgorod, the higher the dropout rate became.
When the Moscow Prince's army appeared on the outskirts of Novgorod, the Prince saw that the city was quite calm.
At that time, he was in a very bad mood, thinking that the battle was over, the city was controlled by Vseslav, and Sokar and Edward were likely in grave danger.
And he was even more worried about what would happen if the Polotsk people attacked. The Moscow Army, after the forced march, was in very poor condition; if they fought the Polotsk people, they would surely be doomed.
But what happened next was beyond Rostislav's expectation.
Novgorod's city gates opened before Rostislav, and the entire city was thus displayed before him. And then, Novgorod's welcoming procession emerged from within.
The commoners, dressed in their most splendid clothes, came to welcome the Prince. They welcomed Rostislav's arrival immensely. If it weren't for the militiamen in the procession holding them back, many would probably have rushed directly to Rostislav.
It was a magnificent scene. Men and women from the entire city came out to welcome the Moscow Prince's arrival. Joyful music filled the air, and everything seemed so dreamlike.
This was entirely the etiquette reserved for welcoming the Grand Prince of Kyiv, and now it was used for Rostislav, and no one felt anything was amiss.
And this completely confused Rostislav. What was going on? He couldn't understand it.
However, as the Prince then saw Sokar and Edward among the welcoming crowd, Rostislav suddenly realized what was happening and accepted a fact that utterly surprised him.
That was, Sokar and Edward had taken Novgorod for the Prince and defeated the Polotsk people.
The two knelt before the Moscow Prince's warhorse, informing the Prince that they had completed the task of saving Novgorod. Rostislav was unaware of this; his orders were only to find an opportunity to occupy the city, not to do so much.
But the Prince remained calm. He knew when to say what. It would be too foolish to undermine his subordinates now. Rostislav naturally accepted whatever they said.
The city's administrators gathered before the Moscow Prince, expressing their heartfelt gratitude to Rostislav.
And then came the main event: they stated that since the city's former Prince, Mstislav, had abandoned Novgorod, Novgorod had decided to make the Moscow Prince their Prince, allowing Rostislav to rule the city his father had ruled.
Novgorod was Rostislav's father's fief, and even after so many years, there was still a powerful Rostislav faction there. They hoped that the old Prince's son would become the ruler of Novgorod, rather than a young man from Kiev.
However, in the past, due to Kiev's power, they could do nothing, but now the opportunity was right before them.
With Rostislav's troops saving the city and the flight of the Grand Prince of Kyiv's son, the matter was thus settled. Novgorod now had an extreme aversion to Kiev, as the Prince from Kiev had abandoned them.
As for how they treated this Prince, Novgorod naturally pretended not to know. This city had always been like this, even with Yaroslav back then.
The entire Veche agreed that Rostislav should take over the position of Prince of Novgorod. Rostislav thus regained his father's city.
This matter was entirely reasonable and legal. Since the Prince appointed by Kiev had abandoned the city, it was only natural for the city to choose a new ruler. No one could criticize what Novgorod had done.
Afterward, Rostislav felt light all over, as if in a dream. Had he really gained Novgorod just like that?
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