If there was anyone who was most surprised by William's march into Novgorod, it was definitely the Novgorodians themselves because they had no idea about the crusade bubble.
Well, to say they were completely ignorant and completely innocent is a bit too much. . otbnkotgt Some of the letters collected by the Cheka were slightly trimmed based on the truth, or even used intact.
But even so, the Novgorod people still felt that they were wronged because they were not the main messenger, and they did not have the brains to come up with such a good strategy.
In addition, they are not alone in seeking profits from this economic crisis.
Even if the Polotsk people want revenge, they should not go to them.
That's it.
After some discussion, the Novgorod City Council sent an official letter to the Polotsk City Council, stating his innocence and injustice, and hoping that Polotsk could deal with it calmly and rationally. this matter.
They are even willing to provide some free assistance to Polotsk out of humanitarianism It's obvious.
Novgorod, which had just experienced the second great border war and suffered heavy losses in the war, did not want to experience a new war.
The city council of Polotsk smiled bitterly and was speechless after receiving the official letter from Novgorod.
"They got the wrong person."
One congressman made such a pun.
"But they don't care," another council member responded.
Yes, the whole thing is now out of their control.
It was not the city council of Polotsk that decided whether the war should continue, but the heir to the Duchy of Mystia, Wilhelm von Hereford.
In this way, after the summons failed, Novgorod sent an envoy to summon the White Legion and Crusaders who were heading to the border area between Novgorod and Polotsk.
Express one's innocence and injustice.
Naturally, William beheaded the messenger.
The army continued to move forward, but of course, Novgorod did not expect that a messenger could change William's mind.
While sending envoys, they also launched a collection order.
Novgorod's city guard and several mercenary units that had deep relationships with Novgorod's merchants were all recruited in the shortest possible time.
In addition, Novgorod also sent envoys to several Khazar, Tarta and Kipchak tribes that were dependent on the republic.
After that, envoys were sent further east to Novgorod’s traditional ally, the Kingdom of Holmgard, requesting reinforcements.
The entire Novgorod war machine was activated in the shortest possible time.
A large number of troops were mobilized and then moved towards the western border areas.
Prepare to give that "arrogant lunatic" a head-on blow.
"The opponent's strength is about 30,000.
However, the 10,000 or so tribesmen and Holmgard's reinforcements may not be able to catch up with the first battle.
What we have to deal with now is Novgorod, which is about 20,000.
Army.
Including more than 12,000 Novgorod mercenaries and more than 5,000 nomadic light cavalry."
While Novgorod is being fully mobilized, Cheka members who have already sneaked into its territory are constantly passing on information about the opponent's troop deployment, composition of arms, level of armament, etc.
This allowed William to fully understand the enemy's situation in the shortest possible time.
In this way, in the temporary military camp, the staff officer next to William introduced the situation to other officers: "A city guard of about five thousand people.
Most of them are wealthy merchants and nobles in Novgorod.
In addition, there are their entourages and servants.
These people are gorgeously dressed, noble in status, and have low combat effectiveness.
Basically Not a threat.
There are about 12,000 mercenary troops with some combat effectiveness.
But it's not very high.
Because their equipment is relatively poor.
It still remains at the level of matchlocks and super long guns.
The number of artillery pieces was also insufficient.
After that, there are the tribal cavalry, those nomadic cavalry who have good riding skills, and maybe some people who have good riding and shooting skills.
But that's all.
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Their weapons and equipment were very old and backward, and Novgorod never regarded them as one of its own.
There was no military pay, and no weapons and equipment were distributed.
Their loyalty to Novgorod was also not very high.
The will to fight is questionable. " "If you put it that way, the other party is a completely rabble."
After listening, an officer couldn't help but say this.
"The evaluation of the rabble is appropriate."
William smiled: "They couldn't defeat the Polotsk people, they couldn't defeat the Centaur army of Khan Tartariya.
They couldn't defeat the Crusaders, and even Ruthenia, which had been in decline before, couldn't defeat them.
Can't beat them.
Novgorodians are not good at fighting."
Hearing what William said, the camp was filled with laughter and laughter, and the officers immediately relaxed.
Some optimistic people have begun to imagine that after this battle, Novgorod can be taken directly.
This city is not too far from the Polotsk border.
It's only a few days away.
The cavalry can rush to the city of Novgorod with just one charge.
"In addition, the terrain on the west side of Novgorod is flat.
It is conducive to the deployment of large corps.
There is no need to worry about what tricks the other party will play.
This should be the simplest war mode.
Gentlemen."
William finally made the move.
Summary “They are just a day’s journey away from us.
We are today Rest for a day.
March for half a day tomorrow, and then set up camp.
The day after tomorrow, I can catch up with them.
On the fourth day of the war, I can ask the Novgorodians to open their city and surrender to me.
The whole war is over.
We can celebrate victory."
As William's voice lowered, people finally couldn't help but smile.
Yes, it's simple, it's really too simple.
Compared with the hellish Second Great Border War they had experienced before, the battles and armed marches in Novgorod were probably not much different.
Of course, William looked down upon the Novgorod people, but the Novgorod people did not think of themselves that way.
The Slavi commander calculated and found that the number of troops under their command was more than 20,000.
There are also four thousand nomadic cavalry.
In addition, the Novgorod City Guard also has a cavalry regiment with armored cavalry and two light lancers equipped with breastplates.
In total, he has seven thousand riders.
At the same time, Novgorod is a prosperous commercial country, and the Slavi army also has 80 artillery pieces of various types and sufficient artillery shells.
Parliament also attached great importance to this war and allocated a large amount of military expenditures and food from the budget.
Enough to feed all the soldiers That's it.
This army received high salaries, armed itself to the teeth with heavy cavalry and artillery.
Their morale was high, at least relatively high, before the confrontation with William.
Just because the vast majority of officers and soldiers regarded William as a soft persimmon and easy to deal with, their morale was relatively high.
And the reason why they regard William as someone easy to deal with is still because William's identity as the son of Duke Otto is so dazzling that people will unconsciously compare William with the rich second generation, official The identities of the second generation overlap.
After that, you will get the subjective impression that "he relies on his father's reputation and actually has no real ability."
When Novgorod has weak generals and soldiers, and its own strength is insufficient, it is natural to slander the enemy, promote oneself, and enhance one's own confidence.
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In fact, it is not only the Novgorod people who think so. .
Almost the vast majority of people in the world who have never seen William's ability will think so.
Ninety-nine percent of the people in the world are unable to see William's true strength.
"However, this kind of thing will pass soon."
William thought in his heart: "Novgorod is just the beginning.
Soon, the world will understand my abilities."
Thinking of this, William couldn't wait any longer.
"What are you thinking about, William?"
That is to say, while William was thinking about this matter, a familiar, unpleasant voice came from beside him.
William turned his head and saw the unhappy face of his aunt Freya.
Yes, she, and a small group of Gothic knights under her command, will also participate in the war against Novgorod.
In the previous Crusades, it was not only the Holy See that suffered heavy losses, but also the Gothic Knights and those with them.
A large number of nobles, merchants and priests related to the Knights Although in the early days of the Crusades, most of the Gothic knights who fought were ambitious and desperate to rebuild the national faction of the Knights.
But in the middle of the Crusader War, when the Crusaders annexed a large number of territories in Ruthenia and the Perm region, the conservatives of the Gothic Knights also began to be eager to try.
As the crusade craze continued to rise, they finally couldn't hold it anymore and rushed to invest troops, money, food and even fight in person.
Then, these troops, wealth, and supplies were all wasted.
Most of the knights and nobles who went to battle also died in the wilderness of Ruthenia.
The Gothic Knights were severely weakened.
The unknowing Gothic knight had no other action except lamenting the uncertainty of the world and fearing the centaurs of Tartaria.
But as a member of the Hereford family, Freya knew even more.
Although neither William nor Duke Otto told her the most important things.
But Freya is not an idiot.
Looking at what William did and making a little inference, you can understand what William did.
Freya could barely hold back and killed her nephew.
Yes, she was a member of the Hereford family.
But she is also a knight of the Gothic Order.
She served the Knights for more than ten years.
There were her colleagues, friends and comrades-in-arms, many of whom died in Ruthenia because of William's plan.
So much so that Freya's impression of William dropped drastically160420oshow7: