Novgorod, the jewel on the Volkhov River, had seen twelve years pass since the city's rulers changed.
For these twelve years, the city continued to prosper. As North Russ trade hub and most flourishing city, its continuous economic growth was normal, and its population also grew with the economy, now approaching 30,000. Its important position in Baltic Sea trade was also continuously rising.
However, while both the economy and population were increasing, its politics were fragmenting.
Grand Prince of Kyiv's second son, Mstislav, had ruled this city for a long time, but he had never managed to tame it or truly gain control.
With the death of Ostromir, who had originally assisted Mstislav in his rule, the situation became even more chaotic.
Because after the old noble's death, there was truly no one in Novgorod who could lead the overall situation, and so various factions naturally fell into a struggle for power.
His son, Vyshata, was qualified, but Vyshata's political identity was too sensitive; his staunch Rostislav supporter status made it impossible for him to become Mayor of Novgorod.
The administrators of each district were constantly lobbying for support, and supporters of different administrators regularly engaged in street brawls. This was a characteristic of Slavic democratic politics; street brawls were always a beautiful sight in Rus'.
Especially on the great bridge connecting the two banks of the city, spanning the Volkhov River, two conflicting districts often arranged brawls here. Over time, this even became a must-see sight for visitors to Novgorod, and it even fostered a small tourism industry.
Novgorod's Saint Sophia Cathedral overlooked all of this, also serving as the backdrop for their brawls, adding a touch of beauty to the scene.
No one stopped this; it was considered a normal phenomenon. Why would anyone stop a normal phenomenon? Moreover, such brawls basically never resulted in fatalities, at most leaving people with black eyes and bruised faces.
However, if the situation developed to the point where both sides were fighting with weapons in the city, then the severity of the city's conflicts would be self-evident.
And the Prince of Novgorod only wanted to sit in his castle like a puppet, watching it all, utterly powerless over everything below. He could only ensure control over Novgorod Castle.
This power struggle lasted for a long time, but Novgorod continued to develop normally, because this was already a part of Novgorod's daily political life. All parties had long learned to bicker while cooperating for development.
It was normal for administrators who were brawling yesterday to discuss administrative issues together today, though there would inevitably be some verbal unpleasantness. Novgorod was the source of everyone's wealth, and no one would destroy that source.
Furthermore, externally, the city had always been united; nothing could break the city's unity.
This model worked fine in a peaceful environment, but when faced with war, which greatly tested Novgorod's organizational capabilities, it was hard to say what would happen.
The rulers of Novgorod were well aware of this, but how could there be any war? There hadn't been a war for so long; there was no need to worry at all.
And when Vseslav's army arrived at the walls of Novgorod, such a situation occurred.
The initial sign of the large army's appearance was the flocks of startled birds in the distance. That sight attracted many people's attention, but no one devoted too much energy to it. Daily life was already tiring enough; who would pay attention to these movements in the distance?
Only a few people within the city were alerted by this scene. They realized that a large army might be appearing in the distance, and these people acted very quickly, promptly packing their belongings and preparing to flee.
However, their early preparations were not very significant, because soon after, refugees continuously poured into Novgorod from the south.
At first, the city's guards thought the enemy had arrived and instinctively closed the gates, but as they saw that these people were dragging their families and were not an attacking enemy, they opened the gates and let them in.
And black smoke continuously rose from the south, while the refugees entering the city informed the people of Novgorod that a large army was heading towards them from the south. These people were killing, burning, raping women everywhere, appearing menacing.
And merchants with a bit of culture and knowledge told the residents of Novgorod that they were the army of Polotsk. These people had seen the banners and formations of the Polotsk army and were quite clear about it.
Novgorod was quite shocked by this news. They certainly knew the relationship between Polotsk and Novgorod; if Polotsk came with a large army, it was definitely to take their lives, there was no need to even ask.
The number of Polotsk troops brought by those refugees further created panic. They said the Polotsk people were "boundless," "definitely over ten thousand," and that "Chud and bandits had joined this large army"...
Exaggerated words formed exaggerated statements, creating panic among the populace.
They also mentioned that the Sorcerer Prince himself had come to Novgorod, which gave a boost to the credibility of those exaggerated claims.
The Sorcerer Prince had always been associated with various terrifying rumors; many believed he was a king of dark magic, and his arrival made many exaggerated claims believable.
The direct consequence of these rumors was the mass exodus of merchants. They still had business to do and could not be trapped in this place by war. The result was immediate congestion at the city gates and ports; roads were blocked with various large carts, and the river was jammed with various boats, unable to move at all.
Finally, the Veche Militia had to forcibly clear the area. They forcibly dragged away all the large carts, and as for the boats, they were left to continue blocking, sealing off the river channel to prevent the enemy from advancing up the river and attacking the city.
Some merchants naturally wailed because of this, but others supported the militia's actions. Such merchants often had local Novgorod backgrounds; their wealth was in this city, and they were very enthusiastic about defending it.
Although the administrators constantly struggled amongst themselves, they knew what to do at crucial moments, and every command was decisive.
Next, the Novgorod Veche immediately convened a meeting. This time, the administrators of each district quickly reached an agreement, swiftly deciding to close the city gates and mobilize the Novgorod Militia.
Thus, Novgorod, as a war machine, was slowly mobilized; the city's warring aspect was slowly coming to life.
However, due to some previous unpleasantness and chaos, the mobilization of the Novgorod Militia was quite difficult, and there were many problems along the way. The most critical issue was that the militia from many districts were mixed together, which was very unfavorable for command and also spread negative influences, such as people from hostile districts being grouped together.
Although problems persisted, the gates were closed the moment Vseslav's army appeared before the walls of Novgorod. With the gates closed, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The walls were then covered with soldiers. The Novgorod wall was a tall Rus' wooden wall, unlike ordinary wooden walls. The wooden walls of large Rus' cities were built on a brick base, with wooden walls constructed on top, allowing them to be taller. They were then covered with earth to protect the wall and eliminate blind spots for archery.
And then, when Vseslav's grand army appeared, when those columns of soldiers emerged from the forest and occupied the snow-covered farmland outside Novgorod, the entire city of Novgorod was awestruck by the sight.
From the perspective of the city wall, the Polotsk army in the forest seemed to pour out endlessly, and among them were various siege engines, wooden ladders everywhere, and even crude battering rams.
These had been prepared in advance by Polotsk merchants outside Novgorod. After the Polotsk army arrived, they only needed to retrieve these tools at the agreed location.
Not all of the distant army had emerged from the forest; it was clear that many Polotsk people were still active within the forest.
This was a small tactic Vseslav employed: intentionally spreading out the army's formation and then slowly advancing a certain distance towards the city wall, so that the enemies on the wall could not tell how many people were hidden in the forest.
At a glance, Polotsk warriors armed with swords and axes were everywhere, and iron-clad soldiers were not uncommon among them. Furthermore, several shaman-like figures were performing rituals in front of the large army, and combined with the Prince of Polotsk's reputation for sorcery, this made the army appear even more terrifying.
This army looked murderous; even after such a long march, their spirits seemed unaffected, and their desire to plunder Novgorod remained very strong.
Vseslav's concealment of troops in the forest played a significant role. The Novgorod Militia, looking at the seemingly endless Polotsk army, could not help but feel timid. They had not fought in a while and were somewhat cowardly when faced with war.
At this time, it was actually the Chud people in the city who performed the best. These semi-barbarians orderly adjusted their weapons on the city walls, but unfortunately, their numbers were not large.
Actually, it would be good to have a Mayor of Novgorod at this time. The Mayor of Novgorod was the recognized administrator of the entire city, but no Mayor of Novgorod had been elected due to the power struggles during this period.
But even without a Mayor of Novgorod, there was still the Prince! So, the various Novgorod administrators decided to go and invite their Prince, who was like a puppet.
Although he was just a symbol, Rurik still had a lot of support in this city. Just bringing him out could serve to stabilize people's morale.
However, when Novgorod went to invite their Prince, they were informed of something.
"The Prince has fled!"
At this, everyone could not help but panic. How could the Prince have run away first!