Just as Rostislav had anticipated, as November approached, more and more troops gathered outside Moscow, occupying the fields that should have been covered in snow.
Finally, with the arrival of November, a massive army appeared outside Moscow.
Here, a large number of men from all over Northeast Rus gathered, coming from Suzdal, from Vladimir, from Rostov, from every corner of Northeast Rus, with various banners fluttering in the air.
To clarify their identity on the battlefield, Rostislav ordered all soldiers to find a way to draw a cross symbol on themselves; most drew it on their shields, and some, not trusting that, also drew a cross on their bodies.
This idea actually came from Meshko; the Pole said that their kingdom would draw crosses to distinguish friend from foe when facing pagan enemies, which was indeed a convenient and quick method.
Coincidentally, Rostislav was also going to campaign against pagans, so he decided to adopt this method.
The total strength of this army exceeded ten thousand, which was precisely the number Rostislav had yearned for.
Initially, upon hearing this news, Rostislav was very excited.
For so many years, he had finally been able to command an army of over ten thousand; whenever he saw the sea of tents outside the city walls, a sense of satisfaction surged through Rostislav.
Among the common people, this grand army was called the Winter Army because it assembled in winter and marched eastward.
Joining the Winter Army had become a trend, and even now, people were still coming to join this army.
However, for Rostislav, after the initial joy, pressure surged like a tide.
Facing such a massive army, the management pressure was immense; for example, how should this army travel, how should it be managed? When facing these questions, Rostislav realized he had absolutely no experience.
Throughout, Rostislav's method of controlling the army relied on his personal guards, retainers, and Veche citizens as nodes to manage the conscripted soldiers and vassal armies.
Previously, Rostislav's military expeditions were never large, and none ever exceeded five thousand men, with the majority being soldiers who recognized the Prince's authority; with this method, Rostislav could firmly control the army.
But now it was different; the army numbered over ten thousand, and nearly half or more were simply there for wealth.
If he continued to control the army using the old method, he would have to assign too many soldiers.
Facing tens of thousands of soldiers, using the original method was absolutely impossible.
He could not allocate a portion of his main force; that would affect their combat effectiveness.
Thus, there was only one choice: let each unit act independently, with the original control nodes becoming mere communication nodes.
Rostislav was very helpless about this, but it was his only option.
However, in this era, everyone did things this way, so it didn't matter much.
After arranging his army, it was almost time to set out, and then Rostislav naturally began his campaign with this grand army.
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Before leaving, Rostislav entrusted Moscow's governance to his wife, just as he had when he went to Hungary.
Additionally, he left behind a good number of personal guards and retainers; they would ensure Moscow's safety, and the Rostov Camp would also remain here, as Rostislav was unwilling to send this unit, filled with too many new recruits, to the battlefield.
At the same time, these professional soldiers would integrate any late-arriving soldiers before sending them along the road eastward.
In fact, Rostislav had not mobilized all the citizens of Moscow and its surroundings; he had to ensure there were always some rotating units, because he would certainly need to leave some troops behind after the war in Bulgar concluded.
Moreover, Rostislav's heart always held a vigilance against pagans; after everything he experienced in Hungary, he could not relax his guard in this regard.
Speaking of pagans, Rostislav greatly regretted that Yaroslav would not participate in the expedition; he was determined to explore everything about pagans in the Northeast Rus countryside, searching for potential enemies.
Rostislav said nothing about this; he understood, but Yaroslav's absence was ultimately a great pity.
On the day of their departure, the entire populace of Moscow came out to see them off.
Rostislav still remembered the scene that day; at that time, his ears were filled with countless praises, and joyful music echoed through the crowd.
He walked on flowers strewn by the people, with a massive army behind him; walking on such a path, his sense of satisfaction was incredibly strong.
The banners of saint george slaying the dragon and the fire-breathing dragon fluttered together, though to many, this seemed somewhat ironic, after all, saint george slaying the dragon, represented Rus' eternal suppression of Bulgar.
Of course, the parties involved certainly didn't mean that; it was just an ordinary display of banners, but that didn't stop the people below from thinking that way.
At that time, Rostislav led the grand army, seemingly surrounded by a halo; everything was so glorious and powerful, so captivating.
However, that was already in the past; now Rostislav only felt a headache.
The path Rostislav walked was one his ancestors had traversed; Sviatoslav had walked here, Vladimir had walked here, they had all walked here to campaign against Bulgar.
It was a pity that there were almost no relevant records; Rostislav could only find a few old men who had experienced Vladimir's expedition to serve as guides, leading them along the old path.
What was even more headache-inducing was that all sorts of issues within this ten-thousand-man army came to him; he was almost daily dealing with various matters, making him realize how difficult it was to lead an army.
For instance, if a unit got lost on the road due to being too slow, Rostislav had to dispatch troops to find them, lest the unit simply dispersed.
For instance, if two units had a conflict, Rostislav even had to personally mediate to prevent them from fighting.
For instance, if another conflict arose over resource distribution, he had to rush over immediately to resolve the dispute, each time giving him an enormous headache.
There were even units that felt the journey was too tiring and simply went on strike; for this, Rostislav directly applied military law. Damn it, they had come this far and were still causing trouble, so he would no longer be gentle.
As for personally deploying scouts and such, that was even more basic. It truly gave one an immense headache; sometimes you really couldn't understand why those people couldn't complete such tasks.
After being tormented for some time like this, Rostislav finally realized that his destination, Yaroslavl, was not far ahead.
There, the army could rest for a period, and it was there that the army would cross the Rus' border and proceed to Bulgar.
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