The area where Lower Novgorod is located is situated right on the Volga River, and Rostislav intends to develop it into a town in the future, making it an important hub for Rus' control of the region.
Therefore, the scale of this fortress was very large, aiming for the size of a town from the start, and it is destined to become an important trade center in the future.
However, to develop well, it is essential for the local ruler to have the ability to handle various affairs in this region; otherwise, even with resources, they would be useless.
Thus, the Moscow Prince chose Vasily Ivanovich Scherihov, and at the same time helped this family resolve the last potential factor of internal instability.
The Sherikhov Family was very satisfied with being granted this land; they had cultivated this land for a long time and understood it better than anyone else.
They naturally knew that a city built at such a hub would quickly experience rapid development, especially since the Moscow Prince had shown a desire to invest heavily in resources.
So Vasily accepted the appointment and was directly left behind, also taking charge of the command of this series of military outposts and the maintenance of the logistics line, ensuring the safety of the Moscow Prince's rear and the logistics of the Winter Army.
Rostislav had been observing the three Scherihov brothers during this period and understanding their abilities and deeds.
And after understanding them, Rostislav made this choice because it was the most suitable and best for everyone.
Additionally, the Prince felt great regret that Anton was leaving Northeast Rus, as he lacked such secular Rus' intellectuals under his command, but everyone has their own ambitions, and Rostislav could not force him to stay.
Amidst construction and marching, Rostislav's army continued to advance.
The path they took next became increasingly difficult; previously, they encountered obstacles and simply cut down trees to build bridges, but now, they had to forcibly clear the way.
These areas were covered with dense forests, and in many places, the forests were so thick that even carriages could not pass through.
The number of tribal people in this forest sea was not very large; it was extremely desolate here.
Such a place was a paradise for ambushes, but fortunately, the local tribes had no desire to attack Rostislav and his men, and many tribal people even joined them for plunder, allowing the Winter Army to pass through smoothly.
Facing such a predicament, Rostislav had to summon all the guides and vassals to discuss what to do, as they could not keep clearing the way indefinitely.
And after the discussion, the Moscow Prince received a conclusion that made him feel quite vexed.
If they wanted a road, they could only cross the Volga River again and go to the Bulgar territory on the opposite bank.
Yes, the Winter Army had already entered Bulgar; they had bypassed Bulgar's defensive line on its western border.
Now Bulgar's territory was across the river from them, and Bulgar's military activity had already appeared on the opposite bank, though it was clearly just some local lord's troops, whose existence was merely to monitor the Rus' movements.
These fellows looked very surprised, clearly not expecting the Winter Army to take this path.
This was not because the Winter Army's secrecy was so strict; information about the Winter Army's advance route had already reached Bulgar, but no one believed the Winter Army would take such a relatively remote road instead of going directly to Bulgar.
Regarding crossing the river, Rostislav was very reluctant to do so, because crossing the river was a very dangerous undertaking.
And if they were to cross the river here, they would have to cross it again to reach Bulgar City, which was too redundant and troublesome.
But unfortunately, Rostislav had only this option; if they did not cross the Volga River, they simply could not proceed further.
So, under the gaze of everyone, Rostislav still made the decision to have his troops cross the Volga River.
And fortunately for the Rus', on the day the Winter Army crossed the river, a very thick fog rose over the river, so dense that one could not see five fingers in front of them.
This was an excellent opportunity for them; nothing could be better than crossing the river at this time.
To set an example for all the armies, Rostislav had his Druzhina be the first group to cross the river.
The first wave to cross the river is always the most dangerous, but Rostislav had confirmed that the enemy forces on the opposite bank were not numerous, and even if the enemy attacked, they could handle it; now, he just needed someone to embolden everyone.
Gvaran's river crossing was very smooth; the boats, fully loaded with Rus' Bodyguard, thus broke through the fog-laden Volga River and arrived on the other side of the river with incredible ease.
When the Rus' boats appeared on the riverbank, those Bulgar soldiers were still very confused, as these people had never intended to fight; they were merely temporarily recruited by the local lord to guard the crossing.
The Bulgars all thought the Rus' would not cross the river rashly, but the result exceeded their imagination: the Rus' not only dared to cross the river but also dared to attack them.
So when Gvaran, dressed like an iron can, jumped off the boat and brought his Danish long axe down on a Bulgar's head, that person was still incredibly bewildered.
Then countless (in the eyes of the Bulgars) Rus' Bodyguard rushed off the boats, swinging their axes at the Bulgars; veterans who had endured countless battles killed these Bulgars as easily as slaughtering chickens.
The Rus' quickly cleared the Bulgar forces on the riverbank; they encountered no noteworthy resistance along the way; these Bulgars were either killed or routed.
And after completing all this, Gvaran, bathed in blood, immediately lit three bonfires on the riverbank as per the prior preparations.
After the bonfires were lit, Rostislav immediately ordered the sapper battalion to build a pontoon bridge; with the support of a large number of boats, the pontoon bridge was quickly completed, and then the Winter Army passed through here at their fastest speed.
To ensure the speed of passage, Rostislav ordered the construction of three pontoon bridges simultaneously; the Prince's original intention was undoubtedly good, but in the chaos of the river crossing, many problems also arose.
Some units, upon learning that the opposite side was Bulgar territory, immediately began to act on their own, attacking the nearest Bulgar villages.
By this time, the fog had dissipated, and as the fog cleared, the Rus' saw those Bulgar villages.
Although Rostislav had previously ordered that they should not immediately begin to extort and plunder after entering Bulgar, they were nominally escorting Prince Adam back to his country, and they should not act too hastily; looting and such should not happen immediately.
But these scattered soldiers and stragglers from various parts of Northeast Rus didn't care so much; weren't they ordered by their lord to strike down the pagans? Then they should start killing immediately.
Rostislav had now dug his own grave; his pre-emptive statements gave some people an excuse for plunder.
But if it were just ordinary plunder, the Moscow Prince would not have said anything, after all, this era was filled with war and killing, but the Prince never expected that they would start with arson and massacre.
Massacre, if such a thing happened as soon as the Winter Army entered Bulgar, it would be too troublesome and a great blow to the reputation of their army, because some people could then interpret this war as a massacre of Bulgars by the Rus'.
Although this was not an era of nationalism, a simple sense of national identity must objectively exist, and if resistance was aroused, then future military operations would be troublesome.
This left Rostislav flustered; although he immediately dispatched his Bodyguard to apprehend the wanton troops after the incident and executed several of the ringleaders, seeing the hatred that could not be hidden on the faces of the surviving Bulgars, Rostislav understood that his first step had truly gone wrong.
However, the Prince's mood did not change because of this; he remained optimistic about the war, after all, this was just the beginning, things were still long, and this expedition had only just begun.
As Rostislav thought this, he had Adam raise his banner and pacify the surrounding Bulgar villages, sending envoys to demand soldiers and supplies, asking these villages to serve their legitimate Prince.