Chapter 390 The Heat of the North

Novgorod, the northernmost principality of Russia. Due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea, it became the richest region by trading in wood and salt. Also because of the frequent trade, the Hanseatic League passed on some political influence to it.

The highest authority of Novgorod is the Citizens' Assembly. All resolutions must be passed here to have legal effect. Although it has been occupied by Moscow, the archons sent have to rely on the assembly to gain support. Otherwise, it will be a riot.

After Grand Duke Vasily returned to Moscow, he immediately ordered Mihay to be the archon of Novgorod. He has supreme power, which is the trust Vasily gave him, hoping that he can conquer this place.

Mihay brought more things than Vlad this time, nearly 10,000 soldiers, 100,000 lei, and books and other things. The Patriarch of Moscow also asked the Bishop of Novgorod to help him familiarize himself with the local area, but when he really came here, Mihay felt that the development was not as good as Donetsk.

Moreover, the local people are very hostile to outsiders, because they have not suffered the destruction of the Mongolian army, so they claim to be the most orthodox Russian successors. The local lord also wanted to drive them back, so he closed the gate and didn't even let him in.

"Please wait a moment, sir. We will only open the gate if the citizens' assembly approves it."

The heavy gate was closed, locking Mihaly and his army out. Hearing this explanation, he laughed directly. He had no way to deal with them, but the opportunity came.

"I have the Grand Duke's appointment letter. I order you to open the door in the name of the Novgorod governor."

The guards pretended not to hear such a situation. This time, they heard that the Grand Duke had found the governor from the south, so they were ready to give him a warning to let him know who is the master here.

Mihaly had never been wronged like this. As a prince of the Roman Empire, he suffered such a great humiliation in a foreign country. This was intolerable.

"In that case, use artillery fire to open it. They think I will retreat in this way, but they have not met someone like me."

Under Mihaly's order, 35 artillery pieces fired at the walls of Novgorod. Dozens of shells fell on the city wall with amazing effect, and the destructive force caused the newly built city wall to be scrapped again. Some shells also ran into the city and caused some damage to the market buildings.

"What are these? How can he have so many?"

You should know that the Grand Duke of Moscow only had ten artillery pieces when he captured this place a few years ago, and the other side also took out a lot of artillery pieces. If the bombing continues, the whole Novgorod will be razed to the ground.

Time is urgent, and the defenders hurriedly invited the lords in the city to invite the governor in, otherwise they will not be able to escape if the other side gets angry.

The wealthy businessman Alexi Alexievich is one of the most powerful people in Novgorod. His family has a history of 150 years here and has made a lot of money by engaging in timber trading. Since his great-grandfather, he has become an important member of the citizens' assembly and continues to this day.

He also agreed to give Mihay a show of strength at the beginning. Since being annexed by Moscow, the taxes they have to pay have increased a lot. This makes him distressed. It would be great if he could return to the state of the republic before. It happened that the Grand Duke of Lithuania secretly sent people to contact them. He promised that as long as Novgorod became independent, he would immediately recognize and provide protection, and all the prominent figures could enter the noble parliament. This convinced many people, and they secretly refused to cooperate with the actions of the Moscow bureaucrats. As long as they declared independence, countless wealth and honor would come to them.

"Vassily would never have thought that the officials he sent would be a decoration without our help, and everything needed our nod."

Another businessman said: "If the Grand Duke agreed to reduce taxes, we would not have to take this step. Why is the Grand Duke unwilling to listen to our opinions?"

These people tried every means to throw the fault to Vasily, just to let everyone know that they were the victims, so that they could have fewer ghosts in their hearts.

"Speaking of which, the new Moscow official has arrived, right? Is it appropriate for us to do this? I heard that he came from the south."

"No matter where he comes from, as long as he refuses to surrender, let's just keep the stalemate. Anyway, we can afford it, but can he?"

As everyone laughed, a shell fell above their meeting room, taking away two gentry on the spot, and the joyful atmosphere of everyone was swept away.

"What's going on, guards?"

Alexei shouted to the outside of the door. The guards acted quickly and immediately reported to everyone that the new official directly bombarded the city with artillery.

"What, how dare he do this? He is the second person to attack Novgorod."

The first one was Alexander Nevsky, who went on a killing spree because of a conflict with the citizens' assembly, so the assembly added a clause to the town regulations: Don't become a person like Alexander.

"Sir, there have been many casualties, but it seems that the other side has not stopped."

Everyone began to think about solutions. It is impossible to surrender directly, so they will be slaughtered; it is also impossible to fight head-on, because their army's combat effectiveness is not worth mentioning. They were usually smart in business, but they were confused when it came to other things. But soon, Mihaly made a choice for them.

"Sir, they have broken through the city gate and are now in the square."

After hearing the news, they didn't think about anything else. Saving their lives was the most important thing. Fortunately, their families were in the manor in the suburbs, so they just packed up their gold and silver and ran away.

Mihaly's army entered the city directly. Most people had surrendered, but there were still a small number of people who were resisting stubbornly. Mihaly directly ordered the rebels to be killed on the spot. The local area fell into a weird atmosphere.

Some people hid in the church, and some well-known people went directly to the Hanseatic League's trading house to ask for asylum. Who knows what kind of policy will be adopted for the newcomers who enter the city so violently? It's better to run to Lithuania or nearby Livonia.

Mihaly led the army to the governor's residence, looked at the crowd next to him who were respectful to him, and said with contempt: "Wouldn't it be better to do this earlier? I thought that the people of Novgorod were all sensible, but now it seems that they are just like this."

Mihaly entered Novgorod. Although there was some violence in the process, most people were able to live a normal life. At the same time, he also asked people to go to the Civic Square to announce his first document, which was the official appointment of Mikhail by the Grand Duke of Moscow as the governor of Novgorod, and then the liquidation of those members of the so-called parliament. Novgorod did not need this.