"Guys, I want to ask, when did you become so unconfident?" Lykarov looked around and said calmly.

"Who we are, who we have always been proud of, can you still remember?" The old man asked slowly, looking down. "You may remember the battles of the ancestors of the Vladimir princes when they invaded Novgorod?"

"We, Novgorodros, neither our long history nor our noble bloodlines can be compared with those barbarians of the south. Especially after the fall of Kyiv, we are the real heart of the kingdom. Why are you so disconfident in your own large and noble family because of a small man, that you think that one man is enough to shake the walls of Novgorod, which was once difficult for a million-strong army to overcome? Likarov sighed bitterly.

"Maybe it's because you're too young, or maybe it's because you're already used to comfort, but I still want to remind you that it's not the peace of comfort that makes this country, it's the crisis, the killing, the death, and the enslavement that make Novgorod have to run, and in this world it is not an empire or a country that is going to ruin."

"But Likarov, this is too hasty, the kind of Alexander is a threat to order in itself!" Patriarch Iverum couldn't accept this, he never expected that Likarovqing, who was a veteran, was not on his side, right! It stands to reason that he should be a real conservative, how to allow Alexander to exist.

This ・・・・・・ this is simply ridiculous!

"Patriarch, you are too sensitive, I did not and never denied Alexander's threat, but for Novgorod this threat was necessary. Just like a gadfly, even if it sucks the blood of a horse, it can urge the horse to gallop. And now for our country, for our city-state, Alexander, the gadfly, is necessary, so that you will not stop the state apparatus because of comfort. Lykalov raised his voice. The old man stood at the top, and everyone looked up at him. It is like looking up to the supreme king.

"If one day you fall apart in front of Alexander Neussky, it does not mean that you have made the wrong choice. It is because of your weakness and the cowardice of your hearts. Rather than weakening others, it is better to strengthen yourself, this is the principle that the Rus people have always pursued, have you forgotten it in this generation? ”

The old man's strong speech made the noble council fall silent, and the people looked at Likarov silently. No one thought that a seventy-year-old man could burst into such passion.

"A true warrior should have complete confidence in the sword in his hand, not because his sword does not scratch himself, but because he can master it completely."

The appearance of Lykarov did not help Patriarch Ivalomo in the slightest, on the contrary, the support of the entire parliament had already appeared to be one-sided in Solzhenitsyn's.

The nobles of the neutral side, though not immediately expressed their attitude, applauded Lykarov's speech from their seats. Yes, they were the oldest noble alliance in Novgorod, and the heritage that had been deposited for centuries could be shaken by a mere Alexander, a small nobleman from the poor countryside of the East.

"Thank you for your support, Lord Lykarov!" Solzhenitsyn did not expect that the other side would actually take his side, although the interests of the noble council were aligned. But there is a factional struggle in China. For example, the Young Zhuang faction led by him has always pursued a tough foreign policy, trying to fight the Teutonic Knights to seize a larger outlet to the North Sea, so as to ensure that Novgorod's foreign trade is encroached upon by the rising Rhine city-states. It was for this reason that they supported giving Alexander more power to contain the crusaders. The Patriarch's faction, on the other hand, was not a commercial faction but a traditional agrarian faction, keen on the annexation of inland lands, and towards the Crusaders in a compromise.

But Lykarov was the former leader of the orthodox agrarian faction, and he should not be on their side of such a struggle, even if he had withdrawn from politics.

"Gentlemen!" Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Solzhenitsyn said aloud. "Then I hope everyone can vote on whether to expel Archduke Alexander or give him more powers."

But just when the situation was good, and Solzhenitsyn should be ready for everyone to stand up and support him, Lykarov's old but powerful voice sounded at this moment.

"Wait a little longer. Likarov. ”

The vote was abruptly interrupted!

"I'm sorry, but I wish I could say a few more words, I don't know?" Lykarov asked softly as he looked down.

"Absolutely・・・・・・ of course. Dear Likarov. Solzhenitsyn's heart thumped, and he had a bad feeling. But there was no way he could stop the other side from speaking.

"Have you ever heard of the 'outcasts'?"

"'The Wanderer'?" The nobles were stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered this unfamiliar word. This is the name that their ancestors gave themselves when they wandered in the wasteland.

In previous accounts, the once-prosperous Kievan Rus' was near extinct due to the Norman invasion. The brave Rus' eventually had to move eastward to distant lands, knowing that it would take hundreds of years before they returned to their homeland.

The title is so old that the Rus' themselves are about to forget.

What do you mean? Likarov. Solzhenitsyn was a little confused.

"I just want to tell you that the so-called exiles are fearless, and it is precisely because of this that our ancestors were called this way, and it is for this reason that the Rus' who left their homeland never backed down, and it is for this reason that we dared to besiege Constantinople by land and water and make the emperor compromise, and even if the Normans invaded in the north, we dared to resist, and even the nomadic barbarians in the east could not stop us, and this is the Rus'. But now we are so comfortable that we have forgotten the suffering of our ancestors. ”

Alexander is dangerous, but it is also a warning, after all, he is our countryman and not those Teutons, so we can tolerate him, but that does not mean that we can indulge and make this warning a big problem for us. In comparison, Alexander is better than everyone here, not because of his ability or family background, but because of the fearlessness of the lone wolf, he is really a 'wanderer', a person far from his own homeland is sometimes more ambitious than a king. And an ambitious Rus' is the most terrifying existence. That's why I don't agree with giving him too much power, but I also have no intention of expelling him. The reason I am here is not for the sake of Alexander Newsky, but because you are so disappointing that even though our enemies have put their blades in their throats, you are still fighting openly and secretly. ”

The old man walked slowly down from the high platform, scanning the boring faces.

"It's so sad! You don't even know what Alexander is doing now, and you don't even know what secrets lurk beneath the ambitious cloak of the Teutonic Knights. (To be continued.) )