Commander of the Vanguard

We said goodbye to Yuri Kotlov, our contemporary, on yet another turn of the harsh life in medieval Russia: fleeing the pursuit of enemies, he changed his name and hid far from Moscow. Fortune smiled on him: a powerful patron elevated Yuri to the rank of boyar (the novel “Boyar Honor”).

Several years passed. It became known to the sovereign how diligently the new boyar, Georgy Mikhailov, carried out important assignments of the Vologda governor-b oyar Pleshcheev and the noblemen of Moscow at the court of the Grand Prince. Vasily III summons boyar Mikhailov to the palace and appoints him as the commander of a combined regiment of the local militia.

Meanwhile, at the southern borders, a force of the Crimean Khan Magmet-Girey advances with fire and sword. Skillfully arranging experienced soldiers and using military tricks, the commander fulfills combat tasks with little bloodshed. The sovereign favors the capable commander and entrusts him, along with the ya rtaul, to repair a fortification on the Lithuanian frontier.

But peace doesn’t last long. And again—this time in battle near the fortress of Opochka—the commander Mikhailov applies the Suvorov method of defeating “not by numbers, but by skill” as part of Prince Rostovsky’s army. The commander’s merits are highly valued by the sovereign, who grants him an princely title and lands. The prophecy of the Book of Fate found in a dungeon comes true…