The Chronicles of Khan

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Seven continued

440AD was a red letter year for the forces of Subedei. The assault on Delhi destroyed three more Indian spear battalions and an archer battalion to take the town, and saw the rising of yet another field commander to a position of glory, Chagati. Chagati was immediately sent to Bombay, commissioned to form a second Keshik army. But Subedei was not done there. The horse herds of Hyderabad, from which the Indians were making their horse battalions, were within easy reach. The prospect of being able to liberate the sacred animals from the yoke of Indian oppression drove Subedei onwards. Two Keshik battalions were enough to destroy the two Indian spear battalions and free both the town of Hyderabad and the herd of horses as well. And just for good measure, an Indian horse battalion being rushed to Delhi to support the garrison there was cut down by another Keshik battalion.

Ghandi himself managed to escape from the defeat at Delhi and establish a temporary governing residence at Jaipur. However, he realised that the unstoppable march of Subedei’s forces would soon attack here as well, and so a more permanent solution was sought at the town of Lahore, hidden as it was behind the territory of the Russians, and thus providing a defensive buffer from the Mongol attack.

Back in Karakorum, Yeh-lu had returned from the international circuit with the knowledge that there existed an opportunity to bring the Mongols up to technological parity with the world’s leaders. It turned out the Byzantines did not yet possess the religious concept of theology and may be willing to trade such knowledge for the ability of invention. Invention was available from half a dozen sources globally, and so it was that a trade was organised once again with King Hammurabi of the Babylonian people.

The 1525 gold demanded by Hammurabi meant that there was insufficient gold left in the Treasury to satisfy Theodora on a swap for invention, however. And so it was not for a further decade that the Mongols had sufficient gold to make the Byzantine deal. Long gone was the previous antagonism between the Byzantines and the Mongols, and a very polite Theodora greeted Yeh-lu and affirmed the friendship between the two peoples.

Subedei’s campaign rolled on as the unstoppable war machine it was. But now it faced a new problem, and one which was not really caused by Ghandi at all. Subedei would have liked to split his forces and finish off the Indians within a couple of remaining decades, but this was not to be. The central area of the great Indian peninsular was riddled with extensive marshland known as the Jaipur Marshes. To the south of the Jaipur Marshes was dense jungle, called the Calcutta jungle, and to the north was a large range of mountains called the Karachi Mountains. Even for the lightly equipped Keshik, progress through the marshland or the jungle would be unacceptably slow, thus forcing Subedei’s forces to go around and over the Karachi Mountains. To make matters even worse, the Indian engineers had not even completed a pass through the mountains, and so when this journey was commenced, Subedei would be forever thankful of the design decisions taken by Yeh-lu that resulted in a light configuration for the Keshik, as this enabled rapid progress through the rugged terrain.

The Indian command structure was clearly broken, for although there were still many Indian units deployed against Subedei’s forces, they now appeared to lack cohesion and had little coordination in their attacks. And they continued to have no answer to the power of the Keshik! During the march to Jaipur, three more Indian horse battalions fell, though two of these emerged from a trek through the Calcutta Jungle to try and regain the Hyderabad horse herd. All were cut down easily and yet another battle field leader so distinguished himself as to also be commissioned to form an army. The leader Tolur was honoured to command the third Keshik army.

Subedei’s crushing victory at the town of Jaipur, in which a further three spear battalions were slaughtered, was in a way a mixed blessing for Subedei. General Ereen adopted his most diplomatic of stances to finally convince the Khan’s most trusted Military Advisor, General Chebe, that clearly Subedei had sufficient force to finish the Indians, and that the priority now lay with bringing the vile Greeks in line. The evidence overwhelmingly supported this view, and so Subedei was informed that while he could keep the forces currently under his command, that all new reinforcements would be directed to the Greek theatre of war, in expectation of the battles there. Subedei could see no point in arguing with this logic, for although he was to have no part in the Greek campaign, it was certainly true that the Indians were not going to survive his assaults much longer.

In the west, an Indian spear battalion was found lurking in the forests by Copan. The attack command was given to the local Keshik battalion, but perhaps lacking the inspirational leadership of Subedei in person, the Keshik unit found itself repulsed by the spear unit, and then showing weakness in retreat, the Indian spear was able to take advantage of the situation and cut down the battalion. This small victory was one of the few things giving the Indians some vain hope. But it was not to last, the spear battalion was soon destroyed by another Keshik.

General Ereen now had gathered a full division of mounted troops, and so began his advance on the Greek town of Thermoplae. The forward division was backed with a further two keshik and one pike battalions. Ereens troops were not to have the advantage of surprise, however, as they found themselves ambushed by a Greek archer battalion, and owing to the accuracy of the Greek archers in their opening salvos, they were able to dispatch a full battalion of the advancing keshiks, before succumbing to the inevitable counterattack.

Ereen’s advance finally brought him to the gates of Thermoplae itself, and the Keshik battalions were to prove almost as decisive under Ereen’s command as they had under Subedei. Although the fanatical hoplite had more battle mettle than the Indian soldiers had possessed, even with the help of an archer battalion, those hoplites were at best able to turn the first Keshik charge at Thermoplae, before succumbing to the superior equipment, and superior numbers of Ereens troops. 3000 Greek soldiers perished in the battle that saw Ereen capture Thermoplae. But in one last act of defiance, the residents of Thermoplae destroyed the galley that was in port, rather than let it fall into Mongolian hands.

It was at this time that the military alliance with the Japanese against the Greeks was due to expire, and so Shogun Tokugawa himself journeyed to Karakorum to request the continuance of the alliance against the mutually hated foe. This time the Khan had no hesitation in continuing this alliance, for regardless of whatever small value his Japanese ally provided, this time the Khan was prepared to see the campaign run through to fruitition, such was his anger still at the atrocity of Ulaangrom. It was also at this time that Yeh-lu brought news that the mighty German people had completed a training facility, called Knights Templar, for an elite foot soldier troupe, rumoured to be considerably stronger than the Mongols’ own medieval infantry. The troupe lacked the mobility of the Mongol Keshik, however, and so was not considered to be a significant threat at the time.

Meanwhile, the Mongols’ continual population growth and demand for more space, resulted in the settling of a new town, Uliastay by the town of Kaminaljuro in the rich grasslands to the west. Uliastay was right up next to the border with the Mayan’s new second town, perhaps acting as a reminder to the Khan that there was unfinished business there as well.

Meanwhile, Subedei was not to be outdone by his rival general, and so on hearing of the capture of Thermoplae, he immediately ordered the assaults on both Madras and Karachi. The town of Madras was an important hub, situated as it was between the great powers of the Byzantines to the east, the Chinese to the north, and the Russians to the west. But that didn’t make its defence any sturdier, as the first Keshik Army mowed through two Indian spear battalions to seize the city.

The defenders at Karachi were taken by complete surprise by the speed of the Keshik advance, foolishly believing that the difficult mountain terrain would give them time to prepare for the attack. They were wrong, and three Keshik battalions accounted for the spear battalions defending here as well.

And in an attempt to make it three, Subedei ordered two elite sword battalions to attack the Indian city of Chittingong in the far west. This city was one of two Indian cities forming the New Indian Territories. But the three-peat was not to be, as the Indian spear battalions held firm. The battle was evenly divided with about 1000 casualties on each side.

But the Indians were not done with their atrocities even yet. A horse battalion, with orders direct from Lahore and Ghandi himself, used the veil of secrecy provided by Russian territory to attack another party of defenceless workers by Hovd, and butcher more Mongolian lives.

Ereen was pushing on as well. The town of Mycenae was next. Though it cost another Keshik battalion, two more Greek hoplite battalions were destroyed resulting in the capture of the town.

The Mongolian military might was continuing to grow, and had just reached the strength of three full divisions of Keshiks, 30 battalions. Subedei continued to put the forces at his disposal to good use, using the second and third keshik armies to smash resistance in Calcutta, and then making the long trek to Kolhapur.

Realising that Kolhapur represented the last town of the old Indian core, and that the Khan was unlikely to authorise committing troops to hunting down and destroying the remaining and widely spread towns of India, Subedei decided to end the Indian campaign with a bang. First an elite horse battalion was sent in to Chittagong with orders to raze the city to the ground, after dispensing with an archer battalion en route. Then and only then did the assault on Kolhapur commence. A further two spear and one archer battalions fell as Kolhapur came under Mongol power.

Subedei’s concerns were realised, as the Khan, himself, intervened at this point. The Khan was aware of the locations of only two of the remaining three Indian cities, and so as a ploy to extract the location of the third, the town was demanded in the peace settlement. It turned out that Punjab was founded in the midst of the Great Dividing Range itself, next to a gem source, but also perilously close to the expanding Roman empire.

 

[El Loco]

nice update, don´t know how u have the pacience for a huge map...

 

[Sandman2003]

You have to try these things El Loco. At least I have a fast computer. I was wondering whether you were following this story, as you are usually amongst the first to sign in.

 

[rbis4rbb]

Excellent update. Don't you love when a Civ has 1, 2, or even 3 cities? It makes them seem like a little brother. Thats why I like the idea of a satellitte civ option in Civ 4. Have you read about it?

 

[El Loco]

I was playing a time consuming diety game ( inspired by your victory). Altough i achieved a domination win, it fried my brain so I left the civ world for a week. ANyway i really enjoy ur stories and i'm a huge fan. Best of lucks!

 

[Sandman2003]

I was playing a time consuming diety game ( inspired by your victory). Altough i achieved a domination win, it fried my brain so I left the civ world for a week. ANyway i really enjoy ur stories and i'm a huge fan. Best of lucks!

I know that feeling, congrats on your Deity win.

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Eight: Turmoil in the West

While Subedei cleaned up the Indians in the east, Ereen’s campaign against the Greeks was starting to gain momentum. However, events transpiring elsewhere would once again overshadow the battles of the second Greek War, and the master manipulator, the Great Khan himself, was once again central to the events.

The fight was still very much in the Greeks, at this time, and they put up some resistance by Thermoplae. The loyal horse battalion of Alexander himself was charged with the task of repelling the enemy from the old capital. This task was beyond the capability of the battalion, but in glorious battle the Greeks claimed the lives of a thousand Keshiks before themselves succumbing to the superior force of their enemy.

As Subedei’s stunning successes in the Indian campaign were trumpeted around the Mongol nation, the rivalry between Ereen and Subedei grew. With this rivalry came increased pressure for the troops of Ereen to deliver results. And, so barely rested from the successes at Thermoplae, a half division of the Keshik core were ordered to advance on the new Greek capital of Athens. It was during the mighty battle for Athens that the pressures on Ereen finally took their toll resulting in the events that are now remembered as the ‘Catastrophe of Athens’.

The twenty year siege of Athens started as a text-book operation in the year 500AD. Although the fanatical hoplites fought more effectively than their Indian counterparts, after the initial encounters, the forces of Ereen were still maintaining a kill ratio of two to one against the entrenched defenders. The town of Athens did succeed in routing two battalions of Keshiks during these attacks, and as a result, Ereen’s demands for results meant that these demoralised units were immediately sent back into battle in an effort to wrest control of Athens from the Greeks. In the event, the forces of Ereen did prevail, but at what cost. In this second assault, no less than four battalions of keshiks perished whilst killing only two battalions of Greek hoplite defenders. This was the first time that the units of the Keshik Core had suffered greater numerical losses than they had managed to inflict upon their foes, and from the Khan down, the hierarchy of the Mongols was not pleased.

General Chebe was dispatched immediately to the Greek theatre of operations to counsel General Ereen. Chebe requisitioned Ogodei’s first keshik army for the Greek campaign as well, in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of this combined battalion formation, and hopefully inspire the field commanders under Ereen to come forward and lead their own armies. Curiously, the second and third keshik armies remained in the northeast, though were re-stationed in Ta-tu. Even more curiously, General Ereen was given a timetable that insisted the Greek operations be finished absolutely no later than 600BC.

On one final point, General Ereen was left in no doubt whatsoever. He asked what was to be the fate of the Greek people. After the atrocity at Ulaangrom, there was only one answer to this, and it came straight from the Khan himself, genocide!

The Khan himself kept very busy during this early part of this sixth century. Once again, the court magician, Yeh-lu, was to report that the nations of the world were moving further ahead in technology, and it would be necessary to delve into the treasury coffers to regain parity with the world. This troubled the Khan from two perspectives. First this rampant technological pace was threatening the supremacy of his prised troops, the keshiks, and the expansion plans of the Mongols. Second, as Yeh-lu frequently reminded him, these boom times that the Mongols were currently experiencing could not last forever, and tighter financial times were ahead. This would require some budgetary restraint, and may not make it possible for the Mongols to continue to acquire knowledge via the coin!

The new knowledge was the concept of ‘higher learning’, and the concept of gunpowder. The latter being the most troubling, for now entrenched defenders had the means to project weapons at greater range and accuracy than before, so making the exposed charges of the Keshik more fraught with danger. This continual shifting of the initiative from the offence to the defence was an inevitable consequence of technological progress, but undesirable nonetheless when your preference is for offence!

Even more troubling was the news that the hated enemy to the north, the Russians, had acquired this ‘gunpowder’, and that they possessed the magical secret ingredient that enabled the mass manufacture of these new weapons. First things first, Yeh-lu was instructed to acquire these new technologies.

With several sources for this ‘education’ and the Byzantines again offering the opportunity to barter education for gunpowder, Yeh-lu first dealt with the distant Dutch. As a relatively small empire in the furthest reaches of the continent, strengthening the Dutch economy would simply provide stabilisation in the western continent, and would be of no threat to the Khan.

But in spite of the boost that this trade would give to the Dutch economy, their leader Willem remained annoyed, perhaps an ill-omen for the future relations of the two nations. Of more immediate concern at the time was the fact that even Theodora of the Byzantines was not nearly as welcoming to Yeh-lu as on their previous visit. Though, here it turned out that the Byzantines’ concern lay more with the desire to become an active participant in the expansionist plans of the great Khan. It is believed that this meeting sowed the seeds for the future Mongol-Byzantine Pact that was to reshape the northern borders of the continent. Again, Theodora did not view the knowledge of education as fully equivalent to the more useful gunpowder, and so Yeh-lu had to part with a chest of gold to seal the deal.

The Great Khan summoned Subedei to the Forbidden Palace in Ta-tu. Subedei delegated the task of enslaving the remaining Indian populations and ruthlessly starving dissenting populations until they accepted the Khan’s rule to his second in command. These matters were not the stuff that drove a great general, and he was happy to shred these odious tasks.

The purpose of this meeting was made very clear to Subedei shortly after his arrival. The Khan wanted a plan for the no less than the destruction of the hated Russians, and the liberation of the sacred horses at Yakutsk. Subedei’s excitement at this new commission was tempered with some trepidation when Yeh-lu demonstrated the defensive power of the new musket weapons. However, soon the optimistic Subedei returned as he pointed out that for all the weapons noise and smoke, they were not particularly accurate, and therefore the Keshik would still be an awesome adversary, and still had the necessary might to defeat even entrenched defenders wielding these weapons. And so Subedei moved his forces to Ta-tu, and began conditioning them for battle against the noisy new weapons.

But the Khan’s machinations did not end there. No the growing strength and technological progress of the western empires was an ever present danger and one that had to be addressed soon. The forces of arms of several of these world powers rivalled even the Khan’s, and were they to combine together against the Khan, the result could be truly terrible. The path was clear. These western powers must be enticed to war amongst themselves. But he could not just declare war against one western nation and expect to bring the others on board. No this action would instead cause the parochial western powers to combine together and become the behemoth that the Khan feared. Instead a subtler approach was required, and the Khan found such an approach thanks to his enemy the Indians.

The recently Indian city of Punjab that was situated in the Great Dividing Range was right near the border to the expansionist Romans, and within eyesight of their roaming legions. The Khan took a decision to leave this prize ungarrisoned, and sure enough, before long the pugnacious Romans took the bait, within a short time frame the Romans, mistakenly believing this to be a sign of weakness, sent a demand to the Khan’s ambassador.

Chebe was taken aback by the Khan’s laughter when he reported the news of the Roman declaration to the Khan. The Roman’s would not be allowed to sample the Mongolian wines now or ever, what’s more they would see not a single Mongolian unit in this ‘war’, instead their envious neighbours would be unleashed upon them from every direction, and the Khan expected to hear little more from this upstart, Rome.

Yeh-lu was sent on a whirl-wind tour of the nations surrounding Rome. Meanwhile the governor of Punjab was given the message to put the town to the torch. As tempting as the supply of gems was, there would be no easy prize for the Romans. Yeh-lu visited the Germans, then the Babylonians and finally the Portuguese in turn to enlist their support against the aggressor Rome. And with an appropriate bribe forthcoming, they were all willing to go to war!

So for little more than the supply of the excess Mongolian wines to his new friends to the west, the Khan had enlisted his army to destroy the Roman Empire. It should be noted in passing that the Babylonians actually originally sought a supply of the sacred horses as well, but of course that was not to be! And so the Khan’s masterstroke was executed, and like pawns the great powers of the west settled in to bloody battle.

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Eight continued

Meanwhile, undaunted by the Catastrophe of Athens, General Ereen still had a job to do, and he was determined to execute it to the best of his ability. But the forces of Greece were gathering as well. Alexander had sent four battalions of troops, mainly archers, to Mount Mycenae. However, in the end, this proved just the opportunity for the young commander Kublai to shine. The destruction of this Greek force proved the mettle of Kublai, and he was commissioned to form the fourth keshik army.

Kublai’s army was pressed into service immediately, and so started the assault on Knossos, destroying fully 2000 hoplites in the first attack. Two keshik battalions finished the defenders by dispatching a horse and an archer battalion and claiming the city.

In many ways it was not the Greeks themselves that were the major problem for Ereen, but the lack of roads leading into the Greek lands. So while the bulk of the reinforcing Keshiks were headed Ereen’s way, they were slowed in getting to the front due to this problem. Worker crews were immediately rushed to Baruun-Urt to commence on the all important road, and from the Greek end, new slave crews commenced the road from the other end.

It was at this time, just as Ereen was asserting his dominance over the Greeks that the most surprising of all actions occurred. The Japanese mysteriously lost their mettle for this war, and made a peace with the Greeks. These were the same Japanese who years earlier were determined to exterminate the race of Greeks, and now given the determination of the Mongolian empire to achieve this same feat, the Japanese pulled out. Not only this, but the Japanese departure was in clear violation of the Khan’s military alliance with the Japanese, an alliance that Shogun Tokugawa himself had been insistent on renewing. The Khan expressed his displeasure to the Japanese ambassador, but in the scheme of things at the time, there were more important fish to fry!

It was also at this time that the boom times that may have been instigated by the keshik show of force by Kazan came to an end. It may be that the effect finally wore off, or perhaps it was just the cyclical nature of these things. In any event the budgetary surplus dropped to 60% of its former glory, and while the flow of reinforcement units continued, it did however slow somewhat. As if to advantage from this point, Ceasar brought the traitorous Dutch into the war against the Mongols. Strategically, this move was of questionable value given the Dutch isolation from the rest of the continent, but Ceasar was getting desperate. This was no great concern for Ereen, though, and his campaign went from strength to strength.

Main theatre of War

Western front

A Greek archer battalion was destroyed by Mycenae mountain as the advance commenced on Sparta, led by Ogodei’s keshik army, 4 keshik battalions and an elite horse battalion.

Ereen had also built up a subsidiary force in the incense town of Atlay out west. Initially intended to provide an active defence there should the Greeks resume their hostility to the incense settlers, this force was now ready to strike directly at the Greek towns surrounding it. The charge on Rhodes saw a 2-1 kill rate in favour of the Mongols, as the garrisoning Greek hoplites were swept aside, and Rhodes was forcibly added to the Mongol empire.

At Sparta the Greeks adopted the tactics of the Indians and employed not just one but two catapults in the defence of the city. However, this attempt to blunt the assault of Ereen was no match for the army of Ogodei, and as three more Hoplite units were swept aside, Sparta joined the ranks of the Mongols. The Greeks’ own catapults were then turned on their former owners, decimating an approaching horse battalion, before an elite keshik battalion finished that job, and a second elite keshik battalion dispatched an archer battalion.

The Greeks, though suffering horrendous losses, were still attempting to mount a defence against the invaders. An archer battalion by Argos proved resilient enough to claim a keshik battalion before falling to the numbers thown at it. Argos itself fared little better, though surviving the initial charge of Kublai’s army, after a quick rest and recuperation, there was nothing the defenders of Argos could do to hold out Kublai. And, in the surrounding area, a further 3000 archers were dispatched by the keshiks available to Ereen.

Kublai’s army was not content merely with Argos, however, and charged on to Thessalonica to start the great battle there. With support from a further three keshik battalions, Thessalonica fell quickly to the Mongols as well.

The Greek high command had reached a state of chaos at this point, and desperate for a way, any way, to hurt their seemingly unstoppable attackers, they latched onto two plans of great daring, but little true strategic value. First an elite unit of hoplites marched deep into Mongol territory by Chicken Itza with a mission to disrupt the flow of important strategic materials to the Mongolian campaign. Second, a galley saw an opportunity to threaten a worker crew by Thermoplae, and so landed its archer battalion in an attempt to do so.

The latter plan failed because the Greeks should have realised that the Mongols were using Thermoplae as the staging point for their flow of reinforcements into the Greek campaign, and so the archer battalion was quickly surrounded and slaughtered. The Mongols were untroubled by the elite hoplite unit’s penetration into Mongol territory, and so left it alone!

The Greek were down to just the three cities of Corinth, Delphi and Eretria. The end was so obviously near, that already Chebe had started diverting new reinforcements to Ta-Tu instead. Corinth was first. Ogodei’s army lead the attack that dispensed with yet another three hoplite battalions and two archer battalions in and around Corinth to take the city.

Delphi held out slightly longer as the hoplites there managed to retreat two keshik attacks, but the result there became inevitable as well, especially when Kublai’s army joined the assault. Finally, at the last Greek bastion of Eretria, the Greek city overlooking the Mongols’ incense, another fierce but short battle saw the extinguishing of the Greek dream. As this last city fell into Mongol hands, the existence of Greek authority was completely quashed, and as a strict martial law was imposed upon the citizenry, the elite hoplites by Chicken Itza decided discretion was better than valour today, and they simply dispersed, never to be seen or heard of again.

As Chebe presented the good news to the Khan, the Mongol empire now was within sight of the mighty Great Dividing Range, and exceeded the land area of even the sprawling German republic. But the Khan’s mind was elsewhere. The assault on the much stronger, hated Russians had already begun!

 

[El Loco]

nice update I am planing a Large Pangea with the Ottomans. I just dont have the paceince for a huge map. Great update, i was wondering could you post a screen shot of ur whole empire

 

[El Loco]

another thing that came to mind. How much money do you have and or how much are you making. I see that ur paying huge amounts of cash early in the game so where are u getting the green beens from.

 

[Sandman2003]

The cash - on a huge map you have so many cities with a lower rate of corruption, that greater sums of cash are inevitable. During the latter year sof the golden age we were making almost 500gpt. That has since dropped to about 300gpt.

Here is the map - be warned you may need a fast connection to download this (It is an amalgam of 4 zoomed out images).

The Mongolian Empire 590AD

 

[T-Money]

Hahah that little dogpile on Rome looks pretty nasty. I have'nt been in the Stories section for some time, but I'm glad to see you're still working on this, Sandman. Keep it up!

 

[El Loco]

It took me like 5 min to download ur empire (slowww computer) but I finally did it. U have quite a big empire altough i dare say u have about 7 percent of world area, and that explains why huge maps are beyond my reach. Best of lucks mate.

 

[Sandman2003]

Yes, I liked that dogpile to T-Money. The real beauty of it is that the AI then starts buying each other in so it snowballs for you...

El Loco, the empire has grown a bit bigger than that now, but yes, I certainly am not going to carefully micro manage the whole empire every turn!!!

 

[Sandman2003]

Ok, uploading chapter nine now, and it is huge, so I hope it was worth the wait!

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Nine: The War on Russia

While General Ereen was dealing to the Greeks, the world stage was taking a turn for the more violent. The Romans recent ally, the Dutch, turned to the Scandinavians to add further might to the western powers allied against the Khan. This latest development was troubling only in the fact that the numbers of nations allied against the Mongols was continuing to grow, because the Scandinavians were also so far from the front with the Mongols that as a strategic ally, they were really quite irrelevant.

Meanwhile reports reached the Khan that the Incan had completed another marvel of engineering. This time it was the so called Leonardo’s Workshop that offered a more cost effective mechanism to refit dated units with more modern equipment. A useful thing for sure, but then most of the Khan’s military build-up had occurred after he had already reached the discovery of chivalry enabling the building of the mighty Keshik, and so it would not have been overly useful to date. As to the future, well who knows? The only thing for sure was that this workshop was a very long way away, and so very unlikely to come into the Khan’s possession in the foreseeable future.

With the discovery of gunpowder came the mass refit of the out dated pike units with the more modern projectile weapons. Over two divisions had access to the necessary barracks for the initial refits, with more to come on a rotational basis. New defensive units were built exclusively as these musket units, henceforth, because though they were more expensive to equip, their effectiveness over the old pike battalions was unquestioned.

The Khan meanwhile was waiting expectantly for Subedei to present his plan for the campaign against the Russians. The insults of the past, combined with the support to India during the Indian war were sleights that must not go unpunished. However, the Khan was aware that the Russians had achieved significant technological progress, and had the resources to put units of equal power into the field as the Khan’s own units. The Khan’s eagerness to commence this campaign was tempered with a concern at the potential Mongol casualty rate in such a more evenly matched campaign.

At last the day came, and Subedei presented his campaign plan to the high council of the Khan in Ta-tu, and once again it was a brilliant masterpiece. Subedei’s informants had identified for him the important locations of all the strategic materials that the Russians had for building these advanced weapons. The plan called for a lightning strike through the heart of Russia to capture these sources using the speed and agility of the Keshik. Once crippled, the Russians would be unable to field anything better than the Mayans or the Greeks before them.

The plan, of course, was unanimously approved. So in 580AD, before even the Greek campaign was finished, though Chebe assured the council that at this point it was as good as finished, the Russian ambassador was marched in to see the Khan. The declaration was made, and almost before the Russian ambassador had a chance to relay the message back to his superiors, Subedei had launched his assault.

Subedei had requisitioned a worker crew earlier, so that the forest to the north of Ta-tu was roaded, providing fast access to the Russian capital of Moscow. The second and third keshik armies were sent along this road to Moscow itself. Finally the world was to get the mighty showdown between the projectile weapons of the musket defenders and the fast power of the keshik! In the end, it was no contest as the multi-battalion forces of the armies were to prove too much for Moscow’s defenders, and no less than three of the much vaunted musket battalions plus one elite pike battalion were rendered asunder under Subedei’s onslaught. The pride of Russia itself, mighty Moscow had fallen!

Subedei was jubilant, because Moscow was the key to the whole campaign. With the fall of Moscow, the Yakutsk horses and the wines of Novgorod were cut off from the rest of the Russian empire. Even more importantly, the saltpetre resource of St Petersburg and the iron of Yekaterinburg were brought within the reach of Subedei’s forces.

True to the earlier commitment to the Byzantines, the Khan sent Yeh-lu back to the Byzantine Empire where the Byzantine-Mongol Pact was forged. Once again, Yeh-lu was the provider of gifts to Theodora, though certainly the Mongolian empire was the stronger of the two. A supply of Greek fur and a small annual tribute sealed the pact.

Historians have often pondered why the Khan saw it necessary to involve the Byzantines in this action at all, for surely the might of the Mongolian empire clearly surpassed the Russians at this stage, even if the technological prowess of the Russians was equivalent to the Mongols. The consensus opinion seems to be that with the Sun Tzu Art of War in their possession, the Byzantines were producing quality troops above the standard of many of the other armies of the day. This plus the fact that the Khan did not wish to face multiple adversaries simultaneously, and so with the Byzantines by his side, they clearly would not become an aggressor against him. On the other hand, it did mean ceding some valuable land into the Byzantine’s possession.

The fall of Moscow was quickly followed up with the attack on Yakutsk, and this time it was keshik against musket without the advantage of the army structure to aid the keshiks. But the fine training of Subedei proved effective, and though the muskets did turn the attack of one keshik battalion, two more were sufficient to rout the defenders and finally free the Yakutsk horse herd from their Russian oppressors!

The keshik units under Subedei pressed deeper into Russia, reaching the heights of the Russian Range and looked down into the city of St Petersburg and its prized saltpeter resource. The Russians finally responded to the invaders sending a longbow battalion against the keshiks entrenched in the mountain. These longbows proved substantially more effective than the Greek archers had been, and succeeded in retreating a keshik battalion, but this would prove a short lived victory.

It was at this time, just as the Greeks were wiped out, that Tokugawa made his move that would come to be remembered as Tokugawa’s Folly. Without invitation, Tokugawa sent seven archer battalions into the newly conquered territory by Sparta, with more coming in reserve. Weary of allowing the Japanese the element of surprise, the Khan issued Tokugawa with an immediate boot order.

Forcing the Japanese to act honourably gave the advantage back to the Khan, and though Ereens forces were largely being pulled back to be sent to the Russian front, these orders were quickly reversed, and an attack ordered up on the invaders. Ogodei’s army, three keshik battalions and a horse battalion were close enough to strike, but though they could not completely destroy the invader, the forests of Sparta ran red with Japanese blood that day, as fully five thousand Japanese perished in the onslaught.

There was more Japanese death to come. A spear battalion was caught attempting to infiltrate Mongolian territory by Thessalonica, and was quickly dispensed.

Some consequence of the ongoing Roman war was felt as well, at this time. The Scandinavians had a warrior battalion on deep scouting duty at the time of being brought into the war by the Dutch. After many centuries of journeying east, this battalion had come across the Mongolian frontier town of Eretria. As if to make some small contribution to the Viking war effort, this unit attempted the impossible and attacked a keshik battalion. In the end, the Keshik unit was caught by surprise owing to the complete audacity of the move, and fell back before the advancing Vikings. However, reinforcements were quickly dispatched, and this bold move became the last thing that unit ever did!

With the destruction of the Greeks, and war on both the Japanese and the Russians in full force, the Mongolian people could not be happier. As a tribute to the Great Khan, and recognising that now that Mongolia was starting to be seen as a world power, the mighty palace in Karakorum was becoming host to more and more visiting dignitaries. Consequently space was at a premium, so the Mongolian people elected to add an eastern wing for housing just such dignitaries.

Meanwhile the Byzantines were throwing themselves into the glory of battle with gusto with a massive troop build up in the mountains by Novgorod. The Khan coveted the rich vineyards by Novgorod, not because the Mongols lacked wine, but merely because it was a measure of his power just how much wine he could control. Therefore, Subedei was ordered to try and take Novgorod before the advancing forces of the Byzantines captured the city instead. Subedei attacked with two battalions of keshik, destroying one musket, but only damaging a second battalion, with a fresh battalion of muskets seen coming to the city fortifications as reinforcements. Clearly Subedei had to wait for more troops himself before pressing on. But it was not to be, as the Byzantines hurled themselves at the city, using the western version of the knight as the main assault troop, and taking advantage of the diversion caused by Subedei, Novgorod fell to the Byzantines, though not without losses.

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Nine continued

The Russians, too, make their boldest move of the whole war at this time. Clearly the Russians had been planning renewed hostilities against the Mongols, just as the Mongols long planned for this assault, because they put into the field almost two divisions of strength aimed at the Mongol outpost towns of Kaminaljuro and Uliastay. It was to be this force on the extended border that Russia shared with the Mongols that would prove to try the Mongols defences the most.

As outposts, these recently settled towns still only had small spear battalions as the garrisoning units. Thus a force of this magnitude was clearly a frightening eventuality. Subedei immediately requisitioned the forces of keshik from around Eretria, and ordered them to fast march to the towns to provide an active defence. However, long before these reinforcements could arrive, the first wave of the Russian forces struck.

The advanced Russian Expeditionary Force consisted of a full battalion of the much vaunted medieval infantry. Upon appraising the weak defences of his enemy, the Russian field commander seized upon an opportunity and launched the surprise attack. The Mongol spearmen fought valiantly, and held off wave after wave of the attacks of this better equipped enemy. In the end it came down to the pugnacious will to battle of the Mongols that proved decisive, as the Russian unit perished in battle. But there was more to come.

Kaminaljuro and Uliastay both played host to rushed additional spear battalions, as musket battalions were dispatched from Batshireet as well. As the first keshik battalion arrived, it did not even have time to regroup in Kaminaljuro, as it was rushed into the attack, dispensing with a medieval infantry battalion, but leaving another medieval infantry battalion, three archer battalions and warrior battalion in range to strike at the town.

The valiant spear defenders again held off the attack, but at the cost of a whole battalion of the spearmen. The Russians lost the warrior and two archer battalions, with the MI battalion severely wounded from the contest, but two more MI battalions moved up in reserve. What is more, the Russian second division, originally headed for Uliastay, observed that Subedei had had to split his forces in an effort to cover both towns, and so turned to add its support to the first.

Walls were rushed in Kaminaljuro, as two more keshik battalions arrived and attacked the enemy MI battalions. A horse battalion supported by two more keshik battalions attacked the Russian second division, and whilst all the Mongol attacks were successful, against these overwhelming numbers, it simply was not enough! The Russian units, sensing an opportunity, bound together and attacked as one. For the loss of only one more archer battalion, the Russians killed two spear battalions and three wounded keshik battalions to storm the town.

Subedei unswayed by the loss of the outpost town pushed on into the Russian core. In the twenty year assault on the all important St Petersburg, Subedei’s forces were once more introduced to the powerful Russian longbows. However, the concentrated force of the army organisation proved too much even for the defensive power of these weapons, and so even though an individual keshik battalion was retreated by the musket defenders, eventually the determination of the second and third keshik armies could not be denied. Four more Russian musket battalions and a longbow battalion were swept aside as the critical Russian source of saltpeter was prized from the Russian’s grasp.

In the south, the Japanese seemed to have an almost inexhaustible supply of archer battalions to throw at Ereens forces, even though Ereen’s position started rapidly improving with the return of departing keshik battalions. In action by Sparta, Corinth and Delphi, Ereen’s units dispatched no less than seven battalions of Japanese arches in 610AD alone. Then in a move determined to make the Japanese pay a price for their treachery, the hero of the Greek campaign, Kublai, led his army to Mount Herakleia, and then into the Japanese town of Herakleia itself. The spear garrison was no match for Kublai, and the Japanese were suddenly put on the defensive as the town fell.

General Chebe meanwhile was the bearer of good news for the Khan. The elite force of Keshiks now comprised the strength of a full five divisions, or fifty thousand men, and still the Mongols were below their unit upkeep maximum, in no small part due to the rapid city acquisition that had occurred in the recent past. In addition, as per instructions, the right of passageway with the mighty German Empire was renewed, but perhaps in a move signalling future intentions, the right of passage for the Chinese empire was not!

Meanwhile, the Japanese continued their aggressive assault with archer battalions, attacking the elite horse battalion of field commander, Mongkel. In a glorious battle on defence, Mongkel’s ill-equipped battalion defeated fully three archer battalions in a row to prove his worth as a leader.

Unfortunately, the Japanese, like the Russians before them, had an overabundance of troops in the area, and more archer battalions yet in range of Mongkel’s unit. And so it was that a fourth archer battalion should step out of the Satsuma forests that day, and finally end the dreams of the great leader Mongkel, and his fine fighting men.

The Russian ruler, Catherine, came begging for peace at this point, but she was left in no doubt that there can be no peace! And, it certainly would not come while Mongols remained under the command of a Russian overseer. The fight continued. Both sides lost a battalion by St Petersburg, the Mongols a keshik battalion, the Russians a longbow battalion. By Quirigua an invading Russian pike was cut down by an elite sword unit.

On the southern front, the Japanese lost a further six battalions to the Mongols’ one as the assault on Satsuma commenced. Meanwhile, in the shock move of the millennium, the Scandinavians managed to persuade the Mayan leader, Smoke-Jaguar to renew war against the Mongols. Up until this point the Mayans had sensibly remained very quiet and out of eyesight as much as possible. That is they had done everything they could to avoid bringing about this war, and the certain destruction of their civilisation. It was known that Smoke-Jaguar had been taking to his special weed in the Tikal forest with ever greater frequency after his crushing defeat at the hands of the Khan’s forces, and so it is suspected that this decision was a last roll of the dice through a smoke filled haze. Certainly, this agreement signed the inevitable death warrant for the Mayan civilisation.

At the other end of the sanity scale, King William of the Netherlands made a personal trip to Karakorum in a bid to end the state of phoney war between the Dutch and the Mongols, and to renew his friendship with the Khan. This straight up peace was accepted, because the Dutch had proven useful trading allies in the past, and the Khan was starting to become weary of the ability of distant foes to continue to sign up allies against his forces.

Theodora also took the time out to visit Karakorum, for the Byzantine’s outstanding right of passageway agreement was once again up for renewal as well. The Khan agreed to this deal, even realising that this would mean more Byzantine forces clogging up Mongol highways, and interfering in Russian city conquests, but such was the price of alliance. Besides, it is clear that the Khan had no interest in pursuing the very distant Russian cities to the west, and so his ally would need the Mongolian highways to send troops after them!

The iron city of Yekaterinburg was the final Russian resource city, and the remaining high priority conquest on Subedei’s list. This took his Keshik units across the Russian Mountain Range as the best defended approach to the city. En route, Subedei was forced to dispatch several battalions of keshiks to deal with two longbow and one spear battalions on the Russian steppes.

Mongol’s on the Russian steppes

The second army moved to reinforce the attack on Yekaterinburg, whilst the third army moved inland, peeling back the fog of war to reveal the silk city of Smolensk. This was an unexpected surprise, as silks would add a fifth luxury to the Mongolian empire. The initial assault on Yekaterinburg was undertaken by five keshik battalions, but in a bloody encounter the Mongols lost a battalion to the defenders two musket battalions, and yet the defence held strong. But this defiance was not to last, as the second keshik army reached the city, and destroyed the remaining musket battalion to deprive the Russians of yet another city, and their last strategic resource to boot!

At Kaminaljuro, the only unit within reach of the city was an elite sword battalion. The field commander was in fact the brilliant son of the great Ogodei, leader of the first keshik army. Ogodei junior attacked the Russian oppressors killing an archer battalion, but still leaving a wounded medieval infantry unit in possession of the city. In this glorious battle, the son proved his mettle and was whisked away to Uliastay to form a sixth keshik army.

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Nine continued

The Russian second division received more punishment from Subedei’s healthy units there, and a further three thousand Russians perished against the might of the keshik.

With Smoke-Jaguar’s invitation to attack him in hand, General Ereen was entrusted with the task of removing the annoying island city of Calakmul that just so happens to also be the current capital of the dying Mayan empire. To free up units from needing to cover his back, Ereen sent four keshik battalions in to do this task, dispensing with a javelin battalion en route to the town itself. In the ensuing battle for the town, Smoke-Jaguar succeeded in inspiring his defending spears to a fanatical frenzy resulting in the spilling of the blood of one thousand Mongolian lives. This was not enough, however, and the assaulting keshiks swept two battalions of spears aside to claim the town.

On the southern front, the war with Japan continued to intensify. Ogodei’s forces had finally trekked through the dense forests surrounding Satsuma, and reached the gates of the city itself. Although an elite horse unit was retreated against the Japanese spear units, the defenders could not withstand Ogodei’s attack, and thus the second Japanese city fell. A spear battalion on its way to reinforce Satsuma was cut down by a keshik battalion, while another held out against a damaged keshik battalion, and a third claimed the lives of the attacking keshik.

Around Herakleia, the Japanese had their largest gathering of force yet, and it was starting to take its toll on the limited resources available to Ereen. The extensive forests here as well limited the advantages of the keshik’s superior mobility, and gave the Japanese an element of stealth in their counterattacks. As keshik units went one for one against the entrenched Japanese archers, the army of Kublai attacked again and again, until it was brought to the brink. Though claiming two more spear, and two more archer battalions, the battle weary troops were left exhausted and unable to pursue the battle further with still more Japanese troops closing in. Furthermore, the newly captured city of Herakleia was left with a very vulnerable, battle-worn keshik battalion with still more Japanese closing in here as well. Further battles would result in the certain loss of Kublai’s army and Herakleia, a result that would be unacceptable to Chebe and unthinkable to the Khan. General Ereen had no choice but to seek peace before the Japanese divined the true weakness of the Mongol forces there.

In the peace negotiations, the clever Ereen was able to extract two greek slave worker crews as war reparations from the Japanese. The Japanese commanders were left never realising the tactical superiority of their position at the time.

As the Khan had an exploring Curragh in the waters of the now neutral Netherlands, King William politely requested that the boat departed their sovereign land. Instead, the Khan offered to extend the growing friendship between the two civilisations by offering a right of passageway that was duly accepted. The Mongols junior partner in the war against Russia decided to take this friendship a step further and invited the Dutch into the Russian War. In a largely symbolic gesture, King William agreed to this as well.

In a move symbolising the very real ongoing threat to Russia, Subedei pressed his attack on to the silk city of Smolensk. Here for the first time, the Russians were starting to feel the lack of their important resources, as only spear and pike battalions were available to protect the city. The third keshik army killed both, but at the end of its charge, it was unable to press the campaign on to finish the longbow battalion left.

At Yekaterinburg, another longbow battalion was quickly dispensed.

At Kaminaljuro, the all important battle to free the captured city raged on. It was so distasteful for Mongols to be subjected to Russian oppression, that Subedei was forced to adopt a high risk strategy to speed the liberation process. In the ensuing bloody assault, the former battalion of Ogodei junior perished, along with a recent musket battalion used in the attack against what was believed to be a heavily damaged medieval infantry battalion. These costs proved worth it in the end, as two keshik battalions cleared a spear and an archer battalion, a spear battalion killed the medieval infantry battalion, and though loaded with damaged keshik battalions, Ogodei junior’s army defeated the remaining damaged archer battalion to reclaim Kaminaljuro. The cheer from the freed Mongol population that night could be heard almost as far as Karakorum itself!

In the great Roman war, things were not progressing well for the Romans. King Ragnar Lodbrok was the next to realise this, and chose to abandon his erstwhile ally, Rome. He offered the Khan a straight up peace agreement, and in an effort to contain the collateral damage arising from the Roman conflict, the Khan accepted.

In a complete reversal of sides, the Vikings then signed a military alliance with the Americans to aid in the total destruction of the Russians. The Germans meanwhile continued their culture push with the completion of the engineering feat of the Sistine Chapel. Then in a further broadening of the conflict against Rome, they signed in the aid of the Incans. However, Caesar did succeed in shortening his exposed flanks by getting the untrustworthy Portuguese to back out of the conflict. This was an early departure per the terms of the Mongol-Portuguese agreement, but after the past behaviour of Prince Henry towards the Mongols, it was hardly surprising. It also provided further ammunition for an inevitable Mongol – Portuguese conflict, but that was to be sometime in the future.

Yeh-lu’s informants advised him that the powers in the west now possessed the technologies of music theory and chemistry as well as the sought after banking. Yeh-lu decided on an alternate strategy for catching up to the tech leaders at this time. Instead of saving up the financial resources to purchase these needed techs, the Mongols would complete research in a unique technology of their own, and then barter this to the other civilisations getting a discount off several technologies in the process. The Khan approved this concept, and so with renewed funding the sages of the Mongols were able to promise to deliver the secrets to the printing press within the next three decades.

With the war against the Russians progressing so well, the Khan further believed that the Mongols could reduce their absolute drive for greater military and build something else. Yeh-lu, in one of his more persuasive moments, convinced the Khan to build some institutions of higher learning in the Mongolian core. While the knowledge for these universities had existed for some time now, it had yet to be put to good use within the Mongolian empire. However, if the Mongols were to rely on the research of their sages to some extent, then the sages should be given every assistance in this regard, and so at least some universities were essential.

The Mongolian people were once again excited by these developments, and so volunteered to build a much needed west wing for the palace in Karakorum.

The Byzantines continued their pursuit of the Russians, beating the Mongols to the town of Kranarysk. In a fierce battle of western style knight versus Russian musket, the numbers of the Byzantines eventually prevailed, and thus a second Russian city fell to the eastern power.

Subedei’s assault of Smolensk continued. This time he deployed individual keshik battalions to destroy the rushed spear and remaining longbow battalions there to capture the city. In the town’s surrounds, another keshik battalion destroyed an advancing Russian medieval infantry battalion.

Next, Subedei’s force turned to the northern Russian town of Kharbarovsk, using the speed of the third keshik army to beat the rival Byzantine commander to the chase. With movement to spare, the third army engaged and destroyed a pike battalion in the town, but the remaining two spear battalions were left to the keshik battalions bringing up the rear. However, though these defenders were just antiquated spear units, they fought bravely, and were able to claim the lives of a thousand Mongol attackers, before ceding the town to the Mongols.

By St Petersburg, as the keshik forces of Subedei made an active defence in destroying two more battalions of medieval infantry, and field commander Chagatai was recognised for his superior tactics in these battles. As a reward, Chagatai was commission to form his own keshik army as well.

In the far west, with the destruction of the two divisions of Russian troops, (in all more than twenty thousand Russian had perished in the ultimately failing campaign here), Chebe ordered that the remaining Mayan town of Piedras Negras be taken, and so remove that annoyance once and for all. To this end, Subedei ordered Jochi junior’s battalion of keshiks to destroy the approaching Mayan javelin battalion. In this glorious battle, another leader suitable for command of an army was born.

 

[Sandman2003]

Chapter Nine continued (final)

Jochi junior was ordered back to the relative safety of Batshireet to await fresh keshik units to fill his army. Meanwhile, the assault on the hill town of Piedras Negras commenced. As there was a limited reserve for fighting this battle, it stretched out over twenty years even though there were only two spear battalions defending. The Mayans were not able to inflict any significant casualties to the Mongols as their civilisation vanished from the known world.

As the race for Russian cities continued, Subedei employed Keshiks to effectively block the roads travelled by the Byzantines. In the division of the spoils of war, Subedei wished to ensure that these Russian towns along the Mongolian border fell into Mongol hands. It was not that he had anything specifically against the Byzantines, but the military strategist in him realised that the existence of foreign cities within the borders of Mongol territory, like the Mayan city of Calakmul before, posed a potential future security risk, and one best avoided now. The Byzantines would serve Mongol interests better by going after the distant Russian cities behind the borders of Germany and America, and leave these more useful towns to the Mongolian army!

Next to fall was the large town of Vladivostok, as two keshik battalions, and Chagatai’s newly formed army dispensed with four spear battalions entrenched there. At Bryansk the Russians still had three musket battalions, and were able to claim the lives of two battalions of keshiks in the bloody fighting. But here as elsewhere, the muskets and final spear battalion could not stop the irresistible force of Subedei’s assault, and the Russian town fell.

Meanwhile, the third and second keshik armies combined to assault Orenberg, destroying a longbow battalion en route, though in the end it took only the second army to crush the musket and spear battalions garrisoned there.

This left four more Russian towns, but only two more of interest to the Mongols as Kazan and Magadan were on the Mongolian border. The latter town was the point from which the Russians had launched their vicious assault on Kaminaljuro, and so it was only fitting for it to receive some of the same. But Kazan was first as the third army joined forces with Chagatai’s army and caught the defence in a pincher move, three further spear battalions were crushed as the town fell.

Finally, at Magadan, the hero of Kaminaljuro, Jochi junior, was to return, but this time in command of the seventh keshik army. Jochi junior’s assault was furious to behold. The three spear battalions had no chance and were spared no quarter, and to a man they were massacred. However, this mighty fight was to be the last action the Mongols committed to in the Russian War. Though two other Russian towns yet existed, Subedei reasoned that the diversion of force to chase these two towns in the far reaches of the west was simply not worth the risk, and called a halt to further combat. If the Byzantines were unhappy with their spoils so far, then let them chase these remaining towns.

And so peace came at last to the Mongolian empire, for although they were still at war with the mighty Romans, the Mongols had yet to see a single Roman unit, and feared them not. But just as the citizens celebrated these new victorious and the affluence of the new peace, a new threat was rising, and this was to prove the mightiest foe of all, as the world’s other major super power would be brought into direct conflict with the rising Mongol nation.

 

[T-Money]

Wow. Great update, the longer the better as I always say! It looks as though you're building up a truly massive empire now, I imagine corruptionis almost unearable.

OH, and BTW, is that 4 GMLs or 5?