Sweeping the Steepes

[OlafTheBrave]

The year is 1205, The Grand Prince of Russia, Ysevelod III surveys his small empire and decides he must leave more for his sons. The are rich kingdoms to the west to trade with and vast untamed lands at home to be tamed. There is also a need to spread the faith of the people. The empire is divided and this must be rectified at once. With this in mind he orders his Chamberlain the Grand Duke of Novogorod, Miloslav Orekhov (L6 P0 D0 C1 A6) to begin building ship building facilities. Sturdy men will be needed to tame these lands so he orders a monastery constructed in Moscow.

In three years things are progressing well with the construction efforts on the coast so he orders Orekhov to subjugate the pagan Finns. In this effort he is entirely succsesfull and awarded a rank. The royal emissary Guba Shchukin is successful as well at persuading the people of Chernigov to join our cause so the empire is now united. Within a few years there are several offers of Alliance and the bloodline is secured by the marriage of Ingebord of Denmark to the royal heir.

In the last year of his life trade is begining to flourish with Denmark, whos daughter married his eldest, and he sees his loyal govenor the Grand Prince of Kiev, Maksim Domaslavov (L6 P0 D0 C2 A3) successfully defended Kiev from the Lithuanians supported by the pagans from Khazar. His small force of three Steep Calvary, Horse Archers and Peasants manage to hold strong and win the day. Domaslavov is a bit pleased with his efforts (secret pride vice grrrr) and all the prisoners are put to the sword as an example.



Grand Prince Yesevolod IV orders Domaslavov to capture Lithuania in response to their audacity and as he himself is a proud man he departs for Sweden on his own where unfortunately he meets his doom. Domaslavov is successful in storming the castle and is rewarded by the new emperor with an increase in rank (back to 1 star).



With the demise of Ysevold IV his brother Yuri II ascends to the throne. He further expands his fathers trade network as this has begun to bring riches to the realm. With an eye to the steppes he begins the training of horsemen and improvements to their stables. It is a stable time in the empire and as its coffers expand he looks again to the west. He calls for his fathers trusted man Shchukin and dispatches him to Livonia with a chest full of gold for this is a developed land that may be better had through bribery than conquest. The nobles agree to the terms but the peasants are of a different mind. They soon however learn what it means to resist Russian might.



Things are not so well however as the pagans of Volhynia invade Kiev and the token force is unable to hold. Domaslavov is dispatched from Lithuania and the rebels decide a fight is not to their taste. They did pillage the provence and this is a setback to the growth of the empire. The last pagan lands within the bounds of the empire are conquered as they had no taste for gold. In 1231 a vast tribe of horsemen sweep across the steps overrunning all the petty fiefdoms up to the empires borders. An alliance is sought but not accepted.



An useasy peace is maintaned for a decade. With the dispatch of troops to pagan held Prussia they sense an oppertunity and strike hard. They strike at Moscow, Pereyaslav, and Kiev. The newly trained arbalest troops from Livonia prove the wisdom of the gold spent in its conquest. The battle of Moscow is particularly fierce and with an intense storm raging the Mongol Hordes withdraw. They are repulsed on all fronts and perhaps will again turn their attentions to the south.



Alas this is not to be as the next year the Khan leads a force of 2260 men against Yuri II's paltry 482. A fierce battle ensues pitting heavy cavalry against sharp pikes. The fighting is intense but soon the Grand Prince's forces have the upper hand. The Khan foolishly alows himself to be captured and is placed under guard by Livonian Axemen. All is not well however as there are many mounted archers and no swift cavalry in the northern forces. A tactical withdrawal is made to the walls of the city. The arrows are all spent and the situation looks dire indeed. Grand Prince calls for the execution of the prisoners. After seeing their leader put to the sword the lust for battle has gone out of the Mongols hearts and although savagely tired the Boyars under Yuri's command see them off.



Pereyeslav is invaded by mostly Archer troops and the fighting is fierce indeed. The cavalry under Zaiats Domazhirov (L6 P1 D1 C1 A3) is green and not a sturdy force. The meager deployment of pikes proves its worth and the day is won, out of a force of 582, 273 are killed and 261 captured at a cost of 224 men. Almost have the forces under the dukes command. This does however please the Grand Prince and another rank is bestowed.

The invasion of Prussia proceeds where the pagans to the west seek their last refuge having been driven out of Moldavia by the Poles. Our staunch ally the Danes send a force to assist Grechin Gubin (L7 P0 D0 C0 A4) and his troop of 600 horsemen from the steeps. The fighting is brutal and in the midst of it sadly our ally is defeated. The day is held and much reknown is heaped upon Gubin. (Skilled Risky Attacks, Skilled Attacker, Scant Mercy, Butcher, Approachable Manner). His efforts are rewarded with an increase in rank. For his efforts in devolping trade income and loyalty to the empire the govenor of Lithuania Guba Ivanovich (L7 P1 D4 C0 A4) is granted the title of the Metropolitan of Moscow.

It is now been 40 years since his father began expanding the empire and Yuri II has gained quite some status himself, especially with the defeat of the Mongols. (Weak Principles, Great Builder, Swift Justice, Skilled Last Stand, Skilled Defender, Scant Mercy) Sadly the second battle of Moscow has affected his first born Vladimir and the Grand Duke of Novogorod as both are starting to act a bit strange. However Vladimir is a promising youth with a martial talent to equal his fathers so the future looks secure.