Golden Horde - Scourge From The East

EvilSanta, Saulta- Thanks, it was a fun one to write and play too.

Farquharson - Glad to hear you are enjoying it I'm looking forward to playing the next round, this war is proving to be quite fun so far.

Lurken -Cheers, It wasn't too hard to repay the loan thanks to Georgian, Trebizondian(?) and Theodoran generosity. Though it would be nice to have a third option in the loan repayment scheme, Behead Lender.

coz1 -Uzbek has been growing far too much and I'll have to hope this strategy works too if left much longer the revolts will make it nigh on impossible.

jwolf - The game was a popular pastime amongst many children in the horde. Apparently they also played an early version of paper, scissors rock where known as Ulugh, Dawlat, Baraq. Dawlat beats Ulugh, Baraq beats Dawlat and Ulugh beats Baraq

The Suebian -Good to hear.

CatKnight -I'll keep yours and the generals advice in mind when I'm next playing. I think it may be in the 40's that it gets real bad

Jimbo_Jools said:

Bloody good as always, Wellington

Click to expand...

Thanks for that I'll be trying to update again today but defintely within the next two

Storey - War is very profitable business for the Horde, in fact its really about the only profitable thing about them.



Just completed the next round. Mixed fortunes for the Horde. War completed but not before one big nasty event could fire right in the middle....

Ulughs Reign: Part 3

January of 1434 was a harsh winter. Snow didn't uncover the ground for even a day. Ulugh's troops felt it, the people of the Horde felt it, even the land itself seemed to feel it as all lay quiet beneath it's white blanket. But none felt it so much as the invading Uzbeks.
Unwisely the Uzbeks had chosen to invade the Horde just prior to mid-winter. Two armies laid siege to cities of the Horde. But they were in turn attacked by bitter winter, the steppes greatest defence. Starved, frozen and demoralised the Uzbeks thought it could get no worse. Ulugh proved them wrong
His riders experienced in moving through a winter environment, swiftly struck at the remaining Uzbek soldiers. Both battles were quick and left the white blanket over the land stained red. Ulugh remained true to his word, no Uzbek returned home.

Seeing the Uzbeks defeated so decisively the small nation of Sibir decided it wanted a part of the action and declared war on Uzbek. Within the Uzbek nation pressure was put on the Khan to end the bloody (for the Uzbeks) war. He sent an emissary to Ulugh offering peace.

The Uzbeks prove they have a sense of humour​

Ulugh had a good laugh at the offer and even let the emissary return home alive since the joke had put him in such good spirits.

June saw the creation of a considerable new Uzbek army sixteen thousand strong in Tenghiz. Apparently the Uzbeks were preparing to invade again. Ulugh sent his general Zueidina south with six thousand men to besiege Emba. The Uzbeks fell for it hook line and sinker. Their army marched south to try and crush the small force. But en-route as they marched through Aralsk Ulugh and his army smashed into them and in typical Horde fashion killed everyone.

August of 1434 saw the completion of a conversion attempt in Tambow. It failed, even inciting a small rebellion. But the small rebel army posed little threat. Ulugh ignored it, his troops were required elsewhere and winter would neutralise it.

The war was now firmly in Ulugh's hands. Uzbek's remaining troops numbered in the few thousand while Ulugh's were measured in the tens of thousands. Even Shirvan who had begun a siege in Tenghiz had more troops than Uzbek.

Ulugh gave his troops leave over winter in order to freshen them up for the summer offensive of 1435.
In January Ulugh began preparations for a raid that would take him to the far south of Uzbek territory looting as they went.

Just as Ulugh left on his raid his treacherous brother Ahmad led an uprising in the Crimea. Azow and Crimea even pledged allegiance to Ahmad straight away. Before Ulugh could react the Khanate of Crimea declared itself independent led not by Ahmad but by another traitor Hajii Giray

Ulugh decided that though matters were very bad he would continue with the war against Uzbek. No point giving up the advantage there. Crimea could be dealt with later. However things were to go from bad to worse. In March local rulers of Jedisan, Lugansk, Donetsk and Krementjug decided their best interests lay in Crimea and switched their loyalty too.

Ulugh swore that the Crimeans and their cowardly lords would pay with every drop of blood in their body. Their demise was inevitable but would wait a little longer while the demise of the Uzbeks was completed.

In April Ulugh received his first good news for a while, Emba, Uzbek and Kyzylkum (the capital) had fallen to Horde armies. He immediately ordered that Bukhara, Ust Urt and Ichim be the next to fall.

The next few months were relatively quiet. Tenghiz was captured by Shirvan and Chagatai Khanate decided to get in on the action too. Declaring war upon the beleaguered Uzbeks. As a means of approval Ulugh sent the daughter of a lord to the Chagatai Khan as a gift.

December saw the return of winter to the steppe. Ulugh pulled his troops out of Ust Urt preferring to lose the siege to Shirvan than his men. They were sent even further north to begin a siege of Jalutovorsk as soon as the snows melted.

By June Bukhara had fallen all that remained was for Jalutovorsk to fall before peace would be made.

February of 1437 Ulugh faced a major dilemma, whether or not to enforce Jizya, a tax relating to agents responsible for maintaining control of the Hindu population in south east Asian provinces. Ulugh elected to enforce it gaining 125 ducats in the process. He remained slightly confused as to why he even had to decide though being neither a south east Asian nation nor having any Hindu provinces.

In April Sibir was invited back into the alliance, something they accepted glady. The last Uzbek force also began to try and retake Kyzylkum. But it would be too late. In May Jalutovorsk fell and Ulugh made an offer the Uzbeks couldn't refuse. In all six provinces changed hands.

Three, Emba, Ichim and Jalutovorsk to the Horde and Karaganda, Tenghiz and Ust Urt to Shirvan as a reward for valiant fighting to Shirvan. Of course the treasury of Uzbek was enptied too and split between the Horde and Shirvan.

Peace again reigned over the Horde but as before it would be short lived.

Ulugh collected his victorious troops and brought them back to Volgograd in preparation for the next war....