Rebuilding the Great Empire - Timurids AAR (Death and Taxes MOD)

Chapter 71

With the multiple defeats, the Novgorodian ruler became desperate enough to call on Serbia to aid them. At most, the Serbians would send insults to anger the sultan. Otherwise, their troops cannot possible join the fight. Of course, they were happy to not be part of this grueling war. In Russia, the Russians continued to suffer heavy casualties. With the Mughal regiments occupying more provinces, the Russians were struggling to replenish the numbers of soldiers they were losing. Their only hope of recovering would be Sweden turning the tide of war in their favor. With the continuous victory over their enemy, the sultan decided that the land technology wasn't urgent. Thus, he continued to improve the navy hoping to catch up on the Russian navy.



The Mughals made further progress before they found an enemy that was rumored invincible. The Swedish regiment, fifteen men strong, has arrived to fight back the Mughals. With triple the soldiers, the Swedish only suffered minor casualties and retreated to safety. With this encounter, it became obvious that the Swedish were strong and cannot be taken lightly. Thus, another general was recruited to fight this threat. General Sharif was hired to lead another regiment to aid the other general. The generals hope a pincer assault against the Swedish regiments will route and destroy the Swedish regiments.



In Nizhny Novgorod, a great battle was fought against a Swedish regiment with a few Russian troops in the mix. Despite losing more men, the Mughals were able to break the morale of their enemy who were quickly routed. The enemy split but the decision was easy. The Swedish regiment was a greater threat and became the priority. Thus, the Swedish regiment was annihilated in Vetluga. The victory not only showed that the Swedish army wasn't invincible but it made the Swedish ruler realize that this wasn't a war he wanted part in. Therefore, he immediately ordered a diplomat to reach Mughal to ask for a white peace.

Chapter 72

With the Swedish out of the war, the victory for the Mughals was ensured. As a result, the Mughal scholars continued their research in naval technology. In Russia, the Novgorodian regiment proved that the war was far from over. They still continued mass recruitment to push back the invaders. In Vetluga, the Russian regiment, numbered thirty one thousand, was trying to catch an isolated Mughal regiment of guard. Outnumbered and without reinforcements, the Mughal regiment looked destined to be destroyed but the general was calm. Taking on a defensive stance, the Mughal general was successful in repelling the enemy while suffering quite a bit of casualties. This defeat was not what the Russians needed. When the news of the defeat reached the Russian capital, the morale of the Russian recruits dropped. It became clear to them that this war was indeed lost.



Despite continuous victory in the west, there were some disturbing news in the east. Bengal was defeated by Wu in a large scale war. Even though Bengal suffered little, the news of their defeat was disturbing nonetheless. The Chinese powers are pushing westwards where the Mughals were the most vulnerable. With most of their forces fighting in Russia, a war with the Chinese wouldn't end well. Following their war with Bengal, the two Chinese powers are unlikely to declare war soon. However, that still didn't mean the sultan should let his guard down. The Mughal sultan immediately ordered more border patrols along the Mughal-Tianwan border to check for possible movements of Chinese troops. The general knew that they cannot extend this war for too long. Thus, they regrouped a large force to chase down the Russian regiment that was routed in Vetluga. In Murom, the Russians were defeated and were in full retreat. In Pensa, this regiment, the last hope for the Russians, was annihilated.



With only thirteen thousand active soldiers, the Russians practically lost hope. They were waiting for the inevitable peace offer that would very likely see their lands taken by the Asian power. However, the lack of centralization saw many local powers still resisting. As a result, the sieges were still slow as the Mughals needed to take provinces one at a time. With the harsh winters, the sieges were slow and many men died from attrition. While the slow sieges went on, the Mughals continued their advances in naval tech. As for Bengal, the defeat had them vulnerable to rebels. Kokrah broke free and was fighting for their independence. The decline of the Bengals has appeared to have begun.

Chapter 73

With the constant wars for the Mughals, trading has taken a heavy hit and thus the scholars have neglected it for a long time. However, enough time has passed for a small breakthrough to trading. The benefits of the breakthrough are negligible but the sultan knows that, when the time of peace does arrive, trading will bring a lot more benefits than taxes ever will. As for the war against Novgorod, a peace deal was finally agreed on by both sides. By suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of the Mughals, the Russians had to agree to any offer from the Mughals. The sultan made sure he got everything possible from the war. Not only did he demand many provinces but he also demanded some ducats and the annul of treaty with Sweden. The loss of provinces and the severed relations with Sweden would heavily weaken the Russians and the sultan eagerly waits for the next war.



In the east, Bengal has managed to control her rebel problems. She also mustered enough troops to end the war of independence against Kokrah. The Bengali sultan hasn't given his fight for control of the region but that still doesn't ease the situation. The Chinese still look to expand westwards and the Bengali sultan knows that he must make all the precautions to prevent another invasion. The Mughal sultan has the same idea. He has encouraged the Mughal scholars to make further progress in land and naval tech. A stronger army and a stronger navy will ensure successful conquests. With a good chunk of Russia in his grasp, the sultan looks to continue his conquest over rest of Europe.



The situation in Russia took an interesting turn when a split took place in Russia. When Muscowy nobles joined Novgorod, they were promised victory against the Mughals. Following the defeat, the Muscowy nobles realized their mistake and broke away from the Novgorod. As a result, a war of independence took place between the Russians which could've seen Russia split in half. Lithuania, with their old ties with Muscowy nobles, agreed to aid Muscowy in their fight for independence. The Mughals, entertained by the events in Russian, continued their technological advances. The scholars learned of theocracy which the sultan would never agree upon. However, the breakthrough was still enlightening nonetheless.



Not long after, the Mughal sultan died peacefully in bed. After great victories over the Russians, he was to be remembered as a Mughal hero. As for his heir, there were some oppositions with a rising of a pretender. While the new sultan fought for the throne, his son was born. It didn't take too long for the pretender to be executed. With the throne secured along with its heir, the sultan only had to wait patiently for the truce with Russia to end.

dragonizer said:

someone that could standup and fight they must be destroyed or others might get idea's HA HA
some very fine work!!

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Thanks! Our goal is to instill terror in our enemies. They must learn that they will be part of the Mughal empire sooner or later.

Chapter 74

The war against Lithuania has thrown Novgorod into chaos. With their army decimated by the Mughals, the Lithuanian army met little resistance. It was a simple strategy of how to siege the Novgorod provinces as quickly as possible. For the new sultan, he knew that he mustn't allow Lithuania to get free reign over the Novgorod. Thus, a new Jihad was declared as soon as the truce was over. The war was basically a race to occupy territory. Lithuania has already occupied a large amount of provinces and anymore provinces will get them anything they want from Novgorod. Thus, Mughal regiments were configured into full mobility and the race was on. Luckily, the previous war has isolated a sizable Novgorod territory in the east where the Lithuanian regiments cannot reach. Novogorod has began their colonial expansion eastwards into Siberia. The constant war has resulted in the lack of funds in the growth of the colony and thus the colonies has remained small. Seeing that the people in Siberia are in need of proper leadership, the Mughal generals took control.



The Bengals in the east has dealt with their internal struggles. They began to take their sights on their southwestern neighbors that look ripe for picking. With overwhelming number, the war against Reddi was ended quickly with more territory gained. The Bengal sultan has yet to give up on his dreams in retaining dominance in the region. Instead of angering his Chinese neighbors, he began to take on the weaker neighbors to further solidify his position. The Mughal sultan definitely didn't bothered with the situation of Bengal. He was more interested in the progresses in his colonies. One of the more developed colonies has proven to be abundant with fur.



In Russia, Novgorod continued to encounter bad luck. As if the race to occupy Novgorod wasn't enough, the Prussians saw it a perfect opportunity to expand their interests in Russia. To make matters worse, Bohemia and Brandenburg also joined. The entry of this new player meant bad news for Novgorod. Their neighbors have now sensed blood and all wanted a piece of the Russian pie. For the Mughals, this meant bad news as well. The Mughal sultan had no intention of sharing Russia with other nations. If other nations get a piece of Russia, the conquest of all of Russia would be a lot tougher. As for the newly seized colony, the sultan didn't waste time to send some of his people there. With the arrival of new people, the locals were converted over to the Mongol culture.



With the war in Russia raging on, the Mughals managed to get some claims on provinces in India. Despite India not being the primary target, gaining extra provinces would help fund the war effort. The colony that the Mughal seized has exchanged hands a few times. However, this would end shortly as Novgorod's control over Siberia was falling. The race for the western half of Novgorod has been in Lithuania's favor. With a big head start, much of western Novgorod has been occupied. Yet, a peace deal hasn't be agreed on by those two sides. Thus, the Mughals can only finish their sieges and wait to see if any opportunities arise.



Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 12
Trade: 11
Naval: 17
Land: 24

Chapter 75

With much of Novgorod territory occupied by Lithuania, the Mughal sultan didn't have enough leverage to get the territory he wanted. Hoping that the Lithuanians and Russians can agree on a peace deal soon, the sultan decided to let the war continue. To pass the time, the sultan continued the peaceful expansion of colonization. With the newly seized colony in Siberia, the way to colonize eastwards has opened up. With many colonists eager to start new lives, the colonizing frenzy has begun. While new colonies began to sprang up, older colonies were starting to mature into small towns. Pegaya Orda, once a contested battleground between the Mughals and Russians, has finally became self-sustaining.



Meanwhile, the people of Mughals' vassals have began to ask to join the great Mughal empire. In Kerey, a Kazakh controlled province, the people asked the sultan to include them into the great empire. They even made the claims for the sultan. However, the sultan felt it wasn't quite the right moment. Despite accepting the claim, the sultan was still hesitant about incorporating Kazakh into his nation. The colonization effort was still in full swing with another province self-sustaining.



For the sultan, these were boring times that could only be made fun one way. With Novogorod fully occupied now, there wasn't anything to do in Russia. Thus, the sultan decided to take his sights on the Hindu states that were once under the control of Deccan. The local Hindu states all banded together to fight against the Mughals. Normally, this type of war would be too easy. However, the sultan was forced to put majority of his troops in Russia due to rumors of Lithuania putting their sights on Mughal territory. Thus, there were only a few regiments in the area and the numbers were roughly equal. A large encounter first took place in Arcot where a tough battle resulted in the Hindu coalition routing. The victory was much needed as the empire cannot afford to send anymore troops to the area. The routing area retreated two separate paths and the Mughal regiment was forced to choose one.



The Madurai regiment was targeted and they were completely annihilated in Tirupati. It would appear that the Mughals had an upper hand. That is, until the arrival of the Gingee troops. With an excellent general and large number of soldiers, they won a great victory Velanadu. The victory greatly hindered the Mughal's ability to take on local troops. Thus, the generals ordered immediate recruitment from local provinces hoping to get the numbers needed to take on the enemy. Luckily, Hindu coalition wasn't very coordinated and thus they haven't gotten much sieging done. The extra time was what the Mughals needed to regroup and prepare a counteroffensive.



During the recruitment, the recruiters found more than soldiers to replenish the regiments. A young man, proven very promising in his ability to command regiments, was also discovered. With the unfavorable start in India against the Hindu coalition, the young man was immediately promoted to a general to lead one of the newly formed regiments to fight the Hindus.



Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 12
Trade: 12
Naval: 19
Land: 24

Chapter 76

Gingee regiment has began the counteroffensive. The Mughals were split apart to siege and thus they were easy targets. The new general ordered the retreat of the troops but one regiment was caught flat-footed. It didn't take the Gingee regiment, vastly outnumbering the Mughals, long to eliminate the small regiment. The defeat made the general realized that the Hindu states, once united, can be tough to deal with. Thus, he sought for a diplomatic solution to shift the war in his favor. After much discussion with the governor in India, he decided to get a white peace with Golcanda. Luckily, the loss of their main army had the Golcanda ruler shaken up. An offer to exit the war was quickly accepted. By the time the white peace was agreed upon, newly recruited men had already reached the front lines to began the assault to end the war.



With reinforcements and a new general in the mix, the soldiers had higher morale. With immediate mobilization to cut off the Gingee regiment's retreat, the Mughal regiment was able to isolate the Gingee regiment and fought them on favorable terms. After a brief battle, the Hindus were in full retreat and the Mughals weren't going to let them regroup. The Mughal regiment chased in hopes of wiping out the final resistance. However, they soon received word that Madurai had recruited new troops and looked to reinforce the retreating Hindu soldiers. To deal with this threat, another diplomatic agreement was agreed by the two sides that saw the Madurai out of the war and Gingee with one less ally.



In Arcot, the Gingee army was wiped out completely. With no more regiments at his disposal, the Gingee ruler was helpless as the Mughals began their sieges. It was only a matter of time before the entire Gingee nation would be occupied and the Gingee ruler forced to agree to any peace offer sent by the Mughals. To the Mughal sultan's dismay, Bengal has also decided to join the party. With a weak nation open to invasion, the Bengal sultan wasn't going to let go of this opportunity. The race to take over Gingee has begun. Knowing that he cannot annex Gingee, the Mughals needed to occupy all of Gingee and hope the Bengal sultan agrees to exit the war without any gains.



Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 12
Trade: 12
Naval: 19
Land: 24

Gukpa said:

Good Good,can you post a world map?

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Here is the known world for the Mughals.

InvisibleSandwi said:

Getting that Kazakh blotch off the map would do wonders for making your borders tidy... well, that and what I think is the Sibirian Khanate, but you get my drift.

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Yup, I will be cleaning those up sooner or later. However, there are factors that prevent me from doing so. One is the high infamy which makes annexing vassals impossible. Of course, the stability hit is a big factor since I don't want to deal with too many rebels during wars.

Chapter 77

The Bengali regiments were mobilized quickly but they were soon met with disappointment. The Mughals were very efficient in their sieges and, everywhere in Gingee the Bengali soldiers went, the Mughals have already occupied the province. Only provinces in Madurai were available for the Bengali regiments and thus the Bengal sultan, upon finishing occupying all of Madurai, demanded some ducats to continue funding their war effort. Thus, the waiting game has begun for the Mughals and Bengals. The Mughals had the advantage with all of Gingee occupied. However, Gingee cannot be fully annexed and the Mughal sultan had no intention of allowing Bengal to get a piece of the pie. During the wait, the Mughal sultan ordered the fabrication of claims on Muscowy provinces. The Muscowy ruler may had a false sense of security when they split from Novgorod but the Mughals still had their eyes on all of Russia.



In Northern Mughal, people continued to immigrate to newly formed colonies in hopes of starting a new home. With the new colonies moving further east, the newcomers hope to avoid the battles altogether and live a simple life of peace. While the people of Northern Mughal began their migration, nations south of Mughal have began to worry the Mughal sultan. Hedjaz had inherited The Mamluks and became a a medium power in the region. There were many worries that the Hedjaz would begin their expansion in the region and threaten Southern Mughal. The Mughal sultan, as a precaution, ordered more patrols in Oman to respond quicker to possible threats.



In India, Tanjore has finally been completely occupied by the Mughals. Not worried a bit about his reputation, the sultan ordered the annexation of Tanjore to eliminate another threat in India. Not only was an annoying minor nation eliminated but the coalition formed by Hindu states had become weaker as well. More good news arrived at the Mughal court when the sultan was notified that the Bengal sultan, fearing for a sneak attack by Wu, agreed to a white peace with Gingee. The Mughal sultan wasted no time to send his peace offer which saw Gingee provinces ceded over to the Mughals. A stronger grip over Southern India was a necessary step for the Mughals to deter more conflicts in India while they focus their efforts in Russia. The weakened state of Gingee brought about conflicts between Hindu nations. Golconda ruler didn't waste any time to expand his own nation. Unfortunately, they became one of the newer targets for the Mughals in India.



Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 12
Trade: 12
Naval: 20
Land: 24

Chapter 78

Fate dealt another interesting hand when Deccan, following a sneak attack on Golcanda, took a province which the Mughals had a claim on. Thus, Golcanda has involuntarily removed the target on her back. Deccan has been an annoyance for the Mughals with their territory creating ugly borders. The Mughal sultan hoped the upcoming war with Deccan can improve the look of their borders in India. With a relatively good reputation, the Mughal sultan didn't hesitate to begin his war with Deccan. Without Bengal backing them, the Deccan nation couldn't offer much resistance. However, that didn't mean it would be a cakewalk. The Mughal regiments still needed to annihilate the Deccan army which was estimated to be roughly twenty six thousand men.



The situation of Golcanda continued to remain interesting. Following the loss to Mughals and the Deccans, they still had to fight against the Bengali. With a decimated army and loss of will for extended war, the Golcanda ruler agreed to become a vassal under the Bengali sultan. With the end of conflict between Golcanda and Bengal, the situation in India has calmed down a bit. Instead of the many wars taking place, the only war that remained undecided was the one between Deccan and Mughal. The Deccan ruler, alone in his fight against the mighty Mughal empire, could only hope that he could overpower the Mughal regiments in the region and force a white peace. For the Mughals, they wanted to ensure victory by recruiting a new general. They hope the new general will bring about a quick victory to bring back peace in the Indian region.



The Deccan regiment was tested when they encountered a Mughal regiment in Kongu. Everything in the war rested upon this single battle. A victory for the Deccan regiment meant that the Mughals will temporarily lose control of the region. The war would be extended far longer than the Mughal hoped for. A victory for the Mughals would guarantee a quick war that the Mughal sultan has wanted. The battle began with the Deccan having an edge. The lack of communication between the two Mughal regiments had the two regiments arriving at the battlefield at different times. Thus, the Deccan general had a chance to win a devastating battle before the reinforcements arrive. The newly recruited Mughal general ordered his troops in a defensive stance and held out long enough for the reinforcements to arrive. Then, he led his troops to victory that send the Deccan troops packing. The Deccan regiment was chased down eventually and wiped out. When the news of victory reached the sultan, the sultan celebrated by ordering another colony to be set up in Siberia.



An assured victory over Deccan had the new general getting more ambitious. He sent a messenger to the Mughal sultan requesting a war against Madurai to secure some of the southern tip of India. The sultan had confidence that the general can take care of this small task and ordered the declaration of war to be issued immediately.



Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 14
Trade: 14
Naval: 20
Land: 25

Chapter 79

With a small regiment taking care of business in Madurai, the general requested another small war to solidify the Mughal control in southern India. The truce with Gingee has ended and there was no doubt that the Bengali sultan has his sight on this small nation. The Mughal sultan ordered the war to be declared immediately to secure the land controlled by Gingee. Meanwhile, the war against Deccan went as planned. With the Deccan army annihilated, there was little resistance and the sieges were the only tasks remaining. For some of the occupied territories, the locals have grown tired of Deccan rule. Malabar was the first province under the Deccan to defect over to the Mughals.



However, bad news soon took hold of the Mughal empire. The Mughal sultan, with his illness getting worse day by day, has finally succumbed to the illness. The death of the sultan was a major blow for the Mughal population. The Mughal sultan brought about great change that made the population feel pride to be part of such a great nation. The sultan's son rose to power and hoped to quickly establish his hold over the Mughal court. Luckily, the nobles remained loyal to the Mughal nation and supported the heir. It took a month to finish the funeral of the former sultan before the new sultan return his attention to the wars at hand. First, he dealt with Gingee which has been completely occupied. He finished what his father started by annexing the Hindu nation.



The annexing continued when Madurai was fully occupied as well. The annexation opened up an opportunity to start a war against Ceylon and the sultan decided to plan out his invasion of Ceylon. The situation in Deccan continued to shift in Mughal's favor when another province defected over. The defection only encouraged another defection. It was clear that the Deccan sultan has lost the support of his people and many were eager to join the Mughal empire. The sultan ordered to establish governors in the area to restore order of the newly defected provinces. He wanted to take care of the rebel situation while his troops were busy in preparation of the invasion for Ceylon territory.



Waiting patiently for more defections in Deccan, the sultan began his Jihad over Ceylon. The aim was to secure the southern tip and begin cleaning up the borders. With a general familiar with the local terrain, he quickly led his troops to cross the strait before the Ceylon navy can react.





Tech:

Government: 20
Production: 14
Trade: 15
Naval: 20
Land: 25

Gukpa said:

How much time until you conquer whole India?

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Conquering India will be really tough since I lack casus belli. I may have reconquest on Deccan but it's only for a single province. It I were to aim to take all of India, my infamy would skyrocket. That's why my focus is in the west.

Chapter 80

While a single Mughal regiment began sieges in Ceylon territory, more nations, from Southeast Asia, came to fight the mighty Mughal empire. The rulers of those nations were foolish to think that they can make a difference in the war. However, their combined navy meant the regiment in Ceylon has been cut off from the continent and thus were on their own. Should the regiment fail, the invasion of Ceylon would be a failure. As the war for Ceylon went on, the war with Deccan has ended with the Deccan sultan agreeing to a generous peace deal. The Deccan ruler would cede a province, pay for reparation and annul treaty with Bengal. Without the aid of Bengal, Deccan no longer threatened Mughal in the fight for India.



Not long after the peace deal with Deccan took place, the sultan began to promote arts within his nation. The constant wars have depicted the Mughal empire as a warlike nation. To change that, the sultan hoped that his people will create arts that would be the envy of other nations. Doing so will ensure that his people be enlightened and thus promoting more people willing to join the Mughal empire. However, the promotion of arts didn't meant that the sultan was willing to take a peaceful stance. His wars continued and expansion through conquest would still take place. Ceylon was finally fully occupied and annexed into the great Mughal empire. The victory resulted in all the minor nations wiped out in India. The nations that stood in Mughal's way in unifying India only consisted of Deccan and Bengal.



It didn't take long before the promotion of arts became an envy for other nations. A province under Shabankara wanted to join the Mughal empire and, with their ruler refusing to be annexed, wanted to give the Mughals a claim so they can conquer them by force. The Mughal sultan thanked them for the claim but still refused to attack their vassal. He believed that Shabankara will join him sooner or later through peaceful means. While the sultan wrote back to the people that made the claim, the Khmer messenger arrived asking for a white peace. A prolonged war would benefit neither side and thus the sultan agreed to the peace deal.



The Mughal sultan has grown tired of the wars and wanted to focus his efforts in promoting arts within the nation. The only war that still took place was between the Mughals and Novgorod where Lithuania still refused to end it. Nothing can be gained further and the Mughal sultan agreed to put forward a peace deal with Novgorod. The Novgorod ruler, without any other options, agreed to cede many provinces for a much needed peace.



Tech:

Government: 21
Production: 16
Trade: 15
Naval: 21
Land: 25

Gukpa said:

Good Good,and oh God,you are going deep in siberia

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Well, I have colonists and they have to do something. Might as well put them to good use and send them to Siberia where they actually do something.

Chapter 81

After the many wars that plagued, Mughal, the sultan decided that his nation was in need of some peace. A few years passed and the people of Mughal lived a quiet life. However, the people of Mughal were the Mongols. In their blood, they strive in warfare. Thus, the peace wasn't meant to last when the Mughal sultan began another campaign in Russia. Muscowy, after their break in alliance with Lithuania, was ripe for the picking. With superior numbers, it was believed that the war would be ended quickly. To ensure that such was a case, the sultan recruited a new general. With the older generals retiring from service, this new general would have the sole responsibility of ending the war in victory.



The Muscowy army wasn't going to wait around to be defeated. They mobilized quickly to attack a leaderless Mughal regiment hoping to annihilate it. While the Mughal regiment did suffer great casualties, the Russian army was pushed back. The battle told the general that the Russians can still bite back and that he must use everyone at his disposal to win this war. Thus, he began combining a few of the regiment to form a regiment that can rival the Russian army. Next, he began to set up a bait where he would lure his enemies in. The Russians, after recovering their morale from their initial defeat, were eager to win a great victory. Thus, they fell for the trap set by the Mughal general. With his enemies where he wants them, the Mughal general won a small victory in Bogutjar. The victory saw the Russians in retreat and the Mughal general gave chase. After two months of constant chase, the Muscowy army was annihilated and, as a result, their last hope for victory ended with that loss.



The victory over Muscowy was only a matter of time. During the sieges, the sultan had other things on his mind. The sultan's heir had fallen ill and the sultan believed that Allah will help him recover. It would appear that his faith wasn't strong enough as his son still died from the illness. The sultan clearly wasn't attached to his son as he wasn't one bit fazed by the news. Yet, another death soon took place that hit the sultan hard. The general recruited to fight in Russia had suddenly passed away. While directing his troops in a siege, the general was mortally wounded by a shot from the defenders. The loss of such a talented general was a tough loss for the sultan. The war was practically won but the general wasn't able to live to see the victory. To honor the general, the sultan ordered a grand funeral to remember his great contributions in the conquest of Russia.



A year passed since the death of the general. In the Mughal capital, the scholars have imported knowledge that would aid their troops in battle. A new type of chain-mail armor was discovered. The armor would strengthen both the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Mughal cavalry. The Mughal cavalry have already been a major threat against the enemies of Mughal. With the new improvements, the sultan hoped that his troops will strike more fear in his enemies.



Tech:

Government: 21
Production: 18
Trade: 17
Naval: 21
Land: 26

Chapter 82

The sorrow brought by the funerals was short-lived when the sultan got a new son. The son was named the new heir of the Mughal empire and restored the order that was lost when the previous heir was dead. The birth of the new heir had the sultan too preoccupied and thus unable to continue to focus on the war with Muscowy. As a result, the sultan ended the war prematurely with two, but rich, provinces gained. The Mughal empire is once again at peace and the sultan ordered his scholars to use this time to quickly make breakthroughs.



During the time of peace, another province under the Kazakh's want to join the empire. The sultan held on to the claim but he still refused to break the vassalage with Kazakh. With two of the provinces in Kazakh now claimed by the sultan, it would appear that the Mughal sultan would have a claim on all of Kazakh in a matter of time. Before he can ponder more ways to increase his influence in Kazakh, a terrible turn of events sent the Mughal nation into turmoil again. The new heir, hardly five years old, suddenly succumbed to a terrible illness. This great nation, fearing no other nation, was once again without an heir. The people of the empire began to see this as a bad omen.



The sultan needed something to ease his pain and that thing was a claim. Novgorod, still occupied by Lithuania, struggled to get a peace that could end their war. The Lithuanians, despite occupying nearly all of Novgorod, still met plenty of resistance. Russian patriots rise up and, for a brief moment, free the provinces from occupation. The Mughal troops, if timed correctly, can siege those provinces and occupy them for their own. With a new claim on a province held by Novgorod, the Mughal sultan had an opportunity to strike and expand his interests in Russia. While faced with this decision, the sultan continued to send colonists into Siberia. The Mughal colonies were beginning to border the northern provinces of Tianwan. While expansion is good, the sultan did worry that such expansion would invite a war with the great Asian power.



After further discussions with his advisers, the sultan decided to strike at a more profitable target, Muscowy.



Tech:

Government: 22
Production: 20
Trade: 20
Naval: 21
Land: 26

Chapter 83

The sultan, with the recent death of his heir, cannot sit idle until the problem was solved. Thus, he got himself a young wife hoping that she would be fertile. It didn't take long before the wife bore him a new son. The sultan hoped this heir would live long enough to succeed him and rule the great empire for many years. To celebrate the birth of his new son, the sultan made a decision that would impact his nation is a huge way. The Mughal empire had many vassals for two centuries and they coexisted. However, it was obvious that those vassals wanted to join the great Timurid empire. Thus, Kazakh, the first vassal of the Mughals, became the first vassal to be fully incorporated into the empire. The other vassals weren't thrilled about the news since they were envious of Kazakh. What the sultan didn't know was that he started the process of the incorporation of all the vassals.



In the war with Muscowy, a battle in Cherkassk spelled the beginning of the end for the war. The Russian army, chased down in Muscowy territory, was annihilated in Azow. What awaited the Russian nation was the wait of the sieges. With every Muscowy provinces occupied, the Mughal sultan sent his offer which, as expected, was agreed immediately. The peace saw another two provinces ceded to the Mughals. With two more rich provinces taken away, Muscowy would be even easier to defeat in a war. The only thing that could go wrong would be Lithuania ending their war with Novgorod and decide to attack Muscowy.



On the topic of Novgorod, Lithuania still continue their occupation. Novgorod ruler continued to send many peace offer but all of those were rejected. Lithuania wanted to fully occupy Novgorod before they are willing to go into peace talks. Oddly enough, their continued occupation only forced more Russian patriots to rise up. The Russian patriots would aid the Mughals instead by freeing the occupations. This is what the Mughal sultan hoped for to use to his advantage. With perfect timing, the declaration of war coincided with a Novgorod province being occupied and open to attack. Not long after the war was declared, an illness. the same of which took the life of the sultan's previous son, has affected the new heir. The sultan ordered the best medics in the palace to cure his son of the illness. Unfortunately, the medics cannot do enough and thus the heir succumbed to the illness as well. The tragedy hit the sultan hard and he stayed in bed for an entire month.



The wife of the sultan, proving to be stronger than her husband, was able to comfort her husband after the loss of their son. It wasn't long before another son was born. The sultan prayed to Allah that this son would live a long and peaceful life.



Tech:

Government: 23
Production: 21
Trade: 21
Naval: 22
Land: 26