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

Chapter 58

A few years passed and Mughal Empire enjoyed peace. The peace wasn't meant to last when the sultan started another reconquest on the Deccans. Ceylon came to the aid of the Deccans while the sultan decided to call in three of his vassals. The Deccans have rebuilt their main force and the sultan wanted his troops to focus on those troops while his vassals did the sieges.



The ruler of Ceylon made the right decision of asking for a white peace. The sultan, with no intention of taking over Ceylon territory, decided to agree. Meanwhile, there was a minor problem in Hamadan. The missionary apparently angered the local populace. The sultan didn't send any troops as he believed that the rumors of uprising was merely spread by his enemies. After a month, it became clear that the sultan was right about this. In that month, a breakthrough was made in land technology which saw more armaments available for the Mughal army. With the war going on, the sultan decided to put off the arming of his troops with new armaments.



Not long after, some people of conquered lands finally realized that the Mughal sultan was indeed the best ruler for them. They all swore allegiance in hopes of continuing serving under the great empire. To prove their loyalty, the full amount of taxes was paid and the Mughal treasury began filling up quicker than before. While the people were proving their loyalty, Georgia continued their bad habit of picking a fight they would lose.



In the war against Deccan, there were three possible defections. However, the sultan decided to turn down one of the defections. The province of Mewar rightfully belonged to the Mughal Empire. The sultan, considering his reputation, decided that he can take it later with no hit on his reputation. During the war, rebels began rising up against the Deccans and one group, the Madurai, succeeded in breaking free. It was deja vu all over again when Georgia ruler asked for a white peace. Soon after, another breakthrough in land technology saw the possibility of musketeers entering the Mughal army. The Deccan ruler, fearing to challenge such an army, begged for peace. The sultan took what he wanted and thus peace was restored temporarily.

Chapter 59

The sultan was growing ill and knew he didn't have much time left. The sultan wanted what's best for his great empire and decided that precautions must be taken. His first son, the heir of Mughal, proved to be not promising at all. Yet, his newborn son showed much greater promise. It was rumored that a great prophet arrived the day before his son's birth and told the sultan that his new son will bring great change to his nation. However, the prophet did mention that, unless this son becomes heir to the throne, his talent would be wasted. The sultan, facing a dilemma between his personal attachment to his first son and his obligation to his empire, decided that his nation was more important. Therefore, he ordered an assassination of his first son and named his newborn son his successor. To distract himself from this horrific crime, the sultan busied himself with investing heavily in technology breakthroughs.



Yet, the grief of losing his son was too much to bear. That, along with his illness, took the life of the sultan. The heir, 2 years of age, needed a regency council to rule over the empire. Meanwhile, Deccan continued her collapse as two more nations break from her control.



The regency council, hoping to deter Bengal from attacking the Mughal Empire, gave the Bengals military access. In addition, they continued to convert the populace. In the west, the Ottomans had taken down the Byzantium empire and controlled Constantinople. The great victory for the Muslim nation has created panic in Europe. As a result, Lithuania ordered a crusade on the Ottomans hoping to stop their expansion westwards.



The Ottomans have been expanding steadily and, as the European nations feared, they did indeed had their eyes set on Europe.



The regency council used the opportunity of peace to colonize a province in Africa. They hope this move will help them expand further into Africa. The peace wouldn't last when Janjira asked the regency for help. The regency council had promised the ruler of Janjira protection if they didn't actively support revolts in Mughal territory. Keeping their word, Mughal found herself at war with the rest of India.

Chapter 60

Despite having more troops, the Indian regiments were more concentrated in the region. As a result, the Mughal sultan found himself in a tough war. With his nation's reputation on the line, the sultan knew that he must answer the call of weaker nations. In addition, he needed to confront those two nations sooner or later for control of India. The sultan was also excited by this war. This war would be the greatest war since the birth of the Mughal empire.



Defending a weaker nation was easily misinterpreted by other nations as an aggression against another nation. This interpretation became obvious when two nations warned the Mughal sultan of his actions. Interestingly enough, the two nations had only recently share a border with Mughal. The colony in Northeast Africa brought the two nations in contact. Clearly, the two nations have never heard of the greatness of the Mughal empire. Thus, the Mughal sultan decided to forgive them for their ignorance.



For this great war, the Mughal sultan ordered the recruitment of a promising general. After going through a long list of candidates, Akbar Bhutto became the new general of the Mughal army. He would lead a regiment to take on the enemy regiments head on. Apparently, the new general's goal wasn't going to be easy. The Deccans have already knocked Golcanda out of the war and now focused solely on the Mughals.



In the west, Georgia ruler continued to entertain the Mughal sultan with his foolish decisions. First, Georgia got into a war against Ottomans which they obviously lost. Secondly, their ruler decided to warn the Mughal empire knowing full well that they cannot take on such a giant. Finally, the Georgian ruler thought it was a good idea to attack the Mughals. His decisions made the Mughal sultan scratch his head. However, the Mughal sultan wasn't bothered by this at all. He put his main focus on this war with Deccan and managed to make the Ceylon ruler realize that white peace was their best option. As for Georgia, a quickly occupation of their capital proved to them once again that they just aren't worth the trouble for the Mughal empire. With the Ottomans taking all their ducats, there wasn't much the Mughal can take from this pitiful enemy.



In the capital, a government form called noble republic was discovered. There hadn't been any confirmation but there were rumors spreading that said the nobles were planning a coup to overthrow the sultan and take power. The Mughal sultan ignored these rumors and continued his focus on the war. Not long after, people from the Mughal colony sent word of a great supply of ivory from the region. The sultan was delighted to hear of such an exotic commodity within his nation.



As for the war, Akbar won two great victories in Tirhut and Bhagalpur that saw the enemy armies completely decimated. The Indian sultans were foolish to underestimate the Mughals as they believed their coalition was unstoppable. Many battles were fought before these two victories but their end result remained the same. The Indian regiments were simply outmaneuvered and outnumbered. Their sultans were foolish to divide them up which made it easier to destroy small regiments one by one. With Akbar's great victory, the victory in the war was very much assured.

Chapter 61

The Chinese sensed weakness from Bengal. Wu didn't hesitate in attacking Bengal in hopes to expanding further westwards. The situation for Wu was rather interesting. To their north, they had Tianwan as their neighbors. The only reason the two nations weren't at each other's throats was due to their alliance. With the alliance, Wu had a safe flank and thus the Wu emperor didn't need to worry about getting attacked elsewhere. With their control of southern China, Wu wasn't a pushover either. Joseon and Pegu joined Wu's war against Bengal.



The Deccan ruler was foolish enough to dishonor their alliance with Bengal. With much of their territory occupied by the Mughals, Deccan cannot possibly assist. With the alliance between two mighty Indian nations dissolved, Mughal had already won a great victory. However, the regency council still wanted more. First, a peace was agreed with Bengal which saw Bengal ceding three of their provinces. Soon after, Deccan earned peace by renouncing many of their claims while paying a hefty reparation for their foolish declaration of war. The Mughal regency council continued to warn the two Indian nations. After all, Mughal empire had a reputation to keep. However, there was little doubt that Deccan has began their decline in power. Meanwhile, Bengal gave ground to Pegu and Wu by releasing a few nations. Bengal was weakened but they were still strong in the region. Underestimating this enemy would be foolish. There were even rumors that Bengal wanted to get Deccan back by invading Deccan territories.



A few years of peace took place after the war against Deccan. Those years were needed for the sultan to finally reach the age to take the throne. The second sultan of Mughal has taken the throne and he immediately made changes to benefit his great nation. First, he passed the Militia Act which would aid his nation more in wars. Secondly, the military was modernized. This was the reason why Georgia still existed. The ruler of Timurids and, now, the Mughal empire had longed to learn the military technology of these people. While their nation was small and weak, their military was still impressive nonetheless. With the modernization, the sultan knew that his troops will be capable of combating against enemies in the west. During the rough transition in the modernization, a core was acquired and the new sultan would have his share of glory.

InvisibleSandwi said:

Wu's aggression makes me wonder - do you have any plans for expanding into China? At the very least, picking up the local porcelain would be good for retaining your legitimacy as the amount of options you have for royal marriages dwindle.

Click to expand...

I actually haven't planned on invading China. At the moment, they have huge armies which will result in large wars. Large wars means wasted time and less effective use of the holy war casus belli. As for royal marriages, I know it's gamey but my vassals are all too happy to agree.

Chapter 62

With a claim, the sultan immediately declared war on the Janjira (somehow I forgot to take this screenshot ). The war made it possible for the sultan to pass the Recruiting Act. The sultan knew that this was a necessary move to ensure a successful expansion into Russia. With high attrition and dangerous enemies in Russian region, a powerful army was a must. As for the war against Janjira, the sultan wasn't one bit worried. He let one of his general deal with the war while he himself began a few personal projects within the nation. The Golconda sultan foolishly joined Janjira. The general sent by the sultan, whose name remained unknown, was overjoyed by this development. He was worried that he needed alcohol to distract him from boredom. He also got a good laugh when he heard that Georgia warned him.



It wasn't long before the Mughal nation got a breakthrough in naval techonology. Coincidentally, the Georgia ruler decided that this was a good opportunity to attack. Once again, foolish Orthodox nations joined the war despite not being able to aid in any way. The sultan merely ordered a regiment in the area to attack and returned to his projects. Not long after, a breakthrough in government technology resulted in a new grand idea. The sultan showed his religious side by making it law to attend the mosque. While such an action would anger those of other faiths, the sultan wanted to create a more unified nation of Sunnis.



Before long, the Golconda ruler, following a few defeats, decided that fighting against the Mughals wasn't such a good idea. The sultan ignored the white peace offer the first few times. However, he changed his mind when rumors were spreading that Bengal wanted to retake their land. Around the same time, Ethiopia sent their white peace. Uninterested in the paperwork, the sultan merely agreed to both. Janjira was spared total annihilation thanks to the rumors. They were forced to give up the province the sultan had claim on while agreeing to other generous peace terms. Georgia, like Janjira, was forced to give up one of their provinces. This resulted in Georgia no longer bordering Mughal. The sultan decided to celebrate this occasion by making his capital a Islamic Centre of Scholarly. The sultan has longed planned for this day and he was thrilled by the prospect of a pest gone for good. The Ottomans have recently declared war on Georgia and it's obvious that their time were nearly up.



The decision immediately had an impact in Mughal. Missionaries in two provinces were motivated to quickly convert the local populace to the great Sunni religion. As for the Ottomans, they began to fear Mughal more. The ruler of the Ottomans decided to distract himself by helping himself to land in the Balkans. With little resistance there, the Ottomans have been making steady progress.

Chapter 63

With another breakthrough in trade technology, the sultan has decided to take actions to speed up future breakthroughs. As a result, he introduced a decision that saw more funds from missionary work transferred over to technology. With an innovative stance in the nation, there was little opposition to this decision. However, missionary work has become more expensive and, with the addition of provinces with heathens as a majority, the cost may just add up.



The situation in India is getting rather interesting. The Deccan ruler has once again attacked Janjira and, to the surprise of everyone, Janjira won the war. It was very unexpected and clearly was a good sign of the decline of the Deccan nation. However, Bengal, still remembering their loss against the Mughals, expanded eastwards. They hope to grow stronger in that direction in hopes of one day challenging the Mughal empire.



While Bengal was busy with their war, the sultan of Mughal had his own problems to deal with. The sultan had angered some powerful nobles in his nation. There were many rumors about these nobles planning a coup which the sultan simply ignored. One night, a group of nobles led their own soldiers into the palace to dispose of the sultan. The sultan's royal guards fought bravely and, despite all perishing in battle, ensured that the sultan survive. With the sultan avoiding capture, he rushed to a neighboring province to rally his support. Luckily for the sultan, there was plenty of support. His men rallied as the civil war began.



There were plenty of battles throughout the nation. Many of which were small in scale and were, therefore, never recorded. In Van, the rebels gained the greatest support. The nobles there were very influential and rallied a large army. Van was under the rebel's control and the sieges have been unsuccessful. Rebel leaders that have lost elsewhere all joined the rebels of Van in hopes of creating a comeback. Soon, soldiers were deserting to join the rebels. This was terrible news and the sultan ordered resources to help boost the morale of his troops. With better uniforms and better rations, the soldiers were more eager to fight for their sultan. To combat the problem in Van, the sultan personally led a regiment to take down the last fortress of the rebels.



The continuous victories across the nation has the rebels retreating. Even the fortress at Van fell with the sultan rallying his troops. The civil war was about to come to a close and the sultan had a decision to prepare for a final battle. Yet, the sultan decided to be merciful. Considering his reputation, the sultan wanted to spare the rebels. He knew that these nobles have lost and never will regain their power ever again. Sparing them would improve his reputation which has suffered from his wars. The end of the civil war also saw the nation gaining more stability. The instability resulting from military reform has given the nobles a chance to strike but their defeat actually sped up the recovery of the nation. There were lots of casualties but, to the sultan, the losses were indeed small. With the rebels defeated, people of newly conquered provinces all swore their allegiance to the sultan in hopes of avoiding the same fate of the rebels.



When the civil war ended, Bengal has also ended their war in the east. Bengal gained a few more provinces and looked to push further once the truce is over. Meanwhile, a border friction saw the sultan of Mughal starting another war of conquest in India.

Gukpa said:

Click to expand...

I'm afraid my Mughal Empire will look very different from your proposed map.

Chapter 64

The border war was expected to be an easy victory. However, the sultan of the Mughals couldn't live to see that victory when his illness took his life not long after the declaration of war. The heir, still too young to rule over the nation, needed a regency council to take care of everyday affairs in the court. The regency council put their focus on the war. With the recent death of the sultan, they worried that the soldiers on the front line would have low morale. Therefore, Oman and Shabankara were called in to aid the war effort. Oman was a naval power in the region and they would win the naval battles while Shabankara is the closest land power that can actually reach the front line in time.



With the aid of the two vassals, the war was merely a bunch of sieges that tested the patience of the generals. Once the sieges were completed, Janjira was allowed to exit the war on the terms decided by the regency council. Not only did they cede land and renounce their claims but they were also forced to convert to the Sunni religion. As for Golcanda, the ruler paid a small price as the regency council had no intention of worsening their reputation with the heir still too young for the throne.



Soon after the conclusion of the border war, a breakthrough in land technology saw the nation having access to weapons manufactory. Given the importance of the building and the high cost, the regency council already began to save up the ducats to construct many buildings across the nation. It soon became clear that a new enemy bordered the Mughals. This enemy was one of the scourges of the east. Before, there wasn't a coalition that could challenge the might of the Mughals. The Tianwan and Wu coalition could easily make a war between the two sides a very bloody one.



People of more provinces accept the rule of the Mughals. The increase in income helped the Mughals maintain larger armies with many sent to guard the Mughals-Tianwan border. Meanwhile, the production technology had a breakthrough while the first Mughal colony became a town.

Chapter 65

A few more years have passed since the war. The new sultan had risen to the throne and he was ready to continue the expansion of his great empire. However, the time of peace has made his soldiers lazy. To solve this problem, military drills were held everyday to get the soldiers back to shape. Once the sultan felt the time was right, a reconquest war against Iraq has begun. When the great nation was still known as the Timruids, the Khan already had a claim on an Iraqi province. Becoming the Mughals had not changed the fact that the province still belonged to the Mughals. The sultan felt the time has come to reclaim this territory. Syria immediately came to the aid of Iraq and they brought a few of their own allies.



With a guaranteed victory over the Syrian coalition, the sultan decided that another war was needed to keep things interesting. Qara Koyunlu has became an annoyance with their occasional raids along their borders. To end the miserable existence of this minor nation, the sultan decided to commit two regiments to quickly assault the capitals of Qara Koyunlu provinces. As for the allies of the Qara Koyunlu, a single regiment was more than enough to hold the enemy at bay. Surprisingly, the war against Iraq ended quicker. Hardly two months passed before the two nations began talking peace. The Iraqi sultan got peace by offering a single province, renouncing some claims and a small reparation. Overall, Iraq was fortunate to avoid total annihilation.



Not long after, the sultan got his first son. Successful minor campaigns and a heir had the sultan thrilled. Things just couldn't get better for this sultan with his short reign over Mughals. Soon, bad news arrived from the west. The Ottomans had annexed all of Georgia. This small victory may not appear like much but the Ottomans have gained a strategic position over the Mughals. The Ottomans now controlled much of the territory northwest of the Caspian Sea. By doing so, they had successfully sealed off one of the routes for the Mughals to expand into Russia. Instead, the Mughals were forced to expand north through the land east of Caspian Sea. To expand into Russia, the Mughals were forced to funnel their troops through a single province and the sultan knew that a war would potentially be very bloody.

Chapter 66

The wars were coming to a close. The Mughal regiments met little resistance and many of their enemies weren't willing to fight this powerhouse. Mentese was the first nation to ask for white peace and Dulkadir followed suit soon after. As for Qara Koyunlu, they couldn't escape the fate of being annexed by the Mughal empire. The annexation of the minor nation meant that expansion westwards would no longer be plausible. The Ottomans had guaranteed many smaller nations and further expansion would mean the two nation clash. While the sultan knew that victory is assured, he knew that it would be a costly victory. Of course, there was also the Indian nations in the east that would love to take advantage of the situation.



With the land taken from Iraq, there wasn't any reason to continue the war against Syria. A white peace was agreed on and only Adal continued their pitiful fight against the Mughals. The single regiment in northeast Africa had already dealt with most of the Adal forces and were just patiently sieging the provinces. Soon, news arrived from the west that the Ottomans continued their expansion westwards. The Ottomans, like the Mughals, hoped to avoid a clash between the two major nations. Therefore, they began expanding further westwards hoping to invade Europe. The sultan got bored with the war against Adal and decided to send another regiment to fight a war against Swahili. The single regiment was more than enough to deal with the entire Swahili army. Victory was swift and a peace was decided on. This war was believed to open the path up to expansion into Africa.



A major breakthrough of naval tech took place and the sultan thought the time has come for peace. Adal was beaten badly but their provinces weren't worth the infamy. As a result, a large reparation cost was demanded. While Mughal empire enjoyed a few years of peace after the peace agreement, her neighbors were very busy. The Ottomans have used their naval might and defeated the Austrians. With Parma under their control, the Ottomans had officially entered the European stage. Meanwhile, Bengal continued their expansion in India.



During the time of peace, the sultan wondered about his next steps. His empire needed to expand and Russia looked like a great target. However, he needed a clear path the Russian and, to do so, he needed to annex Nogai. Nogai was liberated as a vassal following a war against the Golden Horde. Now was the time for them to join the great Mughal empire. As expected, there was no resistance from the Nogai nobles and Muscowy would be the first to feel the might of the Mughal empire. A few more years passed before a Jihad was declared. The war for all of Russia has begun.

Chapter 67

The war to expand into Russia had begun. However, the sultan knew that the Russians weren't going down without a fight. To gain an upper hand in the war, the sultan knew that his troops needed a strong start to the war. The opportunity arose when a Muscowy regiment decided to push too far into Kazakh territory and got themselves surrounded. With overwhelming numbers, the Muscowy regiment was annihilated. The victory showed that Muscowy wasn't invincible as the Golden Horde Khan had believed. The sultan got the start he needed but the war was far from won.



While the war against Russians was going on, the Ottomans used the opportunity to expand further west. They faced off against Venice which had a foreign government called merchant republic. It was rumored that this republic made good money and the Ottomans wanted a part of the profits. The Venetian embargoed the Ottomans and thus the Jihad was declared. The Ottomans were inching closer to western Europe and the Mughal sultan knew that he is racing with the Ottomans to the riches of Europe.



At Ust Yurt, an encounter left a Mughal regiment annihilated. With new weapons that used something called gun power, the Russians destroyed the Mughal regiment with small casualties. The weapons brought fear to the Mughal regiments and the sultan knew that he needed to find ways to solve this problem before things got worse. As a result, regiments were ordered to stay within friendly territory while the generals draw up a plan to deal with the new threat.



Like the Ottomans, the Bengal sultan used the opportunity to expand further. However, the Bengali was running out of easy prey. Wu has gotten into a few personal unions in southeast Asia and, as a result, gotten a stronger hold in the region. Bengal, squeezed between Wu and Mughal, was indeed in dire situation.



A few more months into the war, the Mughal regiments had their first encounter with the Novgorodian regiment. They considered themselves Russians as well and fought to halt the Mughal expansion. Once again, the Russians managed to retreat due to the heavy casualties they inflicted with their new weapons. The Mughal regiments were forced to retreat back into Mughal territory to replenish their troops.



The advantage for the Russians proved to be short lived. The sultan ordered the research of the gun power weapons and the breakthrough was made quicker than expected. The Mughals now had the powerful and were on an even playing field. With this breakthrough, the Mughal regiments were ready to march into the harsh Russian winter to fight a very difficult war.



A few more months has passed and the war was starting to shift in the favor of the Mughals. However, the attrition from the winter was taking a toll and progress was slow. It soon became apparent that Muscowy's allies were tired of the war. They knew that they couldn't get anything out of the war and decided that Muscowy will need to deal with her own problems. Thus, Muscowy stood alone with spring coming. Things only got worse when a Muscowy cavalry regiment was isolated when they tried to reinforce one of the regiments on the front line. This was a great victory as the Muscowy lost a large component of their cavalry and their chances of holding their ground had just became very slim.

dodedo said:

boy its been a while since I read this. Good start on the war with Russia.

Click to expand...

Thanks, the invasion of Russian has begun .

Gukpa said:

So much infamy

Click to expand...

What infamy? This isn't even worth mentioning for the Mongols.

Chapter 68

While the war between Mughals and Muscowy took place, the Ottomans made more enemies in Europe. The Ottomans had draw lots of attention in Europe and a Crusade was called. Oddly enough, the Ottoman ruler wasn't worried one bit. He actually welcomed a challenge. For the Mughals, this was good news indeed. The potential wars with Europe would allow the Ottomans to be distracted while the Mughals expand westwards through Russia.



The war against Muscowy continued with success. In Mangyshlak, a great victory saw the Russian army devastated. The winters of Russian has worked in the favor of the invader. The Russian generals, foolish enough to be on the offensive, had suffered heavy casualties. With the defeat in Mangyshlak, there weren't much resistance left that could hold back the Mughals regiment. Victory seemed to be assured for the Mongols.



While the Mughal regiments were moving forward into Muscowy territory, the scholars in the nation made a breakthrough in naval technology. This breakthrough may not aid the nation at the moment but the sultan knew his nation will require a strong navy to invade all of Europe. Meanwhile, a small African nation, Ethiopia, decided that warning the Mughals was a good idea. The sultan ignored this warning as he had confidence that Ethiopia wouldn't be any threat. The single regiment situated in northeast Africa could handle anything the Ethiopia throw at the Mughals.



In North Ufa, the Muscowy once again suffered another major defeat. However, the reports from the Mughal spies told the sultan that the Russians weren't going down without a fight. Muscowy has already began the recruitment of troops to fightback the invasion. While the Russians began to regroup, the Mughals have already pushed deep into Muscowy territory. To occupy the Muscowy capital, the sultan knew fully well that a tough battle will be fought.

Chapter 69

With the war against Muscowy going smoothly, the sultan thought he had nothing to worry about. However, a new enemy in Africa looked at this opportunity to strike. With the majority of the Mughal troops in Russia, the holdings in Northeast Africa was ripe for the picking. At least, that's what the Ethiopian ruler thought when he declared a holy war. With the belief that he had free reign over the region, he thought he would have an easy victory in the area and drive the Mughals out of the region. Little did he know that the Mughal sultan had anticipated an invasion in the region and prepared a small surprise. While Muscowy troops were still slaughtered by Mughal regiments, two small regiments totaling fifteen thousand men, originally garrisoned in Oman, were quickly transported to fight the Ethiopians. As expected, the Ethiopians, surprised by the strong resistance, were quickly overwhelmed by a vastly superior regiment.



Few more minor battles ensued in Muscowy as the Russian nation was quickly losing their ability to recruit the troops to put up any resistance. With defeat inevitable, the Muscowy ruler was willing to begin peace talks to end this bloody war that saw too many Russians dead. Meanwhile, the war with Ethiopia was coming to a close. With little benefit in pushing further into Africa, the sultan merely took a single province. This province was the only Ethiopian province that bordered Mughal territory and thus the sultan hoped the peace deal would result in some peace in the region. With the war in Russian nearly ending, the sultan was convinced that there wasn't any nation that could stop him from conquering all of Russia.



The war did little to halt the Mughal scholars from making discoveries in technology. Knowing that knowledge is power, the sultan still poured a lot of ducats into research to ensure his troops had an edge over his enemies. The Russians may have a small edge in research but the Mughals have been catching up slowly but steadily. As for the war against Muscowy, it finally concluded with Muscowy ceding six of their provinces. The peace deal resulted in a larger front with the Russians which could aid the Mughals who had numbers by their side. The sultan peacefully waited for the truce to end before he invades Muscowy again. Yet, an unexpected turn of events saw the situation in Russia change.



The Muscowy ruler, following the defeat against the Mughals, met with the Novgorodian ruler. After a few weeks of discussion, it was decided that the two nation will merge to combat the Mughals. Instead of facing two Russian nations, the sultan now faced one powerful united nation. Despite not adopting the name Russia, it was obvious that the merge of the two nations did indeed unify Russia. This unexpected turn of events brought headaches to the sultan. In the previous war, the war was decided when Novgorod left the war. The fight for Russia has just become a very challenging task. With the truce still in place with Novgorod, the sultan cannot do anything to stop the Novgorodian ruler from consolidating his power and preparing to fight the Mughals in a bloody war.

Gukpa said:

Good,now you can annex Kazakh and unify central asia

Click to expand...

Annexing Kazakh would have to wait given the time it takes for the Mughal empire to regain a stability. Plus, the high infamy doesn't help. The Russians must learn that, even united, they cannot defeat the Mughals.

Chapter 70

The Mughal navy continued to progress forward. While the navy cannot win many battles, the advancements would one day make that possible. Of course, the navy wasn't the main focus at the time. The Russians were united and the Mughals must strike before Novgorodian ruler gains the loyalty of all of his new subjects. Once the truce was over, the sultan wasted no time to start a Jihad against the Russian power. Unlike Muscowy, the Novgorodian had an ally from western Europe, Sweden. This would be the first time Mughal troops face off against armies rumored to be very powerful. The sultan knew that a tough battle was about to begin with the east and west collide.



With the Swedish army still far from the Mughal-Novgorod, the Mughal troops needed to cover lots of ground. The first battle took place in Samara where a Russian regiment was out of position. The Mughal regiment, with triple the size, was led by a rising general. After a few weeks of battle, the Russian regiment suffered heavy casualties. The Russian general wisely led him troops to retreat in hopes of saving whatever survivors he can get. The Mughal general wisely gave chase and, in Kazan, caught up to the routing Russian troops. With a decisive strike, all of the Russian troops were annihilated while the Russian general was reported missing. Nonetheless, the victory was a big blow to the Russians and the Mughals were indeed making progress.



The Mughal general, following his great victory, ordered the troops to retreat. He knew that they were in enemy territory and the attrition was taking too big of a toll on his armies. On their way back to Mughal territory, the general discovered another Russian regiment. Apparently, the Russian regiment was meant to reinforce the regiment that was annihilated. With good positioning and the element of surprise by their side, the Mughal regiment attacked quickly and the Russian regiment was thrown into disorder. Following a week of fighting, the Russian regiment was completely annihilated.



The large Mughal regiment continued their retreat back into Mughal territory. However, the Russians had a regiment blocking the way hoping to attack the exhausted Mughal soldiers. Not too far away, a Russian regiment, led by a well known Russian general, tried to reinforce and annihilate this army. This decision by the Russians proved to be an error. The Mughals soldiers had high morale thanks to the victory and they took the Russians by surprise. The Russians were retreating after only two days of battle and they had Mughal soldiers chasing. In Bersh, the Russians were annihilated. The continuous battles were boosting the morale of the Mughal troops. However, the Swedish armies have finally reached the front lines and the grueling battles were about to begin.