Khan Ahmad's Reign : Part 2
The day started like so many others in a Khan of the Golden Hordes life. Ahmad's inbox was filled with revolts to crush. The current political climate would ensure that things would stay this way for a while.
At least he was getting quick at sorting them out now the whole thing was so routine.
Dealing with revolters, again
He assigned a Minister of Revolts to deal with them and moved on to other issues. First he made moves to stop the rebellions appearing constantly moving all money away from technology to settling complaints and the like.
In March of 1468 trouble came again from outside the Horde's borders. This time though it was not from the Muscowy who were busy with the Knight Orders of the baltic, but from the old foes the Uzbeks. Who had declared war on Shirvan hoping to get land back while the little Khanates main ally was busy with internal problems. Just the kind of cowardly move one would expect from the Uzbeks.
Ahmad though was forced to concede that the Hordes internal problems would be more pressing. He assigned one army to deal with the Uzbek threat by way of robbing and defending Shirvan. But he gave them orders not to try to capture Uzbek land.
Ahmad sort to win positive opinions of other nations on the war so he engaged on a round of diplomatic meetings culminating in several marriages between princes and princesses of the Horde to similar members of courts in Asia Minor and North Africa.
In September news reached Ahmad of a corrupt official in Kurgan. Much of the money sent his way for increasing the stability of the area had been going only so far as his own pockets. Ahmad had him beheaded but the official was a popular one despite his crimes and stability actually decreased.
The war against Uzbek continued in a routine way with most money taken being directed to stability funding.
In October 1469 the Timurid empire faced similar internal problems to the Horde. However there leadership was claerly weaker than the Hordes and the Timurids once great empire disintegrated.
1470 was a quiet year for the Horde marked only by a few ueventful battles against Uzbek and several uprising in the east of the Hordes lands and one in Donetsk.
In January of 1471 Shirvan who had lost many battles against Uzbek but no land made peace for a small amount of gold. This left the Horde and Sibir alone in the war.
Now Ahmad decided it was time for the war to change. The Horde was getting over its problems and differences, the land was reasonably stable. He could focus on other issues now was the time to turn this war into a land grab.
Turgai and Nura the two Tatar provinces are the main goals
The first move was to send two large cavalry armies into the enemy territory where they quickly hunted down and eliminated the pathetic Uzbek army before moving onto capturing Uzbek territory.
By August Turgai was in Horde control and in January Aralsk was likewise.
The Uzbeks though had succeeded in raising another army. Numbering some 20,000 they stormed down on the 7,000 Horde cavalrymen besieging the capital of Turkestan. Despite having a numerical advantage nearly 3 to 1 they were slaughtered. Only 5,000 Uzbeks lived to retreat. Upon retreat they were met again by another Horde army and beaten again in Karsak. After fleeing to Aralsk they were met again and annihilated.
Chasing down the Uzbek cowards
It was now just a matter of time before all the land of the Uzbeks was in Horde control.
In 1472 the provinces of Nura and Kyzylkum fell to the Hordes superior army. Karsak was besieged.
Sibir finally shows up just in the nick of time only to march all the way back a month later
Karsak fell in mid 1473 and Ahmad forced peace upon the pitiful Uzbeks. He took all their lands but their capital, emptied their treasury and made them become vassals. The Uzbeks had challenged the might of the Horde too many times never again would they rise in defiance.
With the Timurids and the Uzbeks smashed and Poland and Muscowy busy in wars the Horde could hopefully live in peace for a while. While revolts continued to appear throughout the land thet were becoming less frequent and even smaller and easier to crush it seemed.
The next few year passed quietly unitl December 1475 when people in Nura began to protest against their new rulers. The protest eventually became a full scale revolt as the people laid siege to the outnumbered Horde garrison. Ahmad decided to make an example of these people to others of the Horde. It would have to be bloody and serve as a warning to dissenting factions throughout the land.
If you've got a problem with me say it to my face : Khan Ahmad moves to personally deal with the rebellion.