Episode XXIII: Tvers Just Wanna Have Fun
‘All I’m saying, sir, is that it doesn’t send the right message.’
Mikhael III Rurikovich, Prince of Tver and Ryazan, smiled at Dobczyński.
‘The wrong message, Dobczyński? Quite the opposite. I believe in second chances. That the sinner can amend his ways and return to the path of honesty and loyal service.’
‘All very noble, sir. But she
ate your brother.’
Mikhael looked down to the orange Siberian tiger who was draped lazily on the floor beside his chair. His right hand continued to scribble away with his quill. The left was juggling a quartet of ornamental rocks. The new Prince of Tver was a man of fearsome competence.
‘I know, Dobczyński. A tragedy if there ever was one. But it was a misunderstanding, wasn’t it
Puśka? You wouldn’t normally eat anyone, would you?’
Pusia raised her head, looked at Mikhael, and fluttered her eyelids in an excellent approximation of innocence.
‘There we go, see?’
Dobczyński sighed. ‘So you don’t think that the adoption of Ustyug’s Second Pike Regiment as your personal guard makes it look like you approve of the deaths of your brothers?’
‘Not at all Dobczyński.’ Mikhael leaned back in his chair, the frame creaking. ‘They have shown themselves to be excellent soldiers. They have adopted the sobriquet ‘”Bane of Princes.”’
‘Not specifying whose Princes?’
‘Why would we do that? Spoil the whole thing. Now then. To work, Dobczyński! I’ve always respected you. Managed to keep my believed brother’s
extreme behaviours in order. And it’s lovely to be back in Tver. Ryazan...just isn’t them same.’
‘I’m glad to have you back, sir, in spite of the...circumstances...’ He cast another unwary look at Pusia. She grinned. Teeth glinted.
‘These are complicated times, Dobczyński. Times of change. The stability that you provide will be invaluable. I need a firm hand.’
‘Always happy to provide a hand, sir – though I think that you are more than firm enough myself.’
‘Firm but gentle, Dobczyński.’
‘Naturally.’
‘As Machiavelli says, it is important to be loved as well as feared, and I intend to be both.’
‘You are already, sir.’
‘Splendid! Right. Charts! Maps! Progress!’
The Idnakar region was firmly under Tverian control. However, its remoteness meant that a colonisation effort would be almost impossible, and Mikhael had chosen to save efforts in this regard for when a more local and more worthy prize was taken.
Within the week, even better news came.
The rich city of Samara, and its surrounding gold mines, had fallen into Tverian hands. This was the prime target that Mikhael had been seeking, and he ordered Dobczyński to immediately take charge of the colonisation efforts.
Matters, though, were about to become more complicated. The Steppe Hordes of Kazakh had appeared at the Tverian border once again, their scouts ranging into outlying towns.
The map alarmed Dobczyński. ‘Apparently they own Europe, sir!’
Within months, though, better news arrived. The colonisation of Samara had gone quickly and smoothly, and the region was now fyully integrated into the Principality of Tver.
The capture of Samara did have one drawback, however: it gave Tver a land border with the Nogai, a third Steppe Horde with a suitably hideous colour scheme. This enemy would have to be swiftly dealt with, but there were many higher-priority targets. As such, major advances against the Nogai would have to wait until a later time.
Tver’s territory was large and powerful, but their current troops numbers would be inadequate were they to fight on three fronts. The war with the Horde would need to be swiftly concluded to allow Tver to deal with these new enemies.
The next region to fall was Perm, and Dobczyński was saddened that they had been unable to take his city during the reign of the more aesthetically-minded Konstantin. Mikhael was a handsome man, but he didn’t quite have their
hair.
Mikhael decreed that their mission to colonise Idnakar would be shelved: it was poor territory a huge distance from their heartland. The Prime Minister suggested a highly original and interesting new objective for the country.
Further internal unrest was to follow. The city of Mogilyov had been facing sectarian troubles for some time. The leader of the local militia force had been the first to openly denounce Orthodoxy and embrace the Lutheran church. He had was arrested, and convicted of breach of the peace. A firing squad was rapidly assembled, before someone pointed out that they hadn’t invented guns yet. Protestantism spread unchecked through the surrounding countryside until the clergy themselves openly came out in support of Luther’s ideologies.
The city of Vladimir, meanwhile, was still a hotbed of religious trouble, with further Sunni uprisings triggered by aggressive attempts to convert the populace back to Orthodox Christianity.
The Tverian army was overstretched, and the Nogai were able to storm the defences of Samara, and capture the city.
The moment that the Tverians had been waiting for, though, finally arrived, as they were able to consolidate control of Perm and its surrounding districts.
Recent expansions had once more increased the size of the Principality, giving them a strong foothold in Steppe Horde territory, with a great deal of room for expansion.
The Khan of Kazakh offered Mikhael a chance to surrender and pay tribute, even though Tver was clearly in the stronger position. The return messenger walked into the Kahn’s hall, shook his head sadly, and left, though not before relieving himself in most enthusiastic fashion into an ornamental fountain.
With Perm under Tver’s control, the main eastern army advanced on Samara, and rapidly retook the city from the Nogai.
Seeing the Tverians surrounded by enemies, greedy Catholic eyes began to probe the Principality for weaknesses. The Danes went even further, sending a formal warning to Mikhael. A bucket of frogs was dispatched in return, along with an order for ten thousand toy bricks for the royal nursery.
Keen to knock one opponent out of the war, Mikhael ordered Dobczyński to take the fight to the Nogai. The Uralsk region was swiftly taken.
The Nogai were left with little choice but to concede defeat, Mikhael happy to see them go: for the moment, he had no interest in their land, only their surrender.
Tver’s army reformer, Nazariah Kholmsky, had published a highly influential treatise on warfare and military tactics. The invention of the printing press allowed copies to circulate freely. With the population at large occupied, Mikhael decided to change the country’s priorities.
‘I like art, Dobczyński. We have enough colonists for our current needs – we are restricted by money, not manpower.’
‘I always say that you can’t have too much
man power, sir.’
‘That may be, Dobczyński...but I wish change. To promote a flourishing of painting and sculpture. I shall be a Patron of the Arts!’
Thus, did the Principality take a new course through history, encouraging the development of the arts and attracting great painters from Italy and the Netherlands. Fresh challenges lay ahead but, with the threat from the Hordes reduced, Mikhael prioritised the creation of a country that would present mankind with gifts of art and culture that would last until the end of time.