The explorations of the wilderness continued, but still no sign of the Chinese, and the expidion force was extended beyond its means, and their leader died of exposure in the harsh winter. But he had explored much, even began a colony where gold was found.
As expected the peace was shattered, but not by the Russians, but by the Mughal Empire. The Chagatai Horde had to rush back from Europe to fight the fifty-thousand plus army of the Mughals. They siezed Herat and Kushka before the horde arrived. It began systematicly picking off the smaller detachments of the Mughal force and laid seige to Samarakhand. Which an attempt was made to lift the seige their whole army was either killed, captured, or driven off. With the fall of Samarakhand and the recapture of Herat and Kushka the Mughals were driven from central asia, but they would not get off so easily. After 2 years of bribes, negotiations, and a marriage Delhi agreed to allow Chagatai troops to pass thru Quetta to Mughal possesions in the Sub-Continent. The 30,000 man army in Thar was quickly dispatched and the city was seiged, as was Bikaner. When they finnaly fell the Mughal ruler Akbar I agreed to reliquish controll of Thar and Bikaner, pay his own ransom, and pledge loyalty to the Khanate and its Alliance.
The expansion into the sub-continent alarmed Delhi who did not want to reliquish the power hold it had on the other countrys in India, so the troop were made ready. Many a battle took place in the mountines of Afganistan, most won by the Horde, but all those victorys were not enuf to stop the tide of Dehli soldiers, both Thar and Bikaner fell to an invanding army once again. When Delhi attempted to take Kabul they were beaten back and Quetta and Zahedan were besiged. With the Chagatai distracted on their southern border Russia, the Karaman-Crimean pact and Sibir all declared war on the Chagatai alliance. In this war the newest member of the alliance proved crucial as both Astrakhan and the Khazak Horde would not commit troops to battle, though the latter would later participate in the seiges of Crimea, the Mughal Empire had rebounded from its defeat and sent mighty armys to fight on their overlords behalf, turning back to Russians on several occasions. This spared the Chagatai enuf time to finnish up the conquest of Delhi, who offered Zahedan, Kalat, Indus, Sindh, and Quetta for peace, an offer that was readily accepted. Soon the Chagatai Horde was on the march once again, but they would not make it to Crimea, revolts in the new territorys kept them busy and they left Crimea to newly conscripted soldiers in the North.
These soldiers proved worthy driving back Karaman from Daghistan, they would no long pose a threat as their empire was falling appart, soon Georgia and Dulkidir broke away from their grasp. This left Crimea, Russia, and Sibir to fight on the northern front, Russia and Sibir were both huridly bought off so the empire could focus on Crimea.
The Chagatai rolled over the Crimeans, and besiged all their citys with aid from the Mughal and Khazak. The majority of the country fell quickly but the strongholds they had built in Scochi proved to diffuclt to breech and the alliance had to withdraw to deal with rebles who were now running rampent thru out the empire. Azov and Kalmuk were accepted for peace.
Karim had added more lands to the empire then any other Khan, and had extended their lands all the way to the sea opening up new lands for trade in both Europe and Asia. But Karim would not enjoy the fruits of his labor, he soon passed away leaving the country to his son and only heir Muhammad Khan. Muhammad struggled with the rebles, they were reciving aid from many differnt countrys unhappy with the ever growing power of the Chagatai, Russia, Sibir, Persia, Gujarat were all active perticipants in these revolts, Gujarat even when so far as to ban traders from the Chagatai from trading in Kutch, the only trading center where they held any promince. Gujarat would have to be punished, but first these rebles were proving quite stubourne.
