Reckep : Part 11
The war was starting to look good for the Reckep. Both Boke and Berke actually agreed upon this which was indeed a rare occasion. However the war had now been dragging on long enough that 'Down with Hate' and 'End the Slaughter' posters were becoming ever more common sights around the land. One group of particularly zealous anti-haters decided to forcefully spread the love around Abkhazia.
Rebels sending the love over the walls with gunpowder
Austria perhaps growing fearful of the threat the Horde posed made an attempt to reduce it. It was of course a pitiful and pathetic attempt worthy of an Uzbek.
Austria invades whilst the Ottoman troops practice marching trying to get their steps in perfect rhythm
The success of beating the stupid Austrians back was soured by a loss to the small band of loving rebels in Abkhazia.
Losing to rebels happens enough to cause repetitive stress disorder
Late in March 1568 Boke took a quiet stroll through the streets of Astrakhan. In his wanders he came across a group of women accompanied by eunuchs. The woman the possession was centred around was particularly ugly and attracted no small amount of scorn from Boke. It wasn't until the next day it emerged the ugly lady was actually an Ottoman princess married to a courtier in the Horde's palace. Given her undignified treatment she no longer felt compelled to stay in the Golden Horde and she hastily returned to Istanbul signaling the end of the royal marriage between the two nations.
Both Boke and Berke could not have had worse feelings towards the Ottomans anyway so were in no way inclined to seek another marriage between a fit Horde courtier and an ugly Ottoman princess.
June saw the beginning of another offensive against Austria. This time the aim was not liberation or raiding. The aim was to take Austria's land.
Heigh ho, heigh ho off a-fighting Austria we shall go
In August Boke was struck with madness, he was taken by an unusual fit of compassion. He spilt the army in Moldova into two. One was dispatched to clean up a few small Austrian armies who had crossed into the province. The other headed north to liberate the province of Galizien from the pesky Venetians.
The end of the year was marked by a petition being presented to the Reckep. It was signed by over sixty people and asked for the Reckep to officially recognise Uzbeks as humans. Berke could only laugh at the proposal but Boke reacted by exiling the petitioners (who were surely Uzbeks in disguise as people) as far from Uzbek as they could go, Jedisan. There they promptly rose up in revolt,
'Monkey see, monkey do', claimed Boke.
Just as the winter snows melted and Galizien was liberated the invasion began.
Striking at the centre
Most of the invasion was uncontested but in Carpathia the Horde met stiff resistance. Shamefully despite overwhelming numbers the Golden Horde was beaten back.
Beaten like a certain Ottoman princesses attempts at dieting
But it would be only a temporary delay as the Golden Horde succeeded in a second attack and headed on into the plains of Hungary.
In September Boke turned 40. Instead of celebrating he was seized by a midlife crisis. Where was he headed? What had he achieved? Would he be remembered? All these questions kept running through his head. In order to find the answers. He gathered a few of his friends and headed off on a spiritual journey.
Sketch of part Boke's journey. The blurriness of it, due to inebriation, indicates the journey was indeed very spiritual
In Boke's absence the diplomatic rating of the Horde actually increased by three, relations with Shirvan went up by a hundred and men now no longer fearful of being sent to foreign courts with insults signed up to become diplomats.
The Ottomans made peace with the Austrians. They gained 75 ducats from it. Certainly without the Hordes help they would have been paying but not a ducat of their gains was shared.
Just before the end of the decade Pest and Maros were taken by Horde armies. But there was no time for celebration. All around were hostile Austrians. It would be a task to simply hold the gains.
Pest and Maros taken. Reinforcements are on the way
The war was obviously going good for in January a pesky Venetian approached the palace in Astrakhan bearing news that the Doge was willing to give up 300 ducats for peace. The offer was tempting but the Reckep felt there was more to be gained and the push would go on.
In July good news from within the Horde. Kerch was converted to the true faith. Berke was suspicious that a revolt might still occur just for old times sake so left his army in the province as a precaution.
The war took a turn for the worse in Austria towrds the end of the year. After a successful raid of many provinces the Golden Horde was beaten back in Odenburg. At the same time another army was defeated in Pest and the fort taken later that week. The Golden Horde would have to make sure that this was not a turning point in the war and keep the momentum going.
