1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 215 Cossacks

Several people came to a big tent, and the maids brought wine and food. The wine was mare's milk and the dishes were various meats.

"Zoe, I haven't seen you for a few years. I didn't expect you to get married?"

"Which lucky boy will marry our most elegant princess?"

Justinian finished the wine in the glass, breathed a sigh of relief, and his serious expression gradually faded away.

"Ivan III, the current Grand Duke of Moscow."

Charlotte chewed a piece of tendon fiercely.

"Oh? The son of blind Vasily, that stupid Ivan?"

"Why, you don't like them?"

"Oh, the Russians, a bunch of guys who love to fight among themselves, especially the Muscovites."

Justinian shook his head in disdain.

"The previous monarch, Vasily the Blind, was blinded by his own blood during the civil war. Even when he was dying, he still wanted to fight internally and make the Grand Duchy of Ryazan surrender."

"He did not have such determination when facing foreign enemies. He was captured by the Kazan people in the Battle of Suzdal. It was so embarrassing for a king to be dragged east by nomadic tribes."

"Even so, he didn't say he would die to atone for his crime. Instead, he paid a large sum of money to redeem his life."

"Every summer and autumn, the people of Kazan would go to Moscow to rob and plunder. Would Vasily II dare to fight back?"

"And Ivan, he's probably also a man who loves internal strife. He was married once before. I think you'll have to be prepared to endure hardships this time."

The mist in Zoe's eyes grew thicker and thicker, and Justinian wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Ivan wrote to me and said that the Tatars are no longer viable and that Moscow will rise sooner or later."

Zoe said after a long silence.

"The Tatars are indeed in bad shape, but if Moscow wants to defeat them completely, it will probably take hundreds of years."

Justinian judged.

"Even if the Tatars are divided, they are not something that the current Russians can easily compare to. They can't even deal with the people of Kazan."

"If Moscow really rises, it will not be good for us."

"Why? The most important purpose of our delegation's trip to Moscow this time is to establish an alliance and jointly deal with the Tatars on the steppes!"

"Your Majesty wants to mobilize troops against Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, presumably for the sake of the peace of the Black Sea trade in the north!"

Zoe stood up and immediately objected.

"You won't achieve any substantial results. The allies may, but they won't deliberately change their strategies for us."

Justinian laid out a map that simply described the political landscape of the Pontic steppes.

"The Russian principalities headed by Moscow are located in the north, separated from us by half a steppe."

"Moscow's main enemy now is the Kazanites, and its goal has always been to completely defeat the Tatar Khan who occupies Batu Sarai."

"As for other Tatar separatist forces, although they also call themselves Great Ulus, in the eyes of Moscow, they are targets that can be won over."

"You might as well guess, who is the best ally in the eyes of the people of Moscow in order to contain Batu Sarai's forces?"

Seeing Zoe biting her lip, Justinian drew a circle on the map and sighed.

“Hadji Gherai of Crimea.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent.

"It seems that you have indeed grown a lot over the years."

Zoe's face turned pale and she forced a smile.

"You learn more on the battlefield than from textbooks."

Justinian drank another glass of wine and smacked his lips.

"When I go to Moscow, I will use my efforts to make them civilized and try my best to make friends with Constantinople."

Zoe clenched her fists.

"I'm afraid it's difficult. A country's foreign policy is determined by its diplomatic situation. They don't care about your beauty and elegance."

"Justinian!"

Zoe's eyebrows raised.

"I'm your aunt, don't talk to me like that!"

"Okay, okay, it's not like there's really no other way."

Justinian raised his hands in surrender.

"The biggest diplomatic obstacle between us and Moscow is actually the Crimeans. As long as we can defeat all the little bastards of the Haji Glei family and occupy the grasslands here ourselves, we can also replace their ecological niche on the steppe."

"When that happens, the people of Moscow will beg us to form an alliance to fight against the Great Ulus and Lithuania together."

"This……"

Zoe was somewhat surprised at Justinian's ambition.

"Will this work?"

“If this matter is not resolved, the Black Sea trade will never flourish as it once did, and the development of Constantinople will be greatly restricted.”

"This is exactly what my father and I have been working towards."

"Did you see those cavalrymen just now? They will be the cornerstone of our rule over the prairie in the future."

"You don't really think of yourself as a Tatar prince, do you?"

Charlotte glanced at Justinian.

"How is that possible? I am a Roman prince."

"The Tatars are receptive to this, so I use the same tactics. I always put on aristocratic airs, but I can't get their sincere support."

"When my father conquered the first Berber tribes, he used this method."

Justinian shook his head.

"Besides, in your opinion, are they just ordinary Tatar cavalry?"

"Why? Hiring nomadic cavalry to fight for you is a tradition of the empire. It's not something to be ashamed of."

Charlotte chewed the tendon in her mouth with great effort.

"No, no, no, they are completely different from the Cuman cavalry and Pecheneg cavalry we used to use."

Justinian shook his head repeatedly.

"If you are willing to temporarily put aside your military duties and take a boat with me along the Southern Bug River and the Dnieper River to the northern steppe, you will discover this phenomenon."

"In the steppes, many Russians and Tatar herders spontaneously established their own autonomous villages in the wilderness, leading a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural life."

"Some of them are Russian escaped slaves from Poland and Lithuania, and some are Tatar free herders who are unwilling to be oppressed by tribal chieftains. Their emergence is the product of oppression. As long as this oppression exists, there will be more and more such people, and eventually they will bloom all over the southern grasslands."

"They are all homeless people. They don't care which noble family they belonged to. They yearn for freedom, are brave and aggressive, and are all first-class bloody men."

"They thought they were brave and free people and gave themselves a nice name."

Justinian thrust the knife into the raw horse liver in front of him and uttered a Turkic word.

"Cossacks!"

"The Cossacks are now mainly distributed in the Zaporizhia region on the west bank of the Dnieper River. I have sent people to investigate and found that there is also a trend of Cossacks appearing in the Don and Volga regions."

"These people have a wide variety of religious beliefs, languages ​​and cultures, and are very mixed. They have deep resistance to the Polish, Lithuanian and Tatar khanates. This is a good opportunity for us."

"Although the Cossacks are rough, unreasonable, and hate the law, they all once had nothing. As long as you are willing to respect them and give them freedom, these people will be loyal to you all their lives, until death."

"The Russians can't afford this kind of freedom, the Tatars can't possibly give it, the Lithuanians are unwilling to give it, but we can definitely give it!"

"Think about it, if we can take these tribes under our control, we will have an endless supply of loyal and brave soldiers who can not only guard the prairie, but also fight for us and serve as the king's vanguard!"

Justinian stood up, his eyes full of excitement.

"My current royal tent has more than 600 households and 2,000 to 3,000 people, and can mobilize at most 1,000 elite cavalry!"

"Your Majesty permits you to have your own weapons?"

Zoe was still a little surprised.

"I told him about my discovery of the Cossacks and explained the relationship in detail. My father was very happy and said that I could finally do something practical."

Justinian smiled bitterly and touched his nose.

"As a reward, he appointed me the nominal Prince of Athens, without any fiefdom, but allowed me to have my own tent on the steppe and do as I please."

"Aren't you afraid of dying in battle?"

"If the Holy Father is willing to protect me, then I will not die in battle. If the Holy Father is not willing to protect me, I will die even if I don't fight."

"What kind of fallacy are you talking about!"

Zoe didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Genghis Khan had already started his bloody conquests when he was my age, and my father had already returned from the storms in West Africa when he was my age."

"If you are afraid of death, you can't accomplish anything."

Justinian took a knife, stabbed it into the raw horse liver on the plate, put it in his mouth, and chewed it until it bled.

"My father sent me here, so I must do my best and build my own reputation!"

Justinian casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his brown eyes looking up at the sky.

"My father always said that interests plus emotions can firmly control a person's heart, but interests don't appear out of thin air, you have to fight for them one by one!"

"On the grassland, the rules are very clear. In the palace, they are just covered with a layer of seemingly civilized cloak." "This is what I feel these days."

After that, there was another silence. Zoe took a sip of the kumis and was immediately choked by the strong fishy smell and burst into tears.

"What are you going to do with these people of yours in the future?"

"Go fight. They don't know anything else."

"After winter is over, the Empire will go to war with Bulgaria. I will lead my Cossack cavalry on the expedition and teach these disobedient bastards a lesson."

"I want to see if these settled Bulgars are still as brave and good at fighting as their ancestors!"

Justinian sneered.

"After I leave here, I will send my confidants to continue recruiting Russians and Tatars, manage them in the Cossack way, and form the first Cossack Corps of the Empire."

"I will also ask my father for help and ask the Patriarch to send more priests to unify them into Orthodox teachings."

"Tatars too? Aren't they all antichrists?"

Zoe asked cautiously.

"Well, among the Tatars, very few people are devoted to any one religion."

Justinian paused.

"Back then, Berke Khan was the first to believe in the devil. After Yuejibe Khan, the entire Ulus was completely corrupted in law, but it was not forced by too many means, so it was very impure."

"Some tribes believe in both Tengri shamanism and the devil Allah, some tribes believe in Tengri shamanism alone, and some even believe in Jesus Christ, which is just a heresy."

"Although Jochi Ulus fell earlier than Hulagu Ulus and Chagatai Ulus, their degree of depravity was the least. Yujibe Khan changed the legal code to cater to the scholars of religious law, but he did not have much time to care about the thoughts of the lower-class herdsmen."

"My most important deputy now is Timur Tash, who originally believed in Jesus Christ. When I leave here, this position of Cossack Thousand Household will be handed over to him."

"Most of the Cossacks now believe in Orthodoxy. As for whether they believe in Changshengtian in private, I don't want to care."

Justinian waved his hand.

"In fact, the Great Ulus almost made Christianity the state religion. Jochi Khan and Batu Khan were very open-minded about various religions and had no bias, but his eldest son Sarida was a very devout Christian."

"If that old bastard Berke hadn't plotted to kill Sarida, the Great Ulus wouldn't be what it is today."

Justinian gnashed his teeth in hatred.

"But precisely because of this, many tribes in the Great Ulus still retain other beliefs, and the lower-level herdsmen are not as devout to the devil Allah as the Saracens in the south."

"If we can attract Tatar herders with freedom and convert them to Orthodoxy, the Cossacks will increase in number and we will be able to gain a firm foothold on the steppes."

"You don't like reading, so how come you know so much about these things?"

Zoe laughed.

"I just don't like those complicated rules, codes and dogmas. I am very interested in the humanities, history and geography of various countries."

“Once you understand these things, you will know how to deal with various ethnic groups, understand their demands, gain their loyalty, and control their hearts.”

"I have always been confident in my own judgment. In my opinion, I only promote people based on their talents, nothing else matters!"

Justinian laughed.

At this time, a tall and brave Cossack walked into the tent and knelt on one knee before Justinian.

"Your Highness, the newly established centurions have been reorganized and the pastures have been allocated. You decided the centurion by dueling, and they are all very convinced."

The Cossack spoke in fluent Greek.

"You speak our language?"

Andreas, who was hiding in the corner, exclaimed.

"Of course, little prince, I have a talent for languages, and I learn wherever I go."

The Cossack smiled kindly.

"This is my deputy, my Borshu and Muqali, Timur Tash."

Justinian helped Timur Tash up, made him sit next to him, and cut the meat for him himself.

"You are still a Chinese noble, aren't you?"

Justinian looked at Timur Tash.

"My great-grandfather was indeed a noble of the Yuan Dynasty, but that was a long time ago."

"My family is descended from the kings of the East, and our ancestors can be traced back to Genghis Khan's younger brother, the divine arrow Hesar."

There was a hint of pride in Timur Tash's eyes.

"When the Yuan Dynasty was defeated, my great-grandfather fled west to Chagatai Ulus, where he was employed as a diplomat, and so was my grandfather."

"Later, the rise of Timur forced the descendants of Jochi and Chagatai to unite, and it was at that time that my grandfather came to Jochi Ulus as an envoy."

Timur Tash waved his hand helplessly.

"But at that time, Toghtomishi Khan imprisoned my grandfather for a long time before releasing him. My hometown had long since changed."

"Afterwards, my grandfather was re-employed because of his profound knowledge and served as the tax collector of the Khan until Haji Gurai usurped the throne and our family completely declined."

"Not long ago, Your Highness defeated the tribe that imprisoned me and rescued me."

"Our family has always been a scholarly family, and these stories have been passed down for this reason."

"As for Dayuan, I have been here since I was born and have never been there."

Timur Tash took a sip of his kumis with a smile.

"I went to Constantinople to meet the two emperors before and presented them with some books that my family had kept. They were very happy and rewarded me with many precious treasures."

"What a touching story, Your Excellency Timur Tash."

Zoe was still a little uncomfortable with the atmosphere here and forced a smile.

Zoe made up a random excuse and walked out of the tent. The sky outside was already full of stars.

The early winter on the prairie was already very cold. Zoe shivered with cold and could not help but wrap herself tightly in her clothes.

"It's too cold. You shouldn't have come in winter."

Justinian came to her side at some point and put a fur robe on her.

"Ivan has just ascended the throne and the political situation in Moscow has not yet stabilized. This is the best time."

Zoe said firmly.

"Let's go next spring. The journey is long and you will die on the way."

"As for Moscow, the more powerful we are in the south, the higher your position there will be."

Justinian was not impressed.

Zoe thought about it and nodded slightly.

"What about you? When are you planning on leaving?"

"I have been here for almost two years, which is long enough. After my father declared war on Bulgaria, I immediately led my troops south."

"Oh, there's one more thing I want to trouble you with."

Justinian chuckled and rubbed his hands.

"What do you want to do?"

Zoe became alert.

"Please lend me the Emperor Zeno. Haji Glei is fighting with Aham Khan in the east, and the west is empty. It's a good time to make achievements."

"I plan to go deep into the Dnieper River this time and increase my strength as quickly as possible."

"The Emperor Zeno is not mine. If you want to requisition it, write to your father!"

Zoe smoothed her hair down unhappily.

"That's good."

"You...if you have time, please help Andreas. He is a little timid and Alexios doesn't like to play with him. Although he is older than you, in his heart, you are the best brother."

Zoe stared into Justinian's deep eyes and pleaded.

"Of course, I have always treated him with brotherly courtesy."

"As for personality... everyone has their own strengths. It just depends on whether the monarch will use them."

"That's good. After I leave, he will be handed over to you."

Zoe bit her lip.

"Ivan III had a wife who gave birth to a son. When you go there, you must be prepared for a struggle."

Justinian was silent for a moment and then gave a gentle reminder.

"If you need anything, feel free to write to me. Father sometimes only cares about profit and is quite cold-blooded. I won't be like that."

"I don't care about the law, morality, or other people's opinions. I only care about the distance, the relationship, the ability, and the loyalty."

"Don't worry, I am also well educated. One day, the whole of Moscow will look me in the face."

Zoe smiled.

"I will take the Emperor Zeno north to the Dnieper River tomorrow. You can hang out here and take Andreas for a walk."

Justinian spoke calmly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"In any case, I wish you success, my dear aunt, the future Grand Duchess of Moscow."

"I wish you success too, you restless boy, the future King of the Cossacks."

(End of this chapter)