Well, Muslims claimed the same thing, and many of the Tatars were Muslims. The Uzbeks brought it over, and it just spread around infecting many minor tribes. It did not affect any of the Mongols or me. Subutai laughs at it openly. He respects gods, but he is godless. Gods are there by themselves, and he is there by himself. That’s the arrangement for him. Muslims did not drink and pray for many times a day. How do you have time for that? What do you pray about? You should be deep in trouble to keep asking God for something and trying to get forgiven for something else. I do not think it productive. One has to be more careful with his time. Time is a precious gift that could be taken away in no time and with no reason. The next battle could be your last. Have you accomplished everything you wanted? Did you have time for that? No, they prayed instead and then, what.
History shows that Muslims always lost battles because of that. They prayed instead of fighting or getting ready for that. We know when they pray and always attack when they pray or just before they start. That creates confusion, and we win with minimal losses. And they lose in a total disaster. That’s a good tactic. It always works. I don’t like Islam, and there are so many people believing in it. I do not trust Islam. So far, it proved to be wrong on so many levels. It is wrong for us. There is something wrong with Islam altogether, but Subutai teaches that religious tolerance is one of the best and most important assets the Great Khan should possess. I think he is right. That’s how it should be. Respect all people and all beliefs. Do not discriminate on any grounds. Do not discriminate at all. If you start to divide people on the religious grounds, you will demolish the powers of one nation.
To be strong, a nation should be united no matter what. These people are just your people. The weak little fractions based on religion and tribal connections should be on the other side, and you should have one powerful people to conquer all that and to rule. Genghis believed in this; the Chinese taught him that. That was a powerful lesson. The Chinese educated him in many things, and he used it every time he could. That was so wise. He was so prudent. Oh, he was wise and learned well. I want to be the same way. He taught his brother-in-law, Subutai and Subutai taught me, Batu. And, I am the Great Khan of the Easter Empire now. I was skilled well. I can rule, and people love me.
The Khazar advisors told me that we would need to feed possibly one hundred thousand horses if we want to start in the early spring. Of course, there would be many more horses, but in the following camps and the rear commanders will take care of them. So, I broke my main ten Tumens (ten thousand each) into five encampments. Each camp is two days ride from each other and farther south and the west. The last campground with only one Tumen and two thousand slaves is responsible for all one hundred thousand horses. Horses can graze there better because the climate is warmer, and the place is surrounded by the hills keeping the warm air in. We always kept horses there, even when we fight. This is our main herd, not counting what we are holding in Mongolia. This is a Kyrgyz Tumen tending horses, and they know horses. They know horses almost as well as we, Mongols, do.
The Kyrgyz are good people, relatives. We trust them. They are close. I can trust them well enough. I know we will have enough horses for the war and, when it’s not enough, we have the other herds hidden away and more horses and soldiers could be brought in and fast. I always have more soldiers trained in these camps. Every three-four months, if I need it, a new Tumen would march to any destination I desire. That is how fast we can train them.
A Tumen is usually enough to take an average town. Well, one-fifth of a Tumen often could do an excellent job of it. Many towns do not fight. They hear the stories, and they see thousands of us. The panic sets in, and they start offering us anything we want in exchange for life. I usually kill the leaders but people… People can live if they did not fight me. We need people in our lands. Often, I don’t even enslave them. Someone had to pay taxes. These people should go free, work, make children, and pay taxes. The more, the better. Well, in some cases, I have to change my rules and allow the field commanders to make their own decisions. They can take any slaves (beautiful women, good craftsmen, children) if they want them. The new women and the craftsmen would grow up soon enough. There is always more where that came from.
This territory is vast, and I am not sure if we will see all of it. I am not sure if it is possible to see all of it. That’s how huge it is. There is always enough for everyone. I know. Each Tumen is a tribe by itself, and the field commander must take care of his people. That’s like his own kingdom, and he has to take care of many things. He is the ruler and the judge, but he is responsible for his people and to me. Slavery is good for our nation, and slaves to help us to run it. Also, slaves are a good reward. Often, this is a better reward than gold. The gold you spend, and slaves would multiply and keep on giving. Treat your slaves well, and they will be many and useful. Even if they are slaves, keep them on the level of servants. Reward them when the reward is called for. I demand from my people that they treated slaves well. We need healthy and well-trained slaves. Don’t waste their lives even if you think you are right. Think it over, give it time. Sleep on it and cool down. It usually helps. Don’t waste the treasure you own already. Cherish, and multiply it. Hm… My grandfather used to say that, and I could not understand him back then. Oh, how well I know him now.
I took Kiev with only three Tumens. Well, actually, it was more like two and a half Tumens. About two thousand horsemen, mostly Kalmyks, were skirting the area, making sure that no help was coming to Kiev. We did not expect any but who knows for sure. We tried to split the already shaky relations between the Russian Princes, and the warlords by spreading gossips and paying bribes. We could do both of it well. The invented scandals and the lies did not bother or affect us at all and the bribes we will get back soon enough and probably ten times fold. The Chinese taught us that, as well. Our goal was not to let the Russians unite. We would win anyway, but why do it the hard way? Be smarter and even smarter than that. So, we kept helping them to divide. Well, they did not really need our help there, but we did not mind. It rarely did not work, and in Russia, it always did.
There were some small towns in the way, and we took care of them as well. That was not hard. I also stationed some garrisons around. We did not need the large garrisons in most towns yet, that took some people. So, it was less than three Tumens in Kiev, much less. Hm… I never analyzed it, but it should be closer to two Tumens. Kiev was built like a solid hold. Only two of my Tumens were attacking charging the walls, and I kept the remnants of one Tumen in reserve. It was not much, and Kiev had more defendants than we had people to attack. Some of my generals thought that we did not have the needed number of soldiers to take a stronghold as Kiev and should request more from the horde. They suggested to start a siege and wait.