I was expecting about a Tumen in a few weeks but did not really want to wait. If we fail, we wait. Well, Subutai showed then how to do that, how to take Kiev with what we had. Subutai — what a master of war and what an expert of deception. He lived the war. He was war. He should have written a book on the subject of war, but he could not write. He claimed he did know how to write, but I had never seen it. I also never saw him reading anything. Subutai always had a scribe nearby. He was educated enough and knew the old ways of the storytelling but nothing of writing or reading. What a genuine hero he was. I’ll miss him, but he was getting old and tired. He was a soldier already when I was not even born. Yes, I would miss him so much if he was gone. Anyhow, I ordered one more Tumen to come over, but by the time they arrived, everything was over, and we had the city. So, I sent this new Tumen farther west to take the next town while some of the main force could rest a little. They seized three towns before we caught up with them. The young commander of that Tumen happened to be a very bright man. He was a Khazar, and that said much already. I should watch him closely. I need people like that. By the time we had reached that Tumen, they needed help. Between the losses and the garrisons and the patrols, they needed more people. They could use another thousand or so though they had more wounded than dead. So, we got there on time and helped them out. Good people all around. I had to move more soldiers forward to match our ambitions. Two more Tumens were on the march and should reach us in about a month so, we could continue moving west. That’s the nature of war, and we knew it so well. Fights, death and the need for more people…
Subutai taught me that the sheer numbers of soldiers were not enough to fight a fierce battle. The siege machines and many soldiers were not enough to scale the walls of the fortified city. If the town was well built and well defended, it could take ten to one to conquer it. It means that the attacking force would lose about ten soldiers for every one defender. Can you afford it? Maybe if the supply lines were not that long. We had to wait sometimes for months for reinforcement. You cannot win the war that way and mainly if the fight was that big. Only the size of the territory could tell you a lot. I did not have millions of soldiers, and I could not gather so many people every time I had to siege a stronghold. I had to remember the distances, supplies, horses, and the little bands of the locals we often could not catch. They were many, and they would attack us every time if we were not in force. This was tiring and costly. My people often had to travel in units of at least ten, even if only one or two needed to go.
I always sent three messengers with the same message in the hope that one of them will get through. My emissaries had to travel with at least twenty soldiers and the slaves. It could be a hundred people caravan just for a simple emissary. We have to keep about two thousand people involved in communications. That is tolling the horde and slows our progress considerably. All that was very costly, so, I listened to Subutai and learned. He preferred to apply the scare tactics as much as was possible. He was sure it worked better than anything else. He thought it was better than the display of a well-trained army. The opposition could be well-trained as well. Then what?
Often, Subutai would send the heads and the other body parts of the people resisting us to the towns we were going to attack. He would bombard the city with dead bodies from another town. People could recognize the deceased. He would let some of the conquered people go so, they would deliver the cut-off heads and spread the terror stories around (and many of them were not true) terrifying everyone along the way. Many were ready to give up and plead for mercy way before they saw us. They were horrified and did not want to be treated like the people they saw the heads of. By the way, they did not see us right away. For a few days, they would see only the Tatars and the scariest ones. I would not show the well-controlled and disciplined Tumens of Mongols and Khazars. That could send the wrong message. We meant no mercy, and that was true. None of the conquered people could be equal to us. They were slaves even if we left them free. We, Mongols, were meant to rule the world. That was written in the sky. We were the Asian plague, and we enjoyed that. So, I would not show the regular Tumens but only the dirtiest and the ugliest tribesmen. We had many tribes following us, doing the dirty work and picking the leftovers. They needed us, and we needed them.
Who needed whom more I do not know so, we co-existed and quite well. Every strong animal hunter has this type of followers. Lions and tigers have the hyenas and the vultures at their side. We have the Tatars and the Kalmyks. My grandfather came up with this arrangement, and it still works. It was one of his best ideas, and he had so many. These were the people I would not let even the leaders into my camp. That’s how dirty and ugly they were. My Tumens were clean and well dressed. They were groomed, proud, and trained. Some were educated and spoke a few languages. They owned slaves and participated in the division of the spoils. Many of them had even shares in the enterprise. It took a while and a few accomplishments to get to that level, but so many did. They were my comrades in arms, and I valued them. Many were related to me in one way or another. They loved me, and I respected them. After all, we were not barbarians like the people we conquered. Winter is soon, but we cannot just rest and wait for the warmth. I need to train soldiers, build up the supplies, and take care of people. Many things must be done, and we have to get ready for the spring campaign. Work never stops when you fight a war, and this was war. It’s a continuous process if you hope to win. It is not going to be easy, and we must work hard to get ready.
Kiev. There it is, on the top of that hill. There are many hills here, and the town has spread out over a few of them. If we take the main ridge with that Kremlin there, we win the battle. Horses would not help much with the attack. There are hills and horses serve better in the open field. Kiev is a tough nut to crack. The location is good, and the Kremlin is well built. I can see that. We will have a hard time to maneuver, and the Chinese cannons will have to shoot uphill. Still, we have guns and the crossbows, and they don’t.
We also have the siege machines. We were building them all winter. I have the Chinese craftsmen making it. Yet, it’s going to be hard to bring them close enough to be effective. We are better armed and trained in modern warfare. Russians are at least a century behind us. We have a few hundred of them, Chinese. They are good people, very learned, and very innovative. Why can’t I teach the Mongols to do that? To build… To invent… To be ahead of the others. Ogedei Khan and the other khanates use the Chinese everywhere they can. It looks like each nation is better in something specific that others can’t do as well. But, we learn. Well, we learn to use others and to treat them well. Chinese and the Khazars are good in almost everything, but we are better fighters. We are ruthless like no one else. It helps to lead the life we do.
People in Kiev are scared, but the Grand Duke wants to fight. I knew that he waited for the brothers and cousins from Suzdal, Yaroslavl, and Vladimir to join the fight. He even asked the Duke of Pskov and Novgorod for help. I knew that in time because we caught the messengers and they talked when the Tatars tortured them. They told us everything, even the things we did not ask. Everyone talks when the Tatars ask questions. Tatars always use very effective methods of torture. Pain, fire, scare, and dripping water. When water drips on your head, it drives you mad. You want it to stop so, you talk.