I always eat what my people eat. We are all the same and eat from the same Gazan (cooking pot). That is just right. I often eat sitting with the ordinary soldiers at the fire they built to cook whatever they had. I frequently bring kumis. We eat, drink, and talk. Well, they speak, and I listen. They are wise people, and I need to know what they think. Usually, I hear good advice. And we laugh. The soldier needs to laugh as often as he can. What’s life without laughing. Soldier’s life is not easy, and a good laugh helps. It always does. Any Mongol can come and talk to me at any time. I would always listen and consider their concerns. I never punish people for being honest and open. We punish people for being dishonest and covert. That’s where the evil is.
The Russian Duke and his family, the boyars (the Russian noblemen) and some of the regular soldiers had almost all the supplies they wanted, but people had nothing. They were starving, and that was not right. The sickness was creeping in already, and that was the worst of it all. Children would die first. And that would be the most painful death. People saw families dying and could not help. That was very hard on people, harder than on the nobility. That breaks your heart and the will to fight. I knew that people had to hate the Duke by now and, if we get rid of him, people will not resist any longer. Then, they did not have to die. They would enjoy life and pay us tribute. That’s the ideal situation. I wish the Russians would get smarter and did that faster. No one has to die on either side. Yet, one must be smart first. We were not the peaceful people, but the useless death was useless even to us.
To protect the rear and the flanks, I dispatched three newly arrived Tumens in the direction of Suzdal, Vladimir, Rostov, and Yaroslavl. They had orders to take these cities and to continue to Pskov and Novgorod. That was the extreme west and north of the Kievan Russ, the limits of Russia. One more Tumen went to the farthest North. We could not fight there effectively due to the thick forest along the way. My soldiers were from the steppes and perfect fighting in the open. Our famous horses feared the trees. They had never seen so many trees before. How do you maneuver horses in the thick forest, the foliage, the undergrowth? The soldiers would go in the woods and never come back, but some horses would run out covered with blood, telling us the horror story of the trees. The northern Russians living there were the pure Vikings (called the Varyag in Russia). Hard people and so set in their ways. Some of them maybe were harder than us. They were decent enemies and even better friends. They were the same type of people with us, and we have to fight them differently. The heavily wooded North was a natural habitat for them, and they hunted us like the bears killing with pikes, knives and the bare hands. Those Vikings were huge and much stronger than our people. One-on-one, hand-to-hand combat with them was quite challenging, and only my best soldiers could win there. That was a massive problem for us, and we needed to solve it. The good thing was that they never joint the fight with the Russians in Central Russia. They just wanted to be left alone by both sides. They hated the other Russians as much as they hated us, if not more. So, we stopped harassing them and offered peace. They kept it, and we did. That is why I had only one incomplete Tumen there, kind of guarding our northern borders. We rarely had any serious problems there. It was a labored peace but still peace. The Viking Russians would not attack, but they did not want to be attacked either. So, it worked quite well. I also had one Tumen in the South. We did not want any surprises from the Slavs in the Balkans. These Slavs were weak, the dying breed, but they were still there. I never believed that the Slavs could mount any organized defense or an attack, but I could not take any chances there. I had plenty of soldiers, Tartars, and slaves. They created a human shield between the horde and the Balkans. One day, when I finish in Central Europe, I’ll turn my Tumens to the Balkans, and we will end the Slavs. I am not sure if I want to get involved there. We’ll see. Who knows, if we had nothing else to do, we could do that. But that could wait. Slavs were not important. I had to conquer all of Europe yet. That would take maybe two-three more years or maybe less. If they keep the crusades up leaving their strongholds, towns and the villages without the able men, I may do it in a year. It was somewhat easy, so far. After my trip to the capital and the election of the Grand Khan, when all formalities are over, I’ll send all ten regular Tumens to Europe. In combination with the Tartars, they would bring me the victory I desire. Who could really resist us?
I always kept at least a dozen scouts, well in advance, in every direction. They even scouted our rear. In the modern world of the thirteenth century, one has to protect the back even more than any other side. That’s where the unforeseen comes from, and the unexpected may hurt you. You never know what was approaching from the behind. Betrayal was so common no matter where you turn. I think it was fashionable to some degree. I think it was in any country with every people. Brothers betrayed brothers and sons betrayed parents. I never betrayed anyone, but many have, or at least tried to betray me. I had to deal with them swiftly and decisively, leaving the reputation of the bloodthirsty despot. I had to do that. But I love flowers and animals. I adore children of Mongols. I have created a small horde for orphans we pick along the way. It is close to a thousand children already. There are so many of them and just about everywhere. We do not kill children without reason, and the reasons for that are very rare. They would probably die without help, and we help them. I oversee them personally. This is important. They are part of my family now. They would grow up as soldiers, best I ever had. Their loyalty would lie only to the khan. I am not a despot. I am a ruler charged with tremendous responsibility. I am responsible for my people, the conquered people, the Western Empire. One day, I may become the Grand Khan of all Mongols. I am ready for it now, but I am still too young. Maybe after I conquer the whole of Europe, I’ll become qualified regardless of my age. Subutai offered to “influence” the elections now, before the votes, but I would not agree to that. After all, all Mongolian khans were my close relatives, and one should not spill his own blood. I am just fine where I am and even better than I could be. I have my own Horde, and my movements are only slightly limited. I am my own man. What do they have I don’t? What do I have they would want? Would I refuse if they ask for something? Have I ever refused anything even to a simple soldier? All my relatives are welcome to everything I have. Everything, short of betrayal… Just ask. Why would I need more? More of what? More problems?
Several of my scout patrols reported that some units of the Russian regulars (druzhina) were moving toward Kiev. It was the druzhina of five thousand strong from Suzdal, and the Duke (brother of the Grand Duke of Kiev) was leading it personally. Possibly some messenger got through. How many and to where? Even we could miss a good scout. They were split into three columns but moved in the same direction of Kiev. Some noblemen (the boyars) accompanied the Duke to this venture. It was clear that they wanted to be the heroes who saved Kiev and the Grand Duke. It was the relief and resupply column Kiev was hoping for. It was a nice gesture, but a little too late.
Knowing that the Russians had mainly infantry and the cavalry was too heavy and not very well trained, I sent over a Kalmyck Tumen — the lightest horsemen I had. They used the smallest horses, almost no armor and mostly bows and arrows. No doubt, they were the best bowmen I saw on horses. They rarely missed if at all. The Kalmyks and Tatars ran circles over the Russians, creating the chaos and afflicting great damages expertly using arrows, lances, and spears. The battle lasted almost a day. Attacks and counterattacks continued for hours, for as long as the sun was up. My commanders were not in a hurry. They had no other plans for that day. The Kalmyks were attacking in waves constantly reinforcing and replacing the units and resting after each attack. The Russians, in turn, were caught in the middle of the vast field with nowhere to hide. The day was hot, and the heat added to the exhaustion and the general misery of the heavy dressed Russians. Water was some distance away and was running short while we had plenty of it. We chose the place of the battle so, we controlled the water and that what we wanted. The Russians encircled the wagons from the wagon train losing supplies in the process. There were water and food that could help. The peasants running the wagon train and the horses were gone as well. My archers went for the water supplies, first destroying it with weapons and fire. By the middle of the day, the Russians were utterly exhausted ready to collapse while the Kalmyks were rested, fresh, confident, and well supplied. By the end of the day, the Kalmycks lost six hundred horses and about four hundred soldiers. Also, we lost about a hundred Tatars. The Russians lost more than two thousand soldiers and all horses (maybe a thousand). When we offered them the surrender, they accepted it gladly. They could not fight any longer anyway. They were dead on their feet. When we saw that the Russians were collapsing, we split the Tumen. About three thousand stayed to finish the job, but the rest of the Tumen went to Suzdal. We just destroyed the Suzdal military so, the city was ripe for picking. Five days later, almost without losses, we had Suzdal — one of the largest cities of Russia at the time. They thought of it highly. People of Suzdal tried to fight, but what could they do. The best soldiers, the druzhina, were gone and we had the heads to prove it. They had no chance and, as always, we offered them to surrender. They were too proud to accept it. A big, costly mistake. So, we were not to blame for what happened to the city and its citizens. We were not to blame for anything, but the Kalmyks and the Tatars sometimes went over the top. After all, that was their nature.