Chapter 6

Four weeks after reaching Sarai, we began the long trip home. Ships had arrived from Astrakhan allowing us to load more freed slaves. Even ships from the area around Sarai were used to send our wounded aboard, the ones injured during the trip to Sarai. Those ships traveled upriver to the point where we crossed the Volga, and the wounded troops were dropped off and the ships returned for another load.

Theothiure spent every night with me, falling asleep in my arms. Our translator says she told him it helped ease the tension of watching her city looted, even though we left the city intact and harmed nobody. Four thousand single men, most with experience building with stones or making bricks went with us, as well as most of the single women old enough to marry. I intended to rebuild Kyiv, creating a nearly impenetrable fortress around it.

Every day during our trip south from Kyiv to Sarai, I saw the rich, black soil of the land we crossed. Conversations with some of the rescued slaves who had been taken from Kyiv and beyond confirmed the fertility of the soil. I also learned that timber was readily available in the mountains near the border with Poland. Coal and iron were plentiful. Granite, marble, and sandstone were also available. Seeing my interest in mining, Theothiure commented that the mountains of the area near the southern border of the area I now claimed (modern Georgia) were known for their wealth of minerals, including gold, silver, lead, and copper. She pointed out the area on one of the numerous maps I brought back.

Kyiv was a madhouse when we returned. Planting had begun, but I immediately, tripled what was being planted in order to provide enough food for this coming winter. I left five thousand troops, many of whom were mine from Zlotoryja. The rest returned home loaded with their share of the plunder from two wealthy Mongol cities and the various battles in which they had been involved. I tasked Tohrwulf with thanking Matilda’s father for sending the timely help. Leaving one of my officers in charge of Kyiv, I left for Krakow four days later.

My family was waiting for me in Krakow, including Brent, the son Matilda gave birth to three days after we left. I introduced them to Theothiure, whose Polish lessons were proceeding nicely. I added to the note I was sending to Matilda’s father letting him know about our son. A second message was included, one I asked him to send to my family in England.

The High Duke made me Duke of Galicia and Rus, which would encompass all the territory we just conquered, a territory considerably larger than the rest of Poland. The man I appointed as my reeve in Zlotoryja was elevated to replace me as the Baron, tasked with making sure I received the profits from my mines and farmland. I sent word to the prospectors that I had a much larger territory for them to explore if they were interested. They had evidently discovered and begun eight more mines in my absence.

Our return to Kyiv was at a much slower pace than my first trip there, taking nearly three weeks and arriving on the first day of June. Even my wives had commented on the richness of the soil as we traveled.

The city was crazy busy when we arrived. We’d seen miles of newly tilled and planted fields on our way into the city, and workmen were crawling all over the damaged walls of the city making repairs. When I went out in public in the city, people would come up and thank me for rescuing the city from the Mongols.

In early November, a group of twenty Mongol troops arrived. They were with an emissary from Berke Khan, Theothiure’s uncle and the new Khan of the Golden Horde. The emissary expressed Berke’s thanks for not destroying Sarai, and his hope that Theothiure was doing well. She assured the messenger that she was both happy and doing well.

Then the emissary got to the real reason he was here. They had been fighting the Ilkhanate when we attacked. Now, their inability to send more troops south to assist in the battle was causing them to lose ground. If it continued, the Ilkhanate would capture all the territory still held by the Golden Horde, and would consider us a threat and would probably come after us. Berke hoped we would assist him, knowing that not doing so meant we would eventually face Ilkhanate troops attacking us after they captured Sarai.

When I expressed an interest, he laid out Berke’s plan. The Ilkhanate were moving north along the east shore of the Caspian Sea. He hoped we would take the Dnieper River to the Black Sea, and then sail to the port of Batumi, which was in the territory we now claimed. From there, we were to travel overland and capture the city of Tabriz, then the nearby Ilkhanate capital of Maragheh. After that, we could continue searching out and confronting any remaining Ilkhanate troops. By doing this, we would prevent further Ilkhanate troops from reinforcing the ones Berke faced.

Our attacks in the heart of their territory would give Berke time to rally his troops and drive the Ilkhanate back south. I was stunned when I saw the map showing the vast territory ruled by the Ilkhanate. Obviously hoping to convince me to agree, Theothiure commented on the vast wealth of the cities we were appointed to attack. Each of them was far wealthier than Sarai and Astrakhan combined. If we completely defeated the Ilkhanate, the captured territory would be larger even than the size of the new Poland.

Best of all, Theothiure said it was much warmer there in the winter than here in Kyiv. Shit, in the last two weeks, the temperature only rose above freezing on four days. In addition, it seemed to snow two of every three days. I was glad I listened to the people we rescued from here and sent more help to the existing coal mines. That coal was all that was keeping us from freezing to death. If we had to burn wood to stay warm, every tree in the Carpathian Mountains would be gone soon.

I was preparing a message to send to the High Duke, asking for permission and troops when Theothiure came up to me. I could tell from her face that she wanted to ask me something.

“Husband, might I make a suggestion?” she asked nervously.

I nodded. Not since she and Matilda talked had she asked permission. Usually, she just spoke up like the rest of my women.

“My people are a proud and honorable people. The yoke of slavery weighs heavily on them and threatens to shorten their lives. They would rather die honorably in battle than waste away in slavery. Perhaps you could use them as part of the troops you take to fight the Ilkhanate. They will remain fully loyal to you, especially if you trust them with this honor. Knowing they are helping their former compatriots will make them fight even harder. I hope I have done nothing to this point that would give you cause to doubt me, and I give my word that they will be loyal,” she said nervously.

I pulled her into a hug and kissed her. “If the High Duke gives his permission, I agree,” I told her.

Ten men left for Krakow in the morning with orders to ride as fast as they could. They took extra horses so they could ride hard all day long. While they were gone, we began preparations to leave in case we got permission. Messengers were dispatched to Khadjibey (modern Odessa) and all other ports on the Black Sea requesting all ships capable of carrying troops and horses to be there by December 4. That would be the earliest we could be there, and I would send word if we didn’t need them.

The vanguard of my sixty thousand troops arrived in Khadjibey on December 3 after a remarkably quick round-trip to Krakow by my messengers. The High Duke replied that we had permission, and that he would be utilizing many of my Mongol slaves to aid in an attack to bring Pomerania back to Poland, and then to annex Prussia if the first campaign went well. I had been surprised when Theothiure wanted to go with us. She explained that many Mongol women rode into battle and fought alongside the men; all were accomplished horsewomen as well as accomplished with a bow.

When we reached Khadjibey, we found only enough ships to transport half of our troops and horses, although we were told it was only a three or four-day trip. The ships could have the second half of our troops there within a week of our initial landing in Batumi. They were true to their word, and twelve days after our initial arrival in Khadjibey, we headed east.

I slowed the pace as we rode east, not wanting to be overly tired if we met enemy troops. Our Mongol scouts ranged far ahead of us, able to ride unnoticed since they appeared to be Ilkhanate troops. Making fifty miles a day, we arrived in Tabriz eleven days later. The European troops remained out of sight while the Mongol troops rode into the city as if they belonged there. Only after they were all inside the city did the city’s remaining troops realize their mistake. Meanwhile, the European troops set themselves up between Tabriz and Maragheh, capturing or killing any messengers trying to warn of our arrival and capture of the city.

Theothiure took charge of the city immediately, calming the people there. A week later, a monstrous caravan of camels and wagons headed for Batumi with the plunder from the city. It would be taken back to Kyiv, along with more than a thousand single men skilled in construction, a thousand single women, and the 4,000 disarmed soldiers from the city who would become slaves to replace the ones here fighting. The captured soldiers who were married took their families with them. Many of the Mongol men now serving me were single and had hoped to find wives on this campaign. Theothiure had reassured the city that the women would not be brutalized on the way to Kyiv. She even convinced nearly a hundred young widows to join us.

The trip to Maragheh was a quick one, an easy two-day ride. I was reasonably certain no messengers got through since merchants continued arriving in Tabriz from Maragheh all week. We let them through to Tabriz, but didn’t let them leave again.

A small contingent of our Mongols went first, just to see if it was safe. When they entered the city with no problem, the rest rode in an hour later. There was more fighting here than there had been in Tabriz, but it was still over within an hour. When the European troops entered the city, I was led into an opulent palace to meet the frightened family of Hulagu Khan. When I offered his wife, Doquez, and two daughters a choice of serving in my bedroom or being turned over to Berke Khan they quickly chose my bedroom.

When they joined me that night, I could tell that Theothiure had spent a lot of time with them today. All three women were freshly bathed and scented with perfume.

In the morning, all three women staggered from the bedroom with silly grins plastered on their faces. Theothiure and I were grinning, too. During the day, all four women rode throughout the city reassuring everyone. Maragheh was a much larger city than Tabriz, and the spoils reflected that fact. It took four weeks to loot the city. The wagons that carried the loot to Batumi were joined by the ons from Tabriz that had returned on case we needed them, saving horses and camels to be ridden by those we were taking with us. They were sent off towards Batumi with another escort.

I had been stunned to learn that most of Hulagu Khan’s remaining army had left for Baghdad two months earlier. The only reason Hulagu didn’t go with the forces attacking Baghdad was that he felt Berke was so weakened by then that he would have an easy victory, quickly adding the lands of the Golden Horde to his own.

Somehow, Theothiure and Doquez convinced me to allow the ten thousand healthy Ilkhanate troops from Maragheh to ride with us. Both women assured me that they would be loyal, even when we rode against Hulagu’s remaining forces. I was wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into. Even the officers of both my old and new Mongol troops agreed they would be loyal.

After making sure the loot and people we were taking from Maragheh were safely headed for Batumi to await transport to Khadjibey, we headed to Baghdad at a leisurely pace. Arriving near Baghdad on February 4, Doquez rode ahead of us to meet the commander of the Ilkhanate troops, ordering him to surrender to us as we had already captured Maragheh and Tabriz, and Berke was now assured a victory over Hulagu since he wasn’t getting more replacement troops.

I was surprised when he agreed, shrugging his shoulders, and then asking if I wanted to continue the attack on Baghdad. He felt they would capitulate any day. I agreed but countermanded Hulagu’s order to demolish the city and kill everyone if they resisted. I’d think up something else to punish them.

The arrival of a second force even larger than the first evidently tipped the scales and the city surrendered by the end of the day. When I spoke with the Caliph Al-Musta’sim, he paled when I told him how the population of more than a million people barely missed complete annihilation. After that news, my conditions of surrender seemed mild in comparison.

By the time we finished looting Baghdad, every scrap of gold, silver, brass, bronze, and copper were on the way to Kyiv, along with every gem, jewel, and pearl, as well as all the ivory and silk. I added all the cotton cloth when I felt it and fell in love with it. Thousands of beautiful tapestries and carpets made from wool or silk were rolled up and carried away to cover floors and walls in Kyiv. The lands of the Abbasid Caliphate were surrendered to Poland. I would recommend to the High Duke that Al-Musta’sim’s advisors be allowed to continue advising as long as there were no problems. For now, Captain Krol, one of my officers, was nominally in charge but he would continue consulting with the advisors. I promised to send some of Hulagu’s advisors who knew about the part of the territory we would be keeping, although I had no idea what it would be yet.

I specified that I wanted them to grow as much cotton as possible, if they could. They assured me there were several places cotton would grow. When I asked about making silk, they explained that nobody had tried it. They agreed to see if the trees would grow here, and then see if they could get silkworms from India. I left enough of the plundered gold coins with Captain Krol to buy silkworms, seeds for the trees the silkworms needed to survive, and a number of people knowledgeable in all aspects of making silk.

Every spare wagon and beast of burden was pressed into service and still most of the people we were taking from the city had to walk. There was so much gold and other loot that it would have sunk several ships. Al-Musta’sim’s daughter became my concubine. Theothiure, Doquez, Eiji, and Sube convinced him that she would not be harmed and would be well cared for just like they were. Al-Musta’sim and the rest of his family joined the other expatriates as they headed for Kyiv. I knew the Pope would have a hissy fit if he learned that I left the Caliph behind. This way, it would be easier for the Catholic Church to begin exerting their influence in the area, although I didn’t tell the Caliph that.

Thousands of citizens were sent from Baghdad to begin their lives over again in Maragheh, Tabriz, Khadjibey, and cities in Galicia. Every three months, a thousand more would be sent until I felt we had enough.

After even a short time enduring a winter in Kyiv, I hoped to convince the High Duke to let me move my capital to Khadjibey on the Black Sea. After seeing the small port, I had great plans for it. The land around it was as fertile as the land around Kyiv. The mouth of the Dnieper River was only seventy-five miles away. The Pivdenny-Bug and the Dniester Rivers were even closer, although the Dniester was the only one of those two deep enough to navigate. The delta where the Danube flowed into the Black Sea was about a hundred fifty miles farther down the coast.

I was sure the city would quickly become a major port where larger vessels could offload cargo for transshipment upriver. There was plenty of farmland to support a large population, as well as abundant wood and stone nearby. Best of all, the low temperatures during the winter in Khadjibey were higher than the high temperatures during the same time in Kyiv. It still snowed, but not nearly as much, and not nearly as often.

The biggest punishment to the city of Baghdad was when I insisted that one copy of every book in their library be taken. If they only had one copy, it was ours. They were free to send their scribes along to protect and to continue copying and translating the books, but the books were coming with me. I didn’t feel too bad about the edict as the Mongols had planned to destroy the books by burning them or throwing them into the river.

One of the Ilkhanate officers was sent to the Anatolian city of Kanya as an envoy to the Sultanate of Rum. They were a vassal state of the Ilkhanate and I intended for them to remain a vassal state of Poland now, although their tribute would be greatly reduced. I also tasked them with producing as much cotton as they could if it would grow there.

When we got back to Maragheh, we were greeted by an exuberant Berke Khan. His exuberance increased when he saw his niece, and how happy she was. She prattled for more than an hour, extolling my virtues and telling him how I listened to her and took her advice, even letting the captured troops accompany us on the campaign to Baghdad.

Hulagu had surrendered upon receiving word that his capital had fallen and his family had been taken captive. Hulagu knew there would be no more reinforcements, and even a temporary victory would be hollow knowing they would eventually be defeated. Knowing it would mean his own death at the hands of Berke, but would allow his remaining troops to live, Hulagu had surrendered.

Berke and I divided the Ilkhanate territory, sight unseen, aside from those areas we had ridden through. The new border began at the southeast corner of the Caspian Sea and ran straight south to the Persian Gulf. Poland now had access to the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.