by Boris Zubry
So, I pretended to be a great host to the Duke of Suzdal and his people. My Chinese doctors went to help the Russian wounded. All the noblemen were cleaned up, given the fresh clothes and invited to a meal in my tent. I told them that I want to negotiate a good relationship between them and us. I promised them that they could go back to their estates, keep owning them and just paying us a negotiated tribute. I also vowed to defend the Russian lands from the Swedish and the German knights and any other aggressor to be. They liked that so much. We had such a good time. Many of them sent emissaries to other noblemen asking them to come over and join the agreement and the celebration. We even stopped the attacks on Kiev, offering them to come over for a talk. I gave the order to send some food to Kiev, and the Duke’s wife came out to receive it and to thank us. Everything was so civil, but I had to be wicked. I was Khan. Subutai was playing the role of the proper Mongol. I heard him saying to the Duchess:
“My dear lady, are you pregnant? Is not it the level of hardship the pregnant women should not endure? I can offer you the safe conduct to anywhere you may want. Even more, I can offer safe conduct to all women and children in Kiev. Take it. Think of the children. We are not the barbarians as some of the Christian and the Muslim tribes. We understand life while we live and not just when we die. You don’t have to suffer. Suffering is for men and only if they prefer it. Really, no one should suffer. There is no need for that. Life is too harsh already. Is life harsh in the Russian land? It is harsh in our steppes?”
It was an unusually warm day for the season. Subutai was wearing just the silk shirt and the hardened leather vest generally used under the chainmail armor. He was still looking young and fit, and he was in the late forties already. He saw so much of hardship already. He was in the saddle since he was three years old and his mother gave him birth in the saddle as well. The family was on the move, and there was no reason to stop for a mere birth of a child. A cow, horse, or a camel would be another matter. That’s how it was and still is in the Nomad lands. The life lessons started early. Yes, he belonged to the strong and robust generation of my grandfather and his associates. They knew it all.
“Thank you, my noble knight. This is very kind of you. You see, we, the Russian women, always stand by our men and so, we will do now. We will stand by our men now and share equally whatever the future has in store for them. I am sure you understand that.” She looked at us intently. She was not beautiful by our standards but quite pleasant in a soft plumb way.
The Northern people seemed entirely different from us. They had no color. She was pale maybe because of the heat of the day or because she was talking to Subutai constantly moving her gaze from him to the guards and to me. There also were a few Khazar bodyguards that accompanied us. Khazars were well known to the Russians. They were enemies for hundreds of years. The Russians appeared strange to us, and we looked at least exotic to them. I predicted then, and I know it now: Russians will start looking more, and more like us and quite soon. Interesting to see if I was right. Would I see that? The day was still young but getting old by the passing minute.
“Dear lady, Grand Duchess, we Mongols, have a lot of respect for the Russians, men and women alike. We really like your children. You are a powerful nation destined to make history. We do not want to fight you, destroying your towns and the way of life. We do not want our great soldiers to die, fighting your great soldiers. This is such a waste of life and good fortune. We prefer to live side-by-side, as good neighbors and brothers. This is much better than killing each other. Would not you say so? Tell your husband to come over to our camp, join the other noblemen, and talk to us. They are all there, in our camp. We are ready, and we want to talk. I am certain we can negotiate a comfortable peace for both sides. Peace is better than a war, no matter how you look at it." Said Subutai pointing at the golden tents housing the Russians from Suzdal in not so great distance.
The Russians looked happy waving to her and calling her husband to join them. Most of them were close relatives of the Grand Duke. Some were her relatives. She was of the noble blood herself. The whole picture gave the impression of being very real and down to earth. There was no death over there, but there was death in Kiev. Many had died already. The fighting and sickness were taking its toll. The losses were huge, in hundreds if not thousands. Kiev – the Capital, the Kremlin, the walls, the town, the hills, the Dnepr River and the Russian people – all was in ruins. Maybe the Grand Duke was too stubborn? Perhaps the peaceful way was the way to deal with the Mongols? At least for now. Perhaps the hard peace was better than the brutal war. What was it going to be? Subutai was smiling, and I was amused. After all, we were civilized people. He could talk, I know that. But to what degree? Subutai was sly, crafty; he was a master deception.
“I’ll talk to my husband. He will join the negotiations.” She said firmly.
“This is good. This is very good. Do you need anything else from us, my lady? Anything? No? Any time you need something you can call on me. I am Subutai. I can, and I will help. You can trust me.” Subutai was all smiles and gentleness. His Kazakh interpreter smiled to the very extent of his mouth showing the rotten black teeth but in a very polite Kazakh way. He was a well-trained interpreter worthy of his masters. We had a full contingent of the interpreters from every language to every language, and they were fitted explicitly to any situation. They did a good job and were paid well. We always paid well to the worthy people. Everything looked so good, natural, authentic, in the oriole of sunshine and warm weather. What could go wrong? Where… How… Maybe there was no war, and everything was just right? Perhaps the horror was just a dream. Very bad, terrifying dream. At least we could pretend that, and we did.
Two weeks later most of the expected Russian dignitaries, Dukes, Princes, and the Boyars, from the neighboring lands had arrived. There were a hundred and two of them and about two thousand servants and bodyguards. The Mongols hosted all of them equally with the show of great respect and the desire for peace. Peace and prosperity were in the air. For two days the Russians saw some kind of construction going on. The Mongols were building a stage on the hill not too far from the Kiev gates. It looked like a platform large and strong enough for a few hundred people to sit, eat, drink, and be entertained. When asked, they stated that it was a stage for all of them to celebrate after negotiations were completed. They said that there would be a feast and the dancers and the parade, and they all would become the best of friends and the brothers. Well, the mutual feeling, considering the hospitality of the last two weeks, was that the Mongols really knew how to show respect and to entertain the guests. Everything demonstrated goodwill, and everyone looked happy.
Everybody made promises to invite the Mongols for a similar treatment. The Mongols politely smiled promising to visit their lands at the earliest convenience. The Mongols stated time and time again that they could hardly wait to visit all these cities, towns, villages, and hamlets. Subutai personally promised to start right after this affair was over, and traveling was safer for both sides. He was known among the Mongols for keeping his promises, and they all smiled and promised the same. After all, they may come together and even earlier than expected. It was an excellent time for festivities and making friends. Friendship was in the air, and gifts were exchanged freely. Brotherhood was in the air, and everyone had a few brothers on the other side already. No, it was the air of goodwill, and everyone wished well to everyone. The Russians were convinced that the Mongols were the best people the earth could produce. The war was just a colossal misunderstanding they were destined to correct. And why not. Why war? Why kill each other? What is wrong with peace and friendship? Well, if not friendship but at least tolerance. There was no reason to fight, and there was enough of everything for everyone. Just slide over and let the other guy sit at the table. There was plenty of room for everyone. Even the kids could squeeze in. Tomorrow morning the negotiations would commence, and all the grievances would get sorted out in no time.
I met with many of
the Russians personally. Listening to the complaints and the grievances directed at us, Swedes, Germans, and each other, I made promises to consider all of it in our negotiations. I was going to review all the information if I was to rule this vast land. How else could you rule there with them? What I heard and what I saw that there was no unity among these people and that was extremely important to us. That could be the biggest key to that vast land. They gave the words and made the alliances with the same speed they broke them, if not faster. They hated each other more than they hated us, which was hard to believe. After all, they were all related. They reminded me of the spiders in a jar, killing and eating each other trying to climb up using the bodies of the others as the ladders. What a nation of vultures, spiders, and snakes. Are we the same, in any way? I would not feel anything destroying them and taking over the land, the riches, and the people. They should not live, and as slaves, they were useless. So, I gave the order, and my guards moved in to fulfill it. I had never done anything like that before, but it seemed a good idea considering the situation and the people I was dealing with. We needed to speed up the war, and it was time for it. We decided to cut off the heads of the opposition in one powerful stroke. All at once. We had no time to wait and wait for what. So, we would deal with whomever we have right now, and the rest of the opposition will find it out soon enough. After all, Subutai conceived it, and all my advisors supported it. They knew the business of treachery so well that I could learn a thing or two. This was going to be an exciting lesson.
At the crack of dawn, my bodyguards and two hundred Tatars went into the tents of the Russian dignitaries. The Russians slept like babies. Idiots. They trusted us. We gave them plenty of wine spiked with the juice of the poppy seed. Also, each of them was given a slave girl to be entertained at night. They liked it so much. So, the combination of wine, the sleep-inducing juice, fatty food, and the slave girls from the Orient, made them soft and tired. It worked like a charm. It always did. They lost the caution and fell asleep as deep as the Dnepr River our camp was on. Fools. My guards went in all their tents at once, grabbing the Russians and tying them up. They had no chance. Then, the guards drugged the Russians to the wooden platform we finished building just the day before. We invited them to the feast, and they would be present at the feast. That will be our entertainment. That was going to be a historical one. The banquet was set for the afternoon, but the Russians were there early in the morning, and this was a hot, humid day. It happens in this area quite often, and people survived by drinking a lot of water. Subutai gave an order to pure water over them every two hours, just to keep them alive.
By the late morning, all Russians were piled up in the mount of bodies, and the platform was situated on top of them. We could hear pleadings, angry cries, sighs, and sobs. It did not bother us at all. Why should it bother us? They were the enemies. Around noon, about two hundred of my closest associates, including Subutai, the advisors, relatives, and the Tumen commanders were seated on the platform enjoying the feast. Many of the slave girls were there to serve our needs and to entertain us with singing and dancing. The servants were taking care of food and cleaning after us. Even our pets were there. I do not know precisely how many people and animals were on the platform at the pick but could be as many as five hundred. Adding the weight of food, drinks, and the weapons, the pressure on the mount of live bodies beneath the platform was tremendous.
They moaned and cried. The harts were giving out. They asked for mercy, but in response, we relieved ourselves right on their heads through the holes cut in the platform. Are you thirsty? Drink this. Are you hungry? Eat that. We laughed. I don’t think we ever had so much fun as during that feast. We decided not to attack Kiev for a few days and just eat, drink, and sleep on the platform. Even we needed some rest. The screams from the human mount became louder as the weight of us was going through the Russians squeezing the flesh and breaking the bones. They were slowly dying but dying for sure. We were going to do this for as long as it took for all of them to die. We had plenty of time. As usual, time was on our side, and we could manage it on our terms. We wanted the citizens of Kiev to see it to the end so, they would understand the whole depth of the situation their land was in. And, the city saw everything from the walls. We were not going to interrupt the show. We were not shooting, and they could see everything in peace and as it really was. We were the new Dukes and the Boyars, and this was our land now. All Russians were destined to become our slaves or die. Soon, as soon as we get there, to your land. We had no mercy, and we would not stop until the entire world was enslaved by us. Only the Mongols and the tribes of the Golden Horde were chosen to live in freedom and to be the masters. It was for the better. That was our destiny yet, their tragedy.
The entire population of Kiev was on the walls following the tragedy unfolding in our camp. They called us asking for compassion for the dying men and offering all the treasures they possessed. Still, they were short of surrendering the city. But, we wanted it all and more. Subutai ordered to bring over the women we caught in the villages surrounding Kiev. We raped them right there in front of the entire city. After we were done ravaging them, we let the Tatars have their way with the women, and that was terrifying even for us, Mongols. Many women were savagely raped and tortured while calling the names of their loved ones hiding in the city. Some had children in the camp and men in the human mount. The Tatars kept everything on display, spreading the horror around and terrifying all witnesses. They brutally cut the women’s breasts off and then, opened the bellies, while they were still alive, spilling the guts and the blood on the pile of human bodies beneath the platform. The revolting stench from the human mount was increasing by the minute. It was really repulsive, but that was the strategy. Clouds of black and green flies surrounded the platform, the camp, and the city buzzing so loudly that no one could turn the eyes away from the tragedy of the scene. Billions of flies could sound very loud, louder than the screams of people being tortured to death.
Cries and the scream of the wounded and dying Russians mixed with the savage yells of the delight of the Tatars drunk on blood, the killing frenzy. And then, came the children. The fair-haired and blue-eyed Russian children… There were dozens of them. Tatars had never been civilized, and after they accepted the Koran as the living word of God and Islam as the main religion of the group, they became wilder than any wild beast. They became the worst beasts of all, and even we were scared at times. They frightened us and many of our associates and most of all, the Khazars. It was too horrific for the Jews, too forbidden, too illogical, too unnatural. Yet, it was necessary to win the war. Most of Khazars left the scene when it started. They did not contradict my orders in any form but did not take part in it also. They just went as far from the mount as was possible. It was not for them, and it was not for me either. Many of my people did not like what was going on, but we had to do it, and we knew it. That was necessary. Maybe it was overdone somewhat, but the result counts more than anything. I tried to save the lives of my people by scaring, terrifying the enemy, and we succeeded quite often. And, that worked only in one way – the terror. And, dread was everywhere. No matter where you looked, you were frightened to the point of scream. We were terrified, but that was us. I did not like it, none of it but I knew, my grandfather had done it before. He always tried to shock the enemy into submission before any of our people had to die. The enemy should perish and not us, never us. It paid back more often than not, and we were the winners. So, I could not stop the Tatars or the Kalmycks, but I was not proud of it. Actually, I was getting sick of it and fast.
Finally, I got tired of everything I saw. It was a very stressful day for a very stressful week. We were so close to the victory but not there yet. Maybe one more push and we are there. I could not watch it any longer. Watch what? The Tatars were too wild and too wile for my taste. Cousins… In short, it was too violent for me, and I needed a rest. I needed to rest from my enemies and my friends alike. I needed to rest from the Tatars. On
e thing is how you act in the battle, and another is in the time and the place of peace. True, the wives and the children of my enemies were also my enemies, but I don’t like torturing them. It is not right. I see no reason for that. They were just women and children. Old people… To horrify the enemy… They are frightened already. They are petrified. To terrify them even more? They were broken down. What else could we do? Kill… And, we killed.
We hardly needed to fight them now, but some became more agitated, angry, mad, and will contest us to death. That’s the negative side of the process. We know that and have to deal with it. I think that rape, slavery, and a quick death were acceptable but not the torture. What’s the point? You torture people only when you need the information. Why would you torment a child? Or, a peasant woman? What do they know that you need so badly? They never knew anything, and often, they were damn. What did we gain then? That was wrong, so, I do not watch it. Yet, it works like a magnet. You cannot take the eyes off.
