by Boris Zubry
We had Subutai and the best warriors, and they had the spoiled Hungarian King and the second-grade over confident leftovers of the European knighthood. We had our units raiding almost all Central Europe already. They were popping up here and there fighting small battles. Everyone believed that the more significant force was coming right away to attack the town and would not send people to Bella and the leading European power. Everyone was for himself. They were fragmented and poorly organized while we spread our forces strategically, controlling every road and the major settlements. We even controlled their communication lines. Our reinforcements and the supplies were coming almost daily, and they knew where to go in advance. We had plans for everything, and everything was working so well. I could pull in more people if needed, they were around. The whole Tumen was marching over and will be here tomorrow morning. They would do the cleaning up after the fight if the fight happened. Still, I could delay the fight for a day or so and gain another Tumen. No need, though. Yes, it looked like it will happen today, tomorrow or any day now. We called it the judgment day, but we were going to be the judges.”
“Subutai dispatched one of the Tumens to go through the mountain passes outflanking the right flank of the Hungarian army, and another Tumen had to outflank them on the left, going through the marshes. That was a good plan that would save many lives of our soldiers. We would pull the enemy apart. Our people moved fast, not wasting time on anything. They lived in the saddles. Small fights were not necessary, and leaving this light resistance behind was not dangerous. It could not amount to anything and, if it was, we’ll crash it but a little later. I can’t think of that now, we have to win the big battle in a big way. That was the most important thing today. So, we moved, moved, moved. My troops were in the position even before the Hungarians took to the field.
We knew of it through the mirror signals set up well in advance of our movements. We had our informants in the hills using the old Chinese mirror reflecting technique to relay messages. It always worked even when it was dark and raining. If there was no light to reflect, we built the fires. But, you must be vigilant and continuously monitor it. Also, you have to be well trained in understanding and relaying the signals. It was not too complicated, but one had to know it well. A little mistake could cost lives and even wars. Our people did it well. On the foreign soil, we employed ten people on every relaying station: four Chinese or Korean operators were to manage the mirror and the messages and five soldiers to protect and help them if needed. There also was one commander capable of doing everything. Even the soldiers were trained in operations of those devices, but they were not the masters yet. Soon, they may become one and move on to a better job, pay. We need more and more people trained in the mirror, smoke, and flag communications. We need it not only for the war but for the occupied territories as well. That communication technique was much faster than the horse and took fewer resources.
Recently, we have established a new command called the “Communication Tumen” and appointed a Khazar General to manage it. I told him not to spare resources but to build a net throughout our world and beyond. We had to get and to send out the messages throughout our world and fast. It worked already, but it would be better and better. I have some very good people in that command. The Europeans were still relying on the messengers on horseback. We have caught almost all of them disrupting the communication between the enemy units and getting the information on the enemy movements and the plans as fast as they become available. We had the information and could plant disinformation using a few techniques we had polished to perfection. All that was already more than fifty percent of victory. We knew all about them, and they knew nothing of us or whatever we wanted them to know that was not necessarily the truth. It was somewhat complicated, but the modern war demanded that. You could not win the modern war, just fighting it out in the open field. You needed well-trained and bright people, better and more sophisticated weapons, machinery, spies, counterspies, organization, specialized training, and the communication techniques the other side did not have. In short, we knew all that was going on in the enemy’s camp, and we could run the show without interruption. They knew nothing and were more confused by the minute. We often helped the confusion by planting the misinformation. It sounds like we were ahead and moving fast. That was as an important part of the war as the war itself. War was not only on the battlefield and at the walls of a castle, but everywhere, all around us.”
“As always, we started with the Tatars. They created the turmoil that projected the wrong impression on the enemy. The enemy began to believe that we all were like that, wild and with no real organization. Hungarians thought we would run in all different directions looking for a one-on-one fight and lose it because a European knight was better armed and even heavier protected. In a one-on-one battle, even the best of us could easily lose to a knight. A knight was more prominent, more massive, better protected, and well trained. They had big and heavy horses that could tramp our horses but not outrun them. They used long pikes to keep the distance, and we needed to get closer if the arrow did not hit the mark. Yet, the Tatars were the lightest possible cavalry. They attacked swiftly, producing a lot of chaos and only slight damage. It was as with every attack they chipped away just a little, not that important but, after a few attacks, that was becoming noticeable. They looked so little protected and acted so arrogantly that every enemy we ever met took them for easy prey.
The enemy taking it for a signal would immediately react by attacking the Tatars. It never failed. They never learned. Maybe it never failed because no enemy had ever survived to fight the Tatars again and told the tale. There were no lessons to learn because no one survived to learn it. The Tatars, in turn, would change the direction and run away leading the enemy into a trap set by the heavier cavalry of the regular troops. They could be in the trees or beyond the hill and not seen. We made sure that they got in the position while it was dark, maybe even a day before, so the enemy would not see them and uncover the trap. Also, they did not use fires for food and to warm themselves. They were that well trained and so patient. That was an ancient technique that never failed before and was still serving us now. We mastered it well. The cocky enemy meeting us for the first time always took us for the low barbarians and never seriously. Well, that helped us so well, better than them. They always paid for that the hefty fine but never understood the message. We permanently took them for what they really were – the poorly educated and very greedy people. Even the educated and the trained ones were not educated and trained enough by our standards. We used it all to our advantage of winning the battles and the wars time and time again.
Our entire army, every unit, was cavalry. We were always on the go, on the move. Infantry, in general, was useless but we used it when needed, like storming the walls of the fortified places. Infantry was too slow and could not carry enough of weapons and supplies to support itself for any prolonged time. The cavalry was too expensive but could double as infantry when needed. Thus, we preferred the cavalry but used it as the situation required. When I needed the infantry, I would take the cavalry and temporarily dismount them. The soldiers were trained to fight that way as well. That was how we scaled the walls and garrisoned the towns. That was as important as anything in the war. Still, we were the horse people, and that was our way of life. That was our life.
I had thousands and thousands of horses following us as a replacement for my people that lost a horse. Even the lowest Tatar, during the war, had a horse and some weapons on me. That was our expense. We gave him a horse or more if he could not buy one by himself. And, where do you buy a horse during the war and in the occupied territory that was stripped of horses and many other things already? Exactly… Everything was in short supply and too expensive. Those conquered people had to feed themselves, their rulers, nobility, armies, and us. We could not survive without horses, so we had horses.
“As usual, the Tatars started the attack against the center of the Hungarian position,
and that seemed to be poorly organized and totally lacking discipline. I was on the hill with Subutai observing the battle, and we were laughing. The Tatars were perfect. We used about twenty thousand Tatars for the initial engagement, but the enemy was about three, maybe four times, more. The Tatars got close enough to the Hungarian lines to use the arrows but far enough not be tangled by the heavy cavalry of the European knights. Their pikes could run you through as easy as a knife would go through the warm butter. The Tatars were shooting thousands of arrows riding their small and fast horses around the Hungarians ranks trying to present as a difficult target as was only possible. They knew how to do it. They’ve done that before and quite well. About a few hundred Hungarians were killed and wounded well before they answered with a volley of arrows and the crossbow bolts on their own. A very few Tatars were dead. They were a fast-moving target, and the Europeans were missing more than hitting. The Europeans were clearly annoyed and getting impatient. Good. That’s what we were waiting for. Lose your temper. Go after the Tatars. Now. Faster. That lasted for at least ten minutes, and the Tatars losing fewer than a hundred men and a few horses, creating an illusion of panic, started running away but in the same general direction. Again, it was so well orchestrated, so natural. I could not stop laughing. My hidden reserves were watching everything closely, waiting for the signal. The signal would come from Subutai, and he was getting ready. Just a minute more. Wait. Now.
The Hungarian cavalry began the pursuit of the running Tatars breaking the own ranks. At the same time, the entire center of the enemy line moved up against our center shortening the distance between the dominant forces and the Hungarian cavalry pursuing the Tatars thus, starting the general attack. It happened so fast and with such confidence on the part of the Hungarian King that the flanks and the reserves were not informed of the movement. And, probably no orders were given. The enemy front was broken in so many places and so wide open that we could march regiments through without being challenged. Their position became so bad that it was almost impossible to fix it and hold the lines. Did they see it? The Europeans were a threat to us only if they were all together – a solid wall. That was a wall of steel that would be too hard even for us. It would be like storming a well-fortified castle with tall and thick walls. We would take it eventually, but it would be costly. Sometimes losses were higher than the rewards. Does it worth it? In those cases, when we could not break through the wall fast enough, I ordered the siege. I preferred to starve the enemy to submission and save the lives of my people. My people were more important to me than their people. That was war, and we needed to win. We were too far from home and could not afford to lose. If we lose badly enough, we all could die.
Now, in Hungary, we faced no wall but so many smaller groups some distance from each other and us running circles around them and shooting the arrows with unwavering precision. Many of my people, if not all, were trained almost from childhood to shoot arrows while riding a horse. It was not easy, but when you trained enough, you could do it quite well. Some were so good that we had the contests and competitions for them. We offered great prizes to the winners. It was a popular contest, and we had it quite often and in every Horde. Our archers were the best in the world, and that was a fact. The European knights were dying in mass from our arrows, and we were tightening the circles without engaging them in one-on-one combat. That was my strict order. I did not want to lose too many people to a useless duel with a European knight. I could predict the results. Soon, many Europeans started to surrender. Some had broken through and ran away. We let them do that so, they would spread the word. Those stories of annihilation usually were exaggerated somewhat to make the story-teller look better, but it scared the listeners so much. Still, it was a bloody day.
Actually, there were a few bloody days. The Tatars and Kalmyks were hunting the runaway army for days and in all directions. It took some doing. We were looking for anyone dressed as a soldier and carrying weapons. They could change the clothes but would not drop the weapons. It was too expensive, and that was your status as well. If they gave up the arms without a fight, we let them go but, if they resisted, we killed them. Slaves… We took some slaves but not the soldiers. Soldiers could be a problem, and we did not need that. Soldiers were not good slaves and too proud. Now, we were building the new Horde in Central Europe. A few months rest, and we will move forward, to the last sea; to the end of Europe and the world. That should not be too far now. That was like in a dream.”
Many more pages were describing the life of the thirteen century Mongols, Batu Khan, the Horde and the search for the last sea. Some things were absolutely new, but most were well known. That part of the history was better documented due to many people involved and the monumental tragedy the Mongol Horde brought to the world. And, the archeology supported it well. It was fascinating, and the President could not stop reading it. He learned so much and would learn even more. He cherished every word of the document but could not understand why they wanted to make it secret. There was nothing really unknown there so far. He failed to see anything of that importance.
“Minister, this is the President. I’ve been reading the document you gave me.” The President was talking on the phone with the Minister of Science. “This is fascinating, but are you sure I have everything? It is an impressive pile of documents. But, is anything missing there? I fail to understand why we are so secretive about that. There was nothing there we did not know, and the rest of the world knows it as well. All that was well documented already. Well, of course, it comes from Batu himself. That’s exciting, of course. What else do I need to know? What else is there, I have not seen it yet?”
“Mr. President, did you read it to the end, to the very end? You should have three folders: the photocopies of the originals; the translation to the modern Mongolian language and a special folder, the red one. Do you have it? Have you read it? Read the red folder. That’s where it is. Read it, please and let me know what you think. None of us knows what to make out of it.”
There it was, in the corner of the antique desk right under the seventeen-century dagger that was given to him as a birthday present by the relatives in Tashkent. He loved this dagger and always kept it on the desk. It was made of silver and encrusted with a few precious stones. It was gorgeous. The design and the craftsmanship suggested Arabic origin. The blade was of the Damascus steel, but the stones were uncut and possibly from India. Well, it was the product of the Silk Road, and that was clear. It was so beautiful and so evil at the same time. No one knew who it belonged to these many years ago, but Arban thought that he saw some traces of blood on this still razor-sharp curved blade. Was it a death giver or a salvation provider? Was it a defender or an assailant? How could we know? It could be both. It was so long ago. Yet, the feeling of evil would not let you take the eyes off it. It was hypnotizing to a dangerous degree. One wanted to pick it up and maybe use. For what? What was it telling you to do? Another mystery but so hypnotizing. That was why the President always carried it around. He thought it was his protective charm that warned of the evil because it was evil itself. So far, it worked and quite well. He opened the folder and took the sheaf of papers out. There were about fifty pages of the photographs of the original text and as many pages of the translation to the modern Mongolian language. The President could not understand the ancient linguistics as well as he should have. Although there was not much of the difference in those two languages, it was different. The writing and the meaning of some words made it quite difficult to understand if you were not a trained scholar or someone accustomed to seeing it. The President took an apple from the fruit bowl on the side table, bit into it and begun reading. There were sandwiches and all kinds of drinks, including the Bourbon and Whiskey as well, but the President was too involved with the reading to eat anything but fruit or drink anything but water. He could not eat, not now. Still, he was hungry, and the clock on the wall already showed seven in the evening. It was time for dinner, but he could not stop the rea
ding, not now. The words held him at the desk reading and trying to understand the meaning of what he read. That was more important. Food could wait; it would be there later as well.
“My uncle Ogedei just died. It was a strange death, and I heard some rumors, but no facts were supporting it so, we accepted that. Subutai and I were recalled to the Karakorum where the kurultai (meeting or assembly) to elect the new Great Khan were held. We did not actually attend the assembly. We learned that Guyuk, my cousin, had secured enough support to win the election and stayed away. That was safer, maybe even smarter. He could take me for a challenger and start a feud. We did not need one, not now. I needed to think of the war and not the backstabbing and the bloodshed in my own camp. The internal dispute could cost us everything. So, we did not go and made excuses. Instead, we turned to consolidate the conquests in Asia and the Urals. We had so many things to do. I did not have good feelings about Guyuk, but he was the Great Khan now. Being cousins, we knew each other well and even were sociable years ago but not for the last few years. He kept scheming against me trying to minimize my accomplishments in the West, questioning my leadership, questioning me. It was aggravating at least, and Subutai was furious. So, I stayed away from Guyuk because otherwise, we would have to confront each other, and that would not be helpful. Fighting among ourselves would help only the enemy. That would not be good for anyone and, especially, the family and the empire. The Empire came first so, we were able to maintain peace. It was smart. Still, it was hard. Now, he was the Great Khan. It was good that I was so far away.
