1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 265 Constantine on the Don

On the vast grassland, the Don River flows quietly, and on the left bank of the Don River, two armies are fighting hard.

One of the troops was holding a variety of totemic flags, obviously from a tribe on the prairie.

The other force was well-equipped, carrying the Cossack flag of a bloody and fiery double-headed eagle and the Guards Dragoon flag of a fire-breathing dragon, and now came from the Eastern Roman Empire.

The two armies were almost the same in number, but the Cossacks and the Guards Dragoons were obviously better equipped than the tribal soldiers, especially the Guards Dragoons, which were also equipped with a large number of muskets and spears.

When the grassland tribes divided their army into three groups as usual to encircle the enemy, they were surprised to find that the enemy was also divided into three groups. The Cossack cavalry on the left and right armies ran into the opponent head-on, while the strange cavalry in the center dismounted directly and arranged their battle formation.

Generally speaking, in a cavalry charge, the side that starts running first has an absolute advantage, and the faster the speed, the stronger the impact.

Although the tribal cavalry deployed in the middle were confused, they did not hesitate too much. They rode at full speed and rushed to the front of the dragoons in a blink of an eye.

The grassland cavalry had long figured out a way to deal with infantry formations during the long battles. They would not engage in head-on confrontations, but would first go around the enemy's flanks that were out of protection for the infantry archers, use horse bows to consume the infantry, and employ cavalry maneuver tactics to gradually wear down the opponent, causing them to reveal their flaws, and then send in the crucial heavy cavalry to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

This method can maximize the advantages of heavy cavalry, which was very effective in the Mongol invasion of the West, and did not allow the heavy infantry, which the Russians were proud of, to gain any advantage.

However, just as the nomadic cavalry was about to enter the shooting range and prepare to draw their horse bows, the front row of spearmen on the opposite side suddenly separated, revealing the musketeers hiding behind them.

A round of gunfire rang out, a cloud of gunpowder was heard, and the nomadic cavalrymen in the front fell to the ground with a bang. They could not even groan before they were crushed into mud by their comrades in the rear.

Firearms have been around for several centuries and the nomadic cavalry were no strangers to them. After the initial chaos, they immediately dispersed and reorganized.

What puzzled them was that the opponent's muskets not only had a long range and great power, but were also much more accurate than previous firearms.

The soldiers of the Guards Dragoon began to change their formation. The front row squatted down to reload, while the musketeers in the second row quickly set up their guns.

There was another round of gunfire and another cloud of smoke. The nomadic cavalry finally began to be cautious and their horses slowed down a little.

The horse archers began to realize that they could no longer rely on their horse bows to consume the enemy, and could only draw their sabers and make the final charge together with the few heavy cavalry.

After discovering the enemy's intention, the messenger waved the command flag and the dragoons changed their formation again. The spearmen raised their five-meter-long spear handles in all directions, blocking the cavalry's charge.

On the distant hills, Haidar Gray watched this scene, clenched his teeth, and his face looked extremely ugly.

"What a bunch of bastards, how could we be beaten so badly!"

"Even when facing the most elite Ross troops, we have never been so defenseless as we are today!"

He looked around and glared fiercely at several tribal leaders nearby, but obviously could not get an answer.

"Great Khan, their equipment is far superior to ours. No matter how brave the grassland warriors are, they can't fight this kind of battle."

A tribal leader said softly.

"Moreover, their commander is obviously very capable and cannot be compared to the reckless Russians."

"Who is their commander? I don't believe that Cossack chieftain has such talent!"

Haidar's chest rose and fell as he suppressed his emotions.

"According to intelligence, the commander on the other side is not Justinian of Constantinople, but a young general named Gonzalo de Cordoba."

"As for the Greek, he hasn't appeared for a long time. He is probably in Constantinople with his son."

The tribal leader glanced at Haidar, whose face was filled with anger, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

Haidar has mediocre talent and is ambitious. Apart from his bloodline, there is nothing worth mentioning about him.

If it weren't for the interests of the tribe, he would not have married his daughter to this playboy and supported him in competing for the position of Khan.

"This man is a close friend of Justinian. We originally thought that he rose to power through connections, but it seems we were wrong."

"Khan, we have not completely failed yet. Even if we fail, I will protect you and leave here."

The tribal leader said.

Haidar took a sharp breath and nodded emphatically.

Haidar is the son of Haji Giray, the former Great Khan of Crimea, the descendant of the Jochi branch of the Borjigin family, and one of the contenders for the new generation of Great Khan of the Crimean Khanate.

Haji Giray was indeed a great leader on the steppes of East Europe. He spent half his life firmly controlling the Crimea region, completely breaking away from the control of Batu Sarai and establishing a truly autonomous regime.

Of course, whether it is the Crimean Khanate, the Great Horde, the Kazan Khanate, or the Nogai Khanate as later generations called it, they have always called themselves the Jochi Ulus, and have always claimed to be the orthodox successors of Jochi's fiefdom, demoting other forces to rebels, belonging to different claimants of the same country, rather than several completely divided independent countries.

However, the Crimean Khanate was essentially still a tribal alliance and ultimately could not escape the fate of internal strife. After Haji Giray's death, his children once again started a civil war over the throne, with each son representing the interests of a different tribe.

Among Haji Giray's sons, there were three who were capable of competing for the Khan throne, namely Nurdalat Giray, Mingli Giray and Haidar Giray. The former had the greatest power, and the latter had the least.

Nurdalat was the nominally legitimate Khan, but his two brothers did not recognize him at all, especially Mingli Glei, who led an army on his own and fought repeatedly with Nurdalat around Crimea.

In addition to the conflict over the Khanate, Nurdalat and Mingli also had serious differences in diplomacy.

Nurdalat regarded Moscow as his biggest enemy and advocated easing relations with neighboring forces including the Great Horde and Lithuania in order to jointly contain Moscow and the Eastern Roman Empire.

Mingli advocated making peace with Moscow, completely defeating the Great Horde and occupying Batu Sarai.

As for Haidar, his power was small to begin with, and he only wanted to cede a piece of land while observing the situation and preparing to reap the benefits.

On the battlefield in the distance, light cavalry armed with sabers and a small number of heavy cavalry had already rushed into the army formation, splashing blood, but did not play a decisive role. The spear and musketeer phalanxes quickly recovered from the chaos. The spearmen switched to swords and the musketeers switched to plank axes, and they fought with the cavalry that had lost their momentum.

On the left and right sides, Haidar's troops could still hold on for the time being. The Cossacks' equipment was far ahead. They all wore light and sturdy cotton armor and iron helmets on their heads, which gave them a lot of advantages in the battle.

"Khan, we should retreat. Blow the horn."

The tribal leader sighed heavily, his face turning pale.

"Retreat? It was you who asked me to come and destroy them, and now it's you who's saying we should retreat. I suspect you've already defected to the Greeks and are ready to betray the Great Ulus!"

Haidar had a ferocious look on his face and was roaring loudly.

"Great Khan, we really have no other options. They rely on water transportation, and we cannot harass their food supply like we do with other enemies. I also want to push them into the sea while they are still unstable."

"If you let them gain a foothold near the river mouth, they will have the advantage of the sea route and can quickly transport a large number of soldiers and people to quickly build strong fortresses, gradually compressing our living space. In this way, we will really have no hope!"

"But now, we have been defeated. What we should do is to bring back as many soldiers as possible and rebuild the morale of the army."

"The losses on our two wings are not that great. They are far inferior to us in horsemanship. We can definitely retreat unscathed!"

"I suggest you seek peace with the other two princes. Neither of us is a match for the Greeks!"

The tribal leader frowned, but still patiently explained to Haidar.

"I can't retreat! If I can't even drive these people away, how can I fight with my two brothers for the Khanship?"

"I married your daughter. You promised to help me seize the Khanship. How can you give up halfway?"

Upon hearing this, Haidar shook his head vigorously, drew his scimitar, roared loudly, and prepared to send the last of his guards into the battlefield.

At this time, a cannon shot was heard from the river behind, and several ships with the flag of a bloody and fiery double-headed eagle flying high were sailing at high speed along the Don River.

A sound of horse hooves followed closely. There were not many people, but it was like the hammer of the god of death, ringing the fatal bell.

Haidar looked towards the river, his face suddenly turned pale, his lips trembled, and he could not utter a word.

The decks of several large ships were filled with the elderly, the weak, women and children of the Haidar tribe. The sailors on the ships whipped them hard, and their cries and screams spread across the entire river.

Haidar turned his head and looked at his father-in-law, a flush of red appeared on his pale face.

"I told you not to set up camp near a river, but you didn't listen!"

"You...you deserve to die!"

"enough!"

The father-in-law roared, his eyes bloodshot.

"Summer pastures and winter pastures are fixed. Now it's so dry, where else can we go!"

"If we set up camp inland, far away from rivers and lakes, the herdsmen will die of thirst and the livestock will not grow meat. How can we survive the cold winter?"

"Not to mention those hostile tribes, the inland is all Batu Sarai's territory. Can you defeat them?"

As he spoke, the father-in-law grabbed the bugler.

"Blow the horn! Let's go!"

"Haha, how can we leave... Their wives and children have all been captured. I'm afraid they don't have any fighting spirit left..."

Haidar laughed miserably.

"The cavalry behind us should have been dropped from the ship. There are not many of them, and they are used to create momentum. They can't catch us!"

The father-in-law yelled.

"We will retreat with our guards! Go east and join Batu Sarai!"

Haidar took a reluctant look at the ships on the river and his family on the ships, grabbed the reins, and ran into the vast grassland with his father-in-law and his guards.

In the distance, seeing the fleet approaching, Gonzalo in the army was overjoyed and quickly found soldiers who could speak Turkic.

"We have raided your camp! Your wives and children are in our hands! Surrender immediately! The prince is merciful and will not cause any more killings!"

The tribesmen who were still fighting hard saw the fleet on the river, heard the cries of their families, and saw the Khan fleeing in panic. Their morale had already fallen to the bottom.

The tribesmen looked at each other in despair.

Then, one by one the tribesmen dropped their weapons, knelt down and surrendered. Some of the outer cavalry abandoned their wives and children and followed Haidar. The Eastern Roman soldiers did not chase them.

The ships gradually approached the shore. On the largest galley, Justinian jumped off the deck, walked towards Gonzalo and hugged him tightly.

"Congratulations, Haidar is no longer a big deal."

"It's a pity that we didn't catch him. There are still hidden dangers after all."

Gonzalo bowed and smiled.

"It doesn't matter. I never considered Haidar as an opponent. Just run away if you want."

Justinian shrugged and looked toward the river mouth in the distance.

"Haydar is already very weak. He is no match for his two brothers. He is not even as strong as the large tribe under their command. There is nothing to congratulate him for."

"Besides, even if I don't raid their lair, you can still win, right?"

"Yes, as you said before, they are already lagging behind in terms of weaponry and military tactics, and even their numbers are not as large as ours."

Gonzalo laughed.

"I prepared for a long time to guard against possible heavy cavalry, but there are only a few of them." "Haha, the core area of ​​Haji Glei is not here. The elite troops were divided by Haidar's two brothers. Haidar really doesn't have many heavy cavalry. They are probably formed by himself, not given by his father."

Justinian smiled contemptuously.

"However, we still have to thank the Don River. If the water flow of this big river had not been so gentle, I would not have been able to find their hometown so easily."

"You went deep into the river, but you were not discovered by them?"

Gonzalo asked.

"Fortunately, the river downstream is very wide and not that easy to find. I have been walking along the right bank. The tribes on the right bank may have found me, but it doesn't matter."

"There is a very large lake in the north. I hid there before. The surrounding nomadic tribes also graze around this lake, but the conditions on the right bank are obviously better than those on the left bank. Haidar's tribe is one of the poorer ones, and they were probably squeezed out.

Justinian waved his hand, and the attendant handed him a jewel-encrusted scimitar.

"Here, this is Haidar's treasure. It is one of the few valuable things in his camp. I'm giving it to you."

"Thank you very much."

Gonzalo took the machete with a smile and hung it around his waist.

"It's not a good thing. This gem is obviously a cheap product. Only poor people like Haidar would like it."

Justinian pointed to the barren grassland to the northeast.

"In summer and autumn, the climate in inland areas is really dry, almost the same as the coastal areas of North Africa."

"Your Majesty, the Don River is a seasonal river. It freezes in the winter, and the snow melts in the spring. There is also a lot of rainfall, and the water flows rapidly. The water flow in summer and autumn is originally very slow."

"At this time, some water bubbles on the grassland and many small tributaries of the Don River are probably dry, so they can only go to the banks of the big rivers to graze."

Gonzalo said, looking at the group of prisoners in the distance.

"Your Majesty, how are you going to treat them?"

"As always, convert as many of them as possible, organize them into thousand-man Cossack regiments, and give them pastures and farmland."

"The nomadic barbarians have always been very casual about their beliefs. The few who don't want to convert can be sold to the south. There is no need to kill them. It's meaningless."

Justinian groaned.

"The situation in the Don River Delta is pretty good, with abundant rainfall, not much different from Carthage. We will take root here in the future."

"There were originally several Genoese trading posts here, but they were destroyed by Haji Glei a few years ago. I plan to build a fortress here and then develop it into a city. What do you think?"

“Good choice.”

Gonzalo nodded.

"The Don River flows fast in the spring and slowly in the summer and autumn. As long as our inland waterway can firmly block the river's estuary, the Tatars in the north will not be able to attack us."

"But winter is more troublesome, the rivers freeze solid, and they may still launch a large-scale attack at this time."

"It's okay. The winter is too cold and there is no pasture. They can't besiege the city for a long time and they can't take it down."

"Besides, the mouth of the Don River does not freeze every winter. Even if it does, the ice is not thick enough to allow a large army to pass through."

Justinian shook his head.

"Besides, Nur Dalat and Mingli are still fighting to the west. They won't be able to reach here in at least five years."

"Charlotte is also advancing northwards on the Crimean Peninsula, but that is one of the core areas of the Tatars, so progress is slow."

"I have sold Yalta City to Charlotte. We will make this the center from now on."

Justinian pulled out a map.

"You see, to the west is the sea, to the northwest is the Don River, to the northeast is the Manech River, a tributary of the Don River, and to the south is the Caucasus Mountains."

"Although this place is not a vast fertile land, it is enough to feed a lot of Cossacks. With the barrier of the river, even if the Tatars launch a large-scale attack, we have enough room to maneuver."

"I plan to give the pastures around the Manech River to Antoninus, who is from the Borjigin family. He is a descendant of Yuejibe Khan. Maybe he can gain the support of some small tribes and help us defend the east."

"I've made up my mind. We will build a city here. The mouth of the Don River is a good place. It connects the inland and the sea. It will definitely grow into a nice big city."

"You are the co-emperor, you have the final say."

Gonzalo smiled and waved his hand.

"What name are you going to give this city?"

Justinian thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth raised.

"This city will be passed on to my son, so let's name it after him."

"Constantine? There are so many cities with that name."

Gonzalo pouted.

"Then let's call it Constantine on the Don. It's a good name."

Justinian said firmly.

"It was my father's idea to build a city here. He advised me not to touch the core area of ​​Crimea for the time being and to occupy this place first."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Gonzalo was curious.

"I don't know, maybe there is some treasure buried underground."

Justinian said.

"Anyway, my father is always right, so it's always right to listen to him."

Justinian smiled and pointed to the Caucasus Mountains vaguely visible to the south.

"There are many Circassian tribes in the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. Once we gain a foothold, we may be able to try to subjugate them."

"Since you believe in Orthodoxy, you should obey the Orthodox emperor."

"So, according to what you said, Georgia, which is further south, is also in His Majesty Isaac's plan?"

Gonzalo asked with a smile.

"Of course. Georgia is a very important part of our Middle East strategy. We will take it sooner or later."

Justinian nodded.

"The Kingdom of Georgia completely disintegrated two years ago. Now only a bunch of scattered principalities remain. We can bypass Abkhazia and try to make them obey our orders through diplomatic means."

"I am very envious of the Orthodox population of over one million."

"Aren't you afraid that the Aries Dynasty will take advantage of you?"

Gonzalo asked.

"What are you afraid of? Georgia has a rugged terrain, and many fortresses and strongholds are built at the passes of the mountains. The nomadic tribes of the Aries Dynasty cannot defeat them."

"Besides, Uzon Hassan is still stuck in Persia and doesn't have the time."

Justinian said.

"It is estimated that it will be difficult for us to conquer them, but we have an innate diplomatic advantage. Those Orthodox princes have a natural affinity for us."

"Okay, this is not my area of ​​expertise. It's up to you to make the decision."

Gonzalo nodded.

"You will build the camp here temporarily, organize the prisoners to mine stones and cut wood, and write a letter to Timur Tash and Father Pavel who are still in Yalta. The camp can be moved here."

Justinian arranged.

"As for the establishment of the monastery, you will have to help with this as well. According to our previous plan, every Cossack family must send a male to serve as an ascetic. These people will be under my direct jurisdiction. Some will be responsible for preaching, some will be responsible for administration, and some strong ones can be incorporated into the personal guard."

"Then there is the reclamation of farmland and the breeding of livestock. The Cossacks are engaged in both agriculture and animal husbandry. I will ask a specialist from the Ministry of Agriculture to come and plan it."

"Your Majesty, all these things require money, and building a city requires a lot of money. The money you borrowed from the Fugger family last time is not enough."

Gonzalo looked miserable.

"I also plan to select a few from the Cossack Thousands and train them into dragoons, which will cost money."

"It's okay. I will ask my father for some. There are still many mineral resources near Constantine on the Don River. I can mortgage them to merchants and borrow money from them."

Justinian pondered.

"You guys try to build the fortress before winter. We don't have that many people right now, so we can expand it later."

"Also, we have seized a lot of horses recently. The extra ones can be sold to Roman merchants. This is also one of our ways to make money in the future."

"And you? What are you going to do during this time?"

"You really trust us for so many things."

Gonzalo looked unhappy.

"I am going to go south and talk to the chieftains of the Circassian tribes and try to win them over to our side."

Justinian smiled helplessly and patted Gonzalo on the shoulder.

"After the Circassian issue is resolved, I will return to Constantinople to see Isabella and my son."

"You are little Constantine's godfather. You can't bear to let him be away from his father for a long time, right?"

"You and Timur Tash are my two most trusted subordinates. I believe in your abilities and I believe you will not let me down."

Gonzalo's tone softened as he looked at Justinian's sincere eyes.

"Well, even if it's for my godson, I will protect this city."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you. I thank you on behalf of little Constantine."

Justinian waved his hand, and a team of Cossacks gathered together and ran towards the south under the banner of a double-headed eagle of blood and fire.

(End of this chapter)