Chapter 224: The Kievan Rus Campaign

Batu planted both hands on the map.

"Ryazan falls and the army splits into three."

His finger tapped the center line.

"The center is Jochid. We push west toward Kolomna."

His hand shifted north.

"The northern wing is Guyuk and Büri together. You leave the Vladimir road and advance north."

Then south.

"The southern wing is Möngke. You move from the Chernigov road and drive southwest."

Tangqut followed the charcoal markings across the map. "The center includes the Jochid tumens with you?"

"The Jochid tumens and Subutai’s command."

Toqa-Timur’s attention moved to the eastern side of the map. "Berke keeps the river covered until the wings move far enough west?"

"Until the eastern road is no longer a threat," Batu said. "Then his riders join the center."

He dragged his hand west from the Oka river. "The center takes Kolomna first. After Kolomna, we turn northwest toward Moscow and Tver and the towns between them."

His hand flattened against the map.

"We don’t stop for smaller targets. We keep moving."

Subutai looked around the table rather than at Batu alone. "Once we move west past Ryazan, the Rus princes will understand this is not a raid. Some will send envoys. Some will trust their walls."

A brief pause.

"None of them will come out to fight us in the open."

Batu tapped the map once. "My reports say the principalities aren’t capable of working together and each prince will wait for news before acting. We move faster than the news."

The room followed the logic. By the time one principality learned its neighbor had fallen, the army would already be on another road. Speed was not only their strength. It was the answer to the princes’ one advantage of delay.

Batu shifted north again.

"Guyuk. Once you leave the position, Vladimir comes first."

He pointed at the city.

"The Jin siege crews move with your vanguard. That’s why they were brought."

His finger traced farther up the route. "After Vladimir, take Suzdal. Then ride north as far as the ground allows before the thaw turns everything to mud. After that, turn south."

Büri traced the northern route with one finger, considering the land in his head. Open country north of Vladimir. Good ground for cavalry once the siege ended.

Guyuk looked down at the map.

"The siege crews move with the vanguard. Not behind it."

"Yes."

Büri did not wait long.

"When we turn south again, where do we meet the center?"

Batu replied, "The relay riders will coordinate it. Mark your southernmost position and hold there until the signal comes."

Büri glanced toward Guyuk. For a moment both men shared the same practical concern. Then their attention returned to the map.

"Southern wing."

Batu’s hand moved toward Pereyaslavl.

"Möngke, you move from the Chernigov road and take Pereyaslavl first."

He traced the lower route.

"Their defenses will be stronger than the smaller towns."

His finger shifted west.

"After Pereyaslavl, you strike Chernigov."

Subutai leaned slightly over the map.

"If Möngke stands between Chernigov and Kiev, the southern road is cut."

He looked down at the marked routes.

"Chernigov can’t send help where it can’t reach."

Möngke studied the stretch between the two cities. "How far north does the southern wing go before Kiev? Do we stop at Chernigov or keep advancing?"

"It stops at Chernigov."

Batu’s answer came immediately.

"Siege and take over the city. Kiev comes after."

Möngke nodded once. The limit was clear.

Batu continued. "Everything depends on accomplishing this goals on time."

The room quieted around the map.

"If any city holds longer than a few days, the campaign will be cut short before we reach Kiev."

Subutai put numbers to it.

"Spring, summer, autumn. We have three seasons to sweep the Rus territories."

He rested a hand against the table’s edge.

"Then we winter near Kiev and prepare to push into Majar."

Kiev itself might end up being sieged through winter, but that was acceptable as long as the entire army was in position.

Kiev would fall.

The question was how quickly.

Qadan had been reading all three routes in silence. "The wings are moving in different directions. How do they stay in contact once they’re fifty miles apart?"

"The western steppes has a substantially better relay system and yam network."

Batu answered without hesitation. "Each wing keeps riders moving on schedule. When news or support is needed, the message passes through the network and the nearest force responds."

Orda gave a small nod.

"The White Horde used that system during the Volga Bulgaria campaign. It works."

Qadan accepted that and returned to the map.

"When the three wings accomplish their goals, they come together at Kiev."

Batu swept a hand inward over the map.

"The siege then depends how fast we were. We’ll decide the rest when we get there."

No one argued. Planning Kiev’s siege before Ryazan had even fallen would mean trusting guesses, and none of the men at this table had risen by trusting guesses in war.

Batu straightened.

"That’s the campaign."

"The plan is sound," Subutai said at once.

The tension around the table eased into quieter work.

Büri and Baidar bent over the northern route, speaking in low voices while Büri traced the road beyond Vladimir. Büjek studied the distance between Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, fixing it in memory.

Tangqut and Toqa-Timur had already shifted into supply matters instead of strategy.

At the far end of the table, Ariq Böke rested both hands on the map’s southern section, reading the land between Pereyaslavl and Chernigov as though memorizing every mile before the commanders dispersed.

Guyuk looked at the map one last time.

His gaze settled on Vladimir.

It was a worthy target, with considerable riches and plunder for his tumens. There was no room for him to push for more here since it was already more than he expected from Batu’s command.

He watched the map for several seconds, expression unreadable.

Then he turned toward the tent entrance.

Batu’s voice followed him.

"We cross the river at spring. Then we only meet again at Kiev."