Chapter 226: The Khan Rides

The Jochid army reached the Voronezh river early in the afternoon.

From the rise Bayan had selected as the observation position, the river was easy to study. It ran dark and swift through the main channel, with shelves of ice packed against both banks where the current had eaten underneath them.

Three established ford points were visible from the rise. At each one, the banks sloped down toward the water, creating the easiest routes across the river.

The Rus commanders had recognized that immediately.

Their formations held all three fords.

The banners of Ryazan, Murom, and Pronsk stood on the far bank. The princes had positioned their forces where the river gave them the strongest defensive advantage.

The main ford carried the greatest concentration of troops. They had identified the southern route as the most likely for advance and had committed the largest force where the terrain opened into the broadest ford.

Bayan was already waiting on the rise when the commanders gathered.

He started to report. "The three main fords are all defended, but upstream to the east there’s one they’ve left uncovered. Same thing about to the west. I sent two riders through the ford before we withdrew and the channels are firm with solid footing.

The commanders observed the ground.

They had all seen enough battlefields to understand the situation before anyone spoke.

The Rus had defended exactly what a competent commander would defend. In doing so, they had also revealed the weakness in their deployment.

Three fords were guarded.

Two were not.

Forty thousand riders only needed one open path.

From the far bank, the defenders could not yet see the plan taking form above them.

Torghul broke the silence. "We send forces wide on both flanks to take the undefended fords. The army keeps pressure on the main fords while the flanks get across and position themselves."

Dorbei kept his eyes on the river. "Once both flanks are across the river, the Rus have riders hitting them from either side."

Subutai nodded.

"I agree."

Orda looked toward the eastern bend of the river.

"Does the White Horde take the eastern ford, or are we staying in reserve?"

"The White Horde takes the east."

Batu informed them. "Torghul goes west. Dorbei, you will push through the main ford into their defense. The brothers’ tumen follows through after the flanks force the Rus to adjust their formations."

The assignments required no further discussion.

Each commander understood his role and began turning toward his task.

Before the last of them left the rise, Batu spoke again.

"I’ll be riding with the vanguard at the center push."

Torghul stopped and looked back.

"Who commands the army if you’re in the forward force?"

"Subutai," Batu replied. "I’ll be riding as part of the tumen. The relay handles everything else."

Dorbei looked at the river but said nothing.

He had suspected this decision since they arrived on the rise. His expression confirmed it.

Orda glanced toward the ford.

"The first battle of a campaign tends to be remembered for things like that."

There was no objection in his voice.

Only acknowledgment.

Tangqut straightened.

"About time."

The approval was immediate and uncomplicated.

Toqa-Timur watched the river, judging the ground. Whatever conclusion he reached, he kept it to himself and returned toward his section.

Berke gave a single nod.

The risk was easy enough to estimate. A stray arrow could find any man during the confusion of a river skirmish.

Against forty thousand riders moving across open ground, the odds remained small.

The other side of the decision was more important.

Every rider in the army would talk about what happened here tonight.

Stories carried through campaigns. What forty thousand men repeated around their fires would follow them into every battle afterward.

The decision had been made long before Batu spoke it aloud.

The commanders dispersed.

Suuqai remained.

"Where in the formation?"

"First rank of the main ford column."

Batu replied without hesitation. "The guard keeps its position around me."

Suuqai nodded.

The answer matched what he had expected. He left at once to arrange the Khar Kheshig within the vanguard.

The army spent the next two hours preparing for the battle.

Torghul’s tumen moved west along the river. The formation stretched out in disciplined order, raising its own trail of dust until the movement became distinct from the main force.

On the eastern side, Orda’s White Horde did the same.

The white banner went toward the uncovered ford, and the riders followed with simple efficiency.

Dorbei positioned his tumen at the head of the main fords.

The fire-archer riders spread across the front in layered depth. Composite bows emerged from felt coverings and were strung in practiced motions.

The riders hardly needed to look at their hands.

The suppression force prepared through their ranks and took position before either flank had finished reaching its crossing point.

The brothers’ combined tumen formed behind the formation.

Their role was straightforward.

Once the suppression fire was established and the flanking attacks began, they would become the mass that pushed through the ford.

The Khar Kheshig assembled at the front of the vanguard force.

Suuqai took position near Batu’s left side. Steppe riders spread along both flanks at their standard formation.

The norsemen took their place amidst the steppe riders.

Einar stood a full head taller than most of the men around him. Gunnar carried the horn at his hip.

The hundreds of soldiers of the guard had drilled this formation throughout the winter at Sarai and repeated it again during the march.

They moved into position now through habit rather than instruction.

Each man knew exactly where he belonged.

Batu rode Daichin to the front of the army.

The white horse could be seen from every depth of the tumen formation. Riders on both flanks could see him as well.

Over the next two hours, every one of the forty thousand men who glanced toward the main ford would see the same image at its head.

The sun had already begun its descent toward the western hills.

Its light stretched low across the Voronezh, reflecting from the water before reaching the far bank.

The glare fell directly into the eyes of the men defending the fords

The army waited.

The river remained ahead of them.

And beyond it, the battle.