Chapter 41: Burtasy or Bust (9 October 881 – 19 April 882)
Chapter 41: Burtasy or Bust (9 October 881 – 19 April 882)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Almost a year of war waged against Mordva to conquer the county of Vladimir had seen two successful sieges and a desperate but eventually victorious field battle outside the gates of the county in question; with his levies hard hit in numbers and morale, Rurik nevertheless pushes east immediately to follow up his hard-fought win and beat Mordva’s Chief Varaka 'the Ill-Ruler' before he can again rally his position, or perhaps make peace with one of the other adversaries who harry him; back home, Rurik's Chancellor does his best to keep the edgy Finns from forming pacts against his liege – but Rurik’s conquering ways make that difficult.
October 881
“Vassals,” muttered Rurik, just with earshot of his Secretary, Gumarich der Schreiber. “Can’t rule with them, can’t rule without them!”
Gumarich thought the statement rhetorical and perhaps not intended for his ears anyway. He decidesdto maintain a discrete silence and not acknowledge he had heard anything.
Gumarich assumed (and later recorded in his enciphered, private and confidential journal) that Rurik referred on the one hand to his loyal vassal allies – notably Chiefs Grimr of Smaleskja and Vsemil ‘the Cleansing Flame’ or Belo Ozero – who were instrumental in winning the recent Battle of Vladimir. But he also referred to the latest report from Chancellor Hrörekr, which gave details of how the rest of his vassals stood.
It was no surprise the three most recent additions to the realm remained fractious and keen to reassert their independence. And their faction was quite strong: another reason Rurik was worried about his levy strength and regretted every combat loss he took. And why he remained so regretful to have lost the buffer of his Great Tribal Army: they were to have soaked up the casualties of conquests, allowing his royal levy to continue to build. But that horse had bolted long ago and was by then well over the horizon.
The better news in Hrörekr’s report was of the other Chiefs. Even old Svetozar Slovensky (now only the third most powerful vassal lord in the realm other than the king himself) had actually gained a mildly positive attitude to his ruler. Mainly, it seemed, because he no longer saw a realistic prospect of gaining a council seat given the relative power of the two most powerful newcomers. This meant, of the original Holmgarðian chiefdoms, all were now loyal (to some degree, at least) to Rurik. But it would take many years (or successions – forced or natural) before the three new vassals would willingly subordinate themselves to the new Garðarikian crown.
After pondering the report for a few minutes, Rurik turned to his faithful scribe.
“And look at this, will you, Gumarich! What a cheek – ‘for the sake of your health, My Liege’, he says …”
It was a reply from the Chancellor to a message from Rurik to investigate the conduct of a Grand Hunt once peace against Mordva could be won. But it seemed the trusty Chancellor – whose long, faithful and authoritative service Rurik did indeed respect – was firmly of the view that despite his turning back to the pursuit of Hunting, Rurik’s health following the horrific events of Pisa (ie his castration and the resulting ‘lunacy’ – what we would now call PTSD) meant he could not conduct a Grand Hunt. Something he had wanted to do for many years, but for different reasons had never got around to.
The king sighed and bowed to the inevitable.
Rurik’s war against Varaka of Mordva was, as we have noted before in this chronicle, only one of four that the 'Ill-Ruler' was fighting. Of the others, the Cuman war to conquer Bashkira – at the opposite end of Mordva from Vladimir – was the largest and most well-advanced. Khan Sokhal ‘the Fat’ had by October 881 already over-run a large swathe of Varaka’s territory and was now approaching its western end – and Rurik’s advance. It appeared both would-be conquerors may now be in a race to take Mordvin counties to force Varaka to accede to their respective claims.
A few weeks after the recent battle, the various elements that had all been congregated in Vladimir had started to move their separate ways. The Mordvin army had split apart into two groups. Both were headed north-east – and towards Mari – but in a panicked rout likely to last for weeks yet. Rurik’s levies (whose morale was only slowly rebuilding after their mauling in Vladimir) and his two vassal allies continued east and would arrive in Obran Osh on 26 October. From there, they would need to cross the Volga if they wished to continue the war in Mordva and force Varaka to yield. With the Cumans pursuing the same objective from the east.
And, arriving in the already-occupied Obran Osh, Rurik’s army immediately began to ferry itself across the Volga and head for Cheremisa – which would take around three weeks.
While this operation was in progress, another courier from the Chancellor found Rurik. He bore a report on who had left and joined the pact against the feared King of Garðaríki over the last month. Fortunately, more had left than joined. These Finns are flighty types, it seems, Rurik noted in his personal journal. But a couple of potential targets have naively left the pact – they may come to regret that decision once Varaka’s hash is settled!
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
November 881
And then, within a week of his joining, Mielus Savolainen of Savo - the one new pact entrant during October – was abandoned by his remaining Finnish ‘brothers’ in rapid succession! Hah! So much for Finnish solidarity, Rurik gloated in his journal.
But all these diplomatic changes were peripheral: the movements that really concerned Rurik were those of the troops nearby – his own, the enemy’s, and others involved in wars against Mordva. Varaka himself had joined the troops now heading north-west: at last report, to Rurik’s own county of Chud, but still in rout. The other force (those of a couple of his vassals who had been with him at Vladimir) headed into the depths of Mari: Rurik hoped they would be waylaid by their other enemies while there. Rurik himself would arrive in Cheremisa on 15 November and hoped to add that county to the ledger to advance his bargaining power [current warscore of 62%, which mounted slowly while he held Vladimir, which I hadn’t realised was a thing before this campaign.]
The pace of the river-crossing had picked up a little – Rurik now estimated he would get to Cheremisa on 13 November. But just two days before then, the Cumans – who had a far easier approach across the open steppe – arrived first and began besieging the Mordvin hold in Cheremisa. Damnation!
So, on arrival, Rurik had a choice: he could either remain in Cheremisa and add his weight to the Cuman siege, or leave them to it and continue to Varaka’s home county of Mordva.
December 881
As bitter winter once again blanketed the land with snow, Rurik’s army laid siege to Varaka’s hold in Mordva. At least by now their morale was fully recovered, despite the cold conditions of the siege. Meanwhile, the King received a report that Varaka was in Chud and heading towards the territory of neutral Veps, where he would likely arrive in mid-December. He did not know whether he would then keep going or begin the long trek back, with vengeance on his mind. Would Varaka try to raid Garðarikian territory on the way through? This was thought unlikely, due to the small size of his remaining company. More likely he would head home. In any case, there was nothing much Rurik could do about it than try to end the war before Varaka could do any real damage.
After some days examining the hold in Mordva, Sverker was directed to consult the siege master and try to predict how long the reduction would take.
“He estimates at the current rate, the defenders should be starved out and ready to surrender by maybe the last week of January. Perhaps the 25th; should be no later than the end of that month,” Sverker reported as the army leaders huddled around a small fire in an appropriated villager’s now very smoky hut. Without wishing to waste troops on an assault, and hoping disease or raiders did not start to waste his ranks, Rurik hunkered down and waited for nature to take its course with the defenders.
Later that month, the latest despatch rider from Nygarðr bore a report advising Varaka’s company had turned around in Romny and was now en-route back to Chud. Their intentions there were as yet unknown.
[Note: by 20 December, the Cuman warscore had reached 99%, while they continued to besiege Cheremisa. I’ll be referring back to this later in a question.]
January 882
By early January, Varaka's intentions had become clearer: he did not tarry in Chud and seemed to be headed back the way he came. Maybe troops from Mari might intercept them?
It would be a long, cold march for Varaka the Ill-Ruler and his depleted company. And what would be waiting for him: would he even make it back to his own lands?
While this was happening, Rurik noticed a detachment of Cuman troops had begun heading towards Mordva – did they hope to steal the siege from out of his hands? Curse them if they did!
To add to Rurik’s irritation, it seemed High Chief Tuure of Karelia has changed his mind and rejoined the pact. Here we go again!
Later that month, the Cumans succeeded in their siege of Cheremisa. But, inexplicably to Rurik and his officers, they still couldn’t seem to force Varaka to surrender. The Mordvin High Chief surely should have given up on that one eastern province a good while back.
The upshot of this is that Khan Sokal and the rest of his army is now also headed to Mordva. Those who departed earlier are due on 6 February, the rest on 10 February. Could Rurik finish the siege before they arrived? He hoped so, but it could be a close-run thing.
Fortunately, this time it was the Garðarikians who beat their Cuman competitors to the punch: Mordva fell on 28 January 882 (just three days after the siegemaster had predicted), with their entire garrison of 418 men surrendering, to be sold into slavery. Some small plunder was taken as the town was ransacked and then a small garrison left behind to hold it. This advanced Rurik’s interests, but not as much as he thought it would. And looking north, it was apparent the Cumans had received reinforcements: they now numbered over 3,600. Rurik continued even deeper into Mordva: perhaps taking Burtasy would be enough?
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
February-March 882
The turn of Burtasy – which had a sizable garrison - to be invested came on 18 February. By then, Varaka had been sighted again, emerging unscathed from Mari territory with over 500 warriors and heading for Garðaríki-occupied Obran Osh. Would they start besieging that, or keep moving? The Cumans were by then in Mordva, but they were wasting their time there.
A courier was brought into Rurik’s tent, exhausted and dishevelled, in mid-March. He had ridden non-stop, changing horses along the way, with news from Vladimir. Varaka had arrived in Obran Osh on 4 March and passed straight through it: eleven days later he appeared outside the gates of Vladimir, to lay it under siege! Should he succeed, it would set back the war effort considerably. A decent garrison had by then been assembled to hold the town against it’s former owner, but it was still outnumbered and could not hold out indefinitely. The siege in Burtasy was progressing more than twice as quickly and had already been going for some time. By then, the bulk of the Cuman troops had also arrived in Burtasy. This seemed to help speed the siege – but who would gain the benefit?
Could Rurik complete the siege, secure Burtasy (including from Cuman poachers) and then march back to Vladimir, after crossing the Volga, in time to break Varaka’s siege? Or would taking Burtasy be enough to bring Varaka to his senses and force his surrender? Rurik did not know the answer to any of these questions but decided neither to split his force nor break the siege of Burtasy. He would see it out and let the cards fall where they may.
An artist’s impression of the well-defended hold at Burtasy. Rurik was still loath to lose troops needlessly by storming such fortifications. He would wait them out.
April 882
By mid-April, the cumulative effect of Garðarikian occupation had pushed Mordva close to the point of surrender. The siege of Burtasy (the last Mordvin province not occupied by a foreign power) was reaching its final stages. But at that point, the other two long-lost Mordvin companies emerged from Mari – and were heading straight to Vladimir, to reinforce Varaka’s siege to try to wrest back much of the initiative in the war. Would the Ill-Ruler escape his fate and force Rurik into a laborious reconquest? Would those Cuman cuckoos rob the nest of Rurik's siege of Burtasy?
“Victory, my King, Victory!” The cry rang out the very next day, when the defenders of Burtasy throw the gates open, finally starved into submission. Again, no losses were suffered among Rurik’s levies, about which he is very pleased. And this had been achieved while the gallant Garðarikian garrison of Vladimir still held out. Word came from High Chief Varaka that he was now truly vanquished: the enforcement of Rurik’s demands would be accepted if he proposed such. [The occupation of Vladimir contributed almost half of the total warscore: 12.16% for the town and another 36.66% for the cumulative time of occupying the war’s principal objective. Something I’ll definitely need to remember next time I conduct a similar single-county conquest war against a larger opponent, which I hadn’t done until now.]
The gates of Burtasy were thrown open on 19 July 882. Other than a bit of looting, this time the town was shown mercy, the enemy garrison allowed to disperse to the countryside to begin preparing for the spring sowing. Such was Rurik’s pleasure at this bloodless victory – and its implications for the war – that he chose to live up to his name of ‘the Just’. He hoped the mercy shown to the common people in these parts might demonstrate the benefits of Garðarikian suzerainty over the ill-rule of the Mordvin lordlings.
And this is exactly what Rurik proposed. The resultant truce with Varaka would last for five years. Vladimir would, for now, be administered directly by Rurik himself as part of his personal demesne. But at some point in the not-too-distant future, he would need to examine his holdings and the succession, to do his best to set Helgi up to take the realm forward in as strong a position as possible. So long as he and his brothers could get along, the power of loyal vassal-allies under a tribal system had been shown in recent wars. It would have to do until a stronger system of rulership could be introduced.
A few days later, High Chief Varaka of Mordva appeared before Rurik in Vladimir’s state room to abase himself and accept the terms offered. This romanticised version, painted centuries later, will have significantly overstated the splendour of the room. But the spirit is captured.
With peace came suggestions for a possible ambition for the realm: the choice and considerations for making it were the same as before. It would depend on whether there would be another conquest or a period of consolidation and raiding.
The Vladimir tribal holding itself was under-developed and would now be burdened from post-war restiveness. Rurik wasn’t expecting much from it any time soon and it would not form part of the eventual hoped-for Volga border defences. It may well be moved to 'other management' in due course.
At this time, as seen previously, the anti-Rurik pact contained only Savo and Karelia. Uusimaa and Pohjanmaa were both now vulnerable and therefore likely targets for conquest. Though taking either would no doubt boost threat perception of Rurik again – just when it was starting to come down. The price of conquest.
Although a preferred target in earlier times, Uusimaa had been discounted for the last conquest because of its membership of what was then a far larger defensive pact. It had no such protection this time, a rich temple and two shipyards, a small levy and its chief had virtually no piety (for calling religious warriors) to his name. What was not to like about that? Very tempting indeed …
… so tempting, that Rurik could hardly wait to get going. While the Mordva war had been going, another 473 levies had been trained back home and would join the bands when next mustered. Sufficient for taking down a small one-county, two-holding Finnish chiefdom. But, fortunately for Rurik (whose enthusiasm almost outweighed his memory) he paused before issuing the order.
Sverker had pointed out that if, as had been done in the war with Veps some years back, the levies were dismissed away from home Garðarikian territory, at least half would never make it back. This time such a disaster was narrowly averted. The troops would return as quickly as possible to the newly-acquired Vladimir. Rurik had to hope that the Uusimaans would not deduce his covetous aims for them and join the defensive pact before the levies could be dismissed and then re-mustered to attack them.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
Questions
And so ended the successful, but time consuming and relatively expensive, war against Mordva for the conquest of Vladimir. How Varaka would fare against his other enemies and whether he would ever make peace with the Cumans (who now had more Mordvin territory they could siege down if they wished to) was Varaka’s problem, though Rurik was interested in seeing how those events transpired. The next Þing would be held in the capital of Nygarðr, where next steps would once again be decided – and Uusimaa stood on very thin ice indeed.
Ch41 Q1: Independence Faction. So, at 48.2%, how worried (if at all) should I be about these troublemakers. Just a weather eye for now? What would be the tripwire for taking more aggressive preventative action against them? Better to leave them be for now and see if old wounds heal – or they present an opportunity for intervention to take them down (as individuals preferably, rather than as a group). For example, when the time is right (ie not when far away and in the middle of a foreign war) would it be useful to demand one of them cease their plotting and then crush them if they refuse?
Ch41 Q2: Parallel Sieges. OK, my first time encountering this situation. Can anyone advise how these situations are resolved, when we share a siege with a co-belligerent who is neutral towards us? How the ownership (in particular) of the hold/county is determined?
Ch41 Q3. Warscore Quandary. OK, does anyone know why the Cuman warscore should still be stuck on 99%, despite them having conquered yet another county and having held the county they are trying to annex for ages? Is there some anomaly or glitch here, or is there some arcane mechanism (AI or otherwise) at play that prevents a win under certain circumstances?
Ch41 Q4: Uusimaa. This just looks too tempting to pass up, while such ripe low-hanging fruit lies for easy picking. A better target than Pohjanmaa and still helping the slow push towards Scandinavia. Is there anything not too like about hitting it next? Maybe (if no similarly juicy targets remain after that) then embarking on that period of peace and consolidation? And possibly granting it and Kexholm to Helgi before succession, to see if he can hang on to them afterwards?
This period was one of much activity for the King’s Secretary and Court Scribe – activity that proved invaluable to future historians piecing together the detailed history of the rise of the Rurikid dynasty. Gumarich’s official notes, journals and records became a key part of what became known as the Primary Chronicle of the period. What we now have access to as part of the recent discovery of the Rurikid scroll trove is a far more intimate, detailed and (relatively) unvarnished source of contemporary information to balance the later Rurikid propaganda of their official ‘histories’ (which were more akin to glorified genealogical tomes and hagiographies of the Rurikid rulers).
Royal Secretary and Court Scribe Gumarich der Schreiber, hard at work in the spring of 882 CE.
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Almost a year of war waged against Mordva to conquer the county of Vladimir had seen two successful sieges and a desperate but eventually victorious field battle outside the gates of the county in question; with his levies hard hit in numbers and morale, Rurik nevertheless pushes east immediately to follow up his hard-fought win and beat Mordva’s Chief Varaka 'the Ill-Ruler' before he can again rally his position, or perhaps make peace with one of the other adversaries who harry him; back home, Rurik's Chancellor does his best to keep the edgy Finns from forming pacts against his liege – but Rurik’s conquering ways make that difficult.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
October 881
“Vassals,” muttered Rurik, just with earshot of his Secretary, Gumarich der Schreiber. “Can’t rule with them, can’t rule without them!”
Gumarich thought the statement rhetorical and perhaps not intended for his ears anyway. He decidesdto maintain a discrete silence and not acknowledge he had heard anything.
Gumarich assumed (and later recorded in his enciphered, private and confidential journal) that Rurik referred on the one hand to his loyal vassal allies – notably Chiefs Grimr of Smaleskja and Vsemil ‘the Cleansing Flame’ or Belo Ozero – who were instrumental in winning the recent Battle of Vladimir. But he also referred to the latest report from Chancellor Hrörekr, which gave details of how the rest of his vassals stood.
The better news in Hrörekr’s report was of the other Chiefs. Even old Svetozar Slovensky (now only the third most powerful vassal lord in the realm other than the king himself) had actually gained a mildly positive attitude to his ruler. Mainly, it seemed, because he no longer saw a realistic prospect of gaining a council seat given the relative power of the two most powerful newcomers. This meant, of the original Holmgarðian chiefdoms, all were now loyal (to some degree, at least) to Rurik. But it would take many years (or successions – forced or natural) before the three new vassals would willingly subordinate themselves to the new Garðarikian crown.
After pondering the report for a few minutes, Rurik turned to his faithful scribe.
“Gumarich, please take down this letter to the Chancellor. Use your cypher and get our most reliable courier and give him a small escort. I have a very delicate question to ask Hrörekr …”
Ch41 Q1: Independence Faction. So, at 48.2%, how worried (if at all) should I be about these troublemakers. Just a weather eye for now? What would be the tripwire for taking more aggressive preventative action against them? Better to leave them be for now and see if old wounds heal – or they present an opportunity for intervention to take them down (as individuals preferably, rather than as a group). For example, when the time is right (ie not when far away and in the middle of a foreign war) would it be useful to demand one of them cease their plotting and then crush them if they refuse?
“And look at this, will you, Gumarich! What a cheek – ‘for the sake of your health, My Liege’, he says …”
The king sighed and bowed to the inevitable.
Comment: No Grand Hunt. It seems that although the resumption of hunting may be of benefit to Rurik’s health and military prowess, those two health penalties (looks like even one would be too much) preclude him being able to call the hunt – a pity. I had just wanted to do it for the interest and learning experience, plus whatever benefits it may have provided. Ah well, a note for others to be aware of if they weren’t already and something a may one day get around to with another character.
Rurik’s war against Varaka of Mordva was, as we have noted before in this chronicle, only one of four that the 'Ill-Ruler' was fighting. Of the others, the Cuman war to conquer Bashkira – at the opposite end of Mordva from Vladimir – was the largest and most well-advanced. Khan Sokhal ‘the Fat’ had by October 881 already over-run a large swathe of Varaka’s territory and was now approaching its western end – and Rurik’s advance. It appeared both would-be conquerors may now be in a race to take Mordvin counties to force Varaka to accede to their respective claims.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
November 881
And then, within a week of his joining, Mielus Savolainen of Savo - the one new pact entrant during October – was abandoned by his remaining Finnish ‘brothers’ in rapid succession! Hah! So much for Finnish solidarity, Rurik gloated in his journal.
“Hrolfr, Sverker, what do advise?” asked an irritated Rurik. “Who gathers the spoils if we join the siege? The Cumans, because they were here first? Or will it be a tossed coin between the two of us, based on how many troops each side brings?”
Neither of the men knew the answer to this question for sure.
“Well,” said Hrolfr, “we slightly outnumber the Cumans, but either because they were here first, or through the vagaries of fortune, they may end up gaining the benefit of our efforts.”
“I agree, my King” ventured Sverker. I know it is further and will take longer, but taking Mordva itself should be even more persuasive to Varaka to give up his claim on Vladimir to simply be rid of us. And at least it should be a surer bet than taking our chances here with the Cumans hovering close by.”
“Very well,” announced Rurik. “To Mordva we march straight away. My concern though is that it takes us ever further from our secure base and the prize of Vladimir itself and I have no reserve available to send there: I want to keep all our forces together, to see these sieges over quickly and to ensure we’re not defeated in detail by splitting up. I’m just a little concerned that one of those two Mordvin forces will rally and end up making mischief while we are many days march away.”
After a short pause, Rurik nonetheless orders to move to Mordva. “Damn the Ill-Ruler! He will yield or see his entire kingdom occupied. Forward!”
Neither of the men knew the answer to this question for sure.
“Well,” said Hrolfr, “we slightly outnumber the Cumans, but either because they were here first, or through the vagaries of fortune, they may end up gaining the benefit of our efforts.”
“I agree, my King” ventured Sverker. I know it is further and will take longer, but taking Mordva itself should be even more persuasive to Varaka to give up his claim on Vladimir to simply be rid of us. And at least it should be a surer bet than taking our chances here with the Cumans hovering close by.”
“Very well,” announced Rurik. “To Mordva we march straight away. My concern though is that it takes us ever further from our secure base and the prize of Vladimir itself and I have no reserve available to send there: I want to keep all our forces together, to see these sieges over quickly and to ensure we’re not defeated in detail by splitting up. I’m just a little concerned that one of those two Mordvin forces will rally and end up making mischief while we are many days march away.”
After a short pause, Rurik nonetheless orders to move to Mordva. “Damn the Ill-Ruler! He will yield or see his entire kingdom occupied. Forward!”
Ch41 Q2: Parallel Sieges. OK, my first time encountering this situation. Can anyone advise how these situations are resolved, when we share a siege with a co-belligerent who is neutral towards us? How the ownership (in particular) of the hold/county is determined?
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
December 881
As bitter winter once again blanketed the land with snow, Rurik’s army laid siege to Varaka’s hold in Mordva. At least by now their morale was fully recovered, despite the cold conditions of the siege. Meanwhile, the King received a report that Varaka was in Chud and heading towards the territory of neutral Veps, where he would likely arrive in mid-December. He did not know whether he would then keep going or begin the long trek back, with vengeance on his mind. Would Varaka try to raid Garðarikian territory on the way through? This was thought unlikely, due to the small size of his remaining company. More likely he would head home. In any case, there was nothing much Rurik could do about it than try to end the war before Varaka could do any real damage.
“He estimates at the current rate, the defenders should be starved out and ready to surrender by maybe the last week of January. Perhaps the 25th; should be no later than the end of that month,” Sverker reported as the army leaders huddled around a small fire in an appropriated villager’s now very smoky hut. Without wishing to waste troops on an assault, and hoping disease or raiders did not start to waste his ranks, Rurik hunkered down and waited for nature to take its course with the defenders.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
January 882
By early January, Varaka's intentions had become clearer: he did not tarry in Chud and seemed to be headed back the way he came. Maybe troops from Mari might intercept them?
It would be a long, cold march for Varaka the Ill-Ruler and his depleted company. And what would be waiting for him: would he even make it back to his own lands?
While this was happening, Rurik noticed a detachment of Cuman troops had begun heading towards Mordva – did they hope to steal the siege from out of his hands? Curse them if they did!
Ch41 Q3. Warscore Quandary. OK, does anyone know why the Cuman warscore should still be stuck on 99%, despite them having conquered yet another county and having held the county they are trying to annex for ages? Is there some anomaly or glitch here, or is there some arcane mechanism (AI or otherwise) at play that prevents a peace under certain circumstances?
The upshot of this is that Khan Sokal and the rest of his army is now also headed to Mordva. Those who departed earlier are due on 6 February, the rest on 10 February. Could Rurik finish the siege before they arrived? He hoped so, but it could be a close-run thing.
Fortunately, this time it was the Garðarikians who beat their Cuman competitors to the punch: Mordva fell on 28 January 882 (just three days after the siegemaster had predicted), with their entire garrison of 418 men surrendering, to be sold into slavery. Some small plunder was taken as the town was ransacked and then a small garrison left behind to hold it. This advanced Rurik’s interests, but not as much as he thought it would. And looking north, it was apparent the Cumans had received reinforcements: they now numbered over 3,600. Rurik continued even deeper into Mordva: perhaps taking Burtasy would be enough?
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
February-March 882
The turn of Burtasy – which had a sizable garrison - to be invested came on 18 February. By then, Varaka had been sighted again, emerging unscathed from Mari territory with over 500 warriors and heading for Garðaríki-occupied Obran Osh. Would they start besieging that, or keep moving? The Cumans were by then in Mordva, but they were wasting their time there.
An artist’s impression of the well-defended hold at Burtasy. Rurik was still loath to lose troops needlessly by storming such fortifications. He would wait them out.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
April 882
By mid-April, the cumulative effect of Garðarikian occupation had pushed Mordva close to the point of surrender. The siege of Burtasy (the last Mordvin province not occupied by a foreign power) was reaching its final stages. But at that point, the other two long-lost Mordvin companies emerged from Mari – and were heading straight to Vladimir, to reinforce Varaka’s siege to try to wrest back much of the initiative in the war. Would the Ill-Ruler escape his fate and force Rurik into a laborious reconquest? Would those Cuman cuckoos rob the nest of Rurik's siege of Burtasy?
The gates of Burtasy were thrown open on 19 July 882. Other than a bit of looting, this time the town was shown mercy, the enemy garrison allowed to disperse to the countryside to begin preparing for the spring sowing. Such was Rurik’s pleasure at this bloodless victory – and its implications for the war – that he chose to live up to his name of ‘the Just’. He hoped the mercy shown to the common people in these parts might demonstrate the benefits of Garðarikian suzerainty over the ill-rule of the Mordvin lordlings.
And this is exactly what Rurik proposed. The resultant truce with Varaka would last for five years. Vladimir would, for now, be administered directly by Rurik himself as part of his personal demesne. But at some point in the not-too-distant future, he would need to examine his holdings and the succession, to do his best to set Helgi up to take the realm forward in as strong a position as possible. So long as he and his brothers could get along, the power of loyal vassal-allies under a tribal system had been shown in recent wars. It would have to do until a stronger system of rulership could be introduced.
A few days later, High Chief Varaka of Mordva appeared before Rurik in Vladimir’s state room to abase himself and accept the terms offered. This romanticised version, painted centuries later, will have significantly overstated the splendour of the room. But the spirit is captured.
With peace came suggestions for a possible ambition for the realm: the choice and considerations for making it were the same as before. It would depend on whether there would be another conquest or a period of consolidation and raiding.
Ch41 Q4: Uusimaa. This just looks too tempting to pass up, while such ripe low-hanging fruit lies for easy picking. A better target than Pohjanmaa and still helping the slow push towards Scandinavia. Is there anything not too like about hitting it next? Maybe (if no similarly juicy targets remain after that) then embarking on that period of peace and consolidation? And possibly granting it and Kexholm to Helgi before succession, to see if he can hang on to them afterwards?
… so tempting, that Rurik could hardly wait to get going. While the Mordva war had been going, another 473 levies had been trained back home and would join the bands when next mustered. Sufficient for taking down a small one-county, two-holding Finnish chiefdom. But, fortunately for Rurik (whose enthusiasm almost outweighed his memory) he paused before issuing the order.
Sverker had pointed out that if, as had been done in the war with Veps some years back, the levies were dismissed away from home Garðarikian territory, at least half would never make it back. This time such a disaster was narrowly averted. The troops would return as quickly as possible to the newly-acquired Vladimir. Rurik had to hope that the Uusimaans would not deduce his covetous aims for them and join the defensive pact before the levies could be dismissed and then re-mustered to attack them.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
Questions
And so ended the successful, but time consuming and relatively expensive, war against Mordva for the conquest of Vladimir. How Varaka would fare against his other enemies and whether he would ever make peace with the Cumans (who now had more Mordvin territory they could siege down if they wished to) was Varaka’s problem, though Rurik was interested in seeing how those events transpired. The next Þing would be held in the capital of Nygarðr, where next steps would once again be decided – and Uusimaa stood on very thin ice indeed.
Ch41 Q1: Independence Faction. So, at 48.2%, how worried (if at all) should I be about these troublemakers. Just a weather eye for now? What would be the tripwire for taking more aggressive preventative action against them? Better to leave them be for now and see if old wounds heal – or they present an opportunity for intervention to take them down (as individuals preferably, rather than as a group). For example, when the time is right (ie not when far away and in the middle of a foreign war) would it be useful to demand one of them cease their plotting and then crush them if they refuse?
Ch41 Q2: Parallel Sieges. OK, my first time encountering this situation. Can anyone advise how these situations are resolved, when we share a siege with a co-belligerent who is neutral towards us? How the ownership (in particular) of the hold/county is determined?
Ch41 Q3. Warscore Quandary. OK, does anyone know why the Cuman warscore should still be stuck on 99%, despite them having conquered yet another county and having held the county they are trying to annex for ages? Is there some anomaly or glitch here, or is there some arcane mechanism (AI or otherwise) at play that prevents a win under certain circumstances?
Ch41 Q4: Uusimaa. This just looks too tempting to pass up, while such ripe low-hanging fruit lies for easy picking. A better target than Pohjanmaa and still helping the slow push towards Scandinavia. Is there anything not too like about hitting it next? Maybe (if no similarly juicy targets remain after that) then embarking on that period of peace and consolidation? And possibly granting it and Kexholm to Helgi before succession, to see if he can hang on to them afterwards?
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁ ᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
This period was one of much activity for the King’s Secretary and Court Scribe – activity that proved invaluable to future historians piecing together the detailed history of the rise of the Rurikid dynasty. Gumarich’s official notes, journals and records became a key part of what became known as the Primary Chronicle of the period. What we now have access to as part of the recent discovery of the Rurikid scroll trove is a far more intimate, detailed and (relatively) unvarnished source of contemporary information to balance the later Rurikid propaganda of their official ‘histories’ (which were more akin to glorified genealogical tomes and hagiographies of the Rurikid rulers).
Royal Secretary and Court Scribe Gumarich der Schreiber, hard at work in the spring of 882 CE.
I'm uncertain of the exact logic -- probably based on either which army got there first, or which army's commander is higher in title rank (I think P'dox have gone back and forth on this a few times trying to get things "just right") -- but if in doubt, you can check the shield next to the name in the siege box. That seems to be a fairly reliable indicator in my experience.
