Chapter Thirty-Three: The Reform of the Northern Barracks

The battle led by Li Yinglin essentially dictated the geopolitical landscape that followed. Even the second civil war of the Purple Tent Khanate failed to offer the neighboring nations of the northeast any further opportunities.

Half a month later, Grand Marshal Wang Fangzhong arrived with reinforcements and wiped out the remaining enemy forces in the vicinity. Wang gathered the captured Polish nobles and nomadic chieftains. He first publicly commended the Rus who had defected to his side, then proceeded to reprimand the others. He declared that while their actions were technically capital offenses, the Great Khan, in his appreciation for talent, was willing to pardon those who surrendered, provided they showed sincerity.

The Polish nobles were obstinate, firmly refusing to capitulate. The nomadic chieftains, however, accepted immediately, claiming they had always been loyal to the Khanate at heart and had only been deceived and coerced by the traitor Bayan. They scrambled to prove that they had long attempted to contact the Khanate, only failing due to various unforeseen circumstances.

Wang Fangzhong knew this was nonsense, yet he did not refute them on the spot, instead nodding slightly in approval. Finally, the Grand Marshal magnanimously stated that the will of the people was now clear. He remarked that this conflict had been no challenge for Rome, but rather an opportunity to display the might of the military. Since loyal subjects and brave warriors had been identified, there was no need to dwell on trifles.

He announced that those who surrendered would accompany him to meet the Great Khan, where they would be granted official posts and titles. As for the Poles who refused to yield, he deemed them worthy warriors who were merely serving their own masters; thus, he would let them go without further reprisal.

The crowd praised his benevolence. The Poles were skeptical, suspecting the infidel’s generosity masked a sinister plot, but the Grand Marshal truly did escort the captured nobles and knights out of the camp. Gradually, they grew at ease and began their journey home.

However, when they reached a village called Katyn near Smolensk, the Polish party was suddenly ambushed by local Rus. Hundreds of Poles were slaughtered; only two nobles, possessing exceptional agility, managed to escape.

The surviving nobles fled back to Krakow, where they railed before the Diet against the treacherous and brutal Rus, demanding the assembly take action on their behalf.

At that time, Casimir III, a great Polish monarch, had recently passed away. Having no male heirs, he had willed the kingdom to his nephew, King Louis of Hungary, hoping a powerful adult monarch could command both nations to resist external threats.

Louis was a capable ruler, but as a newcomer, he was forced to make concessions to the nobility.

The Hungarian army was then engaged with the Purple Tent Khanate in Transylvania. Louis intended to exploit the instability within the Khanate to reclaim lost territory, drive the enemy beyond the Carpathians, and rebuild his defensive lines. Yet, to appease the Poles, he prioritized political stability over military strategy, diverting his southern reserve forces to the southeast to join the Poles in their campaign against the Rus.

The Polish-Hungarian coalition advanced like a hot knife through butter and began the siege of Smolensk. A coalition of neighboring principalities attempted to resist but was routed. Smolensk, finding itself with no path of retreat, desperately begged the Purple Tent Khanate for aid, but the reinforcements failed to arrive in time, and the vulnerable city was captured.

The Polish army engaged in mass looting and slaughter, nearly obliterating the city. The Purple Tent forces only managed to rescue a few hundred survivors; everyone else, from the Grand Duke down to the commoners, was killed by the Poles.

The destruction of Smolensk sent shockwaves through the surrounding Rus. Many southern cities began seeking protection from the Purple Tent Khanate. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Fangzhong relocated populations and, using veterans from the Southern Office Legions as the core, extended the military governorship system to the regions north of Crimea and along both banks of the Dnieper. It was also at this time that Kiev invited the Purple Tent army to garrison the city, making it one of the three major commanderies established after the reorganization of the Northern Office armies.

The nomadic chieftains were placed under house arrest upon reaching Varna. Under the direction of Chancellor Yelü Jian, the Purple Tent Khanate leveraged its recent victory to reorganize the various tribes between the Dnieper and the Volga. Under the guise of promotions and rewards, they summoned tribal elites to the capital, dismantled the original tribal structures, and dispatched itinerant officials to oversee them.

Further afield, Yelü Jian abolished the former military fiefs and garrisons. Emulating the Han Dynasty’s commandery-kingdom system and European customs, he granted the chieftains higher titles while stripping them of actual power. The tribal elites were organized into councils, with a minister dispatched by the Khanate serving as chair, granting the council legitimacy while organizing them to manage daily tribal affairs.

The reforms Yelü Jian implemented among the Northern Office tribes remain in effect to this day. Now, even as far as Kazan, the capital of Volga Bulgaria, a minister from the Purple Tent Khanate resides permanently. The tribal Khans and Begs have become honorary titles, often held by multiple people simultaneously. Real power rests with the officials sent by the Khanate.

These officials frequently select capable minor nobles, or even battle-hardened common herdsmen, to serve as their right-hand men, granting them titles through the Khanate to join the councils of elites, gradually replacing the old nobility and controlling every facet of tribal life.

Through this selection system, reminiscent of the ancient civil service examinations, tribal administration became increasingly formalized. In relatively developed areas like Kazan and Batu Sarai, fairly comprehensive local administrative bodies were formed. While still not quite on par with the "domestic" military governorships, they were a vast improvement over the past.

Years after the war ended, the Poles began to harbor suspicions regarding the conflict. Some believed the ambush incident was highly suspicious, suspecting the Purple Tent Khanate had instigated the Rus to carry it out, as the subsequent events seemed far too coincidental.

The Purple Tent side vehemently denied this, instead counter-accusing that the sudden death of Grand Tutor Yesün Buqa was highly suspicious, suggesting that Poland and other nations had colluded with traitors in the ranks to murder him, and they loudly threatened to avenge the Grand Tutor.

Ultimately, no conclusion was ever reached.

Wang Fangzhong himself never revealed any more details throughout his life. Even the Guo clan never knew what role he had truly played.

However, the Greeks in the Great Capital were fond of such conspiratorial tales. They unearthed the earlier incident regarding the military remonstrance against Empress Maria and discovered that the same Grand Marshal seemed to be the mastermind behind the peace negotiations and troop movements. Some even wrote plays with him as the protagonist, which remain popular to this day.