Toggle Background Color
Chapter Five: Breaking Free
]
Seeing his father fall off his horse in the distance, Davit cuts a swathe through the Mongol ranks to reach him. But it is too late. His father is dead.
After the battle, Davit brings his father home to bury him. When he returns to the field, he gives his soldiers one order: Not one step further. This is where the Mongols will be stopped.
It's easier said than done, as Davit finds out to his pain.
Scarred from battle, Davit is a true warrior.
Ill news comes from the homefront. The mercenaries Davit hired were caught off guard and annihilated.
Pay attention to your troops when fighting a large war like this. I've lost more than one army like this.
The war seems hopeless, when suddenly Davit has a flash of inspiration. The Mongols have yet to occupy any land in Anatolia, being too caught up in chasing down armies.
And the interrogation of the Mongol soldiers they've captured have revealed that many of them are tired of fighting a never ending war and want to go back home.
They can't take on the main horde in a straight fight. But they can distract them.
And it works.
That it did. You see, as long as the enemy doesn't occupy any of the holdings they're going after, your warscore goes up. I kept hiring mercenaries and leading the Mongols on wild goose chases until it ticked to 100%. In that picture I'm going to lead my mercenaries to the province next to the main horde. The main horde will chase it and lose their siege progress.
The Khan is forced to pay a humiliating reparation. It will be some time before he is on the move.
In celebration of the victory over the Mongols, the Emperor holds a grand tournament for all the knights of the Empire. Davit is quite willing to attend.
He also gets a new haircut.
All things considered, it went rather well.
Davit decides to take a pilgrimage to the city he fought so hard to defend.
It is a rather impressive city, but Davit is resentful that the Georgians and the Alans died to defend a city far away from them. Joining the Byzantines has cost more than it has given.
Far away, the century old Ayyubid dynasty has collapsed, replaced by the Sarmin dynasty. However, the Sarmins are unable to keep a hold of their new territory and the land is gripped by civil war.
A new Caliph has arisen - a Seljuk. However, in these times, he is irrelevant compared to the threat of the Ilkhanate and the Golden Horde.
Davit proves himself again in a battle against Genoa. He might not have had a military education, but he is a fierce warrior.
His son-in-law Louis of France is killed in battle. Davit will need to find another husband for his daughter.
Every day Davit wants more and more to break free from Byzantium. But the time is not right.
A large Iconoclast rebellion breaks out and Davit hires some mercenaries to help deal with it.
]
By order of the Emperor, Davit goes to assist the Byzantines in the conquest of Aleppo.
The war is not going well. While they're won several battles, they're going up against the entire Middle East and have yet to occupy Aleppo.
Relief comes as news arrives that the Ilkhanate has embraced Nestorianism. Unfortunately for the Khan, the Great Khagan in Cathay has called back the army to deal with a Chinese uprising, leaving the Ilkhanate with only the local levies to deal with the problem.
When the Hordes convert, their deathstacks go away after a while and their empires usually crumble afterwards.
But now this means that the Chieftains of the occupied Georgia are in line for voting in the Georgian crown. Davit destroys the title rather than letting it fall into the hands of a non-Georgian.
His wife passes away in her sleep. When Davit is through with his mourning, he decides to launch his plan. The Byzantine are currently weak and Davit has no need for them.
But the Emperor does not want to lose his northern provinces and sends a force to deal with the uprising Georgians.
Davit's army wipes out a small garrison.
Leaving Georgia to siege Byzantium, Davit's initial march in unopposed.
He launches an assault on Constantinople himself, defeating the small force there.
Another Byzantine army is destroyed, but they keep coming, and Davit is beginning to run out of funds.
Davit finds himself besotted with his new bride and falls in love.
While he is patient in battle, he needs the war to end. The Emperor has the luxury of time, but he does not. Fortunately, after the battle Davit finds said Emperor among the prisoners. He gives the Emperor one simple ultimatum: give up or die. The Emperor agrees to let go.
That was a very lucky break I got with the Emperor. The Byzantines have a lot of troops to thrown at you.
Alania is free now - but she is alone.
Next Time: Growing Pains