133 Relatives

Ten days later, all the Cossacks and supply wagons were ready to march. Our first destination was the city of Azov. Located just over 500 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhia, it was there that we were to join forces with Khan and move further south towards the border of the Ottoman Empire, and the next stage of the journey will be getting to Trebizond (Trabzon), a town on the Black Sea coast and an important center of trade on the silk route... unfortunately that meant another 1,000 kilometers to go. It was there that we intended to establish our permanent camp and it was here that I intended to gather all the loot, people and everything that was useful, an additional advantage was a port and access to the sea.

It took us two weeks to get to Azov... and what I saw there exceeded my expectations. Thousands... no, tens of thousands of tents were spread around the city... hundreds of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of horses... One thing I was sure of, I would never command a larger army than I am right now. I sent one of the messengers to the Tatar camp to announce our arrival and several minutes later I saw that Shahin Giray accompanied by a few men came out to greet us... after the initial polite greetings, we headed towards the camp.

"Khan has promised 200,000 warriors, but I can see there are many more people here." (MC)

"They are mostly camp servants, but also a few merchants, craftsmen and whores... they always have a good income following the army." (Shahin Giray)

I knew about such practices, but did not understand them. War has its own rules and a soldier does not pay for certain things, including food and women... both of these things fall under the category "captured goods".

"Were there any problems with the preparations?" (MC)

"Several families did not know where their loyalty should lie, and my brother had to remind them... otherwise, no problem and Prince, Chan sent his eldest son here to gain war experience. He is to take part in war councils and command part of the army." (Shahin Giray)

The presence of Khan's son did not make me very happy, giving command to someone who does not have much experience, even if he is to command a small part of the army, did not promise anything good.

"So the heir of the Khanate wants to show that he is already a man?" (MC)

"He's not yet the heir, only a candidate, he is the eldest son and has the best chance, but nothing is written in stone yet." (Shahin Giray)

It was good news, his position was high, but not too high. If a boy fucks something up and gets captured or dies, I don't have to worry about it ... Chan has more sons. Half an hour later, all the officers gathered in Shahin Giray's tent. I saw a few acquaintances and a few unknown faces, those I knew were mainly Tatars who were with me in Moscow, and then they led the slaves to the Crimea. One of the people, when he saw me, fell to his knees and bowed low... it took me a moment to recognize him.

"Selim, you have gained weight since we last met... you are having a good life." (MC)

"Effendi, Allah blessed us, we earned a lot of gold, the Sultan needed slaves badly, apparently there is a high mortality rate at the construction site." (Selim)

Then I was introduced to the other commanders and officers, including Khan's son, Islam Giray... but something was wrong for me. I knew history well, and Islam Giray was the son of Selamet Giray, not Mehmed... Maybe I was not an expert, but I was sure of that ... it turned out that Mehmed took in and adopted the two sons of the previous Khan.

Suddenly I also remembered that in the future Islam would support the Cossack revolts against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth... and now I was completely sure that our relations would not be good.

"How soon can we leave?" (MC)

"With such a large army, a few days, but it's hard to say how many." (Shahin Giray)

"Well, give the orders to start the preparations for the march. We don't attack anyone along the way unless they attack us, I don't want to waste time on insignificant fights... and one more thing, discipline." (MC)

(Emperor Ferdinand II / Prince of Bavaria Maksymilian I Wittelsbach)

"Your Imperial Majesty, we do not have enough strength to support the Poles, after the death of Johan von Tilly two years ago and the execution of Albrecht von Wallenstein in February..." (Maksymilian Wittelsbach)

"Don't say the traitor's name ... And I know our forces are limited, but we have to be in this war and drive the Turks out of the Balkans, there won't be a better opportunity." (Emperor Ferdinand II)

"The Swedes are now mostly in the north of the empire, maybe... it would be possible to send General Matthias Gallas and his army to the south, but I don't recommend that. The army itself is not a big problem, but we need a good commander in the north." (Maksymilian Wittelsbach)

"If necessary, I will lead the army myself... The Balkans are too important to leave them in the hands of the Turks, they are the gateway to Austria. If Austria and Vienna fall... and there will be no empire anymore. How big is his army?" (Emperor Ferdinand II)

"15,000 soldiers. Your Imperial Majesty, we can only send 7, maximum 10,000 soldiers to the south, more will be too dangerous. Trying to save Austria's future, we must not forget about the present, if the Swedes sense weakness they will attack again... Let us not forget that this is a war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, we do not need to help them, we can only protect our interests. Let them take the greater burden of fighting on themselves." (Maksymilian Wittelsbach)

"You're right. We cannot forget about the Swedes, but since the death of Gustav Adolf, a little girl has sat on their throne, and the royal council rules on her behalf... It is a mistake to underestimate an opponent's capabilities, and it is also a mistake to overestimate them... I heard that your wife is not well." (Emperor Ferdinand II)

"Unfortunately, Elizabeth... all in the hands of god." (Maksymilian Wittelsbach)

"Amen... I hope everything will work out, but the Duchy of Bavaria needs an heir to the throne, and Elizabeth has not given you a heir ... If your wife dies, you will marry my daughter and your niece Maria Anna." (Emperor Ferdinand II)

(End POV)

In the evening, I sat in the commander's tent prepared for me, enjoying the taste of oblepicha (sea buckthorn, sandthorn), no one prepared this drink better than the tartars and it was a great hangover remedy, along with Saddat... I even wished I had a hangover.

"Ilya and Ivan are spying on the Cossacks for me, you will do the same for me with the Tatars." (MC)

"Lord, don't you trust them?" (Saddat)

"Jesus trusted his disciples but one of them betrayed him, Caesar was killed by his adopted son, Cain killed Abel... sometimes you can't trust a family, let alone an ally." (MC)

"I understand, but what exactly am I supposed to listen to in the grass?" (Saddat)

"Information about Khan's son Islam and whether Mehmed actually got rid of all disloyal people from his ranks." (MC)

I had no reason not to trust the Tatars or Khan, we had a common enemy, it was just a precautionary measure on my part. A week later, the entire army and the accompanying servants were ready to march... the view was amazing, I lived in the 20th century and not a lot of things could amaze me... but almost 300,000 people and even more horses, it was breathtaking.