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Chapter 1396 Cossacks and Kazakhs

The sky is vast and the fields are boundless; the wind blows across the grasslands, revealing cattle and sheep!

In late September, the Kazakh Khanate is filled with withered grasslands, dotted with herds of cattle and sheep, who are frantically grazing on the grass before the first snow arrives, not even looking up.

Not far away, a large river flows slowly. Looking eastward along its winding course, a great city can be vaguely seen rising from the ground, with its earthen-yellow walls, towering spires, and onion-like roofs, constantly telling passersby about its nature.

Turkestan, the capital of the Kazakh Khanate, is one of the oldest cities on the Syr Darya River. From the 6th century AD, it was the economic and cultural center of the Sogdians and later became a transportation hub in Central Asia.

Originating from the Tian Shan Mountains, the Syr Darya River flows continuously from east to west, carving out a green belt more than 2000 kilometers long in the Gobi Desert, with the city of Turkestan located in the middle.

Starting from here, heading east along the river valley leads to Fergana and Andijan, while heading west leads to the eastern shore of the Aral Sea. The route is rich in water resources, enjoys a mild climate, and boasts lush grasslands, making it a natural east-west corridor spanning the entirety of Central Asia.

"Bang...whoosh whoosh whoosh...oh oh oh..." A sudden explosion shattered the tranquility of the valley, and shouts and the rumble of hooves startled the sheep and cattle into scattering and fleeing.

Following them were several horse teams, the riders dressed in brown linen robes with red trim and wide wool trousers, leather high boots, black sheepskin hats, and red silk belts as wide as a hand. They carried slightly curved long knives and made all sorts of strange noises as they galloped on their horses.

Upon seeing this, nearby herders, disregarding their livestock, quickly mounted their horses and galloped towards the city of Turkestan. Some, slower to react or reluctant to abandon their flocks, were swiftly overtaken by the riders, their long swords flashing, blood splattering, and they were all cut down from their horses.

Judging from their riding posture and the way they controlled their horses with their hands off the reins, these people were probably of shepherd origin, having become one with their horses and possessing extremely superb riding skills. It's just unknown where they came from or where they were going.

"Open the gate, open the gate! Quickly report to the city lord, the Cossack cavalry has arrived, the Cossack cavalry has arrived..." Not everyone was unfamiliar with them. Soon, a herdsman spurred his horse and approached the city gate, shouting warnings to the city walls as he ran.

Among the Kazakh herdsmen, there were also those skilled in business who would travel westward each year across the Aral and Caspian Seas to the Don River basin, selling silk and tea purchased from the East to local herdsmen. These herdsmen were called Cossacks, or more specifically, Don Cossacks.

Cossacks are not an ethnic group, but a collective term for a group of people who are not related by blood. In Turkic languages, they can be translated as free people.

They mostly came from Slavic countries in northeastern Europe and Central Asia, mainly from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Lithuania. They were a group of herdsmen and farmers who had fled from slave owners and religious oppression and gathered together to live.

As the group grew larger, in order to protect themselves, the Cossacks gradually developed an organizational structure for military purposes. Boys received rigorous military training from a very young age, and as adults, they became skilled riders and brave fighters.

Because the Cossack settlements were sandwiched between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, and the Crimean Khanate, they naturally became mercenaries, fighting for whoever offered the most benefits.

The Cossacks had always operated in the region north of the Sea of ​​Azov, never crossing the Caspian Sea to launch a large-scale eastward invasion. Their sudden appearance in the Syr Darya basin, plundering large numbers of Kazakh Khanate herders along the way, and their advance aimed directly at Turkestan, suggests there are likely more complex reasons behind it. "Good thing they've come! If they hadn't, all my work these past few months would have been for nothing! Aismu Khan, what do you think Alimul Khan is thinking now? Does he regret not listening to my advice, or does he resent me for not coming to his aid?"

Huang Taiji, who was sitting in the Turkestan Khan's Palace, knew exactly what the reason was. He had led an army of 30,000 men to stay here for more than three months. Instead of the Russian army, he had scared the Kazakh Khan Yangir into claiming illness and running back to Stone City, leaving Aisim Khan, the actual controller of the Middle Yuz, as a shield.

"It's hard to say whether he can even mount his horse now. The Cossacks are like a locust plague, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake. Fortunately, the Celestial Empire's army is here to hold the line, otherwise my Zhongyuzi would also be reduced to ruins."

Aisimhan smiled upon hearing this, but his face immediately fell into a worried expression. He seemed to be gloating, but in reality, he was deeply concerned.

The Kazakh Khanate and the Mongol Empire had similar administrative models. It was a federation of tribes, with its main members coming from three major ethnic groups in three regions, known as the Great Horde, the Middle Horde, and the Little Horde.

Yangir Khan was merely the recognized representative of these ethnic groups; his actual control was limited to the Great Horde and the vicinity of the capital. The vast majority of administrative power in the Middle and Lesser Hordes was held by local tribal leaders. He was the de facto ruler of the Middle Horde, while Alimul Khan was the de facto ruler of the Lesser Horde.

The word "Yuz" in Kazakh means "branch" or "branch." Literally, the Kazakh Khanate should be called the Kazakh Yuz Union. The dominant ethnic group here is the Yuz, and the Greater, Lesser, and Middle Yuz are all branches of the larger Yuz. Therefore, it is not a geographical term but an ethnic designation.

The Great Horde was closest to the Western Regions of the Ming Empire, mainly living in the basins of the Seven Rivers, Chu River, and Talas River; the Middle Horde, as the name suggests, was distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Syr Darya River and the basins of the Sareysu and Irtysh Rivers, belonging to the central part of the Khanate. The Little Horde was the westernmost, with its area of ​​activity between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea.

In terms of territory, the Middle Horde was the largest, the Great Horde was in the middle, and the Lesser Horde was the smallest. However, the Great Horde occupied the Fergana region, which had the most fertile land and abundant water resources, and developed relatively quickly. In recent years, it had actively engaged in trade with the Ming Empire, established many factories, and had the largest population and the strongest power.

The Middle Horde has a vast territory, but unfortunately, 90% of it is desert and Gobi, and its people mainly rely on herding for a living, making it the weakest in terms of strength. The Lesser Horde's territory extends close to the lower Ural River, an important route connecting East and West. Thanks to this unique advantage, although its territory is small, its strength is not weak.

Due to their different geographical locations, their thoughts and needs also differed. In their interactions with the Ming Empire, the Great Horde nobles, represented by Yangir Khan, were relatively proactive.

Their territory was too close to the Ming Empire, so they were directly affected and threatened. With both economic and military efforts being taken, they had no choice but to be proactive.

The Lesser Horde was the least enthusiastic, even indifferent. The reason was simple: they lived far away on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, had probably never seen Han Chinese for centuries, and had no intention of having any future interaction with them. To them, the Russian Empire and the Crimean Khanate were their neighbors; the Ming Empire was too distant.

The attitude of the Zhongyuzi was the most complex. The older generation of traditional nobles were unwilling to get too close to the Ming Empire, but the younger generation saw and heard more about the outside world and wanted to learn new knowledge from the bottom of their hearts, and then try to lead their people to prosperity.

(End of this chapter)