Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 139 The Future Queen of Georgia, and the United Caucasus Nations
"Yes, Your Highness, it's north of the Caucasus Mountains, in the territory of the Asus people!"

The one who came to ask for help was Mongke'er, the first commander of a thousand households under Jochi. He was ranked forty-first among the eighty-eight hereditary commanders of a thousand households at the founding of the Mongol Empire.

He was nearly fifty years old, with fine wrinkles on his bronze-colored square face. His expression was solemn as he pointed to the map and reported the military situation to Zhao Shuo.

“We set off from Samarkand and headed north into the Kipchak steppe. At first, we fought a few battles with several Kipchak tribes and robbed them of a lot of things. But the further west we went, the more vengeful Kipchak tribes gathered, and the more difficult it became for us to fight.”

"However, the Kipchaks were ultimately no match for us. After several major battles, we killed at least 120,000 Kipchaks, including men, women, and children. Three months ago, we bypassed the Caspian Sea. Once we passed through the territory of the Assud, we could cross the Caucasus Mountains and leave the Kipchak steppe."

"Perhaps we put too much pressure on the Kipchaks, so they have allied with the Rus' to the west and the Asu' to the south, making us their enemy. Now, the Asu's army of 50,000 is desperately trying to intercept us north of the Caucasus Mountains. The Kipchaks' army of 80,000 is hot on their heels."

"According to the intelligence from the prisoners, the Rus' are gathering a large army in Kiev. Their 70,000-strong army will probably reach the south of the Caucasus Mountains within three months. Fortunately, the eldest prince also learned from the prisoners that the prince consort's army is south of the Caspian Sea. Therefore, he ordered us to seize several ships and send a message to the prince consort via the Caspian Sea."

"As long as the prince consort continues his advance northwest, crosses the Caucasus Mountains, and joins forces with the eldest prince, we can annihilate the combined forces of the Kipchaks, the Assun, and the Rus'! After this battle, the Kipchaks will likely be weakened. The entire Kipchak steppe will fall into the hands of us Mongols!"

Zhao Shuo then understood what had happened.

In the original history, it was Jebe and Subutai who were responsible for pursuing Muhammad.

After crossing the Caucasus Mountains, they encountered a combined force of the Aszans and Kipchaks.

The Mongol army was small in number and, in a direct confrontation, was no match for the combined forces of the Asuts and the Kipchaks. Therefore, Jebe offered a large amount of gold and silver to bribe the Kipchaks, persuading them to withdraw. After the Kipchaks withdrew, Jebe and Subutai defeated the Asuts.

Then they launched another attack on the Kipchaks.

The Kipchaks suffered repeated defeats and fled westward, where they joined forces with the Rus' to form an allied army.

In the end, they were still defeated by Jebe and Subutai.

From then on, the Kipchak Steppe was gradually swallowed up by Jochi and his descendants, eventually forming the Kipchak Khanate.

But this time, Jochi, Jebe, and Subutai fought from east to west, and immediately clashed with the Kipchaks.

The entire Kipchak Steppe stretches for thousands of miles, from the lower reaches of the Danube River in the west to the West Siberian Plain in the east.

To put it bluntly, historically, Jebe and Subutai only defeated the Kipchaks in the west. This group of Kipchaks numbered only a little over 100,000, but they could muster 40,000 archers. Jebe and Subutai did not find them particularly difficult to deal with.

Now, Jochi, Jebe, and others are attacking from east to west, offending almost all the Kipchaks.

The combined armies of all the Kipchak tribes, along with the armies of the Asud and Rus', were indeed beyond the capabilities of Jochi's 30,000 Mongol troops.

They should be able to come up with similar strategies of divide and conquer as recorded in history.

But why suffer that injustice?
Zhao Shuo's nearly 200,000-strong army was less than 2,000 miles away from them, passing through only a few small countries.

Why don't we just meet up directly?
Therefore, Jochi directly sent an envoy to contact Zhao Shuo, requesting that the two armies meet south of the Caucasus and annihilate the massive foreign coalition in one fell swoop!
Zhao Shuo frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "How long have you been sailing in the Black Sea?"

"Ten days."

"That means there are eighty days left."

Zhao Shuo stood up and shouted, "Ta'erhun!"

"exist."

"Pass on my order: the entire army shall immediately break camp and march westward. First stop: Azerbyzan."

"Yes!"

Two hundred miles west of Jiyun City lies the Byzantine Empire of Azhe'er.

Azerbaijan, also known as the Byzantine Empire.

This country was nominally a vassal state of Khwarazm, but it had long since stopped obeying Muhammad's orders. Muhammad gathered his troops in Khwarazm, but the Byzantine Empire did not send a single soldier.

With the military situation urgent, Zhao Shuo was too lazy to cause trouble for Azhe'er's Byzantine Empire.

After leading his army into the territory of Azharbyzan, he did not engage in large-scale burning, killing, and looting. Instead, he conscripted those in the small towns and villages he passed through who were willing to submit. Those who were unwilling to submit were all slaughtered. All the men were killed, leaving only young women and children not taller than a cartwheel.

The great city of Azhar, the Byzantine Empire, did not demand their surrender, but only requested a large amount of grain, supplies, and livestock to replenish Zhao Shuo's army.

Fifteen days later, Zhao Shuo's army arrived at Tebil, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Tiberius, also known as Tabriz in later times.

This city is the largest city in the Caucasus region.

The later famous Ilkhanate had its capital at Tabriz.
Zhao Shuo originally thought that going through Tabriz wouldn't cause too much trouble.

In the original history, Jebe and Subutai led only 20,000 troops to this place, and Tabriz surrendered, offering up a large amount of grain and wealth.

However, the reality was beyond his expectations.

……

……

On the city tower of Tielisi.

At this moment, two men and one woman, three nobles from the Caucasus region, stood facing the wind, looking down at the Mongol army below the city.

The man on the left, appearing to be in his sixties or seventies, had a weathered face, sunken eyes, a sparse beard, and a generally senile demeanor. He was none other than Yuejibo, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

The man on the right appears to be around thirty years old, with a resolute face, high nose, deep-set eyes, and curly hair, exuding a heroic air. This man is King George IV of the Bagration Kingdom in western Azerbaijan.

On the far right is a woman, probably twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a pale, sharply defined face, long, narrow, piercing grey-blue eyes, a straight nose, and pale, porcelain-like lips. Her long, dark blue hair is braided into a thick plait and hangs down to her waist. A dark blue cloak drapes her body, the silver cross pattern at the collar gleaming subtly, making the exposed part of her neck appear even more elegant and alluring. This woman is Princess Rusdan, sister of King George IV and the Princess of Bagration.

The Bagration Kingdom ruled over what is now Georgia.

Georgia is west of Azerbaijan and is not on Zhao Shuo's route of advance.

Logically, George IV should have been secretly pleased as long as Zhao Shuo didn't attack Georgia. However, the Mongol army's invasion of Khwarazm and its subsequent pacification of Transoxiana and Khorasan within a year, along with the siege of Khoja, truly terrified the rulers of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Just then, the Kipchak envoys arrived in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

At the urging of the Kipchak envoy, Georgia and Azerbaijan joined forces and decided to defend Tabriz to the death, blocking Zhao Shuo's route north to rescue Jochi.

After the combined forces of the Kipchaks, Assud, and Rus' defeated Jochi's army, they would cross the Caucasus Mountains to join them and completely crush Zhao Shuo's forces. Then, they would march eastward, defeat Genghis Khan, and bring the entire Khwarazmian Empire under their control.

Both were nomadic peoples of the steppes; if the Mongols could do it, why couldn't the Kipchaks? At that time, both the Earl of Judah and George IV would have acquired unprecedented vast territories. They would also be revered by posterity as the greatest monarchs of their nations.

Therefore, George IV led the entire Georgian army of 70,000 to help Josipa defend the city of Tebil.

However, upon seeing the Mongol army below the city, Rusudan couldn't help but gasp in shock.

What a massive army this is!

Boundless and endless, it stretches as far as the eye can see.

The entire city of Thebillis was now completely surrounded by this boundless army.

Roughly calculated, the total number of people is definitely over 200,000.

The number of warhorses was even greater, probably exceeding 500,000.

Moreover, among these warhorses were a large number of tall and magnificent Arabian warhorses.

Everyone was clad in iron armor, which gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

With such warhorses and equipment, how could an army be weak in combat?

And look at their record!
In less than a year, he pacified the Khorasan region and even beheaded the Khwarazmian Sultan Muhammad.

Is such a large army really something that Tebilis's 130,000-strong army could withstand?

It must be noted that Rusdan was not only knowledgeable about military affairs, but also quite capable.

If history had unfolded as it should have, George IV would have died in the war against Jebe and Subutai. Rusdan would then have ascended the throne, becoming Queen of Georgia. Although she suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Jebe and Subutai, she managed to prevent the fall of Georgia.

Later, when the Mongol army pressed in, Queen Rusdan voluntarily submitted to the Mongols, thus maintaining Georgia's relative independence.

Her descendants ruled Georgia for six hundred years until it was annexed by Russia in 1810.

Queen Rusdan is remembered by posterity as one of the great monarchs in Georgian history.

Of course, Rusdan is not yet queen; she is merely a princess of Georgia.

In fact, Rusdan never approved of provoking the Mongols. Georgia was a small country; the Mongols were powerful, so Georgia could simply submit to them. The world was so vast; why should the Mongols make things difficult for a submissive small country?

Why go to the trouble of making enemies of the Mongols now and offending them so badly?

However, King George IV insisted on his own opinion, and Russodan had no choice but to take the initiative to request to come to Tepiris with King George IV.

"Brother, do you think we can hold out in Tebil for three months? The Khwarazmian Sultan's heavily fortified city of Qoji was breached by the Mongols in just one month." Before completely breaking ties with the Mongols, Rusdan made a final effort.

King George IV was full of confidence and said, "It's nothing serious. I have already found out that the reason the Mongols were able to easily break through Kejiyun City was not because they were so good at fighting, but because they had the Mu'ai Kingdom as an inside agent."

"What Mongol spies could be inside Tebilis? Tebilis is well-defended and garrisoned by 130,000 troops. Let alone three months, they probably won't be able to take it even in half a year."

Rusdan remained unconvinced, saying, "But Samarkand also had over 100,000 troops. Wasn't it breached by the Mongols in less than a month? Could it be that Tebilas is even more fortified than Samarkand?"

"Speaking of this, Princess Rusudan is unaware of it."

The Byzantine ruler, Yuejib, gazed greedily at the beautiful Princess Rusdan: "The entire Mongol army is besieging Samarkand. But the force besieging my city of Tebil is merely a detachment of the Mongols. The main Mongol army can easily conquer Samarkand. But their detachment will find it much harder to breach my city of Tebil!"

Uncle Yue is getting old, and what he loves most is fine wine and beautiful women.

He just wanted to enjoy as much as he could before he died. As for what happened after he died? Who cared if the world turned upside down?
In the original history, upon hearing of the arrival of Jebe and Subutai's armies, Yueqibo had no intention of resisting and fled to other cities in Azerbaijan with his wealth and beauties. His decree for Tebilisi was simply to satisfy the Mongols' demands as much as possible and get rid of them.

However, this time, under the sweet talk of the Kipchak envoy, Joachim changed his mind.

What do the fine wines and beautiful women of Byzantium matter to Azhar?

Khwarezm is so big, with more delicious wines and food, and far more beautiful women. Didn't he want to enjoy himself before he left this world?
Fight!

To enjoy himself to the fullest before he dies, Yue Jibo went all out!

It's just a small detachment of the Mongols, but Yuejibo doesn't believe it can't last three months!
Lusudan's arrival further strengthened Yuejibo's resolve.

What a beautiful woman! How could Azher possibly have one in Byzantium?
If the Kipchak's plan succeeds, will he, as the ruler of Azerbaijan, be able to marry this beauty he has never seen before? Although there is a significant age gap between them, he is willing to pay a dowry!
With several major cities as a dowry, George IV would surely be tempted!

Even if George IV was unmoved, could the nobles in the country remain unmoved? Perhaps, under pressure from these nobles, Russodan would become his queen.

Rusudan's mother, Mara, was a queen, but wasn't she forced by many nobles to marry someone she didn't like? Besides, Rusudan wasn't even a queen, just a princess.

Rusdan felt a chill in his heart after hearing the words of his brother George and the Byzantine ruler Joachim.

Yes, the force besieging the city was a detachment of the Mongols.

However, the strength of this detachment is what it is.

Can Tiberias really hold out?

Moreover, it is said that the commander of this Mongol army is Zhao Shuo, the number one warrior in Mongolia, who is invincible in every battle.

Once the city of Tiberias falls, the main force of the nation's army will perish there.

The Kingdom of Bagration may face the threat of extinction!
How can the kingdom of Bagration be preserved?
……

……

Zhao Shuo, of course, had no idea what the people on the city wall were thinking.

He only learned that the army of the Bagration Kingdom had come to the rescue by interrogating prisoners captured near the city of Thebillis, which gave Thebillis the courage to hold out.

Of course, whether you know it or not, it doesn't really make any difference.

Zhao Shuo now has a regular army of 133,000, plus 100,000 conscripts recruited along the way, bringing his total strength to over 200,000.

Even with the arrival of the Bagration Kingdom's army to aid them, the city of Tebilius was nothing in his eyes.

"Set up the white tents!" Zhao Shuo ordered casually.

(End of this chapter)