Chapter 935 - 158: Qidan and Tatars
On the vast land of Central Asia, a loud cry of an eagle awakened the entire Great Gobi Desert.
On a leeward slope, tens of thousands of Qidan troops were in battle formation.
At the very center was naturally the most elite Palace Division of the Kara Khitay army, dispatched from the tribe directly under Ju’er Khan. They occupied the most fertile pastures, lands, and had the most sophisticated equipment. Although the properties of Husi Woreda were earlier plundered and occupied by the Tatars, losing a source of soldiers, the main force remained, numbering ten thousand troops, with eight thousand light cavalry and two thousand armored heavy cavalry.
The Commander-in-Chief of this Palace Division was also Yelv Zonghan, the senior of Qidan, and the uncle of Ju’er Khan.
The flanks were deployed with numerous light cavalry from the Six Departments, which are central to the Qidan tribes. Although they had been disfavored by Ju’er Khan due to the former leader’s deposition, their strength grew after absorbing parts of the Naiman Tribe remnants fleeing the Tatar Grassland and joining forces with Kuchulug.
At this moment, the Six Departments had assembled a total of twenty thousand light and heavy cavalry, led by Kuchulug, the Commander-in-Chief of this Eastern Expedition army.
Besides these thirty thousand elite Qidan troops, the rest were from various vassal armies, including Uighurs, Karluks, Kipchaks, Sogdians, and most notably, the "Ivan Division," mainly comprised of Saracens.
On the yellow expanse of the Great Gobi, gusts of dusty wind blew through the valley, clouding the sky in sepia, even diminishing the intense heat of the blazing sun temporarily.
Ivan drank his wine calmly, with his reorganized ten thousand troops fully ambushed in the ravine behind him. They had drawn a piece of felt overhead and were nibbling on dry food.
"Ivan, do you think just this one layer of felt can really block a hawk’s sight?"
Fulk had been in the East for a long time and had some knowledge of such miraculous creatures. These birds of prey, capable of spotting a hare on the prairie from thousands of meters in the sky, were a constant scourge for the Crusaders.
"Perhaps, after all, it seems that bald monk does have some skill."
Ivan casually pulled a grass stalk to chew on: "Think about it, Yelv Zilu and the Qidan nobles are not idiots. If those Eastern monks weren’t skilled, how could they earn such reverence?"
Fulk still couldn’t set his mind at ease, knowing Catholic monks well enough, knowing they had limited abilities, while these Eastern monks merely appeared balder than their Catholic counterparts, possessing seemingly no extraordinary abilities.
"We offended Kuchulug, and now we’ve been assigned such an ambush mission. I’m concerned they’re using us as bait."
"Don’t worry, although that pampered pretty boy has the favor of the Qidan king, those Qidan nobles don’t heed him. We now stand with that Deputy Commander, the Emperor of Qidan’s uncle; if any issues arise, he will alert me for sure."
Ivan couldn’t be certain, but he had to appear confident.
After all, as a "vassal army", their role often was as cannon fodder or bait.
Moreover, the Qidan even requisitioned their warhorses before battle. If not for the compensation by Yelv Zonghan, who allocated them supplies and armor, Ivan would suspect the Qidan were treating them as sacrificial pawns.
Fulk sighed, believing Ivan was blinded by the Qidan’s vague promise of "redistributing the land of the rebelling tribes like Gaochang Uighur to the Ivan Division" after reclaiming lost territories. Nonetheless, he knew there was no turning back for them, and the only recourse now was to fight till death.
Ivan suddenly felt subtle vibrations on the ground. He put his ear to the ground, listening intently, then abruptly raised his head and whispered, "They are coming! Pass my orders, no one is to move; violators will face execution!"
The soldiers of the Ivan Division, ambushed in the ravine, clenched their jaws, not daring to make a sound.
After all, being Saracens, they were familiar with the hawks’ sharp vision, knowing that being discovered would mean certain slaughter by the Tatar cavalry on this flatland in the ravine.
The distant sound of an horn echoed with a desolate resonance.
Following this was a series of wolf howls, dense and chilling.
Many Ivan Division soldiers recalled the legend of "Tatar shamans who could control wind, fire, lightning, and even command wolf packs on the prairie."
The ground vibrations intensified, and soon, a tall and sturdy white wolf, with a shoulder height comparable to a fine steed, appeared on the cliff. It sat, its yellow pupils filled with bloodlust and ferocity.
It raised its neck, leading a chorus of howls, marking it clearly as the leader of the pack.
Ivan held his breath, staring at the fearsome beast.
Behind the creature, a man wearing an iron mask appeared on horseback.
The man carried a riding bow, with eight quivers hanging densely from both sides of his saddle. His splendid golden scale armor demonstrated his status as a Tatar general.
Behind him, a dozen Qesem personal guards followed.
"General Jebey, the Liao Dog is drawn up on the distant plain, seemingly ready to engage us in a direct confrontation!"
Jebey removed his mask, revealing a remarkably handsome face. Jebey naturally lacked the authority to form his own Qesem Army, but could command it because he was the personal guard of that illustrious figure on the prairie.
"The Liao are weak, chased to the Gobi by the Golden Dog, then pushed to Samarkand by Subutai. When did they muster the courage for a head-on battle against us?"
Ivan held his breath, staring at the fearsome beast.
Behind the creature, a man wearing an iron mask appeared on horseback.
The man carried a riding bow, with eight quivers hanging densely from both sides of his saddle. His splendid golden scale armor demonstrated his status as a Tatar general.
Behind him, a dozen Qesem personal guards followed.
"General Jebey, the Liao Dog is drawn up on the distant plain, seemingly ready to engage us in a direct confrontation!"
Jebey removed his mask, revealing a remarkably handsome face. Jebey naturally lacked the authority to form his own Qesem Army, but could command it because he was the personal guard of that illustrious figure on the prairie.
"The Liao are weak, chased to the Gobi by the Golden Dog, then pushed to Samarkand by Subutai. When did they muster the courage for a head-on battle against us?"