Chapter Eighteen: Moscow, the City of Loyalty

The Civil War was the most severe crisis since the establishment of the Khanate. It was perhaps only then that the young Khan Toqtoh finally understood why his Greek father-in-law repeatedly warned him that internal troubles were far graver than external threats.

The Khanate had long been aware of internal conflicts, but no one anticipated their sudden and fierce eruption.

The Northern Army, led by the grand tutor Qisainanhu, who had marched north to Poland, rebelled against the court by enthroning his son Boyan and colluding with enemy states in preparation for a southern invasion.

At this critical moment, the Southern Guards were scattered across battlefields from Thrace to Transylvania. Loyal troops within the Northern Army were partly engaged in the northern campaign, where they were suddenly besieged and annihilated by the rebels; others were stationed across the Rus' principalities, apprehending bandits.

Over a decade earlier, Grand Tutor Qisainanhu had decisively defeated the Golden Horde’s Khan Zhanibel in a pivotal battle, leading the Rus' principalities to gradually shift allegiance from the Golden Horde to the Purple Horde. Yet this submission was reluctant at best; in truth, they resented both.

This time, the Rus' princes had long conspired. They appointed Grand Duke Ivan of Tver as their leader and secretly allied with Lithuania, Poland, and other nations, planning a joint uprising to crush the scattered loyal troops one by one.

More than a thousand loyal soldiers had just arrived near Tver, where Ivan planned to host them under the guise of hospitality, waiting for them to lower their guard before launching a decisive strike. Other princes intended to emulate his strategy, aiming for a swift resolution.

At this crucial juncture, the Grand Duchy of Moscow learned of the plot through merchants. The loyal Grand Duke Dmitry of Moscow immediately reported the treacherous princes to the Khanate.

The Moscow grand ducal family had enjoyed excellent relations with successive khans since the time of Batu Khan. When Batu’s Western expedition reached the Rus' lands, the grand duke’s ancestor Yaroslav was among the first locals to submit.

Yaroslav maintained a good relationship with Batu and even represented him at the Kurultai assembly in Karakorum. However, his political adversary, Oghul Qaimish, wife of the ruling Ögedei Khan, despised Batu, detained Yaroslav, and eventually poisoned him.

Perhaps out of guilt, Batu treated Yaroslav’s son Alexander with great favor, even arranging for his son Sarid to become Alexander’s sworn brother. With Batu’s support, Alexander was granted his own domain.

Alexander was a capable leader. As a guest commander, he once led Novgorod’s troops to defeat Swedish raiders on the Neva River. The Slavs’ unexpected victory over the northerners astonished all, earning him the nickname "Nevsky," meaning "Hero of the Neva." Later, he also repelled the German Knights’ eastern crusade at Lake Peipus, achieving what was hailed as a miraculous victory and proving that the Slavs were formidable warriors.

More importantly, unlike other princes who rebelled at the slightest opportunity, Alexander Nevsky remained profoundly loyal to the Khanate.

Later, when his brother Andrei secretly conspired with Rus' princes and Western states to overthrow Mongol rule, Alexander immediately reported the plot to the Great Khan, sacrificing family ties to crush the treacherous plan in time.

The Golden Horde returned this loyalty in kind. Alexander sent his son to govern Novgorod, but due to his son’s brutal rule, the locals expelled him. The Khanate then dispatched troops, with Alexander’s cooperation, to suppress the Novgorodian rebellion and reinstate his son’s authority.

Throughout his life, Alexander diligently served the Great Khan. When uprisings against Mongol tax collectors erupted in various Rus' cities, Alexander disregarded his failing health and personally traveled to Sarai to report the betrayal. He urged the Khanate not to underestimate the situation and to deploy overwhelming force to quell the rebellion.

After persuading the Khan, Alexander Nevsky, exhausted from his labors, fell ill and died en route back to his lands at the age of 43. He could rightly be said to have died in service to the state.

Guo Kang once casually remarked to Tuo Huan and others that Alexander Nevsky would be revered by the Slavs as both a hero and a saint in the future. Tuo Huan wholeheartedly agreed. In these times, such loyalty was rare and deserved recognition.

Alexander’s descendants continued serving the Khanate. By the time of his grandson, Grand Duke Yuri, the Golden Horde’s Khan Uzbeg married his sister to Yuri, elevating him to the status of a "Guregen," akin to Timur’s rank.

After Yuri, his brother Ivan, nicknamed “Moneybag,” ascended. During his reign, the people of the important Rus' principality Tver rebelled, killing the Mongol-appointed tax collector. Acting on Khan Uzbeg’s orders, Ivan suppressed the revolt and took over tax collection duties across the Rus' lands. From then on, Moscow became the Khanate’s fiscal agent in the Rus' principalities. Ivan earned his moniker “Moneybag” due to his rampant extortion and greed.

Ivan “Moneybag’s” sons remained loyal, monitoring anti-Mongol factions in other cities and promptly reporting them to the Khanate. It was not until his grandson Dmitry’s time that the situation shifted.

The Golden Horde was engulfed in prolonged civil war, severely weakening its power. The western region fell under the control of the warlord Mamai. Ambitious Dmitry began colluding with the Khanate’s rebels.

The Rus' principalities gathered over fifty thousand troops to confront Mamai at Kulikovo on the Don River. Mamai’s forces were defeated, and Dmitry earned the nickname “Donskoy,” or “Hero of the Don.”

Yet only three years later, the White Horde’s Toqtoh Mishishi arrived, aiming to restore control over the Rus' lands as a rear base to continue the war against Timur.

Though no match for Timur, Toqtoh Mishishi was a ruthless commander capable of directing major strategic battles on the Eurasian steppe—far beyond what the Slavs could oppose. Perhaps their confidence was inflated by defeating the local warlord Mamai, but in the end, the Slavs were again defeated. Moscow was burned by Toqtoh Mishishi, and Dmitry and others fled in panic, surrendering to Timur and the Purple Horde, seeking their aid.

After Toqtoh Mishishi’s death in defeat, Moscow began to rebuild. They resumed their traditional role, continuously reporting remnants of the Golden Horde and other Rus' collaborators with foreign powers. They also actively guided the Purple Horde’s campaigns against Poland and Lithuania.

Moscow claimed they opposed only corrupt tyrants like Mamai and illegitimate usurpers like Toqtoh Mishishi, remaining forever loyal to the Khanate itself.

Guo Kang scoffed at this. Privately, he told his foster parents not to be deceived; these Muscovites would become the greatest threat to the Khanate in the future. Their current conduct should never lull anyone into complacency—they must always be watched.

His foster mother told him this was well known. Though not prophets, the Khanate’s rulers and officials dealt with local leaders for years and understood well the tendencies of these regional chieftains.

The problem was that the Khanate lacked the strength to govern such distant lands directly, nor did it have sufficient troops or administrators to maintain order. Under these circumstances, it could only appoint local agents to assist in governance.

The Rus' were not a single state but a collection of principalities: the ancient Kyiv, the venerable Vladimir, the free Novgorod, the wealthy Galicia—each with its own character.

Moscow, a newly emerging small town, had hardly any distinguishing features except one: its loyalty.

This is not to say Moscow never rebelled, but compared to the other principalities that rebelled every few days, Moscow fully justified the Khanate’s trust.

As for the Khanate’s decline, that was of little consequence.

If the Khanate could still defeat Moscow, Moscow would continue serving faithfully. If the Khanate could no longer subdue even Moscow, there would be no point worrying about it then—there would be far greater and more formidable enemies to contend with.

Therefore, even if this were truly a prophecy that convinced all at the Khanate court, at most it would only make them more cautious. They could never truly act on it—after all, even if they replaced Moscow with another power, would it be any more loyal?