Chapter 30: The Mongol Pirate King (Part II)

The Khanate intended to deploy a naval force in Novgorod, and the logistical side of things presented no major obstacles. The region was rich in towering forests, ensuring an ample supply of timber. Furthermore, long-standing trade and shipping activities had provided the locals with well-equipped workshops and shipyards capable of constructing and maintaining vessels. The only difficulty lay in the problem of personnel.

The Purple Tent Khanate could not maintain a large army there, nor could it transfer the main body of the Greek navy. In fact, many within the Khan’s court were wary of the Greeks meddling in regional affairs and expanding their influence. As for the people of Novgorod, they were already occupied with wars on multiple fronts and could not provide additional manpower.

Consequently, the Purple Tent Khanate urgently needed more hands to develop its maritime capabilities. After some deliberation, the Administrator of the North Sea Province proposed recruiting Mongols from the southern steppes to fill the labor shortage.

It was not difficult to deduce that among all the surrounding ethnic groups and cultures, the Mongols were the most suited for seafaring.

What is a maritime civilization? The first premise is poverty. Local resources are insufficient to meet the needs of the population, forcing them to take risks, expand, and travel between regions to acquire more resources and improve their standard of living.

Many civilizations could sustain themselves through diligent farming and production, so they had no reason to gamble their lives on the high seas. But the Mongol tribes here were so poor they lacked even cooking pots, leaving them no choice but to wander. Clearly, they possessed the necessary prerequisites and the fundamental drive.

Furthermore, the identity of a seafarer is multifaceted. Sea merchants and pirates are often merely different faces of the same person. Developing maritime trade is not just about commerce; raiding other merchant ships or coastal targets is a constant possibility.

The situation on the steppes was much the same. Tribes maintained complex relationships; while they engaged in trade, mutual raiding was a daily occurrence. Mongol tribes, accustomed to such a lifestyle, were naturally predisposed to this.

Another critical aspect is the tolerance for risk. While maritime trade brought immense wealth to coastal cities, the risks were equally high. A single storm could lead to total ruin, making the endeavor incredibly fragile. "Adventure" demands a high capacity for risk, which many people find difficult to accept.

Yet on the steppes, the risks were equally extreme. A single harsh winter (the "white disaster") could wipe out an entire tribe. Having lived in such an environment for generations, the Mongols possessed a commensurate tolerance for risk.

Finally, even when profits were made, the lion's share went to merchants and shipowners. Ordinary sailors faced harsh conditions and limited income while tossed about at sea. If the Rus people had a stable piece of land, they would never choose such a miserable life.

But the Mongols lived equally difficult lives; many were slaves to tribal nobles, enduring the hardships of the saddle with little income. They were far more willing to accept maritime work.

In any case, they were already accustomed to a nomadic life without a fixed home. Sailing between ports was not so different from migrating between pastures. The herdsmen were long since used to this, and adapting to the rhythm of life at sea was not too difficult for them.

Thus, it is clear: there are no wrongly given titles, only wrongly named people. The Mongols were the true maritime nation.

Under this guiding principle, the North Sea Province began recruiting Mongol herdsmen in large numbers to serve as sailors.

The so-called Mongols here were, in reality, mostly local Kipchak, Cuman, and Bulgar tribes. Naturally, this posed no issue. The Purple Tent Khanate was well-versed in how to manage and employ nomadic herdsmen.

The Khanate’s management of the sea was as loose as its administration of the old Bulgar territories in Kazan or the Cuman lands in Southern Russia. As long as they swore to become Roman citizens before the Divine Ancestor and paid regular tribute to Khan Baisai, they enjoyed extensive autonomy.

Novgorod had divided its vast non-core northern lands into several fiefdoms, originally intending to recruit Lithuanian nobles as vassals of the Republic to serve as a northern buffer. However, after the arrival of the Purple Tent Khanate, the Republic changed its mind and placed these lands under the direct administration of the province.

Provincial officials selected suitable locations to build ports, serving as camps for these "maritime herdsmen." Each ship, effectively isolated at sea for long periods, functioned as an independent nomadic tribe. Thus, they were managed by granting captains ranks corresponding to units of ten or a hundred households based on the size of their vessels.

At first, many herdsmen were unaccustomed to the life, and losses were significant. But the Khanate was not short on people, and because of the generous bounties and shares of plunder provided, numerous struggling small tribes flocked to join.

Because their numbers grew so rapidly, the number of ships soon exceeded the needs of trade. The idle Mongols sailed around, raiding the coasts of Sweden, Lithuania, and Poland.

These European nations had limited standing armies, relying on the forces of individual fiefdoms to deal with enemies. While effective against ordinary pirates, they were ill-equipped for this new threat.

The Mongol pirates had instinctively formed large gangs, gathering clusters of tribes to strike under the command of chieftains and veteran pirates. They chose their targets strategically, utilizing engineers sent from the Purple Tent’s heartland to breach the defensive fortresses of these nations before pouring in to plunder the coastal regions.

Local populations found it difficult to resist such sudden, concentrated, and large-scale incursions, suffering severe losses.

The Purple Tent Khanate and Novgorod were quite satisfied with this. Because Lithuania and Poland were attacked from the rear, they were forced to divert troops for defense, significantly easing the pressure on the southern front for the Purple Tent. Given its success, the system was retained.

The range of Mongol pirate activity soon far exceeded the current jurisdiction of the North Sea Province. The Imperial Court in Dadu decided to upgrade their status and, while they were at it, give them a more formal name. The Guo family, through their connections on Peach Stone Island, found an old scholar to specifically devise a suitable name.

After researching, the old scholar told them they could choose a term related to water that carried multiple auspicious meanings. He cited the *Book of Songs*: "The river water is *yang-yang*," which the commentary defines as "magnificent." He also noted, "The pasture is *yang-yang*," meaning "vast," and "The grand dance is *yang-yang*," meaning "numerous." Confucius once said, "How beautiful is the water, *yang-yang*!" It was clear that the term had always been a word of praise associated with water.

Based on the wisdom of the sages, he suggested changing "North Sea" to "Beiyang" (Northern Ocean) to demonstrate the martial prowess of the dynasty and the grandeur of its navy.

Everyone felt the old scholar was indeed highly cultured, so they followed his advice and renamed the force the "Beiyang Fleet."

Due to rapid expansion, the shipbuilding workshops in Novgorod could not keep up with demand, and the North Sea Province even had to place orders for German warships in Hamburg and Lübeck. Within a few years, the fleet had attained a significant scale.

Then, a new war broke out.

The Kingdom of England had originally been an important wool exporter in Europe, and the London Steelyard held a significant position within the Hanseatic League. However, during the reign of King Edward III, the export of wool and the import of foreign textiles were banned under penalty of severe punishment.

Edward hoped to use these measures to force the development of his country's domestic textile industry, shifting from exporting raw wool to finished goods. This policy, however, clearly interfered with the interests of foreign merchants.

Flanders, which imported large quantities of wool for production, was the first to express its dissatisfaction. Other cities of the Hanseatic League also strongly condemned the English government's forced trade protectionism, calling for England to open up to free trade.

Edward III was a strong monarch; he not only increased the existing wool tariffs but even began demarcating zones, banning the shearing of wool within five miles of the coast. These measures infuriated the merchants, but England was powerful at the time and busy beating France, so there was little anyone could do.

However, in the final years of Edward's reign, he suffered a stroke and became unable to manage state affairs. In 1376 and 1377, his heir, Edward the "Black Prince," and Edward III passed away in succession. The subsequent rulers were incompetent, and the nobility fell into infighting, plunging the country into nearly thirty years of chaos.

The North Sea merchants, having secured the backing of the Purple Tent Khanate, decided to seize this opportunity to use force to compel England to open its trade. France strongly supported this, providing considerable sponsorship and sending envoys to Dadu to lobby the court for additional troops.

Bolstered by French gold, the Khan’s court soon agreed to their plan. Grand Admiral Isaac Doukas personally led a large retinue and group of technicians to Novgorod to command the campaign.

The following year, the Mongol pirates moved south in large numbers, rendezvoused with the fleets of allied cities along the way, and first defeated their old rival, Denmark, forcing the king to declare neutrality. Subsequently, the Beiyang Fleet sailed out of the Jutland waters to attack various ports in England.

King Richard II of England was unpopular with the nobility. The great lords, led by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, were happy to see the King humiliated; they prioritized their own survival and refused to offer the King any support beyond empty words. The wealthy merchants who had originally supported trade protection began to waver when they saw the fierce approach of the enemy fleet and no longer wished to hold their ground. Under these unfavorable conditions, the King’s army could only attempt to engage the Beiyang Fleet at the mouth of the Thames, where they were defeated by overwhelming numbers.

A large number of Mongol pirates, Hanseatic mercenaries, and Frenchmen who had mixed in with them successfully landed and entered London, plundering the city extensively. Many parts of the city were burned, and Richard II fled in a panic, hiding in Wales.

The military failure further damaged the King’s authority, and he was soon overthrown by John’s son, Henry, who became Henry IV. England was forced to reopen wool exports and abolish high tariffs. The Hanseatic League and the Purple Tent Khanate expanded their established trading posts in London and gained more privileges, turning the area into a state within a state.

No one had expected such a monumental result from a single operation. Having tasted the rewards, the various parties began to cooperate even more closely.