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Anno Domini 829, February 18-March-7
Karnobat… at last… the place where it all began…
"Surround the village. I want it intact, exactly as it is. If you find the zhupan and his family and bring him to me alive, I will pay one thousand gold coins for him," I said, looking at my riders. They immediately galloped off, encircling the village, while another group stormed the mansion.
Though I had diverted a force larger than necessary for this task, to me it was the most important of all. At the same time I had sent vanguards to strike Lardea, Mesembria, Anchialos, Debeltos, and Stilbnos. With the information I possessed, I could dispatch my men in small patrols to completely ravage the countryside, leaving only the fortresses. In doing so we denied them the revenue produced by that land through the labor of Greek slaves and Bulgarians, who were now being taken to slave markets and sold in small batches across Anatolia, avoiding large concentrations.
If all went well, it would also secure an excellent defensive position. By taking these regions we would have rivers covering nearly every direction of our rear, granting us a stable base from which to launch further strikes against the Bulgarians.
My forces were temporarily quite dispersed, taking advantage of the fact that the Bulgarians were equally scattered. If we seized this opportunity, we could deny them their levies. As we entered and sacked villages, we found their armories empty, indicating that the Bulgarian nobles had fled after being warned, evacuating their personal troops and likely conducting a partial levy, though not a full one. Our swift attack had greatly weakened them.
While this unfolded, I rode down the road toward the village.
The first thing I saw was the place that left a bitter taste in my mouth, the estates where they had once kept us confined. It brought back everything I had endured there.
I bit my lip as I advanced through the village, noticing the terror among the inhabitants as our forces blocked every exit. They had tried to flee but failed, driven back inside by my orders.
The first place I wished to visit was the village chapel. There, however, I received another bitter surprise. The priest who had taught me to read and write was no longer there. I was told he had been executed years ago, apparently by order of the Bulgarian khan, to prevent him from continuing his efforts at evangelization.
It pained me to know that someone who had helped me so much was dead. Unlike certain political clerics, he had truly tried to spread his faith, even at the cost of his life.
When I reached the zhupan's mansion, I found it ransacked and servants weeping, beaten and trembling.
"Where is he? Where is he?" one of the Varangians shouted in Norse, smashing a servant's face with his fists while the others watched in terror.
"He will not understand you," I said in Norse. "Where is the zhupan? Is he here, or did he escape?" I asked in Bulgarian, staring at the man, who was barely conscious, held upright by his torn garments, blood streaming from his nose, several teeth missing.
"The zhupan left yesterday… he rode out with a group of horsemen and most of the guards toward the capital… Pliska," one of the weeping women said as she crawled forward and clutched my leg.
"Thank you… but do not touch me, filthy Bulgarian," I said, pushing her away with my foot. "He is not here. The rat escaped. He is in his capital, so do not waste more effort. The reward stands, but when we are besieging the Bulgarian capital," I told the Varangians, who would have beaten them to death for information.
The Varangians withdrew, and I walked toward what had once been my room, seeing it now occupied by another.
As control of the village was secured, I began walking toward the nearby forest.
"So this is where they kept you chained," Sigurd said, surveying the place.
"Yes… I lived in that house before proving useful to the zhupan, who later allowed me to reside in his own dwelling, where I handled administrative work. Every day I took this path to the smithy over there, but it seems the master smith who once worked there died or something happened, because the man I saw today I did not recognize," I said, continuing forward, calmly observing the landscape.
"So you remember everything," Sigurd said, following me while watching our men clear the area. "One thing I do not understand. If you hate this place so much, why are you not burning it? I thought we would be slaughtering the population, torturing them. Yet here it feels calmer than in many other places," he added.
"Because I will destroy this place to ashes, erase its name from history, obliterate every Bulgarian record that says this village ever existed. But first I need to catch that wretch with my own hands, hang him in a cage suspended in the air, kill his sons before his eyes,defile his daughters and his wife, burn everything, kill them all, let their screams remain in his mind so he regrets the day he bought me until the final second of his miserable life," I said, clenching my jaw and fists.
"Remind me never to be on your bad side… damn… I never imagined…" Sigurd muttered, clearly shaken.
"Yes, I can be very resentful when I choose to be. As for the rest of the Bulgarians, enslaving them will likely suffice. Though if the Bulgarian khan falls into my hands, I will kill him as he killed the priest of this village," I said as we finally reached the forest.
"Why… was there something special about that priest to make you want to kill someone over him?" Sigurd asked.
"He taught me to read and write in Greek and in the proto-Bulgarian they use for their laws. In truth, he helped me escape indirectly. A real loss, what happened to him, though there was little he could have done. Even if I had tried to help him flee, I am certain he would have refused, as his mission was to convert the Bulgarians to Christianity. One of the few clerics worth anything, considering the filth in Constantinople playing power games and fighting among religious factions," I said as I finally recognized a tree.
"And what exactly are we doing here?" Sigurd asked, keeping pace with me while pushing aside branches.
"Nothing in particular. Looking for something of sentimental value," I replied, stopping before the tree and carefully reaching inside. At last I pulled out one of the daggers I had forged years ago. They were still there, though clearly rusted by time and weather.
"What is that… a knife?" Sigurd asked, tilting his head.
"A dagger. When I worked in the village smithy, I managed to hide scraps of metal and bind them to wood to make this. I planned to lure a guard, warn him of a wolf or some danger, drive this into his throat to seize a real blade, then try to stir suspicion elsewhere. Yes, I know, a foolish idea. It would have failed quickly, but in the end I did not need them. I had only taken one with me. Now I finally have the rest," I said, studying the rusted blades.
"Ha… impressive memory, finding them without even searching," Sigurd said.
"Come. I have what I wanted from this village. Now we leave it as it is, peaceful, let them go on living until I capture the zhupan. When that happens, this place will vanish and no one will ever speak of it again."
Without another word we returned to camp, walking past guards securing every corner. Soon we resumed movement elsewhere, leaving a garrison behind to prevent the inhabitants from fleeing. They would be needed for my future plans.
The following days passed quietly as we struck every nearby settlement. There was no organized force to oppose us. Unlike previous years, the Bulgarian armies were not ravaging the region; they had returned to their lands, some even beyond the Danube. It would take them time to gather again. That gave us the perfect opportunity to seize control.
The campaign progressed well. In the region we had freed tens of thousands of Greeks, most of whom would be sent to Crete. Depending on my success, they would either remain there permanently or return once the campaign ended, should we secure imperial objectives.
What I had not expected, due to the communications we had severed with our abrupt incursion, was that some cities had empty granaries. They believed the non-aggression pact with the Empire still held and were unprepared for a siege. Three coastal cities with strong Greek influence surrendered within days to avoid the cost of resistance. With empty stores and no word of reinforcements, their governors chose surrender rather than risk internal revolt by their Greek majority.
Thus, within days we had secured three vital fortified cities without spending troops or supplies in siege.
Debeltos, Anchialos, and Mesembria fell with little resistance, though Diampolis, Lardea, and Stilbnos continued to endure siege. Meanwhile we secured the entire southern sector below Pliska and the river. With control of the rivers, we could contain any assault from the north.
The news of empty warehouses troubled me. Skleros' intelligence was reliable for routine matters and administrative details, but not much beyond that. It depended on Romans relaying information when possible.
With three major sieges underway, I left five thousand men behind, mainly themata, to direct operations while I undertook a bolder strike.
I intended to exploit our temporary numerical superiority by forcing battle before the Bulgarians could assemble their armies. If I delayed, I would be forced into a defensive posture awaiting reinforcements from Theophilos and from the Varangian warriors expected from the north.
So we crossed the river and ravaged the lands of Preslav and Varna, advancing toward the Bulgarian capital.
The city was large, though not on the scale of Antioch. My forces could encircle it, though carefully, as we did not know how many troops lay within.
We quickly began the siege, digging trenches and assembling our engines. Within hours trebuchets were pounding the walls without rest. My men raised a wall and counterwall to shield us from sorties and external attacks, along with a deep trench.
Within days the siege camp stood complete. We sent scouting parties in every direction to determine where Bulgarian reinforcements would come from.
In this way I could force battle quickly, and if I achieved victory, I could shatter Bulgarian authority over the Slavic tribes that followed them.
It was a gamble. If we won, we could end the Bulgarians. If fortune favored us, Omurtag himself might be inside the city. With low supplies, perhaps we could capture the Bulgarian khan along with the nobles who had fled there.
Now all that remained was to wait and see from where the Bulgarians would approach… while awaiting Varangian reinforcements from Hakon or hoping Theophilos could secure me aid from elsewhere.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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