As we left, we still had Ilkhanate baronies left to mop out from our newly acquired Novgorod (obviously ancestral land stolen by evil X-men).
Assaulting and driving out the Easterners is a simple task for our mighty armies, now we will simply wait.
Bol Dorki is a castle built here by the conquering Mongols, and our target. As you can see, our cities and temple are still run by Muslims (both Mongol and Russian) even after conquest, so something must be done about that too...
The Russian mayor is the first to be evicted from these blessed lands. Amazingly, the new bastion of Orthodoxy in Rus, the duchy of Vitebsk takes him under their wing as he is exiled.
The Sheikh of Tikhvin will face exile next. Also, we are working on forging claims in Bezhetsky Verh, to create a land connection for our people across the majestic lake Ladoga once more.
The Sheikh of Tikhvin, a vile Turk, flees rather than face the execution that'd surely await him.
You can revoke titles from vassals that belong to a different religious group. As you might expect, this is very useful for "ethnic cleansing" of the court for Pagans due the Pagan player usually being the last of his religious group.
We appoint a proper shaman to Tikhvin. This actually marks the beginning of the ascension of a new landed noble house to our ranks, as from here onwards House Maunu would grow in importance and gain great holdings for such a new house.
The Mufti of Luga is sent an ultimatum. Leave, or face the armies of the Finns.
He accepts our demands and is exiled. I must say, the Orthodox Russians are rather forgiving for traitors and collaborators.
The war for Bol Dorki continues. Eventually the Ilkhanate will give in.
Even with war raging, things go by peacefully, with minor disputes between subjects occupying far more of the king's time.
An envoy from the shores of Aral arrives at last, bearing news of the Khagan's willingness for peace rather than continue a fruitless war.
Meanwhile, the duchess of Karelia is plotting. We disregard her "evidence", for we are Just and above such vicious small-minded feuds.
Bol Dorki is ours, marking total conquest of the province of Novgorod.
A young nobleman from the shores of Estonia is made Hetman of Bol Dorki, so as to build a new minor house in the court. It is wise to give baronies to new and unknown houses, to ensure loyalty and weakness, and of course new breeding stock for the royal family.
Our boy is a man now. He is pretty good, but could be better, needs Ambition and Diligence to be a truly great king.
Prince Kullervo is married to the daughter of the High Chief of Bjarmia, thus securing good relations there. Sadly, father-in-laws and brother-in-laws don't have relationship bonuses.
Years later, the High Chief rewards our confidence and produces claims for Bezhetsky Verh. To war!
The county belongs to the aforementioned Duchy of Vitebsk, the strongest Rus power in the aftermath of the decline of the Golden Horde. They are no match for our fierce warriors, for Christ is a weak god who only enslaves free men.
A Vitebskian army of 4000 men is crushed by our massive band of 18000 warriors in the Battle of Zarechnaya, in Bezhetsky Verh. The mayor of Borisow is sacrificed to the Bear for strength, and his remains are fed to the fishes of Ladoga for the favour of Ahti.
Vitebsk still has armies, but they are needed to fight against remaining Muslim successor states in Rus. We march to their capital unopposed and lay siege.
Our daughter is married to our loyal allies, the House of Turku and the new High Chief of Livonia.
Vasilko, true to his title as the Ill-Ruler, is forced to accept our demands.
Russian Orthodox mayor of Sonkovo is exiled, and he flees to his homeland of Vitebsk.
We briefly contract measles.
Current borders. Our aim is to seize the duchy of Novgorod and spread our people and faith there.
In quick succession, our good ally the High Chief of Bjarmia produces claims for both Velikiy Luki and Pskov.
As a kind soul, King Otso II spends much of his time tending his garden.
Velikiy Luki is currently out of our reach, but luckily within months we also gained claim on Pskov. Vasilko's son is about to learn why his father feared the Men of the North and their pagan gods.
All of Pskov is quickly seized by our massive army there.
Koz'ma sees that it is better to concede to us than for Vitebsk to burn. No doubt he intends to strengthen by conquering the small Muslim states around him (at this point Russia is in religious upheaval due to Ilkhanate and Golden Horde).
In the next five years, Velikiy Luki is also seized, and Muslim heathens are driven out one by one (the network of baronies is pretty impressive.
Russians...
... And Mongols alike are thrown out. As you can see, there's been a culture shift in Velikiy Luki. It's a Persian province now, something that will eventually be rectified I'm sure.
We realize that Golden Horde is awfully close to recovering, so new War of Assassins is begun. The Khagan is killed and we send assassins after his teenage son as well.
The guardian of the boy, Bishop Kirill, doesn't take too well to this and tries to poison us. Luckily we have produced claims on Zaozerye, and so we can march to war in revenge.
Even with their power broken by decades of rebellions, the Russo-Mongol armies are nothing to scoff at. This will be the bloodiest war we have waged.
As the main army attacks the Westernmost horde and our other forces are gathering for the fight, King Otso II has a new side emerge as he becomes wroth with his despicable enemies and fight relentlessly to kill them all.
The battle of Zaytsevo is over. It is one of the bloodiest seen in Europe, with thousands dead and dying. It also marks the greatest military defeat the Golden Horde has ever suffered.
As poetic justice, Bishop Kirill took part in the battle and is slain at the blades of free men. Russian bishops and counts fall prisoner rather than face his fate. They are thrown to rot in the dungeons of Kalevan until suitable punishment is decided upon.
The army is chased to the fields of Glushkovo, and more nobles fall prisoner. They are brought before the King in chains, and beheaded.
Golden Horde is fighting rebels in Chud and Vologda. Our three great armies converge on Chud, aiming for fast victory against the horde there.
The bishop spared at Zaotsevo has the nerve to complain. But we are just, so he is spared the Oubliette.
Timur approaches. Contracts with the Elite Ninja Assassin Corps Finnish Branch are renewed.
Seems to me Tsar Feodor could use some instability in his realm...
But before we see to that, he admits defeat and Zaozerye becomes our possession. Plans of expansion into Hlynov in addition to Novgorod are being drawn, in order for more defensible borders to be made. And you know, it's totally within our ancestral claims and all that.
This is the present map of Europe. Denmark-Lithuania is united again for a change, Sweden is recovering after centuries of rebuilding and has joined the Holy Roman Empire, and the effects of our assassinations in Golden Horde and Ilkhanate have been delicious. I despise having large, stable countries near me.
The religious map. Orthodoxy is actually most common in the Middle-East now due to me never noticing that the Byzantine Empire is an unstoppable juggernaut if left without player attention, so it's not a rare religion despite being almost extinct in Rus.