In the 13th century, for the countries of Eastern Europe, the Mongols were an absolute "nightmare" existence, and even a fairly powerful country was vulnerable to the Mongolian Iron Horse, which fell at the feet of the Mongolian Iron Horse. The fall of Kievan Rus' also forced the Russians to live in the country to abandon their fertile fields and leave for the barren lands of the eastern region.
In the centuries that followed, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, founded by the Russians, was also trampled on from time to time by descendants of the Mongols. At that time, the Mongols were a nightmare that Russians could never escape. If the Mongols were so powerful, why did the Russian Expeditionary Force, made up of just 840 men, destroy the Siberian Khanate founded by the descendants of the Mongols?
Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention the last Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the first Tsar of Tsarist Russia, Ivan the Terrible. As a tsar who wanted to develop Russia into the "Roman Empire of the East," Ivan the Terrible had a much greater desire for territory than any ruler.
After the Reforms and the Great Purge, Ivan the Terrible established Tsarist Russia into a highly centralized state, followed by one expeditionary war after another. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible's Tsarist army destroyed the kazan Khanate, the easternmost state in Eastern Europe.
The destruction of the Kazan Khanate had three great significance for the Russians. First, the conquest of the Kazan Khanate meant that Russia had broken the myth of the invincibility of the Mongols; second, after the destruction of the Kazan Khanate, the Russians' military power surpassed the Mongol Tatars in one fell swoop and had a strategic advantage, which also determined that even the Mongol Khanate was not a rival to Tsarist Russia.
Third, after the annexation of the Kazan Khanate, Tsarist Russia was given a springboard for expeditions to northern Asia and the Far East, and also cleared the last obstacle for Tsarist Russia to cross the Ural Mountains and destroy the Siberian Khanate. In 1556, Ivan the Terrible demanded that the Stroganov family, the great feudal lord of Tsarist Russia, resist the Siberian Khanate and build fortifications there.
Five years later, russia asked the Stroghanov family to cross the Ural Mountains and build towns on the eastern side, officially starting the first phase of the expeditionary war. However, the wars at that time were always small-scale wars, and no decisive battles broke out.
It was precisely because of the frequent consumption of the Stroganov family that the military strength of the Siberian Khanate was gradually weakened. However, the Stroganov family did not want to be over-consumed, so they sought out the Cossack leader Yermak, who had been severely sentenced, and encouraged him to invade Siberia.
After preparation, Yermak organized an 840-strong Russian army to enter the journey. Although the size of the 840-man army was not worth mentioning, it was also a major test for the already weakened Siberian Khanate. You know, the Siberian Khanate has only 200,000 people, most of which are still uncivilized primitive tribal populations, and there are not many warriors at all.
It was precisely because of this understanding that Yermak was able to calmly expedition to the Siberian Khanate with 840 people. At the same time, Yermak remained absolutely vigilant not to pass through the steppes of the Siberian Khanate and not to give the Siberian cavalry a chance to attack.
When Yermak crossed the Ural Mountains via the Chusovaya River and then took the water all the way to the vicinity of the capital of the Siberian Khanate, the Siberians were caught off guard and easily breached by Yermak. For more than 20 years, Yermak and others fought non-stop and finally destroyed the Siberian Khanate.