Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 543

His eyes turned back to Zhao Xin.

After Liu Sheng and the others attacked from Kyakta, Zhao Xin immediately issued an order to ask Jiuzang stationed in Chiyan City to select 1000 or [-] elite soldiers to form a "Southern Detachment".They will take a boat down the Yenisei River, from Kemukmqik on the border to Sizuoling, Wulianghai.Afterwards, this army will go east along the Huakemu River, go south along the tributary of the Barji River, pass through Lake Tribe, and go straight to Bayanbulak Karen, cutting off the Qiaktu West Road Station Line and Uriah. The station line in the northern part of Sutai, waiting for an opportunity to seize Uliasutai.

Due to the thousands of miles of this journey and the complicated terrain along the way, several Tuvans and Buryat Mongols were arranged as guides in the "Southern Detachment".

Although there are fewer Northern Navy troops in Chiyan City, the number of Cossack servants under Krutogorov who has undergone rigorous training by the Northern Navy has reached 3000.Zhao Xin knew that the "Sixth Russo-Turkish War" should have come to an end in terms of time, and there would be no more large-scale ground wars with the Russian army, and the rest was Ushakov's business, so he ordered The Cossack servant army was dispatched to attack Achinsk, 160 kilometers away, to control the Chulym River Basin.

Achinsk was built in 1641, and in another time and place, Dzhugashvili was imprisoned there.

"Your Majesty, the Northern Navy will be your strong backing, and Cheliaba Fortress is beckoning to you. The Cossack Kingdom will prosper in your hands!"

"Everything is as you wish, respectable prince, master of Eastern Siberia, the highest honor Ataman! The Siberian Cossack Kingdom will be the sharp sword in your hand, and my descendants and I will always be loyal to you!"

On July 1791, 7, Krutogorov knelt down on one knee to Zhao Xin at the Western Front Headquarters of the Northern Navy located in Chiyan City, and once again expressed his allegiance to Zhao Xin. Together, Mikhail and the others set off with the assembled troops.

Zhao Xin got up from behind the table, walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, folded his arms, and watched the Cossack troops in the square outside in companies leaving one after another.

In order to establish a barrier between the future China and the Tsarist Russian Empire, Beihai Town invested heavily in this Cossack servant army.Not only the weapons and equipment are provided by Beihai Town, but even the training is specially compiled a set of training outline.

It should be known that the training methods of the flintlock weapon platform and the semi-automatic weapon platform are completely different, from the formation, marching to combat methods.To give the simplest example, who has ever seen a "prone to load bullets" who uses a flintlock weapon?
The officer's standard weapon is the "Type 84" revolver that uses a flash cap. There is nothing to say about this.The infantry's weapon is Qing Yishui's "Type 1790" front-loading Mini rifle, which is fired with a flash cap; although the shooting speed is still 2-4 rounds per minute, the effective range has been increased to 370 meters, which is much higher than that of the Tsarist Russian Army. The flintlock used.

In terms of long-range weapons, Zhao Xin equipped the Cossack troops with 35 M1857 twelve-pound guns imitated from another time and space.This bronze-cast artillery can fire solid shells, blasting shells, cannonballs, and shrapnel shells. It is a kind of field artillery with high shooting accuracy; Overwhelm enemy infantry at a distance of five hundred yards.

Considering that Krutogorov and his men were not yet familiar with the new tactics, Zhao Xin also dispatched an officer advisory group headed by Lu Shoushan to help and direct the war against Russia.

Other than that, it's Zhao Xin's bad taste.The military uniform he equipped for the Cossack servant army is a red uniform with dark blue trim (including cuffs, lapels and collars), that is, a black flat-topped short-brimmed hat, a red jacket, black trousers, and black boots, a proper copy of the lobster soldier ; but the mid-nineteenth-century style, which is markedly different from the current style of British Army clothing.You must know that red dye is still quite expensive this year, so once the new military uniform was launched, it was deeply loved by Cossack soldiers.

Well, now I have to talk about Zhao Xin's new title, "Ataman with the highest honor".

In late June, Krutogorov convened a Cossack Kingdom Military Council meeting in Chiyan City.At this meeting, proposed by Krutogorov, all the military committees voted unanimously, and decided to award the title of "Supreme Ataman" to Zhao Xin, the great leader of the Northern Navy and the savior of the Cossacks.This title means Supreme Military Leader, who governs the Cossack Military Council.

But Zhao Xin refused after learning about it.What nonsense!He is not a Cossack.

So Krutogorov changed his name to sycophancy, adding the word "honor" in front of it, only in name, not the kind that does not need to participate in the Cossack Congress.Zhao Xin thought about it and accepted.

Well, in fact, no one else is to blame, but Polya's uncle Igor is to blame.A few months ago, this guy drank too much with Krutogorov, and finally couldn't help but tell the story of his first encounter with Zhao Xin, leaving a table of Cossack officers stunned.

Only then did Krutogorov, Mikhail and the others recall a saying secretly circulated in the Northern Navy that His Royal Highness King Zhao has the power of gods and ghosts.As long as he leads the troops to battle, the officers never have to worry about the logistics of military supplies. Obviously, the warehouse was full of rats yesterday, and it became full again this morning.

It is said that in the early Zaporozhye Cossack legends, many famous Ataman leaders were powerful wizards.These ataman wizards possess many special abilities - including stopping bleeding, catching bullets with their bare hands, walking on water and fire, invisibility, hypnotizing, appearing in several places at once, causing enemies to flee the battlefield in panic, seeing the future or What happens in other places hundreds of kilometers away affects people's thinking and can also affect nature.

Well, there is another legend about the Cossack wizard.That is, ordinary bullets cannot kill them, and only the silver bullets specially made by the church can be used; in addition, when wizards are buried, their faces must face down, and they cannot see the sun, otherwise they cannot be resurrected; so based on the same purpose, there are When the wizard is buried, a wooden stake must be nailed to the heart.
The Cossack shaman's cohesion to the Cossack group is enormous, and ordinary Cossacks are in awe of them.They believe that as long as there is a powerful wizard in their group, they are invincible.

For example, there used to be an ataman named Ivan Shirko. During his 21 years as the Zaporozhye ataman, he participated in more than 200 battles and was never defeated.

In the eyes of the Cossacks, the reason why Ivan Silko is victorious is because he has powerful mana, which includes being able to predict the details of the opponent in advance, so as to achieve victory with less and beat the enemy. victory.

According to legend, after the death of Ivan Shirko, the Cossacks cut off his right hand and carried it with him during the battle as a sacred object of the army.It is also said that in the five years after Ivan Shirko's death, the Cossacks did not bury his body, but took him away, because he instilled fear in the enemy and helped them achieve victory.

Krutogorov’s purpose is not just to flatter, he wants to strengthen the authority of the Siberian Cossack Congress by establishing an Ataman wizard with “superior mana”, and strengthen his personal status along the way.In other words, Lao Tzu, the king, is covered by a wizard, who would dare to stab him? !

At the end of the eighteenth century, Achinsk was just a small town. After three thousand Cossacks in bright armor and armed to the teeth arrived, Krutogorov sent a messenger to send an ultimatum to the defenders and the parliament in the town. There is only one line: leave the city and surrender, or blow it up with cannons!

Achinsk suddenly fell into chaos.Some people are about to move and plan to surrender; some people plan to cooperate with the Russian army to resist.In charge of the local garrison was a lieutenant colonel, who had only four guns and a thousand soldiers under his command; despite the disparity in strength between the two sides, he did not want to retreat.

Seeing that the garrison was trying to resist, Lu Shoushan suggested to fire directly, but Krutogorov had his own clever plan.He sent an officer on horseback to gallop to the Russian positions, holding a highly provocative letter he had written above his head.

"Brothers of the Cossacks! On the orders of Grand Duke Alexander Ivanovich Petrovich! Please lay down your arms and surrender immediately! Cossacks do not fight Cossacks, everyone is brothers! We want to build our own kingdom here!"

I'll fuck it!Where did this grand duke come from?The lieutenant colonel who led the Russian army heard that the whole person was not well, and the soldiers under him also looked at each other in blank dismay.However, there are still those who are brave enough to stick their heads out of the cover and shout at the red knight on the horse:
"Hey~~! Let me tell you! You, that Grand Duke Petrovich, what is his relationship with that Grand Duke Paul in St. Petersburg?"

"He's right! What evidence do you have?!"

Hearing someone questioning, Second Lieutenant Shishkin slowed down his horse and shouted vigorously: "Brothers! The Grand Duke of St. Petersburg is a fake! He is the woman who usurped the throne and her lover Grigory Grigor The son of Rievich Orlov! That woman and his lovers conspired to kill Czar Peter III, and Grand Duke Petrovich is the only descendant and legal heir of Czar Peter III! His full name is Alexander I Vanovich Petrovich Fyodorovich!"

boom!The Russian army behind the bunker suddenly went into an uproar, and the faces of the several Russian officers in charge changed drastically. They seemed to have a premonition of what would happen next.

"I said brother, why don't you read the letter to us!"

"Yes, read it and listen to it!"

Shishkin felt that he had never been so beautiful in his life, so he immediately took out a red speaker horn from the saddle bag behind him, and while letting the horse trot, he recited the contents of the letter.

"At the command of the Grand Duke, he will give you a holy cross made of gold! All Cossacks are allowed to keep their beards! The rivers, pastures, and cultivated land on the territory belong to all Cossacks! The Grand Duke promises to give the Cossacks eternal freedom! But whoever If he resists to the end, he will be regarded as a traitor to all Cossacks! As a counter-revolutionary!"

"What is a counter-revolution?!"

Shishkin said resolutely: "It is the enemy! There is only one way to deal with the enemy, and that is to send them to the gallows!"

A Russian soldier hiding behind the bunker couldn't help saying: "I think what he said is really good."

Another agreed: "Yeah, everything belongs to all the Cossacks. I think that's a good idea, it must be a saint who can say that!"

At this time, the face of the lieutenant colonel of the Russian army turned green, and he immediately ordered his subordinates to fire and kill the bastard opposite.However, the few Cossack soldiers who were in charge of firing the cannon quit. They had been bewitched by Shishkin's words.You must know that whether it is the Ural Cossacks or the Irek Cossacks, they are all believers in the old Orthodox Church, and the fact that the army does not allow beards has always made them secretly unhappy.

"Arrest them all!" The lieutenant colonel was furious, first ordered his guards to tie up the gunners who refused to fire, and then ordered several backup gunners: "I order you to fire!"

The oldest gunner put on a submissive face, but he kept repeating the same sentence: "Don't fire, my lord. I think the young man is right."

The lieutenant colonel shook his body, almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, thinking what kind of bastards I was leading!

Krutogorov didn't fire a single shot, and only sent a bold and desperate Shishkin to shout, which eventually caused more than half of the garrison in Achinsk to mutiny.Seeing that the situation was not going well, several Russian officers with more eyes fled with a few of their men ahead of time, while the leading lieutenant colonel was tied up by mutinous Cossack soldiers.

Soon, the bells of the church in the city were rang, and the Cossack soldiers of the Russian army and the Cossack civilians in the city who heard the news came out of the bunker to greet the "Grand Duke" with bread and salt in their hands.

When Krutogorov, surrounded by more than 20 guards wearing bearskin hats, dismounted from his horse and tasted the bread and salt, he immediately announced the exemption of the poll tax, beard tax and fishing tax under his rule. Earned loud cheers from the crowd.

As for the Russian lieutenant colonel, Krutogorov did not immediately hang him, but ordered him to be put in prison.He announced that all criminals need to be tried by the Ataman Assembly to prove their guilt before they can be punished accordingly, and no one has the right to deprive others of their lives without authorization.

The troops stayed in Achinsk for only one day. On the morning of the third day, Krutogorov ordered Shishkin, who had been promoted, to lead a company to stay and garrison, and then led the troops to set off again, heading west [-] kilometers away. Fort Tobogol advances.

That place is said to be a fortress, but it is really just a village surrounded by wooden fences.However, there are as many as 2000 residents here, and it is already considered a "big city" on the Siberian wasteland.

On July 7, Krutogorov led his army to the north bank of the Churem River. He still repeated his old tricks and sent another officer to speak out in front of the battle.However, since there were people in the fortress who fled from Achinsk before, the local Russian officers had been prepared, and fired without saying a word, blowing up the second lieutenant of the servant army to pieces on the spot.

Krutogorov was furious and ordered an immediate artillery attack.When the twenty cannons were pushed to the front of the formation, the Russian army in the fortress suddenly panicked.The deafening gunfire lasted for an hour, and the Tobogor Fortress, which was surrounded by wooden fences and parapets, could not withstand the bombardment of flowering bombs.The muzzle-loading shells produced by the Beihai Navy Arsenal are filled with nitrocellulose, which is far more powerful than black powder, and each explosion can kill more than a dozen lives.

When the outer fortifications were ravaged by shells, more than 1000 Cossack soldiers in red rushed into the fortress.Then one after another gunshots rang out in the fortress, and all Russian troops and residents who tried to resist were killed.An hour later, the entire Tobogor Fortress fell, and the commander of the fortress was captured.

After this battle, the reputation of "Grand Duke Petrovich" spread all over the banks of the Chulym River, and every day, all kinds of Cossacks came to Tobogor to seek refuge.Some of these people came to look for hope, some tried to fish in troubled waters to benefit from it, and some hoped to mix with the "Grand Duke" and jump into the dragon's gate.

Since it was summer at this time and the waterway traffic in Siberia was smooth, the news of the Cossack Kingdom quickly spread to the west of the Ob River Basin, the Ural Mountains and the Volga River Basin, and finally reached St. Petersburg more than a month later.

The 61-year-old Empress Catherine II was shocked when she heard the news. She did not expect that the rumors about Peter III that she had worked so hard to suppress for many years would rise again.She had already guessed that there must be a shadow of Beihai Town behind the impostor "Grand Duke".As a result, she gritted her teeth with hatred for His Royal Highness Zhao Wang, whom she had never met before, and wished she could cut him into pieces.

On the day the empress got the news, she convened a meeting of the Tsarist Russian Military Council. She decided to immediately recall the most elite "Ekaterina Army" and "Ukrainian Army" of the Russian army, and her old lover Grigory Alexander Drovich Potemkin is the commander of the army group, and he must eliminate this group of Cossack rebels!
(End of this chapter)