1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 990
On June 1682, 6, Xin'anbao (now Ulan-Ude, Russia).

Guarja Ruilin sat on a bearskin chair, staring blankly at the Rakshasa envoy in front of him, without any reaction for a while.But the sharp eyes made the Rakshasa envoy who came to negotiate and negotiate feel uneasy, and couldn't help worrying that the Tatar leader would directly kill him in the hall in the next moment.

"Tell this Rakshasa envoy." Ruilin curled his lips contemptuously, then turned to look at a Buryat Mongolian interpreter next to him, "They have only two choices, they can take the initiative to lay down their weapons and surrender unconditionally to us; Either wash your neck clean and wait for the arrival of our army. The entire Beihai and the vast Lingbei area will be the established territory of our Bohai State. Any local armed forces that dare to resist or obstruct the advance of our Bohai State army will eventually be crushed Turn it into dust, and leave no bones behind!"

After Timofey Mozgov heard the message from the interpreter, his face flushed immediately, his eyes widened, and he looked at Ruilin.

These Tatars have such a big appetite. According to his tone, they not only want to seize the entire Baikal Lake, but also intend to get their hands on the vast Siberia region. under their jurisdiction.

They are simply...too arrogant!
However, apart from lamenting, Timofey Mozgov was also extremely frustrated.Since these Tatars settled in the Amur River Basin more than 20 years ago, they have risen rapidly.In a very short period of time, they took advantage of their abundant manpower and weapons to remove several fortresses and strongholds established by the Cossacks in the Amur River and Ussuri River Valley one by one, and completely drove them out of this rich land. Two Rivers Basin.

After these Tatars fully gained a foothold and established the Bohai State, they received strong support from Qi State and Ming State, and began to continue to expand northward and westward.Under the guidance and help of the surrendered Cossacks and local aborigines, they continuously invaded the strongholds and winter camps established by the Cossacks, and their forces gradually spread from the Amur River Basin to the Zeya River (Jingqili River), Shilka River, Er Guna River, Oud River, and the current Selenga River Basin.

They completely followed the way the Cossacks explored and expanded from west to east back then, passing through numerous rivers and valley trails, and using boats and sleds as means of transportation, they groped forward bit by bit to the west.After they captured the castles and camps occupied by the Cossacks, they would immediately mobilize the domestic people and local aborigines to consolidate and improve these key strongholds, and then completely control the surrounding large areas of territory.

These Tatars have portable light artillery and more advanced flintlock guns than the Cossacks. Whether it is attacking the city wall or fighting in the field, the Cossacks who were so brave in the past are not their opponents at all. Get defeated and retreat steadily, and the wolf rushes forward.

In July last year, the Bohai State led more than 700 troops to the Uginsk Castle, which was built at the mouth of the Ud River.During the siege of the city for more than a month, although more than [-] armed soldiers and volunteers were mobilized in the city, they were able to keep the enemy out of the city and temporarily keep the castle.

But in the next few months, the Bohai State sent hundreds of reinforcements one after another, carrying more artillery, and bombarded Uginsk Castle day and night, intending to shake the defenders' will to resist.

Just when the defenders finally survived the cold winter, they thought they could force the enemy back by virtue of the severe weather.Unexpectedly, the Bohai army used snow sledges to transport an 18-pound siege artillery from the rear to the city of Uginsk.

Unsurprisingly, in less than two days, a ten-meter-long outer wall of the sturdy Uginsk Castle was blown down, and more than a thousand soldiers from the Bohai State and local natives rushed into the city shouting.

After completely controlling the castle, these ferocious Tatars killed all the adult men in the city out of revenge, cut off their heads one by one, and built a terrifying Jingguan on the snow outside the city.

Uginsk Castle is located in a favorable geographical position on the "trade road" from Siberia to China and Mongolia, and is one of the most important commercial centers in the region.At the same time, it is also the gateway to the east of Irkutsk city, which is of great strategic value.

Therefore, when the Irkutsk Governor's Mansion heard that Uginsk Castle had fallen, it was terrified, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were also in panic all day long.In addition to urgently asking for help from the distant Yakutsk Governor's Mansion and Tomsk Governor's Mansion, the Warlord's Mansion also sent several waves of messengers to Moscow to ask for help from His Majesty the Great Tsar, hoping to send some regular shooting troops. Come to the Far East and save their poor and helpless people.

However, the entire Irkutsk Governor's Office did not hold much hope for whether His Majesty the Tsar would send regular troops to restore the precarious situation in the Far East.Because, according to the news from Moscow, the five-year war with the Ottoman Empire had come to an end in the spring of 1681, and their Tsarist Russia suffered a complete defeat.

Although in the later period of the war, the coalition forces of Tsarist Russia and Eastern Ukraine captured Doroshenko, the Cossack chieftain of West Ukraine, but in several major battlefields, the Russian army was continuously hit hard by the Ottoman army, losing more than [-] soldiers and discarding countless ordnance supplies.

After that, Tsarist Russia was forced to sign the "Bakhchisalay Treaty" with the Ottoman Empire, giving up the territory of Eastern Ukraine east of the Dnieper River, allowing the Ottomans to have a special status in Eastern Ukraine, releasing Doroshenko, and allowing them to establish a pro- Ottoman Ukrainian Emirate.

In order to resist the intrusion of the Ottoman Empire and its vassal Crimean Khanate, Tsarist Russia plans to build a defense line of more than 500 kilometers in the Sudosti River, the Sheim River, and the Don River. The Belgorod Line of Defense was connected together to form the southwestern border defense line of Tsarist Russia.

In order to build this huge line of defense project, the Siberian Affairs Council, which presides over the colonial affairs of the Far East, issued an order to the Governor's Office in Yakutsk, Irkutsk, Omsk, and Tomsk, asking several places to pay more. More fur, more taxes in kind were collected from the local natives, and more gold and silver were contributed to the tsar, so as to alleviate Moscow's serious financial crisis.

Since Tsarist Russia lost many strongholds such as the Amur River, the Ussuri River, the Zeya River, and the Shilka River more than ten years ago, the fur and various in-kind taxes obtained by the entire Far East colonial area have been reduced by half, making Tsarist Russia The fur export trade, which was a livelihood, was also directly cut in half, making the whole country seriously short of hard currencies such as gold and silver.

Therefore, in the face of the "strong and strong" Ottoman army and the Crimean Khanate cavalry coming and going like the wind, the Tsarist Russian army is like a beggar. Not only are their weapons and equipment extremely backward, but their numbers are also seriously insufficient.In the army, only five or six soldiers can own a musket, and most of the muskets held are old matchlock guns.

If it weren't for the fact that the main energy of the Ottoman Empire was still in the direction of the Holy Roman Empire, and the troops sent were only partial, with a number of less than [-], it was estimated that they would have been defeated by others.The [-]-strong army assembled by Tsar Fedor III was always on the battered side on the battlefield. It was often defeated by the Ottoman army, which was less than half of its own, and then chased and killed by the Crimean Khanate cavalry.

Facing the powerful Ottoman Empire, it is reported that Tsar Fedor III is going to choose to temporarily hibernate, no longer actively provoke this enemy, and instead start to focus on domestic affairs.

His Majesty the Tsar appointed Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn to implement a series of military, administrative, economic, judicial, financial, religious and educational reforms.For the first time, civil servants and military officials were distinguished, imitating the military systems of European countries such as the Netherlands and France, and implementing a military rank system among officers to accelerate the modernization and standardization of the army.

What is especially commendable is that in the judicial reform, His Majesty the Tsar abolished the corporal punishment in the penalty, and those prisoners who committed serious crimes were no longer cut off their hands or cut off their feet, but were instead exiled to Siberia.

In order to obtain more fur, the nobles of Moscow began to pay more attention to the colonial activities of Siberia. In addition to exiling those convicted of felonies, they also recruited and enlisted Cossacks on a large scale in Eastern Ukraine. Siberia to strengthen the armed forces in the Far East.

But at present, in the entire Irkutsk Governor's Mansion, all we can rely on is the more than 500 Cossack soldiers who have gathered in this area, hundreds of exiled felons, and more than 2000 peasants who come here to seek a living. people, hunters and craftsmen of all kinds.As for the many local Buryat Mongols, they are considered extremely unreliable, not fully trusted and potentially dangerous.

In the absence of strong support, the Irkutsk warlord Yegor Vyartyshev tried to send an envoy to express temporary submission to the Tatars who captured the Uginsk castle, offering some furs and belongings. The price is in exchange for the opponent to stop attacking in order to win the necessary buffer time.

I heard that this Bohai state, which is dominated by Tatars, has a professional army of 4000 to [-] people.Not only are they well-trained and brave in combat, but they also have relatively advanced weapons and are extremely adaptable to the local geographical environment. They can even carry out military operations in winter. In terms of combat effectiveness, they far exceed those half-baked guys under their Governor's Mansion. Cossack soldier.

It is very regrettable that the shrewd Tatars saw through Lord Yegor Vyartyshev's delaying tactics, and in an unquestionable tone, ordered the city of Irkutsk to surrender unconditionally within 30 days, otherwise , they will send out their army to launch the most violent attack on the castle.If they dare to resist, everyone will be killed like the defenders of Uginsk Castle, and their corpses will be left in the wilderness.

Yes, the warnings of these Tatars are definitely not empty threats. In recent years, Bohai State has successively captured Ust-Karsk, Nerchinsk (now Nerchinsk, Russia), Shilka, Chita, Peter When strongholds and castles such as Rovsk, Talbahatai, and Uginsk encountered fierce resistance, they were bloody massacred without exception. Adult men were beheaded, their heads were piled up into Jingguan, and children and teenagers were killed. Degraded to slaves, women were used as camp prostitutes.

In order to coerce more people, these hateful Tatars often instigated those surrendered Cossacks and submissive local aborigines to carry out the above-mentioned tyrannical acts, so as to eliminate their thoughts of returning to the Tsarist Russia.

"In the next few months, can we launch a formal attack on the city of Irkutsk?" The Raksha people's envoy left in panic, and Ruilin immediately discussed the next action plan with several subordinate generals.

"Returning to my lord, the general believes that the current preparations are not yet complete, and the conditions for launching a full-scale attack on Irkutsk are not yet available." Jilong, the commander of the Ruifeng Battalion of the Bohai Kingdom, cupped his hands and said: "I heard that the Rakshasa People abandoned and burned all the strongholds around the city of Irkutsk, thinking that they would fortify the wall and clear the country, and concentrated all the personnel in the city to strengthen the defense force. If our army attacks the city of Irkutsk, the only way is to flow along the river first. To the North Sea, and then meandering along the coast of the North Sea, bypassing the southern end of the North Sea, and finally going north to Yicheng, the entire distance is more than [-] kilometers, and it will be a great test for our army's logistics."

"Little prince, we still need to worry. The Raksha people have set up strong defenses in several strongholds outside Yicheng to slow down the speed of our army. Furthermore, Yicheng is surrounded by the Angara River and the Irkut River. At the intersection, the water network is densely covered, the terrain is complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack, which is very unfavorable for our attack." Wu Xinkui, the commander of the Qingfeng Battalion of Bohai State, added: "So, the general thought that the strategy for Yicheng needs to be attacked. Take it slowly, advance steadily, first establish a series of logistics supply points, and finally gather the army to strike with a thunderbolt."

"According to the investigation of the sentry, since we captured this Xin'an Fort last November, the entire city of Irkutsk has been in a state of panic, and the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city is generally not high, and they are planning to run away at any time. Ruilin was obviously dissatisfied with the gentle fighting style of the two, and said in a deep voice: "If our army proceeds step by step and attacks slowly, won't the Raksha people have enough time to calm down the hearts of the people and deal with it calmly? If the Raksha people continue to attack How should our army respond to the timely dispatch of a considerable number of reinforcements from the rear? There is a saying in the art of war that victory is more important than longevity. More than [-] of our army gathered in Xin'an Fort, and we will not waste money and food in vain and damage ourselves Strength!"

"Please think twice, my lord! The city of Irkutsk is the most core castle of the Raksha people in the area. After a long period of operation, the city must be strong and well-defended. If you rush forward rashly, if you can't win quickly, the army will be defeated." Trapped under a strong city, in the wilderness, there is a certain risk." Wu Xinkui persuaded earnestly
"Hmph, you Han people are so cautious when you fight a war." Ruilin sneered, "If all the battalions of my Bohai Navy were like you, how could you rush forward from east to west in a few years? Thousands of miles, all the way to the shore of the North Sea?"

"My lord..."

"No need to say more." Ruilin waved his hand and said decisively: "I have made up my mind. Three days later, the army will march towards the city of Irkutsk. The sharp front battalion will be the forerunner, and the king will lead the Jianfeng battalion behind him, and the Qingfeng battalion will follow. Escort food and supplies and follow up. No one is allowed to retreat without the king's order, and violators will be severely punished."

"My lord!" Wu Xinkui still wanted to make the last effort, "Our army is about to set off to attack Irkutsk. Do you want to inform the military staff group of Qi State in Zhongjing (now Chita, Russia) about this military strategy?"

"..." The corners of Ruilin's mouth twitched, and then he looked impatient, "Well, I will send someone to Zhongjing later to inform the Qi State Military Staff Corps of our army's strategy of action. ...Also, by the way, I will remind you They, the ordnance and gunpowder that should be provided, should be brought here quickly, so as not to delay the military plane!"

(End of this chapter)