Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2436: Record of the Western Expedition (Part ) Alexei's Acting Skills
Russia in June is no longer as cold as it was in winter. On the contrary, because there is only the not-so-wide Caucasus Mountains in the south to block the cold, the hot winds from Arabia blow directly into the whole country, causing heat waves. Cold in winter and hot in summer, just like the Russians always like to go to extremes.

However, Kazan's location is not bad. At least the cool breeze from the Volga River can always make people feel relaxed and happy. Erdemutu's Western Guards have already lined up in front of the main gate of Kazan. The Ujumchin horse under his crotch seemed to sense that the battle was coming, and it pawed at the horseshoe impatiently. The friction between the iron paw and the ground almost flew sparks, making the Taotie pattern on the armor even more ferocious.

The Russian defenders on the city wall were still pointing at the Ming army outside the city and shouting yesterday, but now they are nowhere to be seen. Only a few faded double-headed eagle flags are drooping listlessly in the wind.

"Sir, Stroganov's secret envoy has sent a message," Ilduzzi opened the cowhide water bag and took a sip of mare's milk, "Alexei's private army has evacuated from the South Gate, taking away all the firearms and food. Now the South Gate is empty... Although the remaining people are under the banner of his family, they are actually ordinary people who were temporarily recruited and were deceived by him to wait for death here."

Erdemutu stroked the "Book and Sword" engraving on the handle of his saber, which was given to him by his teacher Gao Guoshi. The scabbard was engraved with a proverb from the Six Secret Teachings. He looked up at the onion domes of the Kazan Kremlin (note: the palace in Kazan is indeed called the Kremlin), the Orthodox cross gleaming coldly in the sun, and the imam's suppressed morning prayers could be heard from the minaret of the Kul Sharif Qingzang Mosque not far away.

"Open the gate!" He suddenly shouted, his voice like thunder startling the crows on the city wall. The guards pushed the iron-clad battering ram forward, only to find that the heavy oak gate had been ajar for a long time, and the bolt was wrapped with fresh horsehair - this was the "release" signal agreed upon by the Stroganov family.

The moment he stepped into the city gate, Erdemutu's horse's hoof crushed half a piece of frozen rye bread. He didn't know whether it was accidentally left behind by the Stroganov family's private soldiers when they evacuated - after all, Kazan city should be very short of food at this moment.

The Tatar residents on both sides of the street huddled in their fur houses, their eyes filled with fear through the cracks in the doors. However, a few old men wearing turbans suddenly knelt down and shouted in Turkish: "The descendants of the Golden Horde are back!"

Erdemutu raised his hand to stop the guards from scolding him, dismounted, took off his red cloak embroidered with gold thread, revealing the Ming Dynasty mountain-patterned armor lining, which flashed with a cold light.

"Pass the order down," he said proudly, "the Ming army will not offend the people and will not interfere with their beliefs. Orthodox churches and Qingzang mosques are open to worship. If any soldier destroys the holy images of various religions, he will be executed immediately."

Suddenly, several Tatar teenagers rushed out from the corner of the street and threw sage at him - this is an ancient ritual to welcome the conqueror. Erdemutu took it, but saw that the teenagers were not wearing scimitars on their waists, but iron table knives sold by the Stroganov caravan. He laughed in his heart: Alexei's "letting go" was indeed thorough, even the civilian weapons were replaced with blunt weapons in advance.

In the square in front of the Kazan Kremlin, the remaining Russian garrison was burning the flag. More than a hundred bearded musket soldiers formed a circle with their backs to each other, and most of the musket holders could not help but tremble - this was nothing strange, the enemy had tens of thousands of troops, and our side barely had more than a hundred. With such a power comparison, how many people dared to say that they were not afraid?
Thanks to the information Alexei revealed before the war, Erdemutu knew that the leader was Kazan Governor Mikhail Pozharsky. At that time, the official and military systems of Tsarist Russia were in chaos. The title of "Governor" sounded impressive, but in fact, it was completely uncertain how many people he had under his command. Sometimes he could command thousands of people, and sometimes only a hundred. However, none of this mattered. What mattered was that this person was also one of the in-laws of the Stroganov family.

However, before the war, Alexei had secretly tested him, and he said, "It is my duty to be loyal to His Majesty the Tsar."

"Your Excellency," Erdemutu said to him through the translator, "your lord is trapped in Moscow and refuses to come to our aid, so why do you want to stain the holy land with blood?" He pointed to the church spire and said, "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty allowed the Orthodox Christians to keep the cross, just as he allowed the Tatars to keep the prayer rugs. Our Celestial Empire is open to all and never restricts anyone's beliefs, as long as they abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

Mikhail's matchlock gun fell to the ground with a clang. He saw several Tatar elders wearing white hats walking out of the Ming army - it was Baturhaji, the leader of Kazan Islam. When he was a child, he had encountered Ivan the Terrible's massacre of the city. At that time, he could only hide in the cellar, but now he was holding the Quran and walking towards Erdemutu.

"In the name of pearl," Batur's beard twitched, "we welcome the eagle that breaks the shackles." Behind him followed twenty mullahs holding copper lamps. The lamp oil flickered in the wind, making the emblem and pattern on Erdemutu's armor appear and disappear.

The sound of the Ming army entering the city naturally alarmed the monks in the church. The white-haired high priest Kirill rushed out holding the holy image, but was stunned when he saw Erdemutu nodding to him - the conqueror had a calm expression, and faced this "pagan" with no murderous intent, but instead smiled slightly.

"Father," Erdemutu took out a silver cross and motioned the translator to convey his meaning, "The regent of the Ming Dynasty said that God and Allah are with us and they protect good people."

While the priest was in a daze, he walked up and hung the cross around Kirill's neck, and continued in a kind tone, "From now on, all church systems will remain the same, and monks can still practice medicine and preach freely."

There was a sudden commotion on the west side of the square. The Stroganov family caravan was leaving with full cargo, and the leading driver winked at Erdemutu, which was the agreed signal for "safe evacuation." He looked at the dust raised by the caravan and knew that Alexei had fled west to Moscow with the forged "Ming Army Deployment Map." There was even a letter written by Gao Youshi himself hidden at the bottom of the so-called "trophies."

When the dusk dyed the minaret white, Erdemutu climbed the wall of the Kazan Kremlin. The Volga River was flowing under his feet, and the waves hit the bridge piers, making waves. He took out the secret letter in his arms, and the red mark written by Gao Youshi was clearly visible in the moonlight: "Since the Stroganov family has such ambitions, you can spare Alexei's life and make him my chess piece in Moscow."

When he turned around, he saw Baturha showing the iron plows distributed by the Ming army to the Tatar people - the plowshares were cast with the word "Jinghua". In fact, because the journey was really long, he didn't bring many iron plows this time, but the quantity was not the problem, but the attitude was.

Evening prayers came from the Qingzang Mosque in the distance, strangely resonating with the church bells, as if playing a new civilized movement for this ancient city that had experienced blood and fire. Before nightfall, the last Stroganov caravan disappeared at the edge of the forest outside the west of the city. Alexei Stroganov stroked the fake arrow wound in the carriage, with a sneer on his face - he knew that when Moscow received the battle report of "the fall of Kazan", his heroic image of "fighting hard to break through" had been deeply engraved into the fear of the Tsarist Russian nobles along with the "Ming Army Atrocities Record" carried by the caravan - in fact, it was a massacre scene directed and performed by the Stroganov family.

In the city of Kazan, Erdemutu's personal guards were dismantling the double-headed eagle flag on the city wall and replacing it with a huge nine-flag white banner with a huge "Ming" character embroidered in gold thread in the center - this was not his previous flag, but a special one from Gao Youshi's instructions.

Whether Russians or Tatars, they did not recognize the flag of the Ming Dynasty, but they not only recognized the Mongolian nine-flag white banner, but also remembered it clearly.

Within ten days, in the oak council chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, rosin torches cast the shadow of False Dmitri I on the stone wall, like a twisted monster. The tsar, who claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan IV, was cutting venison with a silver fork, and the gems on his Polish-style feathered hat gleamed in the grease fire, which was out of place with the Orthodox cross he wore. [Note: Poland is Catholic, Russia is Orthodox.]
"Your Majesty," the voice of the Polish commander Jan Zamoysky sounded coldly, "your Stroganov dog is finally back." His eyes swept across the door of the meeting hall. The three thousand Cossack private soldiers of the Stroganov family were kneeling on the ground covered in blood, and their armor was covered with solidified blood scabs.

Alexei Stroganov was carried by two Polish guards and the wooden door was pushed open. His long cloak dragged on the ground, revealing the torn chain mail underneath - the "knife wound" from the shoulder armor to the waist was smeared with sheep's blood by him overnight.

"Your Majesty," he coughed up "blood foam" and pointed his finger at the wooden box carried by his attendant, "The Tatars came with the devilish firearms of the Ming Dynasty..."

False Dmitri I's knife and fork fell to the ground with a clang, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. The moment the wooden box was opened, the sound of people gasping for air rang out in the meeting room: three Russian bodies were lying in it, and the bullet hole in the middle of the breastplate pierced by the musket clearly stated that the firearm that pierced it was so powerful. What was even more shocking was that the bullet hole was not only in the front of the breastplate, but also in the back.

"Those Mongolian cavalrymen sent by Ming Prime Minister Gao Youshi," Alexei struggled to crawl towards the Tsar, his forehead bruised by the floor tiles, "They were carrying flintlock rifles that could fire at minus 40 degrees Celsius, and bronze cannons that could blow the city walls into powder!"

He suddenly ripped open the dead man's clothes, revealing the empty hole in his heart, and said in a shrill voice with fear, "They want to rebuild the Golden Horde and make the Russians slaves forever!"

Yanzamoysky watched him perform coldly, and suddenly stepped hard on the sheepskin map next to the dead man with his riding boots. On the map, the territory of the Russian Tsarist Empire west of the Ural Mountains was painted red with cinnabar, and marked in Latin as "Great Ming Weixi Governorate".

The Polish commander had no time to think about why the Ming army used Latin to mark the map, but he knew with a grim face that there was a rumor circulating in Moscow recently that the Stroganov family was secretly trading with the Ming Dynasty. However, the evidence before him was too realistic and he could not help but believe it.

"Your caravan," he lifted Alexei's chin with the tip of his sword, "wasn't it selling mink furs in Siberia? When did you change your profession and become a warrior?"

Alexei smiled bitterly and took out a bloodstained secret letter from his bosom. It was a letter that he had forged in Gao Youshi's handwriting after trying his best to find a Tatar who knew Chinese. "The Ming Dynasty and the Ottomans are discussing an alliance and plan to encircle Poland (Polish-Lithuanian Federation) from the east and south! They have agreed that if successful, Poland will belong to the Ottomans and Lithuania will belong to the Ming Dynasty!"

The "Gao Shishi Seal" at the end of the letter glowed dark red in the firelight. Alexei said emotionally, "The Ming army was invincible all the way to the west, and did not even take the Ottomans seriously. The Ming general on the front line actually said that after he took Moscow, the next one would be Krakow (the old capital of Poland). At that time, the Ottomans would have to submit to the Ming emperor before they would give Krakow to the Ottoman Sultan."

Alexei's words were so horrifying that Yan Zamoysky couldn't even imagine it - the Ottomans were the public enemy of Europe (France: What are you looking at me for?), and their strength was undoubtedly strong. Now that these Mongols had come to Europe again, they were so arrogant that they didn't even take the Ottomans seriously?
But when he thought about it carefully, the Ottomans were almost destroyed by the cripple in the East, and that cripple was just the son-in-law of the Mongols. Now that the real Mongolian leader is back, it seems natural for him to be a little more arrogant?

While he was thinking, the wooden door of the meeting room was suddenly pushed open, and a sweaty scout came crawling in: "Report - the Tatar coalition has passed Nizhny Novgorod, and the vanguard is heading towards Suzdal (now Vladimir Oblast, Russian Federation, not far east of Moscow)!"

False Dmitry I was trembling all over, making a hoarse sound, but it was hard to tell what he was trying to say. He looked at Jan Zamoyski, and saw that the famous Polish commander was holding his sword hilt, with a changeable look under his feathered hat.

As a puppet supported by Poland, False Dmitry I knew better than anyone that if the Ming army really supported the Tatars to restore the Golden Horde, his throne would be worthless.

"Your Majesty," Alexei took the opportunity to kneel forward, "My 3,000 private soldiers will fight to the death to protect you... But this time, the Ming Kingdom brought 50,000 musket cavalry! Their horses are covered in fine steel scales, and the sound of their guns is like thunder--" He pointed out the window, and the Cossacks were looking up at this side, "Those firearms are faster to load and more powerful than the Polish matchlock guns you gave us!"

Yan Zamoysky suddenly kicked the corpse away and coldly ordered his adjutant behind him: "Assemble the Winged Hussars." At this point, he suddenly turned to the Tsar and said, "If Suzdal is lost, the Russian Tsarist Empire will never be safe... We must meet the Tatars on the Oka River Plain."
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