Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The long Nerchinsk River flows through the vast plains. Whether it is the world of ice and snow in winter or the oasis grassland in summer, the wonders of nature always bring endless surprises. The beautiful city of Nerchinsk (Nerchinsk) was built near the mouth of the Nerchinsk River, guarding the intersection of the Nerchinsk River and the Shilka River. It is the eastern gate of the Lake Baikal region. The young and energetic Tsar Alexi I was eager to obtain the rich land in the Far East. Eight years ago, he announced the establishment of the fifth military governorship of Siberia here: the Daur Military Governorship. In order to consolidate this newly acquired land and make it a solid base for invading China, the Tsar asked Afanasy Pashkov, the former Yeniseysk Governor with rich colonial experience, to serve as the "Amur River Governor of the Daur Region of China" and be responsible for managing the entire Nerchinsk and Heilongjiang River Basin. Although the polar bear's claws reaching the Heilongjiang River Basin had been cut off by the Qing army and had to withdraw from the Heilongjiang River Basin, Pashkov's jurisdiction now only had Nerchinsk, but it did not affect his title at all. A temporary setback could not shake Tsar Alexei's ambition to seize Heilongjiang, and the title of Governor-General would naturally not change.

At this moment, in the Governor's Mansion, the old Governor in his 50s was concentrating on the map in front of him and pondering it carefully. This map is called "Amur River Map", which was drawn by the famous "Russian hero" and "pioneer of new territories" Khabarov. This man was the second Russian colonial army leader to invade the Heilongjiang River Basin after Boyarkov. He was born as a poor peasant and made a fortune after coming to the Far East. Later, he went bankrupt due to serving a sentence. In order to solve the financial pressure, he asked the Governor of Yakutsk Franzbekov to raise a team to go to Heilongjiang. The so-called expedition, to put it bluntly, was burning, killing and looting, and committed heinous crimes against the Daur, Hezhe, and Zhusheli (a branch of Jianzhou Jurchen) tribes along the way. What is better than his predecessor Boyarkov is that this man drew a complete map of the Heilongjiang River Basin: "Amur River Map". It was this map that aroused the greed of Tsar Alexei I, who ordered that Khabarov be awarded the glorious title of "Son of the Nobles" and be made a military noble.

"Look, how beautiful it is!" The old commander looked at the mountains and rivers marked in detail on the map and couldn't help but sigh, "Khabarov is so talented! What a pity!"

Khabarov was indeed talented. He led a group of rabble to carry out large-scale massacres and looting in the Heilongjiang, Songhua and Ussuri River basins. In Yaksa (Albazin), his men attacked the local Daur tribe, captured hostages, abducted women, drowned all the male captives, and "divided" their wives, children and sable fur coats according to Cossack custom; in Guigudar Village (now Huma County), he committed a massacre, and only fifteen people were left in the village of more than a thousand people; he burned and looted the territories of the chief Tolga and Turongcha (relatives of Huang Taiji's Daur chief Baldachi); he broke into the residence of the Zhusheli people (belonging to the Changbai Mountain tribe of the Jianzhou Jurchens, called the Ducher people in Russia) at the confluence of the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River, killed many people, and took the women, children and livestock for himself; he broke into the territory of the Aqiang people (Hezhe people) at the confluence of the Ussuri River and the Heilongjiang River, looted everywhere, captured hostages, and forcibly levied "taxes in kind". The most brilliant scene took place in the village of Uzala. He led more than 100 Cossacks to fight against more than 1,600 Qing troops and the coalition forces of various tribes, causing nearly 700 casualties in the Qing army, while only 10 people died and 78 were injured on his side, and he returned safely. Because of this victory over the enemy with fewer troops, Khabarov became a famous "hero" in Russia. However, with the arrival of Zinoviev, the special envoy of His Majesty the Tsar, Khabarov's good days came to an end. Zinoviev brought the Tsar's rewards to all participants of the expedition, including Khabarov himself, but at the same time dismissed Khabarov from his post. When Khabarov protested, the distinguished envoy beat Khabarov without hesitation, confiscated all his property, and sent someone to escort him to Moscow. Fortunately, when he arrived in Moscow, Tsar Alexei ordered the return of personal property to the conqueror, and awarded him the honorary title of "Son of Nobility", made him a military noble, appointed him as the chief of a large village in the middle reaches of the Lena River, and the court writers of the Tsar's Secret Council praised him as a "Russian hero" and "pioneer of new territories." However, the great Tsar never allowed him to explore the Amur River again.

The old governor knew that Bakharov's promotion and demotion were due to Zinoviev's slander on the surface, but the underlying reason was that the Tsar did not trust Bakharov, who was born a commoner. The brutal acts of Bakharov and his subordinates, such as killing and arson, were reported to the Kremlin. Tsar Alexei I was very angry. What I want is for those natives to be my subjects and pay taxes to the court. You killed all the natives and left me with a bare piece of land. What's the use? Who will hunt minks for me? Who will farm for me? The most annoying thing is that your subordinates are all cruel and unruly criminals. They even robbed the Yakut tribe that had paid taxes in kind to me. They only obeyed your orders and completely forgot that there was a monarch like me in the far west. This is absolutely intolerable! The young Tsar felt that if he wanted to make the distant Siberia his stable back garden, he had to rely on real nobles. It was in this context that he, as a noble, was transferred here from Yeniseysk. Your Majesty is wise! He knows that the nobility is the foundation of the country. It's a pity for Bakharov. Although he is talented, he is too arrogant and doesn't know how to humble himself in front of Your Majesty and the nobility. He can only stay in the Lena River for the rest of his life!
"Sir, what are you looking at?" Voyekov, the governor of Nerchinsk, interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh~ I'm looking here." Pashkov tapped Barguzin Castle with his finger and said to his confidant with a smile, "Dear Voyekov, you see, this place is very important! To the east, you can go to the rich Amur River (Heilongjiang River), and to the south, along the Selenga River, you can reach Kharakorum, the heart of the Mongolian Plateau. We must consolidate this place!"

"Yes, sir. The governor of Irkutsk, Arshinsky, wrote to say that the foundation of Irkutsk City (Erkutsk City) has been officially laid. This means that we are absolutely safe west of Lake Baikal. If we can consolidate the Barguzin area, we can consolidate the area east of Lake Baikal and expand to the Selenga River and Argun River basins," Voyekov replied respectfully.

"Well, I asked you to send people to build Chukubohin Fort in the southern part of Barguzin. How is the planning going?"

"Sir, our expedition has run into trouble. The local Buryats have driven away our surveyors and refused any cooperation."

"Damned Buryats!" Pashkov's eyes suddenly widened, and a murderous aura emerged from his forehead. "Let Artemy go. He is a murderer. Give him more musketeers. Tell him that if the Buryats dare to interfere, shoot them immediately, but don't provoke those barbarians. After Chukuboxing Fort is built, we will eliminate them once and for all." Artemy is Bakharov's nephew. After Bakharov was recalled to Moscow, he followed Bakharov's capable general Stepanov to continue to invade Heilongjiang. After Stepanov's death, he escaped from the encirclement of the Qing army with a remnant and continued to make trouble. Pashkov sent someone to give him supplies and ordered him to come to Nerchinsk. He actually robbed the supplies and refused to obey the order. He wanted to stay in Heilongjiang and be a mountain king. As a result, he was severely beaten by the Qing army and was defeated. He had to flee back to Ilimsk near Nerchinsk. The magnanimous old commander-in-chief forgave this man's previous sins and even admired his ferocity. When he needed someone, he thought of this vicious man.

"Yes, my commander-in-chief," Voyekov shuddered and bowed his head to accept the order.

"Young man, do you have anything else to say?" Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, Pashkov rubbed his sore eyes and asked.

"You know, the fertile Amur River (Heilongjiang River) basin has been providing us with food. But with the Qing army's conquest of Huma and Yaksa, we lost our main grain-producing area. The fur income from Lake Baikal alone is not enough to support the expenses of the Governor's Office. Your Excellency, the Governor's Office has not paid salaries for three months, and this month there have been several Cossack mutinies and collective escapes~" Having said that, Voyekov paused and carefully observed the Governor's expression.

Pashkov, who had seen the world, remained calm, as if the inability to pay salaries was a trivial matter. He said calmly: "The difficulties are temporary. I have reported the situation here to His Majesty the Tsar, and strong support will soon arrive from Moscow. Tell people to hold on for a while. Haven't I received my salary yet?"

"Sir, the officials' salaries are easy to pay, but those Cossacks are all daring guys. If you don't pay their salaries, something serious will happen," Voyekov answered tremblingly.

"Well, you are right. It seems that we must return immediately and occupy Albazin (Yaksa). That area is rich and produces grain, which can alleviate the financial crisis of the Governor's Office." Pashkov waved his fist heavily and roared like a hungry wolf. (End of this chapter)