Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"General, the Chiler people of Niuman River have killed three Cossack explorers. During this period, the Oroqen, Daur, Evenki, Chiler, and Fiyaka peoples near Albazin (Yaksa) have been very unfriendly to us, and as many as thirty-nine Cossacks have died at the hands of these barbarians," the Russian chieftain Baiton reported to Tolbuzin.

"Very unfriendly?" Tolbuzin shrugged. "Have these barbarians ever been friendly to us? The only way to make them friendly is to conquer them."

“But Master, the barbarians we captured confessed that they attacked us on the orders of that prince of the Kingdom of Wei. That prince even offered rewards of official positions and money based on the number of Cossacks killed,” Byton said indignantly.

“The prince of Wei has always been hostile to us, so it’s not surprising that he would do such a thing. It seems necessary to send gunboats down the Amur River (Heilongjiang River) to teach the Wei army a lesson,” Tolbuzin said, his anger flaring up at Baiton’s words.

"Sir, I don't think things are that simple. According to merchants who trade with Wei, Wei has dredged the post road from Shenyang to Huma, establishing a transport line stretching thousands of miles; built warships, dredged rivers, and implemented combined waterway and land transport; built dozens of large granaries and armories along the Amur River; and established cities and garrisons in Huma, Aihui, Qiqihar, and Mergen. They have even relocated inland residents to settle and establish villages and towns near the Mergen-Albazin post road and along the banks of the Amur River. These are not good omens!" Baiton said with concern.

"You mean that the King of Chu is planning something big? No, such a large-scale deployment is not something a mere prince could mobilize. This must be the Great Khan's doing. Immediately send someone back to Nerchinsk to report to the military governor, and have Yakhnekh take eleven boats and two hundred Cossacks to patrol the Amur River. Report any unusual activity to me immediately. Also, immediately organize the merchants and people in the city to prepare for the defense," Tolbuzin ordered excitedly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Thirteen thousand guards marched along the Heilongjiang River straight towards Yaksa. King Baoyin of Chu personally led an eleven thousand diverse troops—riding horses, herding deer, and paddling sleds—by land, while General Narbu led one hundred small boats and two thousand soldiers by water. Despite their overwhelming numerical superiority, Baoyin remained solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Seeing his reaction, the commander of the thousand households, Qiwang Zhal, asked in bewilderment, "Your Highness, according to the intelligence from the scouts, the Russians have no more than 1,100 troops stationed in Yaksa. Even if we include the few hundred Russian civilians in the city, the total number is at most around 1,500. Why do you care so much about them?"

“We must not be careless,” Bao Yin paused, then slowly said, “Yaksa is a fortified and rugged place with only narrow hunting trails. It is difficult to travel in winter due to heavy snow and dense jungle in summer. That is why I decided to build more warships to advance by both land and water.”

"Your Highness is right, this humble general will certainly be careful on the march!" A prince of the rank naturally possessed an air of authority. Seeing that His Highness the Prince of Chu was displeased, Qi Wangzhal quickly bowed and agreed.

After the Heilongjiang River thawed, water transport remained convenient. The Cossack chieftain Yashinek, leading eleven boats and two hundred Cossacks, swaggered along the waterway. This navy was equipped with six cannons and two hundred muskets; such formidable weaponry was difficult for the poorly equipped local tribes to withstand.

Almost every time the Cossacks patrolled the river, they would wantonly burn, kill, loot, and extort furs. Even Tsarist officials admitted that "the taxes in kind collected by His Majesty from the newly conquered Tungusic and Buryat people each year were obtained with swords and blood." They also captured large numbers of Buryat, Oroqen, and Daur people, transporting them back to European Russia to be sold. The captured men and women were first sent to Yeniseysk, where they were resold to merchants and hunters; after registering these captives at customs, the merchants and hunters would then transport them to Russia. Some women were forcibly baptized, given Russian names, and became servants of the Cossacks. Due to the large-scale capture of people, the Cossacks once used the number of people they owned as a measure of wealth, even treating people as property, "stored" like money. "Captain, our ship is full of soldiers, and I'm afraid there won't be much room to load cargo later," Yakhnekh said confidently as he was thinking to himself. The fifty-man commander, Gavrilov, came to report, his eyes gleaming when he mentioned the word "cargo."

"Idiot! Couldn't you have let the soldiers disembark and walk to free up the ships for cargo?" Yakhnekh glared at him irritably, then stared in astonishment as a huge fleet of ships appeared ahead, numbering over a hundred, and flying fishing rod flags.

On June 7, 1673, the Russian and Veterans navies met unexpectedly on the Heilongjiang River.

"Fire!" With a roar from the garrison commander Narbu, the Battle of Yaksa officially began.

"Fire!" Yakhnekh realized what was happening and roared the order.

This was an unequal battle. The garrison had one hundred ships, twenty cannons, and two thousand men, while the Russian army had only eleven ships, six cannons, and two hundred men. The battle ended quickly; the garrison sank ten Russian warships and killed more than one hundred and fifty Russian soldiers, including the Cossack leader Yashinakh.

Before being sunk, Yakhnekh ordered his men to raise the "surrender" flag, but out of hatred for the bandits, the guards ignored it and rained down bullets like hail on his ship, sending the wicked villains to the bottom of the Heilongjiang River.

The victory inspired the local indigenous people, and seven more tribes submitted to David. After comforting the seven chieftains, Narbu continued up the river.
-
"You mean you found over a hundred Guards warships on the Amur River? Yakhnykh was killed in battle?" Listening to the detailed account of the naval battle given by Gavrilov, the fifty-man commander who had escaped, the governor of Albazin (Yaksa), Tolbuzin, looked grave. Even after organizing the Russian merchants and civilians in the city, he only had 1,500 soldiers in total. The loss of 150 men on this patrol was undoubtedly a significant blow. Even more alarming, according to Gavrilov, the Guards had dispatched two thousand men and a hundred ships—an unprecedented scale.

Despite his inner anxiety, Tolbuzin maintained his aristocratic composure and feigned calm. Suddenly, it dawned on him: since the garrison's navy had been spotted, their infantry must be nearby! He stared at the deputy commander, Baiton, and the Cossack captain, Yeniseyev, and said, "Baiton, you take four hundred men to guard the island in the middle of the river (Gucheng Island); Yeniseyev, you take four hundred men to guard Nangai Mountain southeast of the island. Especially the island in the middle of the river, we must not let the garrison take it!"

Jiangxin Island is a small island in the Heilongjiang River, fifty meters from the Weiguo (Western) shore and three hundred and fifty meters from the Russian shore. The island is protected by the Nangai Mountain to the southeast, and the city of Yaksa lies on the opposite shore. If this island is controlled, the Weiguo navy will be unable to blockade Yaksa, and the defenders will receive a continuous stream of reinforcements from Nerchinsk (Nerchinsk). Reality seemed to confirm his judgment; Nerchinsk Governor Chernigovsky indeed dispatched Governor Chaplin with fifteen ships and three hundred soldiers to reinforce the city, promising that more reinforcements would follow. (End of Chapter)