Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

As the Great Khan of Lotus had predicted, Tsarist Russia was unwilling to relinquish the valuable territory of Nerchinsk and continued to reinforce the region. Prince Shcherbatov drew troops from the garrisons of Mangazeya and Turuhansk, assembling an army of about two thousand men, which was then placed under the command of Cossack leaders Faleliev and Tilinnikov to reinforce Nerchinsk once again; Yakutsk Governor Vasily Pushkin also dispatched Cossack leader Vasilyev with one thousand Cossacks and native servants to reinforce Nerchinsk. However, the number of reinforcements was far less than the tens of thousands that the Great Khan had anticipated. This was because, firstly, the Great Khan's smokescreen was very successful, leading the Tsarist government to believe that the Guards only intended to fight a local war and had not fully mobilized. Secondly, the poor transportation conditions of the time made it difficult to quickly deploy a large number of troops to the distant East. Thirdly, after experiencing numerous foreign wars and the Racine Rebellion, Tsarist Russia was in a weak state at this time, with an empty treasury, a war-weary populace, and even the great Tsar Alexei I could not raise a large army to fight without sufficient funds and supplies.

This might not be a good thing for the overall situation, but it was a huge boon for the Nerchinsk garrison, giving Prince Baoyin sufficient troops to seize the initiative on the battlefield. He also received reinforcements. Because he had unified command of the Nurgan and Mongolian garrisons, this prince, while ensuring that the frontline troops remained stationary, transferred 2,500 troops from the rear of Jilin Province under the command of Deputy Admiral and General-in-Chief of Jilin, Ekechotbu, to Nerchinsk. By making full use of the Mudanjiang, Songhua, and Heilongjiang river systems for transportation, this army arrived quickly, reaching Nerchinsk at the end of September, almost simultaneously with the Russian reinforcements.

Upon learning of the arrival of two more Russian reinforcements, Bao Yin decided to defeat the enemy piecemeal. First, he dispatched Commander Qiwangzhal, leading 5,000 cavalry from the Mongol, Daur, Bargut, Buryat, Yakut, Oroqen, and Evenki tribes, to encircle and annihilate the Russian army heading towards Yakutsk. Vasilyev's 1,000-strong Russian army, having replenished their food and water at Barguzin Fortress north of Nerchinsk, continued south in high spirits. They had barely traveled a hundred li from Barguzin Fortress when they were ambushed by the Imperial Guard. Mongol cavalry, riding warhorses and reindeer, charged in like the wind, so fast that many Russian soldiers didn't even have time to fire. They were like demons descended to earth, plunging their lances into the chests and severing heads with their sabers, slaughtering indiscriminately as if cutting melons and vegetables. The Russian army collapsed, scattering and fleeing in the snow. Vasilyev himself, in his panic, fell from his horse and was trampled to death by the Imperial Guard's horses.

After annihilating the Russian army in the Yakutsk direction, Baoyin personally led 7,000 guardsmen to besiege the Russian army sent by Prince Sherbatov. Just as Faleliev and Tilinikov led their troops to the south bank of the Nerchinsk River, the guardsmen roared in from all directions.

"Don't panic! Form ranks! Fire!" Faleliev shouted, directing his men to resist. He was a seasoned veteran and remained calm. Under his command, his men rallied and formed ranks to fight back. The guards launched five consecutive charges, all of which were repelled.

The Russian troops on the city walls saw the artillery fire on the south bank of Nerchinsk. Upon learning that reinforcements had arrived, Vlasov was very excited. Nerchinsk had been besieged for two months, and supplies were becoming increasingly scarce. They had to seize this lifeline. He immediately ordered Rzhevsky to lead 700 Russian soldiers by land and Frolov to lead five boats and 120 soldiers by water to support the reinforcements.

The garrison's strength far exceeded that of the Russian army. Although Chu Yin had taken 7,000 men with him, the garrison outside the city still outnumbered the defenders. The newly arrived General of Jilin, Okchotb, was eager to prove himself. His 2,500 troops, belonging to the elite garrison's elite guard, routed Rzhevsky's forces in less than an hour. Rzhevsky fled in panic into the city, only to be killed by garrison muskets. Frolov's five boats, having just entered the Nerchinsk River through the water gate, were attacked by thirty garrison warships. The fierce cannon fire sank the Russian's last five boats, but fortunately, Frolov was an excellent swimmer and managed to swim back into the city.

Seeing that his five consecutive attacks had been repelled by the Russian army on the south bank of the Nerchinsk River, Bao Yin was not discouraged and decided to launch a sixth attack. This time, he decided to use sled soldiers from the Yakut and Oroqen ethnic groups to fight in the icy and snowy terrain, where the speed of the sleds could surpass that of warhorses for a short period of time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The guards first exchanged fire with the Russian army using artillery. Taking advantage of the lingering smoke, 1,500 Yakut and Oroqen warriors sledded across the snow towards the enemy camp. Bayigeri, the leader of the Oroqen Toqin Aba tribe, saw his friend, Nahata, the leader of the Yalu Aba tribe, fall after being shot by Russian muskets and hurriedly helped him up. The dying Nahata, however, used his last strength to push away his old friend and angrily shouted, "Baigeri, your duty is to storm the Russian camp and avenge your fallen people! What are you doing helping me? Go and kill the enemy! Don't dawdle; I'll look down on you!" With that, he closed his eyes forever.

At that moment, blood welled up in Baige's chest, and he roared as he commanded his men to charge forward. The speed of the sled soldiers caught the Russians off guard, and they quickly stormed into the Russian camp, carving out gaps in their ranks. The guards behind them surged in through these gaps, annihilating the Russian soldiers one by one. Faleliev fought to the death, refusing to retreat, until the enraged Yakut leader of the Arlaaba tribe, Amantai, beheaded him with a single blow.

"Ah!" Tilinikov snatched a warhorse, whipped its rump wildly, and fled for his life. He was lucky; he escaped the dense hail of bullets from the guards. He barely made it back to Irkutsk, where only seven hundred of the two thousand Russian soldiers remained.

After more than two months of siege, the Russian troops in the city had exhausted their supplies and were even experiencing food shortages. From the listless expressions of the defenders on the city walls, Bao Yin instinctively felt that the time was ripe to breach the city.

"On October 26th, the entire army will storm the city. The first to enter will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a thousand taels of gold; those who retreat out of fear of battle will be executed! We swear to take this city within three days!" he decisively ordered. According to the secret edict, the Guards would launch a full-scale war against Tsarist Russia on all fronts on November 1st, and he did not want to leave this thorn in his side until after the war had begun.

On October 26th, 1673 (the 30th year of the Qianyuan era), a cold wind howled outside Nerchinsk. As the bugle call to attack sounded, the garrison launched a general assault on the city. Filled with hope for victory and hatred for the invaders, the soldiers braved a hail of enemy bullets and bravely scaled the walls.

"Why aren't you firing?" Lieutenant Colonel Klesnikov asked angrily, seeing a soldier holding his musket blankly but not firing. His 500-strong infantry corps had always been the main force defending the city, and now his usually brave men were refusing to fire. Had their morale sunk so low?

"Sir, we're out of bullets," the soldier said helplessly.

Klesnikov was taken aback, then roared, "If we don't have bullets, we'll stab with spears and hack with sabers! Let's fight the Tatars!"

Ultimately, they couldn't win! Klesnikov and his hundreds of men were quickly overwhelmed by the vast sea of ​​the Guards. After only two days of attack, Nerchinsk, or rather, Nerchinsk, fell, and the remaining seven hundred or so Russian soldiers, led by Governor Vlasov, raised their surrender flag.

(End of this chapter)