Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Now we face three enemy cities: Yeniseysk, Rybinsk, and Tomsk. That Duke Shcherbatov has positioned a large force in Yeniseysk and Rybinsk. These two cities are not far apart, one to the east and one to the west, forming a pincer movement. I intend to take Rybinsk first, thus isolating Yeniseysk. What do you all think?" Saihan asked, surveying his generals with a stern expression. Having won consecutive victories, his subordinates dared not question him and readily agreed. He then led an army of 12,000 north from Krasnoyarsk to capture Yeniseysk.

The Tsarist government had conscripted all adult Russian men from the cities surrounding Yeniseis into the army, leaving Prince Sherbatov with a meager force of six thousand. He ordered General Slavich to lead fifteen hundred men to defend Rybinsk Fortress, General Tukhachevsky to lead one thousand men to defend Tomsk Fortress, while he himself led three thousand five hundred main force men to defend Yeniseis. While the deployment appeared reasonable, the considerable distance between Tomsk Fortress and Yeniseis made mutual support difficult, effectively further weakening the already thin military strength.

The first battle between the two sides took place a hundred miles south of Yenisezsb. Cavalry Captain Gorygin volunteered to ambush the garrison there, arguing that their recent victories would make them complacent, providing an opportune moment for an ambush. Shcherbatov agreed, and, having considerable confidence in the fighting prowess of Gorygin's thousand Boye cavalry, nodded in agreement. However, he also reminded Gorygin: "If the battle goes poorly, immediately retreat to Yenisezsb."

The Duke thought that cavalry were swift and agile, and even if an ambush failed, escape would be easy. However, once the battle began, things were different. The Guards, seasoned veterans, had deployed cavalry on both flanks. When Goregin led a thousand Boye cavalrymen out of the woods along the Yenisei River, they encountered Babu, the First-Class Chechen Marquis responsible for guarding the right flank. Seeing an enemy ambush, Babu showed no fear, howling as he led his cavalry to the right to meet the attack. Cavalry against cavalry, a stalemate quickly ensued. Seeing that the ambush was not large, Saihan immediately ordered the Third-Class and Toghit Marquis Gendun, and the Second-Class Saiin Noyan Bertashib to outflank and encircle Goregin's men, quickly trapping them within their lines.

He had wanted to be a hunter, but had become a trapped beast! Goregin charged left and right but couldn't break free. Despair ignited the beast within him, and he spurred his horse towards the nearest general. If he wanted Lord Boye's life, he would have to pay with his own! Third-rank and Toghthougendun were engrossed in their sword fight, completely unaware of the approaching danger. Goregin drew his flintlock pistol, aimed from his horse, and pulled the trigger.

"Eqige, be careful!" The second son, Bobe, rode his horse to block his way.

"Bang!" Bobey had a big hole in his chest and fell off his horse.

"My son!" Gendun's eyes were bloodshot as he spurred his horse to Goregin and swung his sword. Goregin tried to block with his own sword, but the other's sword was heavy and vicious, carrying a strong killing intent. It deflected his sword and severed his head.

After killing the enemy general, Gendun dismounted, picked up his son's body, and howled to the sky like a ferocious wolf.
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"What! Gorygin's cavalry has been completely wiped out!" Upon hearing this news, Prince Sherbatov was stunned. For a long time, the Boye cavalry had been his trump card, but he hadn't expected them to be annihilated in a single battle! Although panicked, he forced himself to order: "All units, hold your ground! The enemy has traveled thousands of miles; their supplies are limited. Hold out until the enemy runs out of food, and that will be our opportunity to counterattack!"

After annihilating the enemy cavalry, Saihan ordered the construction of three low walls, each about half a person's height, between Yeniseysk and Rybinsk. He then ordered the troops of First-Class Chechen Marquis Babu to defend the walls and cut off the connection between the two cities. He personally led a large army to attack Rybinsk.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sound of artillery fire was like thunder. After each artillery barrage, before the smoke had even cleared, the Guards would send out small groups to launch an attack. After the defenders finally managed to repel the Guards, another round of artillery fire would immediately follow, bombarding and killing the Russian soldiers who had not yet retreated to the foot of the wall.

After five days of relentless fighting, the defenders were significantly reduced in number and exhausted. Saihan ordered a general offensive. Driven by revenge, Gendun was the first to scale the city wall, rushing to Slavich's side and beheading the governor with a single stroke.

"Haorui~ Haorui~ Haorui~" The cheers of the guards resounded for miles.

Upon hearing the news of Rybinsk's fall, Prince Sherbatov turned pale. Although only 2,500 men remained in the city, he was determined to fight to the bitter end. Yeniseysk was far too important to the great Tsarist Russia! Located at a transit point on the Tobol-Irtysh-Obi-Kate-Yenisei-Angara-Lena trade route, caravans passed through here, heading west to Mangazeya, further to Moscow, and east to the Lake Baikal region, the Amur River, and China. The rich fur trade of northern Siberia had fueled the city's development, making it a center for sable trading. After the fire in Mangazeya, a large influx of Mangazeya residents migrated here, further solidifying its status as Siberia's most important trading center. They had to defend this prosperous city for His Majesty the Tsar! Seeing the Prince's fearlessness, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city gradually stabilized. Colonel Klesnikov's 1,000-strong musketeer corps became the main force in the defense, their superb marksmanship inflicting heavy casualties on the guards.

After fighting for more than half a month and losing 500 men, they still couldn't capture the fortified Yeniseysk. Eager to seize territory, Saikhan ordered Second-Class Zasaktu Prince Wangchuk, First-Class Chechen Marquis Babu, and Second-Class Sainnoyan Botasshib to lead 5,000 troops to besiege Yeniseysk, while he himself led 6,000 troops westward from Yeniseysk to attack other Russian towns. The march proceeded smoothly, easily capturing the panicked Tomsk and killing the Russian governor-general Tukhachevsky. He then continued his advance, capturing Nalem, Surgut, and other cities. In Surgut, he received a letter from the Kazakh Tumentu Hurchoktu. Turchoktu had already captured Ishmael but had been stalled at Tobolsk for over three months, unable to breach the city, and requested Saikhan's assistance. Naturally, Saikhan couldn't miss such an opportunity, so he left over a thousand men to guard the newly acquired territory and led 4,000 elite troops to Tobolsk.
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In May of the thirty-first year of the Qianyuan era (1674), the Yenisei River's ice-covered period ended, and the mighty river flowed on with magnificent momentum.

Wangchuck was sitting in his tent with a worried expression when Tasshib rushed into the tent excitedly, "Your Majesty, the Yenisei River has thawed!"

Wangchuck rolled his eyes at him, as if to say: What are you so happy about the river thawing? But Tasshib's next words delighted him: "Yenisesk is right next to the Yenisei River, why not dig a channel and flood it?"

"Brilliant plan! Let's do it this way!" Wangchuck slapped Tasshib hard on the shoulder and ordered him to lead his men to dig a canal. On June 10, the guards diverted the Yenizhai River. Under the raging flood, the castle was turned into a swamp. Prince Sherbatov tried to escape by small boat, but was intercepted by the guards and drowned. Colonel Klesnikov was captured.

The fortified city, which had previously proven impregnable, easily fell to the new ruler. Before Wangchuck could even rejoice, he received another military order from King Baoyin of Chu, commanding him to lead his troops to Mangazeya to regroup. He ordered Tasshib to remain in Yeniseysk while he led four thousand soldiers to Mangazeya. (End of Chapter)