Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In Tatar, "Saratov" means "yellow mountain city." Originally built on the left bank of the Volga River, it was recently moved to the hilly area on the right bank to avoid flooding. Perhaps due to unfavorable feng shui in the new location, it soon became a target of war.

On May 11, 1674 (the 31st year of the Qian Yuan era), Tsar Alexei I ordered Grand Duke Miloslavsky to lead over 2,000 troops to defend the city, while he personally led 33,000 Russian troops out of the city to form ranks. Because they were well-prepared, the Russian army's positions were arranged in a highly organized manner. Shakloviti, the commander of the Shooting Corps directly under the Tsar, led 8,000 troops and stationed them on the high ground south of the village of Novoprevodino, south of Saratov; Rytishev, the Imperial Attendant, led 5,000 cavalry and stationed them at Podlesnoye, northwest of Novoprevodino; Bashmakov, the Secretary, led 5,000 cavalry and stationed them at Bekovka, northeast of Novoprevodino; Tsar Alexei I led 10,000 cavalry and stationed them at Mayanga, directly north of Novoprevodino; and Colonel Ivashka of the Shooting Corps led 5,000 troops and stationed them at Kirovskoye, directly south of Novoprevodino.

According to the battle plan personally devised by the Tsar, at the start of the battle, Ivashka's troops abandoned Kirovskoye and slowly retreated northward, luring the Guards into the high ground near the village of Novoprevodino. The aim was to exhaust the Guards to the greatest extent possible by utilizing the terrain. To achieve this, the wise and powerful Tsar had already ordered the construction of artillery positions on the high ground, installing over a hundred cannons of various sizes. Once the Guards had suffered heavy casualties and their morale was low, the Russian army would advance from three directions—Podlesnoye, Bekovka, and Mayanga—to launch a pincer attack on Novoprevodino.

A man of great talent and strategy like him, his plan naturally went beyond this. He also ordered Anzifer, Ivashka, Yakovnev, and Kondrati to each lead 5,000 troops to garrison at Kharkiv to the west of Saratov, Voronezh to the northwest, Tula to the north, and Samara to the northeast. Once the battle began, Kondrati's and Anzifer's troops would respectively flank the Guards from the east and west to cut off their retreat, while Bogdanovich's and Yakovnev's troops would rush to Saratov's aid from the north. The armies commanded by these four generals were mainly composed of local militias, their fighting strength far inferior to the Russian army directly led by the Tsar. Their advantage lay in their sheer numbers; with an additional 20,000 troops, Alexei I felt his chances of victory were greatly increased.

On May 12, 1674 (the 31st year of the Qianyuan era), the army of Han King Lobsang and Shuoqi successively captured the undefended Novocherkasko and Tsaritsyn fortresses, approaching Saratov fortress. Heeding the advice of Governor-General Narison of Ezil, he ordered the commanders of the two cities, Yilian and Bulihan, to each lead 1,000 troops to garrison the two cities to consolidate the rear, while he led an army of 37,000 to continue northward. At this time, the Imperial Guard was full of famous generals, and with their combined wisdom and efforts, the entire battle was planned with great shrewdness: first, the Russian army's thorn in the front line, Kirovskoye, was removed; Governor-General Narison of Ezil led 10,000 troops to outflank the western part of Kirovskoye from the village of Privorzhskye; Tumenpengchuk of the Agonkhba Myriarchy led 10,000 troops to outflank the eastern part of Kirovskoye from the village of Telman; and Lobsang and Shuoqi themselves led 17,000 troops from the village of Lyubimov to attack the front of Kirovskoye. After annihilating the garrison at Kirovskoye, the troops will concentrate their forces on the high ground southwest of Saratovburg, at the village of Novoprevodino. Once this high ground is captured, the Guards will be able to set up artillery on the hillside and bombard the surrounding Russian positions, thereby gaining control of the entire battlefield.

"You must proceed to Kirovskoye swiftly, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. You must take this small village within two days at most," Lobsang and Shuoqi said, waving their riding whips with great enthusiasm. "The complete annihilation of the enemy in Kirovskoye is merely an appetizer; Novoprevodino—Novooprevodino—is the key to the entire campaign!"

Military orders were absolute, and the well-trained garrison advanced with remarkable speed. The units of Punchuk and Narison reached the east and west of Kirovskoye village respectively in just over a day. Lobzang and Shuoqi were even faster; their vanguard, led by Sonom Tsering, the head of the Bukhara garrison, with four thousand cavalry, reached the south of Kirovskoye village in just half a day. However, the anticipated major battle never occurred. When the sentries brought news of the garrison's approach, the Russian commander, Colonel Ivashka of the musketeers, immediately ordered the entire army to retreat to the village of Novoprevodino to the north.

"Soldiers, if you take a step back today, you will advance ten steps tomorrow! Retreat! Retreat like the wind!" he shouted excitedly to his men.

"How strange! Are Rakshasa demons born in the Year of the Rabbit? How come they run so fast?" Sonam Tsering had intended to go on a killing spree, but to his surprise, he only got an empty village. What was even more infuriating was that the Russians set fire to the village when they left, burning it to the ground and leaving the guards with not a single grain of food.

Taking the Russian forward positions without firing a shot should have been a good thing, but Lobsang and Shuoqi were really uneasy. The Russian devils have always been ferocious and greedy for soil. Now they have abandoned Kirovskoye village without firing a single shot. Could they be plotting something?
“Your Highness, the enemy’s retreat is suspicious; we must be wary of a trap.” “Indeed, how can we lead our troops away without firing a single arrow? Your Highness, please be cautious.” “Please, Your Highness, temporarily reside in Kirovskoye village and wait until you have ascertained the enemy’s movements before making a decision.”… At this time, the Kingdom of David was in the early stages of its dynasty, and there were many generals who had experienced countless battles. Governor-General Narisong of Ejil, Governor-General Enhebatu of the Oirat, Chief of the Kazakh Myriarchy Teguschoktu, Chief of the Bukhara Myriarchy Sonom Tsering, and General Shirgen, among others, all had extremely rich battlefield experience and advised Lobsang and Shuoqi to act cautiously.

The words of these veteran generals made His Highness the King of Han increasingly uneasy. He knew that these generals had fought half their lives and had seen more of the world than he had walked. Since they all said the enemy was deceiving, there must be difficulties ahead. However, if they were to halt their troops at Kirovskoye village, they feared they would miss a crucial opportunity. Hesitantly, he glanced at Governor Tuyebai of Agonkhba.

"Ahem~" The hunchback coughed lightly, then suddenly laughed, "What you generals say makes sense. Tsarist Russia may very well have laid a trap for our army ahead. But I think we should continue marching according to the original plan and take the village of Novoprevodino as soon as possible."

"Oh, why is that?" Lobsang and Shuoqi raised their eyebrows upon hearing this.

"Firstly, the village of Novoprevodino is the highest point in Saratov's territory. If we want to conquer Saratov, we must take this place. Since we can't avoid it, it's better to fight sooner rather than later. We can't give the enemy time to build fortifications. Secondly, our army is already close to the heart of Tsarist Russia. If we delay too long, enemy reinforcements will keep coming. The sooner we fight, the greater our chances of victory!"

"Excellent!" Upon hearing this, Lobsang and Shuoqi made up their minds and ordered, "Tomorrow morning, the entire army will march to New Polevodino. Each unit will be divided into 1,000-man squads, spaced one li apart. Punchuk will be the vanguard, Sonom Tsering will lead the second flank, Enhebatu will be the central army, Narisong and Tegusochoktu will each lead an army to protect the flanks, and Xiergen will be the rearguard." (End of Chapter)