The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 347 Song of the Northern Frontier
The first snow of the second year of Tianqi came later than usual.

Thousands of miles away in the Moscow Palace, the young Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich may not have realized the disastrous consequences that the Cossacks' Far East expansion, which was condoned by him, funded by King Louis XIII of France (similar to a naked loan), and commanded by Vasily Boyarkov, would have on the Russian Empire.

Over the past two years, 136 Cossacks have killed almost all the indigenous people on both sides of the Jingqi River (the largest tributary on the left bank of the Heilongjiang River).

The abundant runoff and good hydrological conditions in the Outer Northeast region provided great convenience for the expedition of Boyarkov and others.

Adventurers set out in summer by canoe, sailing down the gently flowing Lena River, avoiding the muddy swamps and terrifying Black Forests of Siberia.

The Russians obtained food supplies by hunting animals along the river, including indigenous people.

Then he ran around eastern Siberia like a headless chicken.

The Cossacks had learned from the barbarians on the other side of the continent how to conquer the world.

Wherever they went, they asked the indigenous people for mink fur and ginseng.

The indigenous people who failed to surrender would be killed directly by them, using the same methods as the English did in North America during the same period.

Even more barbaric than its neighbors to the west.

According to eyewitnesses and the Cossacks' own diaries:
When supplies ran low—a frequent problem for Russian expeditionaries in the 17th century—they resorted to cannibalism.

From Jingqili River to Yaksa City.

When they were extremely hungry, they ate everything, including tigers, wolves, gazelles, and indigenous people.

Finally, they were besieged in Yaxica by the Qing army, which was ten times their size. Running out of ammunition and food, they began to eat their own people.

Many years later, when the Duke of Protectorate had been promoted to the emperor of the Great Qi Empire (whose territory included the Ming Dynasty, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Korea, etc.).

At the trial meeting presided over by him personally, he heard the surviving Solon and Oroqen people accuse the atrocities committed by the Russians.

The iron-blooded, ambitious and arbitrary king was deeply angry and immediately ordered that all the surrendered bandits be executed by slow slicing.

However, in the second year of the Tianqi reign, in that chaotic era, Liu Zhaosun had no ill will towards the brave and warlike Cossacks.

Because, even if Tsarist Russia had not invaded the Ming Dynasty, had not invaded the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and had not provoked the Kaiyuan Army, Liu Zhaosun would not have let them go.

Like the Slavs, the Protector had an almost fanatical pursuit of land.

Only more land can accommodate the excess population and realize the time traveler's lofty ambitions.

During the Ming Dynasty, China's population exceeded 100 million for the first time. Although some Song Dynasty fans believe that the population of the Northern Song Dynasty also reached this number, this view has not been recognized by the academic community to date.

The various contradictions caused by overpopulation became unprecedentedly intensified in the late Ming Dynasty.

The rigid political system seemed helpless in the face of the Age of Exploration.

The Little Ice Age and the Manchurian invasion added insult to injury.

All the contradictions broke out at once.

So the Ming Dynasty was completely finished.

Liu Zhaosun has been in this world for almost five years.

In five years, Caesar could conquer half of Europe, World War I would be halfway through, and humans could land on Mars.

However, in this era when the literacy rate is less than one percent, he has not yet developed a political system that is ahead of its time, whether it is parliamentary democracy or rushing into socialism.

He didn't do either.

Of course, in some time-travel fantasy novels, the protagonist may be able to achieve it.

However, Liu Zhaosun lives in reality, not in an online novel.

The reality is often that the dragon slayer slays the evil dragon and then transforms into a creature more terrifying than the dragon.

Liu Zhaosun called the current Kaiyuan regime Godzilla or Alien.

This monster needs to keep devouring, keep expanding, keep evolving, and cannot stop.

If it stops, it is in danger of exploding.

Similar to a certain Sibyl regime in later generations.

The several rebellions that occurred before Kaiyuan were signs of Godzilla's rampage.

From the moment he entered the Pass to quell the rebellion, Liu Zhaosun had accepted his fate and could only be its spokesperson or puppet.

Accompany it to evolve, accompany it to devour, and accompany it to perish.

Whether it is conquering Japan or fighting against Europe, it is something that must be done.

The core of tragedy is that when you wake up from a dream, there is no way out.

~~~

Conquering Europe was a grand plan set during the Taichang period and would not be easily changed.

Before conquering Europe, Tsarist Russia was the obstacle that had to be overcome first.

In this era, it was certainly a fantasy for infantry to march straight across Siberia.

So we can only advance step by step and proceed steadily.

According to the original historical dimension, the Cossack bandits would not invade the Heilongjiang River Basin of the Ming Dynasty for the first time until the 17th year of Chongzhen, which was 19 years later.

They first broke into the Daur ethnic group's residential area in Jingqilijiang, China, but were met with a resolute counterattack from the Daur residents and finally had to flee.

Later, after receiving support from the Tsarist Russian government, in the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651), the Cossack bandits moved south along the Heilongjiang River, looting, burning and killing everywhere.

They massacred the Daur people's habitat, killed 661 people, abducted 361 women and children, ate two-thirds of them, and committed countless brutal atrocities.

At this time, the Manchus were preoccupied with dealing with anti-Qing forces like Zheng Chenggong and Li Dingguo, leaving them with no time to fully engage Russia. Furthermore, the war against Russia was plagued by an awkward situation: "We advance, the enemy retreats; we retreat, the enemy advances." It wasn't until Emperor Kangxi pacified the Three Feudatories that he freed up his forces to launch the Battle of Yalu River, defeating Russia and leading to the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

At this point, Tsarist Russia's expansion in Outer Manchuria came to a temporary end.

As for the later cession of 150 million square kilometers of land in Outer Northeast China, that happened in the late Qing Dynasty and will not be described in detail here.

Because of the appearance of the time traveler, this dimension has undergone too many changes, and the eastward expansion of Tsarist Russia has been advanced by more than 20 years.

A year ago, the warmongering Liu Zhaosun severely defeated Britain, France, the Netherlands and Spain in Japan, almost destroying the colonial forces that the four countries had painstakingly built up in East Asia for half a century.

When the news of the massacre and humiliation of Europeans reached back to Europe, European countries began to clamor for revenge against the pagan tyrants and hypocrites of the East.

Half a century ago, the Spanish governor's plan to send troops to conquer the Ming Dynasty was once again put on the agenda. Inspired by this warlike sentiment, the stock prices of several East India companies soared, allowing citizens in London and Amsterdam who bought at the bottom to make a fortune.

Of course, any gentleman with a little bit of rationality should understand that this so-called declaration of war or ultimatum is just something politicians say after having a good meal and a few drinks, similar to the verbal abuse from keyboard warriors in later generations.

In fact, it is not worth much.

It is obviously not a wise move to send troops on a long expedition to attack a country with a population of 100 million.

What's more, the other side also has a strong army and navy.

At this time, the Protestant King Christian IV of Denmark, with the support of Britain, France and the Netherlands, launched an attack on the Holy Roman Emperor together with the Protestant Alliance, and quickly occupied the northwest of Germany.

The Thirty Years' War in Europe (Note 1) was at its most intense stage.

The four countries focused their attention on Europe itself, and the barbarian looting incidents in the distant Sea of Japan were not really their focus.

Of course, apart from verbal warnings, everyone is not doing nothing.

Louis XIV's father, King Louis XIII of France, immediately conveyed Europe's determination to punish the barbarians to the Romanov Tsar.

The French royal family provided a high amount of credit (also known as usury) to this poor brother who was determined to squeeze into the civilized world of Europe. It was mainly used to support the Cossacks' punitive actions east of Siberia and the Russians' purchase of French wine.

History calls this punitive action:

"The New Crusade," or "World War I"

Two months ago, Li Sanguang landed on Sakhalin Island with his northern expedition team. When they continued to move northwest, they encountered Boyarkov and the Cossacks.

This group of Cossacks was the vanguard of the new Crusade.

Although Li Sanguang was a disciple of Xu Xiake and had traveled extensively and gained a wide range of knowledge, there were no Slavs in the Ming Dynasty after all.

Moreover, based on his values, he couldn't imagine that there were man-eating beasts in this world.

Xu Xiake's apprentice naively thought that Boyarkov, who was dressed as a businessman, was a gentle and civilized man who admired the culture of the Celestial Empire, just like Francis and Roman, and was a red-haired barbarian who came to seek refuge with the Duke of Protector of the Country.

So, when the northern expedition was caught off guard, the Cossacks, armed to the teeth, launched a surprise attack.

Only ten of the 156 members of the expedition team escaped, and the rest were all killed.

Li Sanguang's left hand was cut off by a Cossack saber. With only one hand left, he escaped back to Shenyang under the protection of his guards and saved his life.

Before he lost consciousness, Li Sanguang saw with his own eyes that the Cossack bandit who had chopped off his left hand was holding his left hand and chewing it in big mouthfuls like a chicken claw...

~~~~
"What are Rakshasa people?"

"They are the barbarians from the North Sea. They eat people..."

"Isn't that a beast?"

Jiang Liu'er looked at the sparkling river surface, waving his arms, paddling rhythmically, and listening to the introduction of a Sauron soldier, he couldn't help but feel frightened.

The soldier's name was Alessa. One year before the Battle of Hetuala, he was captured by Daishan from Outer Northeast and brought to Liaodong to serve as cannon fodder to guard the Hetuala Khan's palace.

After the defeat of the Later Jin Dynasty, Alessa stayed in a prisoner camp for half a year. Because of his outstanding performance, he was given the opportunity to go to the mine for education. After two months of mining, he successfully passed the assessment and became a member of the Second Guards Army.

More than a month ago, the 12th Guards Army and the Jianzhou, Haixi and other units selected 360 people to form the second wave of expedition team, and boarded the ship from Heixiazi Island in Fuyuan County.

Thirty small boats carried soldiers and horses upstream along the Asu River towards Sakhalin Island.

There, the expedition will be resupplied and then continue its journey northwest.

Until they finally found the group of Cossacks who attacked their comrades and killed them all.

~~~~~
When encountering a turbulent river section, the auxiliary soldiers jumped onto the river bank to pull the ropes.

A rope as thick as a wrist was tied around the shoulders, and the sharp and smooth pebbles underfoot caused many people to have their hands and feet scratched by the stones, causing them great pain.

The nights on the Asu River (Ussuri River) in late September were bitterly cold.

Jiang Liuer stuffed some Ula grass into the hands of a musketeer with a wounded foot and asked him to use it as a cushion in his own nest.

"It will be warmer this way. It's very damp by the river."

A bonfire was burning in the distance, and the rising heat baked the tired bodies of the soldiers.

Asujiang remained silent.

The expedition team fell into a deep sleep, and the tireless sentries were on guard ten miles away at night.

At the same time, Boyarkov, dressed as a businessman, led his Cossack warriors on a small boat, slowly landed on Sakhalin Island, and began to attack the small number of Kaiyuan troops left on the island.

A fierce battle is inevitable.

Note:
1. Thirty Years' War in Europe:

The civil war within the Holy Roman Empire culminated in a large-scale European conflict, the first pan-European war in history. It was the product of conflicts among European states vying for power, establishing hegemony, and intensifying religious disputes. The war ended with the defeat of the Habsburg dynasty and the signing of the Peace of Westphalia. The conflict, which lasted from 1618 to 1648 and involved major European nations, is also known as the "Wars of Religion."

(End of this chapter)