The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 871 Battle of Poltava
On New Year's Day of the fifth year of Tianshou, before the ministers came to congratulate her, the empress went to the Taimiao early to offer sacrifices to her ancestors.

At the beginning of the morning hour, Liu Ruolan knelt reverently before the ancestral tablets, reporting to her grandfather and father the recent changes in domestic and international affairs, while asking where Da Qi should go.

The situation is not optimistic.

Although the Qi army has already conquered the North Sea and completely expelled the Rakshasa forces from the Far East, this is the limit of the Qi army's westward expedition. If it wants to march further west, cross the vast swamps and frozen soil, and attack the western cities of the Rakshasa Kingdom, the Qi army will inevitably pay a heavier price.

"The day before yesterday, envoys from Sweden and Britain came to Tianxin City again to ask for help. They hope that Da Qi can put more pressure on Luosha in the east, because the emperor of Luosha is leading his troops to fight a decisive battle with them in Ukraine."

"Father, many people think we're just trying to pull chestnuts out of the fire. They've advised me not to send more troops, as that would only lead to more casualties and wouldn't help the situation."

"I'm not sure whether we should continue attacking Luosha. The Western Expedition has reached its limit, and the main force of the Luosha army is distributed in the west. Our army's actions in the North Sea cannot determine anything."

Queen Tianshou lit the incense, a painful expression on her face.

The winter in Rakshasa Country was even more terrible than she had imagined.

In the past three months, more than a thousand soldiers of Jiang Bailing's expeditionary force have died of frostbite.

Although sufficient preparations had been made before the expedition, the Qi army still encountered serious problems in military supplies and treatment of the wounded.

"Father, the King of Sweden said that because of his arrogance, many European countries are now refusing to support Sweden. He particularly needs Da Qi. Only Da Qi can stop the Luosha people from conquering Sweden."

"The British said something similar."

Liu Ruolan burned incense devoutly and prayed silently.

She thought of the Swedish woman who almost took her life, and now she had to risk the lives of countless people to save this woman's motherland.

"Father, if you were still alive, what would you choose?"

The Queen pondered for a long time.

She suddenly remembered that Da Qi had not yet repaid all the debts it owed to other countries.

“I should go and listen to the opinions of other ministers, or maybe just listen.”

Liu Ruolan chattered incessantly in the Taimiao for a long time, and finally returned to the Huangji Palace surrounded by guards.

The sun is rising.

The civil and military officials of the Great Qi had been waiting in the Huangji Hall for a long time. Kang Guangxu and others began to persuade the empress without waiting for her to take a seat.

"His Majesty····"

Kang Guangxu changed his usual elegant demeanor and spoke in a hurried tone.

"What is it? Tell me slowly."

Deputy Prime Minister Chen Zizhuang, who was standing opposite Kang Guangxu, glared at Kang. The two had always had different opinions, which was an open secret in the court.

Kang Guangxu looked away from Chen Zizhuang and said straight to the point:

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the de-barbarization military campaign must be paused."

"Oh?" Liu Ruolan frowned slightly, "Did Jiang Bailing lose the battle in Beihai?"

"That's not the case," Kang Guangxu took a large stack of reports from the Minister of Finance behind him.

"It's not the fault of war, it's just that we don't have enough money."

The cabinet's technocrats produced thick reports in which they calculated the huge military expenditure incurred by the "de-barbarization military operation" in the past few months.

"Since last October, the North Sea has been experiencing a century of extreme cold weather. Food supplies are limited, and soldiers are losing their lives every day due to the extreme cold. Pensions are also a huge expense."

The Queen nodded slightly, glanced at the chart, and asked casually, "They all have the same sky overhead and the weather is freezing cold. So how did the Rakshasa Kingdom do it?"

Kang Guangxu said quickly: "Your Majesty, you don't know that the Luosha soldiers are divided into the noble soldiers of the capital and the ordinary mobilized soldiers. The noble soldiers are self-disciplined, but when the ordinary soldiers die, they are only given half a bag of potatoes and sent away."

Another official added: "If potatoes are not enough, give us two kilograms of moldy buckwheat."

Liu Ruolan was dumbfounded. She didn't expect that Da Qi's opponents would be such a group of beasts. The endurance of the Rakshasa people was indeed extraordinary.

"They are a group of gray animals, their lives as precious as weeds. Consuming them will not benefit the Great Qi!"

"Your Majesty, withdraw your troops as soon as possible!"

"This bitter cold land is useless. Why waste our energy?"

The ministers urged the Queen to abandon this "de-barbarization military campaign." The benefits promised by the Europeans had yet to materialize, the little money the British had given had long been spent, and the Great Qi's military spending in the North Sea was like a bottomless pit, with no end in sight.

Opposition to the war grew louder and louder across the country.

Are we going to return to the old path of warmongering in the Taizu era?
"This matter requires long-term consideration," the Queen and other ministers calmed down for a while and expressed their thoughts in public.

"However, this may cause us to lose trust with other nations and be detrimental to Great Qi. Besides..."

Liu Ruolan hesitated to speak, her eyes fixed on the pro-war faction.

Chen Zizhuang stroked his beard and said in tacit understanding, "Your Majesty is worried that the Northern European battlefield is currently in a tense state. If our country withdraws our troops easily, the war between Sweden, Britain and Russia will be destroyed in an instant."

"When the other nations hold Da Qi accountable, you and I won't be able to bear the responsibility! If you offend the European nations, do you really want to return to the days of isolation?"

Kang Guangxu wanted to refute, but Chen Zizhuang continued:
"A complete Luosha is not in the interests of Da Qi. Emperor Peter can't hold out for much longer. As long as we hold on until spring, the clouds will clear and the sun will shine, and everything will be fine."

Kang Guangxu could no longer tolerate this and angrily asked, "Does Prime Minister Chen want our soldiers to travel thousands of miles to attack Moscow or St. Petersburg? Are you sure they can reach Europe alive?"

"What if we use a hot air balloon for transportation?"

"Da Qi doesn't have enough transportation capacity!"

“Let local areas allocate more resources…”

"Your idea is dangerous and warmongering!"

~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few days, the civil and military officials in Tianxin City argued endlessly about whether to continue the war against Rakshasa.

The reason why Qi officials lost interest in the Western Expedition was not only because it was a war with no obvious benefits, but more importantly, the imperial officials were deeply afraid of the Russians. Emperor Taizu was so brave in the past, but he was defeated in three expeditions against the Russians.

This undoubtedly left a deep shadow in the hearts of imperial officials.

Even though the empire is no longer what it used to be, its strength is far superior to that of Rakshasa.

However, the Qi army's military operations in Russia's Far East caused widespread panic in Moscow.

Due to the sudden intervention of the Great Qi, Peter I could not stay focused on the war against Sweden.

The strength of Rakshasa, caught in a two-front war, was greatly reduced.

Poltava, Ukraine.

King Charles XII of Sweden sent away the local nobles who came to negotiate and once again promised these Slavs that he would support them in gaining independence after defeating Peter I.

The nobles were full of expectations for the Swedish king's promise.

As the overlord of Northern Europe in the 17th century, Sweden not only included the Scandinavian Peninsula, but also Finland and the land across the Baltic Sea. It can be said to be a superpower.

Charles XII inherited the Swedish throne at the age of fifteen, ten years younger than Peter I.

Just two years ago, the ambitious Peter I took the initiative to provoke a war with Sweden.

A month ago, Peter I personally led 3.5 Russian troops to attack the Swedish Narva Fortress.

Karl XII led his army deep into Ukraine, but due to difficulties, he could only rely on his own logistics transport team.

The Swedish convoy was escorted by 1.1 men and 16 artillery pieces.

All military supplies could only be transported by 1000 horse-drawn carts and a large herd of oxen.

Just as Charles XII was negotiating with the Ukrainians about establishing an independent country, the Swedish convoy was attacked.

The convoy commander abandoned some artillery and baggage.

The Swedish transport team was caught by the Russian army.

The Swedish transport convoy, lacking artillery support, was completely defeated.

After just three days of bombardment, only 1.1 people were left in the 6000-person transport team, and the Swedes lost their artillery and food.

"When will the Qi people launch an attack on the Rakshasa demons in the east? Do we have to wait until the red-nosed bishop comes to collect my body?"

"Tianxin City still owes Sweden 10 million kronor! These liars! They have no sense of contract at all!"

Karl XII pounded on the table, the battle map and pencil shook violently, and the entire operations room seemed to be experiencing a fierce bombardment.

(End of this chapter)