June 13, 1682, Xin'an Fort (now Ulan-Ude, Russia).

Gualja Ruilin sat on a bearskin chair, staring at the Rakshasa envoy in front of him expressionlessly, without any reaction for a long time. But his sharp eyes made the Rakshasa envoy who came for negotiation feel in his heart.

He was uneasy and couldn't help but worry that the Tatar leader would kill him directly in the hall the next moment.

"Tell this Rakshasa envoy." Ruilin curled his lips contemptuously, then turned to look at a Buryat Mongolian interpreter next to him, "They have only two choices, either to voluntarily lay down their weapons and surrender to us unconditionally;

Either wash your neck clean

Waiting for the arrival of our army. The entire Beihai and the vast Lingbei area will be the established territory of our Bohai Kingdom. Any local armed forces who dare to resist or obstruct the advancement of our Bohai Kingdom’s army will eventually be crushed into powder and their corpses will be left behind.

Keep!"

After listening to the interpreter's message, Timofey Mozgov's face suddenly turned red, his eyes widened, and he looked at Ruilin.

These Tatars have such a huge appetite. According to his words, they not only want to seize the entire Lake Baikal, but also intend to encroach on the vast Siberian region and include all the territory that the Cossacks spent half a century to seize.

under their jurisdiction.

They are simply... so arrogant!

However, while lamenting, Timofey Mozgov also felt extremely frustrated. Since these Tatars settled in the Amur River Basin more than 20 years ago, they have risen rapidly. In a short period of time, they have become

Taking advantage of their abundant manpower and weapons, they uprooted several forts and strongholds established by the Cossacks in the Amur and Ussuri river basins one by one, and completely drove them out of these fertile river basins.

After the Tatars completely established themselves and established the Bohai State, they received strong support from Qi and Ming and began to expand northward and westward. With the guidance and help of the surrendered Cossacks and local indigenous people, they

Down,

Constantly attacking the strongholds and winter camps established by the Cossacks, the power gradually spread from the Amur River Basin to the Zeya River (Jinqili River), Shilka River, Ergun River, Ud River, and currently the Selenga River

watershed.

They completely followed the way the Cossacks explored and expanded from west to east, passing through numerous rivers, valleys and trails, and using boats and sleds as means of transportation, groping westward bit by bit. They were conquering the castle occupied by the Cossacks.

After establishing the camp, the domestic people and local indigenous people will be immediately mobilized to consolidate and improve these key strongholds, and then completely control large areas of surrounding territory.

These Tatars have portable light artillery and flintlocks that are more advanced than the Cossacks. Whether they are attacking fortresses or fighting in the wild, the brave Cossacks in the past are no match for them.

If you are defeated one after another, the wolves will rush forward and the pigs will rush forward.

In July last year, the Bohai State led more than 800 troops to the Uginsk Castle built at the mouth of the Ud River. During the siege of more than a month, although the city went through some mobilization, more than 700 troops were gathered in the city.

Armed soldiers and volunteers managed to keep the enemy out of the city and temporarily saved the castle.

But in the following months, the Bohai Kingdom successively sent hundreds of reinforcements and brought more artillery to bombard the Uginsk Castle day and night in an attempt to shake the defenders' will to resist.

Just when the defenders finally endured the cold winter, they thought they could use the severe weather to force the enemy back. Unexpectedly, the Bohai Army used snow sledges to transport an 18-pound siege heavy artillery from the rear to Wugin. Under the city of Sk.

Unsurprisingly, in less than two days, a section of more than ten meters of the outer wall of the sturdy Uginsk Castle was blown down. More than a thousand Bohai soldiers and local natives who had been recruited from the conscripts rushed into the city screaming.

After taking complete control of the castle, these ferocious Tatars killed all the adult men in the city out of revenge, cut off their heads one by one, and built a terrifying Jingguan on the snow outside the city.

Uginsk Castle is located in a favorable geographical location on the "trade road" leading from Siberia to China and Mongolia. It is one of the most important business centers in the region. At the same time, it is also the gateway to the east of Irkutsk City. Has strategic value.

Therefore, when the Irkutsk Governor's Office heard that the Uginsk Castle had fallen, it was greatly frightened, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were also in panic. In addition to calling the distant Governor's Office in Yakutsk and Tomsk in an emergency, the Governor's Office In addition to asking for help, they also sent several waves of messengers to Moscow to ask for help from His Majesty the Great Tsar, hoping to send some regular shooting army troops to the Far East to save these poor and helpless people.

But the entire Irkutsk Governor's Office does not have much hope as to whether His Majesty the Tsar will send regular troops to restore the precarious situation in the Far East. Because the news coming from Moscow and the five-year war with the Ottoman Empire have already It came to an end in the spring of 1681, and Tsarist Russia suffered a complete defeat.

Although in the later stages of the war, the coalition forces of Tsarist Russia and Eastern Ukraine captured the West Ukrainian Cossack Chief Doroshenko, the Russian army was continuously severely damaged by the Ottoman army in several major battlefields, losing more than 30,000 soldiers and discarding countless ordnance and supplies.

After that, Tsarist Russia was forced to sign the "Bakhchisaray Treaty" with the Ottoman Empire, giving up the territory of Eastern Ukraine east of the Dnieper River, allowing the Ottomans to have a special status in Eastern Ukraine, and freeing Doroshenko to establish a pro-government Ottoman Emirate of Ukraine.

In order to resist the intrusion of the Ottoman Empire and its vassal Crimean Khanate, Tsarist Russia planned to build a defense line of more than 500 kilometers in the Sudosti River, Sheim River, and Don River to extend the northern area. The Belgoro Defense Line built was connected together to form Tsarist Russia's southwestern border defense line.

In order to build this huge defense line project, the Siberian Affairs Council, which is in charge of colonial affairs in the Far East, issued instructions to several military governors such as Yakutsk, Irkutsk, Omsk and Tomsk, requiring several places to pay more More furs, more in-kind taxes on local indigenous people, and more gold and silver contributed to the tsar to alleviate Moscow's serious financial crisis.

Since Tsarist Russia successively lost many strongholds such as the Amur River, Ussuri River, Zeya River, and Shilka River more than ten years ago, the furs and various in-kind taxes obtained in the entire Far East colonial region have been reduced by half, leaving Tsarist Russia to rely on The livelihood of the fur export trade was also cut in half, leaving the entire country seriously short of hard currency such as gold and silver.

Therefore, in the face of the Ottoman Empire's "strong troops and strong horses" and the Crimean Khanate's cavalry, the Tsarist Russian army was like a beggar. Not only were their weapons and equipment extremely backward, but their numbers were also seriously insufficient. In the army, there were often five

Only six soldiers could own one musket, and most of the muskets held were old matchlocks.

If it weren't for the fact that the Ottoman Empire's main energy was still in the direction of the Holy Roman Empire, and the troops it sent were only partial divisions with no more than 20,000 people, they would have been defeated long ago. The 50,000 troops assembled by Tsar Fedor III

On the battlefield, they were always on the receiving end of the abuse, often being defeated by Ottoman armies with less than half their own number, and then being chased by the Crimean Khanate's cavalry.

Facing the powerful Ottoman Empire, it is reported that Tsar Fedor III is preparing to choose to stay in hibernation temporarily, no longer actively provoke this enemy, and instead start focusing on domestic affairs.

His Majesty the Tsar appointed Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn and implemented a series of military, administrative, economic, judicial, financial, religious and educational reforms. Civil servants and military attachés were also distinguished for the first time, following the example of the Netherlands, France, etc.

The military systems of European countries implement a rank system among officers to accelerate the modernization and standardization of the army.

What is particularly commendable is that in the judicial reform, His Majesty the Tsar abolished corporal punishment in punishment. Those who committed serious crimes no longer had their hands or feet cut off, but were instead exiled to Siberia.

In order to obtain more furs, the nobles in Moscow began to pay more attention to the colonial activities in Siberia. In addition to exiling prisoners convicted of serious crimes, they also recruited and recruited Cossacks on a large scale in Eastern Ukraine.

Siberia to strengthen the armed forces in the Far East.

But at present, in the entire Irkutsk Governor's Mansion, all it can rely on is the more than 500 Cossack soldiers who have gathered in the area, hundreds of exiled serious prisoners, and more than 2,000 people who have come here to make a living.

farmers, hunters and various craftsmen. As for the numerous Buryat Mongols in the local area, they are considered to be extremely unreliable and potentially dangerous people who are not fully trusted.

In the absence of strong support, Irkutsk warlord Yegor Vyartshev tried to send an envoy to express temporary surrender to the Tatars who captured the Udinsk Castle in order to donate some furs and property.

The price is paid in exchange for the opponent to stop attacking in order to win the necessary buffer time.

I heard that this Bohai country, which is dominated by Tatars, has a professional army of 3,000 to 4,000 people. They are not only well-trained and brave in combat, but also have relatively advanced weapons, and are extremely sensitive to the local geographical environment.

They can adapt to it and can even carry out military operations in winter. In terms of combat effectiveness, they are far superior to the half-baked Cossack soldiers under their military governor's mansion.

It is very regrettable that the shrewd Tatars saw through the delaying strategy of Lord Warlord Yegor Vialtshev, and in an unquestionable tone, ordered the city of Irkutsk to surrender unconditionally within thirty days.

Otherwise, they will send out a large army to launch the most violent attack on the castle. If they dare to resist, everyone will suffer the same fate as the defenders of Uginsk Castle, and they will all be executed and their bodies abandoned in the wilderness.

Yes, these Tatar warnings are definitely not empty threats. In recent years, the Bohai Kingdom has successively captured Ust-Karsk, Nerchinsk (now Nerchinsk, Russia), Shilka, Chita, and Petersburg.

Rovsk, Tal

When they came to Bahatai, Uginsk and other strongholds and castles, those who encountered fierce resistance were without exception bloody massacres. Adult men were beheaded, their heads were piled into the temple, young children were demoted to slaves, and women were tortured.

Serve as a camp prostitute.

In order to coerce more people, these hateful Tatars would often instruct the surrendered Cossacks and compliant local indigenous people to carry out the above-mentioned brutal acts, so as to prevent them from ever thinking of returning to Tsarist Russia.

"In the next few months, can we launch a formal attack on the city of Irkutsk?" The Rakshasa envoy left in panic, and Ruilin immediately discussed the next action strategy with several subordinate generals.

"Back to my young prince, the general believes that the current preparations are not yet complete, and the conditions for launching a full-scale attack on Irkutsk City are not yet available." Jilong, the commander of the Bohai Ruifeng Battalion, raised his hand and said: "I heard that Rakshasa

The people abandoned and burned all the strongholds around the city of Irkutsk, thinking that the strongholds would be fortified to clear the country, and all personnel were removed.

The troops concentrated in the city to strengthen the defensive force. If our army attacks the city of Irkutsk, it can only follow the river water to the North Sea, and then wind its way along the north coast, bypassing the southern end of the North Sea, and finally

Going north to attack Yicheng, the entire distance is more than 400 kilometers, which will be a great test for the logistics of our army."

"Young prince, we still need to worry that the Rakshasa people have set up strong defenses at several strongholds outside Yicheng to slow down the progress of our army. Furthermore, Yicheng is located between the Angara River and the Irkut River.

The intersection is densely covered with water networks and complex terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

It is very detrimental to our offensive." Wu Xinkui, commander of the Bohai National Qingfeng Battalion, added: "Therefore, the general believes that the attack on Yicheng needs to be planned slowly and steadily, and a series of logistics supply points must be established first.

, and finally gathered the army to strike with thunder."

"According to the investigation of the sentinel, since last November, after we captured the Xin'an Fort, the entire city of Irkutsk has been in a state of panic, and the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city is generally low, and they are all planning to run away at any time.

." Ruilin was obviously dissatisfied with the two men's meek fighting methods, and said in a deep voice: "If our army follows the plan, it will be slow.

Wouldn't delaying the attack give the Rakshasa people enough time to calm down the people and respond calmly? If the Rakshasa people send a considerable number of reinforcements from the rear in time, how will our army respond? The art of war has it that the most valuable soldier is the winner.

It won’t last long. We have more than 1,500 troops gathered at Xin’an Fort, so we won’t waste money and food and lose our strength!”

"Please think again, young prince! The city of Irkutsk is the core castle of the Rakshasa people in the area. It has been operating for a long time, and the city must be strong and well-defended. If we rush in rashly, and cannot win quickly, the army will

There are certain risks in being trapped under a fortified city in the wilderness." Wu Xinkui earnestly advised.

"Hmph, you Han people are so cautious when fighting a war." Ruilin said with a smile: "If all the camps of our Bohai Navy were like you, looking forward and backward, how could we advance from east to west in a few years?

Thousands of miles, all the way to the shores of the North Sea?"

"Little prince..."

"No need to say more." Ruilin waved his hand and said decisively: "I have made up my mind. Three days later, the army will march towards Irkutsk. The Ruifeng Battalion will be the leader, and I will unite the Jianfeng Battalion behind me, and the Qingfeng Battalion will follow.

Escort the food and supplies and follow up. No one is allowed to retreat without my order. Violators will be severely punished."

"Little prince!" Wu Xinkui still wanted to make a last-ditch effort. "Our army is about to set off to attack Irkutsk. Do you want to inform the Qi State Military Staff Group in Zhongjing (now Chita City, Russia) about this military strategy?"

"..." Ruilin couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, and then said with a look of impatience, "Well, I will send someone to send a letter to Beijing later to inform the Qi State Military Staff Group of our army's operational strategy... Also, by the way, I would like to remind you.

The ordnance and gunpowder they should provide should be shipped over quickly, so as not to delay the military plane!"
Chapter completed!