"Huh..." Wang Congzhi let out a long breath. As long as there is enough ammunition, the next battle will be easy to fight.
The fortresses that were built before are now the military stations and border posts of the Renaissance Army. It is not an easy task to build a fortress in such a remote place.
Although many of these forts were damaged during the attack, they can continue to be used as long as they are slightly repaired. Even the artillery on some forts can still be used.
Wang Congzhi had already sent people to tell the Great Protector to send people over to repair and guard these fortresses.
Wang Congzhi and others have not yet divided their forces. The Tsarist Russians may gather forces along the fortress line to counterattack at any time.
Wang Congzhi must be prepared for the enemy's counterattack. Their goal is the Irtysh River. Only when they occupy a large fortress there will they stop temporarily and build it into a bridgehead against Tsarist Russia's counterattack.
The fortresses behind them will become temporary outposts in the northwest of the Western Region, forming China's last line of defense in the northwest.
The reason why it is called the last line of defense is because there is a grassland no-man's land established on the Yibo Sea to the west. It is a buffer area.
To be honest, these fortresses built by the Tsarist Russians are really very good. Although they are a bit rough, there is nothing to say about the solidity or the appearance of the fortresses.
And the distance between each fort is calculated very carefully.
If the Renaissance Army had not had an absolute advantage in firepower, the enemy would not have made any arrangements in advance. Otherwise, let alone capturing these fortresses, as long as they were blocked outside the fortresses for a few days, the troops' drinking water would have become a big problem.
Orenburg Fortress was the western bridgehead of Tsarist Russia's strategy in Central Asia.
At the same time, Orenburg is also the northwest starting point of the Central Asian fortress blockade run by Tsarist Russia.
It is located in the upper reaches of the Ural River, and shipping can directly enter the Caspian Sea.
To the north is the hinterland of the Eastern European Great Plains of Tsarist Russia.
Tsarist Russia has always attached great importance to this region.
Vasily Perovsky, the governor of Orenburg, was the pioneer of Tsarist Russia's strategy in Central Asia.
In November 1839, the then Governor of Orenburg, Petrovsky, sent more than 5,000 men to an expedition to the Khiva Khanate. However, they were hit by a snowstorm and suffered heavy losses, and failed to succeed.
Tsarist Russia suffered heavy losses in this battle. They lost a total of several thousand soldiers and more than 10,000 camels to the bad weather.
After this battle, Tsarist Russia slowed down its attack on Central Asia. Instead, it first stabilized the bridgeheads of Kazakhstan.
Petrovsky was also fired because of this incident.
In 1853, Vasily Petrovsky became governor of Orenburg again.
This time, he changed his original strategy. He no longer relied on the troops in his hands to act recklessly.
Instead, he strictly implemented fortress tactics. Moving forward step by step, he prepared to build a circle of fortresses around the Kazakh grasslands.
Along the Irtysh River in the north, the fortresses along this line have already been built. To the east, along the Tianshan Mountains of China, the fortresses have been built from west to south to Balkash Lake.
In the south, build another east-west fortress circle along the Syr Darya River, which is the Chu River in China.
Petrovsky had a big strategy in mind. Previously, he had been thinking more about the British obstruction in the south.
He knew that it was impossible for the British to allow Tsarist Russia to gain access to the Indian Ocean from Central Asia to the south.
Therefore, in the process of Tsarist Russia's management of Central Asia, it will definitely be obstructed by the British.
But in Petrovsky's original plan, the three Central Asian countries south of Kazakhstan, Bukhara, Khiva and the Kokand Khanate, had to be in the hands of Tsarist Russia.
But a sudden appearance of Huaxia interrupted his plan.
This attack on China from Kazakhstan was not led by him. It was led by his old enemy Khristenko.
Because of previous failures, Petrovsky has been criticized. This is why he now adopts such a low-key approach.
The fortress tactic must be implemented.
Otherwise, the harsh conditions in Central Asia would be the biggest enemy of the Tsarist Russian army.
At this time, in the Governor's Mansion, a soldier in rags was describing this horrific war.
Unexpectedly, his old enemy Khristenko would be defeated at this time.
Petrovsky didn't know whether he should be happy or sad.
"Your Majesty the Governor, we had 50,000 cavalry at that time, while the opponent's cavalry only had 4,000."
"General Leonid first tested the opponent with artillery, but the opponent's artillery was much more advanced than ours and could not be defeated in an artillery battle. The general is ready to take advantage of our cavalry."
"He divided our 50,000 cavalry into four camps, completely surrounded the enemy, and then launched a cavalry charge."
"There are only 4,000 cavalry and less than 6,000 infantry in our encirclement."
"Originally, there was no suspense in this battle. We can see that the enemy actually responded in a hurry because we met on the march."
"At that time, we were attacking an enemy city with all our strength. The army obviously came over in a hurry to relieve the siege."
"The enemy's artillery is very powerful, but in the wild these artillery can't completely stop the cavalry charging from all directions."
"At the beginning, no one paid attention to the carriages in front of the enemy camp. Those carriages looked like Tatar carts. There were carriages on top, and there were curtains covering the back of the carriages."
"We all thought it was just an enemy supply truck or carrying a small artillery piece."
"But when the curtain was lifted, we discovered that the God of Death was hidden inside."
"It should be a kind of gun, with many barrels tied together. As these barrels rotate, bullets are continuously shot out from the muzzle, as if there is no need to load bullets at all, and they just pour out continuously.
Bullets." As the soldier spoke, the fear in his eyes appeared again.
Petrovsky frowned. According to what this defeated soldier said, the northeastern shore of Lake Balkash would suffer at this time. The fortress line happened to be built there now.
If the enemy has more advanced artillery, these fortresses will definitely suffer without reinforcements.
"Damn Khristenko, it was he who lured these Chinese people here." Petrovsky cursed in his heart.
"Come here!" Petrovsky shouted outside.
He found the intelligence officer in his governor's palace and explained that he urgently needed to know the situation of the eastern fortress line.
He was still unclear about the situation in the south. He did not expect that the Renaissance Army would directly destroy the Kokand Khanate.
You must know that Petrovsky has long coveted the Kokand Khanate. Tsarist Russian troops also captured the Kokand Khanate’s White Mosque on the banks of the Chu River.
It is estimated that the news of the destruction of Haohan is still on the way. I wonder how Petrovsky will feel when he knows that his meat has been snatched away by others.
"Tell me about that fast gun." After Petrovsky finished explaining the matter, he continued to ask the soldier who escaped.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, that gun seems to require three people to operate it. One person is responsible for turning the crank handle on the back of the gun. It seems that the bullets are fired just as that person turns the handle."
"I can't see the details. Also, the rifles used by their infantry and the lances used by the cavalry are all breech-loaded, and their range can catch up with our rifled guns." The soldier continued.
said.
The news from St. Petersburg has arrived, and now Petrovsky also knows that the original Qing Dynasty no longer exists, and has been replaced by a country called Huaxia.
Now it seems that the Chinese soldiers are quite capable.
So this had a major impact on Petrovsky's long-term planning.
"What to do?" Petrovsky thought in his mind.
There is no need to worry about the safety of Orenburg for the time being, but what about the fortress that he has worked hard for many years?
The most dangerous ones now are the fortresses close to China in the east. Many fortresses are built on the east bank of Lake Balkash.
That was China's traditional territory. But in recent years, the original Qing Dynasty's jurisdiction over the Western Regions had become increasingly loose. This allowed Tsarist Russia to seize the opportunity to build a fortress there.
After Petrovsky regained control of Orenburg, he changed his previous route of opening and closing. He began to become more prudent, or more unpleasantly, it could be called vulgar.
Anyway, he only has a few people in his hands. The Kazakh grassland is vast, and sometimes there is not a single person in sight for several days.
The same is true in the Western Regions of China.
Anyway, I see that you have no one, regardless of whether it is your territory or not. I will build a fort on it first. When you find out, my military facilities are here, what else can you do?
Those nomadic tribes usually only have territorial awareness but no sense of territory.
They live in pursuit of water and grass, and their homes are wherever their cattle and sheep go.
Ordinary herdsmen wouldn't care about a fortress that suddenly appeared. Even if they wanted to attack it, it wouldn't be cost-effective. What could be in a fortress?
The original Qing government was even more unbearable. All its Karens were built inland, and they no longer cared about such a large area of land outside the border.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia had completely different concepts of territory.
The Manchu literati also felt that occupying remote land and sending troops to garrison it was a waste of people and money. As long as I know it is mine, it is fine. There is no need to actually control it.
Tsarist Russia is different. They believe that the more land, the better. It is useless now, but maybe it will be useful in the future.
No matter what, I'll surround it with a fence first. After that, I'll take a look and see, eh? The neighbor's yard doesn't have a fence, so I'll move the fence closer to his house, so he can't see it anyway.
Therefore, the territory of Tsarist Russia was increasing, while the territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was constantly being encroached upon.
Petrovsky only had a mobile force of 5,000 men.
All other troops are scattered in various fortresses. The entire Kazakh grassland is tens of thousands of kilometers long.
The number of forts is not a small number. Even if each fort does not need many garrison, so many forts add up to a large number.
Originally, when the forts were set up, a system of large forts supporting small forts was also established.
But this system can be exploited by enemies.
From the words of this defeated soldier, Petrovsky knew that the enemy was very powerful and had at least more than 10,000 troops.
Then the reinforcements he set up in the large fortress were no match for others. Instead, they were easily besieged and reinforced. This further deepened Petrovsky's worries.
The most uncomfortable thing is that Petrovsky's own men have not received any news back yet.
"Soldier, describe the appearance of the gun you see to the artist and let him draw it. Only in this way can you make up for your sin of running away." Petrovsky looked at the broken soldier and said seriously.
"Okay, Your Majesty the Governor, I will definitely describe what I saw in detail. Thank you for your forgiveness."
Because he has not received an order from St. Petersburg, Petrovsky cannot send troops without authorization yet.
Khristenko launched the attack on China only after receiving the order. He did not have the power.
Now that the new emperor of Tsarist Russia has ascended the throne, as a veteran minister, Petrovsky must be careful at this time, otherwise he is likely to be jealous of the new tsar.
Petrovsky didn't know much about the new Emperor Alexander II.
People outside say that the new Tsar is open-minded, generous and wise. But who would really believe such flattering comments?
"Koshygin, you lead two thousand cavalry to explore eastward along the fortresses on the northern line to see if there is any problem with the eastern fortresses. If you encounter soldiers reporting on the road, then go and test the enemy's strength."
"However, you must be careful not to engage the enemy easily. If the enemy comes to drive you away, you should understand the enemy's firepower, and then you can retreat."
"Don't retreat directly to Orenburg, but lead the small forts along the way, transfer all our people to a large fort, concentrate our strength to block the enemy's attack, and don't let our soldiers be scattered in small forts.
middle."
"In that case, we will only be defeated by the enemy one by one."
Petrovsky found his most valued young colonel officer and gave him the task of supporting eastward.
The use of two thousand soldiers is now his maximum authority.
He knew that the effect of these two thousand people was limited, because this time they were no longer facing nomadic tribes, nor the weak and ignorant Qing Dynasty.
He saw the shadow of the Western army in this army.
Like most Russians, Petrovsky also believes that this newly established Chinese state must be supported by Britain and France, and even they are puppets of Britain and France.
It was Britain and France who specifically supported Tsarist Russia in the East.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Governor, Kosygin promises to complete the mission and stop our enemies. Every inch of Tsarist Russia's territory must not be lost." The young colonel assured Petrovsky.
He was Petrovsky's most loyal follower, and in his eyes Petrovsky was a great strategist.
Kosygin always regarded Petrovsky as his teacher.
This time the teacher actually handed over such an important task to himself, it was because he valued himself.
The cowardly Easterners dared to invade the territory of Tsarist Russia, and they must never come back.
This young general was filled with the arrogance of a Tsarist Russian general who looked down upon everything.
This is the tradition of the Tsarist Russian Army, and it is the self-confidence they have built up through victory after victory.