Petrovsky's worries were not unfounded. The fortress line he operated had indeed been attacked by the Chinese.
The First Division and the North Route Army of the 18th Division led by Wang Congzhi advanced all the way along the east side of Yibohai.
It was like clearing away nails, tearing out the fortresses of Tsarist Russia one by one.
Those small fortresses don't need large troops to deal with them at all. They can be dealt with by sending out a battalion or company.
The enemy's reinforcements came from large fortresses, and Tsarist Russia's fortresses had a set of management systems. When small fortresses were attacked, large fortresses would send troops to support them.
Reinforcements are generally around a thousand people. This number of Tsarist Russian troops can deal with thousands of nomadic tribesmen cavalry.
When the fortress was originally designed, it was never considered that an army with advanced weapons like the Renaissance Army would appear in the East.
Such a small amount of reinforcements is just a little extra fuel for the Renaissance Army.
With the support of artillery, the attack of the Northern Route Army in the Western Regions was overwhelming.
Slightly later than the northern route, the 11th and 12th divisions that had already pacified the Kokand Khanate on the southern route, under the leadership of Zhang Shushun, also began to clear the Tsarist Russian fortress belt in the northern part of the Kokand Khanate.
These fortresses were the east-west fortresses operated by Tsarist Russia in the southern part of the Kazakh steppe.
This fortress line runs along the Chu River and just cuts off the connection between the Kokand Khanate area and the Yibo Sea in the north.
The route into the Haokand region from the Yibohai direction is more convenient than from the Shannan region in the Western Regions.
Now that China's territory has expanded to the west, the entire Western Region is divided into two parts by the Tianshan Mountains running northeast and southwest.
The Fergana Basin should actually belong to the Shanbei Plate.
Not far from Tashkent City in the northwest of the basin to the northeast is Yibohai. Along the bottom of the Ili River Valley, you can reach Huiyuan City, the center of the Western Region.
The Tianshan Mountains and the Karakoram Mountains are the two most important mountain ranges in the Western Region.
The Tianshan Mountains divide the Western Region Protectorate into two parts.
The Karakoram Mountains separate the southern part of the Western Region from the Southwest Plateau. It is the transition area between the northern and western parts of the Southwest Plateau.
This terrain determines that the Chu River must be in the hands of China, so that the entire Western Region can be considered a whole.
In the future, China will move the local people who believe in Islam in the northwest of the Tianshan Mountains to the northern grasslands, and then gradually move these Mongolians from the northern grasslands to the Tianshan pastures, and move the Han people from the interior to the west of the Tianshan Mountains.
The reason why the Mongols were moved here is because there are a lot of alpine pastures here that are not suitable for Han people to live.
The Mongols were chosen not only because they can herd and adapt to plateau life, but also because they adhere to the Yellow religion.
In this western region, China not only needs to set up a military defense line, but also a religious defense line.
Sometimes religious wars are visible blood and fire, sometimes they are invisible boiling frogs in warm water.
Dong Shuheng hoped to solve the long-standing problems in the Western Regions through immigration.
Immigration is the magic wand Dong Shuheng holds in his hand, which can help him solve many problems and gradually realize his vision.
Let’s not talk about the affairs of the Western Regions, which have become stable. Tsarist Russia is not yet capable of launching a large-scale counterattack.
Because everything from the Caspian Sea to the west to the Black Sea is now a battlefield.
Millions of troops are fighting on this front.
The failure of the Savastopol Fortress plunged Tsarist Russia into crisis.
A mood of pessimism and despair is spreading in Tsarist Russia. At this time, the most important agricultural producing area in Ukraine is.
Because of the proximity to the battlefield in Crimea, a large number of noble landowners fled.
This weakened local control. The serfs who had been squeezed to the limit due to war consumption took the opportunity to revolt.
They fought against the landlord Zhuangzi, opened the warehouses, and distributed the grain. They killed the tax collectors sent by the government.
The flames of the uprising spread in the core areas of Tsarist Russia. The serfs looked at the bread and wanted freedom.
Because all the troops were pressed on the front line and the rear was empty, for a while, the entire St. Petersburg was filled with a tense atmosphere.
St. Petersburg, where towering palaces stand and where a large number of Tsarist Russian nobles live, is where the upper class lives.
In order to get closer to the West, Tsarist Russia wanted to prove that it was a European civilized country and not the so-called Eastern European barbarians.
Of course, choosing this city as the capital also reflects Tsarist Russia's desire for access to the sea.
St. Petersburg is located in the northwest of Tsarist Russia, on the Baltic Sea coast and at the mouth of the Neva River. It is a very good port. The city has a short history and was founded in 1703.
At that time, the ruler of Tsarist Russia was Peter I.
He was a king with a strong desire to conquer, but at that time Tsarist Russia was a landlocked country, too far away from the sea, so Peter I desperately expanded outwards in search of a sea outlet.
The opportunity finally came. Peter I defeated Sweden, the North Sea power, and obtained the coveted large tracts of land on the east coast of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, thus also gaining access to the sea. After gaining access to the sea, Peter I built St. Petersburg here.
On the one hand, it is close to the west, and on the other hand, it has access to the sea into Europe, allowing Tsarist Russia to join the maritime competition.
At that time, European overseas colonial trade activities were prevalent, and all countries wanted a share of this plunder.
This move of the capital also confirmed Tsarist Russia's strategy of focusing on the West.
Although Tsarist Russia has never given up expanding its land in the East, no matter from an economic, military or political point of view, Tsarist Russia is dominated by the West.
This is why they were able to assemble millions of troops on the Crimean Peninsula, but in the East they gave away tens of thousands of lives to the Renaissance Army at a time.
At this time, on the road to Moscow, a Chinese delegation was advancing. Opposite them, there was also a Tsarist Russian delegation heading to China.
In the advancing team, a middle-aged man with a rather dignified appearance was wearing a fur coat. He was sitting in a carriage and rubbing his hands continuously.
As a southerner, Guo Songtao really can't stand the horrible weather here. It's just September and it's starting to get cold.
Compared to his current mission, Guo Songtao feels that the weather here is more of a problem for him.
And the person Guo Songtao wanted to see during this trip - Stressful Emperor II, almost collapsed on his throne when he received the bad news that Dongfang had failed again.
The defeat of Crimea is almost a foregone conclusion. If the news of Tsarist Russia's failure in the East also spreads, then what face will Tsarist Russia have in the circle of European powers?
Oh, no, this news has already spread in the West, and Chinese envoys have long exaggerated their victory in the Far East battlefield in European newspapers.
Of course, they are still talking about the last victory. At that time, the Far East was not developed by Tsarist Russia after all, it was just some barbaric newly occupied territories.
But this time it was different. This failure in Siberia and the Kazakh steppe was a total failure.
Some cities in Tsarist Russia that had been in operation for more than a hundred years were occupied by the Chinese.
The Chinese have already reached Western Siberia. Important towns like Tomsk have been captured by the enemy. This time, the entire territory of Tsarist Russia may be reduced by half as a result.
Although what was lost was the sparsely populated Siberian region with harsh climate, so much of the territory was taken over bit by bit by the clan of Alexander II.
If Nicholas I, whose body was still cold, was alive in heaven, he would probably jump out of the coffin in anger.
"Let Orenburg Governor Petrovsky take over the defense work in the East Siberian area beyond the Ural River and the Ural Mountains, establish the Siberian Theater, mobilize 50,000 army troops to Orenburg, and make him the commander-in-chief."
At the Imperial Council, Alexander II had to re-appoint Orenburg Governor Petrovsky, who was said to have become more stable in recent years.
Intelligence came back from the front line saying that Khristenko had lost contact and it was not known whether he was captured or killed in battle.
The Tsar had sent people to control Khristenko's family to prevent him from surrendering to the enemy.
Because the distance was too far, the enemy set up a blockade on the Russian army's retreat. Very few soldiers were able to escape. However, someone finally brought the information home.
"Go and call Minister Tymochenko to me," the Tsar ordered the waiter.
In recent times, the Tsar has deliberately kept aloof from Tymochenko.
Because he messed up the first thing he told him.
It was just a simple assassination incident. As a result, not only was the matter not completed, but the whole thing was not even sorted out.
Austria, which has always had a good relationship, even warned Tsarist Russia over this trivial matter, for an Easterner.
This made Alexander II lose face. Originally, assassination was very shameful in Europe, but now it was made known to everyone.
Where does this put Alexander II's face? Does it make people call him "Alexander the Assassin"?
The information obtained from this war was much more than the information obtained from the previous two wars with China.
And now the news of the founding of China has also spread to European countries.
Wang Tao suddenly became China's minister in Europe. Now China is not able to send one minister to each country. It can only continue to use the original method.
A minister is responsible for overseeing the diplomatic work of a region.
This time Dong Shuheng also gave Wang Tao the title of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, which increased Wang Tao's weight a lot.
He is more confident when traveling around Europe. After all, he has the status of a foreign minister.
Although European countries had a bad impression of China after Britain defeated the Qing Dynasty, the general view is that China is a great country.
Now China has defeated Tsarist Russia one after another, which has allowed China to regain its position as a great power.
The most direct reaction is that the standard of Wang Tao's reception in European countries has been much higher. In the past, few royal families would directly receive Wang Tao.
Now he has become a frequent visitor to various royal palaces. Everyone wants to have a good relationship with this foreign minister of China.
It's just a little face-saving, and there is no loss for them. But it can pave the way for the next interaction with China.
Being able to establish good relations with a big Eastern country, and a new big country at that, will only be beneficial to many European countries.
The most embarrassing thing at this time is Tsarist Russia, which is not only at war with Europe, but also with China, the majority of the East.
This was a complete failure of Tsarist Russia's diplomacy. At this time, Tsarist Russia's Foreign Minister Neserrode had already become the target of beatings.
But in fact, this war was entirely the arbitrary act of the paranoid and arrogant Nicholas I.
Neserrodie even risked being scolded by persuading Nicholas I that he could not carry out the campaign at the same time as the two major European powers, Britain and France.
But His Majesty the Tsar would not listen at all. He still believed in the Holy Alliance and felt that this alliance was unbreakable.
However, Austria bought Tsarist Russia backhand. There are only interests between countries, how can there be any friendship!
At this time, Alexander II reused Gorchakov, who had been suppressed, as a diplomat to deal with European affairs, which was a signal.
Neserrode was ready to resign at any time.
This Gorchakov is also a great man in history.
He was a Russian diplomat who rivaled Bismarck in the mid-19th century.
He was the cousin of Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Southern Front at this time.
He grew up in a Western European salon in St. Petersburg. When he was young, he was a classmate of the poet Pushkin. Pushkin predicted in his poem that he would become a great person in the future.
Entered the diplomatic community in 1817, and from 1820 to 1822 served as a member of the official Russian delegation at international conferences held in Trobo, Verona and Laibach.
Despite the efforts of Count Carl Robert Neserrodie, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to prevent his promotion, after 1822 he worked in Russian embassies in various Western European countries, including Vienna.
He accurately predicted the Vienna Revolution of 1848, the abdication of Emperor Ferdinand and the accession of Franz Joseph I.
In 1850, he met Bismarck for the first time while dealing with the Prussian-Austrian dispute. He supported Austrian Prime Minister Felix Schwarzenberg in forcing Prussia to accept the shame of Olmitz.
During this war, as ambassador to the Austrian Empire, he foresaw that Britain and France would participate in the war and advised Tsar Nicholas I not to sacrifice in vain, but he was not adopted.
This time Alexander II ordered him to serve as plenipotentiary in Europe to handle the negotiations for the Crimean War.
Gorchakov recommended immediate measures to reaffirm Russia's policy as a European power and to strive to establish friendly relations with France and Prussia.
This suggestion was adopted by Alexander II.
However, an assassination unexpectedly hindered Gorchakov's activities.
Because many European newspapers are now condemning Tsarist Russia, saying that they are engaging in assassination diplomacy.
They are said to be unworthy of being called a country in the civilized world.
Although Gorchakov tried his best to explain, there was always some convincing evidence that was exposed by newspapers.
In order to take advantage of this big news and increase the popularity of their newspapers, many newspapers even refused Tsarist Russia's huge bribes to stop reporting.
After a while Tymochenko ran into the Tsar's office panting.
"Your Majesty!" Tymochenko gasped and saluted.
"What's wrong? Mr. Tymochenko, are you already that old?" Alexander II said sarcastically upon hearing Tymochenko's violent breathing.
"Your Majesty, Tymochenko will remain your Majesty's most loyal subject as long as he is alive." Tymochenko did not mind the tsar's ridicule. After all, he had made things difficult for himself. He lowered his head and expressed his feelings.
loyalty.
Like an old dog that has been following its owner for many years.
His teeth are no longer sharp, and his stamina is not enough to continue chasing prey.
But he still has the loyalty he once had, which can arouse the sympathy of his master.
"Tymochenko, there is a task for you to handle now. The intelligence we sent back from the east shows that the weapons used by the Chinese are very advanced."
"I need you to find out where these weapons come from? Britain or France? Why did the British and French coalition forces on the Crimean battlefield not have such weapons."
"You are now going to mobilize our people to investigate the main arsenals in Europe. At the same time, send capable personnel to go to China with our mission. Our understanding of this enemy in the east is still decades ago. This is intelligence
Dereliction of duty.”
"This is why we are defeated by China every time, and our enemies obviously know us better."
"Now we know that this alliance between China and Britain and France is premeditated, and they should be trying to get support from Britain and France."
"We are ready to have an armistice with Britain and France, but China in the east has occupied too much of our territory, which we cannot tolerate. But before punishing this enemy, we must first understand them. Tsarist Russia can no longer afford more defeats.
.”
"Do you understand? Tymochenko, I hope your loyalty can bring you good luck. Go and handle this matter well, don't think about the previous things, and don't care about other people's attitudes." Finally,
Alexander II couldn't help but expressed relief.
After all, this old dog left behind by his father can be driven by himself. Unlike many nobles in the country, who do one thing on the surface but another behind the scenes.
ps: Code words late at night, give yourself a thumbs up. Dugu Jun is not alone, I also saw readers voting late at night, thank you very much!