Chapter 81 Strategy to Russia (1)

On September 29, the foreign minister Nieselro fell to the Count, the wealth minister Fulong Zhenke, and the cousin of the former Tsar Alexander II, Marquis Rollin entered the malachite hall of the Winter Palace. This place was decorated with bright green malachite that was rarely seen at the time, and a layer of gilded layer was added to make it look more magnificent. The palace guards in bright and luxurious clothes opened the same gilded door, and three merries entered one after another. In front of the pillars opposite to each other, the Russian Emperor Alexander II was smiling and listening to his uncle Prince Constantine.

"...Yes, my dear Your Majesty, I have reason to believe that in November when it is about to become colder in the future, the Chinese will repeat the mistakes of the French, choose to leave the city of Jaquessa in shame, and return all the land that has been consumed from the blood of Chinese soldiers to our hands one by one. By then, the respected His Majesty will recreate the glory of Alexander I! Instead of allowing the Chinese to leave decently, it is also to ask for your kindness of your Majesty the Emperor!"

Alexander II smiled and nodded, "I don't think that allowing them to leave decently after being hurt by the Chinese is a gentleman's duty. On the contrary, I want the Chinese to know that any act of daring to hurt our country will have to pay a heavy price." As he said that, he waved to the people who came in, "My dear friend, please come to me."

Nesserro fell and was secretly angry. The love affairs on the battlefield were so unfavorable to his country. Is His Highness still instilling in the emperor any lies of victory? He gave Constantine a blank look, walked to the emperor, took off his hat and bowed, picked up the hand that the emperor reached out and kissed, "Dear Your Majesty, your faithful servant greets you."

"Please sit, my Count." said the Tsar with a smile, "I am talking to the prince. The topic is about the Chinese people's request to stop the battle and to be able to peacefully define each other's borders through negotiation!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my stupidity and ignorance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any news that the Chinese intend to resolve the dispute between them through negotiations, and I don't know even more..."

"This is the news I just got." Constantine immediately interrupted his words, "it was conveyed through the British Minister to Petersburg, His Excellency Wittomar. However, it was only verbally conveyed."

Nesserro did not believe a word about the prince's words. Instead, he knew that after the battle, Russia sent a special envoy from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the second time, expressing to the British that he hoped to get mediation from the British, temporarily suspend the hostilities between the two countries, and resolve the border dispute between Yaxa and China and Russia through negotiations. This time, he returned the votes for the Chinese. From September 26, the Qing army gathered in Xia Udinsk, which was less than thirty miles away from Yaxa, and a total of fifty-eight battalions of combat troops, not including the artillery of the thirty-one battalions.

Yaquesa is the first strong city in Russia to manage the Far East, even surpassing Irkutsk, the capital of East and West Siberia. In the city, the Chinese people live in mixed cities, with a total population of around 600,000. After the war began, in order to prevent the Chinese in the city from taking the opportunity to make trouble, the Russian commander stationed in Yaquesa summed up all the Chinese and lived in designated areas. Although life was barely possible, it was already a huge difference compared to before the war.

This time, China has always refused to accept the request for peace talks and gathered heavily to the city. The Earl of Nesserro fell to the ground. On the one hand, it was to give its own harsh lessons to completely resolve the dispute between the two countries. On the other hand, it was also caused by the Russian military guards who left no room for work and angered the Chinese.

This time he entered the palace, his original intention was to ask His Majesty the Tsar to communicate with China through the decree of His Majesty the Emperor to resolve the imminent crisis. If the situation is unsolvable, even if Mushaviev is sacrificed, Constantine could consider it, but he rushed to the front of him and blocked all the words back.

He thought for a while and finally said, "Your Majesty, the fall of Udinsk has exposed Yaksa to the siege of the Central Team. In this case, I think that if the border guards in the city and the more than 27,000 soldiers of the Second Siberian Infantry Corps cannot guarantee the safety of our country's strategic base in the Far East and the lives and property of the 570,000 people in the city."

"Please rest assured that the honorable Count, the Governor of East and West Siberia, Mr. Mushaviev, and General Lynevich, led the Third Siberian Legion and the Mixed Legion, and the Kuban Cossacks to enter the city of Yaquesa on September 16th. So far, the number of defenders in the city has exceeded 100,000! In this case, do you think there will be any defensive problems?"

Nesserro was stunned, ": Is this true?"

"It's true," said Alexander II. "This matter was approved by General Alchemeyev and His Highness of the General Staff, and I personally approved it."

"If that's the case," Nesserro fell to the count smiled, "There's nothing to worry about."

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On September 30, after two months of hard fighting and 10,378 people were killed and 14,020 injured, the main Qing army unit, the soldiers were outside the city of Jaxa, and they were about to launch a large-scale attack only after the imperial edict of His Majesty the Emperor who moved to the city of Jeyayliannesk was passed down.

Both China and Russia know that the Battle of Jaxa is already the last battle between the two countries since the war began on the first day of August. If we take this place, if Russia penetrates into the Heilongjiang River Basin in China, the civilian forces will be uprooted; on the contrary, if we cannot take this place, all the previous efforts will become useless.

Yishan passed everyone to his tent and said loudly, "The emperor is wise and teaches the strategy. Only when my green camp soldiers can achieve today's achievements. Now the enemy is hiding in the city of Yaksa. The emperor's saint came to the city of Jieyayiliannesk, waiting for the great news of us breaking the city and annihilation of the enemy. I hope you will take the lead and try your best to kill the enemy. In addition to reporting the emperor's kindness, you can also compete for a wife and son for everyone, and live up to your husband's life!"

He paused and said, "When he left the city yesterday, the Lord Zhongtang met with me and told me that the Russians were unscrupulous and took advantage of the war between the two countries to harm the people of the Qing Dynasty in Yaquesa. All kinds of illegal things are hard to write about. For such people, there is no need to use any kindness and forgiveness. Therefore, after the city is broken, the laws will not be implemented within three days. The property obtained will be shared by soldiers, and the court will not ask about it!"

Cheng Xueqi and others were both surprised and happy. This method of looting was used when facing the Stretiansk Fortress. However, there was nothing valuable in the fortress that was stationed and defended. After the soldiers entered, they searched everywhere, and they were just military equipment, drugs, combat preparation materials, etc. Most people ended up returning empty-handed. Naturally, their morale was very low. This time it was different. Jaxas was run by the Russians for many years, and there must be many valuable assets in the city. Since it was said by Su Zhongtang, it must have been approved or acquiesced by the emperor. In this way, in addition to making contributions, they could also make a fortune? I feel happy when I think about it!

There are many people who have the idea of ​​Cheng Xueqi, but some people disagree with it, just like Lin Wencha. The two countries fight, each with their own strategy, fight against each other, and kill them to death. This is all a matter of course. As for the Chinese people in the city of Jaxa, it is not unacceptable to summarize and arrange their residence for strategic reasons. Lin Wencha thought to himself that even if he was the chief officer of the Russian army, in this case, he would have the same way as the other party’s inquiry. Moreover, if the troops are plundered, the evil examples must not be made! Once a habitual system is formed, what is the difference between the Green Camp Army and the robbers in the mountains and dense forests?

He wanted to argue a few words, but the admiral of a province seemed extremely glorious, but in the commander of the army, the minister of the Military Affairs Department, and the emperor, he didn't even have a chance to make a statement! Not to mention that he would offend his colleagues in the army for this? Turning back, they all smiled, as if the city was broken in front of him, and everyone could get a lot of gold, silver and jewelry. He hesitated for a moment, swallowing up the words in his heart.

Listening to the vulgar words that everyone said, Lin Wencha felt very ashamed. He looked around and saw all the excited smiling faces. He sighed in his heart and turned his mind to the war that was about to begin.

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The Russian army's large-scale mobilization could temporarily hide from its foreign ministers, but not from the Qing army. On September 20, the Qing army stationed in Lower Udinsk discovered a large number of Russian troops heading from west to Yaksa City, and sent people to investigate carefully. They learned that it was Mushaviev and the combat commander of China, Lynevich, led troops from Irkutsk to the front line. In this way, the total number of Russian troops stationed in Yaksa City exceeded 90,000. With the existing forces of the Qing army, it was still in the position of attacking the side. It would be difficult to achieve the desired victory in the war. In this case, a very bold idea was formed in the emperor's mind.

In the city of Jeyayliannesk, the residence of Brigadier General Villedniski, the commander of the Russian army in the city, was temporarily changed to the emperor's bedroom. At the end of September, the day was short and the night was long. It was just past Shenshi and it was mostly dark. The emperor sat on a Western seat behind a walnut desk and listened to Sushun's speech, "...I think that although there are Russian troops in the city of Jaxa, they are ready to resist desperately, but facing the brave and unparalleled attack power of our Green Camp soldiers, they will soon be defeated. It is like since the war began on the first day of August, the Russian troops in the city are vulnerable to the fighting power of the fortresses in various places."

The emperor smiled and asked Xu Naizhao who was kneeling aside, "Xu Naizhao, what do you think of the upcoming Battle of Yaquessa in the future?"

"I think that the morale of the Green Camp is strong and the morale of the army can be boosted. Therefore, we should strike while the iron is hot and take down Yaquesa City as soon as possible. In addition to the division of troops, other soldiers should be arranged to return to the pass as soon as possible." Xu Naizhao said, "However, I think that Yaquesa City is the fundamental place where Russia has been operating in the Heilongjiang River Basin for many years. It is not an ordinary fortress, comparable to towns, and strong city, and there are also heavy troops to guard it. It is not easy to take it down. It is also necessary to plan carefully."

The emperor smiled and looked at Sushun, "Did you hear it?" He said, "Xu Naizhao has truly read books, no more than you, but he relied on his little cleverness to think that the city of Jaques was like a native chicken and a tile dog, and could be easily drawn! If it was so easy, with the mighty and great strategy of Emperor Shengzu Ren, why did it take more than a year to achieve success?"

Sushun did not expect that the emperor would get angry about such a reply, so he hurriedly met, "Yes, the servant is confused, the servant is worried, please forgive me for your crime."

"I think that since the Russians are reluctant to abandon the city of Yaquesa, our army will not be able to fight with it here. It is better to take dangerous moves and go around the city and take the enemy's throat. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for not understanding."

Seeing Xu Naizhao's face was also confused, the emperor smiled, "Yaksa, of course, also wants to attack, but only do feint attacks. The focus of our attack is on Irkutsk more than a thousand miles away. Do you think there is a way to act?"

Xu Naizhao and Su Shun were shocked! Bypassing Yaksa and turning to attack Irkutsk? This is certainly feasible in tactical terms, but there are several problems. The first is the weather. In the end of September, the weather in the northeast is cold, and it is still within a tolerable range. The longer the time is delayed, the more unfavorable it is for the Qing army sleeping in the wilderness; the second is to attack the troops from afar, and the military strategists do not take it. Irkutsk is the place where the governor of the East and West Siberia is stationed in the festival. The environment and terrain are only seen on the map, and no one has arrived in person. He is not aware of it.

How to fight? Third, compared with Yaxa, Irkutsk is a must-have for the enemy to rescue. Even if it can be conquered for a while, it is afraid it will not be able to defend. Finally, the most difficult point is the equipment of troops. In this Northeast battle, the Qing army invested less than 300 battalions in total, with a total of nearly 100,000 people. However, after many conquests, there were heavy casualties. So far, there are only 60,000 troops available, and it is barely used to attack Yaxa. If a part of the people is distributed to attack Irkutsk, the force will be too short of strength.

Seeing the two of them feeling sad, the emperor smiled, "I know what you are thinking, but it's just all kinds of causes and conditions that gather here. I dare not play such a big game of chess, right?"

"Emperor, I dare not resist the orders of my king and father, but attacking Irkutsk from afar, our army is insufficient, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to continue in the future."

"Your words are not unreasonable, but I want not only one Yaksha, but the entire Baikal!" The emperor stood up and said loudly, "Lake Baikal was originally owned by our Celestial Empire, and now it is occupied by the Russians. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to go to war with Russia and the empty city of Irkutsk to take this city over - in the future, we will completely drive the Russians out of Siberia! Use this land as a place for the livestock of our Celestial Empire!"

Even if Sushun obeys the emperor's words, he still doesn't agree with it in his heart. It's natural that it's easy to say, but how can it be done?

Of course, the emperor made such a decision not on a whim. To defeat Jaxa and expel the Russians from the Northeast, it can only be regarded as a treatment method for symptoms. If we talk about the root cause, we must completely solve the Russians' power in the Siberian region. To achieve such a strategic goal, we must control the line of Lake Baikal.

There is a long distance from Yaksa at the Qing army's camp to Irkutsk. If you walk on the water in April and May, you can walk faster and lighter in the season when the river water is thawed. In such a season, it is not an appropriate choice to conduct a long-distance marching of nearly two or three thousand miles, but it is precisely because of this that you can get the effect of surprises! You have to go by land, you have to pass through the Nibchu, the Karmada River, the Karmada River, the Karmada River, and the Selengesk, and then pass through the frozen southern shore of Lake Baikal to reach Irkutsk. If you think that this kind of marching is not difficult and can complete combat missions for the brave green camp soldiers, then crossing the Yabronov Mountains between the Karmada River and the Selengesk is an almost impossible task!

But because of this, the Russian army would never have thought that the Qing army would have such a surprise soldier. Once it made contributions, it would completely disrupt the Russians' strategic layout in the Far East. Under such weather conditions, it would be almost impossible to send troops from the country to reinforce! As for the Russian army guarding the city of Jaxa, it was just a bonus for such a big bet.

But he did not dare to implement the above, until the Russian command system advanced east from Irkutsk to the city of Yaksa, which forced him to make up his mind to catch him off guard while the enemy was empty! According to his judgment, Mushaviev could be regarded as a visionary strategist in Irkutsk. However, since the beginning of the comprehensive war, he was not such a talent for adding fuel to the Russians. If his plan could work, as long as there were up to ten battalions of troops, he could complete such a tactical assault that could drive the Russians crazy.

After thinking about it all night, the emperor's spirit seemed so excited that it was in Jingyu's eyes. He thought seriously about the whole night. He thought that this matter was the one Hu Damao! He immediately sent an order and held the troops temporarily in the battle of attacking Yaquesa, waiting for the next order. At the same time, he recruited Zhu Hongzhang, Zhang Yunlan and Hu Damao back to Jieyayiliannesk to meet him.

The decree arrived in the army. The three men handed over military affairs. They rode fast horses and returned to Jieyayiliannesk city in the biting cold wind. They met in front of the emperor and then knelt on their knees waiting for the emperor's inquiry, "Come to the war room with me."

Entering the war room, facing the huge sand table, the emperor pointed with his hand, "I want to send you three to lead the troops, take the infernal path, go west to Irkutsk, and take down the enemy's first confidant place. Do you dare to go?"

Zhang Yunlan didn't know the depth of it, so the first one was to kneel down, "The master has his life, and the servant will never refuse!"

With him doing this, Zhang Yunlan and Hu Damao could not hesitate. A little bit of wandering and wandering will cause the crime of turning around! "As a soldier, I am a member of the king and father, and I am a member of the position of the inner rank. I ask the emperor to issue an imperial edict and lead the troops immediately."

"There is no need to hurry to set out, it will be within one or two days. But before that, there are some things to tell you," said the emperor. "The journey to Irkutsk is far and the next step; the time of the sky is uncertain, and it is also something to accept. There is only one section, after reaching the enemy's hinterland, you are afraid that you will immediately welcome the enemy's fierce attack. I think that even the enemy troops in the city of Yaksa should also swarm out and embark on the way to return home to rescue. After that, the Green Camp can follow the attack, but the pressure Yuer and others will not be of great help. If any of you think this trip is too difficult, I will swear by the spirits of the ancestors and ancestors in heaven, and I will never have any discrimination about this."

"Please rest assured, I will do my best to serve you, so as not to give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage of it." Zhu Hongzhang said, "I think that the soldiers of the Green Camp have been repeatedly favored by the country and will never retreat in fear."

"That's good, that's good." The emperor smiled with satisfaction and asked, "Although I can make a plan, I don't know much about military affairs. Zhu Hongzhang, you have been in the army for many years. How many people do you think you should bring?"

"I think that there must be no less than ten battalions of troops."

"Will this be too...less?"

"When I say to the emperor, there are many people, which can ensure sufficient troops during the battle, but the Russians' fortresses are everywhere on the road. If there are too many people, it will be easily exposed." Zhu Hongzhang said, "I think the combat power of the ten battalions is just right."

"Okay, I will give you a day, Zhu Hongzhang, you can report to Sushun himself. He will allocate it to Sushun. Have you heard it?"

Zhu Hongzhang, Hu Damao and Zhang Yunlan were very busy in Jieyayiliannesk city. They drew strong and energetic soldiers from the camps to which they belonged, and asked for an order temporarily. From the front, they transferred back to the remaining thirty people who had already achieved the Dushi mission with Hu Damao. Finally, they found a local merchant who had been in Irkutsk for many years and asked him to be a guide, but the merchant shook his head like a rattle, "How can this be done? In such a season, people will die on the road! No, no!"

In the end, there was no choice but to add more bounties. With the heavy reward, the merchant agreed and everything was ready and the troops set off. This day was September 28, the eleventh year of Xianfeng.
Chapter completed!