Chapter 85 Declare war on the Ottoman Empire for the dignity of the citizens of a great country

The Ottoman sultans could hear the Ottoman Sultan's broadcast. After listening to the radio of the Yaogang people, he regretted very much that he had listened to the words of a minister, and ordered the Ming Dynasty merchants in Istanbul to be arrested and their shops sealed. Now the kiln gang was very angry, and the sultan felt as if the kiln gang people were waiting for his stupid trick. They threatened on the radio that they would be compensated by ten Ottoman nobles for the injury of one of them, and it seemed that the Ming Dynasty valued them very much, but they had a one-day time limit to solve this matter, which seemed to be a complete trap. Not to mention, whether the empire can agree to their conditions, even if they agree, there is not enough time for their orders to be sent back to Istanbul, it seems that the Yaogang people want to start a full-scale war in the Ottoman Empire. In fact, even if you have time to give your own order, you can't just agree to it, in that case, the empire will have nowhere to put its face, and you will not be able to sit on the throne of the sultan. The Sultan understood that he had given the Ming people an excuse to attack the Ottoman Empire. But he didn't understand what the purpose of the Ming Dynasty was. If the Ming Dynasty just wanted to destroy the Ottoman Empire, there was no need to make such a strenuous effort, just attack Istanbul directly. It seems that they do not mean to destroy the Ottoman Empire. Is it true that they are just trying to get these places that the Russians have given them?

In any case, the Sultan did not care about the rest of the matter, and he did his best to urge his army to speed up the march to Moscow. But the blows one after another, first the warships that entered the Don River were sunk by the Ming Dynasty artillery, and then the hundreds of thousands of cavalry on the west bank of the Don River who were preparing to block the Ming Dynasty army were covered by the powerful artillery fire of the Ming Dynasty, and the camp was covered by countless casualties, and only tens of thousands of people fled back. That is to say, more than 100,000 cavalry were crippled and defeated before they could meet the Ming Dynasty army. The Sultan felt a chill in his back, and he really felt that the Ming Dynasty army was so powerful that the Ottoman Empire could not compete with it. Not to mention, the land they asked for was promised to them by the Russian Empire, even if these lands were still from the Ottoman Empire, if the Ming Dynasty wanted it, the Ottoman Empire would not dare not give it. The Ming Dynasty wanted to return this piece of land in this way, which can be regarded as giving all sides.

The Sultan had no other way, if he could attack Moscow as soon as possible and force the Tsar to surrender, perhaps he would have a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty. At this time, the red-eyed Sultan overseers fasted forward and ordered the Western Front army to speed up the offensive as well.

When the tsar rushed back to Moscow day and night in a car, he thought that he needed to find a way to introduce the signing of the border demarcation agreement with the Ming Dynasty to the ministers, and try to save some face for himself. But I didn't expect that the Kremlin, including Moscow, knew about it. It was much more than the blow to the Muscovites from their defeat on the front. The Ming Dynasty shop in Moscow was also smashed by some people, and they had to send a lot to protect them.

Back in the Kremlin, the tsar found that many people were packing their luggage and preparing to escape, and he shouted angrily: "Inform it, from now on, those who dare to escape from Moscow, kill!" ”

The Tsar said, "Lao Tzu hasn't run yet, but you want to run for your lives first!" ”

The emperor entered the Kremlin and first rushed into the bath to wash off the dust, and then left to convene the imperial council, and simply told everyone the news of their defeat at the front. Although everyone knew the news, the fact that the tsar himself came out still made everyone very upset.

Someone asked: "Your Majesty, it is difficult for our military forces in Moscow to stop the Ottoman attack!" Are we fighting or leaving, just waiting for you to speak? ”

"Humph! We're not going anywhere! The Tsar glanced around, "Haven't you heard about it?" We signed a demarcation agreement with the Ming Dynasty, this is true, there is no need to doubt it! ”

"Boom!" There was a discussion below. Although I heard the Yaogang people say this on the radio, many people still don't want to believe it. They would rather hear the news of the defeat at the front than accept the news that such a large piece of land was given to the Ming Dynasty, for many years, it has always been the Russian Empire that has been constantly expanding its territory, and it should not cede land!

After listening to everyone's discussion for a while, the tsar said: "This is the price we pay for not leaving Moscow!" The Ming Dynasty has already waged war against the Ottoman Empire, and the momentum of their attack on us will soon be weak. We need to take a pluck and send troops as far as possible to delay the momentum of the Ottoman offensive. The army of the Ming Dynasty will soon be working behind them! ”

Someone asked: "Your Majesty, we just heard on the radio that the Ottoman Empire has captured the merchants of the Ming Dynasty in Istanbul and sealed the shop!" The Ming Dynasty informed them that they would be given one day to release all the personnel and compensate for the losses. Otherwise, war will be declared on them! ”

"Huh? That's when I heard about it, so the Ming Dynasty's claim that it took action against the Ottoman Empire is not false. The Tsar was a little excited to hear such news, and now he had long recovered from the frustration of defeat and the loss of large pieces of land, "We are safer in Moscow!" Let me tell you, last time, when Mr. Lu, a native of the Ming Dynasty, came to Moscow to have a secret conversation with me, he explained that they would never allow the Ottoman Empire to occupy the whole of Moscow! ”

"But! The price we paid was just too great! "Some people also say that they feel sorry for the lost land.

"Huh!" The tsar smiled bitterly twice, "If we don't give it to them, we will also be occupied by the Ottoman Empire." Besides, I heard from the people of the Ming Dynasty on the road that they always thought that this place was originally from the Ming Dynasty, and they must recapture this place. We can't defeat the Ottoman Empire, and there is no way to lose here, but we will not lose money in exchange for the support of the Ming Dynasty with a favor! ”

The Tsar, who had returned to Moscow, immediately organized all the troops at his disposal and went out to stop the attack of the delayed Ottoman army.

A day later, Ningde, who had been well prepared, led his army and began to attack westward from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. The Ningde army mainly had a cavalry corps, an infantry corps, and 10,000 Mongol cavalry. A heavy artillery division. and Li Jing left them 300 special forces.

The roads leading to the west were all mountainous roads, which had been built to allow cars to trade with the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottoman outposts along the way have been strengthened, they can not stop the Yaogang cavalry. Due to the fact that there are many military departments on both sides, the defenders surrendered knowing that they were invincible, and they surrendered with symbolic resistance, and the Yaogang soldiers would also entertain them with good food and drink. These captives lived very casually in the prisoner camp set up by the Yaogang people, so that they could not run. When outsiders come in, they would never think that this is a prisoner camp.

At the same time as the Yaogang people attacked, they also began to broadcast on the radio, and also broadcast the pledge meeting in real time. Their reason for the expedition was simple: to deal with the merchants who had been rudely detained by the Ottoman Empire. The Yaogang soldiers are telling the world that no matter where our people are bullied in the world, we will not agree. Our human dignity is higher than the sky!

This was also printed in the newspapers. The newspapers were quickly sold out. This sentence has greatly enhanced the dignity of the citizens of a big country. The entire Ming Dynasty was talking about it.

Because Empress Zhou proposed to Xiaoqing for the third prince, Huang Yukun did not agree, and the emperor felt very faceless, and basically did not interact with Zhang Zhimu during this time.

The emperor heard that the war on the Western Front was going on again, and he was very concerned about this matter, although there were also internal advisers to the emperor to introduce some information, but the emperor felt that he could not quench his thirst, and wanted to ask the command center, but he did not want to go over because of the matter of proposing. However, he heard on the radio and in the newspapers that he wanted to seek justice for the merchants who had been captured by the Ottoman Empire and the shops they had been sealed, and declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Especially mentioning that our human dignity is higher than the sky, which makes the emperor feel a little angry. I didn't care about any face, so I came to the command center by car.

Zhang Zhimu and several kiln gang officials happened to be here, and the emperor was invited in, and immediately complained: "Zhang Dongjia, you are too disagreeable, such a big thing, I don't know if it will be a word!" ”

"Oops! Your Majesty, I'm really sorry! Zhang Zhimu hurriedly apologized, "Look at it, we haven't left the command center for the past few days." Things are different from what we originally expected, and many things have to be decided again, which is a bit rude to the emperor! ”

"Hey! I know you're busy, can you just have someone give me a call? I want to know about the situation ahead, too! Emperor Chongzhen also recycled the words.

"Yes, yes! I won't make such a mistake next time! Zhang Zhimu said, "We didn't expect that the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire would go to war so early." I thought they had to wait until the weather was warm and the grass was green before going to war! We had planned to wait for our ships to reach the Black Sea and then make another effort. Now everything is messed up! ”

"Tell me about your march to the Ottoman Empire this time, do you want to destroy them?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"No, it's not! Emperor! "We want to open a passage from the south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea." Zhang Zhimu stood up and pointed to the map and said, "We have sent people to occupy these places north of the Greater Caucasus, especially since we have signed an agreement with the Russian Empire to formally take over these places." But south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, we have no access to the Black Sea, and this is very important. The purpose of our dispatch is to occupy the Black Sea south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. ”

"Oh! It's an excuse for you to go and rescue us merchants! "Emperor Chongzhen understood.

"It's an excuse and one of the purposes!" Zhang Zhimu said, "The Ottoman Empire just won't capture our people, and we have to find a way to occupy a place here." If they give us excuses, why don't we? ”

"Huh! Right, right! It's best to be famous in this way! Emperor Chongzhen said, "How is the progress ahead now?" ”

"Let's ask Mr. Ouyang to introduce this matter!" Zhang Zhimu said.

"Yes, yes! Mr. Ouyang, tell me about the situation ahead? ”

Mr. Ouyang came to the map with a smile, picked up the indicator pole, pointed to the map and said, "General Ningde, they set out from the south bank of the Caspian Sea and attacked all the way to the west, and the momentum was like a bamboo!" There is nothing blocking at all! We have one more way, attacking south from the direction of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. There was also little formal resistance from the army. All the Ottoman armies fled all the way. The captives we captured were very obedient, and in the words of the front-line soldiers, let them not run! However, since the area was mountainous, they were able to follow the repaired road, but their search for a new road in the direction of the Black Sea was fruitless, and now they were attacking west along the road. We want to wait until the Ottoman Empire sends representatives to sue for peace, and then we will propose to them our conditions for solving the problem. ”

"With our strength, it is possible to defeat them completely!" Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand.

"It's possible!" Ouyang He said, "But if we defeat them, we will have to send people to govern there, and we can't kill all of them!" We're going to be burdened! It is better for us to control them militarily and economically, which is in our best interest! ”

"If you don't die if you fight a tiger, you will suffer from it!" Emperor Chongzhen said.

"We control them economically and politically, and we don't allow them to develop too much military power. If they don't listen to us, we can disarm them at any time. There are still many countries in the West, and we can't destroy them all! Ouyang He said, "We fight a war, just clarify our goals!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen obviously disagreed with this method, but he did not speak again.

Chen Yufeng crossed the topic with a smile, "Hehe! I think it's time for us to start designing the canal between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea! ”

Lu Bingyi took over the topic and said: "We have collected some information over there before. Now one of our teams has followed General Li Wei and them over there, and when they actually measure it, I am making a decision, how to dig this canal! ”

"I still propose to dig this canal from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov! Although it is much farther than digging directly from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. But the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov is a steppe. And from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea is to turn over from the mountains. Much more difficult! Ouyang He said.

"We are also inclined to plan from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov, but let's wait for them to get first-hand information!" Lu Bingyi said.

"War is a terrible demon that is extremely harmful to the people around the battlefield. But objectively, the people there can't eat, and they also provide us with a lot of labor to dig the canal. As long as we have enough food, there will be a lot of labor! Zhang Zhimu said.

"Don't forget, if the Ottomans go to war with us, there will be a lot of prisoners!" Yan Boju said with his little eyes squeezed.

"Huh! I'm afraid that the Ottoman Sultan will not be enough to be a master, and he will bear first! Zhang Zhimu said.

Ouyang He said: "No, if the Sultan goes back if he doesn't fight, he won't be able to sit in the position of the Sultan!" Whether it is lost or won, the Sultan will fight. Then go back to the parliament to discuss whether to continue the war or peace talks! This is dictated by their political system! ”

Although the Sultan asked the generals to control the radio, they were not allowed to hear the news of the Ming Dynasty's attack on the Ottoman Empire. But there was still news leaking out. The army was disheartened, and there was no idea of fighting again. In particular, the army sent by the tsar became more and more courageous. Although they couldn't stop the Ottoman army, they destroyed bridges and highways, and constantly harassed them, making the Ottoman army's offensive progress slow.

As soon as the Sultan saw it, before he could storm Moscow, Istanbul might be occupied by the Ming Dynasty army. In desperation, the Sultan convened a meeting of his generals to discuss whether to advance or retreat. As a result, almost all of them felt that it was time to retreat in the future. No matter what, if you go back to fight or talk with the Ming Dynasty, you have to go back first. Now the logistics channels are cut off by sea and on the greater Caucasus, and the army often relies on grabbing food along the way to survive. Due to the fact that many black fire materials were intercepted by the Ming Dynasty army on the east bank of the Don River, the refurbishment of musket bullets could not be carried out, and the artillery had to be spared. Although thousands of muskets were captured in the decisive battle, they were useless without bullets.

The Sultan sighed: "O Allah! We withdraw, and it must be Your will! ”

The retreat of more than a million troops was not a simple matter, and this time they could not retreat from the Eastern Front, so they could only take the Western Front. In order to go back and solve the problems of the Ming Dynasty, the Sultan and the senior generals secretly discussed, and he quietly left at night with the cavalry of the 10,000 Sipasi Guards and hurried back to Istanbul. The other armies could not retreat immediately, but stopped the offensive first, and mobilized the troops in the name of reorganizing the army to facilitate the resumption of the war, forming a situation of echelon retreat and mutual cover and retreat.

After making this decision, the Sultan's heart was broken, he knew that if he withdrew like this, it would be difficult to say whether there would be a chance to return here in the future, and he didn't know if the complete destruction of the Russian Empire could be completed. Now not only can the Russian Empire not be destroyed, but there is one more Ming Dynasty as a fierce enemy.

When it was dark, and there was no one to see him off, the Sultan quietly boarded the four-wheeled steel-reed carriage he had bought from the kiln, and left the camp under the escort of the Cipasy Guard, and ran back in the night. Only the senior commander of the Sipasi Guards knew the destination in front of the Sultan, and the rest of the rank-and-file would know that it was time to return to Istanbul. However, the Cypasi Guards are absolute confidants of the Sultan, they will not ask, but they will defend the Sultan to the death.

However, to the Sultan's irony, they ate instant noodles and canned beef from Yaogang bought at a high price. On the way, the Sultan was so anxious that he used a hand-cranked radio. Every day, the radio would report the news of the Ming Dynasty army's attack there. What made the Sultan angry was that there were so many castle outposts along the way of the Ming Dynasty army's attack, and the soldiers there couldn't beat the Ming Dynasty army, so couldn't they stop it and delay their attack?

How did the Sultan know that his officers and soldiers had not seen the Ming Dynasty army, so they sorted out their weapons and put them aside and waited to surrender!