Just when Xiao Xuan gathered five armies and directly subordinate troops, 80,000 main forces and 30,000 Kazakh and Mongolian service troops, a total of more than 100,000 troops, completed the military buildup in the western part of the lush Eurasian steppe, and prepared to attack Eastern Europe. Europe also reached a climax in the Thirty Years' War. When the Swedes attacked Central Europe under the leadership of Gustav, the pressure on the Poles was largely reduced, and the Swedes, who had concentrated their elite forces, broke out a series of major battles with the main forces of the Russian army in the Smolensk direction from the fifth year of Chongzhen. In the direction of Smolensk, when the Russians threw a new type of army into the Smolensk direction, the Polish-Lithuanian Federation also made a decision to fight with Russia for the Smolensk region. One or two thousand elite forces, including the 24th Banner Hussar, the 27th Banner Light Cavalry, the 10th Squadron German Pistols, 7 Lithuanian Cavalry Regiments, 7 Great Dragoon Regiments, and 20 Infantry Regiments, were all engaged in the battle for the direction of operation.

However, at this time, Elder Filaret received some new information about the movement in the East. After all, the gathering of the main force of more than 100,000 troops has never been a military operation that can hide people's ears. In fact, just a year ago, the earth-shattering changes in the steppes of Central Asia had aroused the suspicion of the Russians.

According to the recent estimates of many Russian upper-class military aristocrats, even if Russia came to conquer Central Asia in person, it was not something that could be done by casually dispatching tens of thousands of horses, either the same old army of more than 100,000 troops could overwhelm the opponent, or it was necessary to dispatch those new armies trained by foreigners and re-established in accordance with the European way. Therefore, at this time, when the new Russian military forces turned to the defensive in the direction of Smolensk, they also gathered troops in the southeast direction in the prospect of troop transfer, and the main force of the archery corps with a scale of nearly 20,000 or so and about 50,000 troops, including the old Russian aristocratic cavalry and more than 30,000 Cossack cavalry, had been completely invested in the southeast direction. This also puts the Russian army in a state of being overstretched.

In this regard, Mikhail, who has already had a certain amount of experience in governing over the years, and even many people in the National Assembly also feel some puzzlement. For many Russian aristocrats with insufficient knowledge and very limited sources. The Tatars of the East are worthy of contempt and are far from being comparable to the strong enemies of the West, including the Poles. Not to mention anything else, under normal circumstances, the main force of the Russian army of 70,000 or 80,000 people can win or lose with the main cavalry group of about 200,000 of the Ottomans, and the main force of the Ottoman army is the maximum estimate of the upper limit of the combat effectiveness of the eastern army by many nobles.

For an enemy attacking from the east, which could not exceed 100,000 men according to reconnaissance, it would be possible to contain the opponent's attack in defense by relying only on 20,000 shooting troops, even if it could not win. The throwing of the main forces of the Cossacks into the eastern theater was undoubtedly very detrimental to the confrontation with the Poles.

Although the number of active troops is only about 40,000 or 50,000, the average combat effectiveness can undoubtedly be compared with that of the Russian New Army or the Shooting Corps.

"Why? Are those Orientals really so powerful? If those Orientals really have such strength, why have they never touched the river in the past hundred to hundreds of years? The scholars of the library say that the last time those Orientals touched the river was thousands of years ago... ”

"This time it's completely different. And you have to remember that as a general, you can have the necessary courage, but as a monarch elected by the National Assembly, you are accountable to everyone. Today's Russia cannot afford to face another formidable enemy in the East. At the same time, we are not really sure what the combat effectiveness of those eastern armies is, and in this case, we must adopt the principle of anticipating the enemy and be lenient and devote all the troops that can be invested, and only in this way can we avoid possible crises to the greatest extent. Do you understand? ”

"I see!" At this time, Mikhail gradually understood the intentions of the elders, and even the meaning of the National Assembly to make such a preliminary decision. However, after learning this, he continued: "The decisive battle between the Polish army and our army should not be easily decisive. As long as the new army is in the Smolensk direction, the front should oh there will not be too many problems. In this way, our army can actually mobilize more forces to devote itself to the operation against the enemy from the east. Only a crucial victory, with no chance of a draw, will be possible to completely eliminate the eastern threat in the direction of the Kazakhs to the maximum extent possible, at least for the next few years... ”

Hearing this, Filaret finally smiled with relief: "The state affairs over the years have indeed increased His Majesty's knowledge a lot... ”

In this way, more than 100,000 Russian troops, including 30,000 Cossack troops and 20,000 shooting armies, gradually completed their assembly in the southwest direction when the main group led by Xiao Xuan approached the edge of the Russian agricultural belt.

After 30 years of contest with the Poles, Russia's power and even the entire organization of political power were gradually renewed. Mobilization for war is no longer as difficult as it used to be.

Although the more than 100,000 people assembled by the Russian army, which has a sufficient population base and a base for the selection of soldiers, do not include the most elite new troops, they are not comparable to ordinary nomadic Tatar armies in the traditional sense.

Of course, before the armies of the two sides met, the Russian National Assembly still did not intend to start another war in the East in the event of a showdown with the Poles, so at the same time as the army was assembled, a special mission also came to the camp led by Xiao Xuan.

"This is not the territory of the steppe people, and I have never heard of it being the territory of the Orientals, it seems to have been the case since ancient times. I don't know why His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty led this large number of men and horses to occupy the territory of the Russians? ”

Xiao Xuan, in line with the probing tone and the attitude of expressing that he was not a barbarian who was not completely unruly, still met the Russian delegation after all. Of course, another reason is that some things in modern history make Xiao Xuan's overall impression of Russia not as bad as some people in later generations.

"Hehe, let's not get down to business, how about a few other light-hearted topics? Can you first hear a story I tell about the future of Russia and China? ”

The messenger who came was a smart person who had been selected, and he knew that he should not lose his interest, so he smiled politely and said, "I would like to hear about it."

(End of chapter)