With Shi Dakai's order, the attack on Astrakhan City officially began.

The first to be sent was 20,000 Bengali infantry, the most in the vanguard. In front of everyone's eyes, the Bengali army could not refuse, and the general of Bengal may also realize the dissatisfaction of Shi Dakai, the righteous king of the suzerain, and want to behave better, and hurriedly mobilize to capture the city of Astrakhan at any cost.

However, when 20,000 Bengali soldiers rushed through the fortifications outside the city of Astrakhan, they found that the originally lively banners on the city tower had disappeared, and the imaginary scene of artillery and muskets did not appear. It turned out that the Russian troops in the city of Astrakhan had simply withdrawn.

As soon as the attack was launched, the Russian troops in the city pretended to resist slightly, and many Caucasian soldiers immediately opened the city gates and surrendered. As a result, the city of Astrakhan, which was originally thought to be difficult to attack, was immediately occupied. Of the 3,000 Russian troops in the city, except for more than 500 who were killed by the Bengali soldiers, all the rest surrendered and were captured.

When Tao Jintang heard that the Bengali soldiers had occupied the city of Astrakhan, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "These Bengalis are really lucky!" Not only did they not teach them a lesson, but they also let them pick up the omissions and make meritorious contributions! However, it is also a good thing that the soldiers occupied the city of Astrakhan without bloodshed, and finally had a foothold on the western bank of the Caspian Sea, especially at the mouth of the lower Volga River, and from then on, we mainly occupied this Astrakhan city, and the entire Volga valley and the Caspian Sea were places where we could expand! ”

Shi Dakai led the soldiers into the city.

For being able to easily occupy Astrakhan City, Shi Dakai is still very satisfied. Of course, he has a little regret about the escape of the Russian army. However, there are still more than 2,000 wounded and sick Russian soldiers left behind in the city of Astrakhan, as well as some Russian soldiers who are unwilling to flee.

The leader of Taiji, named Fyodor Kalmyk, took the initiative to ask to see the chief general of the Chinese Empire, and Shi Dakai asked people to take him with him.

As soon as Feodor Kalmyk saw the yellow-skinned faces of Shi Dakai and Tao Jintang, Shi Mingkai and others next to him, he was stunned for a moment, and it took a long time to say in Mongolian with some excitement: "Feodor Kalmykia, a member of the Turkut tribe of the Mongol Wanghan tribe, has visited the king from Middle-earth!" I beg the king to have mercy and forgive my people, and I am willing to lead my people to your kingdom and serve the king! ”

Shi Dakai saw him, and he really looked like a Mongolian, and knew that although this person in front of him was a little playful, maybe because he was captured and wanted to live, he said this, but he was a Kalmyk, so he could make some articles, so he also asked in Mongolian: "Oh, you are a Turkut?" Isn't it the Russian soldiers defending the city of Astrakhan? ”

Fyodor Kalmyk was ashamed when he heard this, and wept with his head drooping: "The king forgives the sins, it is the sinners and other clansmen who do not know that it is the original heavenly kingdom of our clan, and the sinners are willing to die on behalf of our clan to apologize for their sins!" I beg the king to forgive me for the sake of our ancestors, who have returned to the east and sincerely attached to the land, and for the sake of our willingness to be loyal to the Celestial Empire now! ”

Seeing that he was speaking sincerely, Shi Dakai no longer tried to test it, and said directly: "In this case, then tell me about the situation of your clan, and how to be loyal to our dynasty?" There is also the situation of the Russian army, let's hear about it. ”

Fyodor Kalmyk was overjoyed, kowtowed repeatedly, and replied: "King Hui, my clan was originally a descendant of the great Mongolian hero Genghis Khan, who was originally the guardian of the Yuan Dynasty, and had been living as a nomadic herder in Huijiang and other places. Later, because of the oppression of Tsarist Russia, the king should have known about the feat of the return of the majority tribesmen of my Turghut tribe to the eastern soil. At that time, because of the urgency of the situation, there were still a small number of people in my Turkut tribe who did not have time to leave, and we are now called Kalmyks, which means those who remain. Today, there are 160,000 Kalmyks scattered along the western bank of the lower Volga River, with the main concentration further west, in the steppe around Elista, in the western part of the Astrakhan province.

My lord, our people have now become one of the important sources of cavalry in Tsarist Russia, and some people even call us Kalmyks Kalmyk Cossacks, which is an insult to us, but at the same time it also shows the strength of our people. Our tribe can produce 15,000 good war horses every year, can support tens of thousands of cavalry all year round, and can send a quarter of the clansmen to serve as temporary cavalry 40,000 in case of emergency. For the army of the Great King and the Celestial Empire to conquer Russia, I believe we can provide a lot of help! ”

Seeing that Shi Dakai's face changed slightly, Feodor Kalmyk knew that he had finally succeeded in impressing the other party, so he further added fire: "King, although our clan has a small population, because of its ability to fight well and unite as one, it has a great reputation in the lower reaches of the Volga River and even in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, and because of the perennial war for Tsarist Russia, our tribe has a lot of soldiers in the Russian army, therefore, other forces around us are in awe of us, and our people occupy a large territory on the west bank of the lower Volga River, Today, it is called the Kalmyk garrison in Tsarist Russia, and the core area is the area around the city of Elista, where only a small number of people live.

My lord, I am willing to go to Elista and persuade the Kalmyk elders there to lead the entire tribe to submit and pledge allegiance to the Celestial Empire and the Great King, and from now on, become the precursor of the Celestial Empire and the Great King's westward expedition, open up territory for the Celestial Empire, and guard the frontier for the Celestial Empire! ”

Shi Dakai finally nodded with satisfaction, stepped forward to help Feodor Kalmyk up, and said, "Okay! With such an awareness, Sir is worthy of being the leader of the nobility, and doing so will undoubtedly be beneficial to the nobility in the future! As long as the gentleman can persuade the Kalmyk elders of the Elista to let the entire Kalmyk people submit to our Chinese Empire, this king is in charge, and treat you and others with his own people and the people of the empire, without discrimination! As long as our Chinese Empire exists for one day, it will not let the nobles be bullied, so that the nobles' clansmen can live and work in peace and contentment, and reproduce from generation to generation! ”

When Feodor Kalmyk heard that Shi Dakai had agreed to his submission, he was so excited that he struggled to crawl in front of Shi Dakai and wept with tears in his eyes: "Thank you for your kindness!" Our clan is willing to defend this land for generations to come, for the Heavenly Empire and for the king! ”

Shi Dakai hurriedly helped him up, and asked differently: "Okay, your thoughts, this king knows, and he will report to His Majesty, and when this king completes his western expedition, he will ask His Majesty for credit to the nobles and you!" By the way, do you know the situation of the Russian troops in the city of Astrakhan and where they have gone? ”

"My lord, the city of Astrakhan was originally garrisoned by 28,000 Russian troops, of which nearly 1,000 were our Kalmyks. Yesterday, several messengers suddenly came to report that the Caucasian Army and the Yergeny Army on the other side of the Volga River in the east had all been defeated and almost completely annihilated, and that the Celestial Empire army was about to attack. When the Russian commander in the city heard this, he was so frightened that he hurriedly led his troops to flee.

Because of the panic at that time, the Russian army commander in the city only arranged for 3,000 soldiers to guard the city of Astrakhan, so that everyone bluffed and made it look like many troops were stationed in the city, so as to buy time for their escape. We had almost a thousand Kalmyk soldiers, most of whom were cavalry, and were taken away.

As for where the 25,000 Russian troops stationed in the city of Astrakhan fled, we really don't know. However, my guess is that it should have fled to Tsaritsyn in the upper reaches of the Volga to assemble, where there are still quite a few Russian troops stationed. ”

Shi Dakai learned from the words of Feodor Kalmyk that the fleeing commanders and officers of the Caucasian and Yergeny regiments on the east bank of the Volga did not come to Astrakhan at all, probably knowing that this Astrakhan city could not be held at all, and fled directly to the upper reaches of the Volga by crossing the river.

As a result, there will be no more Russian troops in the entire lower Volga basin. As long as you find the Volga Inland Naval Division, you will find the fleeing officers. Moreover, there has been no news of the combined cavalry team of the Chinese Empire's westward expedition, which lured the other part of the fleet of the inland water division at the beginning.

Shi Dakai was ready to settle the Western Expeditionary Army and garrison it in this Astrakhan City for a few days, firstly, to let the United Army rest a little, and secondly, to wait for news from the cavalry that went north.