The battle to capture the Matsue domain was the most tragic battle since Kyushu became king, and the 60,000-strong army in this battle was nearly 8,000 killed and more than 20,000 wounded. After this battle, the Kyushu army felt a little broken, and in order to deal with the upcoming shogunate's western expedition, Zheng Zhilong decided to take a defensive position.

Zhu Youxiao's side was also very concerned about the battle in Dongying, "The battle of Songjiang Domain is over?" ”

"Yes, it was not easy for the Kyushu Army to win this battle, and it has already affected the next war." Wang Liqian replied.

"The shogunate is gathering a large army and preparing for a decisive battle with Zheng Zhilong?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Yes, according to the spies, the number of troops gathered by the shogunate this time may be more than 100,000." Wang Liqian said.

Zheng Zhilong's name is not right, so that almost no daimyo is willing to support him, and even none of the external daimyo are willing to support him. It's unpredictable to win or lose this duel! Zhu Youxiao said.

"Your Majesty, the King of Kyushu has been inviting celebrities from the Jiangnan area to Dongying, but no one is willing to go until now." Wang Liqian said.

"How is Qian Qianyi now?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Although people are disabled, they have a good life in Taiwan." Wang Liqian replied.

"He is extremely famous in the south of the Yangtze River, and he will find a way to let him take the lead." Zhu Youxiao said, "Yes, there is also a Gong Dingyu, let them take the lead, and someone will naturally go." ”

"Zheng Zhilong has a bad name, which makes him unattractive to scholars, if Wang Niangniang can appear in Kyushu with the prince, all problems will be solved." Wang Liqian said.

"Isn't there no way to solve this problem now?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"Now that the state is in chaos, the spies over there have come with news, and they should have a chance to act." Wang Liqian said.

"If you want to do it, do it beautifully, and don't leave flaws." Zhu Youxiao said.

"No."

……

On 19 June, Yushiwei set out from Yakutsk with 15,000 infantry and 5,000 dragoons to attack Turukhansk.

On June 21, Chen Si led an army of 50,000 out of Mongolia and attacked Bratsk.

On June 28, Chen Si's army crossed the Beihai Sea and entered the Angara River Valley, and in order to protect the logistics and transportation, Chen Si established the first castle after the dispatch of troops at the source of the Angara River, which was named Suwu City. Historically, Suvu shepherded sheep in the North Sea, which is now Lake Baikal.

Chen Si's army marched upstream, and by mid-July, the vanguard of the army had appeared near the city of Bratsk. Since the breakdown of negotiations between Ming and Russia, the Russian army has strengthened its defenses in Bratsk. In order to solve the problem of weak troops, the Russian general Khabarov moved all the troops and weapons of Kiliansk to Bratsk, and then destroyed Kiliansk. Now the defenders of Bratsk have more than three thousand people.

On July 17, the Ming army surrounded Bratsk. The next day, Chen Si sent an envoy to persuade him to surrender, but he did not receive a reply from the defenders of Bratsk.

On 22 July, Chen Si launched an attack on Bratsk.

The Ming army had a large number of artillery, but most of them were light artillery, and the Russian army took advantage of its geographical advantage to concentrate the artillery of two strongholds, and the two sides were inseparable in the battle of artillery.

The Russian army in Siberia is dominated by Cossack soldiers, who are extremely brave and good at fighting. Although the Ming army had a numerical advantage, such a thing as fighting a war did not necessarily mean that it would also have an advantage in the battle situation. The Ming army made no progress for several days, and the Ming army's campaign at Bratsk was temporarily deadlocked.

The stalemate was extremely unfavorable for the Ming army, and in Siberia, the weather was an important factor affecting the outcome of the battle. In order to solve the problem of adapting to the weather, the Ming Dynasty, like the Russians, recruited a large number of Cossacks to fight in Siberia, while the Ming army recruited a large number of Mongols in Siberia to fight.

When an army of 50,000 marched into Siberia, logistical supply was particularly important. The reason why such a large number of troops were sent out this time was that Zhu Youxiao and the Dadu Governor's Office were thinking about the upcoming decisive battle with the Russian army, and the Ming army wanted to complete the layout east of the Yenisei River before the decisive battle and prepare for the decisive battle.

But the current stalemate situation made Chen Si very uncomfortable, his logistical pressure was too great, he had to take Bratsk as soon as possible, and then disperse the army to relieve the logistical pressure.

"Bratsk is built right next to the Angara River, and we can use the Angara River." At this point, someone suggested.

"Staff Officer Lee means flooding Bratsk?" Chen Si suddenly realized.

The establishment of staff officers in the army was in the Tang and Song dynasties, but now it has been a permanent position in the imperial army, and the staff officers are in charge of military training and planning, and each governor's office has a chief of general staff and several chief of staff, and each army also has a chief of staff, and the following is set up 12345 and other staff officers.

"Yes, now that Bratsk is surrounded by our army, and our army has nearly 100,000 soldiers and civilians, our army can completely set up a dam upstream to stop the water and flood Bratsk." Staff Officer Li said.

"Order, immediately dispatch 10,000 people to build a dam on the Angara River to stop the water." Chen Si said happily.

……

Setting up a dam to block water is an extremely simple task for the Ming army, and the Russians obviously did not realize that the Ming army was going to flood Bratsk, of course, even if the Russians realized that the Ming army was going to flood Bratsk, the Russian army had no way to stop it, and now the Russian army in Bratsk has been trapped in Bratsk.

Two days later, the Ming army began to retreat to higher ground, and the water accumulated in the Angara River was enough to flood Bratsk.

"The order is that the dam will be blown up and the water will be released, and the army will be ready at any time, and when the flood waters reced, the army will be ready to enter the city." Chen Si ordered.

"No."

As soon as the hour arrived, a loud bang was heard in the upper reaches of the Angara River, whether it was the sound of explosives or the sound of the flood breaking the dam. The docile Angara River suddenly turned into a beast of prey, devouring everything it came across. When passing through Bratsk, the turbidity of the waves rushed into Bratsk unstoppably. The Russian army's painstaking management of Bratsk was destroyed in an instant.

Seeing the ruined Bratsk, Chen Si said: "When the flood recedes, the army will enter the city immediately." ”

……

The capture of Bratsk meant that Beihai was back in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. According to the plan of Zhu Youxiao and the Dadu Governor's Office, the Ming army was to build seven to ten military forts in an area to ensure the logistical supply of the Ming army and to deal with the counterattack of the Russian army, and at the same time the Ming army was preparing to push the defense line near the Yenisei River.

In mid-July, an army of 20,000 led by Yusway arrived in Turukhansk.

(End of chapter)