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The political and economic wave set off by Zheng Kezhang caused great repercussions throughout the country, but the rights and wrongs of these dynasties did not affect the remote Beihai -- Wang Ying and Murong Jingming, who were in charge of the soldiers and horses of the Dadu Protectorate, continued to attack in turn after the thaw in May, and while burning down the remaining Russian strongholds in the Nizhny Baikal region one by one, the Xia army once again entered the Verkhniy Baikal region and moved north along the Angara River valley, and continued to destroy the spring and summer crops of the Russians under the hateful eyes of the Russian settlers. Threaten the Russians in the region with famine.

"Retreat!" On June 12, the 19th year of Wucheng of Huaxia, Murong Jingming led 1,800 Mongol rebels to the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk, an important Russian town on the Yenisei River, but did not expect to run into 12,000 Russian troops and 8,000 Cossack cavalry from the Russian mainland. "A lot of Rakshasa soldiers??????"

But it is not easy to retreat in front of the enemy, especially when the Russian army has high cavalry under its command: "Rong Meixin, I order you to immediately take a sentry to the south and leave." ”

Looking at the Cossack cavalry in hot pursuit, Murong Jingming ordered the staff officers beside him: "If you can avoid the pursuit of the Rakshasa ghosts, you immediately return to Xihe City (Cheremhovo), and let Lord Luo Wenjing inform the Husimon Department to withdraw to the east of the lake as much as possible." ”

The young captain Shouque did not receive the order, but said with a flushed face: "My lord, it is better for the lower officer to lead away the enemy army." ”

"Execute the order!" Murong Jingming glared at the other party viciously, and it wasn't until Rong Meixin reluctantly led nearly a hundred Xia Meng cavalry out of the brigade that he was a little angry, and then he announced to the people around him. "Let's go, let's lead a ?????? to the north"

"Your Excellency Count Magnitogor, we have already formed an outpost of the Chinese." One of the commanders of the Russian army, General Posayev-Andro Lazerny, told Count Alexander Rovkul Magnitogor, head of the Russian border negotiation mission, with a solemn expression, that the plenipotentiary minister should have arrived in the Verkhnibaikal region in July last year, but the count, who thought that acting with the army would better deter the enemy, was finally dragged down by the slow build-up and march of the army, so that he encountered snowfall in the Tomsk region, an important town on the Ob River. As a result, the Sino-Russian negotiations, which could have started earlier, dragged on to this day, which led to the death of Count Orsk and the fall of the entire Verkhnibaikal region into the hands of the Xia army. "The shape of the Upper Baikal region is clearly worse than we thought."

"Your Excellency General, Viscount Konstantin Alexander Skilov Slavinov and Baron Anthony Prio Sergeyevsky have already reported in detail on this." The fifty-year-old Count Magnitogor did not have the spirit he had before leaving Petersburg. "They had expected that the Chinese would renew their offensive in the spring, so they had arranged as much as possible for the Russian residents of Bratsk, Tashet, Kansk and other places to Yakutsk, Bestyach, Omuirminsk, Lensk, Pereduy, Kiliansk and other areas north of the Lena River."

The surviving officials of the Irkutsk province had informed Count Magnitogor of Wang Ying's border demands in letters, enclosing their judgment, and on the basis of which the Russian inhabitants of the Angara River valley had been deported to the cities on the north bank of the Lena River, but it was inconceivable for Count Magnitogor, who had rushed from Petersburg to accept even the bare minimum demands.

It's just that the insistence of the diplomat can hardly be recognized by the general: "All the inhabitants of Russia have withdrawn? That's good news, but it also means we can't get local support. ”

"Then ask for it from the local barbarians." Count Magnitogor raised his gray-white eyebrows. "Isn't it? Now we have enough troops to ask the Tatars and the Mongols for a qiē. ”

Another senior commander of the Russian army, General Smidovich Yelich Ushakov, was not so optimistic, but he said in an anxious tone: "Yes, we can collect the Tatars and Mongols for the war, but the problem is that the Chinese may have informed the local natives to evacuate, in which case we will fall into a terrible no-man's land." ”

Count Magnitogor's gaze fell on the military map: "Assuming that we cannot obtain the necessary supplies from the Mongols and Tatars of the Upper Baikal region, how many days will the supplies that await Siberia and Europe last?" ”

"Our last supply was in Tomsk, and we prepared a total of 20,000 people for 60 days."

Because the domestic roads are rarely repaired, the Russian army rarely relies on rear transportation, and generally relies on battlefield financing, and it is a loss to know the plight of the Verkhnibaikal region in advance to raise 20,000 people to eat 60 days of food as it is now, but now Russia has only 3 million people in the entire area east of the Ural Mountains, of which there are more than 800,000 distributed in Irkutsk Province, so it is not only difficult to collect grain from Russian settlements along the route, but also difficult to guarantee the quantity.

"Although we do not need to consume reserves when we are stationed in Krasnoyarsk, due to the destruction of the Chinese before, we have not been able to obtain any supplies on the next road."

The easiest way to get from Krasnoyarsk to Bratsk is to go north along the Yenisei River to Lesosy Birsk and then up along the Angara River, which flows into the Yenisei River. But this is obviously a detour, and in addition to the town of Lesosibilsk, which can be reinforced, this road has to go up more than 3oo versts (note: 1 verst = 1.o668 km) by water to another town, Ust-Ilimsk, which can only consume the army's most valuable reserves.

If you don't choose the roundabout road that goes north and then east and then south, you can only take the waterway to Kansk, then take the 6th route to Tesshet, and then cross the remnants of the Eastern Sayan Mountains and several small tributaries of the Angara River to the east of Tyshet to Bratsk. However, in this way, the march was certainly not as fast as the boat, and the second was that the army had to march in the area destroyed by the Xia army, and it was also impossible to obtain food supplies on the spot.

"After calculation, whether we take the northern or central line, at least 1o~15 days of grain reserves will be consumed, so we can only solve the battle in 25 days, and then return to Tomsk in 15~2o days." Colonel Trizeg Feininsky, who was in charge of logistics, reported in a depressed tone that although the Russians were called gray animals, even animals had to eat. "This is the best-case scenario, once we have fought for 3o days, then even if we win the final victory, we may not be able to safely withdraw to Tomsk. What's more, most of the grain stocks around Tomsk and in the southern Siberian grain producing areas in the upper reaches of the Ob River have already been procured by us, and even if there is a surplus, the quantity is limited, and it is not enough to support us in Siberia for eight months of winter. ”

"What does the colonel mean is that we will retreat now, to Omsk or directly west of the Urals?" Count Magnitogor looked sarcastically at the seemingly cowardly officers in front of him. "Generals, colonels, Russian officers and nobles, are we here for an armed march? The Tsar has already paid more than 500,000 rubles for the Eastern Expeditionary Army, so does he expect you to flee back to Europe without a shot? ”

"Maybe there's a solution." General Lazerny, whose face was flushed by the old count's words, pointed at the military map. "If we can cross the Sayan Mountains and enter the Ulianghai region, which the natives call it, we may be able to get enough supplies so that we can hold out until Europe and Omsk send supplies."

"Over the Sayan Mountains? It's not a good idea. General Ushakov disagreed. Who knows what's up to the south? When nothing is clear, we can only put ourselves at a greater disadvantage by crossing the mountains, and as far as I know, although some of the natives in the Ulianghai region have defected to the Chinese, a considerable number of the natives are under the rule of the Dzungars. "Compared with the unfamiliar Chinese Empire, the Zungar Empire, which was expanding westward, was a more dangerous existence for Russia." If Russia were to go to war with the Dzungars, it would not only be the Irkutsk province that would be threatened, but we would all face a formidable challenge from the Kazakh border to the southern foothills of the Ural Mountains. ”

"Then according to the general's intentions, we have no choice but to withdraw our troops?" Count Magnitogor shouted unwillingly. "No, this means completely cutting off the entire Irkutsk province and Russia's access to the Pacific."

"Russia's roots are in Europe, in the Baltic and Black Seas, and not in the unreachable Pacific Ocean." General Ushakov retorted coldly. "What's more, the tsar did not send us to war with the Chinese, but as a means of prevention, to prevent Russia from losing more eastern lands, not to send these 12,000 Russian ** troops to death."

"Cowards, you are all cowards." Count Magnitogor rebuked angrily. "The Tsar will judge you for your crimes."

General Ushakov said-for-tat: "It is an unforgivable crime to let the Russian ** team starve to death in Siberia." ”

Looking at the angry count and General Ushakov, who was also blowing his beard and glaring, General Lazerny had no choice but to come out and play a round: "The Russian ** team is a strong and invincible army, and we are not afraid of any strong enemy, but if we are defeated because of the untimely supply of food, this is something that God will not forgive, not to mention that His Majesty the King of Sweden is currently reorganizing his army, and I think the Tsar must need our strength." ”

Count Magnitogor asked rhetorically, "What about the eastern frontier?" Throw it to the Chinese? ”

"That's your mission, Earl." General Ushakov replied stiffly. "It would be best if you could persuade the Chinese to return all or part of the Eastern Siberian province in border negotiations, but if you can't, I think the Tsar will be able to understand your difficulties."

The old earl's face was a little unkind, and General Lazerny on the side hurriedly added smoothly: "The key to the problem is whether the two countries can sign a mutually recognized border treaty. If we can't do this, even if the Russian **** team can defeat the Chinese again and again, we will be dragged in Irkutsk Province. Your Excellency, you should know what a terrible thing it is to maintain an army of 10,000 men in the Siberian wilderness, which will completely bankrupt Russia, and if we are dragged in Siberia, then we may not be able to take part in the final decisive battle between the Tsar and Sweden, and if Russia loses the war because of the lack of 10,000 men, we will not be able to forgive ourselves. ”

Count Magnitogor's face was pale, but he couldn't help but admit that what the other party said was reasonable, and when he was about to argue, General Lazerny had insight into the other party's psychology in time, and then made appropriate concessions: "Of course, we can also leave some Cossacks for Your Excellency to act as escorts, but based on the current supply situation, I personally think that three thousand cavalry is obviously a more appropriate number." ”

General Ushakov also said at this time: "The Chinese have obviously shown the number of Russian ** troops, but they may not necessarily know that we have retreated, so Count you still have the opportunity to blackmail the Chinese in front of the negotiating table." ”

"Blackmail?" The old earl couldn't laugh or cry. "Let's hope our opponent is a fool." Having said that, Count Magnitogor also understood that it was impossible for the army to continue its advance, so he finally demanded. "I need the Russian team to stay in Krasnoyarsk and rush to Bratsk if necessary."

General Ushakov was about to say that it was impossible, but General Lazerny, who was on the side, had already spoken before him: "Yes, but we can only stay in Krasnoyarsk until the second week of July." ”

General Ushakov looked at Lazerny in bewilderment, so Lazerny explained: "We should collect as much food as possible from the upper reaches of the Yenisei such as Abakan and Artyomovsk during this time, and inform Tomsk, Kemerovo, Barnaul and other places to prepare ships, and then we can return directly to Nizhnevartovsk and Surgut." ”

General Ushakov was relieved, and Count Magnitogor also adjusted his mentality: "The second week of July? Then we must speed up negotiations with the Chinese. ”

Speaking of this, the count suddenly remembered something, so he asked: "By the way, did we have an officer who caught the Chinese before?" ”

The eyes of the two generals fell on the second colonel in the field, and the colonel named Markov subconsciously took a step forward and reported to the senior officials present: "The Chinese Mongolian horses are very enduring, we did not catch up, but at the beginning we killed and captured a part of the reconnaissance troops, but we can't tell who is Chinese and who is Mongolian." ”

"Stupid." General Ushakov, who felt ashamed, scolded. "Don't go ahead with the interrogation yet."

"No need." The old count stopped Colonel Markov, who was about to leave, but spoke to the two generals. "Whether they are Chinese or not, let them all go, and by the way, tell them what we want to negotiate, and someone among them must be able to tell them the news, no, the governor of the Chinese Empire in the Baikal region."

"This?" Colonel Markov looked at the two generals with some hesitation. "The captives that were finally caught were released like this? And the officer's ransom? ”

General Lazerny couldn't help glaring at the other party: "What kind of ransom to talk about with these uncivilized savages, and not to let them go according to the Count's wishes, by the way, give them another horse, so that they can inform the governor of their side in time??????"