'Oh?' That's all'? So, is his famous Code of Military Service useless? Hongyi was very unimpressed.

You know, Ivan IV's reforms were very important in Russia in the 16th century, and military reform was the most important of them, and the landmark event was the promulgation of the Military Service Code in 1556. Before Ivan IV's military reforms, Russia had not yet established a fully armed standing army, nor did it have a set of established army building ideas, and the main strength of the Russian army at that time was still the noble cavalry and the militia.

As John Tong pointed out, while many countries in Europe had established standing regular armies and made extensive use of firearms, the militarily backward cavalry of the Russian nobility was still wielding their broadswords, spears, bows and arrows, and shields. During the war, the aristocratic cavalry who served for the Grand Duke led the peasants or small citizens recruited from their own districts to prepare their own arms and dry rations with the Grand Duke, and all returned to their respective families after the war. State borders are often unguarded. At the same time, before the middle of the 16th century, Russia did not have a set of military service rules appropriate to the size and characteristics of the territory, which provided a pretext for the nobility to evade military service.

It was in this context that Ivan IV promulgated the first Code of Military Service in Russian history, and it quickly achieved practical results - following the capture of Kazan by the Russian army in 1552, Astrakhan was conquered again in 1556, and the regions of the lower Volga River, which were formerly part of Astrakhan, were incorporated into the territory of Russia, which showed the increase in the combat effectiveness of the Russian army.

"My lord, you are indeed wise. But this of his Military Service Code. But it is not a cure-all. John Tang did not flinch, looking a little stubborn.

"Xuan Ye asks for advice!" Since you are so insistent on your own point of view, there must be something I don't know—Hongyi quickly put aside his doubts and arrogance, and asked modestly.

"The master is too modest." Tang Ruowang replied with satisfaction, and then said:

"The Rakshasa Code of Military Service, although it stipulates that every person who owns land, whether a fief or a fief, is subject to military obligations, and should provide a fully equipped soldier and a horse as required by the Tsar when he needs it. But in the barbaric Muscovy, the few lands suitable for cultivation were firmly in the hands of various aristocratic families. The longer a family controls the land. The less effective this principled demand is, for how could they, as old aristocrats, obey the Tsar's edicts? ”

"I see." Hongyi nodded. It's easy to understand if Russian culture is Greek or European. Then his political atmosphere is more oriental. The inherent power of the aristocratic landlord class. Indeed, it is similar to the landlord class in China for thousands of years -- that is, "there is a policy at the top, and there is a countermeasure at the bottom"!

"If only this Military Service Code could work. It is not that the Rakshasa will have to rely on the Cossacks, and it will not lose the 'Livonian War' for the Baltic Sea access. John Tong used history to illustrate the simple truth that "facts speak louder than words."

Hongyi hurriedly mobilized his brain cells and used his two-year-old little brain, which had been "overclocked" for a long time. After a long time of "searching", I finally found the so-called "Livonian War" in the university professional courses that were almost completely forgotten and only a few bits remained.

It was provoked by Russia in a protracted war with the local feudal lords (knights) of Livonia, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and other countries. "Livonia" is equivalent to the scope of Estonia and Latvia, the Baltic Sea littoral countries in later generations, and its strategic position is very important. In 1552 and 1556, after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate and the Astrakhan Khanate, Ivan IV conquered the Kazan Khanate, and the unified state of Russia was formed. In order to further compete for the Baltic Sea outlet and the land on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, Ivan's eyes finally set his sights on this area.

In January 1558, under the pretext of the Livonian Knights' alliance with Lithuania against Russia, Ivan the Terrible sent 40,000 troops to attack Livonia, provoking a war. Unable to resist, the Livonian feudal lords seized the opportunity to conclude a treaty with Poland and seek protection. In 1560, the Russian army invaded Livonia again, occupying large territories, and finally caused the intervention of its Nordic neighbors.

In 1563, Ivan personally led the Russian army to capture the ancient city of Lithuania, Polotsk. Later, due to the internal strife in Russia, the Russian front-line commander Kurbsky defected and defected to Lithuania, causing a drastic change in the battlefield situation. The Russian army, which has just embarked on the road of "modernization", behaves quite embarrassingly in front of the armies of the old European military powers, and the war is not going smoothly, and even "repeated defeats". And at this terrible time, a Crimean Tatar army took the opportunity to sneak through the almost undefended front in southern Russia, crept into Moscow, and even burned it to the ground.

In 1582, Russia signed an armistice with Poland, and most of Livonia and Polotsk were transferred to Poland. In 1583, an armistice was signed between Russia and Sweden, and the entire coast of Narva and the Gulf of Finland was returned to Sweden. The 25-year Livonian War ended in the complete defeat of Russia, which failed to achieve its goal of seizing access to the sea, and its expansion momentum suffered a temporary setback.

But Hongyi still can't fully agree with John Tong's simplistic analysis. As a matter of fact, the main reason for Russia's defeat was that it had made enemies on several sides and fought on many fronts, and it was full of internal contradictions. Its national power is also not strong enough to cause a "temporary" setback in its external expansion.

"Old Marfa, you have a point. However, Xuan Ye thought that the Livonian War just showed that the combat effectiveness of the Rakshasas had improved by leaps and bounds a hundred years ago. Hongyi prepared his words and began to retort.

"Oh? Please show me. John Tang hurriedly withdrew the smile on his face and waited for the answer.

"Hmmm! In the war you are talking about, the basic form of warfare between the warring parties is the attack and defense of the fort. You have also seen the power of Star Castle with your own eyes. ”

"Yes, yes! It's all thanks to the blueprint of the little master that day, otherwise John really wouldn't have ......" Speaking of "Star Castle", Tang Ruowang remembered the past before Mulan's martial arts, and hurriedly seconded it.

"Hehe, if you don't say it, I won't say it, who will know what drawings I gave you? After all, Europa is all the way away, and only you people from the West can clearly understand these Western things. No need to mention it again. Hongyi still insisted on putting the credit for the day on John Tang's head.

"Thank you, Master!"

Tang Ruowang knew clearly that Xiao Ye Xuan Ye was "making a wedding dress" for him in order to improve his status as the "No. 1 Arms Expert of the Qing Dynasty", and he suddenly lost the spirit of academic debate and truth-seeking in his chest, and planned to listen to Xiao Ye's "instructions".

"As for the attack and defense of Star Fort, Mulan has already experienced martial arts, and both offensive and defensive sides must use siege artillery and gunpowder to break the city. But even so, at that time, the Rakshasa and their two sides were fighting, and some siege battles lasted for as long as five months, I don't know if I was right? ”

"This ...... What about the specific war...... The old minister is lonely and unheard. ”

Get! The old man in Europe doesn't know as much as the big and small milk! Fortunately, in John Tong's view, as a "messenger of God", there is nothing that this young master does not know.

"Hehe, leave him alone for now. What I want to say is that if I say that they had field battles at that time, I am talking about infantry phalanx battles, which are mainly used in conjunction with the battle for fortresses, which should not be the same as the combat level of the Rakshasa army nearly a hundred years later. ”

"Lord Baylor is reasonable, and his analysis is thorough, so naturally there won't be much of a difference! The old minister is deeply admired! John Tong agreed.

Now it seems that the information that Hongyi later generations know is much more detailed and accurate than Lao Tang, who has been in China for decades!

"Then let me talk about the military system and military strength of this Rakshasa at this time today! If there are obvious mistakes or omissions, Lao Marfa must correct them in time! ”

Simply, I'll tell you, you check and fill in the gaps!

(Chapter to be continued)

"A limerick poem. Hide your head" [Thanks to the book friend "The saliva number is occupied" friendship axe]

Reading literature and reading history is only a long breath

I was saying that there was an opportunity back then

The layout is a long-cherished wish

It's hard to come and go

Get up and spend a hundred years

Point out the suffering and diseases of the world

The edge of the town was razed to the sea

Wen'an Wuding tears of joy

(To be continued......) (To be continued......)