In the camp on the outskirts of Mozyri, a middle-aged Polish general with short maroon hair was frowning at a sandbox battle map, which was densely inserted with small red chess pieces representing the Taiping Army and small blue chess pieces representing his own troops.

This Polish general, who is not angry and arrogant, has the taste of a middle-aged old handsome man, is the most prestigious aristocratic general of the United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania today, and is the 'generalissimo' of the Polish-Lithuanian coalition army who was re-elected by the Parliament of Sem after King Jan Kazimierz Vasa lost his old book.

(Marshal in this era is not a fixed military rank, but a job title that represents command and honor, because the army in this era is made up of local city defense forces, militia, aristocratic private army, mercenaries and other miscellaneous troops, strong independence, direct commanders are basically local well-known military nobles, in order to facilitate large-scale battles, the highest authority in a country often elects a commander-in-chief before the outbreak of the war, that is, the generalissimo.)

The generalissimo has the supreme command, but he can only give military orders to those great noble generals, but cannot deprive the great noble generals of their military power, unless the other side makes a mistake that seriously affects the course of the war, and can deprive them of military power under the recognition of many great noble generals. ）

This generalissimo is from the Skzhetuski family, named Jan Skzhetuski, and now has the most combat-ready army of 50,000 in the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, even if it contains a lot of militia and other second- and third-line troops, this is already more than half of the strength of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania after the initial mobilization of the military aristocracy.

After all, there is no such thing as a so-called national mobilization in this era, and the earliest real national mobilization can be traced back to the era of Napoleon, who was able to rise not only by his outstanding military talents, but also by the changes in the French political system after the Revolution and the large number of burghers in the general sense.

In the age of bayonets and muskets, the number of troops was an important measure of combat effectiveness.

"Your Excellency Marshal, although Hong Tiancheng, the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, is a royal commander, according to the intelligence provided by our informants, it is estimated that the Taiping army that came to meet us this time is only more than 10,000 people, of which there are only more than 1,000 cavalry troops, but Hong Tiancheng left 6,000 people at the lair to deal with the Cossack rebels.

This is our God-given opportunity, according to the informant's report, the last elite of the Cossack rebels entrenched in the city of Chernihiv, the 4,000 Taiping army that has followed up and forced has played a 'fire', and every day dozens or even hundreds of people will die in the chaotic battle between the two sides, although the Cossack rebels do not have an advantage in numbers, they rely on the geographical advantage and firmly drag the main force of the 4,000 Taiping army.

The 2,000 Taiping troops south of Kiev were like nomadic cavalry, and their combat effectiveness was even more unbearable, and they were beaten by the loose Cossack tribal alliance and suffered heavy losses, and the cities of Zhytomyr and Lutsk under the rule of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were even more besieged by our army, and it was not easy to protect themselves.

Judging from the current situation, as long as we solve this force led by Hong Tiancheng himself, the rule of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will immediately collapse! ”

Mihał Vvodijowski, a small Polish commoner nobleman on the side and a Polish hussar officer known as the kingdom's first sword, was so excited that he almost blurted out the words of taking the initiative to ask for his life.

Marshal Jan Krzetusky could naturally understand Michau's intentions, but he had deep concerns.

"Mihawu, what you said is good, but the key lies in the army led by Hong Tiancheng, although the number of troops led by Hong Tiancheng is small, but all of them are the elite of the Taiping Army!"

Mihau looked slightly stunned, and wondered: "How can Your Excellency the Marshal see it?" ”

"It's very simple, the vast majority of the people who followed Hong Tiancheng on the expedition were Mongolian Tatar soldiers with the same black hair and black eyes as him, according to the past achievements of the Taiping Army, although the internal composition of the Taiping Army was more complicated, but only this kind of Mongolian Tatar soldiers who were in the same vein as Hong Tiancheng were the most difficult, and they could almost always fight to the last man in battle, and their morale was terrifying, even crazier than the group of fanatical warriors of the Ottoman Turkish Empire!

The more than 10,000 Taiping infantry led by Hong Tiancheng are almost all Mongolian Tatar soldiers who are not afraid of death. ”

After hearing this, Miha'u flashed with pride in his eyes, and replied in a loud voice: "Your Excellency, the Polish warriors under my command are all good men who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the glory of the kingdom, not necessarily worse than the barbarians of the Taiping army!" ”

Marshal Jan Skrzetusky smiled and asked, "General Michau, how many truly elite soldiers do you have under your command?" You don't count the knights, servants, and militiamen, do you? ”

The corners of Mihawu's mouth twitched, and he stiffened his neck and said stiffly: "Anyway, I just don't accept the Taiping Army, if Your Excellency the Marshal arranges a vanguard position for me, I will not let me, even if I only let me lead my headquarters, I dare to lead people to launch a glorious charge against the Taiping Army's middle position!" ”

A hint of appreciation flashed in the depths of Jan Skzhetusky's eyes after hearing this, but his face remained unchanged and said: "General Mihau is indeed a pillar of the kingdom, and I just have a crucial task entrusted to you here. ”

Jan Skrzetuski said as he thought in his heart: the whole Polish-Lithuanian army looks like a god, and this Michau is a general who is purely for the country, and having him to guard the back road can at least leave some vitality for the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom in the event of an unexpected battle, instead of fleeing back with only dozens of horsemen like the defeated warlike king!

"What task?" Mihau asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Once the city of Mozili is lost, the Taiping army only needs to send a small force of cavalry along the way to burn the village walls and clear the wilderness, which is enough to starve our 50,000 troops to death, after all, the Taiping army only has more than 10,000 people, and the consumption of grain and grass is much less than ours.

General Mihau, do you understand what I mean? ”

As soon as General Mihau heard that he had been assigned to Mozyri in the rear as a 'general to defend the city', the expression on his face suddenly turned red, because what Marshal Jan Skzhetusky said was reasonable, and he couldn't say anything even if he wanted to refute it!

Jan Krzetuski did arrange the most important place for him, and Mihau, who had always made the affairs of the kingdom his first priority, was naturally unwilling to disturb the overall situation with his will.