Zhuo Shao gradually came, the army outside Tingdong sharpened their knives, and gradually Xi: "The cold weather in the east, and then, all kinds of jackets and cotton clothes transported from the south were also sent over, and they were immediately distributed to the battalions, this cotton clothing is a very thick layer of hemp cloth outside, a layer of sheepskin is sandwiched in the middle, and the innermost layer is a layer of duck down, hemp cloth is the most wear-resistant, suitable for the field operations of the troops, and the sheepskin sandwiched in the middle is the use of keeping warm from the wind, and the innermost layer of duck down is lightweight, and increases comfort and warmth. If you add a few more small jackets and sweaters, I am afraid that no matter how cold the weather is, it will not freeze the body, in addition, cotton helmets, leather gloves, cotton boots have also been matched, for this military operation, almost all imitation weaving workshops have received urgent orders, day and night plus points, finally a month and a half after the delivery on time. Along with the supplies, there were tens of thousands of personnel from the Xinjiang Construction Corps who migrated in the first batch, as well as envoys from the Ouyuan countries, who were first settled in Liaodong.

The original plan of the General Staff was to take advantage of the winter to start a campaign against Russia, and the 300,000-strong army was divided into five divisions to advance to Siberia and southern Russia, and finally rendezvous on the south side of the Ural Mountains, and then choose the opportunity to choose whether to continue to advance westward.

The Ural Mountains stretch for four kilometers from the Arctic Ocean south to Orenburg, isolating the European part of Russia from Eastern Siberia, through which the Eurasian dividing line passes. That is to say, the Ming army arrived here, and if it advanced further west, it would enter Europe, and the area east of the Ural Mountains was Siberia, which was much more extensive than the Ming territory. The territory covers an area of 13 million square kilometers, accounting for one-tenth of the total land area of the world, for the Ming army, it is extremely easy to occupy this land, because the land is vast and sparsely populated, and the Russians have never stationed too many troops here, according to intelligence, there are only Kazakh cavalry regiments and a musket battalion, the number of people is about 30,000, as long as the Ming army enters Siberia, these 30,000 people are simply vulnerable to ten times the Ming army.

However, the General Staff soon vetoed this plan, although this plan can reduce the impact of the weather, but after all, the time is too hasty, even if everything is ready, some materials and combat plans are too late to schedule, so it can only be postponed for a few months, and finally the date of the expedition is set in November.

The reason why it's November. The General Staff has long considered, first, November is close to the Spring Festival of the Han people, which the Han people know, and the Russians probably also know that if they attack Russia around the Spring Festival. Second, the Russians will certainly not believe that the Han will attack Russia in winter, and these two items are enough to make the Russians lax and paralyze the enemy.

The soldiers of each battalion were wrapped in winter clothes and listened to the final mobilization of the instructors around the fire in the camp.

Outside the tent was the goose-feather snow, the bonfire crackled and burned, and the big tent was full of the choking smell of charcoal, but it was as warm as spring.

This is the camp of the Royal Dragoon Regiment, hundreds of camp tents in the camp are scattered, the soldiers are nested in tents, in order to keep out the cold, the imperial court also gives each soldier a day to put three taels of rice wine, three taels of rice wine is not much, at least it will not make people drunk, but it can make people warm up, when they began to come to Liaodong, these dragoons from the northwest are obviously not very used to it, but gradually, they also like it here, although it is cold here, but after each practice, return to the big tent, drink some rice wine, and then eat some peanuts, Around the stove, more than 20 big-headed soldiers huddled together and chatted with each other, this kind of life was actually quite comfortable.

"I heard from the Governor that in three days we will go on an expedition to the far north, brothers have to work hard, our army has always been the honor of the entire legion, the Governor has praised it, if the brothers can't get a medal back, how will they look up and see people in the future?" Waiting for the instructor of the patrol camp to leave, the commander of the tent began to preach to the soldiers in the army, the commander was originally a branch of the Longyou cavalry, after the surrender of the Longyou cavalry, was incorporated into the dragoon regiment, because of the good performance during the training, it was to become a lowest-level petty officer, in charge of twenty catties, soldiers, into the desert harassment, because of the killing of three Mongolian soldiers, was awarded the Order of the Viper, can be regarded as one of the first batch of seventy people awarded by the Royal Dragoon Regiment, he proudly held his chest, The bronze serpent medal was held high, and when he spoke, he was full of anger.

"Captain Wu, what does the red-haired ghost look like?" A soldier swallowed his saliva in fear, for the red-haired ghosts, there are many legends in this camp, some say that these people are wild men in the ice field, eight feet long, and their eyes are as big as copper bells, one catty. The fist is a casserole, the soldiers are actually not afraid of fighting, let alone death, but they are still afraid of monsters, so this kind of news is very popular, everyone will have a nonsense, one to ten, ten to hundred, the height of the red-haired ghost has also risen from two zhang to three, four, eight zhang, so that those soldiers who swear to spread the news of hearsay themselves believe it.

"I haven't seen a red-haired ghost again, how do you know." Wu Chang glared at the soldier: "Six, don't play tricks on me, our second battalion and fourth team have no small lantern hanging, what is there to be afraid of the red-haired ghost." Our emperor sits on the job. What demons and monsters dare to come close. "What the chief said is very serious. In fact, if he was a person who said something godless and something like that, those soldiers would not be able to listen, but he said that the emperor was a golden limb, and the gods and ghosts were not invaded, but it made the soldiers have momentum all of a sudden, yes, the emperor is the son of heaven, who dares to violate the son of the king of heaven?

Outside the tent, there was a sound of bull's horns, sometimes low, sometimes urgent, like a war drum in the snow.

"Urgent assembly, brethren, get up quickly, it's an urgent assembly." Commander Wu's face changed, he immediately stood up and urged, and hurriedly went to find his helmet and weapon, and after packing up, he led the soldiers out of the camp together.

In the open space in the center of the camp, battle flags depicting white wolf heads were unfurled in the wind and snow, and soldiers in the tents gathered one by one, and finally more and more, each looking for his own place, lined up in a column.

Soldiers wearing military overcoats and carrying cavalry commanders and swords pinned to their waists began to stand in line, and then Bai Cheng, the governor of the Royal Dragoon Regiment, rode over with a team of personal guards, his eyes swept across the hundreds of meters long queue, and asked an officer beside him: "How long did it take for the emergency assembly?" ”

"It's exactly a quarter of an hour back to the Governor." The officer answered honestly.

Bai Cheng looked very dissatisfied, usually in Nanjing, an emergency assembly can be more than half an hour, but in this Liaodong it took twice as much time, he snorted coldly, so that a few battalion guerrillas with troops felt a little empty, in fact, this matter is not to blame, this Liaodong does not have to be in the south, just this small jacket and coat, there are a few more pieces, once the emergency gathering, there are many things to be cleaned up, and it is cold outside, this person's degree is naturally not as agile as in the south, Bai Cheng was originally one of the Mu family home, Zhu Jun has been ordered to be a training officer when he was in Nanyang, but all recruits need to go to the new military camp to practice for three months, this scraping officer is a whole year, ten years, so that he has already become an excellent training officer, not to mention whether he is a qualified general, but the soldiers brought out from his hands, all abilities are top-notch, this emergency assembly took so much time, so that his face is a little unbearable, although there are no outsiders here, but this heart is not comfortable.

"Soldiers." Bai Cheng has another task in his body, and he is not willing to dwell on the matter of emergency assembly, if it is changed to normal times, I am afraid that the officers and soldiers of the whole army will run around the camp for more than ten circles, he coughed lightly, and said in his throat: "Raising soldiers for a thousand days, using soldiers for a while, we drink the court taxes, eat the flesh and blood of the people, and get the salary of His Majesty the Emperor. ”

Bai Cheng's face was solemn: "General Staff Order: The Royal Dragoon Regiment will leave Mobei and attack the southern hinterland of Tsarist Russia, and the order will be executed immediately, and there must be no mistake." ”

"Pack up and get out."

The "obedient" soldiers immediately dispersed in a hurry, and each went back to the camp to pack up.

Bai Cheng rode a horse and was still waiting in this open space, the cold wind was mixed with it, making his face a little stiff, he was in his forties, burly, wearing the cotton armor of the governor, his brows were slightly twisted, originally according to the plan, this staff should have let the dragoons go in three days, but now he suddenly ordered himself to lead the army out immediately, and after taking the south of Russia, he did not wait for the convergence of the various departments, but continued to advance westward, crossed the Ural Mountains into Europe, and attacked a city called Rostov near the Don River in one fell swoop, Bai Chengfang carefully studied the topography of the city, which, according to the intelligence of the Ottomans, was one of the oldest cities of the Russians. Thug The capital of the Principality and the seat of the Orthodox bishop. In the thirteenth century, it became a center in northwestern Russia, but was destroyed by the Mongol invasion. After the annexation to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, commerce developed rapidly. Today, it is one of the largest and wealthiest metropolises in Russia, with a permanent population of at least 150,000 and at least one musketeer corps of about 7,000 people.

It's just that Bai Cheng is puzzled that the defense of this city is not tight, although it is prosperous, but it is not a strategic location, so that the dragoon regiment that played a key role in the Russian campaign of the Ming Dynasty turned around and rushed there, what is the intention, when Bai Cheng received the order, he thought that he had heard it wrong, but the order of the staff was accurate, and the military order was like a mountain, so he could only come back with doubts and prepare the whole team.

However, the only thing that interested Bai Cheng was that in that city, it is said that a few years ago a Russian Tsar's palace was built, located on Lake Nero across the main street, called the Rostov Creelin, with white walls enclosing palaces, monasteries, churches, etc., and surrounded by bunkers for defense. According to the Ottoman envoy, the complex of the inner city of the Kremlin was exceptionally beautiful. It's just that this is just a palace, just a place for the emperor to inspect, is it just because the buildings there are gorgeous to take the city so vigorously?

When Bai Cheng wanted to break his head, one by one the soldiers walked out of the tent, carrying marching quilts behind them, and carrying more than ten catties of dry food around their waists, barely able to eat catties, for more than ten days, the whole body was uniformed, except for revealing their eyes, all sides were tightly wrapped in coats, military hats, gloves, and boots ※

Bai Cheng ordered the officers beside him: "Order, let them get on their horses and prepare to go out." ”

"Yes,

In the Shenyang Imperial Palace, Zhu Jun held the stove and looked at the Ottoman envoy of His Royal Highness, the Ottoman envoy was determined, he must give the Ming Emperor enough confidence to make the emperor believe his words, and he even wanted to swear by Muhammad to let the Ming Emperor know that what he said was completely true.

Zhu Jun said after being silent: "Lian has ordered a cavalry regiment to capture Rostov, Lian believes you once, but you have to tell Lian, why do you want to tell Lian about this, aren't the Ottomans not interested in this batch of things?" ”

The Ottoman envoy was Harry, who came from Nanjing, and after hesitating for a moment: "This is what our Sultan secretly ordered me to convey to Your Majesty, this matter is related to the honor of His Majesty Ottoman I, therefore, it is better to deal with it by the Ming side, not to mention that even if the Russian army on the Western Front collapses, the Ottoman heroic soldiers may still have to face the war of the Austrians, and when they can pull out, the Ottomans may not have the strength to wage war against the Russians, let alone occupy the city of Rostov to obtain the treasures, However, our Sultan Majesty believes that given the information we have provided, if His Majesty the Ming Emperor can obtain those treasures, he will surely give us some benefits. ”

Zhu Jun said: "If there is really a treasure, the Union will naturally share some benefits to your country, and then use the arms to convert."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, about this matter, in fact, it has a lot to do with Osman I, who founded the Ottoman dynasty, the same. It also has a lot to do with the once tumultuous Byzantine Empire, which was divided into East and West, with the Eastern Roman Empire centered on the Balkan Peninsula and including Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and part of Mesopotamia and the South Caucasus. The capital of Constantinople is the former site of Byzantium, an ancient Greek immigrant city, so it is also known as the Byzantine Empire.

From the time of the division of Rome, the two countries had differences in the military field, and the Western Rome had been using the old infantry as the main force of combat, while the Eastern Rome began to explore the cavalry as the main force of the battle. The two countries of the same origin have gradually embarked on different paths and have also engaged in confrontation. The Western Roman army suffered more defeats than victories. The Byzantine Empire occupied southern Italy and Sicily, attacked Rome, and then eliminated the Ostrogothic kingdom, defeated Visigoth, and occupied Italy, southeastern Spain, North Africa, and the islands of the western Mediterranean. It was the economic and cultural center of the Mediterranean region at that time. But after the fourteenth century, the newly rising Ottoman Empire continued to invade Byzantium. Finally, the Ottomans captured Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell.

However, although Byzantium perished, but a neighbor in the east of Byzantium, Russia, had a great affection for Byzantium, Russia was still a principality at that time, after the fall of Byzantium, a Byzantine began to go into exile in Russia, the Grand Duke of Moscow received them very courteously, at the same time, also received the Orthodox Church of Byzantium, after the division of Rome, Christianity was also divided, the Byzantines were dominated by Orthodox Christianity, and the meaning of Orthodox Christianity was the meaning of Oriental orthodoxy, after that, Under the influence of Orthodox Christianity, the Russians also began to believe, and the last blood of the royal family of the Byzantine Empire married the Grand Duke of Moscow, who had been excluded from Europe, and at this time, with the blood of the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine royal family, they immediately changed from hillbillies to self-proclaimed successors of the Roman Empire, and the Grand Duke of Moscow called himself the "Third Rome". "Changing the name of the country to Russia and calling himself Tsar is exactly what Caesar meant.

The so-called Third Rome actually refers to the Roman Empire in the undivided period as the First Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire after the division as the Second Roman Emperor.

However, this naturally happened to the Orthodox Church, when Osman I was immersed in joy in the capture of Constantinople, but there was a very serious problem, that is, the treasury of the Byzantine Empire was empty, and there was not even a single chicken feather.

This incident made Osman I very angry, at that time Osman I seemed to be a hillbilly into the city, originally expected to enter the city after a good loot, but after spending so much effort, but now there is nothing in his mother, and when he came to his senses to grab some things in the house, he had already let his soldiers loot and set fire everywhere to almost burn.

Osman I was not an idiot, in order to capture the central city of Europe, he wasted tens of thousands of lives, spent several years, and got nothing, what else is there to do, he immediately sent someone to inquire, only to know that as early as the siege of the city, knowing that the city was not secured, the Byzantine emperor let his children and the bishop of the Orthodox Church run away with all the treasures, including more than 7,000 palanquins and 5,000 Byzantine soldiers.

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