"What? Rakshasa ghosts moving south? What are they going to do?! ”

The Russian side is preparing for a decisive battle.

The commanders on the side of the Ming army had more speculation about the movements of the Russian army.

Due to the continuous victories over the years, almost all the Ming troops have become arrogant.

They don't quite believe that the Russian army really dares to fight a dignified decisive battle with them face to face.

So when the Russian army suddenly turned to move south.

The staff officers of the Ming army are a little too much to think about.

"What is the purpose of their movement south? Do you want to fight the Pingxi Domain? ”

A staff officer said with a frown.

Yang Yuchun frowned at the thought of this possibility.

The Pingxi Domain occupied the Ferghana Basin, and in the past two years, there has also been a lot of immigration inflow, a large population, and abundant products.

If the Russians really captured Fergana, then they could get a solid supply of food.

"Can they beat the Pingxi Domain?"

Some people believe that the 30,000 Russian troops went south to attack the Ferghana Basin.

"What if they make a false shot, go and make peace with the Kazakh Khanate, and form a coalition to kill them back?"

A staff officer said.

The Kazakh Khanate was caught between the Pingxi Domain, the Western Regions Province of the Ming Dynasty, and Russia.

If you want to say who they are most wary of, it must be Da Ming.

The Ferghana Basin, which was occupied by the Pingxi Domain, was seized from the Kazakh Khanate.

The Kazakh Khanate was able to organize fifty or sixty thousand cavalry.

If they make peace with the 30,000 Russians have on hand, then these 80,000 or 90,000 people will not be able to deal with the Western Capital Division.

"Can't let them go to Kazakhstan! If they merge with the Kazakhs, and there are 70,000 or 80,000 people on the defensive, then we can't help him! ”

Chen Dewang said as he looked at the map.

"I suggest attacking in advance, you can send a cavalry infantry brigade to bite them first!"

"That's right! If they want to cross the river, they will attack halfway! ”

Yang Yuchun nodded and said.

The Syr Darya is definitely not a small stream.

This is one of the largest rivers in Central Asia.

In the absence of bridges and ferries.

An army of tens of thousands, as well as a large number of baggage and horses, could not easily cross the river.

Therefore, in the case of dispatching a cavalry infantry brigade to pursue at full speed, it is absolutely possible to take a bite before the opponent crosses the river!

That same evening.

The camp of the Western Army was brightly lit.

The generals did not rest.

All the commanders of all levels came to the big tent.

Orders are issued through the staff departments at all levels.

The whole army was divided into three parts.

The first part was the 3rd Mounted Infantry Brigade of the First Army of the Western Army, which was personally led and commanded by Li Sheng, the commander of the First Army, and pursued at full speed.

The second part was the main army led by Yang Yuchun, the commander of the Western Army, and Chen Dewang, the chief of staff, who set off later and headed south along the Syr Darya River.

The third part is an infantry brigade left behind in the large battalion and the baggage, grain, grass, cattle and horses of the whole army.

With the order of the General Staff was given.

The Western Army was like a war machine, operating rapidly.

Although it is said that the source of soldiers for the Western Army mainly comes from the original Manchu and Mongolian children.

But its system is a completely clear system.

The staff went from the corps to the battalion company.

In the past two years, a large number of "former Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners Second Generation" who have entered the Army Military Academy in Beidu for further study have been added as grassroots officers.

In addition, the training program was also carried out with complete reference to the methods of the regular army of the Ming army.

Moreover, because the whole army of the Western Expedition was eager to make meritorious contributions and leave the grassland and go to live in the interior.

There is no problem with its will to fight.

So after the order was given.

Less than half an hour.

The whole army was reorganized.

In the early morning of June 6.

A cavalry infantry brigade was the first to attack in a southwesterly direction.

In order to avoid being discovered by other enemies.

No torches were used during the march.

These Manmeng warriors, who were very skilled in controlling horses, melted into the night like a black iron stream.

And almost at the same time.

There is also a large army marching in a northeasterly direction.

They were the troops of the Kazakh Khanate, which came from the southwest.

Due to the expansion momentum shown by the Ming Empire.

The chaos of the Kazakh Khanate also showed a clear stress response.

As in Russia.

The Kazakh Khanate was also originally part of the Golden Horde.

It was a state that split from the Golden Horde after the mid-15th century.

It was founded by the Jochi Sultans Kereh Khan and Janibek Khan.

In 1456, they officially broke away from the Golden Horde and migrated to Mughulstan, the Chu River, and Talas. In 1465-1466 a large number of nomads broke away from Abu Khair, in which he died in battle, and his land was taken over by the Kazakh Khanate. A purely nomadic state was formed. They were officially established in 1470.

The current Kazakh Khanate was once subservient to both the Qing Dynasty and Russia, but it is clear that the Russians were more aggressive before that.

Beginning at the beginning of the 18th century, the Russians began to build fortresses along the three great rivers of the Urals, Ishim and Irtysh on the Kazakh pastures.

Most of these fortresses were in the border regions of the Kazakh Khanate.

In the more than 100 years since the Russians converted the capital of the Siberian Khanate into the Tobolsk Fortress, and in 1865, when the New Kokand Line was formed, the Russians built the Yamesh Fortress (1715, later destroyed by the Dzungars and rebuilt in 1716), the Omsk Fortress (1716), the Zhereginsk Fortress (1717, between Omsk and Lake Yamesh), the Semipalatinsk Fortress (1718), and the Ust-Kamenogorsk Fortress (1720). , on the northern shore of Lake Zaisan in the middle and upper reaches of the Irtysh) and so on.

All these fortresses became the starting point of the military border line on the Irtysh River, which later became a reliable base for the gradual advance of the tsarist army towards the Kazakh Khanate.

and laid the foundation for the eventual demise of the Russian Empire to the Kazakh Khanate.

But now with the rise of the Ming Empire.

These fortresses were not the advance bases for the Tsarist invasion of Kazakhstan, but instead became a group of fortresses for the Russians to shrink their defenses.

And the Kazakh Khanate was originally going to pay tribute to the Ming Empire - just like in the past.

However, the vassals of the Ming Empire did not do what they wanted, and Emperor Zhu did not attach much importance to the Kazakh Khanate, so he easily gave the Ferghana Basin, one of the most important territories of the Kazakh Khanate, to the Pingxi Domain, which led to the Kazakh Khanate being forced to huddle with the Russians for warmth.

Now leading an army of more than 20,000 men to the east is the cavalry led by the Lesser Yuz Khan Nurari Khan of the Kazakh Khanate.

Nurari Khan was the eldest son of Hasar Abul Khail Khan, who succeeded to the throne after his father's death in 1748 and was supported and canonized by Russia.

Due to a series of Russian fortresses right overhead.

Nurari had to do the bidding of the Russians.

Now he is leading his headquarters eastward to make peace with Musayev's Russian army.

In fact, they were also worried that the Ming Dynasty would destroy Kazakhstan in the process of westward expansion.

Right now.

Bright rockets pierce the sky.

"It's a Han rocket!"

A Kazakh commander said in horror.

"We've been discovered!"

"It's normal to be discovered, we're already close to the battlefield!"

"Go on to the Syr Darya, if the Russians are defeated, Kazakhstan may not be able to survive alone"

The Kazakh army now also pays attention to the Ming army sentry who found them.

The sentinels of the Ming army were generally equipped with rockets, which on the one hand could transmit messages through rockets, and on the other hand, they could also use rockets to disturb the enemy's army and hit the enemy's morale.

Soon.

The news that the Kazakhs had also sent troops reached the base camp of the Western Army.

"Report! There were about 20,000 Kazakhs, most of them cavalry, some armed with smoothbore guns, some armed with rifled guns, and some of them traditional archers armed with bows and arrows! ”

"Report, the Kazakhs and the Rakshasa armies are moving in the opposite direction, and they have the intention of making peace!!"

The sentinels of the Ming army kept passing the news to Li Sheng, the military tent of the First Army of the Western Army.

He was originally the first brigade commander of the Guards Cavalry Brigade of the Ming Army.

With his qualifications, he is qualified to be the commander and chief of staff of the Western Army.

However, because of a command error in an operation last year, he was demoted by one level.

Now he was sent by Emperor Zhu to conquer the Western Army.

In fact, this is also a good thing for her.

Because now there is a chance to fight, that is, the Western Army.

Neither the Russians nor the Kazakhs are very easy to deal with.

Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the mounted infantry brigade at hand is not the top in the Ming army's combat sequence.

If he were still the commander of the Guards Cavalry Brigade now.

He would definitely lead five thousand guards cavalry to fight a assault.

The First World War began with the destruction of the Kazakh cavalry from the west.

But now he had at hand five thousand mounted infantry.

He couldn't use 5,000 mounted infantry to annihilate the 20,000 Kazakh cavalry on the opposite side.

Li Shengli sat on a horse in a straight military uniform, wearing a polished steel helmet on his head and a shiny cuirass on his chest. Dressed as a heavy cavalryman, as if he were still the commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps.

"I thought it was a Rakshasa ghost that bit me, but I didn't expect it to be a Kazakh"

Li Shengzhou said with a frown.

"Now we can only push through the more than 20,000 Kazakhs first!"

"The Rakshasa can only let them go to the side of the Syr Darya, it seems that this war is difficult to fight, and the Kazakhs are also involved."

Meanwhile.

On the banks of the Syr Darya River.

The Russian troops of the brigade have begun to assemble, preparing to attack and push the approaching Ming army of the first division.

Although the main force of the Ming army has not yet arrived, there are still thousands of Ming scouts and Russian troops who have arrived in the Qiili grassland.

Of course, they will not fight a decisive battle with the Russian army, after all, there are too few of them.

But the Ming army was not without a way to attack.

Dense rockets continue to fall into the Russian military formations, and the Russian army does not fight back, but only builds fortifications with their heads covered! ，、

Because they knew that the purpose of these Ming scouts was to delay their construction of fortifications.

Obviously.

The main force of the Ming army is rushing here, and the decisive battle will soon begin.

Two days and two nights.

Musayev, Andrei, and Holkat's eyes were red, and they hadn't closed their eyes for three days.

This big war can be said to be a collection of forces of the Russians in the Asian part, and even the Kazakhs were pulled over by them.

If it could not win, then the Russian Empire would have taken advantage of the fact that it would lose its Asian territories as soon as possible.

The trio are now around the map, discussing the battle that will begin.

"Your Excellency Commander, the 12th Division has been assembled and is ready to attack!"

A bearded Russian major general came to report to Musayev.

Musayev said lightly: "Okay. Major General Lermontov, this is a tentative attack, and the most critical first battle! ”

The Russian major general surnamed Lermontov nodded and gave a military salute: "Please rest assured, the 12th Division will not disgrace the Pan-Slavic flag." ”

"No, this battle is only allowed to lose, not to win!"

Musayev's gaze returned to the map.

"This. Your Excellency, I heard you right, did I? ”

"Of course you heard me right, that's what I'm talking about."

Musayev turned his head,

"I need to convince the Chinese that they can easily defeat us in the field, but also convince them that we still have a lot of food, so that they can't wait to attack, because they will definitely worry that we will build a solid barbed wire fortifications!"

"Got it! Your Excellency, Commander! ”

Lermontov already knew the intentions of His Excellency the Doge.

As for the Russian army, in fact, they are also worried about the prolongation of the war.

Because they don't have supplies for long!

If the Ming army adopts delaying tactics, then the Russian army will be forced to retreat.

So, they need a small defeat to confuse and paralyze their opponents.

Musayev nodded, "Very good, go do it." ”

……

"How many of them are there? It seems that there are more than 30,000 people! ”

Chen Dewang stood on a high ground outside the Russian military camp and raised his binoculars to observe the huge camp.

"It seems that the Russians have transferred all their troops from the major fortresses of Xiaoyuz!!"

Fang Yu, the division commander from the Heaven and Earth Society, stood beside Chen Dewang and frowned.

"It seems that there are at least 40,000 Russian troops!"

"The Russians are out!"

At this time, Chen Dewang had already discovered that the Russian soldiers of the brigade had already lined up and walked out of the half-dug trench fortifications.

"It seems to be a whole division! Smack, the queue is really neat! ”

Chen Dewang smiled and asked, "Can you defeat them?" ”

"It's hard to say, their foreign guns have a long range, our rate of fire is fast, and I have a lot of their cannons, it seems that they have been specially strengthened."

Fang Yu's face was indifferent, analyzing the contrast between the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides.

Frankly.

This was the first major battle of the Ming army after a large-scale reloading of rear-loading guns.

Whether a breech-loading gun with a short range and a fast rate of fire wins, or a front-loading rifled gun with a longer range is better.

There is still a lot of controversy within the Ming army.

"If they're just these people, we'll win!"

Chen Dewang said with a smile.

"Won?"

Fang Yu frowned.

"Why?"

"You know we can take a crawling stance and attack, right?"

"Yes, Chief of Staff."

"Our guns have more than six times the rate of fire of theirs, and they have to stand up and reload, and we can reload on our stomachs, which means that we have one-eighth the face of them!"

"Six times the rate of fire, and one-eighth of the frontal surface" Fang Yu seemed to understand a little.

(End of chapter)