Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

With the surrender of Pavlovich's troops, the war in Irkutsk came to an end for the time being.

After Yang Chen captured the city of Irkutsk, he immediately reported the victory to Culun in the rear.

And began to repair and rebuild the city defense of Irkutsk, repair the damaged buildings, and dig corresponding bunkers and trenches inside and outside the city to strengthen the defense of Irkutsk.

Because, for a long time to come, Irkutsk will be the Ming Dynasty's bridgehead in the direction of northern Siberia.

At the very least, there is a high probability that the Ming army will not continue to send troops to Siberia until the railway is built to the shores of Lake Baikal.

There is no other reason. If the Ming Dynasty continues to send troops deeper into Siberia, the logistical pressure that the army will bear will be too great.

Even if they only entered Lake Baikal, the Ming army used more than 200,000 civilians and nearly 200,000 horses and livestock to ensure the supply of food and fodder for these 3,000 people.

Countless amounts of fodder and food were consumed before and after, and the silver coins in the treasury were spent like running water.

To be honest, if the Ming Dynasty had not gained a lot in the Battle of Xinzhou, it had robbed hundreds of thousands of horses of all kinds, as well as countless cattle and sheep.

Zhu Jing'an may not use troops against Irkutsk at all this time.

At most, if they can recover Kyaktu, they will withdraw their troops and prepare for peace talks with Tsarist Russia.

……

Omsk!

After withdrawing from Kulun, Bores began to gather troops and horses in Omsk to prepare for the defense of the city.

For this reason, he even ordered the deployment of troops to Central Siberia and Western Siberia to reinforce the war.

Just to protect Omsk, the important place where the Siberian Governor's Palace is located.

However, what he didn't expect was that not long after he retreated to Omsk, bad news came from the direction of Lake Baikal.

Irkutsk is lost!
The Ming army captured Irkutsk, and Pavlovich and everyone in Irkutsk became prisoners of war of the Ming army.

The great Tsarist Russian Empire lost Lake Baikal, the pearl of the Siberian wilderness, and the empire's most important transportation hub in Siberia.

This also means that the empire may lose control of the entire Eastern Siberia and Central Siberia.

No more logistical support and support can be provided there!

Even if the Ming army stopped sending troops to Siberia, the rebellion of the local indigenous tribes alone would be enough to cause Tsarist Russia to lose control of Siberia.

And this is an unacceptable thing for the current Tsarist Russian Empire.

Neither the current queen nor the current empire can afford to lose most of Siberia.

The queen came to power through a coup, and the heroine came to the throne. This is inherently disgraceful.

If the Queen had not worked hard to govern after taking office, carry out internal reforms, make concessions to the nobility, and protect the interests of the nobility.

It divided Poland three times, fought against the Ottoman Empire to gain access to the Black Sea coast, and annexed the Crimean Khanate, acquiring a large amount of land for the empire and appeasing many powerful officials and nobles in the country.

Her throne may not be secure.

Just a few years ago, the famous Pugachev Uprising just occurred in the empire, which greatly shook the rule of the empire.

If the empire loses all of Siberia this time, it will undoubtedly cause a big blow to the queen's prestige, and it will also cause the queen's prestige to plummet.

There might be another Pugachev uprising.

When the time comes, Tambores will inevitably be taken out to scare the monkeys, as the Queen's explanation to the Empire.

And this is something that Bores cannot accept.

Bores held the defeat report sent back from the front line in his hand, and the expression on his face kept changing.

The mellow tea leaves started to taste bitter in my mouth.

"Holmes, what do you think I should do next to make up for the mistake of losing Irkutsk, or even all of Central and Eastern Siberia..."

Bores asked his think tank.

After hearing this, Holmes shook his head feebly.

"My Lord Governor, what you have to consider now is not how to make up for your fault, but how to minimize the loss as much as possible, in order to reduce your fault."

When Boles heard this, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

After thinking for a while, he spoke.

"I must regain Irkutsk. If Irkutsk is captured by the Ming army, the empire will lose Central Siberia and Eastern Siberia sooner or later."

Because if supplies and food cannot be transported through waterways, it will be very difficult for Tsarist Russia to maintain its rule in the Siberian wilderness.

Lake Baikal is the water transportation hub of Siberia.

Losing Lake Baikal is equivalent to losing most of Siberia.

If Bores wants to keep Siberia, then he must regain Irkutsk and return Lake Baikal to the control of Tsarist Russia.

Holmes heard this, but did not speak.

Bores looked at his think tank and asked.

"Holmes, what's your opinion?"

After hearing this, Holmes did not express his objection directly, but spoke.

"What the Governor said makes sense."

"If the empire can dispatch an elite army of 30,000 people from Europe to reinforce the Siberian war, the empire will definitely be able to successfully recover Irkutsk and regain control of Lake Baikal."

According to reports from survivors who escaped from Irkutsk, the Ming army mobilized nearly 3,000 troops in order to capture Irkutsk.

Tsarist Russia wanted to recapture Irkutsk, so the elite force of 30,000 people was at a loss. After all, the Ming army is now the one occupying the fortress.

And if you want to quickly conquer a heavily defended fortress, you will need at least ten times the number of troops, which is not just talk.

When Boles heard this, he immediately understood what Holmes meant.

He does not suggest that the empire rushes to use troops against Irkutsk at this time.

Because Bores knew that the current empire did not have the ability to send an elite regiment of 30,000 people to Siberia to fight.

Since Holmes said this, he was expressing his objections in a subtle way.

Of course, Tsarist Russia has no shortage of troops.

However, the current Tsarist Russia also does not have the ability to maintain the logistics of an army of tens of thousands of people in Siberia.

Even if they drained all the tribes in Siberia, it would not be enough to meet the needs of an army of tens of thousands.

After thinking for a while, Boles continued to speak.

"Thirty thousand people..."

"Even if Her Majesty the Queen can dispatch, Siberia is unable to maintain the logistics required for 30,000 people."

Taking a deep breath, Bores continued.

"In this case, perhaps the only option is to negotiate with the Ming army..."

However, Bores did not think that he could negotiate to get the Ming army to give up the important fortress of Irkutsk.

Because now I don't have enough chips to compete with Daming.

At this moment, there was a noise outside.

Bores raised his head and asked.

"Who is making the noise outside?"

After his words fell, a response sounded from outside.

"As far as the Governor is concerned, someone is coming from St. Petersburg."

When Boles heard this, his pupils suddenly shrank. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, he took a deep breath and then said.

"quick!"

"Invite people in immediately!"

Soon, a blond bearded man walked in from outside, and then gave Bores a chest-stroking salute.

After the ceremony, he presented a letter written by Her Majesty the Queen to Bores and spoke.

"This is a letter written by Her Majesty the Queen. Please read it to the Governor-General."

Bores took the letter, opened the wax seal, and then started reading.

As his gaze swept across, the expression on Boles's face changed.

Catherine II said in her letter that she already knew about Petroyev's defeat and asked Bores to immediately end the war with the Ming Dynasty.

No matter what the cost, trade between the two sides must be restored as soon as possible.

Because, as the trade between Ming Dynasty and Tsarist Russia was cut off, the interests of the gentlemen in St. Petersburg were greatly harmed.

They jointly put pressure on the Queen and asked her to immediately resume trade with the Ming Dynasty.

If the queen can't do it, they don't mind joining forces to replace the tsar.

Well, you know, the reason why the Queen came to power back then was because of the support of these people.

If even these people no longer support the Queen, then the Queen's rule may really be overthrown.

In desperation, Catherine could only quickly write to Bores, asking Bores to immediately resume trade with the Ming Dynasty.

When Boles saw this, the expression on his face became awkward again.

When the Queen wrote this letter, although Petroyev was defeated, the empire had not lost much territory.

However, now, with the fall of Irkutsk, the empire is likely to completely lose most of Siberia.

Can Her Majesty the Queen, or rather the noble men in St. Petersburg, really accept this?

Bores was really unsure.

He was completely in a dilemma.

According to the Queen's instructions, if peace is negotiated at all costs, the empire will definitely lose most of Siberia, and the results of more than a hundred years of eastward expansion will collapse in one fell swoop.

At that time, he will most likely be used as a scapegoat to give an explanation to the empire.

However, if the peace talks were not carried out in accordance with the Queen's instructions, Bores was afraid that the Queen would be blamed for it. When the time came, he would have to be hanged at least once.

Therefore, Bores is now in a dilemma.

If you advance, you will die, if you retreat, you will die. If you obey the order, you will die. If you resist the order, you will die. You must die!
Bores looked at the Queen's letter and slumped down in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. He really didn't know what to do.

He subconsciously turned his gaze to the think tank Holmes again.

Holmes made eye contact with Bores, pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"My Lord Governor, in my opinion, the most important thing you should do now is to follow the Queen's order and negotiate with the Ming Dynasty."

"Because no matter when, if you follow orders, there will definitely be nothing wrong..." (End of Chapter)