Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1644

Stepanov stood quietly on a small hill on the banks of the Amur River. This was a Russian artillery position. Not far ahead was the town of Zeya, a town on the east bank that was closely watched by the Cossacks.

Jieya Town is a wooden castle. Like Albazin, it is covered with a thick layer of soil, which is used not only for fire prevention, but also to absorb the kinetic energy of some siege equipment or shells.To be honest, you shouldn't be too optimistic about such a castle. Unless you can mobilize heavy artillery to bombard it, you can only honestly rely on siege or people to pile it up.But on the northeast land, except for the people on the east coast who have enough heavy artillery, neither Russia nor Bogd Khan have it. superior.

Therefore, in a short period of time, a core stronghold like Jieya Town will not be in danger of falling for a while, not to mention that it is near a river and has convenient transportation, as long as it can withstand the first wave of enemy attacks , You can continuously get materials and even personnel support from the rear in the future, so there is no danger.

It is said that this time the Russian Empire and the Manchu Qing jointly attacked the east bank. The time was originally set after the beginning of spring. Later, due to material financing and other factors, it was scheduled after the autumn harvest. , the head and the tail cannot look at each other.In this operation, the Russian side dispatched more than [-] soldiers and horses, which can be said to be the largest mobilization of troops in the lower reaches of the Amur River over the years.In the past, hundreds or thousands of Cossacks could travel hundreds of versts without encountering an enemy, but since the people on the east bank went up the Amur River—now the Russians speculate that the possibility of the Amur River leading to the sea is extremely high Afterwards, the rule of the Russian Empire here seemed to be in jeopardy, and several wars ended with the defeat of the Russian Empire, not because the Cossacks were not good at fighting, but because they were at a huge disadvantage in numbers. The supply of materials is also quite insufficient.

As a veteran officer who has served in the Far East for many years, Stepanov, like his old superior, the former Yakutsk Warlord Franzbekov who has returned to Moscow, insists that the equipment of the people on the east coast is The 8 small guns and the so-called "inland river shallow water gunboats" that can move freely on the Amur River are the most important factors for them to gain a firm foothold on this land and gain an advantage, not others.

The Russian Empire really needs this kind of small gunboat too much!

Stepanov vaguely heard from the new Yakutsk warlord Peter Yugovich that Moscow officials had also noticed the inland shallow water boats of the people on the east bank and tried to obtain some so that they could let them go on the Dnieper River. The area gained an advantage over the Poles.It's just that the production and operation of the Little Star Shipyard in Severodvinsk, which previously cooperated with the people on the east coast, has basically stagnated due to the stalemate in the relationship between the two countries. There is no way to do this on the Internet, because some of the backbone technicians from the east coast of the factory have been forced to "naturalize" Russia by the tsar, and the equipment, drawings and working capital have also been frozen-but this factory has indeed been abolished, and the Russians can only let them It manufactures some fishing boats and small offshore cargo ships. The Russians really can't handle the cutting-edge ship types like inland shallow water gunboats that require a lot of calculations, certifications, and designs.

In desperation, the Tsar also sent people to the United Provinces and England to ask whether these two shipbuilding powers could build such inland gunboats as the people on the east coast.The well-known Saldan Shipyard in the United Provinces spent a certain amount of resources on this issue after receiving consulting fees from the Russians. Some cannot be resolved.The implication is that even if they built such a ship, they would put sails on it instead of using steam engines as power like the people on the east coast.

In this way, it does not make much sense, because inland ships sail in rivers with complicated waterways, and the maneuverability of the ship is a very important indicator. This is why people on the east coast install small horsepower steam engines for this type of ship—of course In recent years, after improvements in materials, processing accuracy and design, the horsepower of the steam engine of the inland gunboat has gradually increased a lot—the main reason.Although the technical level of the Russians is low, it does not mean that they cannot understand this point, so in the end they can only return disgruntled and return to the tsar.

Speaking of this, I have to sigh that although the level of steam engines in European countries has been improving over the years, there is still a certain gap from the east coast. This can be seen from the fact that their efforts in miniaturization of steam engines are not very efficient. Therefore, it is doomed that they will not be able to build a small marine steam engine as small as the east coast. In fact, if they can apply the steam engine to other places other than docks, mines, and reservoirs, it will be great.

Well, let's get down to business.Since the Russian Empire could not get such light, nimble but full of firepower ships-in fact, even if they did, it would be impossible to deploy them to Amur and the river basin-then they had to choose the timing of the attack, such as launching an attack after the autumn harvest.

The reason for this is mainly to prevent the people on the east bank from transferring a large amount of materials and personnel from the rear after getting the news, making it more difficult for their own troops to attack-there will be a month or so after the autumn harvest, and the Amur River will almost enter the freezing season Even if the upstream is not frozen, the area around the mouth of the downstream is definitely frozen, which basically prevents the people on the east bank from passing through this river to support the supply points along the line, which is beneficial to the actions of the Cossacks.

As for the fact that fighting in winter and spring is relatively cold, in fact, this is not a problem for the Russians at all.You must know that in mainland Russia and Siberia, residents have to go out to work in winter to earn cash in order to pay taxes in spring, and many people do not have enough warm clothes, so they work in forest farms, mines, and farms all winter. Cold is really nothing to Russians.Don't you see, in history, the Russian Cossacks often exchanged fire with the Manchu Qing army in winter and spring, because only in the free winter can they recruit enough serfs to exile.

That's what the Russians planned, and they did! In the middle and late September of 1672, the Yakutsk Warlord’s Office dispatched a thousand Cossacks, gathered more than 9 Siberian Cossacks from Yenisesk and other places in Albazin Castle, and then conscripted them nearby Five hundred serfs (all of whom had many combat experiences), were given weapons and marched eastward together. This was the main force.

In addition, Duke Peter (the chief of Gentemur) who surrendered to Russia also dispatched a thousand Tungus soldiers, led by the bravest of his thirteen sons, Catannai (Christian name Pavel), through the northern line. Attack Jieya County and Udi County, and try to instigate the local residents to rise up against the people on the east coast.

The two armies combined totaled more than 3000 people, which was indeed a great deal for the Russian colonial forces in the Far East.Moreover, in order to prepare for this battle, they have hoarded all kinds of combat materials, food, horses, draft animals, ammunition, etc. for at least more than a year. They are able to mobilize armies of this size to fight.

Stepanov commanded it as part of the main force, that is, to monitor and attack the settlements on the east bank that were closer to Albazin Castle. To put it bluntly, it was actually the area around Zeya Town.As for the main force, [-] Cossacks, commanded by the trusted Yakutsk Warlord Peter Yugovich, headed east along the Amur River to attack the more affluent Hailanpao, Khabarovsk and other counties .

Of course Stepanov was very dissatisfied with this, but as the so-called high-ranking officials crushed people to death, Yugovich is now the Yakutsk warlord, commanding the tsarist subjects in the entire Far East. It is equivalent to the Jiedushi of a feudal town in the Tang Dynasty of China. Naturally, this prestige is not comparable to the Cossack leader Stepanov, so he can only bring five hundred serf soldiers to spy on Zeya Town in despair.

Of course, don't underestimate these five hundred serf soldiers. Their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. After all, in such a bitterly cold place in the Amur River Basin in the Far East, people who have no skills have already died 100 times.Back then, Khabarov led troops to collect taxes among the natives in the lower reaches of the Amur River. When the Qing court obstructed them, they clashed with Ningguta Zhangjing Haise’s troops. The result was a big victory. The main body at the time was the armed Russia. As for the serfs, the real Cossacks only had more than [-] riders. It can be seen that these people are all soldiers of the "gray cattle" level, and not everyone can be insulted.

Since the dispatch of troops in mid-September, Stepanov's more than 9 people first sneaked and defeated a militia team on the east bank that was completely unresponsive, and then went straight to Zeya Town at the fastest speed, trying to conquer the town in one fell swoop. important stronghold.At the critical moment, the professional soldier system established in Hailanpao County played a role. Only more than 500 professional soldiers in the county stepped forward, closed the only city gate in a panic, and used soldiers on the top of the city. Artillery repelled the Russians' tentative attacks.It can be said that it was the quick response of these capable professional soldiers that saved such an important city as Zeya Town from being attacked and captured by the enemy.

Now, the town has conscripted another group of men to help defend the city, and the firepower is quite fierce. Stepanov estimated that if there is no increase in troops, with his [-] or so people, there is basically no It is possible to capture this prepared city.In fact, his superior, General Yugovich, is also very clear, so the order given to him is to monitor and attack the town of Zeya, and there is no rigid requirement that it must be taken, which gives Stepanov enough freedom. .

So, he divided these hundreds of people into several teams, leaving only the most elite part to watch from a distance outside Jieya Town, while the other teams rushed into the surrounding countryside to rob.Pity those reclamation villages, there are often only thirty or forty households in a village, although they have received some superficial military training, but the level is very limited, and the combat effectiveness is also very low.Therefore, when they encountered one or two hundred Russian soldiers coming with guns and knives, it was natural for them to be defeated and killed by them.

Moreover, the most vicious trick of the Russians is not actually how many of your villages were attacked, but they coerced and bewitched the native tribes living in Zeya County and Udi County, and together with them attacked and robbed the east bank village.Many of these tribesmen were dealt with by the army of the East Bank earlier. There was already a grievance between the two sides. The reason why there was no trouble before was not that they were really convinced, but because of the military pressure of the East Coast people. .But now the Russians are attacking, and they keep saying the slogan of driving out the yellow-clothed thieves on the east bank and making a fortune together, so many tribesmen took the opportunity to turn their backs and join the Russian army to fight against the people on the east bank.And as time goes on, and the longer the Russians have the upper hand on the battlefield, the more tribal people will be coerced and fooled to the Russian side, and the more trouble the people on the east coast will face.

It has been almost two months since the war officially broke out, and Stepanov doesn't know how many Tungus tribesmen are fighting for him now, maybe a thousand, maybe three thousand, who knows.He only knows that as the tribal people who have been suppressed by the East Bank have "revolted", the second counties of Jieya and Wu that they established are basically abolished. Even if the main strongholds such as the county town can be preserved, but All the villages in the four fields were destroyed, and all the residents of the land reclamation were killed. This also indicates that the colonization efforts of the people on the east coast in this area are in vain—Liu Jianguo, the new commissioner Liu Jianguo, was hit in the head not long after he took office. I know what it feels like at the moment.

"After two more weeks of clearing the territory of Jieya County, and then gathering forces, I will try to storm this castle. Anyway, by that time, there should be quite a lot of people at our disposal. The premise is that we have to prepare There is enough food.” After looking at Zeya County quietly for a while, Stepanov breathed out a breath of white steam, and said to a Cossack officer standing beside him: “All the food that was taken back will be transported to the designated place , as our military rations for the next period of time, we must know that Yakutsk and Albazin are not going to distribute food, meat and other supplies to us. All gold, silver and furs are also collected, and nothing is left Those lowly Tunguskas, especially those mink and fox furs, can make a lot of money whether they are transported back to Moscow or sold to Bogd Khan’s envoys.”

"Understood, sir." The Cossack officer smiled lightly. This time the conquest of the people on the east coast really excited everyone. With so many spoils, even if the leaders took the biggest share and the rest were divided, it still wouldn't be a big deal. a small amount.Now, he only hoped that the people on the east coast would not react so quickly, so that they could grab a few more days smoothly.

(End of this chapter)