I

  Chapter 852 848 [Tsarist Russian nobles]

  In the evening, several generals had dinner together, and Zhang Tingxun was also called to accompany him.

  The generals on both sides of Duhufu and Hailanpao communicated with each other about their current situation. In fact, most of the time they were bragging.

  Whispering and talking, Hou Rusong suddenly said: "I just received the news that the armies will expand again this year."

   "Army expansion?" Wang Fuchen was quite surprised.

Hou Rusong shook his head and said, "It's expansion, not army expansion. An infantry division originally had 11,000 troops, but now it has expanded to 12,000. A cavalry division originally had 13,500 troops, but now it has expanded to 15,000. The personnel in this expansion are not soldiers, but various civilians." , Auxiliary soldiers and logistics. Even those who wear horseshoes will have military positions in the future, and most of them will be classified into the cavalry sequence.”

  Wang Fuchen suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "It should."

Zhang Tingxun interrupted suddenly: "I heard from the teacher of the military academy that this year the military academy will also recruit more students. Each military academy recruits ten students each year, and they only study basic courses for one year. As for what to do after finishing my studies, I’m not too sure about it, but it’s definitely going to be in the logistics office. In addition, the army is really going to expand this year. A new cavalry division will be created in Hetao, many of which are Li Zicheng’s old troops. Shaanxi will also create a new cavalry division Division, probably to deal with Xihai (Qinghai) and the Western Regions."

  A general named Lu Zideng said with a smile: "It seems that the imperial court is getting richer and richer. If it expands like this, the annual military expenditure will definitely be indispensable."

  Wang Fuchen asked: "Does Captain Zhang have any inside information?"

Zhang Tingxun said: "It's not an inside story. The teachers and students of the Nanjing Military Academy know it. One Hebei infantry division was transferred south to Xuzhou for garrison. One Shaanxi infantry division was transferred south to Hanzhong for garrison. Another Shanxi infantry division was transferred south to Nanyang. Garrison. I have a classmate who was assigned to Xuzhou as the head of the post."

  Hou Rusong guessed: "There are too many troops piled up on the northern border, and the south seems a little empty. This deployment of troops is to prevent chaos in the south."

Zhang Tingxun also said: "The rank of title is also subdivided. Take the duke as an example, it is divided into first-class, second-class, and third-class, that is, the state, county, and county. Several divisions transferred to the south this year , All the division commanders were promoted to be county princes, and together with the division commanders who were previously transferred to the south, they were called back to Nanjing to serve as officials in the Dudu Mansion."

  All the generals and officials looked at each other in blank dismay. This approach is not only increasing the military power in the interior, but also the emperor is gathering military power.

  In fact, they thought too much, those teachers were all heroes from the dragon, and they were a little too old. Transferring them back to the Governor's Mansion is a promotion to enjoy the blessings, and they have also been promoted to the title. At the same time, it is also giving opportunities for promotion to young generals. There are only so many division commanders, and the veterans cannot always occupy them.

  The Dudu’s Mansion in the new Datong Dynasty is different from the middle and late Ming Dynasty, all of them have real power.

   It is said that Gu Jianshan, the left captain of the navy, has now been promoted to the county magistrate. The establishment of the Navy Military Academy was promoted by Gu Jianshan, and the official shipyard was also under his jurisdiction (the chief officer of the shipyard came from the Ministry of War, and the second officer came from the Dudu Mansion). officer. As long as there is no wanton corruption and just grab some oil and water casually, it is completely possible to be invisible.

  The generals did not dare to discuss these matters, so Wang Fuchen quickly changed the subject: "Will Hai Lanpao follow the expansion?"

   "Not yet, your place is too out of the way, and you will be assigned more civilian and logistics staff in a year or two," Hou Rusong said to Zhang Tingxun, "Let's talk about the military academy."

Zhang Tingxun thought about it carefully: "By the way, military school graduates seem to have to change. In the future, graduates will not be assigned positions, but will be awarded military ranks. This matter is still under discussion. It is probably the best group of students who will be awarded lieutenants after graduation." , and the rest are all awarded to the second lieutenant." Speaking of this, Zhang Tingxun laughed at himself, "I guess an outstanding student like me should be awarded to the sergeant."

  Wang Fuchen praised: "This reform is very good. Only military ranks are awarded, and military positions are assigned only when they arrive in the army. Local generals can also arrange more flexibly."

Hou Rusong said with a smile: "It must be His Majesty's idea, just like being a civil servant in the imperial examination. When new scholars go to a place, they are generally not arranged to be chief officials. Many of them start as second-ranking officials, so that they can accumulate experience in politics. Now graduates from military schools are awarded Lieutenants and second lieutenants, when they arrive in the army, they will mostly be sentry officers (deputy company commanders), and they will first learn how to lead troops to fight with the sentry commander.”

  Zhang Tingxun also said happily: "In the future, there will be more graduates from military academies, and I am afraid that we will have to start from the captain (platoon leader) and team deputy."

  …

  Yaksa.

  Fort expert Peter Beketov came to support this place with 54 Cossacks. His task was to build a bastion in Yaksa.

   Stepanov greeted him warmly, gave Beketov a bear hug, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're finally here!"

Beketov explained: "I was able to come last year, but the (Mobei) Mongols were defeated by the Khitan (Chinese) army, and Buryatia completely lost the protection of the Mongols. So we opened up again in the east of Lake Baikal. I have established a new stronghold. The new stronghold is in a place called Nerchinsk, where I built a castle last year, and I will come here this year before the snow melts."

   "Nerchinsk? Has the castle been built there?" Stepanov asked.

   Beketov said: "Not yet, but the main body has been built, and I have left them the drawings, and the rest don't bother me."

Stepanov said: "It's fine if you come. There is a place called Hailanpao downstream. There are a large number of Khitan troops stationed there. The troops in my hand dare not go there. So I must first build a castle defense, and wait for the consolidation. After here, look for an opportunity to attack the Khitans. As long as the Khitan army there is wiped out, the entire Amur River (Heilongjiang) valley will submit to His Majesty the Tsar!"

   Beketov was taken to have a meal and rest. On the second day, he checked the terrain and designed the castle according to the human resources here.

A few days later, Beketov drew up the blueprint and explained in detail: "You are short of manpower here, so you can only build a simple bastion. You have already built the square earth wall of the castle, and a bastion structure should be added to the four corners. The location of the fort needs to be changed, and the fort will be added to a fort. In front of the earth wall and the fort, a lagging wall and a ditch will be built.”

  Stepanov said: "The project volume is a bit large, and I am afraid it will not be completed within this year."

Beketov said: "The stagnant wall can be replaced by a wooden fence. First, two rows of wooden fences are erected inside and outside, and the soil dug out from the trench is poured between the two rows of wooden fences and hammered tightly. Inside the trench and outside the trench, you can Insert sharpened wooden thorns. By the way, there is no well in the castle, so a well must be dug quickly to prevent the lack of water source after being besieged for a long time. The well needs to be erected with water pipes to lead to various parts of the castle, so that water can be quickly drawn in case of fire. "

   "As expected of a fortress expert!" Stepanov was very satisfied with this design.

  Peter Beketov was the guy who built the castles of Chita, Nerchinsk, and Yaksa. He also explored and discovered Yakutsk and surrounding areas. The first castle in the Baikal region was built by this man.

  As soon as the drawings were drawn, Stepanov started working immediately.

   Cossacks, Siberian hunters, and Daur slaves captured from around were all mobilized.

  The four walls of the castle have already been completed, and the rest is to dig wells, dig trenches, build bastions and artillery forts, etc.

  Stepanlov was the vanguard sent by the Tsar, with 150 regular troops. It is said that it is a regular army, but it is actually recruited Cossacks, but each of the 150 Cossacks is equipped with matchlock guns. In addition, there are more than 300 Cossacks from Lake Baikal and more than 400 Siberian indigenous hunters.

  With a total of more than 800 troops, the food was almost too much to eat, and they frantically robbed and killed nearby indigenous people, and continued to grow food in Yaksa.

  The Daur slaves here are miserable. Even if they help build the city, they can only hang themselves by drinking porridge every day. Most of the slaves were so hungry that it was difficult for them to walk, and they had to be whipped to carry earth and rocks. Every day, slaves fell to the ground and died.

  After building the city for more than ten days, another Rakshasa ghost came by boat.

   Tsarist Russian nobleman Dmitry Zinoviev, led 50 arquebus soldiers, rushed to Yaksa.

  Stepanov, a fake nobleman, hurriedly went to greet him, and knelt down directly: "Why did the general come in person? Have the three thousand troops arrived?"

   Zinoviev shook his head and said: "There is no 3,000 troops. The empire has declared war on Poland, so it is impossible to send troops to Siberia. I only have 50 soldiers in hand. Have you raised the food and grass here?"

  Stepanov said: "There is a Khitan army downstream, I dare not go there to grab food."

   "How many people are there in the Khitan army?" Zinoviev asked.

  Stepanov said: "It's not clear, but there are at least a thousand people, and I only have more than 800 people."

   Zinoviev reprimanded: "Cowards, more than 800 imperial warriors, enough to wipe out 3,000 Khitan troops. Gather your troops immediately and follow me downstream to raise food!"

  Stepanov was stunned: "The castle is not repaired?"

   "You don't have enough food, why build a castle? If the Khitan army comes and surrounds the castle, we will all starve to death!" Zinoviev said.

  Stepanov looked at Beketov, and the two looked at each other, feeling that the man in front of him was mentally retarded.

  But it is also understandable. How many real nobles are not idiots?

   Zinoviev said: "I have been appointed by His Majesty the Tsar as the general manager of Amur (Heilongjiang). Everything here must obey my orders!"

   As a result, city building was temporarily stopped. In order to save food, all the redundant slaves were killed, and only a part was left for farming.

   Just when the Datong army sent troops to make a surprise attack, the Raksha ghost actually took the initiative to attack.

  Facing a foolish boss, Stepanov tried his best to be as active as possible, sending more than a dozen ships to explore the way, and retreated as soon as he found the situation.

  The two sides collided more than ten miles away from Hailanpao.

   Zinoviev, the noble general, looked at the battleship of the Datong Army stupidly, and then at the Cossack boat he was on. He said no more harsh words, and immediately shouted: "Withdraw to the castle defense!"

  These small Cossack boats rowed so fast all the way that the warships of the Anton Navy couldn't catch up at all.

  Hou Rusong said depressedly: "Damn it, the raid failed."

  The Datong Army has the Cossack leader Khabarov as a guide.

  Khabarov is familiar with the tactics of the Cossacks. The Cossacks would run away if they couldn’t win a fight, or even if they didn’t fight. Therefore, the plan this time was to attack by surprise, marching at night to block the upstream, lest the Cossacks escape by boat.

   Now that the plan has failed, the Cossacks may flee directly to Nerchinsk.

Both Stepanov and Beketov would fight, and they both thought of giving up Yaksa. The former said: "My lord, we can't fight head-on. The Khitan army is too strong. I suggest giving up Yaksa and retreating to the Nerchinsk region. , lengthen the enemy's supply line, and then find an opportunity to sneak attack the enemy!"

As a nobleman, Zinoviev did not adapt to the Cossack fighting style. He asked: "What if the enemy doesn't chase after him? What if the enemy takes the opportunity to occupy Yaksa, and station here and improve the castle? By that time, We were blocked in Nerchinsk, and we would never be able to touch Amur (Heilongjiang) again."

   This is also reasonable, and it cannot prove who is right and who is wrong.

  One is the thinking of the regular army, which must firmly control strategic locations.

  One is the Cossack bandit mentality, run away if there is danger, and go after the advantage.

  The aristocratic lord has the final say, the Cossacks really didn’t run away, and dared to stick to the Yaksa Castle when there was insufficient food.

  Wang Fuchen and Hou Rusong led their troops here, and when they saw the Rakshasa ghosts defending the city, they felt incredible.

  Why don't the enemy run away?

  (end of this chapter)