I

  Chapter 854 850【Spicy Meat】

   "Can't break out upstream!" Stepanov said.

   Beketov added: "You can't go directly to the mountains and river valleys in the north!"

   Escape is the most important thing. Zinoviev ignored the aristocratic airs and humbly asked the two Cossack chiefs: "Then where should we go?"

   "East!"

  Stepanov and Beketov said the answer in unison.

  The east side is the direction in which the Datong Army came.

  On the east and west sides of Yaksa, the riverside is full of tidal flats covered with reeds. Since it is not yet autumn, it is difficult to burn out a fire, which is very conducive to the sneaking of the defenders in the city.

   On the east side, the terrain is particularly complicated.

  Heilongjiang encountered a sharp bend here, the water flow speed was greatly slowed down, and large sandbars and tidal flats were alluvial. There is also a small river flowing in from the northeast, forming large and small ponds and rivers between the tidal flats and sandbars, and some places even belong to swampy areas.

  If the water rises and then recedes, there will be no shortage of food at all, and a large number of fish will be stranded in the tidal flats, and the second half of the scene of "beating roe deer with a ladle to scoop fish" will appear.

  The Datong army only has more than a thousand people, and it is impossible to surround the castle to death.

  After dark, you must return to the camp to guard against the enemy's sneak attack, thus revealing a huge gap for breaking out.

  Midnight.

  The west gate of the castle opened, and a group of Daur slaves, all gagged, were expelled by the Cossacks.

  The slaves were surprised and happy, and rushed westward in the dark. After running for a full mile and getting into the reeds, someone tore the rag out of his mouth and shouted excitedly: "The Raksha ghost is gone, the Raksha ghost is gone!"

  In fact, as soon as there was movement in the castle, the sentinel hiding in the reeds on the tidal flat had already rowed to Jiangxinzhou to report the news.

  At this time, he heard the shouts of the Daur slaves again, Wang Fuchen laughed and said, "If you sound east and west, you really want to flee east."

  The Datong Army has Khabarov as a guide and advisor. How can they not guess what the enemy is thinking?

   They are all Cossack leaders, and they even formulate the breakout route exactly the same.

   But to the east of the castle, five or six Cossack and Siberian hunters carried a small boat and headed straight for the dense reeds. When encountering ponds or rivers, they put down the boat, rowed for a while, and went ashore to continue carrying the boat.

   "Did the Khitans come after them?" Zinoviev looked back from time to time.

  Stepanov said: "When you get here, you don't have to be afraid of pursuers. There is a lake in front of you. After crossing the lake, go north for a while and you will find the river."

   It is fine to talk about lakes, or ponds. Anyway, the area is not big or small, and they are all formed by the sediment accumulation in Heilongjiang. Going downstream from Yaksa to the place where Heilongjiang turns to the south, there are dozens of similar ponds of different sizes.

  With such a complex terrain and reeds everywhere, it is impossible for the Datong Army to send troops to pursue it. One is that it is difficult to find the enemy, the other is that it is easy to be sniped, and the third is that it is possible to stray into the swamp.

   No need to chase, just block the key exit!

   These Rakshasa ghosts cannot always hide in the reeds. Either choose to continue to the east, regardless of the consequences, go to the lower reaches of Heilongjiang, wherever you grab it, there is almost no possibility of returning to Nerchinsk. Either go out of the reeds and head north, where there are two river valleys, get into the ravine to play by ear, and maybe go around and go upstream back to Nerchinsk.

  Leaving the reed marsh, the Cossack carried the boat and ran northward, but he still didn't hear the movement of the pursuers.

  Finally, they saw a small river flowing out of the mountains in the north, and then turned sharply to flow parallel to Heilongjiang.

  They didn't bring any larger boats, and each of the small boats they carried with them could only accommodate more than ten people. Moreover, all the redundant parts have been dismantled, and the speed of running is very fast when it is lifted up, and it can be quickly rowed away by throwing it into a small river.

   This is the core method of the Cossacks. Relying on such convenient ships, they have been wreaking havoc from the Don River Basin to Heilongjiang.

  Going north along the small river, the sky was almost bright when it was about to enter the valley.

   Beketov looked at the entrance of the dark valley, frowned and said: "It's not right, why didn't the Khitans come after them? Even if they didn't come after them, there should be some movement."

  Stepanov asked: "You mean, there are enemies in the valley ahead?"

   "Very likely." Beketov nodded.

   Zinoviev was a little unbelieving: "Could it be that the Khitans know divination? How could it be possible to set up an ambush in front of us in advance."

   Beketov said: "I have been exploring in Siberia for almost ten years, and I have an intuition about the danger. There must be an ambush in the valley ahead!"

  Stepanov said: "Go ashore immediately, go west along the foot of the mountain, and there is a river valley over there."

   "Then go ashore." Zinoviev actually agreed, and the nobleman seemed to be getting smarter.

  In the valley, there really is an ambush!

   There are 200 Datong troops and more than 300 native soldiers. Khabarov, the Cossack leader, is too familiar with the Yaksa area, and he also knows Cossack tactics well, so he counts his former colleagues as deadly.

   Downstream of the small river, there are also some Datong troops, who are rushing over by boat.

  As long as the Raksha ghost dares to enter the river valley, he will be flanked by front and back, and he can only fly up the mountain if he wants to escape.

  A Datong army came from Heilongjiang, and they have been on their way after entering Xiaohe. After the sky brightened, they finally joined the friendly forces in the valley.

   "The enemy didn't come?"

"No."

   "Go out of the valley, go west, and pursue immediately!"

  Yaksa is a strategically important place extending in all directions, but the Anton navy blocked the mouths of the rivers, and the terrain here became a dead zone. What tidal flats, swamps, ponds, and reed marshes, you don’t need to worry about them all. Only those few roads can really run.

  The northern foothills are full of forests.

  Hundreds of Rakshasa ghosts marched in the woods at the foot of the mountain with their boats. After tossing and tossing for most of the night, I was already tired enough, so I stopped to rest and eat.

   Swallowing a few mouthfuls of dry food, Stepanov said: "I'm afraid there are enemies in the valley to the west. We can't go any further."

   "Where should we go then?" Zinoviev asked.

   Beketov pointed to the north: "Go up the mountain."

Stepanov said: "After going up the mountain, find a place in the north to go down the mountain, cross the river valley to the west, continue to march up the mountain, find a river to return to the Amur River (Heilongjiang), and then you can row back to Nibu Chu."

   Zinoviev had never fought this kind of battle, and felt that the Cossack chiefs were crazy.

   However, similar situations are often encountered by Cossacks.

  Before Khabarov, Cossacks rowed to Heilongjiang to plunder. At that time, the number of troops was close to 200, and they were also blocked from the rear, fleeing all the way over the mountains and ridges, eating people to continue their lives when the food ran out. Not only eat the local aborigines, but even eat the corpses of their companions. In the end, 50 people managed to escape back, even with precious furs, which immediately detonated the Cossacks' ambitions for Heilongjiang.

   This is really a group of desperate lunatics!

  At noon, Wang Fuchen had already occupied the castle.

  A few miles north of the castle, there is a hot air balloon five miles away. As long as the Cossacks dare to show their heads, they will be discovered immediately.

   "What? Raksha ghosts were not found in the northeast and northwest river valleys?" Wang Fuchen was a little surprised.

   Khabarov sighed: "Oh, they went up the mountain."

  Wang Fuchen asked: "Where do you think the enemy will go?"

Khabarov drew a simple map from memory: "The river valley in the northeast can only go west. In other directions, no matter how you climb over the mountains, you will die. The river valley in the northwest is very long, and it will fork In two. The westernmost river valley forks, and it will fork further north, where there are several large flat lands in the mountains. If the Cossack bandits want to escape back, they should go to that flat land, and they can also supply food by the way.”

  The so-called flat land will form a city in a few hundred years, that is, Skovorodino in Russia.

  Although there are no cities yet, large tribes have developed. Two years ago, it was ransacked by Khabarov. At this time, there should be some natives. Raksha ghosts can kill people and rob food when they get there.

  Zhang Tingxun squatted in a ravine for a day and a night, and was bitten all over by mosquitoes.

  Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, I suddenly received an order to continue north along the river valley. Moreover, friendly troops came to reinforce them, and a total of 500 Datong troops marched towards the north.

  In the mountains and forests, it is extremely difficult to cross the mountains, and the Cossacks have not yet thrown away their boats.

  Slightly gentle hillside, several people carried the boat to climb. When encountering steep terrain, people climbed up first and dragged the boat up with ropes.

   After walking for five full days, the food I carried with me was eaten up.

  Those Siberian hunters used bows and arrows to obtain wild animals along the way, but obviously they were still not enough to eat.

"what!"

   Someone fell down the hillside and rolled all the way down.

   Beketov went to check and said, "His leg is broken and he can no longer travel."

   "I can still walk!" The Cossack who broke his leg shouted in horror.

  A person next to him drew out a dagger and stabbed it into his chest.

  The unlucky guy was stripped of his clothes and his weapon. A few Cossacks disembowelled very neatly, but the others turned a blind eye to it.

   When the Cossacks left, there was only a pile of bones, water and blood on the ground.

  Well, I didn’t eat my head either.

  Continuing to march for a day, they found an indigenous village, raided and captured more than 30 people, killed them all and ate meat to fill their stomachs.

   A few days later, more than 800 Cossacks and Siberian hunters, when they came out of the mountain, there were only more than 700 people left.

  Even if the Datong Army doesn't come to intercept them, when these guys return to Nerchinsk, only half of them will be left.

   Zinoviev was already in a trance. As a nobleman, he never thought that he could eat people. But I was so hungry that I stuffed food into my mouth, and when I was full, I started to be afraid. At night, I could dream of ghosts claiming my life.

   Crazy, these Cossacks are all crazy!

  He didn't want to be the general manager of Heilongjiang anymore, he just wanted to return to Nerchinsk early, and then went to Moscow on the grounds of recuperation.

  This broken place, whoever loves it will come, Zinoviev vowed never to set foot in Siberia again.

   "My lord, cross the river valley ahead and continue northward, and the mountains will be gentle. If you cross a low mountain range, you will see a large flat land, and the villages there must have food," Stepanov said.

  Zinoviev nodded quickly: "Before returning to Nerchinsk, everything will be arranged by you."

  What kind of steward, what kind of nobleman, his identity has been forgotten, and Zinoviev was afraid when he saw the Cossack.

   But when he reached the river valley, he was finally able to slow down.

  Because some Cossacks actually carry fishing nets with them, they can get some fish to satisfy their hunger, so the noble lord can stop eating human flesh for the time being.

  Two days later, hundreds of Rakshasa ghosts had already lurked to the outskirts of the village.

  Zhang Tingxun is in the village, almost getting impatient.

  (end of this chapter)