The Last Frontier of Fire and Sword

Although Prince Alexei boasted that he would be able to take Konotop the day after tomorrow, he still underestimated the impact of Konotop's failure to attack the morale of the Russian army.

On June 3, when the prince ordered the army to launch a general offensive on Konotop again, the Russian soldiers at the bottom finally broke out in the fiercest resistance ever.

Although these czar's "gray animals" are different from ordinary people in endurance and endurance, and work hard and complain most of the time, their endurance is not without a bottom line, because they are also human. So when Konotop Fort swallowed countless lives like a giant beast with a big mouth wide open, and the beast was still standing despite its scars, they were scared. They would rather use their chests to face the sabers of the noble officers. And the whip, and don't want to fight with the behemoth again.

In this anti-war riot, three noble officers were killed on the spot by soldiers, and more than ten people were injured. Moreover, dozens of Ivan Shirko’s Cossacks escaped secretly into Konotop Fort. According to their words, they went to their own Cossack brothers and lived and died with them.

Although relying on the Boyer cavalry and announcing a temporary armistice as a compromise, Prince Alexei successfully quelled this low-level soldier's riot, but he was forced to abandon the attack on Fort Konotop.

After spending countless money and plenty of food and drink to feed the soldiers and boost their morale, the Russian army was finally able to resume its attack on Fort Konotup. But this is already five days later.

The night of June 8 was extremely clear, and the bright moon was in the sky. Although it has been delayed for a long time, Prince Alexei is pleased that the tunnel that Raphael dug from the Triangular Fort to the Konotop Fort has not been discovered and destroyed by the defenders.

Thousands of pounds of explosives were buried at the end of the tunnel, below the city gate, only to get to two midnight, and it would detonate when the defenders of Fort Konotup were sleeping soundly.

On the side, Prince Simon Pozharsky reminded Prince Alexei: "Prince, this is the last chance. If you can't conquer Konotop Fort anymore, please listen to my opinion and go around. Pass here and take Chernigov directly."

Prince Alexei did not speak. It wasn't that he didn't hear it, but he wanted to use reality to answer Simon Pozharsky and let him see the flag of St. George planted on the tower of Fort Konotup with his own eyes.

When the pointer of the pocket watch pointed to two points, Prince Alexei nodded to Raphael.

"Go ahead," he said.

The engineers in the tunnel withdrew from the tunnel. Immediately, the lead was ignited.

With a loud noise, Fort Konotop was shrouded in fire and smoke, and the fragments of the burning fortifications that were abandoned high up were clearly visible even from miles away.

Looking at his masterpiece, Raphael commented in a professional tone: "No creature can survive such an explosion, and the north gate will definitely collapse."

With the shocking explosion and Raphael's confident words, even the war-fighting Prince Simon Pozharsky could not help but ignite the hope that Konotop could be captured tonight.

When the smoke cleared, the standard-bearers behind the two princes waved their flags with all their strength. With the help of the bright moonlight, the dense, moonlight-refracting steel helmets flocked to Konotop like a galaxy.

Thousands of Russian infantry, including hundreds of the most elite Boyer cavalry, rushed over.

At this time, none of them knew that many of them would never see the red walls of the Kremlin, the poplars of the Snow Country and the Katyusha waiting for their return.

At this moment, Cheerchen ran along the uncollapsed city wall of the north gate like a ghost.

"No one fires. Waiting for my order!" He had to say so when he walked in front of every soldier.

Prince Alexei believed that the defenders of Konotop Fort had been stunned and dizzy, and had already lost the ability to resist. But I don't know that the information that the Russian army dug the tunnel under the Beicheng gate has long been brought to Chechen by the defected Cossack.

Although the Russian engineers are all Russians, Ivan Shirko’s Cossacks were not involved in the process of digging the tunnel. However, due to a common interest in vodka, this information has long been known to some Cossack drinkers.

Therefore, after combining the intelligence brought by other defected Cossacks, Cheer Chen made a bold decision-that is, regardless of the time bomb under his feet, let the Russians successfully detonate, and then induce the enemy to advance underneath the enemy. , Thereby massively killing the opponent’s vitality and causing its morale to collapse.

When Cheorchen proposed this plan, almost all the officers opposed it because of being too bold. They believe that the best way is to destroy the enemy's tunnels in accordance with the old methods.

But Cheerchen finally persuaded everyone. He told everyone that if the information brought by the Cossacks, that is, the information that the riot broke out in the Russian army camp is true, then the endurance of the Russians has reached its limit, almost reaching the brink of collapse.

"We are exhausted, and the Russians are exhausted. The key to victory is in this final battle. As long as we can defeat the enemy again, then even if Prince Alexei’s will is as firm as steel, Under the pressure of the bottom, he had to give up continuing to attack Konotop, otherwise the angry soldiers would tear it to pieces." Chechen said.

"But what if there is another time?" Pedro asked, "Also, Chechen. Have you ever considered that the guy from Hessen has defected, and now he is probably a guest of the Russians. Then we Everything here is not a secret to the Russians. They know that there is a trench behind the wall, and they know that we are exhausted."

What Pidro said was also what everyone was most worried about, so as soon as Pidro's words fell, everyone said: "Yes, commander. This is the most terrifying."

Cheerchen did not fail to consider the possible consequences of the defection of Viscount Hessian. However, he was quite sure that the Viscount Hessian had not taken refuge in the Russians, or that he had not been conscientious and had not told the Russians about the Konotop Fort.

"Everyone," Chechen said, "I believe the Russians did not know about the inner trench. But it is not because of my trust in the Viscount Hessian. Two things suffice to illustrate this point: One is that the Russians excavated. If the enemy knows that there is a trench behind the northern wall, then they should dig the tunnel under the other three walls, because it will be more beneficial to their assault; secondly, the grenade fired by the Russians these days, I It has been calculated that the grenade falling near the trench is not redundant with other places, which means that they do not know the existence of the trench, otherwise they should concentrate their firepower to destroy it."

Although Cheerchen's words were reasonable and well-founded, everyone was still anxious.

Upon seeing this, Cheerchen yelled: "Everyone! Whatever oath you have made, let whoever is responsible for your oath! I once promised Wygowski and Henrik Potocki that I will hold Koon. Notop, then I must do it. Now the Russians are swayed by air, we only need to hit them again, and we may make them completely abandon their plan to take Konotop Fort, and if it only destroys the tunnel, then In addition to destroying the tunnels, there is no other help for keeping Konotop. It may even give them more time to rest and rebuild their morale. Everyone, we have to stick to it for more than 20 days, not one day or two God. I’m telling the truth, I’m not sure about sticking to it for so long except for this method."

After listening to Cheerchen's words, everyone chose to believe Cheerchen's judgment in the end despite their different emotions.

More than a thousand soldiers with muskets concealed behind the pre-excavated trenches, forming a large wreath on the opening of the city gate formed by the explosion. Because of tension, many people's foreheads leaked fine sweat. The palm of the hand holding the musket was also damp.

The calm before the war, everything was so silent. All I heard was the sound of footsteps produced by Boyer's cavalry's iron boots as they moved quickly on the gravel, like oppressive thunder.

The closer the Russians get to the gap, the more confident they are. Because many people believe that the defenders have lost their combat effectiveness in the explosion.

They ran to the moat of the moat and began to throw bundles of wicker, shrubs, branches, bags of cotton, and bundles of wheat straw into the moat. In the blink of an eye, the trench was filled for them.

Konotop Fort remains silent.

However, when nearly 30% of the enemy soldiers had stepped onto the bedding thrown into the moat and entered the castle, a crisp pistol shooting sounded. And almost at the same time, a shrill voice yelled: "Fire!"

Immediately, behind the trenches in the castle and on the walls on both sides of the castle, a long line of flames suddenly gleamed, and there was the roar of artillery and the crackling sound of guns.

The shouts of the defenders and the wailing of the attackers, all kinds of voices mixed into a turbulent sound. Just as Goliath was brave and invincible but was killed by King David with a sling. At this time, the Russian soldier, just like Goliath, was hit by David with a sling to the fatal head and thumped to the ground.

The defender had no bullets, and none of them failed to shoot down an enemy soldier. The artillery filled with shotguns is even more impressive. A single shot can cause enemy soldiers to fall to the ground in patches, just like a scythe that cuts down all the crops in clusters.

The enemy soldiers who rushed into the city were under fire from three sides, and one by one, they were so scared that they began to run in all directions in an unordered manner. . Fedot on the city wall threw down his gun. He personally manipulated a cannon from top to bottom, pouring shotguns over the heads of the dense crowd. When they started to escape, they poured a shower of lead and iron and blocked it. The only way to advance or retreat.

The enemy's onslaught was repelled across the board, and the Russian infantry and Boyer cavalry escaped from the castle. They roared in horror and fled for their lives like lunatics.

At this time, tar-stained cotton cloth and torches were thrown from the city wall. These ignitors ignited the wood and cotton in the trench, forming a blockade.

The Russian soldiers who had no way to escape had to return.

Cheerchen drew the saber from his waist, and led everyone to counterattack with a loud shout. The dizzy, unintentional Russian soldiers who had been beaten knew that there was no way to go, so they began to fight to the death.

With the Boyer cavalry as the core, the Russians formed small groups of two, three to five, relying on each other back-to-back, using spears, axes, scimitars, or war knives. Panic, horror, self-confidence, and despair, all these emotions evolved into a single violence in their hearts. The enthusiasm for fighting controlled them. Some enemy soldiers rushed towards the Cossacks intently, trying to make a head-to-head battle, but in the blink of an eye these people were killed by the Cossack sailors' pistols. This is a fierce battle between two furious teams. The defenders of Fort Konotop are full of anger at the enemy, relying on the psychological advantage of the ambushers and the mixed use of hot and cold weapons, making the enemy's fiasco continue to expand.

The fire illuminates the scene of the Cossacks fighting the Russians: pulling their heads~www.readwn.com~ and pulling their beards. In particular, the Cossack sailors with a saber and a pistol rushed and killed countless, just like wild bulls.

At the end of the other wing, Cheorchen himself went into the battle himself. Especially at this time, he and Fatima fought side by side, which made him more heroic than usual.

Like an evil wolf crawling into the flock and biting in it, Cheerchen smashed into the small army of Russian soldiers. Slashing left and right, completely like a life-killing ghost. His prestige has long been like a rage among the Russians who besieged Konotop. They learned from the previous battles and from other Russians and Cossacks that he was accustomed to fighting and was more brave; The general Russian superstition is that no matter who fights with him, he will definitely die; and this failure has made this superstition deep-rooted and turned into a belief. Therefore, more than one Russian soldier in the small army or the Boyer nobles suddenly saw him right in front of them, and did not even defend themselves. Instead, they closed their eyes and muttered "God" in their mouths, and then fell under his sword. He died in Huangquan.

Finally, the resistance of the enemy soldiers became weaker and weaker. They completely lost the will to fight, closed their eyes and waited for death, and finally became prisoners.

The defenders of Fort Konotop won. The Cossacks won. They cheered and sang, panting, and bloody, and returned to the city through the huge gap.

Then, the Russians unwillingly fired a few shells from the triangle fort, and then there was silence.

Prince Alexei's longest planned attack thus ended again with the defeat of the Russians.

After the battle, Fatima and Cheechen hugged and wept. Fatima asked Cheerchen, "I don't need to leave you anymore, can I?"

Cheerchen hugged Fatima's head and said, "Yes, never use it."