Sandaogou was once again hit by fire. This time, the flames devoured the houses of local people. Flames came out of every crack in the houses, and thick smoke covered the sky and the sun for three days and did not dissipate.
At the same time, Aitorin sent all the cavalry to expand the search area, looking for traces of those damn volunteers. All Russian checkpoints and military camps on the east bank of the Ussuri River were dispatched, searching for those sneak attackers all over the world.
After all, the Russians have been operating in this land for seven years. They have troops stationed at traffic arteries, bridges, and dangerous mountain passes. Although this large network is sparse, it has taken shape.
In ten days, Aitorin's soldiers captured the traces of the enemies three times, but unfortunately these cunning Chinese did not entangle with them at all. They only had a brief conflict and then immediately broke away from the battle and fled into the virgin forest.
Etolin was almost going crazy. Every time the main force arrived, what was left behind was just a few Russian corpses and a mess. The volunteers left no clues for them.
Looking at the layers of distant mountains and dense forests, Aitorin did not dare to go deep. He knew that these people must have the help of local hunters, so he dared to go deep into the inaccessible primitive jungle. He did not dare to take such a risk.
The angry Russian army began to retaliate against innocent people. A large number of people were massacred and captured. Villages were burned to the ground. The contradiction between the survivors of the Far East and the Russian rulers intensified.
In the next half month, more than ten violent incidents occurred on the east bank of the Ussuri River, attacking lone Russian troops. In the last few days, there were even fierce conflicts in which squads and platoons of Russian troops were ambushed by volunteers, and more than half of them were killed or injured. .
The entire Far East region staged an unsolvable cycle of conflict, repression, and then conflict and repression. In the autumn of 1868, the Russian army in the Far East was completely surrounded by this people's war.
Just when Aitorin was furious and wanted to expand the campaign, the first blizzard in the Far East happened unexpectedly, and the temperature plummeted to more than 20 degrees below zero. The bad weather finally made the two sides temporarily choose a truce.
Qing Dynasty, Jilin Province, in General Ningguta's Mansion, Hunchun, General Ningguta of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was sitting in the winter warm room with a sad look on his face. There were four side dishes on the round table in front of him, and a pot of wine was warmed in the middle, watching the flying outside the window. It was snowing heavily, and Hunchun frowned and didn't move his chopsticks for a long time.
On the side of the table was a letter from his superior, Heilongjiang General Tepuxin, which was very tough and unkind. Tepuxin asked him to close all the passes on the Ussuri River throughout the winter and prohibit the Qing survivors on the other side from entering and exiting. No business is allowed.
Isn't this a random fate? The two sides of the Ussuri River have the same ancestors. They have been intermarrying, trading, and speaking the same language for thousands of years. How can they be cut off? But he knew that Tepchin also had difficulties, because the old guy on the other side, Diyachenko, had posted six times in a row, each time with tougher words.
The Battle of Sandaogou has shocked the whole country outside the pass. Now the people west of the Wusuli River have been shocked. They can't believe that the cruel old Maozi killed more than a thousand people in one go. But the folks from the other side of the river sneaked back. All confirmed this, and even a small number of people from Sandaogou came here to take refuge. They were all witnesses who had participated in the public trial.
The rumors were verified, and the whole people were excited. These old men have been nothing since the Kangxi period. Who among the people outside the customs has not suffered harm? Now that there are volunteers venting their anger on everyone, everyone is shouting and scratching their necks in excitement. The sales of drinks in Shilibaxiang suddenly more than doubled.
Hunchun was also very excited at first. The cessation of territory seven years ago to pay compensation was a shame that they would never forget. The imperial court was weak, but the men outside the Pass were not cowardly. At that time, the generals stationed outside the Pass had jointly signed a letter begging the court not to cede the territory, even if it was too long. You can't take away the land of your ancestors even if you pay money!
But there was nothing that could be done. At that time, the city of Beijing was occupied by foreigners, and Xianfeng died when the new emperor was still young. The court was really helpless, so he could only swallow the bad breath with blood in his mouth.
Now someone was angry for the big guy. Hunchun didn't say anything, but he was already happy in his heart. But the happiness only lasted for a while, and then trouble came.
Diyachenko wrote continuously to Heilongjiang General Tepuxin, insisting between the lines that the Qing State secretly supported the rebellion in the Far East, that it was the Qing State that organized the militants, and that it was the Qing State that planned the entire operation.
Russia retains the right to use force to solve the problem. Now it has sent the Sandaogou Massacre to Moscow and Beijing. They want to internationalize and expand this matter.
The diplomatic document actually arrogantly threatened the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty did not immediately stop these conspiracies and rebellions, then the 30,000 Cossacks in the Far East would enter a state of war. They would also draw 50,000 elites from the Lake Baikal area, and even send troops to the Caucasus region. Allocating troops, they wanted to form an army of 100,000 Cossacks to start a full-scale war with the Qing Dynasty, and they wanted to fight all the way to Shanhaiguan.
Arrogant! It was so arrogant that Tepuxin and Hunchun were equally angry. At that moment, they really wanted to mobilize all the troops outside the customs to fight with Lao Maozi, fight them, drive them out of the white mountains and black waters, and restore the borders drawn by Emperor Kangxi.
But can this battle really be fought? After calming down, the two fell into deep thought.
The imperial court has not paid full military pay for more than ten years. Everyone understands the reason. The south is in trouble, and the Manchus outside the customs who have no money in the imperial court must also be considerate. The harder their lives are, the harder they will be.
But the army is not the life of ordinary people. In daily life, food and clothing can be saved as much as possible. If there is no meat to eat, we will eat pickles. If there is less money, we will not buy new clothes. We can make do with what we can. So, can we make do with weapons and ammunition?
What foreign gun does Lao Maozi use? What weapons do the Eight Banners defenders outside the Pass use? The enemy's cannons were all made of pure shells, while the Eight Banners still used red cannons, which also fired solid pellets.
This is an unavoidable strength gap. Hunchun and the others feel the same as Ming Jing. If a conflict breaks out, let alone 30,000 old men, even if 10,000 fully armed Cossacks come to kill them, the Eight Banners soldiers will not be able to resist them.
If it really comes to that, it won't be a big deal if you lose your head. If the court cedes a few more pieces of land, you will really be sorry for your ancestors.
Hunchun slammed the table and knocked over the wine bottle. "Damn it, are these volunteers the gods of the road? What a fool, they are playing so big..."
At this moment, the steward's urgent voice came from outside the door: "General, there are guests arriving outside. We don't dare to stop them and they have already rushed to the second door..."
"What? Who is so brave!" Hunchun was furious.
