The rain fell continuously, covering the sky and the earth into a vast expanse of white. The water in the Shilka River has also surged. Due to heavy rain and melting permafrost, both sides of the river have turned into wetlands with puddles everywhere. The roads are even more muddy, making it impossible to march.
It is true that the cold winter in Siberia makes it difficult to use troops, but when spring comes and the ice and snow melt, it is impossible to use troops at all. Under normal circumstances, you have to wait until late spring and early summer, when the land has dried and hardened, and the river flooding caused by melting snow has ended, before it is time for the army to set off for battle. However, the time suitable for fighting is really not that long. When the autumn wind picks up, we have to prepare for cat winter again... Time is limited, so you must hurry up!
Obai, who has fought in the Heilongjiang and Shilka River basins for a long time, certainly knows that when fighting in the Siberian tundra, he must compete with the harsh climate for time, and he must be good at taking advantage of climate changes.
It can be said that fighting in the areas along the Heilongjiang and Shilka Rivers is definitely not as good as the people and the right location, and the right location is not as good as the weather!
If we cannot grasp and make good use of the weather, no matter how strong our troops and horses are, no matter how united we are, and no matter how powerful our country is, there will be nothing we can do if we encounter that kind of cold weather and that kind of mud.
And Oboi and his army were very good at making use of the weather conditions in Heilongjiang and the Shilka River!
This time, they planned to take advantage of the spring rain, melting snow, and mud to move in, catch the Rakshasa people off guard, and seize Nerchinsk Castle in one fell swoop.
According to the information obtained by Obai and Yue Le, the Rakshasa people did not give up and burn down Nerchinsk Castle - perhaps because it was already winter when Nerchinsk City learned the news that Obai and Yue Le might move westward. . Therefore, before the end of the mud season, Nerchinsk's defenders are unlikely to burn the city and leave, because they will not be able to leave at all!
In the white rain and fog, outside the city of Yaksa at the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Shilka rivers, in the mud, brigade of red-robed and red-hatted "pseudo Rakshasa troops" were carrying matchlocks and flintlock rifles, carrying They saluted with big bags, lined up neatly, and walked to the warship dock not far away.
On the warship dock, there are many warships that are slightly slender and can be driven by oars and sails at the same time. These warships are a combination of a single mast, a square sail, and twenty oars, and they are called "Longjiang warships." . This kind of warship is very flexible in the rivers of Heilongjiang and Shilka Rivers and can go almost anywhere. However, the internal space is not large, and the number of people and materials that can be loaded is limited.
Including rowers, it can only carry a maximum of 60 people and corresponding equipment and baggage. To load all the 5,000 "pseudo Rakshasa troops" under Ao Bai and Yue Le onto the ship, only more than 120 Longjiang warships are needed.
In order to attack the city of Nerchinsk, Obai brought twenty or thirty ships of artillery, horses and other materials needed to siege the castle.
So now the total number of Longjiang warships moored at the warship dock in Yaksa City exceeds 150!
Ao Bai and Yue Le were walking in the rain. Their red robes were soaked, but they didn't care. Looking at the scene of the army setting out on the dock, the two people's brows became more and more frowning.
"Jin Duhu, you are the grandson of the late master (referring to Nurhachi), a noble man from Tianhuang, and you should be the Khan of Siberia..."
"What? Be the Khan of Siberia? Protector of Guan, didn't we go to the Rakshasa Kingdom? I should be the Governor of Nerchinsk or the Governor of Baikal!"
"Shouldn't the Governor-General be granted the title by the Tsar of the Rakshasa Kingdom? The reply from Governor Stroganov of the Rakshasa Kingdom was delivered yesterday... This Governor is a timid coward. He said no in the letter Accept our surrender. It's so abominable to say that you are unwilling to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty! I'm thinking that if this Western Expedition cannot force the Rakshasa Kingdom to accept our surrender, we might as well do it ourselves, and it will be established after Nerchinsk is captured. A Siberian Khanate. You will be the Khan, and I will be the Grand Master."
It turned out that Alexander Stroganov, the governor of the Rakshasa people, had recently arrived in Nerchinsk City, and he also sent a messenger from Nerchinsk City to deliver a letter rejecting the surrender of Obai and Yuele to Yaksa City.
So Obai thought that if he really couldn't join the Rakshasa Kingdom, he might as well establish his own country!
But he did not dare to restore the Qing Dynasty, which would be too hated by others... The Ming Crown Prince has arrived in Liaoyang and will go north to Heilongjiang at any time. If Obai and Yue Le established the Qing Dynasty, wouldn't it be just right for the Ming Dynasty prince to come and destroy it again?
Oboi, who did not want to establish the Qing Dynasty, thought of the name of the Siberian Khanate, which was destroyed by the Rakshasa people in the early years. He simply borrowed it and established a Siberian Khanate.
However, he himself did not want to be a sweat, but wanted to push Yue Le, who was born in the Aixinjueluo family, to come out and carry the thunder.
And how could Yue Le be willing to be a sweat? This Khan might die in front of you! He immediately shook his head: "No, no... I can't be a khan. I'm a descendant of the Aisin Gioro family, so I'm not qualified to be a khan... And the bones of the late emperor (referring to Shunzhi) are not cold yet." , the young master (referring to Kangxi) has grown up, so the young master should be responsible for this!"
Obai knew that Yue Le didn't want to be the first person, so he immediately said: "If you don't want to do it, then don't do it... But let's not harm the young master. Or let's build a republic, the Republic of Siberia!"
Well, now, the Second Republic of Asia is here too! Ao Bai and Yue Le may become republican revolutionaries in future history books...
"Republic?" Yue Le has heard of "Republic". After all, the Batavia Republic, the first republic in Asia, has been established. "Then what kind of republic should we build? Dutch style or British style?
What is the name of the big boss of this republic? Leader of government affairs, consul, or protector of the country? "
"Let's make it an English style," Obai had already thought of it. "The boss will be called the Protector of the Country, and there will be two Protectors of the Country, one big on each side. You will be the Lord Protector of the left, and I will be the Lord Protector of the right. Lord…how about it?”
"Two country protectors?" Yue Le thought for a while, "Is that too many?"
"No more, no more," said Obei, "This is called the republic of two masters...the two masters can discuss it together. How wonderful!"
"That's true," Yue Le nodded, "But we still have to work hard. It would be better if we could become the governor of the Rakshasa Kingdom. It's nice to enjoy the shade under the big tree!"
"That's natural." Yue Le looked back at the team boarding the ship at the pier, "Guan Duhu, let's get on the ship too!"
…
Nerchinsk Castle, this civil structure bastion, has been continuously reinforced and prepared for war in the past few months.
When Governor Alexander Stronov came from Yakutsk, Governor Urasov of Irkutsk, who had arrived a few months earlier (Nerchinsk was under the jurisdiction of Irkutsk), had already Turning this castle into a truly defensible castle.
"Your Majesty the Governor," Urasov, who was an army officer and was transferred to Siberia just a year ago, quickly walked into Stronov's office in Nerchinsk, "Are you looking for me?"
"Feodor," Alexander Stronov called Urasov's name, "I have inspected Nerchinsk Castle and two nearby forts in the past two days, and all three castles have been reinforced... and You have also stocked up on enough supplies. It's clear you're ready to hold the fort."
"Yes, Mr. Governor," Urasov, who is in his thirties, short in stature, and a bit pudgy, nodded, "After several months of reinforcement, Nerchinsk City is now Siberia's premier fortified castle! The Chinese will no longer be able to capture this place as easily as they did in the past few times... Unless they can carry enough heavy artillery, it is simply impossible for them to capture the fortress in the limited time.
Therefore, the Nerchinsk region will forever become the land of His Majesty the Tsar! "
Stronov frowned, "But what if the enemy that invades next time has powerful enough siege artillery?"
