Balfinov did not dare to provide his opinion to his boss Boneske, because even if he led his troops to fight against the Mongolian cavalry, it had not reached this scale, let alone the opponent carrying a large number of artillery.
If you win based on the information you provided, then that's okay.
If he loses, Boneske is likely to blame his own misdirection for the loss...
To fight or not to fight?
This became the key question that Boneske wanted to answer at this moment.
Originally, he was waiting for the opponent's main force to reach the periphery, and then led his troops to attack, inflicting heavy losses on the yellow-skinned monkey army.
But the development of things has far exceeded his expectation, and the other party is definitely prepared.
This is troublesome. If the other party is allowed to complete the crossing, it will inevitably cut off its retreat.
Four thousand to fifty thousand...
Judging from the strength of the troops, it seems that our side has little hope of winning.
Boneske really wanted to take a gamble, but if he lost, he might be in danger of being annihilated.
Four thousand people were beaten down to a few hundred, and then returned to Moscow in despair. How could they meet with His Majesty the Tsar?
"If our army attacks with all its strength now, can we repel the Yellow-skinned Monkeys' troops crossing the river?"
"...It's possible!"
In Boneske's opinion, Balfinov's answer was tantamount to no answer.
Maybe, probably, maybe...
What he wanted to hear was how confident he was, but he probably couldn't hear it from this guy's mouth.
"Master Governor, if our army wants to fight, it is now. Otherwise, when the yellow-skinned monkeys finish crossing the river, the situation will be even more passive for our army. If Kurgan City cannot be defended, we will have to abandon the city and retreat."
"...Assemble all the cavalry and attack immediately. You will lead the team!"
Boneske also felt that he had to fight. He couldn't even fight and then be frightened by the number of yellow-skinned monkeys and dare not attack.
"yes!"
Balfinov is not afraid of the yellow-skinned monkey. If he wants to fight, he must make a decision immediately and cannot waste precious time.
Soon, together with the defenders, more than 3,200 Cossack cavalry were gathered.
Boneske believed that his own men should be almost enough to deal with the tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry crossing the river.
He will not participate in the specific command. He will just stay in the city and wait for Balfinov to bring back the good news.
"Ouch!"
"Long live the Tsar!"
"Kill all the yellow-skinned monkeys!"
"Cossack warriors, charge!"
When they were less than three miles away from the target, the loose formation of Russian cavalry groups began to gather.
Gradually increase the speed, and finally start sprinting at full speed after entering the mile, intending to defeat the opponent in one fell swoop.
"Brothers! The goods are here!"
"Prepare to meet the enemy!"
Before the entire army completed crossing the river, Wanli asked the troops who crossed the river first not to advance toward Kurgan City and to protect the beachhead.
All the menggu who have crossed the river are waiting on the bank. It is better if the enemy comes to the door, otherwise they should rest.
There is no doubt that today is a good day, and the Rakshasa Cavalry himself has come to kill someone.
However, if you cooperate with the Ming Dynasty King's division in fighting, you cannot directly launch a counterattack.
Those tanks must first be allowed to show their power. The cavalry is mainly responsible for covering up and killing.
The tactics arranged in this way can at least significantly reduce casualties. After all, no one wants to die in battle so quickly. They also want to continue heading west and ride a blond and blue-eyed Ocean horse!
Since Wanli had already crossed the river to prepare for the Rakshasa raid, all the cavalry did not act rashly before seeing the commander's signal flare.
In front of the formation is a row of tanks, numbering more than two hundred, with their bodies laid horizontally to maximize the interception area.
The cavalry are behind the tank and between the two vehicles. They can counterattack at any time and can also use their position to shoot targets on the spot.
"The momentum is quite spectacular!"
"No matter how spectacular it is, it can't be as good as the Dog Tartars of the past!"
"Yes! But if the Dog Tartars invest hundreds of thousands of cavalry at a time, it would be better for us to beat them to shit with tanks!"
"The Rakshasa ghosts don't know about the dog Tatars. Now it's better. They can all be blasted into pieces by cannons!"
The tank crews were already ready, but they didn't get the order to fire, so they could only chat a few words in their cars while staring at the target.
As three red flares soared into the sky, all commanders began their favorite job...
Steam tanks have no technical content at all when hitting slow-moving enemy infantry, which is equivalent to hitting a fixed target.
Like the Rakshasa cavalry rushing towards them this time, this is the favorite prey of the tank soldiers!
The prey is fast, forcing the crew members to move quickly, otherwise it will be difficult to obtain a large number of results.
Let the opponent rush over directly, and the enemy cavalry dying behind them will definitely not be the result of the tank soldiers' victory.
Fortunately, the Folang machine is powerful enough, has a fast rate of fire and fierce firepower, and is not much slower than the revolver rifle used by the cavalry.
"Ouch~!"
Under the command of Balfinov, more than 3,000 Cossack cavalry were fearless on the battlefield under heavy artillery fire, and charged against the barrages fired by the opponent.
Many Cossacks saw that the opponent had a numerical advantage, but they did not dare to charge towards them. They thought they were afraid of the brave Cossacks and became even more excited.
Each and every one of them rushed harder on the autumn battlefield with falling leaves. Thousands of galloping horses made the ground tremble slightly.
It seems spectacular and thrilling, but there are constant scenes of Cossacks being shot and falling from their horses, which does not fit well with the surrounding scenery...
More than 200 tanks were not that dominant against more than 3,000 Cossack cavalry.
But each tank gun is equipped with ten muskets, and the total number is more than two thousand, which is terrible!
Skilled crew members can fire ten muskets in one minute. The speed of this kind of firepower projection can be imagined.
Since the shotgun is fired, there is no need to deliberately aim at the target. Just aim at the approximate location and then fire continuously.
This also resulted in the higher the number of casualties the closer Balfinov's Cossack cavalry units rushed.
It started with a dozen losses per hundred feet, then increased to dozens, then hundreds...
By the time the final and bloodiest mile of sprint was over, Balfinov's cavalry force had fewer than 2,000 men left.
Nearly 40% of the people fell on the way to the charge. This was better luck because Mandai's infantry unit had not completed crossing the river.
Once the infantry cooperates with the tanks to defend in place, it is almost a demon for the enemy cavalry.
One thousand infantry equipped with repeating rifles and fifty tanks can defeat more than half of the four to five thousand cavalry.
Only Khabarov had tried such an exciting gameplay before, but now Balfinov finally learned the lesson.
The opponent's fighting style was cruel and bloody, and the bravery of the Cossack cavalry was completely useless, and they could only die one after another.
The impassioned charge was eventually wiped out by artillery fire, and some Cossacks had no choice but to turn their horses and run away.
The small group at the front were about to engage the opponent in hand-to-hand combat, but were directly killed by the opponent's cavalry.
After Balfinov turned around with the remaining troops, Wanli ordered the Menggu cavalry to take advantage of the situation and launch a cover-up attack.
But enough is enough and the pursuit should be stopped beyond the artillery range of the Rakshasa stronghold.
The battlefield was littered with the corpses of Cossacks, as well as some who were unable to move due to injuries.
But no one could care about them at this time. The companions who were still on the horse were all running away in a hurry. This was the top priority.
"How about it?"
"I am afraid……"
Seeing Balfinov's hesitation and thinking of getting immediate results, Boneske suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Failed?"
"The yellow-skinned monkey's firepower was too strong. We launched a charge and lost thousands of people!"
Balfinov estimated that he had lost about 1,500 men, but the details would have to wait until the post-war inventory.
"What do we do now?"
If it weren't for the fact that this guy was also sent from Moscow, Boneske would have suspected him of collaborating with the enemy. Wouldn't it be too easy to lose?
After an afternoon of nearly 3,300 cavalry, only half of them were defeated. How could we explain to His Majesty the Tsar when we got home?
"...Retreat to Chelyabinsk!"
"What? Say it again?"
"If we don't leave tonight, I'm afraid we will be surrounded by yellow-skinned monkeys tomorrow!"
"...Damnable yellow-skinned monkey!"
Balfinov finally understood how Khabarov lost, and immediately thought that Kurgan was difficult enough to defend.
Under this kind of firepower, not to mention the cavalry group, even the strongholds cannot withstand the opponent's firepower.
The result of holding on will be the annihilation of the entire army. Retreating can at least save the remaining troops.
There are still a thousand people in the stronghold, including artillery and infantry, plus the cavalry withdrawn from the battlefield, the total is more than two thousand.
Looking at the surrounding areas, their force is definitely a new force that can contain the yellow-skinned monkey's attack.
As for the reason for abandoning Kurgan, it is very simple.
Beaten, never beaten!
Before he is surrounded by yellow-skinned monkeys, his plan to surround him will come to nothing!
In view of the disparity in strength and firepower between the two sides, what a reasonable explanation!
Balfinov's suggestion was earlier, but Boneske delayed it for a while by asking everyone to pack their bags and run away.
It was within these two hours that the Menggu cavalry completed the siege of Kurgan City.
In fact, it didn't take much effort. This is just a stronghold that can barely be called a city.
Menggu cavalry was responsible for the road ahead, and a large number of steam tanks followed the infantry who had crossed the river slowly.
Once they advance to the outskirts of the stronghold, the iron barrels carried on the back of the steam tank body will come into play.
After being buried in the ground, there are mortars. After loading the explosive packets, they can bombard the Rakshasa soldiers in the stronghold.
"boom……"
"Damn it! The yellow-skinned monkey is here so soon!"
Balfinov felt that he had made a huge mistake and should not come back. Instead, he should just run away to Chelyabinsk.
"what should we do?"
"Breakout after dark!"
"...Just do it!"
In just one afternoon, severely injuring the yellow-skinned monkey became an unattainable luxury.
Boneske could only focus on how to escape now, otherwise he would become a prisoner of the yellow-skinned monkey.
"Instruct me to send all the infantrymen to cut down trees in the surrounding area, and the cavalry will drag them to pile up around the stronghold!"
"yes!"
A certain master taught his disciples how to retreat, how to besiege a city, and how to call for reinforcements.
If you still don’t know how to do it, you are really stupid!
This trick of "cutting trees and piling firewood" is used to prevent the city's defenders from breaking out at night. Firstly, it can be used as an obstacle like a horse pile, and secondly, it can also have a lighting effect.
Of course, there is a prerequisite, that is, the besieging army must have more than the defenders, otherwise there will be no manpower to cut down the trees, let alone prevent the opponent from breaking through.
Just like the weather turns cold quickly after autumn, and the army also needs to keep warm at night, this can kill three birds with one stone.
As long as the trees are not particularly thick, like trees as thick as a human's legs, Menggu cavalry can be responsible for dragging them.
There is no need to put it into a special shape, just transport it to a designated location and light it after nightfall.
"What is the yellow-skinned monkey doing?"
"Lord Overseer, I think... I'm afraid the nighttime breakout won't go so smoothly!"
"……hateful!"
After Balfinov reminded him, Boneske understood the other party's intention.
Therefore, the breakout time was set for the early morning of the next day, which should be enough.
"boom……"
As a result, at dawn, the Ming army began the artillery bombardment.
This time, three artillery battalions were deployed, one battalion deployed in one direction, and hundreds of bronze cannons launched a siege on the stronghold!
Predicting the opponent's prediction is one of the many skills given to his disciples by a certain revered master.
If the possibility of the opponent's night breakout is eliminated, what should the opponent do next?
Wanli is filled with emotions now, it’s so overwhelming that he has so many skills!
Even if I let the artillerymen fire in a playful manner, I won't let you break out in the early morning!
It is necessary to eliminate thousands of Rakshasa soldiers in the stronghold, so as not to let them slip away and send troops to chase them.
No matter how thick the fence-style earthen wall is, it cannot withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery.
Not to mention the strength of the construction of the Kurgan stronghold, which was only used to defend against the cavalry attack of the Kazakh Khanate in the south.
It didn't take long for the wall to be riddled with shells and turned into paper windows that let out air.
"We can't wait any longer, let's break out!"
Balfinov feels that disaster is about to befall the defenders, but he must try his best to maybe escape and ascend to heaven.
"All right!"
Boneske did not expect that the other party would actually launch an artillery attack at this time, which was equivalent to forcing himself to launch a breakout.
"Don't let a single Rakshasa soldier go!"
At this time, the infantry of the Ming Army had surrounded the stronghold from three directions. The other side was the river. It was enough to leave a line of Menggu cavalry on the other side.
Three thousand Ming army cavalry were unfamiliar in each direction. They were responsible for blocking the Rakshasa soldiers who broke out from the stronghold.
The back was handed over to the Menggu cavalry to prevent the Rakshasa cavalry in the nearby woods from cooperating with the defenders.
"Come on! Kill the yellow-skinned monkey so that we can survive!"
"Ouch..."
Under the leadership of Balfinov, five hundred Cossacks rushed out from the west side of the Kurgan city.
Boneske followed closely behind. In order to move quickly, all the heavy artillery was abandoned, and the entire army broke through with light equipment.
"Pa bang bang..."
The charge of the Cossack cavalry received a hot response from the Ming army, and the revolvers in the hands of the infantry were firing rapidly.
Coupled with the concentrated artillery fire from a hundred tanks, the defender's escape path turned into a road of death.
Boneske's mount was hit directly by a cannonball, and he flew into the air, then fell to the ground, unconscious.
The Cossack who stood in front of Balfinov was quickly wounded and killed, and he himself was hit by a bullet in the shoulder.
He still wanted to endure the severe pain and continue to break through, but his mount was knocked to the ground on the spot, one leg was pinned under the horse, and he screamed in pain.
This heroic and tragic breakout ended with the annihilation of the entire army...
