In this battle, the right-wing cavalry units led by Obai and Nikan fought particularly bravely.
After repelling the attack of 5,000 Rakshasa cavalry, Nikan left the red flag and 40,000 Han cavalry to attack the Rakshasa infantry formation.
The rest were taken away by Obai, including King Sanshun's six or seven thousand cavalry, and they went north to pursue and kill about three thousand enemy cavalry who had fled.
Including the Eight Banners soldiers of the Zhenghong Banner, the Qing army still maintained a strength advantage of more than three times over the remaining enemy forces.
Starting from the battlefield, Obai led his troops to pursue and kill hundreds of miles, wiping out nearly a thousand enemies.
It could have been possible to expand the results, but due to a snowstorm, we had to give up.
When Obai led his men to hunt down the Russian cavalry, the Russian infantry abandoned by Prozorovsky ushered in his own end!
Although after defeating the enemy's cavalry troops, the Qing Dynasty King's Division had completely taken the initiative on the battlefield.
However, Dorgon still ordered all ministries not to underestimate the enemy, especially causing unnecessary casualties.
The reason why there were no major casualties during the Western Expedition was because of the cautious attitude maintained along the way.
Now that the overall situation has been decided, each department cannot suffer too much losses.
The old method is still the same, first bombard with cannons, and then adopt the method of ring shooting by cavalry.
In the end, the shield-bearing infantry was in front, and the archers were behind, killing the enemy's infantry formation with arrows.
After it has lost the ability to fight back, then use all your strength to completely destroy it...
"what should we do?"
"Damn it! All the noble gentlemen ran away with the Governor!"
As Prozorovsky fled from the battlefield, the nobles in the team naturally had no intention of fighting and ran away on horseback.
Even if there were people of their own in the infantry, they couldn't care less. In times of danger, it was still important to save their own lives.
Most generals and officers with noble backgrounds had no intention of fighting a bloody battle with yellow-skinned monkeys.
In their view, as soon as the extremely powerful Tsarist Russian army arrives, those short and funny yellow-skinned monkeys will have no choice but to surrender, otherwise they will be killed.
Unexpectedly, the situation on the battlefield was exactly the opposite of what they had imagined. The Russian cavalry was defeated and fled in all directions.
Due to the disadvantage of the artillery range, the Russian infantry became a living target for the opponent and could only be passively beaten in place.
It was still possible to put up a stubborn resistance, but as Prozorovsky fled first, everyone gave up even this idea.
Run as fast as you can, and it's best to overtake the greedy Prozorovsky on the way to escape.
It's not that noble generals can't fight, but they must have a reference.
This reference point is the coach. If the famous general Schein were here, it would definitely not be as embarrassing as it is now.
Since His Majesty the Tsar trusted Prozorovsky, and the latter expressed his loyalty to His Majesty.
So running away at this time should be a way to show loyalty, so everyone followed him to "show loyalty"...
There is no doubt that the nobles who come to fight are not fools. Even if they are fools, they will not go to the battlefield to die. They will always find suitable reasons to stay behind and enjoy a luxurious life.
While running away, everyone discussed it in small groups.
If His Majesty the Tsar really wanted to find a scapegoat, then everyone would definitely recommend this idiot Prozorovsky!
He led the team to run away first. Everyone thought this was a strategy to lure the enemy deeper, so they followed him!
Everyone's words speak for themselves, and the law does not blame everyone. As long as everyone insists on this reason, then His Majesty the Tsar can only vent his anger on Prozorovsky.
The ministers of His Majesty the Tsar did not even have the courage to fight a yellow-skinned monkey.
In this regard, the nobles really despised and ridiculed, plus bursts of curses...
The infantrymen on the battlefield looked at the retreating figure of their commander, their morale suddenly dropped, and their desire to fight gradually decreased as their comrades around them fell one after another.
Just like the Slavic predecessors who were defeated by the Meng Empire's cavalry, the Russian infantry was completely unsuited to the opponent's style of play.
Without heavy armor and shields, it would be difficult to withstand the hail of arrows fired by the opponent, let alone heavy artillery that would spit fire every quarter of an hour.
Under the double blow of the opponent, the Russian infantry formation did not last long before being blown to pieces.
From twenty thousand-man formations, it turned into hundreds of small combat teams that had no time to take care of themselves.
The infantrymen with vehicle cover in front of them can at least survive for a while using temporary bunkers.
Those exposed in the snow are just waiting to die, that's all.
More than two hours after the battle began, only five or six thousand of the 20,000 Russian infantry were still resisting.
The rest were either dead or wounded, and it was impossible to escape because the outside circle was already full of Qing cavalry.
Finally, after the fight was almost done, Dorgon ordered the cavalry group to charge directly into the formation and sweep across the remaining defeated soldiers on the opposite side.
After a burst of artillery fire and three rains of arrows, 20,000 Qing cavalry rushed into the enemy formation from all directions.
Facing the Qing army's tidal offensive, the Russian army's resistance collapsed.
Only less than five hundred people were lucky enough to be captured, and the rest had either expired or were bleeding, waiting to be bled to death...
After counting, including wounded and dead, about 33,000 Rakshasa soldiers were killed in this battle, while our own losses were less than 3,000.
The battle-loss ratio exceeded ten, which was considered a quite successful victory.
After learning the news of the "Victory on the Volga River", Shunji Longyan was delighted and ordered to reward all soldiers who participated in the battle.
Ordinary soldiers can naturally get the treatment of eating mutton, plus some land from the Dnieper River to the Volga River promised by the emperor.
According to military merit, each person can receive anywhere from ten to a thousand acres of fertile land.
If Rakshasa serfs can be captured, they can also be rewarded.
In view of the fact that the main force of the enemy's troops moving south had been gathered and wiped out, Shunji decided to move westward immediately after brainstorming.
More than five million troops arrived in the area between the Don and Dnieper rivers in March of the fourteenth year (1672).
This is the new dragon land favored by Dorgon, where he can set up camp and build a new capital at the same time.
After a five-year expedition, everyone finally arrived in the Western World and began to build the Paradise of Kings.
The people of the Qing Dynasty were naturally very happy, especially those who had made meritorious deeds, as they finally waited for the moment when their military exploits could be realized.
In particular, I discovered that the area is actually a huge plain area, and the land is still black soil and there are many rivers, which is convenient for irrigation.
This means that large-scale farming can be carried out, and the first batch of grain can be harvested in the autumn, so there is no need to worry about the food rations for the men.
Due to the large number of people brought, Shunji's distribution plan is simple, but also relatively reasonable.
First, based on per capita calculation, more than 5.5 million people are guaranteed to receive between two and ten acres of land depending on their age.
Then there are rewards according to the level of military merit, with the highest being five thousand acres and the lowest being ten acres.
This also involves removing slopes, hills, low-lying and saline-alkali lands that are not suitable for farming.
If the land is not divided enough, you might as well expand the territory.
Once you get to the West, you don't need to worry about Man Ming's damn devil boy.
In the new territory of the Qing Dynasty, one could reach the Ural River to the east, the Caucasus Mountains and the Danube River to the south, the Hungarian steppes to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north.
As long as the location is good enough, Moscow, the capital of the Rakshasa people, can also be conquered!
After seeing the new territory, Shunji believed that this area was enough to accommodate less than six million Zimin.
Even if each person is given ten acres of land, it should be possible.
From now on, the hard work along the way is indeed worth it.
If there are opponents like Rakshasa in the surrounding area who can be defeated in one blow, then it won't be long before the Qing Dynasty can dominate Europe!
In February, after learning that a new group of uninvited guests had arrived in the Dnieper River Basin.
The Ottoman army stationed on the west coast of the Black Sea took action upon hearing the news and dispatched a thousand cavalry to test it.
This is the main place where the empire captures white slaves, and it is related to the pocketbook of the local garrison, so...
As a result, they encountered a Jia La from Yue Le Suo who was responsible for exploring the westward route. The strength of both sides was roughly equal.
After the meeting, they could not communicate in words, and the Ottomans still wanted to continue eastward. Yue Le naturally disagreed, so they started fighting.
In the end, the Qing army killed and injured nearly 700 people at the cost of about one Niulu, and the remaining Ottoman cavalry fled along the original route.
In March, the Ottomans made a comeback and gathered about 3,000 cavalry to fight for the humiliation.
However, they were defeated by Yue Le and his brother Bo Luo. The two Jia La of Zhenghui Banner plus one Meng Gu Banner totaled about 8,000 people.
The Ottomans lost even their strongholds on the banks of the Dniester River and were forced to continue to retreat westward.
With the Qing army's military operations in the Dnieper River Basin and surrounding areas, various people captured a large number of white slaves.
This was an unexpected gain while searching for food. Shunji believed that these white slaves were good labor force.
Except for some white slaves with blond hair and blue eyes who were used to please the nobles, the others were all used as slaves for spring plowing.
With millions of white slaves as a labor force, the Qing Dynasty would be able to restore its national strength much faster, and it could also use the king's troops to continue to capture white slaves from the surrounding areas.
If three to four million white slaves could be used for farming, together with the farmers coming from their homeland, it would be possible to support the king's army of around half a million people.
Alexei I, who learned of the failure of the attack, heard from the nobles who participated in the war that Prozorovsky had the guts to escape from the battle.
He suddenly became furious and immediately ordered this guy who betrayed his trust to be hanged directly as a warning to others!
Later, Obukhov, who had fled back to Moscow and was familiar with yellow-skinned monkeys, was appointed as the new Tsaritsyn Warlord.
After gathering 50,000 troops, Obukhov could lead his troops south to conquer the yellow-skinned monkeys entrenched in the Don and Volga river basins.
With Prozorovsky as a reference, Alexei I did not issue any punishment orders to Schein, who also suffered a setback in his attack but was still holding on to Kazan City.
Thinking of the importance of Kazan, Alexey I decided to gather an army of 300,000 troops, take advantage of the Volga River's river transportation, and defeat those hateful yellow-skinned monkeys in one fell swoop.
Then the army can reach Tsaritsyn via the Volga River, join forces with Obukhov's troops, and then attack the other yellow-skinned monkeys from east to west.
Of course, due to the large number of troops assembled, the relief of Schein, who was entrenched in Kazan City, would have to wait until the autumn, and the rendezvous with Obukhov would be next year.
But as long as you can defeat two yellow-skinned monkeys in a row, it will be worth the two years.
Alexei I was very uneasy about leaving so many troops under the command of his subordinates, so he decided to conquer the army himself.
And after defeating the yellow-skinned monkey, the trophies including artillery and new rifles are also very tempting.
First, you must equip your own guards and shooting troops, and then reward part of the loot to the heroes who participated in the war...
"Third child! Fifth child! You two are finally here!"
Wanli was naturally very happy to see Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying. It was a great blessing that their fellow disciples could meet outside Kazan.
"Brother, you are running too fast. Third Senior Brother and I have been chasing you all the way!"
In Zeng Ying's view, they were not marching westward, but simply following the marks left by Wanli's troops and coming for an outing, because the Rakshasa soldiers were basically gone.
"Elder brother, are you planning to invade Moscow?"
Zhang Huangyan felt that Wanli had no intention of stopping at this point, but wanted to go all out to conquer Moscow and return to the court as a class teacher as a meeting gift for his respected master.
"I do have this intention, but there are still no less than 20,000 to 30,000 Rakshasa soldiers in the city. I believe that after the army is cleared, the Rakshasa reinforcements will arrive. If we want to capture Moscow, it will probably take the next year!"
They are all fellow disciples, and Wanli didn't hide his thoughts on purpose. What's more, the third junior fellow apprentice is always smart and can probably guess it.
"Then why don't we just sit back and wait for the rabbits to catch them all in one go?"
Zeng Ying couldn't wait any longer and walked all the way. He walked like this for two years. No one else could bear this kind of torture. It was no different from practicing.
After the three troops merged, the total strength of the Ming Dynasty King's Division had risen to nearly 80,000.
It's not a particularly large scale, but it is determined to be a force that cannot be ignored.
Because the entire army has nine heavy artillery battalions, two missile battalions, 47 airships, and 632 tanks.
The field assault force included 20,000 Ming army cavalry and 30,000 Menggu cavalry, for a total of 50,000 cavalry.
Perhaps Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying's troops had just arrived outside Kazan, but Wanli's troops had already been stationed here for a winter.
There is hunting and fishing in the area, so the dishes used for Wanli's banquet with his two junior brothers were all brought from nearby.
There are not only pheasants and river fish, but also bear paws and wild boar hooves, which are considered delicacies to generals who are fighting abroad.
The advantage of the "seasoning army" is that as long as you catch the main course, it's half the battle, and the remaining half depends on the chef's skills...
Zhang Huangyan, Zeng Ying and the generals under their command were all full of food. They had just arrived, and this was a routine meal.
According to the private rules, or conventions, of the Ming Dynasty King's Division, the troops who went overseas to fight first had to prepare overlord meals for the brother troops that followed, as long as the conditions were not particularly difficult.
Naturally, the people who came later would bring weapons, equipment and food supplies to those who went ahead. It would be very rude not to treat them to a meal.
During the dinner, Zhang Huangyan also asked Wanli about his future plans, and he could just skip going to Moscow.
The main thing is how to cross the Volga River, because we can't wait for winter to let the army cross the river.
In this regard, Wanli had two plans. One was to seize the ships of Rakshasa reinforcements, and the other was to rely on his own efforts.
Rafts are not difficult to make, and the ground crew who maintain airships can also make sheepskin rafts.
But for an army of 80,000 people, together with more than 600 tanks and about 100,000 horses and pack horses, this transportation capacity is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket.
The best solution is to eliminate the Rakshasa reinforcements and then cross the river while the river is frozen in winter.
Horses are the next best thing. If the tank collapses due to water entering the engine while crossing the river, it will be troublesome.
Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying also agreed with Wanli's idea. Tanks were their biggest hope during the battle.
It is not that infantry cannot fight without tanks, but with tanks to help, the number of casualties can be greatly reduced.
As for when the Rakshasa reinforcements will arrive, it is impossible to estimate. Not even an informed Rakshasa general can be caught, so everything can only rely on luck...
Regarding the matter of setting up an ambush, Zhang Huangyan thought that it could be tried, but don't place too much hope.
Because the deployment of one's own troops can be seen completely from the top of the city, it is very likely that the Rakshasa people have already learned of the arrival of Ming reinforcements.
Therefore, it is no longer that important whether the three groups of people meet up, everything is on the surface.
The only thing they can count on is to send more scouting horses along the river to keep abreast of the surrounding developments and prevent them from being raided by Rakshasa reinforcements.
However, both Wanli and Zeng Ying are always hoping that the Rakshasa people will come soon to seek death...
Nowadays, the railways that start in the mainland have been built up to Lake Balkhash, and the transportation of baggage further west has to rely on horse-drawn carriages and trucks.
The distance is probably more than five thousand miles. Such a long journey naturally consumes a lot of money.
The most annoying thing is that you can't use rivers for transportation at all, because the rivers in the entire northern border basically run north-south.
Therefore, if the respected master wants to send people to transport supplies, he also needs many soldiers and horses to protect them. At the same time, he can also use hunting and fishing to reduce food consumption.
For the three generals, the most feasible strategy at the moment is to fish and hunt, while also grabbing some food from the surrounding areas.
It would be even better if you could buy grain. If you just spend money without doing anything, you can let the local Rakshasa people continue to farm, and the Ming Dynasty King Division will have backup.
Fighting in the Rakshasa hinterland cannot be treated in the same way as the expedition to America.
They have a fleet accompanying them for protection, and the provisions on one merchant ship are enough to feed thousands of people. The rest is just to find fresh water.
Transportation here relies entirely on tanks, trucks, and horse-drawn carriages, and it cannot match the fleet's maritime scale in terms of transportation capacity.
Fortunately, there is a lot of fresh water in the Volga River, and there are dozens of rivers in the surrounding area, so that the soldiers under Wanli's command will not lack nutrition.
This is the reason why Wanli wants to fight the Rakshasa reinforcements as soon as possible, because even the Menggu cavalry eat fish every day...
The difficulties are obvious, the key lies in how to overcome them in difficult situations!
Wanli felt relieved when he learned from the captives that the Rakshasa general who led his troops was still a direct descendant of the Tsar.
If that Tsar wasn't too cold-blooded, he would definitely send troops to rescue him.
If the other party sends 100,000 reinforcements, it means that everyone in the Ming Dynasty's army can get the rations shared by the other party.
"It should be after the end of autumn that the Rakshasa reinforcements will come!"
Zhang Huangyan looked thoughtfully at the fallen leaves of the poplar trees in the distance. He felt that there would be no Rakshasa army appearing in the near future.
"Oh? Why is that?"
Mandai can wait, but the time is a bit too long.
"They also need the autumn harvest to provide military food. If they can't solve the problem quickly, they will definitely lose due to lack of food!"
There are too many examples of defeats due to lack of food in history. Zhang Huangyan thinks that the Rakshasa people do not know the importance of military rations.
How can we fight without food?
This is a worldwide problem!
Unless the opponent is not as good as yourself and you can perform beyond your level, then burning the boat is almost the same as seeking death...
Zhang Huangyan believed that neither Wanli nor Zeng Ying dared to play like this because they were fighting thousands of miles away from home.
Once the game gets too big, the hungry troops will scatter, and it will be extremely difficult to gather them together again.
Staying still and looking for food nearby is the slowest way to consume food.
In addition to the food brought by Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying, the whole army can save food and eat until the beginning of next spring.
Therefore, regardless of whether there are Rakshasa reinforcements coming this year, Wang Shi will have to cross the river in winter.
Go to the other side to find food to eat, otherwise the entire army will starve to death after next spring!
There is another way, which is to go west along the river to Lake Ladoga, which is Sweden's territory.
Wang Normal University does not need to attack Sweden, because that country has established ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty.
Just pay to buy food from Sweden directly. If that doesn't work, you can also use Swedish food to sustain it for a while.
Taking this opportunity to write another letter to the ambassador in France, Zhang Huangyan knew that France was the main grain-producing country in Europe.
As long as food can be purchased from France, the troops will not have to worry about military rations.
Otherwise, if the revered master knows about the situation here and is anxious not to say anything, he will have to blame himself for eating what he learned back then...
Now, three students got together and were so stupid that they didn't even have to eat. How embarrassing is this? ? ?
After crying and crying, I apologized to my respected master. Apart from that, there was probably no other way.
"Report~! The Rakshasa army is already a hundred miles away in the west!"
"Ah? Very good! How is the strength of the troops?"
"One hundred thousand have been found!"
"Yeah! Not bad! Let's explore again!"
The enemy's reinforcements did not come in autumn, nor in late autumn, nor in early winter.
Wanli was so anxious that there were blisters around his mouth.
Now I got the news of Rakshasa reinforcements before New Year's Day, and I couldn't help but be very happy.
As long as reinforcements and food can be seen, fighting in winter is completely okay. By the way, horses can also be used for tooth sacrifices.
The other party finally came, but it was so hard for the three brothers to wait!
Zhang Huangyan didn't quite believe that King Rakshasa only sent these 100,000 people. Unless the opponents were all cavalry, it would be difficult to win.
Either the opponent underestimated the enemy too much, or the 100,000 people were only part of the reinforcements, and the rest had not been discovered by the reconnaissance cavalry.
Calculating based on the speed of the advance, if there are infantry, it will take as short as three days or as long as five days to arrive.
If the reinforcements are all cavalry, the advance speed will be more than doubled, and they may appear later tomorrow.
After a brief discussion, the three of them gathered their troops to prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Including the Menggu cavalry, the total number of Wang Division soldiers was only 80,000.
Even if the opponent only comes with 100,000 people, they will still have an advantage in terms of military strength.
In order not to be defeated by each other, the three decided to stay together and fight against the Rakshasa reinforcements in the shape of a zodiac sign...
