Nearly 30,000 Russian infantrymen watched helplessly as the cavalry were slaughtered one by one by the yellow-skinned monkeys. They were shocked and worried about their lives, but it was too late.
Thirteen thousand Ming Army cavalry from the other direction also rushed towards it, turning the battlefield on the east side into a giant meat grinder.
More than 20,000 Ming Army cavalry faced off against the Russian infantry with almost equal strength. With the absolute advantage in weapons and equipment, the result was obvious.
Facing the terrifying scene of thousands of galloping horses, a large number of Russian infantrymen were so frightened that they revealed their true form as serfs. They didn't know whether to fight or flee, and many of them were still frozen in place.
If they fight against the odds, they will naturally become invincible warriors.
On the other hand, many people will become lambs to be slaughtered...
Although they had flintlocks, matchlocks, bows and arrows, spears, tomahawks and other weapons in their hands, they still felt that they were far from being able to protect their own safety.
Hot weapons reload too slowly, and cold weapons don't seem to have much lethality.
Fortunately, there were still clear-minded officers who asked everyone to use grenades to meet the enemy.
As long as the yellow-skinned monkey cavalry approaches, throw them out together and blow them all to death.
However, before they could make any move, the Ming army struck preemptively.
The Menggu cavalry rushed at the front of the team. This was a tactical arrangement because it was convenient for firing arrows.
To deal with two-legged prey, one does not need to fight hard at non-critical moments.
Just fire repeatedly around his team. After twenty or thirty arrows, if the opponent still has half of the people left, he is considered lucky.
Since the Menggu cavalry troops did not waste too many arrows in the previous battle, each person still carried no less than a hundred arrows at this time.
They usually hunt, but as long as they can catch prey, the arrows they shoot can be retrieved. This is also true for hunting Rakshasa people.
Therefore, if there is a rain of arrows fifty times and the opponent does not have thick enough armor and enough shields, it will probably be a disaster.
The advantage of bows and arrows over low-end muskets such as flintlocks and matchlocks is that the shooting accuracy is much higher. Once the musket is loaded, the archer can draw the bow ten times, as long as the physical strength can support it.
"ah……"
Faced with this kind of hunting tactics, the Russian infantry once again suffered the same hardships as their predecessors.
Eight thousand Menggu cavalry circled and fired, each person shooting no less than fifty arrows in total.
There were about 400,000 arrows falling into the Russian infantry, and the damage caused was naturally not trivial.
At least tens of thousands of people were hit by arrows and were either shot to death directly or fell to the ground unable to stand up. Those who could barely parry were extremely frightened.
Regarding the despicable tactics adopted by the enemy, the Russian soldiers were angry and cursed after being beaten, but they had no choice but to do nothing. Since their mobility was far inferior to the opponent's, they could only be beaten passively.
Although it has a certain ability to fight back, its lethality per unit time is much inferior to that of the opponent.
After the Menggu cavalry completed their mission, the cavalry team behind the pass began to appear.
The tactics are similar to those of their counterparts outside the customs. They also fight around each other, but the weapons are changed to muskets.
Five thousand musketeers rode in circles and fired while running. In fact, the difficulty was not much higher than during training.
In theory, loading ammunition on a horse is more difficult than aiming and firing, but since they are all veterans, this difficulty can still be overcome.
Half an hour later, the nearly 30,000 Russian infantrymen in the encirclement were all dead or injured, while the Ming army only suffered less than a thousand casualties, and less than a hundred people died in the battle.
The Russian troops in the remaining three directions have already fled. Since there are mostly two-legged infantry, it is impossible to run too fast.
On a battlefield of ice and snow, anyone who can run twenty miles in an hour is considered a master with nimble legs and feet.
The retreating Russian infantry numbered more than 100,000. They were very obvious against the snow, and there was no need to search for them.
On the other hand, the Ming army's cavalry targeted the defeated soldiers who fell behind the team, and had no intention of pursuing the opponent's cavalry.
If the cavalry chases the cavalry, the opponent will be busy running for his life, and it is impossible to catch up without the horse stumbling or running out of horsepower.
Rather than wasting time like that, it would be more cost-effective to harvest these two-legged prey directly.
A Rakshasa Cavalry is worth fifty silver coins, which is a very considerable price.
A Rakshasa infantryman is only worth ten silver coins, but the victory lies in large numbers and sufficient control.
Emperor Haojing had already calculated that by the end of the Western Expedition, the other side would definitely recruit a large number of serfs to fight.
The chance of serfs serving as cavalry was very small, so the price of infantry was set very low.
In this way, he will not be directly bankrupted by the reward of victory...
Judging from the territory of the Rakshasa people, Emperor Haojing did not believe that the other party could spend their only military expenditures on developing infantry.
The cavalry must be the main force, and the infantry are all vassals. Once they are exhausted, they will recruit a group of serfs. After joining the army, they will change their identities and become infantry.
To the Ming cavalry, the pile of prey in front of them might be worth at least one million silver coins.
How many silver coins you can pocket in the end depends on your luck...
The less than five miles of road from the battlefield to Kazan City became a road of death for the Russian infantry under the cover of the Ming army's cavalry.
Not only are there corpses everywhere, but the number is still rising.
Tsar Alexei I originally planned to rescue his infantry, but there was only one way to rescue him, and that was to dispatch precious cavalry.
Most of the cavalry were the property of the nobles. When the army was defeated, the nobles were unwilling to contribute their property for no reason.
After promising to make more than twenty dukes and marquises, tens of thousands of cavalry came to the rescue. To put it bluntly, they were allowed to block the attack of the yellow-skinned monkey cavalry.
It would be better if we could cooperate with the infantry to defeat the pursuers in one go, but this is just the wishful thinking of Tsar Alexei I...
In fact, many Russian cavalry have the same idea. Rushing into the yellow-skinned monkey's position is not their strong point. They are better at fighting in the field.
Taking this opportunity, you can teach the reckless yellow-skinned monkey a lesson, and at the same time, snatch the weapon that can fire continuously from the opponent's hand.
But after the fighting began, the Russian cavalry discovered that this was not the case at all.
The opponent's combat effectiveness is beyond imagination. Not only is the firepower fierce, but the team's teamwork is also skillful.
The assault of the Russian cavalry group was not miraculous because it was discovered by the opponent and retreated in advance.
Before the Russian cavalry group rushed over, the Ming army cavalry had gathered no less than 3,000 people, lined up and launched on-site defense.
The so-called "defense on the spot" is to adopt the "wall-mounting tactic", with people fighting against people, horses against horses, and lining up to fire.
Use dense rain of bullets to block the opponent's advance. The front row of cavalry can dismount and form an echelon of firepower with the rear row of cavalry.
Because the Menggu cavalry could shoot in a straight direction, they frequently fired arrows behind the Guan Nei cavalry.
Tens of thousands of Russian cavalry forcefully attacked about 3,000 Ming army cavalry. As a result, they lost more than half of their troops, but they did not charge down.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the rest naturally turned around and ran away. They would not follow one after another and follow them to die.
While running away, he was spotted by more than 4,000 Ming Army cavalry on both sides, and was beaten violently again.
After arriving at Kazan City, after some counting, there were less than 2,000 people left...
Upon seeing this, Alexey I had to give up the rescue of the infantry. With Schein leading his troops to retreat, he led the nobles to retreat westward through the frozen Volga River.
The two ministers also agreed that Sheinlai would be fully responsible for the local war in Kazan. Whether he held on or retreated, Alexei I would not blame Sheinlai.
If Kazan City can still be defended, then after next autumn, Alexei I will mobilize a large army to relieve the defenders.
The premise is that it must hold on for nearly a year, otherwise the relief army will not be able to cross the river in the autumn.
If the city of Kazan is abandoned, the retreating troops must hold on to Nizhny Novgorod upstream.
Otherwise, the enemy will pass through this place and Vladimir and attack Moscow directly!
Nizhny Novgorod is the penultimate gateway to Moscow and must be defended.
After gathering the remaining defeated generals, he still has more than 50,000 troops, considering that the food in the city is enough.
Schein decided to continue to hold on to Kazan City, because the defenders were mainly infantry, and it was impossible to escape to heaven in the icy and snowy winter.
Since you can't run away and you are unwilling to surrender to the yellow-skinned monkey, you can only continue to hold on.
For Wan Li, Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying, wiping out more than 200,000 Rakshasa soldiers in one battle was truly an unprecedented victory.
Through the prisoners' confessions, the three brothers also learned about the troops invested by the other party.
Based on the results achieved by his own side, Zhang Huangyan estimated that there were at least 50,000 enemy troops in the city.
Although Master Wang also seized a lot of rations, most of the food was still hoarded in the city by the other party.
If you want to seize it, you must either persuade the enemy general in the city to surrender, or you can only launch a strong attack.
The captured grain and the dead horses were enough for Master Wang to feed him until spring.
After some deliberation, Wanli and others were no longer satisfied with the current results.
Because the Rakshasa reinforcements had just been defeated, it was impossible for the opponent to send another reinforcement in a short period of time.
In other words, now is the best time to attack the city while the king's army's morale is at its peak.
Moreover, in winter operations, due to the low temperature on the battlefield, it is not easy to cause the spread of diseases.
Let the prisoners carry the corpse to a suitable site and bury it, and then the whole army can feast and drink.
After three days of rest, the three Wanli brothers pulled out 40,000 troops without injuries and began to bombard the city with great fanfare.
The Menggu cavalry are still responsible for peripheral patrols and hunting, and do not need to participate in siege operations.
The artillery units took up their positions and resumed the siege of Kazan City.
Wanli thought it would be best to knock down the city walls in three directions and let the Rakshasa soldiers guard one wall and cry bitterly.
Now it’s all about working hard to achieve miracles. I don’t need to reason with you. More guns is the way to go!
A shot to the top!
Two shots to transcend!
Three guns reincarnated!
If the defenders really couldn't bear it, they could rush out and fight to the death with the Ming Dynasty King's division.
If you don't have the courage and courage, you can just continue to hide in the city.
The Russian soldiers in the city looked at the frequent heavy artillery fire outside, and at the same time saw the yellow-skinned monkeys digging holes in the frozen river to catch fish in the distance. They had mixed feelings in their hearts.
Once upon a time, even Siberia belonged to His Majesty the Great Tsar.
But now, I can only move around in this small part of the city, and the outside of the city is occupied by yellow-skinned monkeys.
The other party was blatantly fishing in the Volga River, but we couldn't kill it. It was really annoying.
Since they can fish on the river, the harvest of the Ming army's fishing team is actually greater than in the other three seasons.
In terms of fishing, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty King's Division were no less than professional fishermen anywhere.
Only in this way can a group of people eat fresh river food during the war.
The hard-working soldiers of the King's Division are not picky eaters. They will eat any fish, including catfish, and they are neither too small nor too spiny.
The Wanli Division has stayed in Kazan for two years. To the fish in the Volga River, this is equivalent to the arrival of a group of "river fish terminators"...
On January 17, 1673, under continuous heavy bombardment by the Ming army's artillery units, Wanli's set goal was finally achieved and three walls of Kazan City were basically demolished.
Since it was no longer possible to hold on to the city wall, Schein decided to lead his troops out of the city to fight to the death with the invading yellow-skinned monkeys.
More than 50,000 Russian soldiers had had enough of the deafening torture. Instead of continuing to hide in the city and suffer, it was better to go out and kill all the hateful yellow-skinned monkeys.
Taking into account the opponent's firepower advantage, Schein decided to use a night attack, which could reduce his own casualties to a certain extent.
On the night of January 20th, the Russian army came out in full force, intending to give the opponent a fatal blow.
As a result, they were spotted by Ming army sentries halfway, and the flares clearly illuminated a large group of "rats" leaving the city.
Even so, Schein did not intend to lead his troops back to the city. He had already made up his mind to come out, so he had to get the results.
Just like last time, the Russian army began to attack midway under fierce artillery fire.
This time, with the cover of night, the opponent's hit rate has indeed decreased.
But once they advance to a distance of less than fifty steps, and then rush forward, the bullet will actively find the body of the Russian soldier as if it has eyes.
The soldiers of the Ming army did not lack nutrition. They all received training for night fighting. It was just that they did not take the initiative to attack this time, but just waited for the enemy.
If the other party comes to the door on his own initiative, and you can save yourself the trouble of getting there, then you just take the order and keep it all.
After a large-scale firefight, accompanied by a series of explosions, the light on the battlefield suddenly became almost dawn.
Wanli collected some of the grenades from the Menggu cavalry and left them for the siege troops. They went out hunting, and one or two for each of them was enough.
As a result, the Russian army that attacked at night was once again attacked by a rain of grenades. The infantry were unable to withstand an attack of this scale and were blown to the ground in succession.
Tanks are another weapon that makes life worse for Russian soldiers, and they are especially useful when they are tasked with blocking.
The rapid-fire Folan machine is the nightmare of almost all Russian infantry. If a crew is lucky, it can even kill hundreds of targets.
Schein guessed that the opponent's ammunition would be running out after the war, but the situation was inconsistent with his judgment.
Wanli's troops did consume a lot of ammunition, but Zhang Huangyan and Zeng Ying had no battle to fight before arriving in Kazan, and they came all the way in a hurry.
After the ammunition of the three parties was evened out, Wanli no longer had to worry about the lack of ammunition for his subordinates.
What's more, when the Ming army fought, unless it was a big battle or a fierce battle, they always saved ammunition and did not waste ammunition because of the advantages of weapons.
Although the Russian gunpowder previously captured by the Ming army on the battlefield cannot be used as fixed ammunition for rifle bullets, it can be used to make mortar shells.
This directly resulted in Schein not taking any advantage in this regard and causing his subordinates to suffer a lot.
With the Ming army desperately blocking the attack, the two sides fought for nearly three hours until dawn.
In the end, the Russian army failed to turn defeat into victory and had to retreat hastily. However, due to the huge casualties, the city naturally could not bear it.
Schein led some of the cavalry to flee first, followed by the infantry, hoping to use the cover of the sky to reach the other side of the river before dawn.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Huangyan did not order a pursuit because it was still dark and chasing would easily cause accidental injuries.
As long as the opponent still has a large number of infantry, they will definitely not be able to escape the distance of fifty miles.
After daybreak, an airship search will be dispatched, and it will be clear at a glance.
The airship is responsible for discovering the target and firing a signal flare, and the cavalry goes over to catch them accurately.
After counting, the total number of Rakshasa soldiers killed in the night battle reached nearly 37,000.
Based on the prisoners' accounts, Zhang Huangyan believed that there should be more than 15,000 Rakshasa soldiers who escaped.
With so many people running together, the traces of their activities in the snow should be obvious.
Two hours after the airship took off, it found the remnants of the enemy troops retreating to the northwest.
Twenty thousand Ming troops rushed in and wiped out more than half of the Rakshasa soldiers.
Only a small number of cavalry carried some infantry, and they took the opportunity to slip away in groups of two and one horse.
In the first, middle and last three battles, more than 270,000 Rakshasa soldiers were wiped out in the Battle of Kazan.
If the Rakshasa Kingdom could mobilize a million troops to counter the Ming Dynasty's army, it would have lost about a quarter of its troops.
The remaining three-quarters, Wanli believed, would be encountered on the way as Wang Shi continued to advance westward.
Now that Kazan City is occupied, they will also get a large amount of food stored in the city.
But there is still bad news, that is, due to excessive ammunition consumption, our troops are no longer able to continue the Western Expedition.
After concentrating all the ammunition for estimation, Zhang Huangyan thought that he could have another battle with the Rakshasa Army.
However, the risk is very high, so it is recommended to wait for ammunition to be sent from the mainland before heading west to Moscow.
With sufficient food, as long as there is no need to worry about withdrawing troops, we can spend the winter in Kazan City first.
Later troops could be stationed in their original camps built around the mountains, hoping to get the required ammunition as soon as possible.
There is one more thing to consider.
That was to cross the river before the river thawed in the spring, or to wait until the spring to obtain ammunition, then go upstream and cross the river in the Nizhny Novgorod area.
After some discussion, without ammunition supplies for the time being, the three brothers could only choose to stay put and decide whether to cross the river when supplies were available.
Nizhny Novgorod counts as one stop and Moscow counts as the final stop.
If you calculate this way, it will take another two years for Master Wang to reach Moscow.
Eight years have passed since the Wanli Division, which was the first to participate in the Western Expedition, set off.
But being able to capture such a vast territory is not much time-consuming compared to Zunshi's defeat of Donglu.
Zhang Huangyan can only hope that the railway can be built further west of Lake Balkhash. Otherwise, if trucks are used to transport ammunition, the scale of supplies they will receive will be very pessimistic.
But when they looked at the map, everyone still felt uncomfortable.
Because even if the railway is built to the foot of the Ural Mountains, it is still nearly a thousand miles away from Kazan.
Theoretically speaking, if the railway can be built to the Yuzi territory, the progress is already very fast.
The Master once said that the greatest enemy of the Rakshasa in the Western Expedition was not the Rakshasa itself, but supplies and the cold.
Each box of ammunition needs to be transported thousands of miles to the battlefield, and it cannot be transported by sea. The difficulty and cost can be imagined...
With luck, our troops should be supplied in the fall.
Because the next batch of teams will set off in the spring and must arrive at the station before winter, otherwise they will have to build wooden houses in the wild.
In fact, as long as you follow the footsteps of the previous Western Expedition team, you don't need to be self-reliant at all. The wooden houses are all ready-made, and each camp has a certain number of garrison troops to garrison.
From the current point of view, the Western Expedition to capture Moscow, the capital of Rakshasa, is the limit.
Further west, the Ming Dynasty was really unsustainable.
It would be cheaper to take the sea route, disembark from Sweden, and then head east.
Just in case, after the beginning of spring, Zhang Huangyan sent people to start farming on a large scale.
If nothing else, at least I can harvest a bunch of potatoes after autumn.
Since it is impossible to continue the Western Expedition in a short period of time, we should carry out reclamation in the local area.
Guarding the Volga River, there is naturally no shortage of water for irrigating the land.
The purpose of this is to fear that a bunch of reinforcements will come. There is only so much food in the city, so it is better to increase revenue and reduce expenditure than to sit back and have nothing.
Due to the inability to attack but to protect themselves, the entire army was in a state of semi-paralysis.
Wanli did not wait for reinforcements from the mainland, but instead waited for Yang Zhan's troops who were walking.
Unlike Wanli's troops who came over via a small road, Yang Zhan and his men fought from east to west without any mixture at all.
Starting from the Northern Territory Kingdom located on the seaside of Okhotsk, we first went to Yakutsk, then Oryok, Minsk, Kiliansk, Bratsk...
If we weren't fighting and were just walking, it definitely wouldn't take so long.
The problem was that there were a bunch of large and small Rakshasa strongholds along the way, so Yang Zhan led his troops to remove them one by one.
If they hadn't received supplies in Kurgan, they would have been almost the same as the local savages.
The only way we could reach Kazan was because of the people Zhang Huangyan left behind to guide us.
Of the 10,000 people who originally raised the army, there are now less than 5,000 left. The rest have either died of injuries or illness, or have been left in strongholds along the way to recuperate.
No matter what, it’s good to come!
Arriving in Kazan, the team has already achieved half the success.
At least after joining forces, we don't have to worry about food.
When Yang Zhan's soldiers saw their friendly comrades, they were all relieved, and many of them cried bitterly.
It was really not easy for them. They had never thought that the Western Expedition would become so difficult.
Fortunately, they can fish and hunt along the way, otherwise they would definitely not be able to hold on...
