Balkhash Lake, known as "Yibo Sea" in ancient China, is located in the ancient Western Regions.
In fact, talking about the Western Regions is no longer rigorous. Lake Balkhash should be regarded as the central region of Asia, in Central Asia.
only.
Now Long Yan's territory has expanded to here. In fact, in ancient times, this place also belonged to China. Later it became the territory of the Kazakh Khanate. As the war situation in Central Asia became confusing, the Kazakh Khanate, which had once been glorious in the past, had long since fallen apart in the dust of history.
Later, Lake Balkhash belonged to the Kokand Khanate.
At this time, the Kokand Khanate was also divided among several Central Asian countries, and Lake Balkhash was naturally included in Long Yan's territory.
Lake Balkhash is the fourth longest lake in the world. Due to the lack of river inflow in the eastern part of the lake, the phenomenon of one lake with two waters, light in the west and salty in the east, is formed. On the north bank of the lake, there is the city of Balkhash, which is a very famous copper mining belt. Balkhash is also a very important copper smelting center. Therefore, Balkhash is also an indispensable place in Liu Zheng's plan.
copper!
This metal is really important to Liu Zheng's technological development.
As the first industrial revolution slowly unfolds, the second industrial revolution may come in the near future, or even earlier. Copper, a metal, will soon become a scarce resource. Various electrical appliances and electricity utilization are inseparable from aluminum and copper.
So I don’t know if it was intentional by Tsarist Russia, or if it was really just a coincidence.
It is quite intriguing that Peter the Great placed the main direction of his attack on Lake Balkhash.
But no matter what.
Balkhash cannot be lost.
Whether it's because of copper mines or national sentiments. You know, in the previous life, this place has always been the natural dividing line between China and Russia. But with a series of unequal treaties, Lake Balkhash officially separated from China. This is definitely a huge pain for Liu Zheng!
"Two hundred thousand..."
at this time.
The general who guards Balkhash is called Wang Feng, who is also a student in the first batch of Liangzhou Military Academy and is a classmate of Zou Sheng. However, Wang Feng is more than ten years older than Zou Sheng, so he is a late bloomer.
After hearing the number of enemy troops, Wang Feng's face began to look ugly.
He was sent by Liangzhou Prefecture to take over the copper mine in Balkhash Lake, and there was still a lot of work to do. First, an administrative center must be established here, and then the military base and logistics and transportation work.
This time.
The Western Region Army he brought was only 30,000...
Thirty thousand...
But the other party has two hundred thousand!
A mighty 200,000-strong army was already stationed on the other side of the lake. Just the sight of the camps through the telescope was enough to make people feel shocked and desperate. Fortunately, Lake Balkhash is different from places like Sakhalin. After all, Sakhalin was considered a borderless land before, so just come up and start working directly. Lake Balkhash has always been a military center of the Kokand Khanate, and the fortifications used to protect the copper mines here are still very sound. Therefore, if Tsarist Russia wants to capture Balkhash, it must not use blitzkrieg, but must plan it slowly.
The situation here is even more complicated than on Sakhalin Island.
Long Yan had just taken this place back. Naturally, it was impossible for the local people who were formerly members of the Kokand Khanate to return to the Long Yan court so quickly. This is again an extremely complex situation.
Looking at the 200,000-strong army on the opposite side, they have already begun to cut down the trees nearby, so that when everything is ready, they can build these timbers into pontoon bridges and then fight across the lake!
"Where are Putu's soldiers and horses?"
"What about the support from East India? When will it arrive?"
"Where's Loulan?"
Wang Feng began to become a little anxious. In the past few days, he relied on these 30,000 troops and the defenses in front of Lake Balkhash to harass the Tsarist Russian troops... However, the effect was almost minimal.
There are too many of them.
"General, we are still on the way, so it shouldn't be that fast..."
"It will probably take seven days to get to the nearest Dawan..."
"Seven days?"
Wang Feng took a deep breath.
Seven days!
He couldn't wait any longer!
"General, the atmosphere in Balkhash has been a bit strange recently..."
A lieutenant said.
When Wang Feng heard this, his eyes flashed: "Those noble gentlemen, are you trying to cause trouble again?"
The deputy general coughed: "Not only that, the general believes that the city should be willing to inform the people of Tsarist Russia and inform them!"
"What?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the camp changed their expressions.
Everyone looked at each other.
In fact, the Kokand Khanate was close to Tsarist Russia in the past. The two countries have very consistent ideological concepts. In fact, the Kokand Khanate, which was once double-dealing, has become a dog of Tsarist Russia and will turn Tsarist Russia's The Orthodox Church was introduced into the country... This also caused Liangzhou to face many difficulties in governing the territory of the Kokand Khanate.
This is the case for Lake Balkhash.
"These white-eyed wolves!"
Wang Feng drank coldly.
"General, we must think of something..."
"The mood in the army is..."
A group of people suggested.
Wang Feng thought for a moment, and then said with a cold smile: "Tell the Russians about the news? Okay..."
He shouted angrily: "Tie up all these people!"
"When Tsarist Russia launches an attack, let them attack first!"
"I want to see if Tsarist Russia will kill these people or not!"
As soon as these words came out.
Everyone looked at each other and took a breath of air.
Cruel!
Wang Feng's move is really cruel!
The people who came out of Liangzhou Military Academy are indeed extraordinary!
…
"Hahahaha, let's see what they do now!"
"We are saved!"
"Khanate of Kokand! The glory of God!"
"It's God, God has come to rescue us! They said that as long as we can help them capture Lake Balkhash, we can restore our country!"
at this time.
In Lake Balkhash, a group of people conspired in a courtyard.
Everyone gathered around an old man in his fifties, congratulating and congratulating him.
This man had a big beard and an exotic face. His name was Manap. Before that, he was a nobleman of the Kokand Khanate. Hearing the compliments from these people, he laughed loudly: "It's easy to say, everyone, remember." Come on, no one in Balkhash City can help those Longyan people!"
"No matter whether it's construction or anything else, they are all passive and slow in work!"
"When our Kokand Khanate is restored, you will all be the founding heroes!"
"yes!"
A group of people were excited.
They seem to have finally seen the light. From the beginning, they have admired the Slavic culture in Tsarist Russia very much. They would rather be a dog than work for them!
Dragon flame?
How can a bunch of weak, sour cowards deserve to rule them?
