With the capture of the city of Yakutsk and the establishment of Zhenbei County by the Chu Empire here, it also announced that Russia's colonial expansion in the Lena River Basin and the east areas in the past few decades had come to nothing.
Even the strategic location, transportation hub, and the strategic support point of the Russian Far East, the city of Yakutsk, has been lost. It is no longer possible for the Russians to continue to maintain their colonial presence in the Far East.
Although Russia still has some sporadic colonial strongholds in the Far East at this time, how long can these last?
How many months? Half a year? One year?
Even the most optimistic Russians do not think they can persist for more than a year.
As for fighting back the city of Yakutsk, if the Russians had the ability, they would not have lost this vital city before.
Everything has become a foregone conclusion.
Now, for the Russians, what they have to do is no longer to recapture the city of Yakutsk and regain control of the Far East, but to think about how to protect the Yenisei River Basin.
You must know that after the Chu army captured the city of Yakutsk, it did not stop its pace of expansion.
Capturing the city of Yakutsk is just the early strategic goal in the entire northern strategy. There are also the mid-term and late-stage goals behind this.
The mid-term goal of the Chu Empire's northern strategy is to control the Yenisei River Basin.
To seize and control the Yenisei River Basin, there are several strategic cities that must be captured.
The first city to bear the brunt was Bratsk on the Tunguska River in the middle reaches of the Angara River. This city was an important forward stronghold for the Russians to resist the Chu army's invasion of the Angara River and even the Yenisei River.
Because just upstream of the Angara River, that is, close to Lake Baiga, the mouth of the Little Beihai, is the Great Chu Empire in the Little Beihai Prefecture area, and it is also the strategic support city for the entire surrounding Little Beihai area: Khur City.
There is only more than 500 kilometers between the two cities!
If these more than 500 kilometers were placed in other places, it might be a very far distance, but for Siberia, which is vast and sparsely populated, this distance is actually very close...
The Chu army's strategic city Beihe City in the Lena River Basin and the Russian-controlled city of Yakutsk are more than a thousand kilometers apart.
So the concept of distance in Siberia is different from that in other places...
Because the city of Khur controlled by the Chu Empire and the city of Bratsk controlled by the Russians are close to each other, and they are both cities along the Angara River, this has caused the two countries to increase the area in this area. At the same time, in the past many years, the two sides have engaged in frequent and fierce battles around the middle and upper reaches of the Angara River.
Battles involving hundreds of people were fought at least a dozen times, and battles involving thousands of people were fought as many as three times.
A battle of this level is not easy in Siberia, and for both sides' artillery units that rely heavily on logistics...
If the Chu army wants to take over the Yenisey River Basin, it must first remove the Russian stronghold of Brazk, and then it can go northwest along the Angara River, and finally kill the Russian army to control the entire Yenisey. The strategic support point city and transportation hub in the Se River Basin: Yeniseisk.
The strategic position of Yeniseisk is very similar to the city of Yakutsk on the Lena River, both located in the center of the entire river basin.
And it is an important, even the only transportation hub.
Therefore, the Russians attach great importance to these two places, built large fortresses, stationed a large number of troops, and organized many immigrants there.
Previously, these two major cities served as strategic support points for their colonial expansion in Siberia and served the purpose of immigration expansion.
But in the past five years, the strategic role of these two major cities has become the core support point to defend against the Chu army's northward expansion. Relying on these two cities, they can continuously mobilize troops and supplies, and then go to the frontier fortresses. Fight with the Chu army.
Therefore, after capturing Yakutsk, Yeniseisk became the next strategic target of the Chu army.
It is also the core goal of the entire Northern Strategic Medium-Term Plan.
After all, the mid-term plan of the Northern Strategy is to control the Yenisey River Basin, and to control the Yenisey River Basin, Yeniseisk must be captured, otherwise it will be impossible to control the Yenisey River Basin.
In order to capture Bratsk and more importantly Yeniseisk, the Chu Empire Army prepared tens of thousands of troops in the city of Kur.
The overall strength is greater than that involved in the attack on Yakutsk city.
Because Yeniseisk is closer to the hinterland of the Russian-controlled area, the Russians can get more manpower and material support locally, which means that after the Chu army attacks, the resistance will be greater.
It is worth noting that in terms of topography, the area west of the Yenisey River is dominated by plains, which is the West Siberian Plain, and continuing to the west is the Eastern European Plain.
Except for the Ural Mountains and the river in the middle, it can be called a flat plain.
This flat terrain is also the reason why the Russians' previous expansion in this area was very smooth. They can more easily receive military and material support from the west, especially from Europe.
This also means that when the Chu army attacks the Yenisei River Basin, it will encounter greater resistance from the Russian army.
Under such circumstances, the Chu army would naturally have to prepare more troops and more supplies for the battle. Otherwise, wouldn't it be embarrassing to run over and fail...
Among the more than 10,000 army troops, the proportion of cavalry is also quite large, with more than 4,000 cavalry troops, while the total strength of infantry, artillery and baggage troops is only more than 7,000.
The reason why there are so many cavalry troops is because the channel conditions of the Angara River are very poor, which will greatly affect the Chu army's use of this river for troop mobilization and supply transportation.
In fact, the main river that the Russians used to connect the Lena River and the Yenisey River Basin was not the Angara River, but mainly went down the Tunguska River and other rivers, and also passed through several land-water connections, that is, along the Land between two rivers.
As for the passage up the Tunguska River, that is, the Angara River, they actually didn't go much. After all, the navigation condition of the Angara River was very bad. If you were not careful, the boat would be destroyed and people would die...
This time when they entered Bratsk and even Yeniseisk later, the Chu army also considered that the navigation situation of the Angara River was relatively poor, so the transportation of troops and material supplies fully took into account the situation of ground transportation.
The model adopted is water-land relay and coordinated transportation.
Specifically, in some river sections where navigation conditions permit, river transportation will be carried out. When the navigation conditions are poor, people and goods will be disembarked and then ground transportation will be carried out.
Such waterway relay transportation eventually completed a long troop mobilization and material supply route of more than 500 kilometers in the early stage and more than 1,000 kilometers in the later stage.
For this reason, in addition to the army and navy personnel, the Dachu Empire sent out a bunch of technical personnel, including those who built cities, docks, warehouses and other infrastructure, as well as a lot of craftsmen and technicians who cut wood and built ships on the spot. .
In order to build various docks, fortresses, ships, carriages and other facilities on site.
There are more than 2,000 construction teams who set out with the army, and they are basically technical personnel... As for the ordinary labor force... it is either the military soldiers who take the responsibility, or some local indigenous people are requisitioned on the spot. them.
In the vast Siberian region, in addition to the Chu and Russians, there are actually many local indigenous peoples. There are many of these indigenous peoples in the Angara River Basin and Lake Baikal. The Chu army previously built a series of cities there. In other activities, it is indispensable to recruit local indigenous people to carry out construction.
The expansion of the Chu Empire in the Siberia region is generally considered relatively mild. Basically, as long as the local indigenous people do not resist, cooperate with the Chu Empire's reclamation policy, and accept education, then these indigenous people will be They are governed as their own people.
Who knows that few local immigrants are willing to come to this poor place, and the construction work of a large number of city strongholds and military reclamation tasks are also important, so some local naturalized indigenous people will also be recruited to carry out construction to strengthen the actual situation of the Great Chu Empire in the local area. control ability.
Speaking of which, in fact, Russia and the Chu Empire adopted similar policies in the Siberia region. They defeated the organized resistance of the local indigenous people militarily, and then built fortresses and strongholds to station troops and organize immigrants in areas with convenient transportation or densely populated areas. , exiled criminals in the past to enrich the population.
At the same time, it directly ruled the local indigenous people, conducted fur business with the local indigenous people, collected taxes, etc.
Through the continuous increase of various fortresses and cities formed one after another, comprehensive actual control of the local area is completed.
Having said that, in fact, the Da Chu Empire also used the Russian system as a reference... and found that this system was simple and reliable. Apart from leaving some foreigners who seemed to be hidden dangers, it did not have any major shortcomings.
Even if they are foreigners, the Chu Empire is not afraid of them. The Chinese nation has had thousands of years of experience in turning foreigners into its own people.
Based on the current various enlightenment policies of the Great Chu Empire, from traditional customs to language and writing, and comprehensive enlightenment of living habits, coupled with the miscegenation policy, in a few decades you will say that the local indigenous people are not Chinese but barbarians, and everyone will have to Falling out with you...you are the barbarian, your whole family is a barbarian...
The most important thing is that there are only a few indigenous people in the entire Siberian region... Not counting other places, let alone the vast area east of the Yenisey River, the local indigenous people add up to only a few hundred thousand people, and there are still Widely spread over such a huge area.
Relying on the population advantage of the Dachu Empire, it won't take long to assimilate them all.
This is different from places like Nanyang. The population in Nanyang is too dense and it is very troublesome to assimilate. Moreover, the immigrants from the empire are also willing to spread rumors that the land is fertile. If you just sow some seeds, you can harvest a full warehouse of Nanyang. Immigrate to Malacca and other places.
Therefore, in the expansion of the Chu Empire in the Nanyang region, it adopted a simpler and more straightforward method, directly driving away the indigenous people and freeing up land for local immigrants to cultivate.
To put it simply, you need land but not people...
In terms of the policy of territorial expansion, the Chu Empire did not stick to one policy, but adopted different policies according to local conditions. For example, in India, the Chu Empire adopted indirect colonization.
Generally speaking, in the Chu Empire, you can see almost all methods of colonial expansion, both good and bad.
In Siberia, a relatively gentle expansion method was adopted, which allowed the Chu Empire to obtain local indigenous population resources.
The Russians were able to recruit young men from the indigenous groups that relied on them to build forts, and even recruited young men to form militias.
Naturally, the Chu Empire could also recruit local young people to build cities and transport various supplies for the army.
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After everything was prepared, the Yenisei dispatched troops of the Great Chu Empire officially set off from the city of Khur and headed north along the Angara River.
This day is June 13th.
During this period of time, the Chu army's war in the Lena River Basin and the Edom region was actually not over yet... No, the Chu army had not actually captured Zhenbei City at that time.
The battle between the Chu army and the two major river basins of the Lena River and the Yenisei River actually started at the same time, but the Lena River side started earlier because preparations were completed earlier.
On the Yenisei River side, it is more difficult to transport supplies and requires more preparations in advance, so the departure time is slower.
When the Yenisei dispatched troops to the north, the Chu army's Lena River dispatch troops had successfully captured Zhenbei City and continued subsequent combat operations.
Although the Chu army captured Zhenbei City, there were still several Russian colonial strongholds in the further north, that is, in the lower reaches of the Lena River, such as Zhigansk in the lower reaches of the Lena River.
There are also some small strongholds on several tributaries of the Lena River, and in the vast area further east, there are strongholds such as Zahiversk and Nizhny Kolymax.
These remaining Russian strongholds still need to be cleared one by one by the Chu army's local troops.
But this no longer affects the Chu army from launching a large-scale offensive in the Yenisey River Basin. After all, it is the Third Army that is responsible for operations in the Lena River and the east area.
The Second Army was responsible for the operations in the Yenisei River Basin.
When more than 10,000 Yenisey troops under the Second Army moved down the Angara River to Bratsk under the cover of numerous naval ships and sailors.
In the other direction, thousands of Chu army cavalry marched north along the upper reaches of the Yenisei River in late June. There were mountains blocking the road in this direction, so the march was more difficult, but in order to contain With the strength of the Russians and the main force of the Yenisey Dispatch Army, the Second Army still sent thousands of cavalry northward here.
The marching method of these thousands of cavalry going north is different from that of modern armies. It is the marching mode of traditional nomadic people, which is to drive a large group of horses, sheep and other livestock northward, and they also bring enough ammunition.
Theoretically, this army does not need any logistical supplies. Even if it does, it will not get supplies...
They had to rely on their own efforts, crossing mountains and ridges along the upper reaches of the Yenisei River, and then entered relatively plain areas to fight.
In both directions, the Second Army of the Chu Army dispatched a total of 15,000 troops, including more than 100,000 horses, cattle and sheep for fighting and pulling carts.
As they headed north in a mighty way, the Russians soon learned the news of the large-scale killing by the Chu army. The Russians in Bratsk, who were the first to bear the brunt, were even more panicked.
Although this place is at the forefront of strategy, there are actually not many local troops, with only more than 2,000 permanent troops. These troops are only the result of the Chu army's threat being too great and the Russians continuing to increase their troops.
But the attacking Chu army numbered tens of thousands, and they were tens of thousands well-equipped with guns and cannons...
If the nomads attacked in the early years and lacked guns and artillery, even if they came with ten or twenty thousand people, the Russians would not be worried at all. They could rely on the castle for defensive operations. When winter comes, the natives will naturally You have to get out of here.
But it was the Chu army that came!
The level of weapons and equipment of the Chu army is better than that of Russia.
They still had no absolute confidence in whether they could hold on under such circumstances... With Titan's uneasiness in mind, they reinforced the city's defenses and reduced their troops, while also sending people down the river to Yeniseisk for help.
Yeniseysk is Russia's political and military center in the Yenisey River Basin, and even in Siberia as a whole, where there are more troops to reinforce them.
By the way, at this time, they actually didn’t know that the Russian army in Zhenbei City had been defeated and surrendered. The Siberian region was vast and sparsely populated, and the long distance between cities made the communication time very long. In addition, The Chu army was fighting a battle of siege and annihilation, and they did not let the Russians come out to deliver the news.
Therefore, neither Yeniseisk nor the Russians in Bradsk know that the Lena River Basin is completely finished.
If they knew... and once again learned about the true combat effectiveness of the Chu army, I am afraid that the Russian army in Brazk would not even have the courage to resist, but would choose to run away directly and flee directly back to Yeniseisk. Join a group to keep warm, instead of stupidly resisting the Chu army in Brazik.
A journey of more than 500 kilometers is not a big problem for the Chu army. Although there are no well-established roads, the overall terrain is not rugged, and the Chu army fought against the Russians in this area. Over the years, many reconnaissance cavalry and survey teams have been dispatched to understand the terrain along the way, and a suitable marching route has been planned in advance.
Where can we go by river, where can we go by land, and we have a clear plan for the specific direction.
With such alternating water routes, it took the Chu army more than a month, that is, to arrive outside the city of Brazk on July 27th.
At this time, the Chu army fighting in the Lena River Basin had already captured Zhenbei City and carried out follow-up operations. However, in the Angara River, the first large-scale contact between the Chu army and the Russians had just begun.
And this contact is definitely not a good memory for the Russians!
The more than 2,000 Russian defenders faced more than 10,000 Chu troops outside the city. They were okay at first, but when the Chu army's dozens of artillery began to bombard them, they were dumbfounded...
When the Russian general saw this situation, he knew that he could not hold it. In order to avoid the destruction of the front army, he decisively ordered a retreat that night.
After overnight preparations, before dawn the next day, these Russian troops took dozens of small boats and started running away.
The Chu army took over the middle reaches of the Angara River without spending a single soldier. It was also Russia's most important forward stronghold on the Angara River and the outer barrier of Yeniseisk: Brazsk.
And not all the Russian troops who fled could escape.
When the Chu Navy's Third Battalion of the Little North Sea Fleet discovered that the enemy was trying to evacuate by boat from the river, they immediately intercepted and pursued them... After the interception operation, at least 400 Russian troops were killed, wounded and captured.
Only a few thousand Russian remnants fled to Yeniseisk in a hurry.
And with the fall of Brazik, it also means that the Chu army can directly attack the city of Yeniseisk!
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