The closer we get to Mingwei Fort, the more soldiers there are in the Ming army. Sentries working at night, patrolling cavalry teams, etc. are often encountered.
Stepan Razin opened his eyes wide and carefully looked at everything about the Ming army. The Ming army general who came back together saw him like this and didn't mind introducing the situation to him.
As he listened and watched, Racine was secretly surprised. If the Ming army he had seen at the King's tent in the Torgut tribe was indeed elite, he actually didn't take it seriously. Because in his opinion, the Ming army who was ordered to recruit Anturgut's troops must be elites selected from all the armies of the Ming Dynasty, including equipment, etc., they are definitely the best. In this way, the power of the Ming Dynasty's military can be promoted, and it will be easier to recruit Anturhu special troops.
However, as he saw more and more Ming soldiers, Rahin was shocked to find that almost all the Ming soldiers he saw were the same. Even those Ming soldiers named Ye Bushou were much more elite. wait.
What was particularly rare was that Racine could clearly feel that the morale of the Ming army soldiers was very high.
Although they made an expedition to the Volga River Basin and were about to face a counterattack by the Russian army, there was no fear or nervousness on their faces at all. A kind of strong self-confidence, expressed very strongly!
Such an army can rise up in times of trouble and is not afraid of strong enemies. It will become stronger when encountering strong enemies. It is absolutely very difficult to defeat such an army. So, why did the Ming army have such strong self-confidence and high morale?
Thinking about this problem, Racine immediately thought of some rumors he heard about the Ming army after arriving at the Torgut tribe. They talked about how they were invincible, not only unified the East, but also destroyed the Mughal Empire and so on. Ever since their emperor's imperial conquest, they had never lost a battle!
Or maybe it was because of countless victories that there were such Ming army soldiers!
Thinking of this, Racine couldn't help but feel more in awe of the Ming army, awe of the strong. Along the way, he lowered his attitude a lot, constantly asking the generals of the Ming army and asking about various things about the Ming Dynasty.
It would be an even greater achievement if the Governor could unexpectedly attract the support of another force, especially if this force's warriors are all brave and skilled knights. Based on this idea, this Ming army general naturally knew everything and talked about it.
Listening to the detailed introduction, I heard about the earth-shaking changes that had taken place in the Ming Dynasty. I heard that something called a railway had been built to the Tianshan Mountains and would continue to be built westward. It was an artifact for transporting troops and supplies.
What’s more, the lives of people of all ethnic groups in the Ming Dynasty are treated equally. As long as they work hard, their lives will be endlessly happy. Compared to before, I can't believe it.
All these things made Racine yearn for it. Compared to the days when my tribe was under the oppression of Tsarist Russia, there is really no comparison at all.
Of course, it is also possible that he felt that the Ming army general was exaggerating, so Racine also maintained a trace of doubt while yearning for him.
On this day, we finally arrived at Mingwei Fort.
Looking from a distance, there is a huge crowd and people working everywhere. There are Ming army officers and men, some not wearing military uniforms, they should be civilian husbands. However, Racine could not see the overseer with the whip, only some people directing. It seems that they are expanding Mingwei Fort, building fortifications, and preparing for the upcoming war.
Looking at all this, Racine was surprised again. The scene in front of him reminded him of what the Ming army general beside him said, and the things about the people of all ethnic groups seemed to be confirmed.
Of course, another point is that the impression the Ming army gave him was that it was very energetic and full of vigor. One can imagine how powerful such an empire would be. No wonder the Ming army was able to destroy the powerful Mughal Empire in a snap.
The world today seems to be the world of Ming Dynasty!
After understanding this and watching the shadow of Fort Mingwei getting bigger and bigger, Racine once again adjusted his mentality and made up his mind.
………………
An hour later, Racine arrived at Fort Mingwei. While waiting for the Governor of the Ming Dynasty to receive him, he kept a respectful attitude and showed absolutely no sign of impatience.
On the other hand, Hong Chengchou was not surprised by the surrender of the Torgut tribe, because it was within his expectation. However, the arrival of the Don Cossacks was beyond his expectation.
Although it was his first expedition to the west, he had heard from Emperor Chongzhen that there was a race in the west that was as good at riding and fighting as the Mongols. Tsarist Russia relied on this race to expand its territory eastward.
At this time, when I heard the general who was sent out introduce the situation of the Don River Cossacks, I realized that the Cossacks were divided into several ethnic groups. Not every ethnic group worked wholeheartedly for Tsarist Russia, and there were also oppressed ethnic groups who were living a difficult life.
In this case, according to the principle of united front explained by Emperor Chongzhen, this can be conquered. Now that the leader of the Don River Cossacks has come in person, he not only shows his personal courage, but also proves from one side that he should be sincere enough.
Although at this time in the Ming Dynasty, countless Mongols had joined, and now even the Torgut tribe had joined, and there were many people who were good at riding and fighting. However, who would think that there are too few soldiers like this?
Therefore, based on this idea, Hong Chengchou cordially received Racine. This meeting was also praised by the Don Cossacks of later generations.
Both parties are sincere, so the atmosphere in such a meeting is naturally very good.
Hong Chengchou immediately made a promise to give the Don Cossacks and the Turgut tribe the same treatment. However, he also stated that his promise would ultimately have to be made by the Ming Emperor.
There was an example from the Torgut tribe, and of course Racine had no objection. On the contrary, if Hong Chengchou had promised that there would be no problem, he would have suspected whether there was fraud.
Based on the current situation, Hong Chengchou told Racine: "You are here to wait. I predict that when the Russian army comes to attack Mingwei Fort, your troops will be recruited to join the battle. When the time comes, we will act according to the opportunity, and we will definitely be able to make a decision. great merit!"
This is an attempt to deceive the Russian army! Racine thought in his mind and immediately agreed. For him, of course he wanted to achieve great success.
Therefore, Hong Chengchou wrote in his own hand the matter of recruiting Cossacks from the Dunhe River, and stamped it with the official seal, so that Racine could have an explanation when he returned.
Not long after, the Turgut tribe began to move to Mingwei Fort one after another and accepted the jurisdiction of Hong Chengchou. As a result, Mingwei Fort became more lively.
………………
From Mingwei Fort to Moscow, it is just over two thousand miles. However, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was not yet in Moscow. Instead, he led an army to Poland and was attacking Smolensk, 800 miles away.
If the original historical development were to follow, Alexey would not be able to capture Smolensk until September, and he would not return to Moscow in triumph until the following summer when he captured Wilno and several other Polish cities. Those troubles caused by Patriarch Nikon.
When the Russian army withdrew from Poland, King Karl X of Sweden led an army to attack Poland, once conquering Poznan, Warsaw and Krakow.
Alexei was very worried that Sweden would move eastward and attack Tsarist Russia after defeating Poland. Therefore, he had to lead his army on an expedition in 1656, trying to take the opportunity to regain the territory along the Baltic Sea so as to occupy a powerful geographical position in the future confrontation with Sweden.
In short, according to the original historical development, Alexei's focus will always be in Eastern Europe.
In this dimension, almost a month had passed when the news that the Ming Dynasty had captured Samara Fort reached Moscow and then the Smolensk front line.
At this time, Alexey had not yet captured Smolensk, and he couldn't help but be shocked after hearing the news.
Although Samara Fort is far away from Moscow, it can be said to be the real border of Tsarist Russia in the east. But a large-scale Ming army appeared over there, which meant that the Eastern European plains would no longer be safe. If Samara Fort is not recaptured and the Ming army is not driven back to the Far East, the vast plains will be undefendable.
But if we withdraw our troops at this time, it means that our efforts to attack Poland will be in vain. If we don’t fight Poland, we will be afraid of it, and if we don’t fight Poland, we will lose our temper. Then Tsarist Russia’s acceptance of Ukraine will inevitably be abandoned halfway. Because of this, Khmelnytsky was the prerequisite for merging Eastern Ukraine, centered on Zabarozhye, into Tsarist Russia.
In desperation, Alexey had no choice but to summon Khmelnytsky and tell him the situation.
Khmelnytsky was also shocked when he heard this. Unexpectedly, the distant Ming Kingdom would come to cause trouble at this time. He must be annoyed by this.
Alexey confessed frankly that he had to withdraw his troops and defeat the powerful enemies in the Far East first. Otherwise, there will be a powerful enemy in the east of Tsarist Russia, and he will not even be able to sleep peacefully in the future.
Of course Khmelnytsky was unwilling to do this, but he had no choice but to stop it.
In the end, Alexei sent people to negotiate peace with the Polish army in Smolensk. As a victor, he told the Poles that this was just a warning to Poland not to send troops to attack the Cossacks in Eastern Ukraine. Otherwise, they will not be so polite next time, and will definitely conquer Smolensk and other places to teach Poland a lesson.
After the beautiful words came out, Alexei immediately withdrew his troops regardless of what the Poles thought.
When he was approaching Moscow, he announced the war in the east, ordered to continue recruiting troops, collect grain and grass, and immediately headed east.
For Patriarch Nikon, Alexei sternly warned him to stop promoting religious reforms, issue the most stringent real mobilization, and collect as much food and grass as possible for the army.
If anyone has any trouble in this decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty that is related to the fate of the country, he will never let it go!
