Tsar Alexei's bodyguards were all paying attention to the battlefield in the distance, and they were nervous. They thought he would suddenly fall off his horse.
Therefore, when Alexei fell firmly to the ground, his guards came to their senses and rushed over. Suddenly, there was chaos.
Alexey didn't faint, but his lip was cut and swollen, and he looked a little miserable.
He didn't take this into consideration and immediately looked towards the battlefield on the other side.
At this time, the battle situation over there was completely one-sided. After the Ming cavalry penetrated the enemy's formation, they circled around an arc and prepared to launch a second round of attack. However, Racine's loud persuasion to surrender obviously had an effect. More and more Cossacks have lost their weapons and surrendered.
There is no need to look any further. The army sent to the opposite side was basically wiped out with the help of the traitor. Because the Volga River separated them, there was no possibility of escaping back.
Alexey actually didn't care about the losses of the troops sent there. What he cared about was that he could contain the Ming army, create fighter planes, and give him the possibility to defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop. But if all the troops sent there were wiped out, why fight?
We can't divide our troops anymore, right? In other words, if the whole army is going to take a detour, is there still a way back? In the final analysis, the Ming army's defensive front was obviously designed to target his side's attack. It can be said that this battle is about to be lost before it is even fought.
Thinking of this, Alexey felt that he had never been so useless in his life. Obviously the army can fight, but it just can't show its strength and is suppressed by the enemy.
The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. Alexei finally couldn't help it, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, and he fell down.
But this time, his guards paid attention to him and did not let him fall.
When the Tsar's first accident happened, not many people saw it because they were all attracted by the battle on the other side. However, the second time, the battle situation on the other side was already very clear. Also because of the clarity, many people turned to look at the Tsar, wondering if the Tsar could do anything? As a result, their tsar was seen vomiting blood!
The morale of the Tsarist Russian army was originally hit by the battle on the other side. Seeing this scene again, the Tsarist Russian soldiers suddenly panicked.
Fortunately, Alexey didn't faint. He rode back on the horse to show that he was fine. After trying every means to appease him for a while, his morale finally recovered.
However, at this moment, the Ming army on the other side returned triumphantly to Mingwei Fort, celebrating their victory with a sound that shook the heaven and the earth. It is impossible to ignore the Tsarist Russian army on this side of the Volga River. Thinking about the past defeat of the army on the other side, no Tsarist Russian soldier was in a good mood.
This time, Alexey did not vomit blood or anything else, but returned to the central military tent with a dark face. Because he understands that in the face of iron-clad facts, no matter what he says to confuse people's hearts, it is useless.
How to fight the next war? This was a problem he had to solve as soon as possible.
After thinking for a long time, Alexei's eyes suddenly lit up and he had an idea.
Then, secretly, a trusted general came to him and gave him an order: "Late tonight, you select the elite to sneak across the shoal and attack the Ming army on the other side. As long as you can occupy a corner and cover the follow-up troops to follow up, it will be a great achievement for me. I am sure to be knighted!"
Of course, a heavy reward is welcome, but the first battle was a huge defeat, the situation was very bad, and the general had no confidence. Therefore, when receiving the order, he seemed a bit hesitant.
Seeing him like this, Alexei became more confident and immediately said to him: "Do you think that our army suffered heavy losses in the first battle and lost morale. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient to fight in the next few days?"
"Your Majesty has learned clearly that morale is the most important thing when fighting on the battlefield." After hearing this, the general quickly replied, "The general believes that restoring morale should be the top priority at the moment."
Alexey laughed when he heard it, and felt a little happier when he saw his confidant general laughing inexplicably. After a while, he said to him: "Yes, the morale of the army is not good now. Logically speaking, the top priority should be to revive morale. In addition..."
After he paused, his face became a little uglier, but then he still said: "Many people have seen my situation. I believe that some people in the Ming army on the other side must have seen it, and it will definitely spread later. In this case Under all circumstances, if you were the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, would you have thought that our army would sneak across and attack tonight?"
Upon hearing this, his confidant general couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and he said with great joy: "Your Majesty is so wise, the Ming army must not have thought of it!"
"Of course!" Alexey nodded and said with a smile, "In fact, the reason why I vomited blood and fell down was just to paralyze the commander of the Ming army. The purpose was to turn defeat into victory tonight. So, do you understand? Already?"
Hearing this, the Tsarist Russian general was stunned. It turns out that the real situation is like this. Your Majesty is really amazing!
Thinking of this, his confidence and morale increased greatly, and he immediately accepted the order without hesitation: "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and he will definitely break through the Ming army's river defenses on the other side at the end of the day, even if he is willing to die!"
It seems that I really believe it, not bad! Alexey thought so in his heart, he encouraged him again, and then asked him to prepare.
Needless to say, the morale of those selected elites was greatly boosted after knowing the real "inside story", and they felt that the late-night sneak attack had a high probability of success.
………………
As time passed, the night became darker and darker, and the Ming army on the other side had already fallen asleep after celebrating their victory. Under the dim lights, only the silhouettes of the patrolmen could be seen faintly.
Looking at the half-waning moon, he estimated that the time was almost up, so Alexei, who had been unable to sleep, issued a decree and launched a sneak attack.
Although he seemed confident when speaking to his trusted generals, at this time, he was actually very uneasy.
It's not that he was lying to his trusted generals, but that this sneak attack was the most likely successful action he had ever thought of. If it succeeded, it would have achieved his purpose of leading the army in the Eastern Expedition, and everything would be fine. But if it fails, the situation in Tsarist Russia will become very bad.
To sum it up in one sentence, this battle was so important that he worried about gains and losses. Originally, he was supposed to take a nap before taking command, but he couldn't fall asleep either.
One thing I have to admit is that the soldiers selected from the Tsarist Russian army to smuggle in and attack were indeed very strong. At this time, the weather was already very cold. Although the soldiers wading through the water were freezing, they made no sound.
As the leading soldiers were almost reaching the other side, Alexei's heart was in his throat.
There is a saying that is actually very philosophical. The more you worry about something, the more it will happen.
No, just as the forwards of the Tsarist Russian army were about to go ashore, suddenly, countless torches suddenly appeared on the river defense position of the Ming army opposite, illuminating this section of the Volga River at once. Whatever it was, it was clearly illuminated.
"Bah, bah, bah..."
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
The sound of flintlock guns and the sound of bows and arrows also rang out immediately.
The elite Tsarist troops huddled on the shoals of the Volga River had barely come to their senses before many of them screamed and fell down. As they were swept downstream by the current, the blood from their wounds dyed the Volga River red.
On the top of the Mingwei Fort, Punchuk, the Great Khan of the Torgut Tribe, said to Hong Chengchou in front of him with admiration: "Your Excellency, you are really clever. You actually predicted that the Tsarist Russian army would attack in the middle of the night!"
"My lord, you use your troops like a god, you are so awesome!" Racine on the other side did not hesitate to praise him and quickly followed suit.
In this regard, Hong Chengchou did not look back. He just watched the Ming army soldiers massacre the enemies in the Volga River and said calmly: "The Tsar of Guizhou is so incompetent, how could you not imagine what he would do!"
At this point, after a pause, he turned his head, looked at the two newly surrendered generals, and said to them sincerely: "In terms of using soldiers like a god and making clever calculations, only Your Majesty in the world has this praise."
The implication is that even he doesn't.
Hearing this, Punchuk and Racine couldn't help but look at each other, and they couldn't help but feel more awe for the Ming Emperor who they had never met before.
Because they could feel that when the Governor in front of them said this, he did not feel like an official flattery, but felt emotion from the bottom of his heart.
They were talking and laughing here, but Tsar Alexei's face was pale, and he just stared blankly at his men who retreated in embarrassment. Seeing those selected elites struggling for help in the Volga River, there was no sound. Suddenly, his vision went dark and he collapsed without vomiting blood.
His guards were already used to it and knew that something unexpected might happen to him, so they supported him in time. After a period of confusion, the west bank of the Volga River finally slowly became quiet.
At dawn the next day, Alexei unexpectedly slept for a long time before waking up. But he did not get up immediately, but lay there thinking about things.
He understood that it was impossible to end the war with the Ming army quickly. It can even be said that after the confrontation continues, it is hard to say whether they can win the final victory.
He was also worried about the situation in Moscow. With no other choice, Alexey finally issued a decree to build a fortress on the west bank of the ford of the Volga River. He wanted to send troops to garrison here. Since the Ming army cannot be driven away, then we should prevent the Ming army from crossing the river and invading the interior of Tsarist Russia.
When Hong Chengchou saw the movements of Tsarist Russia on the other side, he didn't take any action and just let Tsarist Russia do whatever they wanted. Because the purpose of his leading the army this time was to gain a foothold here, and from the current point of view, he has achieved his goal. Tsarist Russia also gave up the offensive and turned to the defensive. When Ming's foundation here is deeper, it will be able to reach the other side.
