Chapter 856 852 [Three thousand miles of raid]

   "It's summer, and you still need to bring a padded jacket on board?" Wang Fuchen was surprised, even though he had already spent a cold winter in Hailanpao.

  Khabarov bent his body and replied respectfully: "General, the summer in Yakutsk is very short, and then the temperature will drop sharply."

   "How much lower?"

  Wang Fuchen really can't imagine that there is any place that can be colder than Hailan bubble.

  Khabarov said: "Compared with Yakutsk, Hailanpao can be said to be like spring all the year round."

  As soon as these words came out, Wang Fuchen was speechless for a moment, and turned to look at Hou Rusong.

   Khabarov, the Cossack leader, performed extremely well in the Battle of Yaksa, and Wang Fuchen no longer dared to underestimate what he said.

Khabarov continued: "The land in Yakutsk is always frozen, and there are only three or four months to grow food every year. In severe cold years, only two months can be used to grow food every year. Even in In summer, if you dig two or three feet underground, you will find permafrost. In some places, you can dig one foot down to get permafrost.”

   "What's the purpose of occupying such a broken place?" Wang Fuchen couldn't help complaining.

  The absolute temperature difference in Yakutsk exceeds 100 degrees, the extreme cold weather is more than minus 60 degrees, and the extremely hot weather can be close to 40 degrees. In midsummer, only the 1-meter-thick frozen soil on the surface can melt, and if you continue to dig down, you will find the permafrost layer.

  Wang Fuchen asked: "Can you farm over there?"

Khabarov replied: "The farm in Yakutsk was opened up by me, and I also opened up a salt field. But my farm and salt field were taken over by the damned noble chiefs! Without me, they would not be able to live here. Farming on frozen soil. General Wang, after capturing Franzbekov, please allow me to kill him personally to avenge him!"

   "Of course." Wang Fuchen smiled.

   Khabarov, a guy with **** hands, also looks different among Cossacks.

   He rarely killed at first, and even rarely fought. Every time he went to a new place, other Cossacks were busy looking for furs, while he concentrated on cultivating the farm. By providing food to the Cossacks, the small life can always be nourished, and then the farm is occupied by people.

   Beketov, who was eaten by Siberian tigers, was also a professional, and was invited to build castles wherever he went.

  Hou Rusong said: "I asked you to draw a map of the river course leading to Yakutsk, why haven't you drawn it yet?"

   Khabarov quickly explained: "General Hou, it's really not that I'm hiding something. The river from Hailanpao to Yakutsk is too complicated to draw from memory."

  Start from Hailanpao, go north along the Jingqili River (Jieya River), there are countless forked tributaries along the way, and you have to carry the boat to walk a section of land during the process.

   Such a complicated land and water route was explored by starving more than 40 Cossacks and killing more than 50 people to eat meat.

  These Cossack leaders, not to mention other skills, are like gods in the field of pathfinding and escape. In other words, those without keen intuition and unlucky luck have all died on the way of exploring and escaping!

   Khabarov’s original plan to go south was to build a farm in the Heilongjiang River Basin to provide food for Yakutsk to make money, but he didn’t want to go back after he went south.

  Wang Fuchen left 600 people to garrison in Yaksa, another 400 people to garrison in Hailanpao, and the remaining 500 Datong troops all marched towards Yakutsk.

   Not only prepared cotton-padded jackets and quilts, but also loaded all the leather boots with fur on board, leaving them for the soldiers stationed in Yakutsk to spend the winter. In addition, with many captured Cossack ships, more than 200 small Daur boats were conscripted.

  The native soldiers did not follow, the journey was too far.

  The fleet headed north for more than 200 miles and encountered the first large tributary. Khabarov pointed to the northwest and said, "Go this way!"

  The Anton Navy has graduates from a military academy and has been drawing maps along the way. Because I was in a hurry and didn't have much time to measure, the map drawn must be out of shape, and it can be corrected after a few more visits in the future.

  Going northwest for more than 500 miles, I encountered several tributaries during the process, and finally came to the Jieya Reservoir hundreds of years later.

  Of course there is no reservoir at this time, but there is a small lake, and there are many flat areas around the lake that can be cultivated.

  Passing the lake, the current becomes turbulent, with towering mountains on both sides.

   Then, abandon the big ship and carry the small boat over the mountains by land, and all the naval warships will stay here to meet them. Sailors and sailors all helped carry supplies.

   It took six days to walk the straight line of several kilometers of mountains, because the artillery had to be moved. Another few kilometers of flat land, to a tributary of the Aldan River. The navy officers and soldiers returned to the fleet the same way, and the 500 army moved forward by small boats.

  From Hailanpao to Yakutsk, not to mention the twists and turns of the river, the straight-line distance on land is 1300 kilometers, which is equivalent to from Beijing to Changsha!

  If the tortuous distance is also counted, this dispatch of troops can be called "the three thousand li raid".

   It takes more than a thousand miles to attack Nerchinsk from Yaksa. Why do you have to go three thousand miles to fight Yakutsk?

  Because Yakutsk can be easily held as long as it is defeated, and food supplies can be transported later. However, taking down Nerchinsk would have to face long-term harassment, so it is better to wait for the future to send troops once and for all.

   Zhang Tingxun stayed on the boat, obviously feeling the temperature drop day by day.

  When you go around to the north of Yakutsk, you must wear a cotton jacket.

  However, the scenery along the way opened his eyes. He had never seen such a vast forest.

"General, when we stopped for a rest last night, the stargazing measured 62 degrees north latitude," said the military observer. "Today is August 27th in the new calendar (not much different from the lunar calendar). It's five and a half degrees."

Wang Fuchen said: "According to what Nakhabarov said, the temperature will drop sharply in the next month. We must make a quick decision, leave dozens of soldiers to garrison, and the rest of the soldiers must rush back before the river freezes. Otherwise, the army of thousands of people There is not enough food to survive the winter, and many people will starve to death here. If the city cannot be broken within five days, no more fighting, and the whole army will return the same way.”

  Come all the way, but only five days to attack.

  Yakutsk's military and political chief is called Dmitry Andreyevich Franzbekov. There was also a secretary named Vasily Danilovich Poyarkov.

  Both of them belonged to the low-class Boyar nobles, and the surname of the secretary even directly carried "Boyar".

  If the tsar is likened to the emperor of Zhou, the princes and nobles are princes, and the boyar nobles are scholar-bureaucrats. Boyar nobles had no land at first, and even warriors could be called boyars. This low-level boyar was similar to low-level samurai in Japan.

  Boyars in the 17th century were more extensive, and gradually owned land, and lifted their vassal relationship with princes and nobles. During the war, the boyar nobles organized people from their own territories to join the army of the princes and nobles. In times of peace, boyar nobles served as vassals to princes, and some held administrative positions in localities.

  Military and political chief Franzbekov is a bit special, he is not only a low-ranking boyar, but also a German.

  No matter what, the fact that these two came to the Far East to fool around proves that they have already lost their territories. Well, probably similar to the Japanese No Samurai. There is no title of samurai, but no land, not even the employment of the lord.

"Winter is coming again," Franzbekov complained looking at the sky. "Last year's winter was so cold that two Cossacks froze to death. There are not many furs this year. I hope next year we can have a better harvest. At most After three years, I will leave, this place is not for humans to live in. Work hard, and then I will sell the farm to you at a low price."

   "Your Excellency will definitely be rewarded by His Majesty the Tsar when you return to Moscow." Poyarkov said flatteringly.

   Khabarov's occupied farm has become a wealth traded by nobles.

  The Cossacks who went out to plunder furs have returned one after another, and even brought back a few indigenous women.

  The barley planted along the river has already been harvested, and several Cossacks are supervising the slaves digging potatoes. If we don't dig quickly, we won't be able to dig this year, and the land will be frozen in a month at most.

   "Boats, lots of ships!"

  A Cossack standing on the top of the city pointed to the east and shouted in horror.

  East?

  Frantzbekov's first reaction was that it was untrue. It was terribly cold here. How could there be an unknown army in the east?

  Board here and head west all the way to Lake Baikal.

  The direction of attention of the Cossacks has always been the west. Some people once explored eastward and saw the Pacific Ocean, but due to climate and population reasons, they have not yet built a city by the Pacific Ocean.

   "Defend the castle!" Franzbekov shouted.

  The Datong Army came too fast, the Cossacks were defenseless and had no chance to escape.

  Even if I leave immediately in a small boat, I don’t have time to bring enough food. The trip to Lake Baikal is nearly three thousand miles away, and not bringing enough food is tantamount to suicide.

  The Yakutsk castle at this time is not the address hundreds of years later, it was built at the confluence of the Lena River and its tributaries.

   "The city defense artillery of the Cossack bandits has no power..." Khabarov roared excitedly, but felt uncomfortable halfway through the roar, and bowed to Wang Fuchen's side, "Please general command."

  Wang Fuchen didn't bother to pay attention to this guy, and said to the adjutant: "Order the ministries, don't set up camp, and shoot on the other side of the river!"

  The artillery only brought more than a dozen guns, all of which were the smallest caliber guns on the naval warships for the convenience of climbing over the mountain.

   lined up on the north bank, concentrated firepower to launch.

  This is where the Aldan River flows into the Lena River. Half of the Datong Army sailed into the Lena River, and Zhang Tingxun and others landed on the north bank of the Aldan River.

  The castle facing the water on both sides was originally designed to guard against indigenous attacks, but now it is being bombarded across the river.

   "The north city wall is cracked!"

  Some Cossacks began to exclaim, the city wall cracked directly after being bombarded by the second round.

  Let's put it this way, the castle in Yakutsk was captured by the natives ten years ago, so you can imagine how crudely it was built.

   Not only the shortage of manpower, but also the permafrost. Every summer, when the land thaws, it is necessary to plunder furs, grow food, and dig soil to build walls.

  The city wall is two rows of wooden fences, filled with soil in the middle, not even the city walls of small Chinese counties.

   There are also bastion structures, which are also extremely crude, and at most they can deal with the local aborigines.

  Frantzbekov was almost collapsed by the artillery bombardment, and he yelled, "Where did this enemy come from?"

   Secretary Boyarkov said: "Could it be the Khitans from Amur (Heilongjiang)? I heard that Khabarov was wiped out by the Khitans."

   "How would I know!" Franzbekov said angrily.

  Boyarkov said: "It's better to abandon the city and break through."

  Frantzbekov roared: "How to break through? Summer is almost over, and we can't take away food when we break out. Once the temperature drops, even if we break out, we will all freeze to death and starve to death!"

  If you can't break through, you can only defend, or...surrender.

  A Cossack leader came and begged: "My lord, the enemy's artillery is too powerful, why don't we surrender."

   "Boom!"

   There was a gap in the north wall.

  The bombardment still didn't stop, and the shells were poured crazily towards the city wall. They didn't bring many shells, so they attacked immediately after they finished shooting.

  The Cossacks were also firing back, but firstly, the number was too small, and secondly, the caliber was too small to cause effective damage at all.

  Frantzbekov said: "We can't surrender. If we surrender, we will definitely be killed. It's too cold and remote here, and we can't support too many people. We will definitely die after we surrender!"

   "Boom!"

   While speaking, another section of the city wall fell down.

  Zhang Tingxun stood on the other side of the river, excitedly watching the artillery salvo scene. He missed it in Yaksa, but now he witnessed the whole process. The battlefield is indeed more interesting than the military academy.

   "Aren't we going yet?" Zhang Tingxun asked.

  Peng Chunlin explained: "There are not many gaps in the bombardment, and the bombardment must continue, otherwise the casualties will be great."

   "Boom!"

  Clods of soil and sawdust splashed, and Secretary Poyarkov was directly thrust into his chest by a wooden thorn.

  The bastion is also made of wood mixed with soil. The wall foundation is thick and not easy to collapse, but the bunker structure of the bastion is very fragile.

   Seeing that his secretary was dead, Franzbekov was so frightened that he hurriedly withdrew from the bastion. If he continued, he was either killed by shells or splashed with clods and sawdust.

  It was not until the bastion in the northwest corner was smashed badly by shells, and the shells were basically consumed, that Wang Fuchen said: "Cross the river and attack the city!"

  A large number of small boats quickly crossed the river, and soldiers of the Datong Army jumped onto the shore one after another.

  Zhang Tingxun mixed with the crowd and rushed to the nearest exit. He was organized into a team of five, and he was not responsible for ascending the city, but entered the castle through the gap to fight in the streets.

   "All withdraw to the south of the castle!" Franzbekov roared.

  Some Siberian hunters have already begun to flee. They are not Cossacks, but Cossacks' henchmen.

  Facing such a terrifying enemy, it doesn't matter whether it will freeze to death or starve to death in winter. Anyway, let's break through and escape first, if you stay, you will definitely die, and there is still a chance to escape.

  The south gate of the castle was opened by Siberian hunters, and deserters poured out one after another.

  But in the southwest of the castle, the Datong army also landed, the purpose is to intercept the enemy who abandoned the city and fled.

   Franzbekov gathered the Cossacks, and the hedgehogs gathered in the southeast corner of the castle. Although this low-ranking aristocrat from Tsarist Russia from Germany was completely desperate, he was also aroused to be fierce, and he had to resist stubbornly in a death situation.

  (end of this chapter)