Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Solovyov knew the enemy wouldn't arrive too quickly, so he focused on building fortifications. Only a few Cossack cavalrymen patrolled around the Turkish army to keep track of the enemy's movements.

As expected, the Turkish army chose to come from the main road. At the front were the new army, all of whom wore red clothes and red caps in the Turkish style. The officers were simply wearing the soldiers' clothes with their blue coats, making them particularly conspicuous.

"Coming straight at us from the front?"

"My lord, I think we should..."

Solovyov did not find a suitable chief of staff for this expedition, mainly because, from a strategic planning perspective, there were few people besides Yomini who could implement his intentions. So, to avoid trouble, he would personally pay attention to the situation.

Even if the adjutants wanted to express their opinions, they had to consider the commander-in-chief's opinion.

"What are you trying to say? A proactive attack, or a flanking maneuver? What we need to do is prevent the enemy from crossing the pass via the shortest route. If they do come any closer, they'll be within our artillery range. Also, have the supply trains from the rear brought up the ammunition?"

"Sir, isn't this enough ammunition?"

"We need to consider the situation where the enemy has more troops than us, and our frontal forces cannot break through the enemy's rearguard lines. This would require more than a day's worth of ammunition."

Although Solovyov's strategic operation was bold and risky, cutting off the Turkish army's retreat route with a forced march, he was still very concerned about ammunition.

Because of the Ottoman Empire's exorbitant taxes and levies, even in some areas near Constantinople, local Muslims did not necessarily support the Sultan.

Not to mention, there were many Greek villages nearby, making it easy for Solovyov's army to collect provisions.

His only confidence, bordering on arrogance, was in having officers issue checks when collecting grain and metal currency for urgent needs.

It should be noted that there were not many French and Russian bank offices in Constantinople, so the only way to get money there would probably be to contact His Majesty the Sultan himself.

Therefore, his plan was to annihilate the enemy, capture the Sultan, and extract all the precious metals from his city of Constantinople.

Then, unlike the unscrupulous Pizarro, he wouldn't tear up the ticket; instead, he would send the Sultan back to Bursa, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, where they had frequently been before they entered the city in 1453.

At times like these, Europe and Sudan can say goodbye.

But this was his plan, and it would naturally be the same if the Sultan and Marmon came from the front.

If they turn south, attempting to return to Constantinople from the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara, then they'll have work to do.

Solovyov would attack their flanks, making it difficult for them to return to Constantinople.

If this happens, another possibility is that the Russian army could launch an attack from its positions and defeat the enemy in motion.

However, this possibility could not be ruled out, so after reviewing the intelligence, Solovyov prepared two contingency plans.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the Turks were marching. They had been marching for a day, and there was still a lot of baggage and His Majesty the Sultan's large tent that had not yet been transported.

After the Sultan himself got into the carriage, he stayed near Marmon's command post.

Although he delegated authority, he didn't seem to fully trust the Frenchman.

If Marmont had wanted to, he had a fairly good relationship with Catherine when they were in the French court, at least because he was the youngest of the French marshals, so there wasn't much of a generation gap.

In addition, Marmont used to be Napoleon's adjutant and followed the emperor in Toulon. It's not impossible that he might suddenly reminisce about the past and try to curry favor with the Empress Dowager.

This chain of suspicion has always existed in the courts of the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire, and even the Sultan himself could not escape it.

As a result, a strange phenomenon occurred in the Ottoman Empire's army.

Marmon is now the Pasha, and he is indeed commanding the army eastward.

But when he saw Solovyov's position, he gasped.

"This guy looks different from how he was more than ten years ago. Please send a message to His Majesty the Sultan: this position is probably very difficult to break through, and it's extending southward, clearly there to block our way. We have no choice but to force our way through; there's no time to maneuver."

His reason for saying this was quite simple: it was still a question of how long the rearguard could hold out against Vorontsov's frontal attack.

Moreover, the Turkish army was not entirely composed of new troops; it also included many soldiers recruited from various regions. However, it no longer had many heavy cavalry and archers, making it seem like a medieval army.

After listening to Marmon's opinion, the Sultan asked the Pasha and Bey beside him, and they had the same opinion.

This forced breakthrough was the only chance for the Turkish army at this point.

If we try to go around in circles, who knows what Solovyov might do? It's better to confront him head-on and overwhelm him with sheer numbers in the front.

Even if the Russian army increases its troop presence again in the future, it will still have some leverage at the negotiating table.

However, they all find it difficult to realize this wish.

Solovyov's artillery positions included machine guns, various cannons, rocket launchers, and carefully chosen blocking positions.

Unlike previous Russian troops, there was no line-up firing here. Instead, many trenches were temporarily constructed, and both line infantry and light infantry were firing at the Turkish side from inside the trenches.

Meanwhile, the Turks could only come in a line, getting killed by Russian fire, and their volleys often missed their targets.

Given the Turkish army's training level, their volley fire, regardless of how they fire, even during free firing, often results in bullets going too high due to tension, or splashing dirt up in front of the trenches.

Solovyov was also glad that he had changed into black trousers, which made it relatively stable to observe the front with binoculars in the trench, even with his buttocks against the back of the trench and his legs supporting him on the front.

The Turkish artillery was also firing, but the fire always flew over the trenches.

"The Royal Guards must hold the front line and not retreat a single step."

Solovyov finally grasped the essence of postmodern warfare, but due to weaponry issues, it didn't quite reach the level of World War I.

However, the Turkish army suffered heavy casualties under the heavy bombardment of the Russian army.

Their current method is to bombard the front-line Russian positions with a small number of howitzers, especially the positions of the Guards Jäger and Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiments, which are located at the junction of the 1st and 2nd Guards Divisions, right on both sides of the main road.

"But sir, this still requires artillery support."

"I know, don't be stingy with the shells, fire all the grenades from those unicorn cannons first!"

The Turkish army could only recover the gunpowder from the unexploded shells; they couldn't put the shells back into their cannons and fire them again. This is where the Unicorn Cannon's muzzle showed its advantage.

As military technology advances, the requirements for artillery shells become even higher. These grenades sprayed across the Turkish army ranks. For the new army launching a frontal assault, as well as the Sudanese-reorganized Yenicheri and local forces, they were able to withstand some casualties.

But the militia were different. If they were hit by grenades in their ranks, they would either hide or refuse to advance, resulting in casualties.

The morale of the Turkish army was clearly wavering. Solovyov felt there was some opportunity, but he had not yet decided to deploy the cavalry.

He had to wait for the Turkish army to launch a further attack. Once the enemy chose to attack this place, they would continue to attack without any possibility of retreat.

Solovyov ordered his cavalry to make a large flanking maneuver from the 8th Army's left-wing positions, without attacking from the flanks.

His plan was to use a hammer-and-anvil tactic, or to directly threaten the vicinity of the command post where the Sultan himself was located.

The more Turkish troops are tied down on the front lines, the greater the chance of his move succeeding.

He even trusted the Circassians and assigned the assault mission to the Circassian heavy cavalry.

They also ordered Tatar cavalry and Cossacks to attack together, with the Imperial Guard cavalry regiments providing cover, all in an attempt to strike at the heart of the enemy's stronghold.

This would shake the enemy's resolve. If the Sultan fled, then a complete collapse would only be a matter of time. The Ottoman army itself consisted of only a small, newly formed force with any real fighting power.

Solovyov knew this, so he launched a cavalry charge.

Especially in this large-scale maneuver, the proportion of cavalry was higher than usual, and the charge was very imposing.

This made His Majesty the Sultan somewhat flustered. Instead of riding a horse, he set up a magnificent tent behind him, which was the perfect target.

The billowing dust, when the Russian Cossack cavalry launched their charge, signified a general offensive by the Russian cavalry, which was extremely dangerous.

But the Sultan had no time to escape. The Russian cavalry did not come directly for his main tent. A few Kalmyk cavalrymen were also carrying bows and arrows, and they fired arrows to create chaos around these tents.

The effect was very obvious. In addition to the well-trained new guard, the Sultan's retinue also included a large number of non-combatants who caused chaos in such situations.

Even the mere presence of these men disrupted the Imperial Guard soldiers, and after the initial confusion, they were horrified to discover that the Russian cavalry had moved behind them.

Some Tatar cavalry even carried lassos and ropes. What were they doing there?

After the Tatars completed their flanking maneuver, the Circassian cavalry and the Kazakh cavalry charged. The former were heavily armored, while the latter were mostly armored lancers, riding fine horses, making their impact extremely powerful.

Once they enter the area where the Sultan's tent is located, the game changes from a "Total War" to a "Mount & Blade" level game.

Janicheri's elite soldiers were killed by Circassian heavy cavalry.

Yenicheri's elite soldiers were killed by Kazakh lancers.

Yenicheri's elite soldiers were killed by Kazakh lancers.

Impact damage +115%
It's a shame there's no "Mount & Blade" system, otherwise knowing these things would be incredibly exciting.

The Sultan himself now realizes what a serious mistake it was to bring too many followers to the battlefield.

Even Marmon's side is much more stable than his. He came to Türkiye to become a Pasha, and he was still able to command the army well, at least repelling the first attack by the Guards Cossacks.

However, because he did not have fancy tents and had left four regiments of new army as reserves, the Russian cavalry that launched the general offensive did not go to his aid. Instead, they concentrated their forces to deal with the Sultan's own guards, including two regiments of new army grenadiers.

But it was all in vain, and the grenadier phalanx was eventually broken. However, these soldiers proved that their daily training was effective.

Thanks to their hard work, the Sultan finally had the opportunity to ride his horse forward.

But their group is now being watched by a small squad of Kalmyk cavalry.

One of them, Batel, not only had excellent eyesight, but he also bought binoculars and saw that the fleeing people were wearing medals and dressed in fine clothes.

If we don't fight them, even the Eternal Heaven will be unhappy.

So they abandoned the easily obtained treasures and galloped after His Majesty the Sultan.

Noticing that someone was ignoring the treasure and beautiful women that were right in front of them, and instead chasing after a group of people fleeing on horseback, many people realized that there might be a big fish among them.

So the cavalry, apart from staying behind to deal with the infantry who were still putting up a fight, were either chasing down the fleeing soldiers or trying to capture a few high-ranking officials.

Moreover, His Majesty the Sultan's warhorse was an Arabian horse, and the pursuing cavalrymen all had their eyes gleaming with greed. Besides wanting to capture the enemy's leader, they also had their eyes on this fine horse.

Given His Majesty the Sultan's own riding skills, his men were quickly overtaken.

Even when the Sultan's personal guards resisted, they were either killed or captured alive by the Tatars.

When the Sultan himself saw this, he spoke a string of words in Turkish, which the Kalmyks could not understand.

The Crimean Tatars who followed behind understood some of His Majesty the Sultan's language.

They didn't claim credit; they simply said that the Kalmyks should just capture the Sultan, as his medals and jewels were high-quality items and this was their reward.

You should know that if these Kalmyk warriors captured a Sultan, they would all be rewarded. The Tsar rewarded those who captured enemy leaders; a general was already very valuable, let alone a Sultan.

When Solovyov received the report, he could hardly believe his ears.

"What's happening here?"

"My lord, a group of Kalmyk cavalry claims they have captured the Sultan, as told to them by passing Crimean Tatar volunteers."

"My God, this is too easy. How is His Majesty the Sultan now?"

"He was not injured, but his coat was ripped off by the Tatars."

"Those medals and jewels are valuable, that's not a problem. We just don't allow soldiers to plunder civilians, and such high-value prisoners are an exception. Besides, they..."

Fortunately, Solovyov didn't bring the Serbs here to fight, otherwise they might have brought back only Sudanese puzzle pieces, unlike the Kalmyks who could capture prisoners.

Considering they were formerly part of the Oirat Mongols, and this location near Constantinople is a replica of Tumu Fortress. (End of Chapter)