The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 361: What can Ming Dynasty gain by doing this?
When a group of Russian generals were worrying about how to deal with the Ming Dynasty's flying machines, two dusty officers of the Imperial Guard ran in.

They were returning from St. Petersburg with the expected bad news for Alexander.

Because the core message itself is expected, the focus of the report is on the content attached to the message, the main findings during the contact with the Ming army:
“Your Majesty, St. Petersburg fell at sunset yesterday. The Ming army has entered the city and basically controlled it.

“Then they launched a massive massacre of our city defenders.

“In a normal distance combat situation, our troops were almost unilaterally slaughtered by the Ming army.

"According to the explanation given by the brothers in the evacuated army, the Ming army's conventional rifles have extremely high range and accuracy, and can still maintain a hit rate at ranges above 300 meters.

“The rate of fire is probably between ten and twenty rounds per minute, and none of our firearms can compete with that.

“Before the two sides came within the range of our rifles, our team had already been dispersed by the Ming army, and there was no way to gather together.

“Even if we fight in a city, besides being familiar with the environment, our disadvantages may be even greater.

“Because they have two other special firearms.

"One is that the range is extremely long, and the hit rate may still be very high even from a kilometer away.

“It’s just that the firing rate is relatively slow, less than ten rounds per minute, but this speed is much faster than our traditional muzzle-loading rifles.

"When our army confronted the Ming army across streets and buildings, or relied on rock buildings for defense, they had to face the threat of this ultra-long-range rifle.

"Once you expose most of your body in a window or above a shooting wall, you may be killed by them from a distance.

“You must always think about hiding and not show your head unless necessary.

"The other firearm has an extremely high rate of fire, several times faster than their regular rifles, and can fire several bullets in an instant.

“This rifle comes in several different sizes, the largest of which requires more than three soldiers to operate. The bullet’s power, range, and hit rate are all very high, no less than a small artillery piece.

"Just one or two of these rifles, assuming they are on top of a relatively tall building, can completely block a street.

"The intermediate model is slightly larger than their rifles, with one person operating the gun and one person acting as a secondary operator. Other than the rate of fire, its performance is similar to that of the rifle.

"Provide support to their combat teams on the battlefield and cover the soldiers' assault-type attacks.

"The smallest model is much shorter than their regular rifles and only slightly larger than their normal pistols.

“It can be operated with one hand, and one person can even carry two, but the range is relatively short, roughly the same as their pistols and our muskets.

"In a narrow building or inside a house, if you encounter this kind of small automatic gun, there is almost no chance of survival..."

"The Ming army has these incredible firearms. Even in a complex city, even in an environment we are relatively familiar with, our army was still completely suppressed by the Ming army.

"As of yesterday evening, the main buildings and streets in St. Petersburg have been controlled by the Ming army. Although our army has not completely given up, it is only a matter of time before we evacuate or sacrifice ourselves."

When the Royal Guards officer said this, the generals and officials around him couldn't help but scream, with a look of astonishment and disbelief on their faces.

While waiting for the officer to finish speaking, a chaotic noise immediately broke out at the scene.

"How could the Ming army's weapons be so exaggerated!"

"This is impossible, absolutely impossible."

"What's impossible? The Ming army's cavalry have all gone to the sky, and they have all thrown things that look like heavenly fire. So what if they have some special firearms?"

"What's the point of talking about this now? Our key question now is what should we do?"

"The Ming army has flying knights, and with these powerful guns, they will have a greater advantage after leaving the urban environment. Our army has no way to resist them."

"This shows that our original choice was correct. We can only fight back through a scorched earth strategy."

"When the Ming army penetrates deep into our territory, the losses will become greater and greater. It will be impossible to maintain this advantage forever."

"You are still talking about the scorched earth strategy? The Ming army is also using the scorched earth strategy against us now."

"Looking at the current situation, it seems that the Ming army has no plans to advance quickly inland."

"Yes, the Ming army is obviously also prepared to consume our strength."

"If the Ming army continues bombing like this for a whole winter..."

"But why did the Ming army do this? Their purpose was not to occupy, but to destroy?"

"They burned the food, destroyed the buildings, starved the serfs to death, and turned Russia into ruins. Even if the Ming army finally occupied the land, what would the Ming emperor get?"

"Maybe it's just to conquer the last rebels and gain the title of true world ruler?"

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not short of land. At least more than half of the land in the world nominally belongs to him directly, and the remaining half is subject to him."

"They are not short of population and wealth. Shenzhou is the richest place in the world, with the most developed agriculture, industry and commerce."

"Russia's land and population did not mean much to the Ming emperor. He conquered for the sake of conquest."

"He demanded our submission, and we refused at first. They must vent his anger for his own sake and to deter other vassal monarchs."

"He must punish us severely enough to prevent other monarchs loyal to him from imitating him."

"So, the Ming Dynasty wants to conquer Russia. It's not that the Ming emperor wants to get Russia, but that he doesn't want to allow Russia to continue to exist..."

When the noisy discussion came to this direction, the voices gradually died down.

The mood of the generals and officials on the scene gradually sank.

What they initially thought was the best plan is now being implemented step by step by the enemy.

The Russians subconsciously prepared to use their vast depth and scorched earth tactics to consume the momentum of the Ming army's attack.

However, the Ming army did not prepare for a quick attack, but instead used the same tactics to consume Russia's strength.

The Russians felt like they had met their nemesis.

This tactic was actually very useful when the Russians faced European countries.

Most European countries are small in size and sparsely populated. Compared with these countries, Russia's biggest advantage is its strategic depth and size.

Russia was able to rely on its own advantages to drag the enemy to the battlefield where it was best at, and then defeat them with its rich experience in fighting tough battles.

But they are facing the current Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty’s grand strategy was of course formulated by the Ming people.

The local generals of Shenzhou have experience in fighting over a wide area, and have experience in carrying out long-distance raids behind enemy lines with logistics, and in expanding the occupied areas step by step.

The intensity of large-scale wars in the Ming Dynasty was much higher than that in Europe.

In areas where the Russians think they are good at, the Ming people are more experienced than the Russians.

Coupled with the huge technological and financial advantages that Ming Dynasty now possesses, it is really not difficult to defeat Russia.

The Russians did not know enough about the Ming Dynasty, and they were confused by the inertia of the authorities, so they did not know why this happened. As a result, they felt indescribable panic in the face of the current situation.

Especially after everyone at the scene analyzed Daming's attitude, many people had actually begun to feel annoyed and regretful.

They knew that the Ming Dynasty was very powerful, but they could only imagine and deduce within their cognition; they could not deduce the unknown.

If they had known earlier that the Ming Dynasty could be so powerful, they probably would not have refused to become its vassal state.

If the Ming Dynasty had invited their monarch and major nobles and officials to watch the Ming Dynasty's military parade, perhaps there would be no need for war now.

However, even if the Ming Dynasty sent an invitation, the Tsar of Russia and the emperor of Shun State did not dare to visit the Ming Dynasty.

And now these officials are beginning to realize that it may be too late even if they want to surrender.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to be the ruler of the world and establish his absolute authority.

The Ming Emperor must severely crack down on and punish countries such as Russia, Shun, and the Ottoman Empire that openly opposed the Ming Emperor.

Even if the Russians really want to surrender now, there may not be a suitable opportunity.

The crowd was silent for a long time, and then Bagration stood up and said:
“Don’t worry too much, many things cannot be fully confirmed yet.

"The Ming dynasty's destruction of Russia's interior may not necessarily be a bad thing for us.

“First, we will have the opportunity to recruit more soldiers with fighting spirit with fewer conditions.

“After the homes of ordinary serfs are destroyed, they will also hate the approaching Ming army, which will be beneficial to our defense plan.

"And...our top priority now is to get to Moscow first..."

Bagration paused here and emphasized:
"At the same time, we also need to confirm whether the situation around Moscow is the same as that around Novgorod, and confirm the extent to which Ming Dynasty will achieve this."

Bagration's considerations were normal, and he even found reasons to appease others, but the last two most crucial sentences made the other generals even more painful.

Everyone had taken it for granted that Moscow was basically safe and that Ming Dynasty planes might not be able to reach it.

But now it seems that this judgment has no practical basis.

The Ming Dynasty often does things that are far beyond their thinking and cognition, and conventional methods of judgment are completely meaningless.

But if Moscow was also within the bombing range and the city and the surrounding countryside were also destroyed, what would they do?

Run to the Ural Mountains to hide?
No one had any idea how to deal with it, so they could only take it one step at a time.

After two days of traveling, and two days of fear and anxiety, Alexander and his ministers were quite tired.

The mood is getting more desperate now, but a lot of people are starting to give up.

Alexander asked everyone to rest and prepare to spend a day in Novgorod before setting off again for Moscow.

Everyone ate and went to sleep separately, but they were woken up in the middle of the night.

Sharp whistles and terrifying explosions occurred one after another in the city.

In particular, several bombs fell into the Kremlin. Tsar Alexander jumped up nervously and exhausted, looking at the sky outside with a painful expression:
"Do the Ming people know I'm here? Are they going to kill me directly?"

In fact, the Ming army did not know where Alexander was, nor did they specifically attack wherever he went.

Now the Air Force only began to carry out routine tasks and began to carry out irregular air raids on important Russian cities behind the front lines, destroying and preventing Russia from preparing and concentrating more forces.

Therefore, this type of air strike is not intensive, but is carried out based on reconnaissance intelligence, attacking concentrated resources and population.

Russian Tsar Alexander and his entourage spent most of the night they stayed in Novgorod in panic.

Alexander and his generals, staff officers, and officials all believed that the Ming might continue to attack cities at night.

In addition, they wanted to return to Moscow as soon as possible to confirm the situation, so they set off the next morning with their tired bodies and immediately arrived at the scarred city of Novgorod.

During the next few days of the journey, the scenes Alexander and his party saw on the way to Moscow were similar to those on the way from St. Petersburg to Novgorod.

But as the observation deepened and the time left before the bombing began lengthened, the situation here became more complicated.

Every time you pass through a jungle road and pass the agricultural development areas scattered on both sides of the road, you will see destroyed villages and burned fields.

The owners of these villages and fields were either local small land nobles or farm managers appointed by the great nobles.

Now, those villages that were less damaged and whose owners or managers survived the bombing have mostly resumed their activities cautiously after the first round of bombing.

Faced with destroyed property and the large number of serfs who fled, they were now extremely angry and seemed a little panicked.

They frantically drove the remaining serfs to rescue and clean up the village facilities after the bombing, mainly stored food and food waiting to be harvested.

They instinctively hope to recover some possible losses, hoping that these things can help them get through the winter.

If there is no second hope later, such a village can still barely maintain order. People may starve to death in the winter, but they will definitely not all die.

Many noble owners of the villages were also killed in the explosions, and the villages were thrown into chaos.

Some serfs simply looted everything that was left in the village, destroying the place where they originally lived even more thoroughly.

In other places, the noble masters may not have died, but after the bombing they vented their anger on the serfs, and the panicked serfs rioted.

The further Alexander and his companions traveled, the more painful it became. The more they learned about the conditions in the inland areas, the more depressed and even numb they felt.

The place where Alexander and his party are located is considered the current capital of Russia.

When Alexander first learned about this situation, he couldn't help but personally write and sign the Tsar's order, ordering his generals to go to larger cities nearby.

Let higher-level local nobles send troops to the countryside to maintain order.

They were mainly required to suppress the rebellious serfs, arrange for the relatives of deceased nobles and landowners to inherit the property, and then restore local order.

This is an idea that a feudal ruler takes for granted.

Order is based on aristocratic management. Without local aristocrats, there would be no order. If we want to restore order, we must restore the aristocracy.

But he soon received a response, as the middle-class nobles were also busy with their own affairs.

Alexander himself quickly realized that the Ming Dynasty's aircraft would attack small villages as well as larger cities.

They might even focus on attacking large cities, with Novgorod being a prime example.

After Alexander realized what was going on, he could only change his order from ordering the localities to help restore order to providing convenience for those who were capable of restoring order.

To put it bluntly, let the local authorities and the parties involved figure out a solution themselves, and as the Tsar, he also had to go to his own territory, Moscow.

(End of this chapter)