The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 825 Misha, the Third Rome Needs You
Atyrau was known as Guryev by the Tsarist Rus'.

The city walls, built of stone, were constructed by the Sharoguriev family more than two hundred years ago.

However, as an important city at the mouth of the sea, Guryev's status is completely incomparable to Astrakhan's, not only in terms of resources but also in terms of strategic position.

In the past, seven or eight years later, the Tsarist Rus' Empire might have even demolished the city walls because they restricted urban development, and because the foundations of the city were unstable due to the alluvial plains, resulting in excessive maintenance costs.

Due to the threat from the Great Yu, Guryev did strengthen this spacetime somewhat, but the strengthening was very limited.

Therefore, Kutuzov did not deploy heavy troops in Guryev, as it was still too close to the control area of ​​the Da Yu Anxi Envoy.

Therefore, when Li Xingtai led an army of 9 to Guryev in September 1802, he did not encounter much resistance from the Tsarist Russian army.

At this time, Guryev was divided into two cities: the inner city was a stone city wall built by the Guryev family, and the outer city was a spontaneously formed residential area.

Li Xingtai climbed to a high place and looked around for a while. He found that the outer city residential area was almost deserted, and a large number of buildings had been moved out and the houses had been demolished.

This was clearly to prevent the Yu army from using these timbers and stones, and also to prevent the Yu army from having a comfortable place to encamp.

"When did Yang Kelu's Northern Route Army set off? Have they arrived in Orenburg by now, according to the agreed time?"

Li Xingtai asked the staff officer beside him. It wasn't that he didn't remember, but the commander-in-chief of an army had too many things to manage and might have misremembered. Besides, that was the job of a staff officer, so asking was much safer than he thought.

Yang Fang, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Route Army, had been promoted to lieutenant general, hence the nickname "General Kelu".

According to the decision of the Anxi Army Command, Yang Fang was to arrive in Orenburg before the main vanguard of the central army, namely Li Xingtai's 40,000 men, arrived in Guryev.

Of the 15,000 men in the Northern Route Army, each was a cavalry unit with three horses per man. Among them, there were 5,000 rangers responsible for driving away, covering, and pursuing, 8,000 dragoons for main combat, 1,500 heavy cavalrymen in half-body armor, and about 500 artillerymen who were fully mule-drawn.

This configuration was specifically designed to counter the Russian army in Orenburg, whose troops were almost entirely equipped with warhorses, giving them strong mobility.

The Northern Route Army's biggest task was to block them and prevent them from heading south down the Ural River to harass the Central Route Army.

The staff officer glanced through his notebook and then quickly replied, "The Northern Route Army departed twenty-two days earlier than us; their departure date was June 22nd."

Based on the planned schedule and pace of march, the Northern Route Army should have already reached the vicinity of Orenburg.

After listening, Li Xingtai waved his hand and summoned Li Dingzhong, the deputy general of Hezhong Town, who was far away.

"Adasi, take some men and escort those Kazakhs out to battle, to test the firepower of the Russian army on the city walls."

The reason he was called Adasi is because Li Dingzhong, despite his surname being Li, was actually a warrior from the Hui tribe.

After the Great Yu entered the Western Regions, it did not completely exterminate the Hui people who were willing to submit; of the 400,000 or so men, about 150,000 were spared.

These Hui warriors served as cannon fodder in the conquest of the three Khanates of Transoxiana, and also made many contributions. Many of them were enfeoffed in the Fergana Basin and the Xuebai Basin.

These places are much richer than the Hui region, and they also have Uzbeks, Tajiks from the plains, Turkmen and other ethnic groups serving as serfs for them.

It can be said that all the Hui warriors who recognized the court and supported the central government received considerable rewards. Some of them, who had made outstanding military achievements, even lived and were of higher status than most Han Chinese civilians.

Such favorable treatment naturally generates a strong sense of belonging and a large number of fanatics, of whom Li Dingzhong was one.

He insisted that he was a descendant of the Uyghur royal family, surnamed Pugu, and that his maternal grandfather's family was the Li Tang royal family, with a large Han Chinese ancestry, hence he named himself Li Dingzhong.

"Your subordinate obeys!" Li Dingzhong replied in standard Mandarin, and then went to arrange the manpower.

Within the Great Yu army, there is an unwritten rule that when fighting against a powerful enemy like the Rakshasa, the frontier troops are generally not used as the main force.

For example, in Anxi, when fighting the Tsarist Russian Empire, the Anxi army, as a border force, would not undertake the main offensive tasks, and would not even participate in the most brutal battles.

Their responsibility was to serve as the main force in daily wars of attrition and plunder, while the real bloody battles were fought by the Imperial Guard and the Beijing Garrison.

This change was caused by the fact that Dayu had resumed the rule of Xia rulers and Yi peoples. The role of the border troops in Dayu was completely different from that of the border troops in the Han and Tang dynasties.

The border troops of the Han and Tang dynasties were truly border troops; it was a tough job, and they had to do everything.

However, in Dayu, the border troops are actually the vanguard of the Xia rulers, Yi people, and colonists. If the border troops are frequently and continuously depleted in major battles, it will not only cause instability in the border areas, but more importantly, it will reduce the attractiveness of the border regions.

The people were already in a terrible situation, having to be driven from their hometowns to settle on the frontier. If the border troops, mainly composed of these settlers, also frequently faced large-scale casualties, losing their lives just as things were settling down, who would want to come in the long run?

On the contrary, the Imperial Guard and the Capital Garrison enjoyed the best treatment in the country, with salaries three to five times that of the border troops, and the best promotion opportunities, so they naturally had to shoulder greater responsibilities.

When Li Dingzhong returned to the barracks, a group of adasis who looked similar to him were already waiting for him. Among them were a few Han Chinese, who were the officers of his regiment.

“We’re deploying three battalions, each with 800 to 1,000 Kazakhs. Now go to the auxiliary battalion and choose yourselves. Let’s test the Russians’ firepower.”

Li Dingzhong loudly gave orders. The military system of Dayu Town Army was a combination of the Manchu Green Standard Army and the Ming Dynasty's garrison system. Therefore, there were professional soldiers, semi-professional standing troops, and garrison laborers who were only used for auxiliary purposes and were similar in nature to the militia in the Ming Dynasty.

This resulted in only 25,000 of Li Xingtai's 40,000 troops being the main force, while the remaining 15,000 were basically conscripted Kazakh auxiliary troops.

They were dispatched by the outposts (equivalent to garrisons) that divided and governed them, and were responsible for logistics and transportation during peacetime. In wartime, they would be transferred to various units.

After seeing Li Dingzhong lead several hundred Hui warriors and two or three thousand Kazakh cannon fodder out, Li Xingtai began to make further arrangements.

He remained very cautious, arranging a strict system of sentries, both overt and covert, and a rotation system. He also dispatched three hundred old Torgut cavalrymen to travel upstream along the Ural River, in case the Orenburg army had already laid an ambush upstream.

In the afternoon, Li Dingzhong came to report that there were not many Russian troops guarding Guliyev (Atyrau), and judging from the flags, there should only be one regiment. Li Dingzhong had already drawn the Russian regimental flag.

Li Xingtai tossed the regimental flag drawn by Li Dingzhong to Zheng Guohong, the staff officer beside him, for a look. Zheng Guohong glanced at it and replied:
"A single-headed black eagle, wearing a crown, with a cross hooked in its claws, engraved on a silver shield—this is the emblem of the Jervis Musketeers."

Karl Hannibal Jervis currently holds the rank of Major General. He is a typical Prussian noble officer who came from a Prussian noble family but had no room for advancement in Prussia, so he went to the Rus' Empire to seek his fortune.

The Jervis Regiment should have been stationed in Warsaw at least three years ago. It was famous for suppressing the uprising of the Polish Koscuszko in 1794. Its fighting strength was only slightly above average in the Salo Empire's army, and it was not the most elite main force.

According to previous intelligence, without expansion, the Jervis Musketeers Regiment should have 2,377 men.

What the hell!

Li Dingzhong glanced at the staff officer, who was said to be a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, with some shock. No wonder he was able to serve as a staff officer for the Crown Prince of Xia at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five. He was indeed impressive!

"They must have expanded their forces, or the garrison in Guryev City did not leave, because we probed from three directions and launched six consecutive attacks, five of which were most likely against different garrisons."

Moreover, the defenders' archery was relatively accurate only on three occasions, resulting in significant losses for the attacking Kazakhs.

On at least two occasions, the defenders on the city walls clashed with our Kazakhs, clearly indicating that some Kazakhs from Xiyuz were helping the Russians defend the city.

Li Dingzhong immediately replied that although military matters require certainty, such probing certainly cannot provide a definitive answer.

After listening carefully, Li Xingtai said, "It seems that the Russians are not going to defend Guliyev City. Well, I'll make things worse for them."

"Chen Jinchuan, I'll give you eight thousand cavalry. Cross the Ural River now and keep a close watch on the Russian army's movements. There are probably four thousand Russian soldiers inside the city. Let's see if Kutuzov comes to our aid!"

Chen Jinchuan was a founding father of the People's Republic of China, Duke of Dingguo, Prime Minister of the Northeast Envoy, and the eldest son of Chen Guangyao, the emperor's cousin. He was a typical son of a military family.

Although he is only thirty years old, he already has ten years of military academy experience and twelve years of military service.

Fourteen years ago, at the tender age of sixteen, still green with the sweat of his teeth, Chen Jinchuan participated in Dong Jinfeng's conquest of Aceh, killing eleven enemy soldiers and personally beheading six Arab monks. He was, in the entire Great Yu Dynasty, the most militarily capable of the second generation of top nobles, second only to Li Xingtai and Mo Gongling.

"Yes, sir!" Chen Jinchuan accepted the order without saying much. Unlike his father Chen Guangyao, who was brave and fierce in battle and liked to charge forward, Chen Jinchuan had the style of Wei Qing, the Grand Marshal and General of the Han Dynasty.

He was serious and meticulous, disciplined his troops strictly, and shared hardships with his soldiers without any of the arrogance of a nobleman, which won him the hearts of the army.

That's why Li Xingtai dared to entrust this task to Chen Jinchuan.

At the end of September, Chen Jinchuan led 8,000 elite cavalry across the Ural River, began to send out scouts on the west bank to conduct reconnaissance, and set up positions to prepare for battle against the Shaluo vanguard army.

Meanwhile, Li Xingtai's vanguard force continued to surround Guryev, only launching small-scale probing attacks.

When the news reached Astrakhan, Kutuzov convened another military council with mixed feelings.

From the very beginning, Kutuzov decided to abandon Guryev, extend the Seris army's supply lines, and engage in a decisive battle directly at the gates of Astrakhan.

Guryev is not only close to the Seris-controlled area, but it is also not a strong fortress, so there is no need to defend it at all.

However, apart from Major General Mikhail Barclay, no one else supported him.

These Salo generals felt that the area west of the Ural Mountains and the Ural River was the heartland of the Third Rome, which they believed should never be abandoned, and therefore strongly resisted giving up territory before even engaging in battle.

However, few were willing to guard Guryev, and in the end, Major General Karl Hannibal Jervis, a foreigner, was tricked into entering the city and being besieged.

"Alright, now Guryev City is in its most dangerous moment. Generals, you may go to its rescue." Kutuzov looked at the generals in the room, appearing extremely angry.

Seeing this situation, the generals who had previously advocated for holding Guryev fell silent.

Everyone can see that the Seris Empire's strategy of besieging Guryev without attacking is to ambush any reinforcements. Anyone who goes now will suffer a merciless defeat.

It's not that they're particularly afraid of death; the main reason is that the expression on the face of General Kutuzov, the commander-in-chief, means that he won't be deployed, which basically means that they can't win.

For soldiers, there are people willing to fight to the death, but almost no one is willing to fight a battle that is destined to be lost.

Kutuzov was not actually planning to rescue Guryev; he valued the opportunity to gain full command over General Karl Hannibal Gervis's four thousand men more than anything else.

At this time, the military traditions of the Tsarist Rus' Empire still bore a strong tribal imprint.

For example, the name of the Jervis Musketeers Regiment in Guryev is because its commander was Major General Jervis.

Prior to this, when the commander of this musketeer regiment was Major General Ivan Nikolayevich Essen, it was called the Essen Major General Musketeer Regiment.

While this doesn't mean the army has transformed from a national force into a private one, it has clearly gained many private attributes.

This practice of naming basic infantry and cavalry regiments after their commanding officers largely indicates that the army actually belonged to the Tsar alone.

The Tsar treated the army as his private property, bestowing it upon or entrusting it to his generals for their use; this was a military fiefdom with deep tribal characteristics.

This situation did not change until more than sixty years later during Milyukin's military reforms.

It was precisely this habit and tradition that led to Kutuzov, despite being the commander-in-chief, being constrained in many ways by the semi-warlords below him.

Therefore, for Kutuzov, it was absolutely worthwhile to take advantage of this loss to thoroughly subdue the military leaders below him, making them obey his commands and dare not dissent again.

Compared to the more than 160,000-strong army of Tsarist Russia, the few thousand men of the Jervis Musketeers were a mere loss, not a significant matter.

This situation was largely caused by Kutuzov's deliberate show of weakness.

The cruelty of military force is on full display here, and the saying "a merciful general cannot command an army" is once again put into practice.

But the plan wasn't actually finished yet. They still needed to meet with the Seres to solidify the view that Kutuzov was right and to make Kutuzov's prestige as absolute as their own.

“We are soldiers, His Majesty Caesar’s soldiers, warriors of the Third Rome. How can we be so afraid of war? I have made up my mind to send troops to rescue the city of Guryev.”

Kutuzov issued the order without question, wanting the Tsarist Rus' army to suffer a minor defeat so that he could implement his strategy.

The officers below were all deflated; they dared not oppose Kutuzov any longer and went down to prepare, heads hanging low.

After they left, Kutuzov went to see Major General Mikhail Barclay in person.

Major General Mikhail Barclay was a Livonian, and in the Tsarist Rus' Empire, people of such a background were subject to discrimination.

Their status in the Salo region was only slightly better than that of the Tatars, such as the Kalmyks; they belonged to the lowest stratum of the white population.

Historically, even after Major General Barclay became the commander-in-chief of the Salo army, he still faced a great deal of criticism.

“Misha, I hope you can serve as the commander of this rescue force,” Kutuzov addressed Major General Mikhail Barclay affectionately.

Uh, that sounds like a bear's name, but it is indeed Mikhail's nickname or abbreviation.

“You know, you know what effect I want to achieve. I will give you 40,000 men and full command authority, but I expect you to bring most of them back.”

Kutuzov wanted to teach the lower-ranking military leaders a lesson, but he certainly didn't want to lose tens of thousands of men.

Major General Mikhail Barclay glanced at Kutuzov. He knew perfectly well what the commander was planning, but Major General Barclay was very reluctant to take on the mission.

He already faced discrimination because he wasn't Russian, and especially because he was a Lutheran Protestant. If he accepted this task, the blame for failure would likely fall squarely on his head, ruining his future.

"Misha, of all the generals, I only believe you have the rich experience and ability to do this job well."

The Third Rome is in its most dangerous moment. If we cannot stop the Seres, who knows if they might want to establish another Golden Horde? They have the power to do so.

Don't worry, I will take full responsibility for all the accusations against you, and I will personally write to His Majesty Caesar to explain.

“I need you, Misha, and the Third Rome needs you too.”

Major General Mikhail Barclay was persuaded, of course, because the head coach had said so, and if he didn't know better, he would be in big trouble.

Major General Barclay racked his brains and came up with a reason to decline: "General, if you hope to stop the Seris Empire through war, I think it will be very difficult."

Because the Seres are clearly superior to us in terms of military equipment and training, it is very difficult for us to defeat them, or rather, to inflict a major defeat on them.

Most importantly, the Seris Empire can withstand countless defeats. Even if they wipe out their army of over 100,000 this time, they only need five or even three years to lick their wounds before they return.

But if we, the Third Rome, lose these hundreds of thousands of men, we're finished!

Kutuzov also fell silent. Fighting against an opponent with twenty times the population and twenty times the fiscal revenue was an immense challenge.

After a long silence, Kutuzov sighed and said to Major General Mikhail Barclay, "Misha, precisely because the Seris Empire is invincible, we should let them know, let the Great Emperor of Seris know."

The Third Rome was not a divided Kievan Rus'; we had the ability to inflict wounds that would never heal on any aggressor.

Therefore, even if they are a hundred times stronger than the Mongols, they cannot easily defeat me, and no one can conquer us again!

(End of this chapter)