The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 829 A Revolutionary Beating
People in later generations often have the misconception that Central Asia is not a large territory when looking at maps.

Perhaps this is also why the five Central Asian countries have had little presence in later generations; when mentioned, people naturally think of them as small countries.

Since it's a small country, its area must not be very large either.

In reality, Central Asia is a very vast area, reaching four million square kilometers, which is 2.5 times the size of Xinjiang and roughly equal to the combined area of ​​India and Pakistan on the South Asian subcontinent.

Despite its vast area, Dayu today has a population of only four million, including the provinces of Yiwu and Khotan in the Western Regions.

That is to say, a total of 5.6 million square kilometers, no, we also have to add part of the Khorasan province of Persia and a small part of northern Afghanistan, totaling probably close to 6 million square kilometers of the four Anxi provinces, with a population of only 4 million.

Even in the desert regions of the Western Regions and Central Asia, the population density is incredibly low, averaging only one person per 1.5 square kilometers.

Fortunately, the four million people in the four provinces of Anxi refer entirely to Han Chinese, or more accurately, to all Chinese people.

This includes all the people of Dayu, including Hui warriors, Mongols, Bannermen, Xibo people, Solon people, Tibetans, and a small number of Zhuang, Dong, and Tujia people.

In addition, there were more than one million serfs of the original three Khanates of Transoxiana, as well as a large number of white slaves purchased from abroad.

However, regardless of the circumstances, population will always be the main factor restricting large-scale military operations in the four provinces of Anxi.

Moreover, this time they are going far to the west to fight against the Tsarist Rus' Empire, and the only ones who can really play a role are the 1.2 million people in the Transoxiana Province and the 1.6 million people in the Beiting Province.

The remaining 1.2 million people in Yiwu and Khotan are too far apart, at least 1,000 kilometers away, so they are basically unreliable.

Therefore, just as the battle on the front lines began to intensify, the pressure on Crown Prince Mori was amplified to the maximum.

For this operation, the imperial court sent its Imperial Guards and the capital garrison, along with 63,000 troops from the garrison in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Anxi garrison troops from the four provinces also contributed 8,000 men, and Xia vassal troops numbered 3,000.

In addition, more than 30,000 men from the four provinces of Anxi volunteered, and more than 3,000 new naval personnel were recruited, bringing the total to 107,000.

Moreover, in this era where firearms have completely replaced cold weapons, logistics are far more complex and demanding than military operations during the Han and Tang dynasties.

The leader, Sen, had to use 2.8 million people to support the logistics of a 100,000-strong army. He also had to divide the operation into three lines, transporting supplies over 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers each. The difficulty was unimaginable. Basically, even teenagers from the four provinces of Anxi were mobilized.

After working non-stop for more than half a month, Asen finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a while. He looked at Princess Charlotte beside him and said:

"Now I understand why my father said that only when I arrived in Anxi could the Great Yu Dynasty defeat the Tsarist Rus' Empire. The population of Anxi is still too small."

Princess Charlotte came over and kindly massaged Boss Sen's shoulders, saying with some concern, "Because apart from the Crown Prince, no one else could possibly have the prestige and ability to so deeply command these four million people."

Without uniting these four million people, it would be impossible to defeat the Tsarist Rus' Empire.

"Your father is truly heartless. You are his own son, why treat you like a beast of burden?"

Asen waved his hand, signaling Charlotte not to complain. "The nation and the world are governed by one family. How can the power to send troops thousands of miles away to fight against a country with a thousand chariots be placed in the hands of others?"

If I don't come to Anxi, then we can expect to shrink.

If we don't want to shrink back now, and want to leave a vast and peaceful land for future generations, then only I, as the Crown Prince, can do this.

Men, especially those raised in Confucian culture, are very willing to be such beasts of burden.

Although physical exhaustion can damage health and even lead to death, the spiritual satisfaction it provides is something that nothing else can offer.

Therefore, although Asen also felt very tired, he did not complain at all, but instead was full of fighting spirit.

"However, this home is not just for my father and me. The tenth prince and the others shouldn't expect to have it easy either. In the past six months, I believe they have come to understand the hardships of governing a country."

A sly smile crept across Asen's face. His father treated him like a beast of burden, so he treated his younger brothers like beasts of burden, having already dispatched them to various provinces to supervise the preparations for war by officials and civilians.

The arrival of the tenth prince, Mo Zhouzhao, and three others in Anxi, regardless of their abilities, simply by having them there, served as a great impetus for the officials.

The two chatted for a while when Wang Guoyuan, the Right Vice Minister of the Eastern Palace, came to report, "A report from Siqi Port states that the Caspian Fleet departed early this morning."

Asen immediately stood up, walked to the window and looked west. "To take Astrakhan, we need the navy's help."

For this fleet, I spent three months transporting forty-four horizontal reciprocating steam engines from Zhangye, and also recruited the rising star Zhang Baowei from the navy.

Our Crown Prince has done everything he could; now it's up to them.

In fact, it took more than three months; after the steam engine arrived, the installation alone took a month.

Then Zhang Bao personally arrived at Siqi Port to reorganize the Russian sailors who had defected. Afterwards, he began to teach these Russian soldiers how to use sails and steam engines in the Caspian Sea, which took more than a month.

It took almost half a year and more than 500,000 silver dollars to finally reach the point where we can barely go into battle.

"Your Highness works tirelessly from dawn till dusk, and everyone in the world knows this. The officers and soldiers of the fleet are also well aware of Your Highness's high expectations, and we will certainly not fail in our mission!"

With a touch of emotion, Wang Guoyuan said, "Your Highness, please take care of your health. We should handle the trivial matters from now on. As long as Your Highness is healthy, it will be a blessing for Anxi and the nation."

"Where is the main force led by the Earl of Illinois at present?" Asen did not give a reply, but asked about the movement of the main army force.

"We have already arrived in Guryev City, and the vanguard has begun to fortify the port of Ivanov," Wang Guoyuan replied after flipping through the records.

"Alright, I have no worries. From today onwards, I'll just wait for good news from the Army and Navy." Asen nodded, agreeing to Wang Guoyuan's suggestion that he should rest more.

. . . .

The Caspian Sea, as the world's largest inland lake, is somewhat different from a true ocean.

For example, the salinity of the Caspian Sea gradually increases from north to south.

In the north, major rivers such as the Ural and Volga flow into the area, and some places are even close to freshwater lakes.

However, in the south, especially near Iran, due to high evaporation and low inflow, the salinity is no less than that of the Aral Sea, and much saltier than the real ocean.

Similarly, because it is actually a lake rather than a sea, the Caspian Sea does not experience the hurricanes common at sea, or even strong winds. It only experiences a few temperate cyclones and the Bula winds brought by the Siberian cold winds in winter.

Both of these typically occur during the winter months of October and November.

In other words, at this time in the Caspian Sea, there was little wind in the summer, and even the occasional breeze was not enough to support a warship to make a complete journey from south to north.

This is also why, even after the Anxi army demonstrated strong control over the southern Caspian plains following the Caspian expedition of the Tsarist Rus' Empire, the Tsarist Rus' Empire's southern Caspian coast fleet never withdrew.

Because with strong winds only coming from the north during winter, the cost of their retreat to Astrakhan by relying on a light breeze and oarsmen was not small, and they could only engage in a back-and-forth struggle with the Anxi army.

This characteristic of the Caspian Sea is precisely what the newly formed Caspian Navy of the Great Yu can take advantage of.

Because the warships of the Great Yu had steam engines, they could freely maneuver and navigate the Caspian Sea, which was no more than 1,100 kilometers long from north to south, while the fleet of the Tsarist Russian Empire could not.

. . . .

Astrakhan.

Kutuzov was about to leave, but when he heard that the Khitans were stockpiling large quantities of supplies in the port of Ivanov, he couldn't resist.

"General, the harbor of Ivanov is extremely shallow, and there are no high mountains on either side of the harbor, making it virtually impossible to set up artillery positions. The Khitans have made a serious mistake; they are doomed. Deploy the navy!"

Rear Admiral Nikolai Yazkov was very excited in his persuasion, because Ivanov Port was not a mature seaport at all.

This was originally a small fishing port, and the Tsarist Rus' Empire only temporarily chose it as a naval port to rescue Guryev (Atyrau).

The entire port has virtually no defensive capabilities on the seaward side; only the landward side can be used to build fortifications and fortifications.

Therefore, in Nikolai Yazkov's view, the Khitan were simply courting death by stockpiling large amounts of supplies in the port of Ivanov.

Kutuzov frowned, deep in thought, but remained undecided. It all seemed too much like a trap. There was no reason for such a powerful army as the Khitan to make such a mistake; the air of conspiracy was too strong. Surely they couldn't have genuinely made a mistake.

However, Kutuzov thought and thought, but he still couldn't figure out how the Khitan army could defeat the fleet he had sent after revealing such a big flaw.

"Give the order, General!" Major General Nikolai Yazkov said urgently.

"That's where the Khitans made a mistake. They thought our Caspian Fleet's warships were too small to cause them much damage."

But they were wrong; the twelve-pounder main guns on the St. Catherine were perfectly capable of inflicting fatal damage on the Khitan army.

Kutuzov considered the situation for another ten minutes or so, taking all the possibilities into account. In the end, he concluded that if he were the Khitan commander, he would have no way to turn the tide in this situation.

Kutuzov also considered the fleet in Siqi Harbor, but he knew very well that the Khitan Siqi Harbor fleet, which consisted entirely of the small fleet of the Third Roman defectors, had no chance of defeating the Astrakhan fleet, which was four times its size—the real Caspian fleet.

"Move out, but the army won't be joining the attack. I can give you a maximum of three thousand troops. Enter the port of Ivanov, burn everything you can see, and then withdraw!"

Kutuzov made a decision, and he was very cautious; he did not demand the defeat of the Khitan army, but only the burning of supplies.

Sixty kilometers south of Ivanov Port, Zhang Bao led his fleet and waited there. Because they did not need to rely on natural wind for power, the fleet could anchor wherever they wanted without worrying about moving.

Ten years ago, Zhang Bao followed the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Paris, France, to rescue Princess Charlotte, but afterwards he gradually left the Embroidered Uniform Guard and joined the navy.

Because he gradually showed his naval talent during his sea voyage from Europe back to Dayu, he later entered the Shendian Naval Officer School in Xingtang Shenglong Prefecture (Leizhou) and became a naval officer.

He certainly has talent, because this guy is the historical Cheung Po Tsai.

Historically, the "zai" in his name was just a suffix to highlight that among a group of burly pirates, he was handsome with fair skin and red lips, and his complexion was as fair as the most handsome young man. His original name was Zhang Bao.

"General, smoke is rising in Ivanov harbor! The Russian fleet is coming!" The officer in charge of reconnaissance by small boat brought the good news from afar.

Zhang Bao was startled, knowing his chance to make a name for himself had come. "Light the lights, fire the signal flares, and have the flagship Gan Yanshou start the steam engines first, followed by the other ships!"

Suddenly, bright oil lamps lit up on the dark sea surface in the early morning, followed by a loud roar, as if some ancient beast had been awakened from the seabed.

Nineteen warships, led by the flagship Gan Yanshou, headed towards the port of Ivanov.

Meanwhile, in the port of Ivanov, Russian Rear Admiral Nikolai Yazkov was also very excited.

As he had predicted, the port of Ivanov was utterly unable to withstand an attack from the sea, and the three-pound and six-pound cannons of the Khitan army were no match for the twelve-pound naval guns on the Saint Catherine.

Therefore, the Khitan army's attempt to block the landing on the beach was very ineffective, and they quickly collapsed under the heavy bombardment of the twelve-pounder naval guns.

"Continue the bombardment, and destroy the port's city hall as well. When the Khitans are most afraid, we'll go ashore and plunder them!" Major General Nikolai Yazkov roared as he gave the order.

But soon, the warships on guard behind sounded an alarm, accompanied by a rather piercing bronze bell.

"Hah!" Major General Yazkov snorted coldly. The Khitans had still sent the small fleet they had bought from the Third Rome.

"Let Rumyantsev organize the defenses and teach those traitors of the Third Rome a lesson in the power of artillery!"

Major General Yazkov didn't even intend to organize the operation himself, and instead assigned the task to his deputy commander, Senior Colonel Rumyantsev.

Rumyantsev didn't consider this a big deal, because the Caspian Sea Fleet was too weak. The flagship was only about 200 tons, the entire fleet had a displacement of just over 2,000 tons, and the cannons were only six pounds each, making them vulnerable.

“Vladimir, I heard you received many rewards, rewards from the Great Emperor of Khitan. If I capture you, you’d better prepare 50,000 silver rubles to buy your life, hahahaha!” Colonel Rumyantsev laughed triumphantly from the ship’s forecastle.

Then he heard a roar he had never heard before, at least not on a warship.

Colonel Rumyantsev's laughter stopped abruptly, and his expression became serious.

"Enemy ships! Enemy ships are moving very fast, incredibly fast! They haven't even raised their sails!" the lookout shouted in alarm.

Rumyantsev quickly climbed to the top of the ship's forecastle, picked up his binoculars, and observed for himself. Sure enough, there were no sails, and he also saw countless tall smokestacks spewing out thick black smoke.

"It's a steam-powered warship!"

"My God, my God! The Khitans installed steam engines on their warships. How did they manage to transport the steam engines to the Caspian Sea so quickly?"

Rumyantsev cried out in terror, "Send the Sea Monster to the port to inform the Major General to retreat. We'll sail close to the shore and return to Astrakhan."

Under Rumyantsev's orders, the Ross fleet, taking advantage of what was probably only a light breeze of force three or four, with the oarsmen's arms practically smoking from swinging, desperately retreated toward Astrakhan.

Colonel Rumyantsev was unaware that the greatest advantage of steam-powered warships was not speed, but their ability to easily seize T-positions without relying on natural wind power.

In the age of sail, it required a lot of complex maneuvering and even luck for warships to secure a T-position and aim their horizontal cannons at the forecastle of other ships.

But steam-powered warships could simply sail over by controlling the rudder.

In the chase, Ross's paddler's arm was swollen, and he was eventually defeated. The power of the machine was ultimately beyond human resistance.

Colonel Rumyantsev looked at the Khitan warship in horror, and with a thunderous roar, he turned his warship sideways ahead of its own.

'Boom!' The Ross battleship desperately adjusted its hull, and then the howitzers on the forecastle opened fire.

Unfortunately, the distance was too far, and the smoothbore howitzer was not very accurate; the huge shell crashed directly into the sea.

Meanwhile, the Khitan warships opposite them adjusted their positions flexibly, and the ten cannons on their sides immediately opened fire.

One salvo, two salvos, three salvos—after dozens of adjustments, the third salvo immediately hit Rumyantsev's warship.

Six violent shells blasted half of the ship's forecastle into pieces, and then the shells, carrying wood chips, swept wildly across the hull, instantly inflicting heavy casualties on the Ross Navy officers and men on the deck.

Colonel Rumyantsev was still in shock, having narrowly escaped death, while his first mate was pierced in the chest by a splinter and was twitching slightly on the deck.

boom!
Another cannon shot rang out, and more shells came from the front. Colonel Rumyantsev screamed and closed his eyes in despair. He was then hit by a six-pound cannon shell and turned into dust!

The six-pounder cannon was indeed weak; it might not even be able to quickly penetrate the transverse deck of Colonel Rumyantsev's warship when fired from the side. However, the forecastle was a position that was completely undefendable.

This is too unfortunate. The first battle between steam-powered and sailing warships in this timeline has actually happened to be fought by this small Caspian Fleet of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

They had absolutely no idea how to deal with these revolutionary figures, and coupled with the fact that the Tsarist Russian navy was already quite weak, they were completely on the defensive and being attacked.

Major General Yazkov, who had just been bombarding the port of Ivanov with great confidence, was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to deal with it and could only order the fleet to retreat immediately.

However, how could an old warship that could only move slowly according to the wind direction compete with a steam warship?

The two sides engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase at sea, which lasted until the afternoon. The breeze on the Caspian Sea had completely died down, and the Saint Catherine, which could only sway in place with the waves, was forced to become an immobile target.

Zhang Bao was still very interested in this warship. Although it was only about 600 tons, it was more than enough for the Caspian Sea. With the warship's twelve-pounder guns, bombarding Astrakhan would be much easier.

Upon seeing the surrender letter delivered by the Khitans, originally from a lieutenant colonel of the Third Roman Navy, Major General Nikolai Yazkov closed his eyes in despair.

He did not want to surrender, nor could he surrender, because his family was still in St. Petersburg.

But he dared not look at the expressions of the soldiers behind him. These soldiers, who were ordinary citizens, fishermen, or even serfs, would not have as many concerns as he did when facing death.

“I am a proud member of the Yazkov family, and I cannot surrender.” With that, Major General Yazkov raised his pistol.

“But you can, after I’m dead!” Major General Yazkov said, pressing his pistol to his chin and pulling the trigger with a snap.

Subsequently, three other nobles who were also unable to surrender quickly pulled the trigger and committed suicide. The remaining soldiers rushed forward, snatched their bodies, and accepted the surrender offer from the Great Yu navy.

The Caspian Fleet of the Tsarist Rus' Empire was completely annihilated!
(End of this chapter)