The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 830 The Husky's Decision
Astrakhan, the Holy Trinity Monastery.

Kutuzov was already numb. He knew about steam-powered sailing warships, but even if we disregard the fact that his knowledge was limited to what he knew, even the Tsarist Russian Navy didn't understand how steam-powered sailing warships operated or what their combat capabilities were.

Therefore, for Kutuzov, who came from the army, it was a completely different field.

It could even be said that Kutuzov was very pessimistic about steam engines, because the steam engines that powered steam trains on land gave him a very bad impression.

Why spend so much money building something that can't even outrun a horse-drawn carriage?

Moreover, the steam engine that can power warships with a displacement of several thousand tons and trains with a displacement of seven or eight hundred tons can currently only be manufactured in key areas of Europe by Britain and France, and is kept highly confidential.

Kutuzov could never have imagined that this thing was already as common as cabbage in Dayu.

Therefore, the entire Rakshasa army never imagined that a steam engine capable of powering warships would appear in the Caspian Sea, but reality dealt them a heavy blow.

"It's over, this war is over, we can't possibly win." As the commander-in-chief, Kutuzov could almost see the outcome of the war.

It wasn't just because the Third Rome lost nearly 20,000 men before the fierce fighting even began, nor was it because the Khitan army demonstrated superior fighting power compared to the Third Rome on the battlefield.

Rather, every step the Khitans took exceeded Kutuzov's expectations. The methods and weapons they used to defeat the Third Rome were completely unprecedented, even for a renowned general like Kutuzov.

From six-barreled revolvers to rapid-fire cannons with a firing rate twice that of the third Roman cannon, and finally to steam engines.

The sheer number and overwhelming presence of artifacts from different periods proves only one thing: the Third Rome, compared to the Khitan Empire, not only had a huge gap in population and economy, but also a significant technological lag.

Do you really think you can win against an enemy like that?
In his frustration, Kutuzov was suddenly startled, his head buzzing, because he had just thought of something terrifying.

That was the war that Tsar Paul I insisted on fighting, and it was a war that had a certain element of a pledge of allegiance after abandoning England and turning to France.

The Third Rome was using this war to show France that the empire was focusing its efforts more on the eastern continent and would not use its military strength to ally with the English against France in the future.

However, within the Third Rome, a large portion of the population was actually aligned with England, and the Third Rome and France had significant conflicts over the struggle for influence on the European continent.

The reason why the mainstream opinion still supports Tsar Paul I in fighting the Khitan Empire is that the expansion of the Khitan Empire did indeed threaten the core interests of the Third Rome.

This was also because most people believed that on the Third Rome's home turf, even if they couldn't defeat the Khitan Empire, they could at least make the Khitan Empire realize that they couldn't defeat the Third Rome, thus forcing the Khitans to the negotiating table.

But now, if the Third Rome suffers a crushing defeat in the battle against the Khitans, then everything will be over.

Paul I himself had offended many people in the country by trying to tightly control the nobility and, incidentally, promote the emancipation of serfs.

Furthermore, after the defeat in the Second Anti-French War, Paul I took the opportunity to suppress the military forces, forcing the Third Roman military strategist Suvorov to his death and offending a large number of noble generals.

Now, his insistence on siding with France has provoked discontent among many noble capitalists and Prussian officers with ties to England.

What if we suffer another crushing defeat in the battle against the Khitan Empire!

Kutuzov was sweating profusely. In an empire where only the Ottoman Turks and the Khitans could rival the cruelty of court intrigue, a Caesar despised by all the nobles and officials in the country, Paul I's head was certainly not going to be spared.

Kutuzov's rise to power was due to his friendship with Paul I in his youth; he was even Paul I's most reliable general in the Third Rome at that time.

It was because of him that Paul I dared to openly use passive-aggressive tactics against Suvorov, causing the latter to relapse into his old illness and die in depression in a short period of time.

Sweating profusely, Kutuzov immediately pulled out his quill pen and began writing a letter to St. Petersburg.

"The Great Emperor of All Rus' and His Majesty the Absolute Sovereign, His Majesty Caesar of the Third Roman Empire:"
Your subject, Army General Mikhail Kutuzov, reports to you from distant Astrakhan.

The strength of the Khitan Empire far exceeded all our expectations. Based on the preliminary skirmishes, I can say with absolute certainty that we have no chance of defeating the Khitans on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, not even the slightest chance.

Therefore, I suggest that the decisive battle be held in Tsaritsyn, but this would require His Majesty Caesar to inform the entire nation and gain their support with a more magnanimous attitude.

Alternatively, we must begin contacting His Highness the Crown Prince of Khitan to ascertain the true intentions of the Khitan people, and then determine our next course of action based on those intentions.

Kutuzov's letter essentially conveyed two points: given the impossibility of defeating the Seres Empire, either Tsar Paul I would agree to a significant retreat of the Russian army to Tsaritsyn, the historically famous Stlingrad, to fight a Battle of Stalingrad.

However, such a large-scale retreat into the country's territory would certainly not receive much support, so it would require Tsar Paul I to make the decisive decision.

Alternatively, we should proactively reduce the intensity of the war from now on, defend Astrakhan to the death, and then use this gap to negotiate with the Seres Empire.

After finishing the letter, Kutuzov hesitated. Of his two suggestions, Tsar Paul I certainly couldn't do the first one.

Because of Paul I's somewhat extreme and hardline approach, he no longer had much prestige to support strategic decisions such as the Battle of Tsaritsyn (the Battle of Stalingrad).

So, realistically, if we don't want to lose too badly, we have to negotiate.

But then Kutuzov sighed, because he didn't think Paul I could do the job well.

Crown Prince Alexander Pavlovich is more skilled at this and should be able to handle it well, and he is also likely to gain the support of the nobles and ministers below him.

Kutuzov had a strong urge to cross out the beginning of the memorial and replace it with one addressed to Crown Prince Alexander.

But it was just an impulse, because Kutuzov knew that he had already been deeply marked by Paul I, and even if he changed allegiance now, Crown Prince Alexander would not dare to accept him.

"Take my memorial to His Majesty and make sure you explain things clearly. The war with the Khitans cannot continue." Kutuzov summoned his trusted adjutant and ordered him to go to St. Petersburg immediately to meet with Paul I.

Kutuzov then met with Major General Mikhail Barclay, and the two quickly discussed how to adjust the defenses of Astrakhan without a navy.

Major General Mikhail Barclay had a lot of grievances to vent, but nowhere to vent them. He knew he had been deeply marked as Kutuzov's confidant and had no choice but to take the blame.

. . . .

At the end of May, Mogongleng led his army forward and set up his command post in the port of Ivanov.

This small port has no shortage of water resources and is relatively easy to defend on land. The Russian navy has also been completely taken over by the Great Yu, so the threat from the sea is gone.

Meanwhile, Mo Zhouzhao, the tenth prince who was treated like a top-notch beast of burden by his elder brother, the crown prince, was summoned from Yili to Guliev (Atyra) to become the logistics chief of the army. He was so busy that he didn't get enough rest and his eyes were sunken from exhaustion.

In early June, Mo Gongling led 10,000 infantry and cavalry to the front line, took over command from Li Xingtai, and began to command the army in full authority.

At this time, there were a total of 65,000 soldiers of the Great Yu army, plus more than 10,000 auxiliary soldiers and civilians around Astrakhan, and the pressure of transporting military supplies was particularly great.

“I see this city is surrounded by more than ten islands, forming a defensive network. It won’t be easy to take it down,” Mo Gongling said, pointing north.

"This battle cannot be won in a short time. We need to build a city in the north, stockpile food and fodder, and guard against a sneak attack by the Russian army upstream."

Meanwhile, once the fortification is complete, only 30,000 elite troops will remain to coordinate with the naval warships, while the rest will retreat to Ivanov port or even Guryev city to relieve pressure on the front lines.

Mo Gongling's arrangement was also a last resort. Although the Battle of the Caspian Sea was a great victory, the Russians themselves did not have many ships in the Caspian Sea, and it was impossible for them to rely on sea transport for supplies.

So, transporting grain over land would require crossing more than 200 kilometers of salt desert, and now it's the rainy season on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, making grain transport even more difficult. With too many people on the front lines, there simply isn't enough to supply the grain.

"In that case, General, I am willing to lead six thousand Northern Army infantry and cavalry up the Ural River to reinforce Yang Kaijia on the northern route."

Our northern army is outnumbered, and the Russians not only have the advantage of terrain, but they are also better off resting inside the city. I fear that if something goes wrong, the Russian army in Orenburg could sail down the river and cut off our retreat.

Upon hearing Mo Gongling's arrangement, Dong Jinfeng volunteered to go to Orenburg. Mo Gongling considered it briefly and then agreed to Dong Jinfeng's request.

Astrakhan doesn't need that many people right now; they could try their luck in Orenburg.

In mid-June, just as the Great Yu army was building a city on the northwest high ground on the east bank of the Volga River.

Mo Gongling ordered Yang Kaifeng to lead 5,000 cavalry to escort the Torgut Khan, Huo Shaoqi, across Astrakhan to the Torgut people, who had not yet evacuated, to the area inhabited by the Kalmyks.

At this time, there were still more than 100,000 Kalmyks west of the Volga River, but the Tsarist Rus' Empire maintained very tight control over them.

A large number of Kalmyk nobles were stripped of their power, and the entire Kalmyk society was under the close surveillance of the Rus' secret police, leading to extreme hardship.

The news of the arrival of the Great Yu Heavenly Army gave the Kalmyks hope in their hell. Under the organization of various chieftains and monks, they slaughtered the officials that the Tsar had placed among the Kalmyks and launched an uprising in response to Yang Kaifeng.

In mid-July, Khoshoqi arrived at the Han tents where the Kalmyks were hiding on the southern slope of Mount Yergeny. In the name of the Khan of the Torghut tribe, he summoned the Kalmyks and called on them to begin their migration to Astrakhan.

At the end of July, Yang Kaifeng led his cavalry to ambush the Russian army of more than 8,000 men who came to suppress the Kalmyk uprising, and beheaded 700 of them.

In early August, the Kalmyks began to migrate to the banks of the Volga River, controlling an area of ​​nearly 200 square kilometers.

With their presence serving as a barrier, primarily acting as an early warning system, the pace of the attack on Astrakhan accelerated rapidly.

In early September, three 36-pound and five 24-pound cannons, along with more than ten large-caliber mortars, arrived from Xi'an (Bukhara), the capital of the Central Province.

Mogongling then ordered the construction of high platforms near the outer city of Astrakhan, to be used for bombarding Astrakhan.

Major General Mikhail Barclay, the commander of the Russian garrison in the city, knew that he could not allow the Yu army to build this high platform, since the Yu had transported a super-giant mortar weighing sixty-eight pounds from Yili.

This mortar has a range of nearly two kilometers and can fire cast iron explosive shells and solid shot. If it were to fire from a high vantage point, what city wall could withstand it?
Thus, from the moment the Dayu army began digging and building platforms, Astrakhan's Rakshasa army began to launch continuous attacks ashore in units of a thousand men.

The remaining gunboats in Astrakhan, under the cover of the fortress, continued to bombard the Yu army that was close to the shore.

Because the city of Astrakhan needed to be bombarded, the site for digging and building the fortifications was very close to the sea, making it impossible to send troops to guard the beach day and night. The Russian army's initial surprise attack caused great trouble for the construction of the fortifications.

Mo Gongling quickly responded. To the left of the fortified battery, he built a simple wooden barracks, ordering his archers to take up positions there to fire down on the Russian army. He also divided his cavalry into ten squads, taking turns on guard duty day and night. Meanwhile, at sea, Zhang Bao braved the artillery fire of Astrakhan to bring over the captured fifth-class frigate, the Saint Catherine, and used its twelve-pound cannons to bombard the outer city of Astrakhan in support of the resistance on shore.

Meanwhile, naval archers also launched frequent attacks from small boats, targeting the Russian warships transporting Russian troops ashore.

This back-and-forth fighting in a very small area continued until the end of September, when the Russian army could no longer hold out.

They went ashore more than ten times, but were killed or wounded by the sharpshooters on the left side of the wooden stockade. At least a thousand elite soldiers died on the beach, and the morale of the remaining soldiers was extremely low. They were unwilling to go ashore again as if they were going to their deaths.

Just then, a rare southwest wind suddenly blew across the Caspian Sea in winter. Zhang Baozai seized the opportunity and immediately led his fleet into the Astrakhan Canal.

He first used sails for power, and at the same time started the steam engine. When the wind weakened slightly and the gunboat entered the canal, the steam engine started running, perfectly solving the problem of insufficient power and range of the small steam engine.

More than thirty gunboats of various types opened fire indiscriminately in the canals of the Astrakhan fortresses. The heated incendiary shells burned more than 80% of the Russian warships and transport ships docked there, completely rendering the Russians unable to maneuver. They then left gracefully from the other side.

The Russian cannons on the castle were either too large to be easily steered or too small to be fired at all, leaving them only able to watch as the Yu navy rampaged through the canal.

The consequences of losing the entire Caspian Fleet are beginning to show.

In early October, after a month and a half of construction, the fort was finally completed, and it took another seven or eight days to install it.

This 68-pound super-giant mortar has a carriage weighing over a thousand pounds, and it can only be transported by disassembling it and transporting it separately. After arriving at the destination, it takes about ten days to reassemble it.

As the Russian garrison commander, Major General Mikhail Barclay, perched atop the spire of the Cathedral of the Assumption, saw the towering gun emplacements on the east bank of the Volga River and the nearly completed 68-pound super-massive mortar, his heart sank.

Once this thing is installed, the outer city of Astrakhan will be impossible to defend. Only the inner city, which this super-giant mortar cannot reach, can still be defended.

"Search all people in the city. Release all those who are not family members of the garrison. Move all food, gunpowder, lead bullets and other supplies from the outer city to the inner city."

Major General Mikhail Barclay had no better options than to tighten his defenses. The inner city was exceptionally fortified, with ample food and water supplies, and it was protected from artillery bombardment. It could hold out for a year or two without any problem.

As for the fact that they were unable to contain the Khitan army advancing up the Volga River after retreating to the inner city, Major General Barclay chuckled.

What does that have to do with him? His job is to hold Astrakhan. As for the defense of Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad), that's Kutuzov's problem.

"Release them from the city, that's at least several thousand people! Where can they go once they leave the city?" The adjutant looked at Major General Mikhail Barclay in shock.

Major General Barclay gave a strange smile. "Where to go? Of course, to become a serf for the Khitans. A lucky woman might catch the eye of a junior Khitan officer and eventually become one of the Khitans."

They've always done it this way, turning all their enemies into Khitans in the end, which is why they have such a large population.

‘Boom! ’

A loud bang came from the earthen mound on the shore, dust flew up all around, the gun carriage suddenly lurched downwards, and the hundreds of wooden frames that cushioned and supported it all went into the ground more than a centimeter away, causing the wooden bags filled with soil used to weigh down the gun carriage to shake violently.

A young, inexperienced artilleryman, who had not properly soundproofed himself, suffered a mild concussion and tinnitus from the deafening roar.

He staggered a few steps, unable to maintain his balance, and finally fell to the ground on his backside.

If even the areas where the artillery was fired are in such a state, one can only imagine the devastation caused by the shelling.

A cannonball, larger than a washbasin, whistled down from the sky and crashed into the outer wall of Astrakhan with a loud bang. The off-white wall immediately billowed up dust, then shook violently before collapsing with a deafening roar.

When the smoke cleared, everyone gasped in shock. The top of the city wall, wide enough for five people to walk side by side, had been smashed open with a hole several meters wide. Although it wouldn't collapse the wall immediately, it certainly wouldn't last long.

Seven or eight minutes later, the second shell was fired. This one was not a solid shot but a cast iron explosive shell.

After a few minutes of flight, the bomb suddenly flew over the city wall and crashed into Astrakhan, instantly sending a mushroom cloud into the sky.

After the loud noise, the screams of the Rakshasa people echoed from afar. Even in the dead of winter, flames were seen shooting into the sky in some parts of the city, indicating that something had been set on fire.

"The effect is good!" Mo Gongling laughed. Under these circumstances, Astrakhan will soon become a dead city, and it is only a matter of time before it is taken over.

"Winter is approaching, and we've been fighting for a year. Let the brothers rest well. Apart from the constant shelling, let's postpone all other attacks until next spring."

It's October again, and the temperature has dropped below zero. The Bula winds from the Xianbei wilderness are blowing fiercely once more.

This is a cold, stormy wind that descends from mountains or plateaus through low-lying passes, characterized by high wind speeds and rapid temperature drops.

Often, the temperature can drop from a few degrees above zero one second to around ten degrees below zero the next. Without proper protection, people can quickly suffer from frostbite.

Therefore, they were basically unable to fight, and the capture of Astrakhan had to be postponed until next year.

. . . .

While the main force of the army was advancing westward and causing great suffering to the Russians, the northern and southern routes also began to make gains.

In the Northern Route Army, after Yang Kaijia arrived at Orenburg, the Russian army began to hold their ground and not come out.

At this time, compared to other European countries, the Tsarist Rus' Empire, with a population of nearly 40 million, was a behemoth, and may even have been the most populous country in Europe.

But compared to Dayu, it's incomparable; the population difference is ten to twenty times.

This is also why the Great Yu Anxi Envoy, with a population of four million, was able to suppress the Tsarist Rus' Empire and make them suffer setbacks at every turn.

Because the four million Han people in the four provinces of the Great Yu Anxi Envoy Office were actually selected from the best of the best.

Even the worst immigrants among them were bandits, thugs, or hooligans who had committed crimes in their hometowns, and wielding knives was a common occurrence for them.

The Tsarist Rus' Empire, however, was not so fortunate. Even with the full strength of the nation, it could not select four million people with such pioneering spirit. It could be said that the Great Yu had more thugs and ruffians than the entire Tsarist Rus' Empire.

What can you do against me with this thing?!

So even though Yang Kaijia only had 15,000 cavalry, and the Russian army in Orenburg had about the same number, the Russian army in Orenburg was quickly terrified by Yang Kaijia, and their space of operation was suppressed to a very small area.

Even in June of this year, Yang Kaijia sent a cavalry regiment across the Ural Mountains to Ulyanovsk, the hometown of the future Russian leader Lenin, located on the East European Plain, in the middle and upper reaches of the Volga River, to abduct more than two hundred Russian girls.

When Dong Jinfeng's six thousand men arrived, the situation for the Rakshasa became even more dangerous.

The reason Dong Jinfeng left the main force of the central army was because he realized that the army's commander-in-chief, Mo Gongling, was not a Han supremacist.

This renowned general from the royal family was there to carry out the Emperor and Crown Prince's grand strategy regarding the disposition of the Tsarist Rus' Empire.

So he decisively ran to Yang Kaijia's side, and the two joined forces with more than 20,000 men. Centered on Orenburg, they trapped the Russian army in major towns and cities, preventing them from moving. Then they began to plunder the countryside, burning, killing and looting everywhere.

In particular, the Bashkirs, who were used as auxiliary cavalry by the Rus', were massacred by Dong Jinfeng and Yang Kaijia's army. Several tribes with tens of thousands of people were wiped out. Those who could not take their cattle and sheep were all killed, and those who dared to resist were all executed. As a result, the Bashkirs could only flee to the Ural Mountains to hide.

It must be said that sometimes the world is cruel, and this kind of style with strong nationalism actually suits the tastes of the Russians.

The central army captured nearly 20,000 men, and even Astrakhan was about to be taken down, but the Russians didn't seem to care.

However, Yang Kaijia and Dong Jinfeng's rampage terrified the Russians, and rumors spread everywhere that the Khitans were coming to Moscow to establish a second Golden Horde.

In his panic, Tsar Paul I even recalled the Russian troops from Warsaw and Poland.

He even made a request to Napoleon, the First Consul, asking for French support in the form of weapons, ammunition, and officers in exchange for relinquishing his interests in Italy.

At the same time, Paul I began to demand even more frantically that the nobles emancipate the serfs, because the army of the Tsarist Rus' Empire was not enough. He wanted to liberate the serfs and use freedom as bait to make these serfs fight to the death for the empire.

The Southern Route Army fared even better.

Because Count Gudovic was terrified during the Battle of Jintang City, his few thousand Rakshasa troops dared not contend with Gui Han's twelve thousand men.

Furthermore, for the countries of the Caucasus region, the Seres were definitely better than the Russians.

Because the Russians are poor, and the Tsar is also poor, some Georgian nobles have been allied with the Russians for over a hundred years, yet the locals are still subjected to inhuman exploitation.

On the contrary, the Seres were too far from the Caucasus. They only wanted to occupy this land and would not ask for much. They would even give benefits. Their only request was that the Caucasus region honor their prince as king.

What's the big deal? They were ruled by the Mongols for hundreds of years anyway. They're all Easterners from the East, so what's the difference?

The only one who was unhappy was the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey treated this place as its backyard. When facing the Tsarist Russian Empire, they dared not come to compete because they were under great pressure in the Black Sea and the Balkans.

But now that the pressure from the Salo Empire has completely disappeared, Tuji feels that he has immediately become strong again.

What the hell are you Seres? Instead of staying put in the East, you dare to come to the West and cause trouble. Not only did you destroy my vassal states, the Three Khanates of Central Asia and Islam, but you also came to my border. Do you know who's in charge here?

Well, they weren't unaware of the Great Yu's power, but Ottoman Caliph Selim III was powerless. After the disastrous defeat in the Russo-Turkish War, the internal contradictions within the Ottoman Empire had become so acute that they were on the verge of exploding.

Selim III urgently needed to divert attention from external conflicts and a victory to solidify his prestige in order to carry out a thorough reform of the Janissary Guard.

Therefore, the Seris Empire, which appears incredibly powerful but is too far away and can only send about ten thousand people to the Caucasus, is a perfect opponent.

Caliph Selim III decided to send 50,000 troops directly into Western Armenia and even Georgia to join forces with the Tsarist Rus' army to repel the Seres.

In this way, he could become the guardian of the Islamic world, display the power of the Caliph, and then return with a great victory to carry out reforms. Wouldn't that be wonderful!
(End of this chapter)