The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

The Cossack cavalry did not engage. After Nurhaci dissected the body and returned to the main army, he immediately reported the situation to Subutai.

"General, I personally dissected ten corpses, and all of them had food in their stomachs."

That shouldn't be the case. There was no food transport for eight days, yet everyone was able to eat their fill. Did the food in Tsarist Russia just appear out of thin air?

Upon hearing this, Subutai fell into deep thought, but ultimately remained unwilling to give up, so he solemnly questioned Nurhaci.

"What's in your stomach?"

"Wheat, or their dark bread?"

Upon hearing this, Nurhaci scratched his long-haired scalp and pondered for a long time before answering.

"General, there is no wheat or dark bread!"

"It looks like there's only meat and bones!"

Upon hearing this, Subutai's face lit up with joy, and he began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

"They're eating meat when they have no food, and two thousand cavalrymen just went into battle, which means they haven't lost any warhorses. So it's not horse meat, what kind of meat is it?"

"No wonder people don't get up early for nothing!"

"These natives aren't even worth as much as warhorses?!"

Having muttered this to himself, Subutai immediately gave the order.

"Quickly, order everyone back!"

……

For the next three days, Subutai continued to press forward, sending Nurhaci to attack from time to time.

It was almost April, and the weather wasn't so cold anymore. Even at night, troops would launch attacks, preventing the Russian soldiers from getting proper rest.

Meanwhile, 30,000 Han troops had already joined together and divided into three groups to surround the retreating Russian camp.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense.

Meanwhile, in the camp, Governor Ivan was drenched in sweat. The surrounding fortresses and strongholds had all been captured by the Han army, and they couldn't get any food.

"Are we really going to lose?"

Just as Governor Ivan was muttering to himself, a Russian officer ran in, his face extremely grim.

"Governor, the men under our command weren't dealt with properly. They've been discovered by the natives and are now causing trouble in the camp. A mutiny could happen at any moment!"

Upon hearing this, Ivan collapsed to the ground, powerless. After a long while, a resolute look appeared on his face as he tore off a cross from his neck, a cross inlaid with rubies.

"Lev, I will soon lead my army into battle. You must bring back news of a rising great power in the East, a power that is extremely ambitious."

"If our army is defeated, the Han army will definitely launch a surprise attack on the Ural Mountains. We must take precautions in advance!"

After Ivan finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the tent, heading straight to the camp where the mutiny was about to break out. He pulled the trigger of his flintlock pistol, and a loud bang was heard.

Once everyone quieted down, Ivan's expression brightened, and he shouted to everyone.

"We have just received news that His Majesty the Tsar's reinforcements are on their way. We will completely conquer Kazakhstan and provide each soldier who participates in this decisive battle with a slave, as well as sufficient pastures and cattle and sheep."

"So, now follow me to kill the enemy!"

"Use all your discontent to welcome wealth and prosperity!"

Ivan truly deserves to be a governor. While fighting may not be his forte, public speaking and persuasion are his most basic abilities.

Sure enough, under the influence of reinforcements and wealth, these natives and prisoners all chose to temporarily forget the unpleasantness.

After all, they're not the ones who will be eating, but the impending wealth might just fall on them.

……

"They're all trash!"

Outside the main camp, Su Butai cursed with a livid face. He had initially thought the cannibalism had broken out and that he could break through the camp without lifting a finger.

Unexpectedly, after only the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they completely quieted down and even lined up to attack him.

"You want to fight me? Looks like you've completely lost your temper. I'm not playing with you anymore!"

After muttering a few words, Subutai immediately gave the order!

"Everyone, retreat!"

At Subutai's command, all the elite Han cavalry dispersed, avoiding contact with the Russians and keeping them at a distance of three hundred paces.

And so time dragged on until sunset, and the Russian army faced another problem: they had no food.

Knowing that it is food resisting, knowing what it is eating, it chooses not to eat.

Ivan was also quite helpless at this moment. Food shortage is always the lifeblood of an army. Even someone as resourceful as Zhuge Liang would ultimately fail because of food supply issues.

As for eating warhorses, that's for use in assaults; if they were eaten, the entire army would be wiped out.

The next day, as the sun rose as usual, a large number of Russian soldiers, still half asleep, suddenly smelled a delicious aroma—the aroma of food and meat broth.

"Listen up, you on the other side! My Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty is benevolent and merciful. As long as you lay down your weapons and surrender, we will absolutely not kill you. Come and eat!"

As soon as the soldiers stepped out of the camp, they heard some cavalrymen carrying horse or cow legs, as well as bread and other food, shouting and waving around!

The emperors of the Han Dynasty were benevolent.

I won't kill them.

There was food available in the past.

The native soldiers, who had been starving the longest, threw down their weapons and ran toward the Han army camp, while the Cossack soldiers holding them back deliberately let them pass.

They wanted to see the result, and as a result, everyone who entered the Han army camp was given a piece of bread and a bowl of meat soup, and they all squatted on the ground and ate heartily.

Seeing this, and confirming that there was no danger, the Russian soldiers also began to leave in groups.

At that very moment, when everyone was relaxing, Ivan led two thousand regular Russian soldiers, riding Cossack cavalry horses, and galloped wildly toward the Ural Mountains, as if they had practiced it a hundred times.

Even before the surrounding elite Han cavalry could react, they had already charged two hundred paces ahead and were about to break through the encirclement of the Han elite cavalry.

Just then, the sound of arrows flying rang out, and five or six thousand arrows were launched from the western hillside, most of them about the thickness of a thumb.

Large numbers of unarmored Russian musketeers were shot dead on the spot by sharp and thick arrows.

"Brothers, whether we can be enlisted in the Han army depends on how many heads we harvest today!"

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty!"

With Nurhaci's loud shout, all the Blue Banner soldiers climbed the hillside and then charged down from their high position.

Ivan was terrified. He had spent most of the night devising a plan, but it still failed. So he patted the person next to him on the shoulder.

"Lev, we can't bring these Tsar's elite troops back, but remember, you must return to Moscow alive and tell His Majesty the Tsar what I said!"

"Follow me, all of you, hurrah!"

After Ivan finished giving his orders, he shouted "Ura!" and his soldiers charged towards Nurhaci in unison.

"Hurrah!"

The Russian soldiers behind Ivan, upon hearing this, kept chanting "Hula, hum," cheering themselves on.

Meanwhile, Lev seized the opportunity to escape quickly in another direction on two horses, not daring to delay for even the slightest moment.