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

With the help of the powerful bow, Aguda's arrows were like cannonballs, and anyone hit by one would be knocked off their horse.

In just over twenty breaths, they had already shot down five Cossack mercenaries, terrifying the rest.

The Cossack mercenary leader was saying something, and all the Cossacks dismounted and hid in the tiger's mouth.

Soon after, the sound of muskets rang out.

It turned out that these Cossacks were planning to use the terrain of Tiger's Mouth to launch a blocking and attrition attack.

However, with the two sides about seventy or eighty paces apart, these Cossacks' matchlock muskets couldn't hit Aguda at all.

Aguda was unharmed, but the Jurchen cavalrymen who were charging were too fast and were instantly killed by Cossack mercenaries with muskets, five or six of them.

Upon seeing this, Aguda immediately gave the order.

"Stop! All of you, stop right now!"

"Equip all of you with firearms, spread out and advance!"

"Sablin, go flank them and ambush them!"

As soon as Aguda issued his order, fifty Jurchen cavalrymen immediately dismounted, unloaded their muskets, reloaded them, and advanced through the snow with their bodies bent low.

Thus, the two sides exchanged fire at a distance of fifty or sixty paces. As for firing squads, that was only used when crushing an enemy. In battles involving dozens of people, they would fight while dodging.

Whoever has the most deaths first will collapse.

Meanwhile, the flag officer named Sablin led the remaining thirty riders over the hillside, preparing to flank and launch a surprise attack.

The terrain of Nerchinsk is like this; there are no steep, precipitous slopes, only gentle hills that allow horses to gallop freely. Going downhill can even increase the horse's speed.

When these Cossack mercenaries were charged down the hillside by thirty cavalrymen, they became lambs to the slaughter, surrounded and trapped in the jaws of the tiger.

With enemies on both sides, just as these Cossack mercenaries thought they were about to be killed, a familiar Russian voice came through.

"Brothers, let's surrender!"

"The Han army does not kill prisoners of war!"

The one speaking was the same Cossack mercenary who had offered the map earlier. It turned out that Aguda hadn't killed them all along; he had been waiting for this moment.

For Aguda, whose forces were insufficient, even one more person, even a weak one, would be helpful, as it could at least intimidate the enemy, let alone someone who could speak the language of Rakshasa.

In the end, of the fifty-odd Cossack mercenaries, only twenty-two remained. Almost immediately, they picked up their muskets, lined up, and walked out of the jaws of death.

Now they have no choice but to surrender.

Seeing this, Aguda was not afraid at all. He walked straight into the pile of prisoners and picked up the officer who had ordered the ambush in the tiger's mouth like a chick.

"Tell me, how many troops are still in the Nerchinsk fortress, and what's the situation inside?"

Aguda still used Mongolian. After all, the Mongols had ruled Central Asia for so many years, and many people would say that this was spoken by the Cossack who had surrendered.

Sure enough, this Cossack officer was a very pragmatic man. He immediately put his hands together in front of Aguda, making a gesture of prayer to God.

"Don't kill me, I'll do anything for you!"

"Now there are only about thirty Russian soldiers in the fortress, and about two hundred civilians, who are mostly vagrants and criminals, or who do not believe in Orthodox Christianity."

"As for us Cossacks, most of us have gone out hunting or scouting in the east. There are still about a hundred of us on rotation defending the fortress!"

Upon hearing this, Aguda began to calculate. He had originally planned to wait for the main army to arrive, but now he discovered that the Russian soldiers were not many, only about thirty, not enough for him to kill alone.

Only those hundred Cossacks were in some danger. If it were just muskets and fortresses, without cannons, even a thousand men would have a hard time breaking through.

However, after two battles, Aguda, based on his experience, discovered that these people were very rigid in their fighting style, and that these Cossacks were extremely afraid of death.

It seems the advantage lies with me?

If we can take this fortress, become the garrison commander here based on our military achievements, and then bring Brother Jin over, wouldn't that be a wonderful life?

Thinking of this, Aguda no longer hesitated, drew his knife with a clang, and held it to the Cossack officer's neck.

"I'm planning to breach this fortress, and I need you to act as spies to trick people into opening the gates. Do you agree?"

At this point, Aguda suddenly remembered Zhao Lie's words about using one's brain, that killing cannot solve all problems, and so he revealed a kind face.

"Do you know the Great Han? It's a vast empire with a million soldiers, and as a centurion, I have the authority to apply for you to become an imperial officer!"

"From this day forward, you are a subject of the great empire!"

After Aguda finished speaking, he revealed a sincere smile. After all, what he had just said was a lie. He was just an unofficial member of the Han Dynasty and needed to complete tasks to obtain land in order to have a Han Dynasty household registration.

But Aguda didn't know that what he thought was a kind smile was, in the eyes of this Cossack officer, like the smile of a devil, and he was about to cry.

"I promise, I promise!"

"The company commander guarding the city is my good friend!"

Upon hearing this, Aguda slapped him on the shoulder and got up to leave, completely unaware of how strong Aguda's hand was.

"Okay, I believe in you!"

Only the Cossack officer was left weeping silently!

……

The Niebu Fortress is located at the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Nerchinsk rivers, where there is abundant pasture and arable land.

However, the Russians' stay was too short, and they lacked manpower, resulting in the surrounding city walls totaling only 500 meters.

The interior area is roughly the size of three football fields, and the height is less than six meters.

The entire structure was built from logs as thick as a bowl. Although it couldn't withstand heavy cannons, the nearby tribes, with their bows and arrows and cavalry, couldn't break through it.

This square-shaped city has four corner towers, which can provide all-round long-range attacks.

It was nearing sunset, and the Cossack mercenaries on the city wall, dressed in thick furs with only their eyes showing, were observing their surroundings.

They often raided tribes in groups, which made them very wary of tribal retaliation. Even ordinary soldiers were like this and dared not relax at all.

As the sun completely set and the sky began to darken, one of the Cossack mercenaries pointed to the cavalry to the east and teased his teammates.

"Look, cavalry are coming from afar, dragging something with sleds. Is that Misha leading his team back? Looks like they hunted quite a few reindeer this time!"

"But why are you so late coming back!"

The Cossack mercenary standing guard nearby shook his head speechlessly upon hearing this, pointing to the sleds behind the horse team.

"With so many reindeer, they must have come from a hunt."

"This will naturally take more time!"

"Looks like Misha and his crew are going to strike it rich this time. We'll have to get him to buy us drinks!"

Soon the cavalry arrived at the East Gate. The leader unfolded his facial fur, revealing himself to be the general captured by Aguda, also known as Misha.