"The north wind blows the ground and the grass is broken, and the sky is full of snow in August."
In the upper reaches of the Blackwater River, in a large dense forest less than two hundred miles away from the North Sea, Yu Xiang looked at the sky and this poem came to mind.
It¡¯s still August and it¡¯s already snowing heavily here.
"Company Commander, the Rakshasa people have been discovered. Their stronghold is less than ten miles away from here!"
The panting scout ran over quickly. Although he had a horse ready, in the knee-deep snow, the horse may not move as fast as a human, so he slipped over on skis.
"How big the fence is, how many people there are, what a bastard of a weather!" Yu Xiang cursed.
Although he received a good education since he was a child, after he entered the army, he had to learn some bad words. His current position is a company commander of the Northern Army - according to Yu Guozhen's request, he joined the army under the name "Fang Xiang", so even his immediate superior did not know that the company commander under him turned out to be a Huaxia The prince of the dynasty.
Otherwise, Yu Xiang would not have the chance to come directly to the front line and meet the Rakshasa people.
Wang Haoran, the governor-general of the Northern Army, knew Yu Xiang's identity. He also specially set up Yu Xiang's unit as a reserve unit, just to avoid Yu Xiang having any problems. However, something happened recently. The Mongols in the west were a little uneasy. Wang Haoran moved his camp westward and did not pay attention to the Rakshasa people near Blackwater for the time being. As a result, Yu Xiang found an opportunity. Without telling Wang Haoran, he took the initiative to ask for help and got help from his superiors. That got the mission of scouting the Rakshasa people.
Yu Xiang doesn¡¯t just think about reconnaissance. He knew in his heart that this was a rare opportunity for him. As long as Wang Haoran comes back to his senses, it means that he will never be able to visit the front line in person again. Therefore, he must seize this opportunity to fight the real war of his life.
"If it were my father my father, he would definitely be like this. When he was fifteen years old, he led his uncles to fight against the water bandits. I am my father's eldest son. Even if I am not as good as him, I can't be too far behind. "
Yu Xiang¡¯s personality is indeed similar to that of Yu Guozhen, and due to environmental reasons, he is a little more flamboyant and a little less tolerant than Yu Guozhen. The scout put the big fur coat handed over by Yu Xiang on his body. He was still sweating just now, but after he stopped, he immediately shivered with cold. After calming down. He reported: "There are more than a hundred in total. I roughly calculated it. Between one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty. The weapons are muskets and a small cannon."
"What about military discipline?"
"Military discipline is very poor. I can hear them making loud noises from a distance, and they seem to be drinking. However, these Rakshasa ghosts are still a little more vigilant. They are better than the Jurchens. They have set up watchtowers in the circle"
The scout picked up a branch. The Rakshasa people's arrangements were drawn on the snow one by one. Yu Xiang touched her chin, which had just grown a beard, and looked at the patterns on the ground. He pondered for a while and then said: "Let's take this stronghold and capture some prisoners!"
"good!"
There was not a single dissuasive voice around. Everyone looked extremely excited.
The purpose of Yu Guozhen's establishment of the Northern Army was to fight a big war with the Rakshasa people. In the strategic goals of each stage given by Yu Guozhen to senior generals, it was clearly stated that they must be prepared to fight a thirty-year protracted war against the Rakshasa people. The initial goal is to drive it out of the vast black soil zone between the Black Water and the North Sea. This goal must be achieved within five years, because after five years, Yu Guozhen will start developing the Northeast and needs a stable surrounding environment. The second step goal is to seize the entire tundra - this is the Chinese territory clearly stated in Yu Guozhen's self-composed Chinese Song. However, due to the extremely harsh climate and environment, only a series of scattered strongholds will be built in this area, using railways and roads. Connect these strongholds to prepare for future large-scale and comprehensive development. The third step is to drive the Rakshasa people back to the west of the Ural Mountains and return this traditional European country to its traditions. But Yu Guozhen's vigilance against the Rakshasa people did not end here. He knew how big the appetite of these polar bears was. Therefore, he also had a fourth step of ultimate goal, which was to completely dismember Tsarist Russia and allow Tsarist Russia to expand and annex various countries since the fourteenth century. The lords rebelled and supported a pro-Chinese Muscovy Principality.
Yu Guozhen believes that the entire plan will take about thirty to fifty years, and he is not in a hurry. But low-level officers like Yu Xiang didn't know his plan. All these low-level officers thought about was fighting, fighting, and making meritorious deeds. As the prestige of the Chinese army spreads far and wide, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to fight decent battles, and every one of them is dissatisfied.
Therefore, when Yu Xiang decided to seize this stronghold, no one objected.
"Fight after fight, we must fight well. We must not only win, but also capture the prisoners. We must also have as few casualties as possible." Yu Xiang squatted on the ground and patted the snow with his hands, splashing snow There were crumbs all over him, but he didn't pay attention at all: "Everyone knows about Huo Yan, right?"?He was in a hurry to make meritorious deeds, and ended up being kicked out of the Chinese Army. Since then, he has been wasting his time. Which one of you wants to be him? "
Huo Yan¡¯s matter is an open secret to the Chinese Army. Almost all officers will cite his example when teaching young and frivolous subordinates. Before Yu Xiang went north this time, Yu Guozhen had a long conversation with him all night long. He cited Huo Yan's example and warned him that no matter what decision he made, it would not matter even if he lost the battle, but if he wanted to exchange the lives of his brothers for personal glory, Then even if he is Yu Guozhen's son, he will be punished.
Yu Guozhen made it very clear that there is only one punishment, which is to deprive him of his status as heir.
Therefore, although Yu Xiang is eager to make meritorious deeds, he is not blindly impulsive.
¡°Everyone, if you have any ideas, tell us and discuss them together!¡± Yu Xiang said again.
This is the second education that Yu Guozhen gave him since he was a child: Only by pooling wisdom can we be tolerant of all directions and make progress.
"Night attack?" someone said without hesitation.
"You think you are watching, we are constantly launching night attacks. Besides, the weather is turning cold now. We must end the battle before nightfall, otherwise we will be too cold to move at night and the fire will be discovered again!"
¡°What should we do, go around to the back of their stronghold? Anyway, we have skis, so it¡¯s easy to move in such heavy snow!¡±
"There is only one gate. This is not our ancient Chinese city. Build a few gates for us to enter. I think we can turn them out this way We are a company with the same number of people as them, so it is quite disadvantageous to attack the stronghold."
Yu Xiang found this suggestion somewhat interesting, and nodded to him, encouraging him to continue. The captain deserves his praise. He was a little excited and drew something on the snow: "Don't we have Jurchen guides here? Let them be used as bait to lure the Rakshasa people out. How can the Rakshasa people not come out to attack the Jurchens when they see them?" ?¡±
Yu Xiang hesitated for a moment, this stronghold of the Rakshasa people. It was originally a Jurchen settlement, but after the Rakshasa people came. Then he snatched it away. A stronghold was built on this basis. Although the stronghold is not large, the position it holds is very demanding. It is an important ferry on the north bank of Blackwater. In order not to be noticed by the Rakshasa people, this group of people walked around for dozens of miles to find another ferry, and smashed the ice before crossing the black water. Therefore, there are sporadic Jurchen activities nearby. Not that it would arouse the suspicion of the Rakshasa people.
"Let's do it this way. Don't the Jurchens hate the Rakshasa people to the core? They have to behave well, otherwise why would the commander-in-chief take them in?" He thought for a while. Yu Xiang made up his mind: "However, they are still useful, let them survive as much as possible We must first choose the ambush location. Our approach is difficult, there are too many traces, and the Rakshasa people will be more vigilant. Ask the woman Master, is there a suitable place for an ambush behind the Rakshasa people? If not, a dense forest will do. We all brought snow disguises and put them on!"
In order to be suitable for combat in the northern cold zone, the Chinese Army spent less than half a year preparing for this time, including dressing all the soldiers of the Northern Legion in white and gray snow uniforms, equipped with white cloaks, sunglasses, gloves, leather boots, and skis. It can be said that the material preparations are extremely sufficient.
According to the words of the Jurchen guide, there is indeed a dense forest in the northwest corner of this stronghold, but the forest is densely covered with rivers. It is snowy now, and there is snow on the water. It is difficult to distinguish where to go and where not to go. Yu Xiang was not worried about this, and they did not plan to go deep into the river network. They only wanted to use the cover of ancient trees that had grown for unknown hundreds of years at the edge of the dense forest, so they made a battle plan.
Andrerov is the leader of this stronghold controlled by Cossacks. He himself can't tell what his official title is. This is not important to him - the rumors in the wealthy Eastern China have increased with the Spanish and After the Portuguese spread to Moscow, countless gangsters, criminals and Cossacks who had nothing in Russia were attracted by gold, silver and silk and began to flock to the East. For them, military rank is nothing but force.
Whoever is the most ferocious and brave can become the leader of an army. Like Andrerov, this is how he obtained the position of leader, and was then recognized by Golovin, the warlord of Yakutsk in the Far East of the Rakshasa Kingdom.
It doesn¡¯t matter whether you agree or not, anyway, in this stronghold, Andrerov is the biggest boss, and everyone must respectfully call him Governor Andrerov.
They captured this stronghold a month ago and then reinforced it, because they heard that further south, across the black water, there would be Chinese troops patrolling the stronghold, so Andrerov relied on the instinct of the beast to recognize The importance of this stronghold of one's own. He planned to rest here for the whole winter, and sent people back to the country to claim that he had opened the door to the prosperous and prosperous China, and even deceived and abducted a group of gangsters and criminals, so that when the weather warms up next year??He should be able to have five hundred men in his hands. With so many people, it would be enough to make a fruitful expedition.
But what he has to do now is to survive this winter.
The biggest problem that troubles the Rakshasa people is food. Andrelov looked at the cellar that served as a storage room, looking at the frozen meat, and frowned tightly.
It was not enough. Although he had killed all the animals he could catch, from deer to roe deer to Jurchens, the food he stored was still not enough. The guys who came to the Far East for adventure were desperadoes. They came here to make a fortune, not to starve. During the long, severe winter that lasts more than half a year, they will be able to go out to hunt, and at that time they can only rely on the food stored here.
"It's a pity that the last Jurchen woman has also been made into frozen meat. Maybe we should keep her for two more days and ask her where there are Jurchens nearby. We can still go out before the real blizzard comes. Reserve some food." Andrerov said to the priest next to him.
Like all colonists, Andrerov also has a "priest" by his side, but Andrerov is very doubtful whether he is really a priest as he claims to be, at least he should not be the Orthodox Patriarch. His clergy, because he was obviously more interested in the little boy's anus - this was clearly a common trait between the Roman megalomaniac and his followers.
At this moment, the police whistle standing on the high watchtower suddenly shouted loudly. Andrerov raised his head because he heard the cry of "Mandarin" in the whistle.
This is what they call the Jurchens. Andrerov was immediately overjoyed: Another Jurchen came to his door?