New Shun 1730

In the next two days, the tune of "Song of the Vanguard" began to be sung in the city.

Everyone in the army knew that there would be an interception battle in a few days, but everyone was in a good mood.

There were no casualties even in the capture of the fortress, and there was only a calculated and unintentional ambush. What else is there to fear?

Each person received more than a dozen taels of silver and some leather goods. Although the military order prohibits touching women, it is a fly in the ointment, but with the free money, I can still endure it for a few more days.

Thinking that the rewards would be divided into three parts, and that they would be able to receive another part as long as they finished the ambush battle in a few days, everyone was gearing up.

The song also calls everyone heroes comparable to Yue Wumu and Huo Guanjun, and everyone thinks this makes sense. Once the musket comes out, there will be no generals in the world. We people can brave lead bullets and line up to meet the enemy. How can we not be heroes? Zhao Zilong has entered and exited seven times, but he is still not allowed to shoot cold arrows...

Although I dare not really compare myself with Grandpa Yue and Zhao Zilong. But listening to these lyrics, it was the first time I heard soldiers singing, even compared to Zhao Guanzhang, and I felt happy in my heart.

The already jubilant music became even more joyful after the performing gypsy people came together, and the whole castle was filled with a relaxed atmosphere. It didn't look like there was going to be a war soon.

The officers were as relaxed as the soldiers. The new recruits were afraid of field battles and the veterans were afraid of siege. This fortress was captured so easily, and the officers' admiration and trust in Liu Yu could not be increased.

Only the officers felt that Mr. Liu's aesthetics was a bit like that of the Tang Dynasty, as if Mr. Liu had just climbed out of the loess of Shaanxi.

Taking a break from his busy life these days, Liu Yu took the officers to enjoy the gorgeous dances of the gypsy women. The twisting waist like a water snake is really charming, but the Tang Dynasty Hu dance flavor is too strong.

Nowadays, scholar-bureaucrats all like women with bound feet. The taste of the cultural world drives customs. Officers are called old and rough Qiuba, who have no qualifications to define beauty.

The thicker it is, the more it wants to be closer to the aesthetics of those scholar-bureaucrats.

This kind of dance that resembles the Tang Dynasty is very suitable for the taste of these "old men".

The officers looked at it with gusto, but also couldn't help but ponder it. I thought to myself that Mr. Liu's aesthetics was just that. He was born in the family of Zhong Ming Ding Shi, so he was no different from us. Very rustic.

After a dance, they were rewarded with some money. Several officers poked Du Feng, and Du Feng asked: "Sir, during the Wanli period of the previous dynasty, someone tried to control the captives. It was said that they wanted to induce their customs, so they ordered The woman practices the Chinese method of binding her feet like a bow to confuse the man and reduce his energy, making him lazy in stabbing. She thinks this is a good way to control weak prisoners. As you can see, Rakshasa people like to bind their feet. A woman?"

Liu Yu didn't answer, looked at Du Feng with a smile, and asked, "Why do you suddenly ask about this?"

Du Feng smiled shyly, glanced at Jiao Laobutu beside him and said, "I heard from Mr. Shu that when I ambushed the Rakshasa Cossacks, I met a good soldier. If he hadn't been wearing armor, he would have died. These people are indeed brave and not weak to me. Wait. Your Excellency also said that the Rakshasa capital camp is far superior to the Cossacks... Now that the war has begun, I just thought that if there is another way to defend the enemy, I can use the Rakshasa people's bravery. "

As soon as he finished speaking, all the officers looked at Liu Yu.

Liu Yu said in astonishment: "Mother Gan Xun, aren't you afraid? Relying on women to bind their feet to protect our country and our country? Then what do we, the poor ones, do with our lives? We might as well just cut off that thing."

These words hurt everyone's hearts, and Du Feng hurriedly said: "Sun Tzu is the one who is afraid. Your Excellency, we are not afraid of the bravery of the Rakshasa people, but...but..."

"But what?"

"But I heard from you that the Rakshasa land is thousands of miles wide. You should know that new recruits are afraid of fighting and veterans are afraid of walking. If we really want to fight Rakshasa, walking thousands of miles to Petersburg will be a hard job. If there is a weak enemy, Naturally, I hope that the imperial court can use it to avoid having to travel thousands of miles."

The other officers also nodded and responded: "Sir, please don't insult us. We are really not afraid of fighting, and we have merit in fighting. But we are really afraid of walking thousands of miles, especially walking north, which is really too hard."

"The Rakshasa is brave and close to me. The court must be worried. The court has its own stories to follow when dealing with brave enemies."

"I'm afraid that once the war breaks out, Your Majesty will inherit the story of Shizong from the past, plowing the Liaodong, sweeping the caves in the south of the desert... When the time comes, he will travel thousands of miles to weaken the Rakshasa. We have been on the banks of the Songhua River for a long time. How can we not know the suffering of this kind of place? "

"We are not afraid of death, but we are afraid of suffering. The tears of military veterans during the Han and Tang dynasties were not about the cruelty of the battlefield, but actually about the hardships of guarding the frontiers and expeditions."

"If there is another way to weaken his bravery, maybe there is no need to sweep the holes and plow the palace for thousands of miles?"

In the end, it was Du Feng who spoke the real truth.

"Um... sir, if we continue to expand, we will still be the ones guarding the border in the future. We... really don't want to go further north. You don't know, sir, it's really too hard. It's okay here, but thousands of miles north, it's so hard What does it look like?”

"Your Excellency has also personally been to Yongning Temple. This way is okay, but what about further north? If we go east or west, even if we return to the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty, we are not afraid. But going north... it is really not farming. Your place of residence. Your Excellency has been to Yongning Temple once, but we people may have to guard the border for generations."

"The Rakshasa people can guard the border in the north because there is no one to control them and the villages are autonomous. They collect Yasak and rob tribes for money. Can the court allow us to do the same?"

Liu Yu suddenly realized that this was what these border soldiers were really afraid of.

Afraid that the imperial court would open the border to the north, they would have to go to a more bitter and cold place to defend the border...

They went around in circles, not because they were afraid that the emperor would follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han and go on a long expedition, but because they were afraid that they would become soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty.

They didn't care about the expedition, but what about after the expedition?

There must be someone to guard the border, and I'm afraid that hard times will begin then.

They all knew that Liu Yu was the son of a duke and a guard of honor, so they all wanted to get some inside information from Liu Yu.

How far will the court fight?

Where is the border they are going to guard?

Thinking that the war had already begun, Liu Yu also heard what everyone really wanted to ask, and smiled: "Okay, you haven't even become an official yet, but you've learned to beat around the bush?"

Du Feng lowered his head, and Liu Yu said: "Don't worry. Fight to Petersburg? You really dare to think about it. Do you know where Petersburg is? Learn it now, listen to me and use it?"

"I don't know what the court will do. But I can give you a hint. Before I came, His Majesty had already sent Duke Qi to contact the Luosha envoys."

"If the Kingdom of Korea pays tribute, does it need Duke Qi to go? Ryukyu's tribute is just a fifth-rank Jieshizhong. Even when Wanli fought against the Japanese and assisted Korea, and canonized the King of Japan, he only sent a third-rank Dudu Qianshi."

"Have you heard that in the past, when dealing with other countries, the hereditary Duke of the dynasty and Zuo Zongzheng of the Zongrenfu were sent just to contact the envoys?"

As soon as the words came through, these officers immediately understood, and they all showed joy.

"Your Excellency, do you mean that this war will not last long? Will we definitely talk?"

"Nonsense, if we don't talk, will we send the Duke of the current dynasty?" Liu Yu thought to himself. They sent such a high-ranking official right away. Obviously, the bottom line of the court was to recognize the Russian throne. What does Russia know about the oriental characteristics of subtlety?

The Duke of Qi said something nice that day, saying "There is also an earl on the other side, so it should be him who goes."

Now think about it, this is not right. Joseon is a prince, not much bigger than an earl? When conferring the title, it is just to send a minister of the Ministry of Rites to go through the formalities.

If they were not prepared to recognize the other side's imperial title and recognize that it is an equal country without a tributary system, let alone sending a hereditary duke, it is estimated that sending a minister would be a great honor.

For many things, the attitude of the court can be guessed from some details.

Liu Yu guessed some and knew some, but he could not say it clearly, so he could only point out to everyone from the side.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that only grandsons are afraid of fighting. As long as they don't continue to guard the border in the north, I'm eager to fight a big battle and get more credit.

After being relaxed, everyone put down their worries and prepared for the subsequent wars wholeheartedly.

Not long after, the scouts upstream reported that the reinforcements of the upstream Luosha had arrived.

Everyone was overjoyed, knowing that there were more heads to exchange for money, and they could also share 30% of the promised wealth.

With the chaos of the battle imminent, someone in the crowd took the lead and shouted a slogan.

"Follow Lord Liu and win battles every day!"

"May Lord Liu be a noble for generations and healthy forever!"

Liu Yu smiled on his face, but he was cursing in his heart, thinking that you guys can just curse me.

…………

Different from the stories of fighting immortal battles on the banks of the Heilongjiang River without much bloodshed.

A bloody battle has been going on for nine days in the upper reaches of the Nenjiang River, hundreds of miles away.

This was once the Mulijiwei of the former Nurgan Dusi, and now it has become a Luosha castle.

The ambition of the Rakshasa explorers has actually been realized - three castles in Heilongjiang and one castle in Nenjiang can control the entire Heilongjiang River Basin.

This castle is located at a strategic point.

To the east, the Heilongjiang River is only a hundred miles away. There are mountains blocking it, but there is a valley road. After leaving the valley, it is the riverside plain of Heilongjiang.

To the west, there is the Daxinganling Mountains. Going up along the tributary, you only need to walk a few dozen miles of mountain road at the end of the tributary to reach the Hailar River. Going down the Hailar River is the end point of Lan Yu's expedition: Beier Lake, Buir Lake, Hulunbuir in later generations, and the wider Onon River grassland.

To the south, you can go straight into the Songhua River, go upstream, capture the Jilin Shipyard, and use the Songliao watershed as a cutoff to divide the entire Northeast into two.

Since the bottom line of the court's negotiations was to control the Heilongjiang River basin and expand westward to the Onon River, this castle, which was located at a strategic point and connected the east and the west, was the first to be captured.

Thirty heavy artillery pieces, 1,500 elite soldiers of the old fifth battalion, 300 elite sword and shield soldiers of the Fujian Navy, 600 light cavalry soldiers of the Songhua River, and 400 heavy turtledove gunners of the Northwest Hetao Border Army, totaling more than 4,000 elite soldiers, have been attacking for a full nine days.

Four thousand soldiers plus thirty heavy artillery pieces, in this place farther from the capital than from the capital to Taiwan, is already the limit of the court's military front.

On the protective slope in front of the bastion, there were thick piles of corpses, and in some places the corpses had filled the first moat.

The water in the moat was dark red, and piles of flies were not afraid of the sound of guns and cannons at all. They hovered over the corpses, and the buzzing sound could even cover the sound of guns.

There were constant sounds of corpses swelling and bursting, like a cannon firing, blowing out countless maggots and flies.

The emperor has issued an order, and the military order is as heavy as a mountain.

The city cannot be besieged, and it must be broken within 15 days... because in 20 days, the leaders of the Khalkha Mongols will come here.

And this will be the place where the emperor will accept their pilgrimage, and also the place to declare military power and sovereignty to the Khalkha Mongols, and it is also the gathering point for troops to seize the castles in the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River and the castle area of ​​the Shilka River in the fall.

Tactically, the city should be besieged.

But strategically, it must be attacked fiercely.

In the siege tent outside the city, a group of decorated veterans and officers were drinking their last bowl of wine.

Wuqiwei, Yunqiwei, Feiqiwei, Xiaoqiwei, Qiduwei... none of them were white-bodied soldiers. The biggest one had already killed the fourth-grade Shangqingche Captain by slashing people.

Everyone took off their armor and put on light military uniforms.

"Emperor Taizong once said that he would only die for his country on the battlefield, why should he return his corpse wrapped in horse leather?!"

"Today's hard battle is when I am waiting to die."

After getting on the light carriage, the captain drank all the strong wine in the bowl and slammed the bowl to the ground. He took off his helmet, silently picked up the samurai red scarf on the table, and tied it on his forehead.

The rest of the people also understood that today was the time to fight hard. They had to rely on these decorated veterans and officers to break through the last section of the slope.

This is a last ditch effort. Everyone knows that if they can no longer break through, the morale of the military will collapse.

"I only need to die for my country on the battlefield, why should I return my body wrapped in horse leather?!"

Dozens of people shouted in unison, drank the wine in the bowl, threw the beheaded wine bowl together, threw away their helmets, removed their armor that could not withstand lead bullets, and only tied a samurai red bandana on their foreheads.

With a broken voice, someone came out of the tent and took out all the money they had and threw it at the soldiers who stood silently to see them off for the last journey.

Money fell like rain, but no one picked it up.

"Brothers, buy a bowl of wine after the battle and treat it as my invitation!"

"I don't need this anymore!"

After that, these dozens of the most elite veterans and officers walked towards the battlefield to break through the slope where more than 600 corpses were lying.

If we can no longer break through, the military morale will really collapse.