I

"It's summer, do you still need to bring cotton-padded jackets on board?" Wang Fuchen was surprised, even though he had already spent a cold winter in Hailanpao.

Khabarov bent his body and replied respectfully: "General, the summer in Yakutsk is very short, and then the temperature will drop sharply."

"How severe is the fall?"

Wang Fuchen really couldn't imagine any place being colder than Hailanpao.

Khabarov said: "Compared with Yakutsk, Hailanpao can be said to be like spring all year round."

As soon as these words came out, Wang Fuchen was speechless for a moment and turned to look at Hou Rusong.

Khabarov, the leader of the Cossacks, performed extremely well in the Battle of Yaksa, and Wang Fuchen no longer dared to despise what he said.

Khabarov continued: "The land in Yakutsk is always frozen, and you can only grow food for three or four months every year. If there is a severe cold year, you can only grow food for two months every year. Even in In summer, if you dig two or three feet underground, you will still find permanent frozen soil. In some places, if you dig down one foot, you will find permanent frozen soil."

"Why would you occupy such a useless place?" Wang Fuchen couldn't help complaining.

The absolute temperature difference in Yakutsk exceeds 100 degrees, with extremely cold weather exceeding minus 60 degrees and extremely hot weather approaching 40 degrees. In midsummer, only 1 meter of frozen soil on the surface can melt, and digging deeper will lead to the permafrost layer.

Wang Fuchen asked: "Can you farm there?"

Khabarov replied: "I opened up the farm in Yakutsk, and I also opened up a salt field. But my farm and salt field were occupied by the damn noble chiefs! Without me, they would not have been able to do it. Farming on frozen soil. General Wang, after capturing Franzbekov, please allow me to kill him with my own hands to take revenge!"

"Of course." Wang Fuchen smiled.

Khabarov, a guy with bloody hands, also seemed unusual among the Cossacks.

He rarely killed people at first and rarely even fought. Whenever he arrived at a new place, other Cossacks were busy looking for furs, while he focused on cultivating a farm. By providing food to the Cossacks, the small life was always prosperous, and then the farm was occupied by others.

Beketov, who was eaten by a Siberian tiger, was also a professional and was asked to build castles wherever he went.

Hou Rusong said: "I asked you to draw a map of the river leading to Yakutsk. Why haven't you finished it yet?"

Khabarov quickly explained: "General Hou, it's really not me hiding anything. The river from Hailanpao to Yakutsk is too complicated to draw from memory."

Starting from Hailanpao, we go north along the Jingqili River (Zieya River). There are countless forked tributaries along the way. During this period, we have to carry the boat to walk a section of land.

Such a complicated water and land route was explored by starving to death more than 40 Cossacks and killing more than 50 people for meat.

These Cossack leaders, apart from other abilities, are like gods in the fields of pathfinding and escape. In other words, those who did not have keen intuition and unlucky luck would have died on the way to explore and escape!

Khabarov's original plan to go south was to build a farm in the Heilongjiang River Basin to provide food for Yakutsk and make money, but after going south, he did not want to go back.

Wang Fuchen left 600 people to garrison in Yaksa and another 400 to garrison in Hailanpao. The remaining 500 Datong troops all marched towards Yakutsk.

Not only were cotton-padded jackets and quilts prepared, but also furry leather boots were all loaded onto the ship for the soldiers stationed in Yakutsk to spend the winter. In addition, with many captured Cossack ships, more than 200 Daur boats were also recruited.

The native soldiers did not follow, as the journey was too long.

The fleet advanced more than 200 miles north and encountered the first large tributary. Khabarov pointed to the northwest and said: "Go this way!"

There are military academy graduates in the Andong Navy, and they have been drawing maps along the way. Because I was in a hurry and didn't have much time to measure, the map I drew was definitely out of shape. I could correct it after a few more visits.

We walked more than 500 miles northwest, encountering several tributaries, and finally arrived at the Zeya Reservoir hundreds of years later.

Of course there is no reservoir at this time, but there is a medium-sized lake. There are many flat areas around the lake that can be cultivated.

After crossing the lake, the water became rapid and there were towering mountains on both sides.

Then, they abandoned the big ship and carried the small boat overland over the mountains. All the naval warships stayed here to support them. Sailors and sailors all helped carry supplies.

It took six days to walk through several kilometers of mountainous terrain in a straight line, because we had to carry artillery. After another few kilometers of flat land, we came to a tributary of the Aldan River. The navy officers and soldiers returned to the fleet along the same route, and the 500 army troops moved forward in small boats.

Starting from Hailan Pao to Yakutsk, not to mention the winding rivers, the straight-line distance on land is 1,300 kilometers, which is equivalent to going from Beijing to Changsha!

If the tortuous journey is also included, this troop dispatch can be called a "three-thousand-mile attack."

From Yaksa to attack Nerchinsk, it can be reached more than a thousand miles away. Why do we have to go three thousand miles to fight Yakutsk?

Because as long as Yakutsk is captured, it can be easily held and food supplies can be transported later. However, if we capture Nerchinsk, we will face long-term harassment. It is better to wait for the troops to be dispatched in the future to get it done once and for all.

Zhang Tingxun stayed on the boat and clearly felt that the temperature was dropping day by day.

When going around to the north of Yakutsk, you must wear a cotton-padded jacket.

However, the scenery along the way opened his eyes. He had never seen such a vast forest.

"General, when we stopped for rest last night, the stargazing measurement was 62 degrees north latitude," said the observer with the army. "Today is August 27 of the new calendar (not much different from the lunar calendar). The lowest temperature last night was 3 degrees. This morning's The temperature is 5 and a half degrees."

Wang Fuchen said: "According to what Nakhabarov said, the temperature will drop sharply in the next month. We must fight quickly and leave dozens of soldiers to garrison. The rest of the soldiers must return before the river freezes. Otherwise, there will be an army of thousands of people. , there is simply not enough food to survive the winter, and many people will starve to death here. If we cannot break the city within five days, stop fighting and return the entire army to the original route."

They came all the way, but only had five days to attack.

The military and political commander of Yakutsk is Dmitry Andreevich Franzbekov. There is also a secretary named Vasily Danilovich Boyarkov.

Both of them belonged to the low-level Boyar aristocracy, and the secretary's surname even included "Boyar".

If the tsar is compared to the emperor of Zhou, the princes and nobles are the princes, and the boyar nobles are the scholar-bureaucrats. The boyar nobles initially had no land, and even warriors could be called boyars. This low-level boyar was similar to the low-level Japanese samurai.

In the 17th century, boyars became more extensive and gradually owned land, lifting the vassal relationship with the princes and nobles. During the war, the boyar nobles organized the people in their territories to join the army of the princes and nobles. In times of peace, boyar nobles served as vassals to princes, and some held administrative positions in local areas.

The military and political commander Franzbekov was somewhat special. Not only was he a low-level boyar, he was also a German.

No matter what, the fact that these two people can come to the Far East to fool around proves that they have already lost their territory. Well, probably similar to the Japanese wild samurai. He has the title of warrior, but no land, and he cannot even be hired by the lord.

"Winter is coming again," Franzbekov complained, looking at the sky. "Last winter was too cold and two Cossacks froze to death. There are not many furs this year. I hope the harvest will be better next year. At most In three years, I will leave. This miserable place is not suitable for humans to live in. Work hard and I will sell the farm to you at a low price."

"When your Excellency returns to Moscow, you will definitely receive a commendation from His Majesty the Tsar." Boyarkov flattered happily.

Khabarov's occupied farm became the wealth of the nobles' trade.

The Cossacks who went out to plunder furs have come back one after another, and even brought back a few indigenous women.

The barley grown along the river has been harvested long ago, and a few Cossacks are supervising the slaves digging potatoes. If we don't dig quickly, we won't be able to dig this year. The land will freeze in a month at most.

"Boats, lots of boats!"

A Cossack standing at the top of the city pointed to the east and shouted in terror.

East?

Franzbekov's first reaction was that it was untrue. It was freezing here, so how could there be an unknown army in the east?

Board the boat here and head west all the way to Lake Baikal.

The Cossacks' focus has always been west. Some people once explored eastward and saw the Pacific Ocean, but due to climate and population reasons, they have not yet built a city on the Pacific coast.

"Defend the castle!" shouted Franzbekov.

The Datong army came so fast that the Cossacks were defenseless and had no chance to escape.

Even if we set off in a small boat immediately, we won't have time to bring enough food. The trip to Lake Baikal is nearly three thousand miles. Not bringing enough food is tantamount to suicide.

The Yakutsk Castle at this time was not where it would be hundreds of years later. It was built at the confluence of the Lena River and its tributaries.

"Setting up artillery for bombardment, the Cossack bandit's city defense artillery has no power..." Khabarov roared excitedly, but in the middle of the roar he felt it was inappropriate and bowed down beside Wang Fuchen, "Please take command, General."

Wang Fuchen was too lazy to pay attention to this guy and said to his adjutant: "Send an order to all the ministries not to set up camp, but to set up artillery fire on the other side of the river!"

We only brought a dozen or so artillery pieces. In order to facilitate the journey over the mountains, they were all the smallest caliber guns on the naval battleships.

They lined up on the north bank and concentrated their firepower.

This is where the Aldan River merges into the Lena River. Half of the Datong army sailed into the Lena River, and Zhang Tingxun and others landed on the north bank of the Aldan River.

The castle, facing the water on both sides, was originally designed to defend against native attacks, but now it was bombarded across the river.

"The north wall is cracked!"

Some Cossacks began to exclaim that the city wall cracked immediately after the second round of shelling.

Let's put it this way, the castle in Yakutsk was captured by the indigenous people ten years ago. You can imagine how crudely it was built.

Not only is there a problem of insufficient manpower, there is also the problem of perennially frozen soil. Every summer, when the land thaws, we have to plunder furs, plant food, and quickly dig soil to build walls.

The city wall is just two rows of wooden fences filled with soil poured in between. Even the walls of small Chinese counties are not included.

There is also a bastion structure, which is also very crude. At most, it can deal with the local indigenous people.

Franzbekov was almost collapsed after being bombarded by artillery fire, and yelled: "Where on earth did this enemy come from?"

Secretary Boyarkov said: "Could it be the Khitans from Amur (Heilongjiang)? I heard that Khabarov was eliminated by the Khitans."

"How do I know!" Franzbekov was furious.

Boyarkov said: "It is better to abandon the city and break out."

Franzbekov yelled: "How to break out? Summer is almost over, and we can't take food with us when we break out. Once the temperature drops, even if we break out, we will all freeze to death and starve to death!"

If you can't break out, you can only defend, or...surrender.

A Cossack leader came and begged: "Sir, the enemy's artillery is too powerful, why don't we surrender?"

"boom!"

A gap was blown out of the northern city wall.

The shelling still did not stop, and shells were poured wildly towards the city wall. They didn't bring many artillery shells, so they attacked as soon as they were finished.

The Cossacks were also firing back, but firstly, the number was too small, and secondly, the caliber was too small, and they were unable to cause effective damage.

Franzbekov said: "We cannot surrender. If we surrender, we will definitely be killed. It is too cold and remote here to support too many people. We will definitely die after we surrender!"

"boom!"

While he was talking, another section of the city wall fell down.

Zhang Tingxun stood on the other side of the river, excitedly watching the artillery salvo. He missed it in Yaksa, but now he witnessed the whole process. The battlefield was indeed more interesting than the military school.

"Aren't we going up yet?" Zhang Tingxun asked.

Peng Chunlin explained: "There are not many gaps left by the bombardment, so we have to continue the bombardment, otherwise the casualties will be huge."

"boom!"

Clods of soil and wood chips flew away, and Secretary Boyarkov was directly stabbed into the chest by a wooden thorn.

The bastion is also made of wood and earth. The wall foundation is thick and will not collapse easily, but the bunker structure of the bastion is very fragile.

Seeing that his secretary was dead, Franzbekov was so frightened that he quickly evacuated the bastion. If he continued, he would either be hit to death by cannonballs or splashed with clods of earth and sawdust.

It wasn't until the bastion in the northwest corner was badly damaged by artillery shells, and all the artillery shells had been basically consumed, that Wang Fuchen said: "Cross the river and attack the city!"

A large number of small boats quickly crossed the river, and Datong Army soldiers jumped onto the shore.

Zhang Tingxun blended into the crowd and rushed to the nearest exit. He was organized into a five-man team and was not responsible for ascending the city. Instead, he entered the castle through the gap and engaged in street fighting.

"Everyone retreat to the south of the castle!" Franzbekov shouted.

Some Siberian hunters have already begun to flee. They are not Cossacks, they are just Cossack lackeys.

Facing such a terrifying enemy, it doesn't matter whether he will freeze to death in winter or starve to death. Anyway, break out and escape first. If you stay, you will definitely die. There is still a glimmer of hope in escaping.

The south gate of the castle was opened by Siberian hunters, and deserters poured out one after another.

But in the southwest of the castle, the Datong Army also landed, with the purpose of intercepting the enemies who abandoned the city and fled.

Franzbekov gathered the Cossacks and the hedgehogs in the southeast corner of the castle. Although this low-level nobleman from Tsarist Russia, who came from Germany, was completely desperate, he was also aroused with ferocity, and he still had to resist stubbornly in a situation where he was destined to die.