Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1991 Focus on Ukraine

Speaking of which, the current situation within the Russian Empire is indeed a bit delicate, especially when it comes to how to treat people on the east coast.

Russians are not fools, they are not deaf and blind, in fact they can be called savvy in Ukraine.Even in western Ukraine, which was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, there were a large number of informants.Many of these informants are even Cossack officers. They were either bought by Russia and secretly loyal to the Tsar; or bought by East Ukrainian Hetman Samoilovich, aiming to establish a unified Ukrainian Cossack country; or from the Orthodox Church They simply oppose the Ottoman Turks. In short, there are too many "two-faced people" there. Everything in Ukraine is actually no secret to the Russians, including the actions of the people on the east coast who have been deeply involved in it. .

The Russians now have definite evidence that Haji Port, the leased place of the East Coast Republic of China on the Crimean Peninsula, has become the base camp of a generation of anti-Russian activities in the Black Sea. Make suggestions, help the Crimean Khanate improve its strength, and do everything possible to prevent the Russian Empire from taking the entire Ukraine and then drinking the Black Sea.

Moscow was once very confused. They did not understand why the people on the east coast were so unfriendly to them, so they tried their best to create obstacles.Are they also very interested in the fertile Ukraine?This is really crazy. Their land is thousands of miles away in the southern New World. Why do they think they can acquire land on the northern shore of the Black Sea?

Later, with the further deepening of exchanges between the East and Russia, and the descriptions of a few Russian officials and scholars who visited the East Bank, the Russians gradually understood why the people on the East Bank were so persistent in interfering in the situation in Ukraine: Not all for their own benefit!For the benefit of trade in the Black Sea!

Of course, what those Russian scholars or officials learned was not accurate, or it was just superficial.They naively thought that the people on the east bank invested a lot in the Black Sea trade and built three major trade routes including the Dnieper River, the Don River, and the Danube River. For this reason, they made a lot of profits every year, and at the same time greatly enhanced the country’s influence. , therefore very disturbed by the occupation of Ukraine by the Russian Empire.

Therefore, the Moscow side has communicated with the people on the east coast several times in order to appease their supposed "anxiety" of the people on the east coast.They were even willing to sign an agreement with the East Bank Republic endorsed by the Tsar himself, to ensure that the interests of the East Bank Republic of China in the Three Rivers trade would not be damaged.Not only will it not be damaged, but the Russians are willing to carry out in-depth cooperation with the East Coast to make these trades bigger and stronger, and the two sides will share profits.

However, to the embarrassment of the Russians, these proposals, without exception, received a cold reception from the East Coasters.The diplomats on the east coast had no interest in their grand trade ideas at all, and basically only maintained superficial politeness. They insisted that Ukraine must be "free" and "open", that the Ukrainian Cossack Emirate must maintain its independent status, and jointly supervised by all parties.

There is no doubt that these conditions are unacceptable to the Russian Empire.The Russian Empire, which claims to be the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire, is determined to win Ukraine, because this is the national strategy they have been working hard for many years-drinking the Black Sea and recovering the Baltic Sea. If you are politically correct, if you are in a difficult situation with Russia in this regard, you will obviously be hostile to them.From this perspective, can the diplomatic relations between East and Russia get better?impossible!

So you can see now that the people on the east coast have closed some commercial establishments in Moscow and Arkhangelsk, divested from joint ventures such as the Arkhangelsk Gun Factory and the Small Star Shipyard, and interrupted the cooperation between the two countries. The military exchanges, cultural exchanges and commercial exchanges between the two countries have also been greatly reduced by this. Basically, it is certain that the relationship between the two countries has regressed for more than ten years.

The above is what happened the year before last and last year (1686). The Russians were very angry, but because of the fierce political struggle in Moscow at that time, they did not attack the people on the east coast on a large scale.But in any case, these actions of the people on the east coast actually embarrass the Russians. They always feel that the Russian Empire is good enough for the east coast, and they are all super-national treatment-of course they are at this time. Selectively forgetting such bad incidents as confiscating the goods of East Coast merchants at will, raising tariff rates at will, favoring domestic merchants in trade disputes, forcing East Coast technicians to naturalize in Russia and other bad events-but in the end it ended up like this, the East Coast people It's really disgusting and unreasonable!

But even if it is very angry, there is still no definite charter in Moscow on how to deal with relations with East Asia.Even though there are more and more people advocating a tougher approach to East Asia, there are still quite a few who call for a calm approach. This is why we have the "delicate situation" we talked about before.The Russians, in fact, are still a little reluctant to give up the East Coast, a trading partner that can provide a large number of high-quality goods at preferential prices, even if the relationship between the two countries is approaching freezing point.

Of course, everyone knows that as the Russian Empire’s invasion of Ukraine and the Crimean Khanate are getting closer, the voices that are tough on the East will surely dominate the mainstream.And once the people on the east bank officially take actions that are unfavorable to Russia, then both the court and the Duma will inevitably make the only choice, which is to completely sever diplomatic relations with the east bank!

Just a month ago (in May), the lover of the regent Princess Sophia, Duke Golitsyn, who is known as the most beautiful man in Moscow, has been officially appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army, replacing the experienced veteran Romodanovs Ji, with 5 Russian troops, drove to a place close to the Crimean Khanate, and the war was imminent.

In this battle, the Russian army will dispatch about 10 people. In addition, there will be 15 East Ukrainian Cossacks to assist. The total army is [-] people. Drinking horses from the Black Sea.However, some people who are proficient in military affairs in the Russian Empire pointed out that the mobilization of the army this time is very hasty, especially the various materials needed for the army to fight have not yet been raised, which will have a negative impact on the morale of the army.

In addition, the veteran Romodanovsky, who had been dismissed and returned to China as the imperial minister, also complained, thinking that the newcomer Golitsyn knew nothing about military affairs and would lead the Russian army into the ditch.The veteran general who came from a senior aristocrat did not give Golitsyn and Sophia any face, accusing Sophia of using the [-] imperial troops as a tool for her political struggle. Rushing to launch a war is likely to encounter a crisis of failure, so he strongly opposes this military operation.

"Once the [-] army is wiped out, the entire south will become extremely empty, and a large number of Tatars will flood into the provinces to plunder next spring. This is unacceptable." Romodanovsky So said the prince at the Duma session.

But unfortunately, he has lost the right to make decisions now. Golitsyn, a scholar and sycophant who is proficient in many languages, is the commander-in-chief of the army.He has received the order from Princess Sophia, and intends to raise troops as soon as possible. With Samoilovich's [-] Cossacks, he will rush to the Crimean Khanate with an unstoppable force. He must push the front to the Sea of ​​Azov or Black. on the sea.

The movement of the 15 army cannot be hidden from anyone!When the news of the price of water was transmitted to the Crimean Khanate, the Great Khan issued an assembly order for the second time, ordering the lords from all over the country to quickly lead their troops to follow, and traveled eastward to set up the Golden Tent in the On the grassy plain on the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov, prepare to fight the Russians to the death.

The Great Khan also brought over [-] new troops trained at great cost.This army is equipped with rifles and artillery imported from the east bank, and its combat methods have also broken through the traditional prairie pattern, with more elements of modern infantry combat. The trump card in the battle against the Russian army.

In addition, I have to mention that the East Coast Republic of China also sent a "Black Sea Detachment" (commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun) with the Portuguese Army Garrison as the main body. The total strength is about 5500 people, including temporary recruitment in Portugal and Italy. The "Volunteer Army" has 3000 people.

According to the plan, they will not directly participate in the war with the Russians.They will go to the Perekop fortress near the Tatar trench and garrison there for defense, so that the Crimean Khanate can transfer its elite troops eastward to fight the Russians on the steppe.

Undoubtedly, this arrangement made Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun somewhat unacceptable, but it was also the result of a compromise between him and Special Envoy Gao Wengang after a quarrel.Mr. Gao strongly objected to Mr. Mao bringing these more than 5000 people into the center of the battlefield, because he believed that if the battle failed and the entire Crimean army was defeated, the army would be crushed to nothing.After all, on the battlefield where 30 to [-] troops are fighting, your thousands of people are just a small army, and maybe they will be consumed as cannon fodder in a few days, which will greatly affect the ability of the people on the east coast to interfere in the Mediterranean area , this is what Gao Wengang was more afraid of.

From another secret point of view, someone Gao was a civil servant after all, and he still had a little illusion about restoring relations with Russia in his heart.As everyone knows, after your people from the east bank shipped a large amount of arms to the Crimean Khanate and helped them train many officers, do you still expect the Russians to give you a good face?impossible!

However, Gao Wengang was just so stubborn. He insisted not to fight Russia head-on, as if the two countries would not officially tear each other apart if they did not do so.Mr. Mao disapproved of this, he was more belligerent in his bones, and he was very eager to confront the Russians head-on, but considering that he would continue to form a team with Gao Wengang in the future, it would not be good for the two sides to fall out, so in the end Holding his nose, he agreed, and agreed to go to the Tartar trenches to defend the fortress.However, he also left a secret door for himself, and obtained Gao Wengang's consent, that is, if the situation of the Crimean Khanate was unfavorable and needed help, he would take these 5000 people to the battlefield and act on camera.

To put it bluntly, when the Crimean Khanate was defeated, find a way to help them stop it and gather as many troops as possible.The most important thing is that Gelai Dahan himself must run back safely, otherwise the situation may become unmanageable.After all, the troops assembled by the Russians this time are relatively large, and no one dares to say that they can win the opponent steadily, so they can only take one step at a time.

In mid-June 1687, part of the Russian army crossed the border between Eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Khanate and entered its northeast region.The Crimean Khanate responded quickly, and the main force began to move eastward along the coastline, killing in the direction of the Russian army.At the same time, after receiving the news, the Ottoman fleet in Kaffa Port also dispatched immediately. A large number of transport ships set sail with food, medicine, weapons and ammunition, crossed the entire Sea of ​​Azov, and headed towards their military center near the mouth of the Don River. Port of Azov sailed.

The fleet is small and weak, but because the Russians don't have a strong fleet (I heard they're building warships in the upper reaches of the Don, but it's clearly far from being finished), they can sail unimpeded In various parts of the Sea of ​​Azov, it provides supplies for a total of more than 9 troops (nearly 7 troops of the Crimean Khanate, more than [-] Cossacks of West Ukraine, and more than [-] defenders of Azov Port), and the efficiency is comparable to that of the Russians. That poor logistics system is much higher.

After careful analysis of the situation, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun judged that the main force of the Russian army should be heading to the port of Azov, instead of attacking the northern shore of the Black Sea and western Ukraine that he had worried about.It seems that they want to open up the mouth of the Don River more than the shore of the Black Sea, so the Azov Fortress, which lies near the mouth of the river and communicates with the Sea of ​​Azov and the Don River, is very dazzling.Considering the strong defense of the Azov Fortress and a large number of defenders, this time the Russian army almost rushed forward with the intention of taking the city in one battle.

"This is a typical bad strategy formulated by people who don't understand the military!" Mr. Mao had a very low evaluation of the Russian commander, Duke Golitsyn.He couldn't imagine that in the present, just a few years after the Battle of Vienna, how could there be someone with such a short memory who wanted to gather more than [-] troops under a strong city?Isn't the lesson of the Turks not deep enough and painful enough?More than [-] troops were defeated in the battle of internal and external cooperation under the city of Vienna, and then they were hunted down and killed, losing a large area of ​​land. This Golitsyn is also a scholar who knows everything about the past and the present, and has read many foreign books and documents. How can he treat this classic How about turning a blind eye to war examples?

It can only be said that this is the Russians themselves!Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun sighed a little. He was already eager to try and pull the troops to the Don River area, although this might violate the agreement he had reached with Gao Wengang.

(End of this chapter)