Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2181 Painful Reform

On August 1692, 8, on the Ukrainian prairie, a convoy flying the hunting flag arrived at the Lost Port of Tutuo.

Tutuo Lost is a new port established in recent years. It belongs to the Crimean Khanate. Its later name is Mariupol. It is one of the most important ports in Ukraine along the Sea of ​​Azov.The Crimean Khanate has been determined to reform over the years. The original semi-feudal and semi-nomadic system began to move closer to the feudal dynasty model. Chiefs and feudal lords gathered a lot of power, and the central government became more and more centralized.

Now, the number of the new army directly under the hands of Gelai Khan is close to 4, and he requires the lords and nobles to pay a batch of taxes twice a year to maintain the army's expenses.It can be seen from this that the Crimean Khanate currently has a national taxation system, although this system still seems relatively rough.

Although these [-] new troops are not as advanced as the armies of mainstream countries in Western Europe, they are not much worse than the Russian and Polish armies. After years of transformation by military consultants on the east coast, the current organizational structure of this army It also focuses more on modernization, rather than the chaotic nomadic army with a strong grassland style.

Of course, it was no use for Grail Khan to give up the old army.After all, in the previous two battles with the Russians, the main force was still the old army temporarily recruited.These old troops, which numbered about [-], were mainly cavalry, and they brought their own horses, dry food, and weapons. They beat the Russians to the ground and made immortal feats.More importantly, the maintenance cost of these old armies is extremely low. They serve the people in peacetime and serve as soldiers in wartime. The Khan only needs to allocate some cattle, sheep and property before the war to make them die. This has always been the most important army organization method of the grassland people. .

But Sailim Gelai Dahan is not an ordinary person without knowledge!He has inspected many times in Haji County, Turkey and the leased land on the east coast, and he understands that the times are different now. With the popularity of professional soldiers (standing army) and the deepening of the military construction of various countries, the combat effectiveness of the medieval army will become more and more powerful. insufficient.Just look at the Austrian army. Vienna has devoted a lot of effort to its construction over the years. The elite field troops are basically composed of professional soldiers, supplemented by temporary militias and mercenaries (this part is actually a professional army). The combat power is rolling and turning upwards.In the entire Ottoman Empire, the only ones who could fight these elite Austrian troops were the Ganisari and Spasi legions, both of which were standing armies. The other peasants conscripted from the fields were no match at all. The Italian coalition can't handle it.

Professional soldiers take combat as their career, have rich experience, tenacious will, frequent training, and adequate logistics. How can they be compared with mob farmers?They will really withdraw from the center of the stage until the scale of the war becomes larger and larger, with hundreds of thousands or even millions at every turn. The country cannot afford a fully professional army and the compulsory service system becomes popular.What's more, conscripts are also based on professional soldiers, otherwise they are useless!

Of course, the [-] new troops of the Crimean Khanate cannot be regarded as purely professional soldiers.In fact, for several months in a year, quite a few of them will return their weapons, and then go home to farm and herd, and then they will be recruited back for training in autumn and winter.The reason is that the Crimean Khanate is too poor to afford all the expenses of the [-] new army, and it is a little bit of savings.In fact, if it weren't for the weapons sold at almost cost on the east coast and the financial assistance from the Ottoman Empire, they wouldn't even be able to maintain the [-] new troops. This is where they are inferior to the Russians.

But no matter what, even though the financial difficulties of the Ottoman Empire have greatly reduced the money and material assistance to the Crimean Khanate, the Great Khan still tried his best to keep this new army alive. It is not hesitating to invest part of the fiscal revenue.The new army is the foundation for him to command the whole country and the tool for him to carry out his will.Without these tens of thousands of horses, he would have no taste as a profuse sweat, because even a stronger tribal chief or feudal lord could treat him with respect, which was unacceptable to him.

"This army looks good. Is it the most capable of fighting among the new Crimean army?" Tuotuo Lost Port Wharf, Haji Police Commander Wu Yifei, with a cigarette butt in his mouth, looked at the passing all the way. A team, exclaimed.

"Of course they can fight. These are the troops of their Capital Division, the only full-professional military unit among the four divisions." Sheng Dehong, the ambassador to the Ottomans on the East Bank, replied: "The other three divisions, the Prophet Division, the Batu Division, and the Black Sea Division are all It is a semi-professional army, except for retaining some backbones, most of them only train for half a year, so naturally they are not as strong as the Capital Division."

It is said that the new army of the Crimean Khanate was also completed under the advice of the military adviser on the east bank.Their new army was organized into four divisions, of which the capital division had 4 infantry regiments, 1 cavalry regiment, plus some technical arms, with a total of about 1.3 people; the Prophet Division, Batu Division, and Black Sea Division were all small establishments Troops, each with about 8500 people.The team that came to Tutuo Lost Port today is part of the Cavalry Regiment of the Capital Division, with about a hundred riders, escorting a large convoy to the port.On the way, they met the East Coast Ambassador Sheng Dehong and his group, and then they worked together until they reached the final destination.

The Tatars from the capital division unloaded a large number of daily necessities to the designated place, and at the same time there was a batch of grain, which they planned to send to the Bayingoleng port of the Oirat Mongols as soon as the cargo ship arrived.Food and daily necessities were produced nearby, and according to the agreement with the people on the east bank, they were sold to the Oirat Mongols at a preferential price to support their local colonial activities.

For the Oirat Mongols, the attitude of the Crimean Tatars is confusion, curiosity, and at the same time, a faint intimacy.This is actually very easy to understand. The Tatars are the descendants left by the Mongolian expedition to the west. They are different from the mixed blood of later generations who were seriously Europeanized. At this time, the Tatars still retain most of the characteristics of the yellow race, while the Oirat Mongols, basically He is a pure-blooded yellow race.In a sense, they are all "orphans" in this area of ​​the Black Sea, so naturally they should get close.

The Crimean Khanate now also has some cities with a large population of settlers. Except for the capital Bekchisarai, the fortress city Perekop and Salt Fortress, most of them are located on the northern shore of the Black Sea.The emergence of these settled cities is also a strong evidence that the development of the Crimean Khanate has entered a new stage, and it is also the main result of its continuous improvement in economic strength-settled cities and surrounding countryside can produce a large number of agricultural products and handmade products. Great tax offering available.

There is no doubt that all the cities in the Khanate are directly managed by the Great Khan, and their taxes are naturally owned by the Great Khan himself.I believe that with the continuous development of the economy, the power gap between the Grai family that has cities providing taxes and the domestic lords will become wider and wider, and eventually it will be so large that others are completely desperate.In this regard, the people on the east bank made it very clear to the Great Khan himself that the system of the nomadic country is backward. Don’t look at the fact that they have won two battles with the Russians, but they are acting recklessly and commanding blindly.If the Crimean Khanate does not carry out painful reforms and reform the existing crude system into a new system that is more suitable for the times, it will be conquered by the Russians sooner or later in the future.

Great Khan is wise.He accepted the suggestions of the people on the east coast, but he also carried out reforms very carefully, fearing that too drastic measures would cause opposition from nobles or chiefs, causing turmoil in the country, which would only make the Russians cheaper.Fortunately, they still have time, and the Russians are also carrying out drastic social reforms, including taking power from the nobles, establishing a more efficient tax system, introducing advanced Western technology, improving the treatment of serfs, etc., none of which are easy thing.In other words, both sides have their own troubles. The Crimean Khanate wants to change the current mixed dual system of nomadism and feudalism into a centralized kingdom system. Russia faces more problems. In short, there is still room for improvement. place.

Compared with the Crimean Khanate, the system of the Oirat Mongols, who had entered the North Caucasus region on a large scale, was far behind.They are basically a traditional Mongolian nomadic regime, which implements the ancient leader's deliberation system. The authority of the Great Khan is not absolute, it all depends on his own power and personality.It is also because of this that every time the Mongolian Khan dies, there will be a bloodbath, and the country may face splitting. Smarter than them.

Another point is that the production and management methods of the Oirat Mongols are mainly based on animal husbandry, which does not produce much economic benefits, and the most important thing is that this economic model cannot produce larger cities!Without cities, there would be no large-scale handicraft industry, and naturally no more advanced machine industry would evolve.Now Russia already has a certain amount of factory industry, and the handicraft workshops are spread across many provinces. Their production capacity is not known to be much stronger than that of the Mongols.Even if the Oirat Mongols now occupy the North Caucasus region with their favorable situation, in the future when the gap in strength between them and the Russians becomes wider and wider, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not be recaptured by others.

Sheng Dehong, who was originally an intelligence officer, has recently carefully studied all the materials of the Oirat Mongols. He feels that the "survivability" of this country is really not good. There are big problems in both aspects and cohesion.Compared with them, the situation of the Crimean Khanate, which has been a semi-nomadic and semi-feudal system for many years, is much better, at least it is easier to reform.

"The capital division? Hehe! The reform of the Crimean Khanate has been staggering, and local opposition is also loud. Fortunately, Grail Khan has this new army in hand, otherwise the country may go to Where is it? The Capital Division is the Khan's most important unit, and most of the equipment we sold is in the hands of this unit. It is not only a sharp weapon against the Russians, but also a good opponent for suppressing the country. Lai's guts." After hearing Sheng Dehong's introduction that this is a member of the Capital Division, Wu Yifei nodded immediately.He was only on his way along the way, and didn't ask the number of this unit. He suddenly heard the word "Capital Division", and turned his eyes away.

"People with vested interests will not easily give up their power and benefits. If Grail Khan insists on in-depth reforms, the country will continue to be turbulent, and there may be people rebelling. This is all the fault of their rotten system. There is no solution. Yes, we can only see if it can be flattened one by one. If it can, then this country is still worth seeing. If the reform fails, then basically it can only wait for death. Medieval countries, the ability to survive in this world of great controversy is too great. Poor." Sheng Dehong shook his head, and said in a worried tone: "The reform is more difficult in Haidong. The Oirat Mongols' reform motivation is much weaker than that of the Tatars. They feel that they are very prestigious now. Hit all parties, but you don’t know that the crisis is coming.”

"When the Russians put enough pressure on them, they will always be touched." Wu Yifei said.

"I hope they will have this opportunity at that time." Sheng Dehong sighed and said, "Commander Wu, come with me to the North Caucasus after a while. I want to meet Ayuqi Khan. Judging from the information, he seems to be I want to go back to the hometown of Moxi Mongolia. Now Galdan’s old nest has been copied by his nephew, and he will never be able to return to the Junggar Khanate. Ayuqi Khan’s enemies are gone. I am worried that his mind will come alive and he wants to have a family Returning to the east, that's your and my dereliction of duty."

"He dares!" Wu Yifei immediately widened his eyes when he heard that, and said, "Do you really think his rule is like an iron barrel? If he really has this intention, let's make him realize that some people have to listen to what they say, otherwise the consequences will be severe." Very serious!"

"It's good to have this kind of spirit." Sheng Dehong smiled when he heard the words, and said, "We didn't have a lot of capital in the game we played here in the Black Sea. Well, the cards in our hand are not very good, but we can't I am discouraged, and I have to figure out how to play this bad card. Crimea and Oirat Mongolia, how many people are there in total? More than 100 million! Russia is more than ten times their strength, and the power gap is huge. Well, all I can say is try my best.”

"Ambassador Sheng, there are more than 100 million people! There are more than 150 million people in Western Ukraine!" Wu Yifei reminded.

"Huh? Commander Wu, if you say that, do you have any thoughts about West Ukraine?" Sheng Dehong asked.

"It's just a superficial thought." Wu Yifei nodded, and said, "Western Ukraine has a vast territory and a large population. The most important thing is that they don't come from Russia all the way, and the possibility of seeking refuge is not too great unless they really arrive. The end of the mountain. My idea is that after the original Khmelnytsky of Western Ukraine was executed, the Ottoman Sultan handed him over to the Tatars, but the Tatars and the Cossacks are feuds. How can this be possible? Good! Therefore, I think it is better to go back to the past, let Western Ukraine become independent from the Crimean Tatars again, establish a regime, and let them manage themselves, anyway, it is almost the same now. In this way, it should It will be much better than letting the Tatars blindly control them, and they can also do more to deal with the Russians. Ambassador Sheng, I think you can work hard on this matter. The Ottomans actually don’t care. The Tatars should not be too resistant, and they didn't get much benefit from Western Ukraine."

"I still have to think about it." Sheng Dehong hesitated and didn't answer directly.

(End of this chapter)