Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 724 From South to North ([-])

Captain Li Renjun was woken up early this morning because his subordinates came down to report to him that they captured a probing spy in the wild last night.But after interrogation by intelligence officers, they discovered that the so-called "spies" were not Manchurians at all, but Russians.Li Renjun was very interested after hearing this, so he decided to organize the second interrogation of the spy, and he himself will also observe it in person.

The so-called spy who was captured must have been "warmly entertained" by intelligence officers on the east coast last night. At this time, there were still many obvious bruises on the corners of his mouth and eye sockets, and there were clotted blood scabs on his hair, and he looked rather depressed.A Russian-speaking gendarme picked up the spy and started interrogating him. Several other gendarmes assisted him. In addition, another person stood beside Li Renjun, recording and dictating the translation.

"Sovereign of All Rus, Tsar, servant of Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of Moscow, loyal subordinate of Warlord Dmitry Andreyevich Franzbekov, from Yakutia Yerofi Pavlov, Cossack of Cossack, salutes you..." As the military police translated the words of the spy, Li Renjun probably understood what was going on.

It turned out that this was a small team of a dozen or so Cossacks who fled from Yakutsk to the vicinity to collect taxes and scout intelligence. The confluence of the Ussuri River and the Amur River was occupied by an army of unknown origin.Those soldiers in yellow clothes were well-equipped, and they broke through several stockades in a row, burned, killed, and looted wantonly. Migrate north to settle in their designated places further downstream.

Pavlov and the others, who originally planned to go downstream to collect taxes, were greatly disappointed when they heard the news, but they still planned to try their luck there, at least to see the situation first, and go back so they could report to their superiors what happened here so that they failed to complete the tax task of three hundred rubles.But their luck was obviously bad, and then something happened. A Cossack was killed by a hunter from the Heilongjiang security regiment who was watching the night, Pavlov himself was injured and arrested, and the others disappeared without a trace.

Li Renjun, who understood what was going on, immediately lost interest in listening. After ordering the Cossack to be treated for his injuries and properly locked up, Captain Li Renjun left the cell, ready to inspect the construction of the camp.Today is the beginning of September, and the weather will turn cold in more than a month. The construction of Boli Village must be completed as soon as possible.

Boli Village is said to be a village, but it is actually a collection of three villages not far apart.The people on the east bank rebuilt and reinforced the largest and most well-equipped stockade in the middle, and then occupied it as a place where the main force is garrisoned. To collect taxes in the upper reaches—in fact, the more important thing is to expand the influence of the East Bank and weaken the ruling foundation of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

As for the construction of Boli Village, it couldn't be simpler.East coast people lack almost everything in the Blackwater area, but there is no shortage of people.A while ago, Heishui Port had dispatched a "huge" fleet of more than 20 sailing fishing boats to transport a large number of supplies and personnel to Gonghezhai and Bolizhai.Among them, Bolizhai received a quota of 200 young and strong Ming people. Among these people, [-] were retired soldiers from the East Bank.

After these people arrive, they will first use some of the construction materials brought in to speed up the construction. First, build some artillery emplacements. In addition, the docks also need to be tidied up, and the city walls also need to be reinforced. In short, there are a lot of things to do.Li Renjun planned to stay here until mid-October, try to collect as many supplies as possible for the left-behind people in Boli Village, including food, and then lead the army back to Heishui Port.

But his plan was destined to be disrupted.No, he had just come out of the cell when an officer brought him shocking news: a troop with more than 60 flat-bottomed boats on the upper reaches of the Ussuri River was heading northward. There are also a considerable number of cavalry accompanying the action on the bank. They are likely to be Manchurians, and the target is almost certain to be their group of yellow-clothed thieves who are having fun in the place where the two rivers meet.

Li Renjun, who heard the news, did not dare to neglect, and immediately ordered the army's 105th company, which was resting in the village, to assemble, and all officers and soldiers canceled their vacations and entered a state of combat readiness.At the same time, more than 2 temple street garrison soldiers stationed in No. 200 main village also began to patrol the city, divided into 1 Heishui garrison soldiers stationed in No. 3 and No. 300 villages, and more than [-] Heilongjiang security guards on rotation. The regiment soldiers also entered a state of combat readiness, closely guarding against possible enemies nearby.The only navy gunboat docked at the pier was immediately sent out to the upper reaches of Heilongjiang to find the main force of the Heilongjiang Security Regiment and nearly a thousand field artillerymen on the east coast who were attacking there.

In addition, some local native tribes who took refuge in the East Bank volunteered to send cavalry to patrol the upper reaches of the Ussuri River to assist a small number of East Bank cavalry in reconnaissance of the enemy.For these Hezhe and Daur people, Li Renjun still trusts them, because the people from the east bank helped them wipe out the feuding tribes that had been fighting with them for many years, and the news that Bogd Khan's troops attacked from the upper reaches of the Ussuri River was originally from the They have learned it everywhere, so they are relatively reliable people.

After the order was issued, the ministries immediately began to work nervously.Reinforce the city walls, build artillery emplacements, and even Captain Li Renjun ordered to open the newly built arsenal, and take the bows, spears, arrows, armor, etc. (all captured from the Qing army on the Shandong battlefield) Come out and arm the five hundred newly arrived men.

The tense operation lasted for five days. When the first ray of morning light rose from the eastern horizon on September 9, a troop with messy uniforms and different equipment and shapes appeared in the sight of the people on the east coast.

The Manchurians are coming!At this time, there was no need for the officers to urge them, and everyone was more vigilant, especially those young men who had been transported here recently. Their knuckles holding the spear shafts turned white, which showed the tension in their hearts.Most of these people were born in Shandong. They had heard about the prestige of the Eight Banners soldiers a long time ago. Some of them even saw the Tartars burning, killing and looting in Shandong.Fortunately, they are now defending the city, and there are relatively calm Blackwater garrison soldiers nearby to assist them, so it is not as if they are going to be defeated.

At this time Li Renjun also raised his binoculars and looked forward. This army seemed to be undoubtedly the Qing army at this time.This can be seen from the Manchuria bordered blue flags they raised, and the appearance of a large number of Eight Banners armored soldiers in foam-stitched cotton armor and lightning rods on their heads is even more evidence of this fact.

There is no need to say anything more.Li Renjun pointed forward with his command saber, and the two 2-pound cannons placed on the head of the main walled city of No. 8 began a calibration test: one of the two shells missed, and the other hit the river in the Qing army's flat-bottomed boat fleet. , Splashed a large canopy of water, and at the same time caused a lot of confusion in the Qing army's formation.

However, two artillery pieces could not prevent the Qing army from completing the landing operation, and at this time they also accelerated their actions. A cavalry team of more than 200 people also stabbed along the river bank to the three east bank walls not far away. , closely guarding against possible cavalry units on the east coast.In addition, they also sent two envoys from Daur who rode on horseback and shouted "the will of Sham Shah Khan (Emperor Shunzhi)" towards the No. 2 main village, but Li Renjun ignored them at all. I just blindly ordered all the ministries to prepare for battle and fight this Qing army to the end.

After tossing for a while, the Qing army may have discovered that this group of enemies could not communicate at all, and it may have also confirmed that they were the notorious yellow-clothed thieves, so they immediately stopped any attempts to recruit and surrender. The siege of the three walled cities began.Their army strength is fully twice that of the people on the east bank, including more than 2200 soldiers from the Xianglan Banner, more than [-] soldiers from the tribes around Ningguta, and the Daur, Hezhe, and Oroqen tribesmen who gathered along the way. More than [-] people, in addition to the [-] soldiers sent by Huerha, Sauron and other ministries conquered by Huang Taiji to help the battle, the total number should be about [-], including two small-caliber Frang machine guns and various bird guns There are more than fifty branches, and the lineup is considered strong in the Heilongjiang River Basin.

As their opponents, the people from the East Bank, the total strength of the three fortresses at this time is about 1100, which is exactly half of the Qing army.Among them, the largest No. 2 main village is stationed with all the 105th company of the army and 260 soldiers of the Temple Street garrison. The soldiers of the Temple Street garrison have average combat effectiveness, but their equipment is not bad. There are 1 soldiers of the Heishui Garrison stationed in the No. 3 stockade on the opposite side, and 320 officers and soldiers of the Heilongjiang Security Regiment are stationed in the No. 1100 stockade in the northwest, with a total strength of about 200.In addition, the people on the East Bank still have about 1 newly transported young men (3 of whom are retired military men with combat experience). These people are stationed in two villages [-] and [-]. Cold weapons were distributed to assist in defending the city.

The battle soon began.The Qing army, which lacked siege equipment, immediately pushed up two small-caliber Fran cannons, aiming at weak places such as the gate of the village, intending to blast a passage into the city.However, their small-caliber, short-barreled artillery is a joke in the eyes of the people on the east coast. With this kind of artillery, even if they fire for a month, they will not be able to blast the walls and gates made of double-layered solid logs. Not to mention that there is a thick layer of soil on the city wall and the gate of the village as a buffer.For this kind of walled city, without the 8-pound field cannon of the people from the east coast, it is impossible to defeat it head-on!

Moreover, although most of the artillerymen on the east coast had gone out with the Heilongjiang Security Regiment, the two 8-pound guns left behind were not at the mercy of others. The artillery brothers quickly adjusted the shooting parameters under Li Renjun's order and started Shooting at the two Fran cannons of the Qing army, the intention was to first knock out the opponent's most threatening weapon to the people on the east coast.

(End of this chapter)