Dominate the Country

Waves washed over the Osprey 1 expedition ship, and the red flag whistled in the sea breeze.

The Russian stronghold on the shore has sounded the alarm for battle, but the formation composed of two medium-sized Western-style sailing ships and a small clipper-bow warship on the sea has not yet determined where to start. Even if the strength is in a crushing state, if there are only a few people left, fewer people will die. This operation did not involve the Navy taking the blame; it was completely an independent operation of the Overseas Exploration Bureau. They just got five retired warships from the Navy not long ago!

And this is Trinity Bay on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The largest Russian stronghold in Alaska.

It has been two years since the First Overseas Exploration Bureau of Beilu was established. It came into contact with the ice and snow world of Alaska when it was founded. The navy captured a Russian navigation chart during the battle on Sakhalin Island. The location and distance of the Aleutian Islands were clearly marked on it. Follow the Aleutian Islands The archipelago is directly in sight of the North American continent, including several footholds built here by the Russians over the years.

Thirty-five years ago, as soon as Elizabeth I ascended the throne of the Tsar, she sent the Danish Bering and the Russian Chirikov to explore the Far Eastern waters. During this expedition, from which the Bering Strait was named, the Russians took a huge step further east, seeing North America. During the event, after the fleet was separated in a storm, Chirikov was lucky enough to discover several islands in the east, and Bering was lucky enough to discover several islands in the west. A route to the North American continent unveiled itself to the Russians. After Siberian hunters learned that the area was rich in fur animals, they flocked to the Commander Islands, and then gradually moved eastward, crossing the Aleutian Islands to the mainland. In this way, Russia had a foothold in North America. Although the Russian conquests and massacres almost wiped out the indigenous Aleuts in just a few decades.

But now these have become the wedding clothes they made for the Fuhan Army.

It's just that the Fuhan Navy Navy two years ago did not directly send troops to clear out a series of Russian strongholds in Alaska, because in Chen Ming's view, this piece of meat has already fallen into his own bowl, and he can eat it whenever he wants. There is no risk at all whether you eat early or late. Before eating the entire Alaska, China should clear out a series of Russian strongholds on the coast of Northeast Asia, and also conduct a detailed exploration of the entire Bering Strait, its products, its climate, and its ocean currents.

In the following two years, although the ships of the Overseas Exploration Service arrived in the Arctic Circle and Alaska, these were all expeditions and reconnaissance. At that time, the navy's attention was focused on Kamchatka and the land north of the Transxinganling Mountains. All activities of the Overseas Exploration Bureau relied entirely on the help of the navy. The latter's eyes did not turn to Alaska, but swept back and forth along the coast or It is a Russian settlement offshore, and the overseas exploration bureau has nothing to do. However, the exploration ship brought back polar bears, Arctic hares, Arctic wolves and Arctic foxes, which are also white, for Chen Ming, because white animals in China always look like that. It once caused a nationwide sensation. Even though those animals died quickly because they could not bear the warm climate in Nanjing, in Chen Ming's eyes, it could only be regarded as a gimmick. But soon, a wave of "hunting for white skin" swept across China, making Chen Ming instantly realize that this was a great opportunity. ‘White’ fur can attract the attention of all Chinese people! The imperial court can also use its power to guide more people to flock to the Arctic Circle.

Chen Ming ordered Beihai Company to let Chen Jigong organize another fur goods company. Some retired soldiers and experienced hunters were gathered together by the Beihai Company, which was first-come-first-served, and sent to the Arctic Circle in an organized manner to hunt animals and obtain their skins, making huge profits. The direct impact is to intensify the Arctic craze in China. Even though China itself does not have a "full-time" hunter group like Russia, in just over a year, thousands of people took the initiative to go to the Great North. Although some of them never reached the North Pole, they settled on Sakhalin.

A large number of polar bear skins, Arctic fox skins, Arctic wolf skins, Arctic rabbit skins, seal skins, sea otter skins, etc. have appeared in the domestic market since last autumn and winter. Among them, arctic fox skin and sea otter skin are extremely popular!

In the next two years, the Fuhan Army took a step further to expel the remaining Manchu forces in the Northeast and purge the entire North Korea, but these were not important to the Overseas Exploration Bureau. The important thing is that they finally waited for their own warships, and waited for five second-hand ships transferred from the military.

With these ships, they can completely get rid of the navy's control and do it independently. Like now.

Three second-hand warships carry more than 200 hunters, each of whom has signed an agreement before. In addition to the Overseas Exploration Bureau, this agreement is also endorsed by the North Sea Company, which has a huge influence in the Arctic Circle. It can be said that the Overseas Exploration Bureau Behind this action of the Bureau, there is a huge secret hand of Beihai Company. The three warships ran all the way along the Aleutian Islands to Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island. This is the largest and most important stronghold of the Russians in Alaska. It is not only a resting place for many hunters, but also the headquarters of the Russian Fur Trading Company, which occupies a very important position in the economic field.

The three warships are now slowly sailing on the sea some distance away from Sansheng Bay, outside the range of the Russian fort artillery. Commander Chai Daji carefully observed the layout of the fort in Sansheng Bay.

As a veteran who had been in the Qing army for many years, after Chai Daji surrendered to the new dynasty, even though he had been in the military academy system and had never really fought a war, his combat experience was not comparable to that of a rookie. Moreover, in the past few years in the military academy, in order to keep up with the trend of the times, he had been on foreign sailing ships, sailed in the South China Sea with training ships, and seen the Arctic Circle. Chai Daji had a broad vision and did not think it would be difficult to capture Sansheng Bay. The Russians' artillery here was probably built in the last two years. Not to mention whether it was strong or not, they had not completely cleared the dense woods around the artillery.

Is the blank area around the artillery thirty feet long?

If someone touches the vicinity of the artillery from the side, the bullet can directly threaten the artillery.

Of course, the continuous high mountains and dense forests here also blocked the road to attack from the side to a certain extent. Chai Daji could have someone wade through the woods to make a path, but he felt that it would be too much trouble. And the casualties would not be less than the frontal attack. Fighting in the woods is the specialty of Russian hunters.

"We have an absolute advantage in firepower and manpower." Are there 200 Russians in Sansheng Bay? There are less than 100 people who can hold guns, right? So a direct attack is the best. "Let's launch a frontal attack, destroy the artillery and land directly in small boats." There was no merchant ship in the port, which made Chai Daji very regretful.

The biggest gain of the Overseas Exploration Bureau in the past two years was the capture of a Russian merchant ship in the Kamchatka Peninsula, which was full of furs, making the Overseas Exploration Bureau very happy. "Be careful of Russian warehouses during artillery bombardment and land attack. Try to protect the safety of the warehouse."

The opinions were unified, and Chai Daji formally issued an attack order. The captains of Osprey No. 2 and No. 5 [Clipper Bow] ships took a small boat back to their respective warships.

Soon, when Osprey No. 1 and No. 2 warships were about a mile away from the port, the Russian artillery on the shore opened fire.

Six shells streaked through the sky, scattered around the two leading warships, creating several small water columns, and the counterattacks of Osprey No. 1 and No. 2 followed.

"Boom boom boom..." Gun smoke filled the entire hull.

Twenty or thirty shells fired one after another fell around the artillery platform. The artillery fire on the sea was even less accurate than on land. But every Russian knew that they would not be the winners of this battle. The gap in strength between the two sides was too big.

The clipper warship passed through the middle of the two warships like a sharp arrow. When it was less than 300 meters away from the shore, it cleverly crossed a 90-degree arc. At the same time, two rockets aimed at the artillery platform were ejected from the clipper warship...

The artillery battle lasted less than half an hour, and small boats were released from the three warships. Hunters in gray-green clothes rowed their boats towards the Sanya Bay Pier.

On the deck of the warship behind them, the sailors used the pulleys and hoists to lift the cannons, gunpowder barrels, shells, grenades, and reinforced iron shields. The latter belonged to the category of civilian equipment, made of two-centimeter-thick iron plates and solid wood boards, weighing no less than 60 kilograms. The defensive power may not be much worse than the shields in the army, but it is much heavier. It can withstand close-range shooting of bullets!

Each small boat carries about ten hunters. After arriving at the port, they line up and stand guard at the command of their respective captains. Many of these hunters are veterans of the Fu Han Army. Although they are hunters, their combat effectiveness is not bad. Guard the landing site and wait for the follow-up troops to catch up.

"Bang! Bang!" The double-sided muskets fired. The Russians really didn't have more cannons. There were no new Russian cannons behind the dense trees and mounds on both sides of the port. So the Russians' resistance immediately failed after several cannons of the Exploration Bureau were transported to the shore.

The shells plowed the Russian front, countless fragments flew, and the Russians immediately fell to the ground.

There is no Russian government agency in Sansheng Bay, and the highest authority is the headquarters of the fur trader.

Now the remaining Russians in Sansheng Bay gathered here, and the few unfortunate fur traders who happened to be in Sansheng Bay were even more confused.

Manager Sergeyevich Valentsov looked expressionlessly at the Chinese who crossed the port and approached the residential area outside, put away the monocular telescope, and then said to a fat middle-aged man beside him: "Varisi, it's time to decide the final fate. Sansheng Bay has no power to resist. We can only surrender now." The only force was beaten to the ground in the battle just now. The thirty or forty corpses lying in the port area represent the resistance of Sansheng Bay. Now they can only surrender.

The middle-aged man Valisi was obviously speechless. His identity was more special. He was born in a noble family in St. Petersburg, although he himself was only a baron with a low title. If possible, Sergeyevich Valentsov would never want to see a nobleman captured by the Chinese in the fur trader's headquarters, but he was powerless at the moment.

Varisi pushed a pistol at hand to the center of the long table and accepted this fate. "The Chinese are putting pressure on St. Petersburg. They came to Alaska not to escalate the war, but to let St. Petersburg see the loss of Russian wealth. Order surrender, I think our lives should be guaranteed."

When faced with irresistible external forces, surrender is not a shameful choice for the West. Of course, if they choose to fight bravely to the last man, every one of them will become a hero of Russia.

The Fuhan Army's campaign to clean up the remaining Manchu Qing forces has been going on for three years.

Unlike the Mongols back then, whether it was the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the northwest or the main force of the Eight Banners in the northeast, their choice for the Fuhan Army was to escape.

In the Battle of the Great Northwest, the Fuhan Army has captured the nine cities of Ili, but it is still far away from annihilating the Yongrong Group. The latter has now moved to the area west of Balkhash Lake, although the total number of troops and civilians under Yongrong is less than 20,000. The man, however, was like an unbeatable Xiaoqiang, completely disgusting Chen Han.

The war situation in the Northeast has also made great progress. After the Fuhan Army captured Shengjing and renamed it Liaodong, the army continued its efforts. Especially after the reorganization of the entire army last year, the Fuhan Army concentrated the strength of two divisions and swept across Jilin. The entire Ningguta capital area was captured by the Fuhan army, more than 300,000 Korean slaves were rescued, and no less than this number of Eight Banners people were captured.

But Yongxun fled directly to Heilongjiang City, which is Aihui. There are many Eight Banners people hiding in the mountains and dense forests in Jilin and Shengjing, including a few sporadic bandits, including Wang Zhanqing. As well as the subsequent Korean campaign conducted by Chen Han, they greatly delayed the progress of the Fuhan Army.

Wang Zhanqing was originally a man sent by the secret camp to the Northeast. There were several others who went with him, but the others were unlucky. In the end, only Wang Zhanqing was left. His face was also sprayed by a cannon, and he got Wang Mazi. nickname. The Fuhan Army captured Shengjing and then marched into Jilin. Wang Zhanqing, who was driven from Shengjing to Jilin by the Eight Banners, happily came to the organization to report on his work. But Wang Zhanqing didn't know that a certain inconspicuous minion in his team was the secret line of the secret camp, always secretly monitoring everything Wang Zhanqing did. Although this guy has no collusion with the Manchus, he is definitely not a good person. Too many innocent lives have been contaminated, and the smell of blood on the hands can no longer be washed away.

As a result, Wang Zhanqing was beaten so hard by the 'Iron Fist of Justice' that he almost fell into a pit and couldn't get up. It was the people sent by the National Security Bureau to clean up the house who underestimated Wang Zhanqing's vigilance and allowed him to escape with his life. However, all the backbone of Wang Zhanqing's bandits have been wiped out, and now they are hiding in Shanwowo Village. It is difficult for the local government to take him down for a while, but it is also difficult for Wang Zhanqing to make a comeback.

Although Yongxun still has a relatively strong team in his hands, this team will only become weaker and weaker as time goes by. After escaping from Shenyang to Jilin, and then from Jilin to Heilongjiang, how much ammunition does Yongxun have left in his hands? How many cannons does he have left?

Hot weapons troops are not cold weapons troops. Without supplies, muskets and artillery are worse than bows, arrows and knives. Can Russia be responsible for the supply and demand of ammunition for the Eight Banners in the distant Far East? At least hundreds of thousands of Eight Banners poured into the outer Northeast. Can they really survive?

Moreover, with the loss of Lake Baikal, the Russian power in the Far East has become weaker and weaker. If the Russians had not suppressed the Pugachev uprising by chance, whipped thousands of captured rebels and sent them to Siberia, they would have used these people The flesh and blood withstood the Fuhan Army's follow-up attack on Western Siberia after the victory in the Battle of Lake Baikal. Russia may have knelt down long ago. If the Eight Banners all retreated to the north of the Outer Xing'an Mountains, perhaps the Eight Banners would recall the wildness of the boar-skin era overnight and follow the path taken by the Russians, bypassing Lake Baikal and entering further west of Lake Baikal...

So after this long-distance migration is over, how many people will be left in the Eight Banners?

The Fuhan Army's troops stationed around Lake Baikal have reached 10,000 people. Although more than half of the soldiers are Mongolians from Outer Mongolia and Buryatia recruited by Chen Han with high treatment, this powerful force poses a serious threat to Baikal, Russia. The security of the area west of the lake also directly hinders the exchanges between Russia's East and West Siberia.

The Chinese are also laying a horse-drawn carriage track between Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Although this project is far from completed, it makes the whole of Russia feel like a dagger is stuck in its belly. This is too bad!

Russia's interest losses have been huge.

This war not only killed thousands of Slavs, caused Russia to lose the beautiful Lake Baikal, caused Russia to lose its trade interests with China, and also caused Russia to lose most of its profits from fur goods. Opposition to the war was growing in St. Petersburg, something Varisi knew about, having only received a letter from his cousin last month.

Now he thought that the anti-war voices in St. Petersburg must be even louder. Because so much time had passed from when this letter was written to when it was delivered to him. "Now that the Chinese have officially captured Alaska, the news will be sent back to Russia, which will add a heavy weight to the anti-war forces in St. Petersburg."

"Although Russia can defeat the decadent Ottomans, compared to the distant east and compared to this ancient empire with a population of 200 million, its strength is still too weak..." Varissini sighed inwardly. This is a powerful empire with a standing army of one million.