Dominate the Country

It is still very cold in March and April here on the border of Outer Mongolia. Even after a night, you can still see a field of white snow when you open the door the next day. The snow in many shady places has not melted yet. Whether it is the border guards or the police, they all wear thick cotton clothes. If you go out for patrol and trekking, leather clothes are the best choice here.

Gao Shida also followed the local customs. He wore a thin cotton coat inside and a brown bearskin coat outside. Surrounded by several soldiers, he rode to the Hulunbuir Second Detachment Headquarters.

The soldiers on duty in front of the door hurriedly came to greet him, and a sergeant greeted him and said, "Master Gao, you have worked hard all the way. This time, you must have gained a lot."

Gao Shida's face, which was stiffened by the cold wind, showed a happy smile, "No wonder your detachment officer asked you to guard the gate. You are really smart, old boy." Gao Shida traveled between Hulunbuir and Manzhouli more than once or twice. He almost called out the names of the soldiers guarding the gate of the Second Detachment Headquarters one by one. This sergeant is said to be a Mongolian, but now he has a formal Chinese name, Song Yun.

Although he is just a small sergeant, he can write and draw, and he can also read the eyes. He attracted Gao Shida's attention after just a few meetings. Gao Shida felt that it was a pity for him to be a small sergeant in the second detachment. He should go to their national security. Even if he can only be an internal civilian, it is not in vain for Song Yun's mouth and hands.

The soldiers following Gao Shida held their heads high. This time Gao Shida led the team down and caught a big fish. And he also brought a group of banner slaves who fled south with the secret line.

This is all credit!

"Our detachment officer is waiting for Mr. Gao to come over." Song Yun said with a smile. His real name is Marat Song Yun. He was an ordinary Mongolian Eight Banners before, but for his family, he surrendered voluntarily and made great contributions, so he could become a member of the construction team supervisor of Hulunbuir Military Camp, and then joined the Border Defense Corps.

Although he almost escaped the punishment of the labor camp with his "meritorious performance", Song Jun knew that he would never leave the bitter cold land of Northeast China in his lifetime.

Before becoming an ordinary banner soldier, Song Jun was a Lifanyuan scribe from the Mongolian Eight Banners. He was fortunate to meet Yongsheng and was kicked by Yongsheng in the Danbo Jingcheng Hall of the Rehe Palace. His head hit the ground with a "bang" and blood immediately flowed down.

As for such a person who appeared here with such a "major meritorious" performance, Song Jun didn't want to recall it. It was the darkest and blackest period of his life.

"Where is your Lord Jiang? Tell him to come to the meeting room quickly." Gao Shida had a new clue when he went down to catch the mouse this time, and his face was full of joy that could not be concealed.

...

At the same time that Gao Shida appeared in the Manchuria area, the reaction he involved had already touched the entire Russian Far East.

The smuggling routes in Manchuria were destroyed, and the food, ironware, and gunpowder that could have been obtained in the north were gone. This had a reaction on the Russian territory - a large number of fugitives appeared in the bannermen settled in the Nerchinsk area corresponding to the Manchuria area.

The Nerchinsk area, hundreds of miles away from Manchuria, is a very important land for Russia. It is rich in materials. In the past, it was one of the Sino-Russian trade centers. It is said that fifty farmers caught 4,000 wild sheep a day. Of course, it is impossible now. After the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk between Russia and the Qing Dynasty, the influx of immigrants, mainly exiles, and the discovery of the Nerchinsk silver mine made it the main town in Trans-Baikal. Since the discovery of the silver deposits in Nerchinsk, the reserves have always been among the best in Russia. It is said that in the 21st century, this is still the most important silver producing area in Russia.

In history, the completion of the Siberian Railway allowed Chita to replace Nerchinsk. But in this era, this is the political, economic and military center of the Russian coastal region.

It is the seat of the governor's jurisdiction along the Amur River.

The governor is still Baron Faraleyev. He did not make any big mistakes during the war, but the governor of the Trans-Baikal Province, Akimovich, was not so lucky. He was transferred back to St. Petersburg to sit on the bench.

As the central city of Russia north of the Greater Khingan Range, the population of Nerchinsk has exceeded 50,000, which is definitely a huge number in the Outer Northeast. In the past, there were not so many Russians in the whole Siberia. So most of the people in this number are bannermen, but their appearance also put Nerchinsk's animal husbandry and mining development on the fast track.

The silver produced by the latter was not transported back to St. Petersburg, but most of it was turned into funds for the smuggling network. These silvers were converted into the food, gunpowder, cloth and ironware they urgently needed.

Now a young man with a cold appearance appeared in the residence of Yongcheng in Nerchinsk, which is a relatively gorgeous building called the Jing Palace.

Fu Kang'an strode towards the palace, while a group of Qing soldiers followed him into the next room. The blazing fire immediately made these people moan comfortably.

"It's better to follow the emperor. There is still broth to drink at this time." Two Qing soldiers came over to guard the door, one holding a big pot and the other holding a plate of black bread.

Fu Kang'an's guard captain took a full bowl of mutton soup and immediately drank a big mouthful. He raised his head and whimpered because it was so hot, and he was reluctant to spit out a drop of broth.

The black bread in the imperial palace is not as good as the Russian black bread in the 21st century.

The latter has become a famous product in Russia, and it has been confirmed by experts that eating that thing can prevent diabetes. Now the black bread in the imperial palace is synonymous with unpalatable and filling the stomach. The Eight Banners would rather eat potatoes than this kind of bread. But potatoes are not common, and there are more black bread.

The flour is mixed with the bran such as the cortex, germ, endosperm and a small amount of endosperm of wheat that are ground down during the milling process. In Chinese terms, wheat bran, that is wheat bran. If this bread is compared to steamed buns, then this kind of black flour with wheat bran is absolutely something that only the poor can eat. Otherwise, who would add wheat bran to it? And it tastes sour.

But when the stomach is really croaking, even this kind of black bread is precious. Fu Kang'an's guards can only get a bowl of broth and a piece of black bread.

Nerchinsk is the livestock center of the Russians in the coastal area. It is not uncommon to drink mutton soup, but Nerchinsk, which is very close to Manchuria and has a large population, is also short of food.

As early as half a month ago, everyone here began to limit their rations. Even those bannermen who went down to the mines to dig silver pits every day could only get a pound of black bread every day, which could not even fill their own stomachs.

The captain of the guard drank the last broth and swallowed a large piece of mutton that he had kept in his mouth and chewed it, with a full face of satisfaction. When he opened his eyes and looked around, he suddenly saw that some of his soldiers were actually crying. Yes, these most elite, loyal and strong soldiers among the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty were actually crying...

The delicious feeling that echoed in his nerves in an instant was of course gone. The tears of the soldiers reminded the captain of the guard of the past period of time, and his eyes were wet.

"A pound of black bread, at least there is still a pound of black bread. Where are we..." The captain of the guard choked and suddenly couldn't speak.

The Qing army led by Fukangan was the elite left in the Qing New Army. At least the entire team of a thousand people were veterans, and everyone was equipped with a musket, and two small cannons were retained.

In the broken and embarrassed Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, such an armed force was already very strong.

The Eight Banners Imperial Guards around Yongsheng were only at the level of one man and one gun.

At present, the entire Eight Banners armed forces have less than 10,000 troops left, and even the Imperial Guards have only 2,000 left.

Fukangan's team is in the Greater Khingan Mountains [Yabnolov Mountains] line, which is a mountain range running from northeast to southwest. On the other side of the mountain is Lake Baikal, so this mountain range that was not taken seriously by the Russians in the past has become very important. Because Lake Baikal now belongs to the Chinese. In order for the Chinese army to not cross the mountains and directly encircle Nerchinsk when the next war starts, there must be troops to be placed there.

But the problem now is that as an army with an important task, Fukangan has no food. They couldn't even meet the standard of half a pound per person per day, and they were about to run out of food.

Fukangan didn't even have time to ask for instructions. After his last patience was exhausted, he rushed directly to Nerchinsk with his guards. He couldn't stand Baron Falaleyev's perfunctory response again and again - the food will be delivered soon, please be patient for a while. Fukangan couldn't stand it now.

There were palace maids leading the way in front. They still wore flags and stepped on pedestals. They seemed to be slimmer and walked more gracefully. Fukangan followed behind with his mouth and nose watching his heart, without even looking around.

The temperature in the palace was very warm. Fukangan took off his outer leather coat as soon as he entered the palace. He had been to this palace more than once, but he still felt very uncomfortable with the spiral staircases and fireplaces here.

Fukangan felt that there was no majestic atmosphere here at all.

Just like the children's laughter and women's voices that he could hear in his ears now. After staying in Russia for a while, the Qing emperor Yongsheng seemed to be greatly influenced by the Russians. Although Fukangan was far away in the Greater Khingan Mountains, he knew that there were two more Russian women in the harem of this emperor, and he also appeared at Russian dances several times, and had an unclear relationship with a married Russian woman, which made Fukangan absolutely ashamed.

At the same time, when Yongsheng met with ministers, he increasingly did not let women and children avoid foreign ministers. What kind of a disgrace is this? ?

Fortunately, the eldest brother has been sent to London, England.

Fukangan came to Nerchinsk, and he would eventually face Baron Faraleyev. His behavior itself was a shame, but Fukangan was not a brainless man. If he could, he would not want to completely tear his face with the Russians.

So he did not kill directly to Faraleyev's Governor's Mansion, but came to the Beijing Palace first.

Presumably, the Russians would immediately tell Faraleyev about his whereabouts, which would provide a buffer.

Yongcheng had Fukangan brought to the inner room. Fukangan saw a baby with yellowish hair and very white skin climbing on Yongcheng's legs. Yongcheng himself was sitting cross-legged on a couch, with a Russian woman kneeling beside him.

The couch and the floor were covered with thick carpets, and four plates of tempting desserts were placed on the couch. The room was filled with the smell of ginseng tea. Fukangan knew that Yongcheng was not in good health. When the Russians signed an agreement with Chen Ni to stop fighting and negotiate, he vomited blood and fell seriously ill.

Fukangan was not surprised that Yongsheng had some snacks here, only four plates. This place is difficult, Yongsheng is also the emperor of the Eight Banners. Fukangan is now very clear about the strength of the Russians. With the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, it is not worth mentioning to get the hinterland of the Russians, but at present, this barren land thousands of miles away is of great importance.

The Russians cannot strengthen their manpower in the East in the short term. They can only rely on the Eight Banners, so Fukangan believes that the Russians will not ignore his protest.

They are very important now. Compared with the Russians, they are irreplaceable. Unless the Russians are willing to completely give up their own East.

"Your Majesty, food, we must have food. The Eight Banners loyalists in Daxingan Mountain are all hungry. But the information I got is that Russia's own army has not even reduced a piece of cheese." This is a major reason for Fukangan's explosion.

In this piece of land in the East, the regular and irregular armed forces of the Russians are not as many as the Eight Banners soldiers. The two are forces standing in the same trench, but the treatment is too different.

Even if Fukangan's troops in Daxingan Mountain could get half the treatment of Russian soldiers, Fukangan would not come to Nerchinsk. But this expectation is impossible to achieve.

Then Fukangan would not be here!

Yongcheng showed an embarrassed look on his face, but the laughter of the child lying on his knees seemed to remind him of something. Yongcheng was also very angry with the Russians in his heart, but what he said in the end was: "Let's discuss it together tomorrow. You have worked hard on the way here, go down and rest first."

"Your Majesty, we can't keep going up to the Russians. Falaleyev is just testing us and deliberately making things difficult for us." Fukangan is not the only bannerman who is also suffering from the food crisis. What are the Russians trying to do? "Your Majesty, if we don't take a tough attitude, the Russians will push it further."

"Now it's still food, but it may be gunpowder in the future. The Russians just want to control everything we have in their hands. Your Majesty, we can't retreat again and again." The Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty cannot be strangled by the Russians. The Russians must win them over in the Far East, which is their biggest reliance in challenging the Russians.

Fu Kang'an didn't care about the Russian woman there at all. He knew that the woman could understand Chinese.

The Eight Banners needed not only a large amount of land but also a large amount of livestock to restore people's livelihood.

The land here is not precious, but the livestock is tightly held in the hands of the Russians. Fu Kang'an's real idea is to establish an independent small kingdom of the banner people, just like the Torghut people on the Volga River. This is the idea of ​​many powerful figures in the Eight Banners.

Instead of being like now, everyone depends on the Russians to survive, and the banner people's own "destiny" is also tightly held in the hands of the Russians. This is too passive.

In a word, the situation of the Eight Banners must change, and now the Eight Banners must fight.