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In the mid-14th century, the Principality of Moscow, which had become independent from the Golden Horde of the Mongol Empire, became increasingly powerful and annexed the surrounding small countries. In 1546, Grand Duke Ivan IV of Moscow was crowned Tsar, and the Russian Empire was born.
Counting from Ivan IV, now is the 7th Tsar. The current Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ascended the throne at the age of 17 and is only 21 years old now, very young.
Under the governance of the previous generation of tsars, although Russia had emerged from the "Age of Chaos" for thirty years, it was still full of hidden dangers overall.
In the north, there was a powerful enemy, Sweden, which occupied a large area of land north of the line from Pskov to Novgorod and along the Baltic Sea, and firmly controlled the trade route to Europe.
To the west were the arch-enemies of the Polish Empire and the Kingdom of Lithuania, which occupied a series of important cities headed by Smolensk and threatened Moscow at all times;
To the southwest is Ukraine, which was a vassal state of Poland. The Cossack cavalry from the Ukrainian steppes also posed a serious threat to Moscow, making the Tsarist Russia uneasy.
To the south, in the Caucasus direction, there was tremendous pressure from the Ottoman Empire.
Only the Don Cossacks on the southern steppes, although still independent of Tsarist Russia, were subject to Moscow's orders.
And now, the powerful Qin army is sweeping across eastern and Siberia and is approaching step by step. For Tsarist Russia, this has become the biggest threat.
Ivanov, who led 9,000 cavalrymen and galloped down the Volga River, regarded this military action as a battle to change the fate of Russia. So he dispatched 9,000 troops in one fell swoop, leaving only 1,000 people to guard the Tsaritsyn Fortress, which was determined to win.
The Kazakhs had been crippled. If this battle was successful, they could not only retake Eastern Siberia, but also seize the Kipchak Steppe. It was even possible to seize the Caucasus region before the Ottoman Empire could react.
This meant that the Russian Empire, which was surrounded by enemies on all sides, had a vast rear area. It no longer had to worry about threats from the east and south, and could concentrate its forces to fight against its arch-enemies, the Polish Empire and the Kingdom of Lithuania, on the steppes of East Europe.
If Russia wins this battle, there is no doubt that it will soar to the sky!
Perhaps, the one who is chasing for the throne does not see the mountain. Ivanov only thought about how brilliant the victory would be.
But he forgot that if he failed, the southern gate of the Russian Empire would be open to the Qin army, and the Don River Plain north of the Tsaritsyn Fortress would be flat. It would be difficult to stop the Qin army from advancing directly to the city of Moscow.
There are large tracts of forests on the right bank of the lower reaches of the Volga River; the lower left bank is grassland and semi-desert. In order to conceal their whereabouts, Ivanov's 9,000 cavalry first went south along the right bank, using the forest as cover, and rushed 200 miles in one night and half a day.
When they reached the downstream, 50 miles away from the Qin army fortifications, Ivanov left 4,000 troops under the command of his deputy general Sergeikov, preparing to raid the Qin army fortifications built on the right bank.
He himself led 5,000 men across the river, preparing to attack the grain transport team from Atyrau and the temporary fortifications on the left bank.
The Slavs were tough, and although they were exhausted from the long journey, they thought of the tempting fruits of victory, so they gritted their teeth and endured without complaining about the hardship or tiredness, and quickly crossed the left bank.
Ivanov kept encouraging his soldiers: "Everyone, work harder. The Qin's grain transport team is just ahead. If we rush over, we will definitely catch them off guard. If we seize this batch of grain, tens of thousands of Qin troops will surely collapse without a fight. Hurry up! Hurry up!"
Less than fifty miles southeast of the Ivanov crossing point, a grain transport team of 5,000 people was slowly moving in the desert. In addition to more than 200 carts, this team also had five or six thousand cattle.
This is because there is little food on the grassland, and the main food is cattle and sheep. The Qin army probably thought that sheep were too slow, so all they drove this time were cattle.
It was afternoon, and the sun was scorching in the desert, making people sweat profusely. The escort team of 5,000 Mongolian cavalry seemed a little anxious in such a hot weather, and they were cursing while driving the cattle.
Suddenly, sandstorms blew up from the northwest and northeast directions. Ivanov divided his 5,000 troops into two groups and launched a surprise attack on the Qin army's transport team.
"Ulla!"
"Ulla!"
"Ulla!"
The rumbling of horses' hooves stirred up endless smoke and dust, and the Slavs found that the shouting was like the raging sea, rushing towards them!
When the transport team saw the enemy coming from both sides, they were horrified and fled south screaming.
The carts carrying grain were dumped in a mess on the desert. The five or six thousand cattle were restless and began to run away in all directions without anyone to drive them away.
When the Slavs saw that the Qin army was so frightened that they abandoned their food and cattle and fled south, they were overjoyed. They waved their swords and guns, shouted loudly, and rushed forward in great excitement.
More than 200 carts scattered across the desert posed no obstacle to the Slavs. Five thousand cavalrymen galloped, chasing the Qin army fleeing southward.
At this moment, the sky suddenly thundered with anger. Boom! Boom! Boom! The large carts carrying grain exploded violently one after another. Balls of fire burst out, and the rumbling sounds continued, shaking the earth.
Half of the 5,000 Russian troops had already rushed past the carts, and the troops and horses that followed were blown to pieces. It was a horrible sight. The flying shrapnel and the fierce shock wave tore the horses apart and threw them into the air. Not to mention the Slavs on horseback, some of them were blown into pieces before they could even scream.
Hundreds of explosion points emitted thick smoke and dust. The thunderous explosions stunned the Slavs. Those who had already rushed through the traffic jam looked back and were so shocked by the hellish scene that they forgot to close their mouths and their minds went blank.
While they were still in extreme shock, the 5,000 Mongolian cavalry who had fled south had already rushed back like a gust of wind. Waves of arrows rose into the air and shot towards the Slavs. The sound of arrows penetrating into the flesh made the frightened Slavs fall off their horses one after another like dumplings.
Ivanov's horse was shot down, pinning him under the horse. The Mongolian cavalry rushed towards him, and before he could struggle, he was trampled in the chest by the iron cavalry, and blood and flesh splattered!
The situation suddenly reversed, and it was the Qin army's turn to desperately chase and kill the defeated Slavs. Smoke and dust billowed in the desert, the sound of hooves was like thunder, and there were bursts of screams.
The Slavs traveled more than 200 miles in one night and half a day. Their horses were exhausted. They could not escape far in the scorching desert. Their speed slowed down significantly, and some even foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground.
The Qin army was well-rested and took advantage of the situation, so they pursued and killed the enemy at high speed and with great pleasure.
Such a desert became a terrible nightmare for the Slavs. They could not run away, and there was no place to hide. They could not escape within ten miles and were almost wiped out.
Sergeikov on the right bank of the Volga River led 4,000 troops to raid the Qin army's fortifications, thinking that the Kazakhs, as prisoners, would definitely not want to fight.
Under their fierce attack, the fortifications built by the Kazakhs were quickly breached, and the Slavs rushed in like wolves and tigers.
However, what they did not know was that Li Ding had left behind 500 Qin soldiers dressed in Kazakh costumes. As soon as the Slavs rushed into the gap, they were shot by the Qin army's Type 68 rifles in three sections. The densely packed Slavs were crowded in the gap, and under the whistling bullets, they fell like wheat waves, with blood soaring into the sky and screams like waves.
The morale of the Kazakhs was indeed low to begin with. After their fortifications were breached, they were even anxious to flee. But when they saw the Slavs falling at the gap like wheat waves, their morale suddenly increased and they rushed out to engage in a fierce battle with the Slavs.
There is a key point that perhaps Sergeikov and others have overlooked, that is, this place is nearly 300 miles away from the Tsaritsyn Fortress, and less than 150 miles away from the city of Kota that Li Ding is attacking.
In other words, if the whereabouts of the Slavs could be known, the Qin army in Kota should have arrived by the time they arrived here.
The Kazakhs rushed out to fight with the Slavs for less than an incense stick of time, and a Qin army of 2,000 men appeared like a ghost behind the left of the Slavs, frightening the Slavs.
Just at this time, more defeated soldiers came to escape, and the news of the great defeat on the right bank came. With these two shocking news added together, thousands of Slavs no longer had the heart to fight.
As soon as Sergeikov ordered a retreat, two thousand ghostly Qin troops immediately attacked from the left rear. The Slavs were attacked from both sides and suffered a great defeat.
Their fate was similar to that of the Slavs on the left bank. Their horses were too tired and could not outrun the pursuers. Fortunately, there were more woods on the right bank, and some people rushed into the woods and hid, but this was only a small part. Of the 4,000-man army, more than 3,000 were killed. The corpses were everywhere, and it was a horrible sight.
At this time, 30,000 cavalry led by Li Ding himself had taken a shortcut and rushed straight to the Tsaritsyn Fortress.
The 10,000-strong army on the lower reaches of the Volga River rushed towards the Tsaritsyn Fortress with seven or eight thousand heads after hastily sweeping the battlefield.
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(To be continued…)
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