The rain fell continuously, covering the sky and the earth into a vast expanse of white. The water of the Shilka River also surged. Due to the continuous heavy rain and the melting of the permafrost, both sides of the bank have turned into wetlands with puddles everywhere, and the roads are even more muddy.

Unbearable and unable to march.

Although it is difficult to use troops in the cold winter of Siberia, it is impossible to use troops in the season after the ice and snow melts in spring. Under normal circumstances, you have to wait until late spring and early summer, when the land is dried and hardened, because of the river channels caused by melting snow

After the flood period is over, it's time for the army to set off for battle. However, the time suitable for fighting is not long. When the autumn wind picks up, it is time to prepare for winter. The time is limited, so you must hurry up!

Obai, who has fought in the Heilongjiang and Shilka River basins for a long time, certainly knows that when fighting in the Siberian tundra, he must compete with the harsh climate for time, and he must be good at taking advantage of climate changes.

It can be said that fighting in the areas along the Heilongjiang and Shilka Rivers is definitely not as good as the right people and the right location, and the right location is not as good as the right time!

If we cannot grasp and make good use of the weather, no matter how strong our troops and horses are, no matter how united we are, and no matter how powerful our country is, there will be nothing we can do if we encounter that kind of cold weather and that kind of mud.

And Obai and his army were very good at making use of the weather conditions in the Heilongjiang and Shilka River areas!

This time, they planned to take advantage of the spring rain, melting snow, and mud to move in, catch the Rakshasa people off guard, and seize Nerchinsk Castle in one fell swoop.

According to the information obtained by Obai and Yue Le, the Rakshasa people did not give up and burn down Nerchinsk Castle, perhaps because it was already winter when Nerchinsk City learned the news that Obai and Yue Le might be heading west. Therefore.

Before the mud season ends, it is unlikely that Nerchinsk's defenders will burn the city and leave, because there is no way they can leave!

In the midst of the white rain and fog, outside the city of Yaksa at the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Shilka rivers, in the mud, brigade of red-robed and red-hatted "pseudo-Rakshasa troops" were carrying matchlocks and flintlock rifles on their backs.

They saluted with big bags, lined up neatly, and walked to the warship dock not far away.

On the warship dock, there are many warships that are slightly slender and can be driven by oars and sails at the same time. These warships are a combination of single mast, square sail, and twenty oars. They are called "Longjiang warships". These warships are

This type of warship is very flexible in the rivers of the Heilongjiang and Shilka rivers and can go almost anywhere. However, the internal space is not large, and the number of people and materials that can be loaded is limited.

Including rowers, it can only carry a maximum of 60 people and corresponding equipment and baggage. To load all the 5,000 "pseudo Rakshasa troops" under Obai and Yue Le on board, it only takes more than 120 people.

A warship on the Long River.

In order to attack Nerchinsk Castle, Obai brought twenty or thirty ships of artillery, horses and other materials needed to siege the castle.

So now the total number of Longjiang warships moored at the warship dock in Yaksa City exceeds 150!

Ao Bai and Yue Le were walking in the rain, their red robes already soaked through, but they didn't care. Looking at the scene of the army setting off on the dock, the two frowned more and more.

"Jin Duhu, you are the grandson of the late lord and a noble nobleman of Tianhuang. It is you who should be the Khan of Siberia."

"What? Be the Khan of Siberia? Protector of Guan, aren't we going to join the Rakshasa Kingdom? I should be the Governor of Nerchinsk or the Governor of Baihar!"

"Don't the governor-general have to be granted the title by the tsar of the Rakshasa Kingdom? The reply letter from Governor Stroganov of the Rakshasa Kingdom was sent to him yesterday. He is a timid coward. He said in the letter that he would not accept our surrender. Still.

It's so abominable to say that you are unwilling to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty! I thought, if this Western Expedition cannot force the Rakshasa Kingdom to accept our surrender, we might as well do it ourselves and establish a Siberian Khanate after conquering Nerchinsk. You

Come and be the Khan King, and I will be the Grand Master."

It turned out that Alexander Stroganov, the governor of the Rakshasa people, had recently arrived in the city of Nerchinsk and sent a messenger from Nerchinsk City to deliver a letter of his rejection of Obai and Yuele's surrender to the city of Yaksa.

So Oboi thought that if he really couldn't join the Rakshasa Kingdom, he might as well establish his own country!

But he didn't dare to restore the Qing Dynasty, because that would be too hateful. The Ming prince had already arrived in Liaoyang and was about to go north to Heilongjiang at any time. If Ao Bai and Yue Le established the Qing Dynasty, it would be a good idea for the Ming prince to come and destroy it again.

?

Oboi, who did not want to establish the Qing Dynasty, thought of the name of the Siberian Khanate, which was destroyed by the Rakshasa people in the early years. He simply borrowed it and established a Siberian Khanate.

However, he himself did not want to be a khan, but wanted to push Yue Le, who was born in the Aisin Gioro family, to come out and carry the thunder.

And how could Yue Le be willing to be a khan? This khan might have died in front of you! He immediately shook his head: "No, no, I can't be a khan. I am a descendant of the Aisin Gioro family, and I am not qualified to be a khan.

The late emperor’s body is still cold, and the young master has grown up, so the young master should be responsible for this!”

Obai knew that Yue Le didn't want to be the first person, so he immediately said, "If you don't want to do it, then don't do it, but let's not harm the young master. Or let's make a republic, the Republic of Siberia!"

Well, now, the Second Republic of Asia is here too! Oboi and Yue Le may become republican revolutionaries in future history books...

"Republic?" Yue Le has heard of "Republic". After all, the Batavia Republic, the first republic in Asia, has been established. "Then what kind of republic should we build? Dutch style or British style?

What is the name of the big boss of this republic? The Councilor, the Consul, or the Protector?"

"Let's make it an English style," Obai had already thought of it. "The boss will be called the Protector of the Country. There will be two Protectors of the Country, one big on each side. You will be the Lord Protector of the left, and I will be the Lord Protector of the right."

How is the Lord?"

"Two Protector Lords?" Yue Le thought for a while, "Is that too many?"

"No more, no more," said Obei, "This is called the republic of two masters...the two masters can discuss it together, how wonderful it is!"

"That's true," Yue Le nodded, "but we still have to work hard. It would be better if we could become the governor of the Rakshasa Kingdom. It's nice to enjoy the shade under the big tree!"

"That's natural," Yue Le looked back at the team boarding the ship at the pier, "Guan Duhu, let's get on the ship too!"

…

Nerchinsk Castle, this civil structure bastion, has been continuously reinforced and prepared for war in the past few months.

When Governor Alexander Stronov came from Yakutsk, Governor Urasov of Irkutsk, who had arrived a few months earlier (Nerchinsk was under the jurisdiction of Irkutsk), had already

This castle became a truly defensible castle.

"Your Excellency, Governor," Urasov, who was an army officer and was transferred to Siberia just a year ago, quickly walked into Stronov's office in Nerchinsk, "Are you looking for me?"

"Fyodor," Alexander Stronov called Urasov's name, "in the past two days, I have inspected Nerchinsk Castle and two nearby forts. All three castles have been reinforced... and they are also

Sufficient supplies have been stored. It is obvious that you are ready to hold on to the fortress."

"Yes, Mr. Governor," Urasov, who is in his thirties, short, and a bit pudgy, nodded, "After several months of reinforcement, Nerchinsk City is now the premier fortified castle in Siberia!

The Chinese will no longer be able to capture this place as easily as they did several times in the past... Unless they can carry enough heavy artillery, it is simply impossible for them to capture the fortress in the limited time.

Therefore, the Nerchinsk region will forever become the land of His Majesty the Tsar!"
Chapter completed!