Dominate the Country

Chen Ming was very formally preparing to reinforce the Ottomans.

Although it was impossible for Chen Han to maintain a large-scale team on the western coast of the Caspian Sea all year round, Nanjing could completely take away an enclave from the west coast of the Caspian Sea with the opportunity of Istanbul's opening.

More importantly, Chen Han could make a name for himself in the world of Arabia.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

Up to now, although the Ottomans have fallen into a disadvantage in the Sixth Russo-Turkish War, there is still a very common saying in Istanbul, the entire Ottoman Empire, and even the entire Arabian world, which makes tens of millions of Arabian people believe it.

——The victory of the Chinese and the Swedes was based on the hard work of the Ottoman Empire. It was the heroic fighting of the entire Ottoman Empire that gave the Chinese and the Swedes a good advantage of defeating the minority with more people.

The main forces of the Russians were concentrated in the Ottomans, including the Kingdom of Austria. Although the Ottoman Empire was at a disadvantage, its army fought against the main forces of the two European powers.

After countless people changed the Ottoman Empire's position from being the best in Europe to being comparable to a single European power, the Ottomans still performed very well in this war.

This kind of speech praised the Ottoman Empire and belittled Sweden and China.

Although Chen Ming knew that this "rumor" was based on facts and the reality was just like this, he was still very angry.

He felt that he was looked down upon. He was quite embarrassed, but he knew that he had no way to vent his anger.

Now the Ottomans can't stand it anymore. Not only did they start to seek financial and military support from China, they also hoped that China could send troops to the west coast of the Caspian Sea. They could even send troops to build a solid garrison for the National Defense Army in a certain dangerous area.

Chen Ming immediately decided that he would send the most elite troops to the west coast of the Caspian Sea. Let the whole world of Tianfang see the combat effectiveness of the National Defense Army, which is not comparable to their so-called new army.

The northern shore of the Caspian Sea is low and flat, with a large amount of alluvial material washed down by the Ural River, the Terek River, and especially the Volga River. The deltas of these rivers have been widely developed. The central west coast is hilly. The foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains seem close, but they are separated from the coast by a narrow coastal plain.

Later Azerbaijan has now split into many small countries. Although the largest Baku Khanate has been at war with Russia for many years, the suzerain of the Baku Khanate is not the Ottomans, but the Persians.

At this time, neither the Ottomans nor the Chen Han were willing to push the "neutral forces" into the arms of Russia, so the exact foothold could only be the northwest of the powerful west coast.

To the north of the central hilly area and to the south of Astrakhan.

And this requires attention to the Russian army in Astrakhan.

This city on the Volga Delta is the last large city through which the Volga River flows. It is about 100 kilometers southeast of the Caspian Sea. Built in the 13th century, it has a long history.

In 1558 AD, Ivan IV's army occupied Astrakhan without bloodshed and incorporated it into the territory of the Principality of Moscow. Soon after, the Tsar ordered the city to be moved to the other side of the downstream in order to make it easier to defend against the neighboring countries that kept coming to disturb it. Between 1582 and 1589, the first Kremlin built with white stone in the lower reaches of the Volga was built on the new site. In ancient Russia [the predecessor of Russia], high-walled fortresses with guard posts were called Kremlin. From that time on, Astrakhan became an outpost in southern Russia. Now two hundred years have passed, and there is not only a more solid fortress there, but also tens of thousands of Russians and Cossacks living there.

If Chen Han can wedge a nail in the edge of Astrakhan, it cannot be said that it will have an absolutely significant impact on Russia's military operations on the Caucasus front, but it will definitely have a brilliant effect.

The emperor's words make the villains run around.

Chen Ming has made up his mind, and the Grand Commander's Office will naturally obey orders, so the General Staff has encountered such a big problem.

As a "lake", the Caspian Sea has a very large area, but at the same time, its hydrological characteristics are also very complex.

The ocean currents here are mainly cyclonic circulations, and each sea area can form several local circulations.

In the North Caspian Sea, the Volga River flows into the sea and is divided into two branches: the main branch flows south along the west coast; the other flows east along the north coast, forming a small anticyclonic circulation in the northeast. The flow rate varies with the wind, generally 10 to 15 cm/s. When there is a strong northerly wind, the flow rate in the west reaches 30 to 40 cm/s, and the maximum can reach 100 cm/s.

The Central Caspian Sea is controlled by a large cyclonic circulation.

There is a cyclonic circulation in the northwest and southeast of the South Caspian Sea. As a result, a coastal current from north to south is formed in the western part of the Caspian Sea, with an average flow rate of 25 to 35 cm/s, while a coastal current from south to north appears in the eastern part. The average flow rate is about 10 to 15 cm/s.

The current can accelerate where it coincides with strong winds, and the sea surface is often turbulent. Near the Absheron Peninsula, the maximum wave raised by the storm is more than 9 meters high.

Such a hydrological situation is not simple, but also not complicated.

Because part of the southern coast of the Caspian Sea is controlled by the Persian Kingdom, if Chen Han wants to send troops to the west coast of the Caspian Sea, unless the army fights all the way to Astrakhan, it can only be transported by ship.

However, the Russians had already established a small fleet in the Caspian Sea sixty or seventy years ago, during the reign of Peter the Great.

Although this fleet has never been used in the sixty or seventy years since its establishment, it is still a professional small fleet, isn’t it?

The Caspian Sea Fleet in later generations could become a "brilliant achievement" in military history by fighting a "violent Lan". It was really idle for too long.

So many people in China in later generations didn't know about the existence of this fleet. This fifth largest fleet of Russia was also described by the media as a fleet kept in a fish tank.

Now the scale of this fleet is very small, not even a fraction of the 148 large and small warships in later generations. There are only about 20 small sailboats in total. The largest warship seems to be a sailing warship that can't even be equipped with a sixth-level sailing warship, a single-masted schooner with a tonnage of more than 300. Equipped with 14 guns and a hundred members.

The tonnage of other warships is even smaller, just like gunboats, which can rival the offshore warships of the Qing Dynasty.

Some have four or five guns, and some have ten guns.

There are few members, and the warships are old. The latest ship launched has been more than ten years old.

Many of the craftsmen in the Astrakhan Shipyard have been transferred away. The remaining people can make fishing boats, but they can't even think about making warships.

But this small fleet in Astrakhan still poses a great threat to the plan of the National Defense Army. But how can this small warship be eliminated?

Chen Ming gave the task and he just waited for the conclusion.

This is the case for those in power. They don't need to do things personally. Otherwise, what is the status of people in society?

Of course, when Chen Ming made the request, he did think about the solution himself. But his brain capacity is limited, and he really can't think of it.

This job was handed over to the General Staff.

This matter is a difficult problem for both the Ottomans and the National Defense Army. Although the east coast of the Caspian Sea has not yet been desertified, the coastal areas are still full of green grass. But where can the National Defense Army get ships?

In the future, if an army is to be maintained on the west coast of the Caspian Sea for a long time, it will also need a fleet that can travel between the two sides. Where can it come from?

Chen Ming did not think about it. The only one who could think about it was the General Staff.

Not to mention how much of a headache the General Staff had after receiving this task, Chen Ming was surprised to find that his father Chen Hui's spirit seemed to have withered all of a sudden after sending away his six younger brothers.

This father really has deep feelings for his youngest son.

Chen Ming touched his nose a little embarrassedly.

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the early winter of the sixteenth year of Chengtian.

Sheril Aliyev moved his shoulders, and the cold wind was constantly drilling in through the gaps in the tattered felt blanket he was wearing. Aliyev could already see the tall castle fortress of the Chinese. Aliyev had mixed feelings in his heart - they had once set their goal here to drink water from Lake Balkhash. Later, they were defeated by the Chinese, but many people still had an idea - to fight back in every possible way. But now they are finally back, but as prisoners...

These Russian prisoners of war were not allowed to enter the city - in fact, even most of the National Defense Army and vassal cavalry camped outside the fortress. One side of the entire outer perimeter of Suiye City was almost occupied by military camps, and it looked as if it was under siege.

Chen Ming personally named this city on the west bank of Lake Balkhash Suiye City, although he knew very well that Suiye City in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty was not here.

Even many ordinary people know that today's 'Suiye City' is not the Suiye City where the poet Li Bai was born. So this fortress city has a new name in China: Suiye New City.

There are also a large number of camps on the other side of the fortress, but they are all shabby shacks - that is where the Kazakhs and Mongols live. The long-lasting war has brought more and more Kazakhs and Mongols to the edge of Suiye City. Not only because it is stable and peaceful here, but also because there are more opportunities to make money here.

Originally, such "war immigrant" areas have always been the most chaotic and dirty places, but here it is just the opposite - whether it is Kazakhs, Mongols, or Andijan people, everyone's continuation may not need to be dispersed or disrupted, but their residences - Aobao/shacks/yurts, all shanties must be built strictly in designated locations, and there are unified water points, fire prevention points, and places to discard excrement and domestic garbage at intervals. The shantytowns are separated from each other to prevent the spread of fire and disease.

- Except for the fact that the Aobao/shacks/yurts themselves are in tatters and the people coming in and out are of all kinds, the overall layout of this refugee area is actually neater than the barracks of the vassal cavalry on the other side. Everyone who saw the scene for the first time was stunned - there was no doubt that this was the work of the Wehrmacht.

This group of prisoners of war was no exception. They bypassed half of the refugee camp amidst exclamations and finally arrived at the end of this long "march" - the prisoner of war camp, a large shantytown, just like what they had seen before.

The prisoner of war camp was surrounded by several Wehrmacht garrisons, obviously to prevent them from blowing up the camp or escaping. There were not many soldiers guarding the prisoner of war camp, and even fewer Wehrmacht soldiers. Many of them were vassal cavalry.

"Team 305, one thousand people delivered on time."

Although the National Defense Force coming from the opposite side was only a sergeant, the Kazakh nobleman who led the troops did not dare to neglect it at all - he had to come forward to do the handover himself, because he was the only one in the whole team who knew the Chinese characters and the series of numbers. As for the Chinese on the opposite side, let alone the sergeant officer, any ordinary soldier could understand the handover documents - because the team of ordinary soldiers brought by the sergeant officer, at this moment, they all held a form and compared the number of people present according to the grouping data of Team 305.

Looking at the National Defense Force soldiers on the opposite side who were carefully checking the numbers, the Kazakh nobleman felt a complex emotion of envy and regret - the age of these boys in front of him was about not as old as his eldest son, but each of them could read and write. His eldest son did learn a lot of scriptures from Ah Om, and could write Arabic, but now he is almost blind. The knowledge that once made his eldest son proud and raised his head has now become worthless.

Why was he so stupid back then? Instead of sending the eldest son to Lake Balkhash or Lake Zaysan, and the younger son to Ili, he taught his son to the local Aom, and then went to Mecca.

The regret in the heart of this Kazakh noble could devour him completely.

No one said that those who taught their sons and younger generations to the Chinese were heretics and fools. They were "prophets" with far-sightedness and a long-term vision. They saw the prospects of the Chinese early on, sent their own blood relatives, and easily maintained their status in the new Khanate.

They didn't even have to go to the front line to fight for their lives.

As long as their sons and younger generations were still there, the prospects of these families were infinitely bright.

And when more and more people graduated from Ili, even from Lanzhou, Xi'an, and even Lushan, Wuhan, and the two capitals of the north and south, more and more such people occupied the upper echelons of the new Khanate, then the status of these people was equivalent to one guarantee after another. As long as they didn't seek death themselves, they didn't have to worry about the decline of their home tribe in just three or two generations.

It’s too late to regret!