Just as the entire mainland was immersed in the excitement of the Lantern Festival.
Most of the villages on the border of Qing and Russia were caught in the frenzied slaughter and looting of the Russian Cossack cavalry. There was a raging fire everywhere.
Then, they set their eyes on the city of Ahui, where the general of the Heilong River, Te Puqin, was stationed. Unlike the weak and incompetent Ji Shan, he had been in charge of the territory of the Heilong River for a year in order to stop the continued expansion of the Russian Empire. He had incorporated the Oroqen people from the five roads of Kumar into the city of Jiangyou Regiment. He had also selected more than 500 soldiers from Buteha and Mergen and trained them diligently. From Qiqihar, Hulan and other four cities, 500 flag soldiers were selected to move to the city of Heilong River.
However, he had not been in office for long and was not prepared enough. There were only 3,000 soldiers in the entire city. On the top of the city wall, the 3,000 Qing soldiers looked nervously into the distance. In the distance, yellow dust was rolling and flying. Thousands of women and children in tattered clothes were being driven by the Kazak cavalry to the city. Their cries shook the sky.
In order to provoke the Qing army to fight outside the city, the Cossack cavalry became savage and committed all kinds of crimes.
On the city wall, the tragic sight of the women and children made the eyes of the Qing soldiers turn red. They shouted to fight, but the general of the Amur River, Topchin, knew that the Cossacks were doing this to provoke them to fight. There were only 3,000 soldiers in the Amur River City, and they lacked training. They were strong enough to defend the city, but they would definitely not be a match for the Cossacks in the field. If the Cossack cavalry attacked the Amur River City, the tens of thousands of refugees hiding in the city would all be slaughtered. Not only that, but the entire jurisdiction of the General's Mansion in the Black River would also have troops to stop the expansion of the Russian Empire.
Therefore, he shouted," No one is allowed to fight. Those who disobey will be killed!”
Te Puqin looked back to the south, his heart full of worry. After he received the warning signal from the border, he had already sent people to the Rehe Palace to ask for help from the Emperor. He was now worried whether the messenger was safe or not, and whether the Emperor would send troops.
......
It was a long way from Heilong River City to Chengde. When the letter for help was sent to Rehe Palace, it was already the 27th of the first month. The festive atmosphere of the Double Festival had faded, and people had begun their efforts for the new year.
"Your Majesty! The general of the Heilong River, Tepuqin, had sent an urgent report. On the 15th day of the first month of the 11th year of Xianfeng, Russia had sent Cossack cavalry to massacre their jurisdiction and brutally kill tens of thousands of local people!”Imperial Consort Yi picked up the memorial and read it out in fear.
Xianfeng was furious after hearing this. The entire northeast was originally a prosperous land. In addition, the living environment in Hei Long Jiang was harsh, and there was already a shortage of people. Now, tens of thousands of people were killed and injured by Russia. One could imagine what the sparsely populated Hei Long Jiang was like now.
"The Russians have gone too far. I can tolerate them doing whatever they want in the General's Estate in Ili, but now they are killing people in the land where our ancestors are thriving. It's simply unreasonable. Imperial Consort Yi, write an imperial edict for me to send to Sixth Brother.”
"Then, Your Majesty, who will be the leader of the Gong Prince and the General of Heilong Jiang?" Imperial Consort Yi asked.”
"This…" Xianfeng hesitated for a long time and said,"Let's just let Sixth Brother do it. He was still able to fight at the Eight Mile Bridge. Moreover, it's not appropriate to let a prince be his follower!”
Imperial Consort Yi gnashed her teeth in anger. Ever since she found out that the Gong Prince had privately trained his army and had expanded it without restraint, she had been slandering Xi Xin in front of Xian Feng in order for her son to successfully ascend the throne. However, Xian Feng, whose health was getting worse, always laughed it off.
"Emperor, the Gong Prince already has twenty thousand soldiers!”
Xianfeng closed his eyes and said,""Imperial Consort, don't say anymore. Zhen has his own plans. Oh right, is Old Seventh here now?”
"Your Majesty," Imperial Consort Yi replied,"Chun Junwang arrived three days ago and is now waiting outside the palace!"”
"Yes! Let him in. It has been a while since the late emperor left.”
After Chun Junwang entered, Xianfeng let Imperial Consort Yi leave, leaving only Xianfeng and Chun Junwang in the room.
......
In the capital, as the first month passed, the sky gradually warmed up and the snow melted.
Early in the morning, Li Qing, who was happy with the happy occasion, rode his horse to the north garden as usual.
As soon as they entered the north garden, Bao Yun, who was in charge of the daily military supplies of the Gong army, walked over and said,""Your Highness is in a good mood today! Did he have something good to tell everyone?”
Li Qing smiled and said," It is indeed a happy occasion. However, it has nothing to do with you. The Fujin is pregnant!"”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone congratulated him excitedly.
"I say, why are you guys happier than this king? Those who don't know might think that your wives have children.”Li Qing teased.
Baoyun said excitedly," Your Highness, this is different. Having a strong bloodline means prosperity. Now, there are more than 23,000 people in Beiyuan, and all the officials in the Prime Minister's Yamen, including us, are all your subordinates. We can only be at ease if you have thousands of descendants!”
"Forget it, there are so many people. You're the one who can talk. Why don't you tell this king about the current training situation of the soldiers?”Li Qing said to Baoyun.
Baoyun blushed." Your Highness, you have to ask Mu Lei about this. He is in charge of the training of the soldiers, and I am only responsible for their supplies.”
Li Qing glared at Baoyun and then shifted his gaze to Mu Lei, who was a little stiff.
Seeing this, Mu Lebulang bowed and said with a serious face,""Your Highness, all 20,000 of Prince Gong's troops have been trained with live ammunition for an hour every day as per your instructions. Everyone is already familiar with the firearms in their hands. As for the artillery, they have also made great progress with the help of the foreigners!”
Li Qing nodded and said,"Then in your opinion, how does the current Prince Gong Army compare to the allied army from that day?”
"There's a huge difference!"
"Then how much of the strength of the alliance army can it have?”
"At most 50%!"
Li Qing patted Mu Lei's shoulder and said,""Very good. If I had only a fifty percent chance of defeating the Russian Empire before, then I can tell you now that our Prince Gong Army has an eighty percent chance of defeating the Russian Empire. There is a thirty percent chance that the Russian Empire will not dare to take a single step into the northeast of our Qing Kingdom for twenty years!”
Li Qing's voice was full of energy, making everyone's blood boil.
Just as Li Qing was about to inspect the training results of Prince Gong's army, Wen Xiang hurried over.
"Your Highness, the imperial edict has arrived!"
Li Qing looked at the panting Wen Xiang and said excitedly,""Everyone, the opportunity to be loyal to the country and leave your name in history is coming. Baoyun, immediately mobilize the grain in Tongzhou granary. You must prepare enough food for 30,000 people for two months. Mu Lei, go and ask the soldiers to go home, but they have to return to the camp at the latest. Then, prepare the military supplies! Wen Xiang, you and this king quickly go and receive the decree. If this king's guess is correct, it should be the Russian army!”
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