Chapter 825 Fighting for the Throne

In the early morning, the fertile fields along the Kama River seemed to be completely submerged in a vast expanse of white fog. The heavy fog was like the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River in March, and it wet people's faces like the misty rain gently brushing the green willows. Through the land shrouded in white fog, the naked eye could only vaguely see the outline of the surrounded Russian positions, as if it were a city.

The depth in both directions, east, west, south and north, was close to three Russian miles, which was really a big city.

Rumyantsev did not dare to lead his troops to retreat in the end. He still had elite troops who dared to fight, and he had strong confidence in these troops. Let these troops stay behind to block, and then he led the other troops to escape, and he was confident that he would escape and ascend to heaven.

But that kind of behavior was like a gecko that encountered danger and survived with a short tail. And if you use an old Chinese saying to describe it, that is to sacrifice the car to protect the general!

Rumyantsev still underestimated the execution ability of his enemy. The Wehrmacht was stronger than he thought.

He didn't expect that after breakfast, the Chinese would summon up their remaining courage and dispatch troops to the left and right wings of the main Russian army. By the time the Russian army discovered it, the Chinese had already dug trenches and built positions in the mud.

But with the small number of troops of the Wehrmacht, it was impossible to completely surround the Russian army. So Rumyantsev immediately ordered the cavalry team in his hands to run out quickly, but the large infantry force in his hands really couldn't move.

Even if the Wehrmacht deployed only one regiment on each wing, it would bring great trouble to the Russian army's retreat. If they wanted to leave at this time, they would most likely be finished.

When the sun jumped out of the clouds and the fog dissipated, Wei Xiuzhi looked ahead. After a day of rest, the Russian positions were much neater.

There were several slight explosions from the west, the sound seemed very far away, and the fog had not completely dissipated. The sound seemed to be covered by something and was heavy and muffled.

Wei Xiuzhi knew very well that the Wehrmacht was bombarding the Russian positions with artillery fire. Amid the rumbling of cannons, Wei Xiuzhi stood in the morning dew, with crystal drops of water condensing on his hair and then slowly dripping down.

He didn't know if Rumyantsev was also looking at his opponent in the morning sun. Now he was smiling very easily.

There was a hurried sound of footsteps not far away, and the sound of muddy water was clearly heard by his ears. The guards on the periphery were a little agitated, but soon stabilized again. Several senior officers and staff officers of the command headquarters behind Wei Xiuzhi stood in two rows and looked in the direction of the coming. Soon a signalman came.

"Deputy Governor, traces of Cossack cavalry activities were found 20 miles north."

The signalman came to report not the eastward direction of the Russian army on the front battlefield, but the escaped Russian cavalry on the periphery battlefield. Rumyantsev knew very well that the power of cavalry lies in movement, so he sent out one regiment of Cossack cavalry, Russian hussars and dragoons in his hands early. It is estimated that there is only one cuirassier regiment left. [Russian cavalry regiments usually have four companies, 600 to 700 people. The permanent cavalry units in border areas are larger. ]

Wei Xiuzhi was not surprised. He knew very well what Rumyantsev meant by sending out the Rangers, Hussars and other troops in his hands. The Wehrmacht also sent out a lot of scouts in a targeted manner. Now they have found their traces.

The regular cavalry and vassal cavalry units in the hands of the Wehrmacht have always remained on the sidelines. This is definitely a huge threat to the Russian infantry in front of them. The muddy roads are still good now. When the accumulated water disappears in a few days, the Russian infantry will be more passive.

And Wei Xiuzhi dared to confront the Russians so "unscrupulously" in the "enemy territory", which was also bullying the Russian army. It is impossible for them to have large-scale reinforcements to the Kama River in the short term. On the contrary, the Wehrmacht, as time goes on, they may pull out one "nail" after another, thereby freeing up a group of siege troops and forming a new mobile force.

If this goes on, the Russians will still be unlucky.

After the signalman went down, Wei Xiuzhi's face did not change at all. He said to the group of people behind him: "Twenty miles, our alert range is exactly twenty miles. The Russians are just here to demonstrate."

"I'm not afraid of demonstrations. If they really dare to come, we wipe our mouths and eat them directly!" A senior officer with the rank of general said domineeringly. The Russians' cavalry force is really not enough for the Wehrmacht's cavalry unit.

All the people in the command center looked relaxed and calm. The battle of Kama River has been fought until now. The Wehrmacht has really occupied an absolute advantage. It ate up the vanguard brigade at the right time, and then the blocking troops withstood the crazy attack of the Russian army, allowing the Wehrmacht to overcome the most difficult difficulties. The road ahead cannot be said to be smooth, but it can be said that there are no big potholes.

As long as the confrontation continues like this, Wei Xiuzhi will not only drag the Russian army in front of him to eat nothing, but as long as he uses up all the rockets in the opponent's hands, he can drag this Russian army to collapse without a fight.

This is an advantage in the general situation.

Rumyantsev didn't escape early, and now it's too late for him to leave.

It's sunny today, and the hot air balloon has taken off. Although the artillery at the Wehrmacht's disposal is not very useful, it can still knock out the Russian artillery positions and then fire special shells to disgust the Russians.

The Russian artillery is the first target of the Wehrmacht. Then just drag it out. Wei Xiuzhi finally chose the latter between the two words "urgent" and "slow". This way, the military expenditure is certainly high, but casualties can be greatly reduced. And it is possible that reinforcements from the old Russians can be fished out from the Ural River Basin.

Or when the Russian supplies are exhausted, especially when the rockets are used up, the 20,000 Russian troops will become fish on the chopping board, pigs and sheep on the chopping board, and they will be slaughtered at will.

It's just that Wei Xiuzhi's 30,000 troops staying in the Kama River are too expensive. This place is two or three thousand miles away from the Wehrmacht's bridgehead-the place where supplies are concentrated.

And rockets are the same for everyone, and they are not enough.

If Wei Xiuzhi had 100,000 or 80,000 rockets, he would have let the rocket soldiers play high-density consumption with the opponent. When Rumyantsev's rockets were used up, the Wehrmacht could easily eat up this Russian army.

There is no need to use soldiers to attack. Just use rockets to bombard.

He didn't have many rockets in his hand, and he didn't know the specific number of rockets left by the opponent. He didn't want to mess up the trick. He had used up all the rockets in his hand, but the enemy still had some left. That would be too unfriendly.

Wei Xiuzhi could only use it with restraint, at least before the supply line in the rear was connected, and he couldn't squander it without restraint.

Wei Xiuzhi even ordered people to make the very rustic flying thunder cannon. Because this thing can replace rockets to a certain extent. At most, you can fire a cannon and move to another place. The cannon barrel is not needed.

In fact, at this moment, the troops stationed in the northwest, western Gansu, southern Xinjiang, and northern Xinjiang have been gradually mobilized to western Siberia and the Kazakh steppe, including a certain number of Mongolian cavalry. The latter was divided into two groups, one part was used in the Kazakh steppe, and the other part was used in the early Siberian sweep.

Taking advantage of the short summer in Siberia, the Mongolian cavalry's mission is to sweep away all the Russians and Tatars they see.

As for the battlefield west of the Ob River, the Wehrmacht really tried its best.

The material transportation of this era is too touching. Some of the livestock and rations are provided by the Kazakhs, but military supplies such as ammunition cannot be produced on the Kazakh steppe. There must be a material base in the rear, Ili, and travel thousands of miles, nearly ten thousand miles, and transport them to the front line with great effort.

Therefore, in this case, the Wehrmacht's pace is really not suitable for crossing the Ural Mountains and the Ural River.

Napoleon's example always warns Chen Ming.

The war has reached this time. If the Wehrmacht's arms are stretched forward again, it will really strain its muscles.

The troops have reached their limit. Wise people will not let them continue to move forward!

Which is bigger and which is smaller, the possible benefits or the upcoming threats?

To be honest, compared with the slow-moving infantry, Wei Xiuzhi really likes cavalry now.

The previous Emperor Chen had been working hard to build cavalry units, but when the war broke out, he found that it was still not enough.

Many of the cavalry units of the National Defense Army were used as escort units for transport units or police units on the transport lines, because compared with the vassal cavalry, Chen Ming certainly believed more in his own people who he had trained.

This result made the regular cavalry of the National Defense Army able to use their strength on the battlefield, but it was still not satisfactory.

If he had 30,000 to 50,000 well-equipped and well-trained cavalry units of the National Defense Army at this time, he could kill the old Russians and make them spit blood three liters.

It was a pity for this opportunity.

…

The city of Nanjing was still prosperous. During the mourning period of the Empress Dowager, the city of Nanjing immediately returned to its former bustle.

There was no curfew in this place for a long time.

In the past, the Qinhuai River was a river that never slept. Singing and dancing, people who seek pleasure can play here all night long.

Before, something happened, not only did the patrons dare not come to the door, but even the flower boats and red buildings on the Qinhuai River did not dare to open.

At the end of March, once the mourning period was over, the two lovers were really crazy and angry, and it was out of control.

…

Luoyang Palace.

The pomegranates in the garden were in bloom, and the weather was getting hot.

Zheng stood in the room, fanning herself and looking out the window. The sun had made the stone slabs outside look white.

“It’s so hot this year.” It was only April.

The maidservant beside her heard this and brought in the iced sour plum soup, “Princess, have a bowl.”

“Have you sent the ice to the princes?” Zheng asked as she took the sour plum soup.

"It has been sent. The prince sent someone back to say that there is no need to send more to the Logistics Department, because we will not have enough for our own use. The weather is very hot this year. It is only April and there are still many hot days."

"In this kind of weather, who can survive in a crowded room without ice? As for the little benefits of the Logistics Department..." Zheng shook her head. Although the Logistics Department is in charge of the food and fodder for more than one million soldiers and horses in the army, and the silver in its hands is comparable to that of the Ministry of Finance, it does not mean that they can squander it at will. On the contrary, the treatment of the Logistics Department is one level lower than that of the General Staff.

And the treatment of the General Staff is one level lower than that of the Cabinet and the Grand Commander's Office.

But what time is it now? Several younger brothers have grown up, and the threat to Chen Ding is getting bigger and bigger. The difficult time has really come, so when doing anything, you must learn to be smooth. To put it bluntly, you have to be more tactful and think of every corner.

Chen Ding said so, but the ice was still sent. He didn't ask Chen Ding's colleagues to be really won over by such a small favor, but only asked that Chen Ding's reputation could be improved a little bit.

—— Fighting for the throne, any negligence is not allowed, reputation is very important.

And to be a person and establish a reputation, you have to start from small things, bit by bit.

Chen Ding is not the eighth brother of Kang Mazi, but he can't be a cold-faced king like Yong Lao Si.

Now, the war in the northeast has come to an end, but the battle in the northwest is still in a white-hot state. The logistics department is busy. From the top leader to the small clerk, they are busy like spinning tops, and they are spinning non-stop.

After Chen Ding finished mourning, his father threw him to the logistics department. It has been half a month now, but he has only rested for four nights at home. Now he has been working overtime for five consecutive days. Except for asking someone to come back to get clothes, there is no definite time to go home.

The busyness of the logistics department can be imagined.

"Princess, the prince said that several directors and section chiefs in the logistics department have collapsed due to exhaustion, not to mention the small officials below. They are so busy that they don't even have a break. Who can bear it? A large number of them have collapsed due to exhaustion. But Duke Xu asked people to call the imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital to treat them directly in the logistics department, and did not allow people to go home to rest. Now some people say that Duke Xu is a living hell."

Zheng's face did not fluctuate. His father had been the Minister of Postal Transportation and Sports for four or five years, and a cabinet leader for four or five years. Of course, he knew how huge the materials and energy mobilized for this war were, and how hard it was for the transportation department to ensure the war needs of 100,000 or 200,000 troops.

She drank the sour plum soup and said, "Ask someone to make two more pots of cold tea and send them over at four or five o'clock. Send them every day, like ice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Ask the doctor to prescribe a few doses of heat-relieving and fatigue-relieving medicine to put in."

Since Xu Guogong Chen Quan would not let go, Chen Ding could only stay in the logistics department. Zheng took this opportunity to send ice and tea in. Anyway, the "scope" she sent was limited to Chen Ding's department. Although the amount would be more, it was far from covering the entire logistics department. Outsiders wanted to say that her husband was trying to win people's hearts.

Chen Ding's thoughts were well known before she got married.

Once this marriage was completed, her family would no longer be able to get rid of the relationship with the eldest prince.

Zheng certainly hoped that one day her husband would be able to ascend to the throne, so that she could also sit on the throne of "Queen" that all women in the world wanted to go, and rule the world.

But Zheng knew very well that she could not intervene in such a big event. Even though she has read a lot of books and has been to school for several years, especially focusing on reading some history books, she still can't get involved in men's affairs. Unless she can also enter the government system and become a female official.

But how is this possible?

The only thing Zheng can do is to actively perform in front of the emperor and the empress, and in front of her brothers and sisters, so as not to lose points for her husband, and at the same time, try to get some help for her husband as much as possible, and try to earn more points for her husband in front of her parents-in-law.

This kind of "frustration" is not her character in essence. But now she is the eldest son of the emperor, the princess of Luoyang, and once she steps into the right and wrong, she can never get out of it.

All personality and temper are eliminated in the face of cruel reality.

What Zheng can show is the image of "virtuous wife and good mother" in Chinese traditional culture recognized by the majority of "audiences".

For a noble lady who has enjoyed wealth and honor since birth and has never been wronged, this is sad, but necessary.