Chapter 925

The north wind howled, and the cold air seemed to penetrate one’s bones.

At this moment, on the boundless black land, Zhu Sansi was leading his soldiers towards Morgan. For the current Great Yu Empire people, their homeland was inviolable. Any offense to the nation and the Great Yu Empire would mean severe retaliation.

“It’s only late October, I didn’t expect it to be snowing here already.”

The officer marching alongside Zhu Sansi was Gao Yingfeng, commander of the 1st Brigade and Zhu Sansi’s most trusted subordinate. Gao Yingfeng was from the same batch of soldiers as him, also a fellow native of Qingzhou Province. In these years of war, the two had a tacit understanding.

Precisely because of this, Zhu Sansi had always kept him by his side.

“This is truly a bitter and cold land. If not for the war in the south, the people of Jiangnan truly wouldn’t want to settle here.” Zhu Sansi frowned, looking at the falling snowflakes. He now finally understood why forced migration was necessary. If it were left to voluntary migration, Guandong would soon be occupied by other cold-resistant tribes, such as the current Tsarist Russians.

As the saying goes, “know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.” Before heading north, he had already learned about Tsarist Russia. Generally speaking, the main body of this country was Slavs. In the eyes of Europeans, they, along with the Germanic and Celtic peoples, were called the three great barbarians of Europe.

Even today, Europeans had no affection for the Slavs. Politicians privately referred to Tsarist Russia as barbarians, mocking their fierce and belligerent characteristics.

So, in Zhu Sansi’s view, Tsarist Russia to Europe was like the Golden Tent Khanate to the Great Yu Empire. Both were synonymous with barbarism.

“His Majesty’s foresight is truly profound. Even his decision to have us wear thick winter clothes when we came to Jianzhou this time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to march at all now,” Gao Yingfeng said, patting his thick cotton-padded military coat and grinning.

A trace of reverence flashed in Zhu Sansi’s eyes. In the eyes of the Great Yu Empire common people now, their Emperor was a supreme being.

Previously, they might have feared imperial power, but now, they respected their monarch from the bottom of their hearts.

And as a general, their Emperor could always accurately point out what they overlooked, which made him feel immense admiration.

“This is the true monarch our Great Yu Empire should have.” Zhu Sansi felt a surge of passion and secretly vowed to defend his monarch with his life.

…

Morgan City. This was a temporarily established city. More precisely, it was merely Vasily’s southward outpost. After all, the surrounding stone walls, as tall as a man, could barely serve as a barrier against attacks.

“Vasily, it’s bad! A large number of soldiers are approaching Morgan City! They seem to be the Great Yu Empire army!”

In the center of Morgan City, Vasily was sitting with his soldiers, roasting a deer they had just hunted.

Hearing this voice, he looked at the newcomer.

“Ivan, you haven’t had too much vodka, have you? There are plenty of deer herds here, not soldiers.” A soldier by the bonfire picked up a wineskin filled with spirits. He was shirtless in the snow and guzzled the strong liquor. This was their key tool for resisting the cold.

Ivan wore a fur-lined coat. He said anxiously, “I didn’t misread. They are an army. Damn it, you all should sober up now. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”

Vasily’s hand holding the wineskin froze in mid-air. Ivan’s face was flushed at this moment; he didn’t look like he was lying. He immediately stood up and said to the soldiers by the bonfire, “Everyone get up! Grab your weapons! We’re about to have work to do.”

Then he asked, “Little Ivan, how many people have they brought?”

“At least three thousand, and we only have eight hundred,” Ivan said with some worry. He had followed Vasily from Moscow all the way to the Far East. The natives they encountered along the way were tribes armed with bows and spears. Fighting these tribes gave them a huge advantage.

But this time, they saw a disciplined army, and everyone was armed with firearms, which made him begin to doubt Vasily’s words.

Perhaps it wasn’t just natives living in the Far East.

“Hahaha, our Ivan is scared! He forgot that not only do we have Slavs who can fight ten men, but also valiant Cossacks!” Vasily’s red face still bore traces of the liquor.

As his words fell, the soldiers of Morgan burst into laughter. At the same time, they began to organize their firearms and ammunition, preparing for battle.

Ivan’s face showed deep worry, but here, Vasily was the boss.

“If you don’t escape, I’ll have to kill all these enemies with you!” Ivan’s face showed a fierce expression. He was now accustomed to having his hands stained with the blood of natives.

For them, money was clearly more important than the lives of natives.

In the midst of their practiced preparations, the swirling snowflakes gradually lessened, and visibility cleared. At this point, Vasily finally saw the army Ivan spoke of.

Because now, this army, dressed in uniform attire, was two hundred meters in front of them. Aimed at them were the muzzles of sixteen field cannons.

“Damn it! Take cover!”

When Vasily saw the soldiers opposite him igniting their cannons, he immediately shouted loudly.

However, his warning ultimately came too late. With a roar, their ramparts were blasted open by shells. Soldiers behind the walls were sent flying into the air with screams. When they landed, they were silent.

Outside the city, Zhu Sansi was observing the situation in Morgan. When the snow stopped, he immediately identified the Tsarist Russians’ weapons, which prompted him to decisively launch an attack.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

After the first round of bombardment, a second round of bombardment immediately followed. Under successive bombardments, the fragile walls of Morgan City turned into rubble.

Zhu Sansi and the soldiers waited together. This was their current combat tactic: before an attack, there had to be artillery preparation to reduce casualties.

After all, even fighting relatively backward armies, they still suffered casualties. In the Southern War, at least nine thousand soldiers fell on the battlefield.

Under the continuous firing of the artillery, the Tsarist Russian soldiers in Morgan City suffered greatly. In just a few rounds of bombardment, they lost over seventy men.

Most importantly, due to underestimating the enemy, they had not brought any artillery, which left them unable to return fire.

Vasily was now completely sober. At this moment, he finally realized the gravity of the situation. Clearly, they had encountered a real army.

But ferocity had always been Vasily’s style. He shouted loudly, “Fix bayonets! Make them understand the might of us Russians! Their artillery won’t keep firing forever!”

Just as Vasily thought, after the twelfth round of bombardment, the Great Yu Empire’s artillery ceased firing. At this point, Morgan’s front city wall was basically in ruins.

But just as the bombardment ended, they suddenly heard the sound of a strange musical instrument.