Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Skopje is a major transportation hub between Serbia and Greece, and the only way to enter Macedonia.

In a letter to Katya, Solovyov complained that he had been away from enemy bullets for a long time, including on the way to Skopje.

The general's uniform and hat he wore made him stand out. This was the case on the battlefields in the early 19th century. Officers always had to be distinguished from soldiers, especially generals.

So when he was riding on the mountain road, he was inevitably targeted.

With just one gunshot, his mount was knocked down.

It's not a good place to fall on this road. If you accidentally fall on a rock, you might become disabled.

Fortunately, he was not unlucky as he fell directly into a ditch beside the road. He was just covered in mud and looked unsightly.

The adjutant and guards around him quickly followed the sound of gunfire and pulled the gunman out of the bushes.

"Sir, it was this bastard who fired the shot."

Solovyov looked at this man, who seemed to be in a domineering manner.

The translator couldn't understand what he was saying. The ethnic composition of the Ottoman Empire was too complicated, and it was really possible to find someone whose words they couldn't understand.

It was during the body search that they discovered he was a Kurd.

The Kurds may fight with Türkiye in the future, but in this era, until the Armenian Genocide during World War I, they are probably still very loyal fighters.

"Kurds. It seems that this Sultan Mahmud can really attract people and prove that his military strength is not so sufficient."

No matter who it was, they probably wouldn't be able to withstand the torment from him and little Kamensky.

In one year, many Pashas on the front line, the Grand Vizier of Constantinople, and Ottoman governors in various places had been dismissed, and the Turkish troops had lost more than 100,000 people. The entire European part of the Ottoman Empire was dragged into the war.

It was not surprising, therefore, that the Sultan should recruit soldiers from those parts of Asia to which he was still more loyal.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know either. After all, our intelligence in Asia is not that sufficient. Also, at this critical juncture, we should try to capture Skopje first, and then enter Greece. Carl, how much information have you collected on Greece?"

Solovyov got on the carriage first because his horse was shot and he asked Clausewitz to tell him about some maps and information.

"We only know about the situation in Greece. This is the case everywhere in the Balkan Peninsula. Greece has some independent armed forces."

"I really don't know about this. Mikhail only told me about his father going to Greece in the past."

Solovyov was curious. In addition to the Mamluks, there were also independent armed forces in Greece. No wonder a lot of soldiers were able to be quickly mobilized during the Greek War of Independence.

"Tell me about their composition, Carl. I am also somewhat interested."

"Well, these armed forces are used to prevent bandits. Every city and town has some armed forces, ranging from a dozen to hundreds. They are used to prevent bandits on weekdays. The word to describe them seems to be derived from Italian."

"Never mind that. There are some independent militias in Greece, but the situation in the Ottoman Empire is very strange. They often recruit bandits into the army. They are bandits in normal times, but soldiers in wars."

"Yes, there are bandits on both sides, what can I say?"

Clausewitz came from Prussia. Although their country was full of bandits because of Napoleon's rapid expansion, their main targets were the French army and those they believed were traitors who had defected to the French.

The situation is different in the Balkans. At least in Serbia there is Karageorge who can play both sides (in brackets, his name also means Black George). In Greece, both sides' military forces have such militias and bandits.

One can imagine the discipline of these people, which is also common in Europe.

Think about it, in Spain, not only the British and French armies, but even the Spanish "royal army" was often beaten, because they really liked to do things that were outrageous and immoral. When collecting grain in the local area, everyone did the same thing.

The Russian army has always had poor military discipline, except when they were in the Balkans and Italy, when they still paid some attention to their appearance. At other times, they had a lot of fun, especially when the Cossacks were collecting food during expeditions, they did a better job than the French army.

"But this is the current situation. The people in Serbia are tough."

"A soldier might have been a civilian before and worked as a bandit. This is really confusing. I don't understand it."

It's a mixed set of soldiers, bandits and civilians, and other people would probably feel a bit overwhelmed if they got stuck.

When they reached the outskirts of Skopje, the Russian army surrounded the city but was not in a hurry to attack.

The reason is very simple. The number of civilians here is limited. There are a large number of troops in the fortress, but the supplies are not much.

If we lay siege, a strong attack will definitely result in losses on our side, so it is better to lay siege like this and wait until the rations are almost consumed and the enemies in the city are almost gone.

Kamensky had previously besieged several fortresses in the lower reaches of the Danube, but because he had not blocked the waterways on the Danube, the Turkish army often smuggled their weapons into a series of fortresses. As a result, he had bad luck and the siege was not successful. He had to resort to blasting to resolve the battle.

This also consumed a large amount of ammunition and caused considerable casualties.

It was not so bad on his side. Kamensky's battlefield environment was mainly between water networks and swamps. After crossing the Danube, there were either flat land or mountain roads. It was more advantageous for him to encounter rivers, as they could often be used to divide the terrain.

The origin of the city of Skopje is probably that after the early Roman Empire took control of this place, the city was built with the name "Skupi". It was under the rule of the Roman Empire for a long time until the army of the Ottoman Empire entered Europe.

But the city also suffered severe population losses during the Turkish rule.

The reason for the losses was that the city was often hit by plagues and was once burned down.

Even under Turkish rule, the city's population was often less than 10,000.

If the rule continues like this, and if the transportation cannot be improved, in about a hundred years, there will be no one in the mountains, even though it is still a transportation hub. As for the future, this place will be plagued by wars and disasters, and the biggest feature of nationalism is probably to purge the locals several times.

Maybe in some places, we can’t even figure out who the original people were.

When the Russian army was stationed outside the city, they were often harassed by these bandits. Once they were pursued, they might run away into the deep mountains and forests.

However, over time, with the increasing number of Russian troops and the arrival of Serbian troops, these people became more obedient.

There is no other reason, it’s just the three-in-one attributes of Serbs.

Fighting bandits is possible!

That's it. It just ensures that the road from Sofia to Skopje is unobstructed, so that all the supplies needed for the siege can be brought over.

In the end, no matter what method is used to capture Skopje, it will be an important transportation hub for the Russian army's rear in the future and must not be neglected.

Supplies will be stored here in the future to provide ammunition when the Russian army continues to move south.

As for food, he would probably have to ask his Greek fellows. Solovyov also knew that there were many areas under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that used precious metal currencies. Therefore, whenever he arrived at a place, he would pay attention to using silver coins for transactions, at least to guarantee the value. The silver ruble was still relatively strong even in the Ottoman Empire.

But the sporadic bandits outside the city still made him feel uncomfortable. It was really troublesome to have people harassing him all the time.

So he called Duric and Jokic, and asked these two people and Dobniak to lead the Serbian cavalry and skirmishers to continue searching for bandits in the mountains, and to see if they could find any path leading to the Adriatic Sea.

As for the main road, not only was it blocked by the Turkish army, but it was also blocked with stones and wood. It would take time to clear it.

The power of black powder is definitely not enough. Solovyov now wants to use some other explosives, preferably a stronger one.

On the Greek side, Demetrius also brought good news when he returned this time.

"The Thessaly side heard that the Russian army had reached Skopje, so they prepared to start the action. They now have 4,000 to 5,000 people, and their strength is relatively scattered. However, the Turkish army there is relatively small, and there are only some bandits recruited temporarily."

"Interesting, your armed forces are basically militias to guard against these bandits, right?"

"Yes, you know that too?"

"As the commander of the corps, I always have to ask my subordinates to collect intelligence. I also need to keep abreast of your dynamics and understand your situation. Otherwise, if I make the wrong decision, many more people will die."

"Now that you know everything, the only thing we are worried about now is how to capture Larissa."

Larissa is an old Greek city since ancient times. It is outrageous that the Turkish troops in the city are all bandits.

These militiamen used to guard against bandits when they were obedient subjects, but when they rose up and fought for their own independence, they still had to fight the bandits, and some bandits even defected to them.

This is also a strange thing, but the Greeks seem to have gotten used to it and they continue to expand their armed forces.

"But if you take action, you will probably be exposed. It is better to attack the Ottoman officials or the tax farmers they sent to collect grain and taxes somewhere, and lure them to the place where you have ambushed in advance. If we attack the town directly, you don't even have cannons, and we can't send people there immediately, which will only cause our own strength to be damaged."

"I understand that. In addition to Thessaly, there are also people in our country who are ready to respond one after another."

"Then you must pay more attention to this. You must mobilize more Turkish troops and destroy them piecemeal. A few will add up to a large one, and you can win the battle. It will take some time for us to besiege Skopje, so you can't act hastily."

Demetrius also understood, so he asked Solovyov to write him another letter to explain the situation.

"You'd better give us some instructions, so that we can act according to your way."

"But my Greek is not very good. I often make spelling mistakes and mispronounce words. You stay here for a few days. I will ask the secretary in charge of writing to translate some of it for you. I will write down the specific content. It would be even better if there is someone who knows Russian or French."

"That's no problem, we will follow your instructions."

"The key is not to be like what the Serbs did in Niš some time ago. Although they made a lot of noise, they achieved limited results in the end. Earlier, they were even defeated by the Turks in Niš. Many heads of the dead were cut off and built into the wall. This is a tragic lesson. I hope you can avoid taking detours."

"Okay, I see what you mean."

However, in the Balkan Peninsula, where there are bandits everywhere and the identities of the three parties are unclear, Solovyov will probably have to carry out in-depth anti-bandit work while the Russian army continues to advance.

Sometimes it is even necessary to mobilize local people to take action.

Orthodox Christians in the Balkan Peninsula have always had a bad impression of the Turks. Although the Turkish Sultan did not force them to convert on a large scale, the churches in the city were converted into temples, and many parish lands were used to accommodate Turkish soldiers. Civilians' land was also confiscated, and slave traders have always been rampant.

It feels like a direct regression from the feudal Eastern Roman Empire to the Ionia under the rule of the Persian king in the Greek classical era, except that there would be no little boys being castrated at a young age and sent to the Persian king as tribute - although the Ottoman Empire also had eunuchs, but this technology was not used.
And what is even worse for the Greek world is that, except for the territories controlled by the Russians, basically all the places where they live are controlled by the Ottoman Empire. It can be said that they have no freedom at all. It is even worse than the time when they were frequently looted by the Goths.

Although it was easy to lose one's life, the Goths would leave after robbing, and sometimes even settle down. They would not levy heavy taxes and levies on people, and everyone would be put in shackles.

Therefore, the Greeks are always very active when external forces come to help.

But they were also influenced by Turkification internally, and the Greeks had always been arguing at length about how to act since ancient times, and they also formed cliques within the clans and villages.

Well, it looks like it is almost becoming a tribal democracy, which may be even worse than the system that has always been looked down upon by some philosophers in the classical era.

But at least they were willing to resist, if only someone could gather them all together.

It’s a pity that Prince Mikhail died in Sweden, otherwise he would have been the most suitable candidate.

Solovyov looked at his brother-in-law, Prince Vasily the Younger. Although he was a relative of Mikhail, he would not be able to do this. He still needed a different candidate. (End of this chapter)