Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Although the Turks were unaware of some of the problems on the Russian side, they also knew that the Russian army had always been short of manpower. The two disastrous defeats they faced against the Macedonian Army were both due to the Russian army's pre-set positions. This time, Aziz Ahmed Pasha and Haji Mustafa Bey were going to the expedition, and they were very clear about the level of their subordinates.

So the Turkish army did not divide its forces, but assembled its troops, starting from near Adrianople and advancing along the coastline towards Amphipolis. Along the way, the Turkish army's marching columns were relatively tight and not as loose as in the past.

No matter how stupid the opponent is, he will learn his lesson after being beaten a few times. What's more, these two are the few besides Ahmed Pasha who can fight for a few rounds against the Russian army and win some small victories. Although their fighting ability may not be reliable, they are not as brainless as those Pasha governors from Greece who were defeated by the Russian army.

For example, Musa Pasha was probably defeated piece by piece by the Turkish army itself because of its weak combat effectiveness.

The local army that has been assembled now does have 100,000 soldiers, but there has always been a shortage of combat soldiers. There are also peddlers and lords among them. Although many military units have those establishments, the personnel stuffed into them may not be able to fight.

The Turks returned to their old ways, also because those selected troops had suffered heavy losses before, and now such a long time had passed. Because the flow rate of the lower reaches of the Danube was relatively slow, there were also swollen and rotten corpses entering the Black Sea from the Danube Delta.

The Danube River is now almost turning into the Ganges, with dead bodies often seen floating there.

But in India, people still have to burn it if conditions permit.

Aziz Ahmed Pasha decided to set off, and he also wanted to gain some political capital for himself through this battle.

Anyway, the one-eyed Grand Vizier probably won't stay in this position for too long because of his repeated defeats. If he can rescue Thessalonika, His Majesty the Sultan will probably consider letting him take over as Grand Vizier.

The temptation was indeed so great that even the messenger sent by Sultan Mahmud to the walls of Theodosius, a eunuch from the palace, told him the Sultan's opinion.

At this point, Aziz Ahmed Pasha certainly wanted to win the battle, so he and Haji Mustafa Bey also discussed the appropriate deployment of the Turkish army.

After arriving at Amphipolis, they also looked at the situation on both sides. Since it was October, the weather was not as dry as in summer. It started raining on the Mediterranean side. The road to the south was very muddy, and the rivers and lakes in the middle were also difficult for the army to pass. Therefore, they decided to take the road to the north.

Although Macedonia has a flat terrain and was a high-quality pasture in ancient times that could provide a large number of high-quality horses, the governance level of the Ottoman Empire meant that the locals would not be able to gain any benefits, and the infrastructure was also largely abandoned.

On the way, Aziz Ahmed Pasha also recalled that the Sultan himself believed that the current empire was too bad and some changes were indeed needed, especially those Janissaries who occupied positions in Constantinople. This time Serbia made such a big fuss, and it was also because the Janissaries sent to the local area forced the Serbs in Belgrade to rebel.

However, the situation became very complicated because the then Sultan Selim III hoped to use the Serbs to weaken the Janissary Order. The Janissary Order was weakened, but the Serbs also demanded to improve the level of local autonomy, so the scale of the war escalated. After 1806, the Russians came in again.

In short, the sick giant of the Ottoman Empire did need some changes, and perhaps winning a battle could help.

Now the Ottoman Empire had no new candidates to choose for a coup. Mustafa IV killed Selim III and wanted to kill Mahmoud as well, but he hid in the stove in the Turkish bath and survived by chance.

There is no candidate to replace in the Ottoman Empire now. If they want to change the Sultan, they will probably have to wait until Mahmud II has a son. But his current situation is so bad that even the ministers and the Bayi are a little worried. It will be troublesome if he cannot have a son.

However, judging from the distribution of descendants of the later Ottoman Sultans, they are all descendants of Mahmud II. This is because the current situation is tense, and perhaps you gentlemen are just worrying too much.

The Turkish army marched towards Amphipolis, and Aziz Ahmed Pasha also sat in the carriage and observed the marching order of the Turkish army.

He was not young anymore, so this was probably his chance to try his luck. If he could become the Grand Vizier, even if he was unlucky and failed in the subsequent wars or the court struggles, with his status, he probably would not end up being dragged to the execution ground and beheaded like some local emperors who established their own regimes.

If you fail, you can just become a governor of a Greek island, which is a kind of "island tycoon". The worst case scenario is probably Cyprus or some small islands with no oil or water.

Therefore, he was still very active and planned to launch a major battle to drive the Russian army, which was at a clear disadvantage in terms of manpower, out of Thessaloniki.

His idea was not without reason. It was true that Solovyov's Macedonian Army had 40,000 men, but after a series of battles, they had suffered casualties. Even with reinforcements, the total strength had always been between 35,000 and 40,000. They were not suitable for fighting against the Turkish army. The past two victories were due to the Turks' own problems, and they ended up suffering a crushing defeat.

Now, he, Aziz Ahmed, thought that would not be the case and said so to his entourage.

"If our army is defeated by the Russian barbarians again this time, what should be going on? They will use the terrain to attack us, hiding the main force in the woods behind a river, and then the second time they will take advantage of our army's divisions to defeat them one by one. This time our main force has been together all the time. Even if they find a place like Thermopylae to block our advance, the previous situation will not happen again, right?"

"Lord Pasha, I think the Russians' supply lines are very long now. Their main Danube Corps is also trapped in the mountains. The number of Macedonian Corps here is also limited. If we can seize the opportunity to curb their offensive, we may be able to turn defeat into victory and even get in touch with the lords in Bosnia and Albania."

"That old guy Ali will definitely have some tricks up his sleeve. He even keeps the son of the Greek rebel leader as his bodyguard, has connections with all parties, and gives tributes to important people. I even think they are colluding with the Russians now. But if we win, he will also see the situation clearly."

But if they lose, Ali Pasha will also side with the Russians. Everyone knows that the Ottoman Empire has always been full of fence-sitters, and this cannot be changed.

At the same time, the Russian army was building fortifications on the previously preset positions and dragging over artillery. The tense atmosphere seemed as if the enemy could return at any time.

However, this is also an advance preparation. What the Russian army needs at this time is to improve the positions along the river.

But this time the Turks kept advancing in a huddle, and Solovyov became a little worried.

In the past, he had trouble dealing with the Turkish army because they were too weak. If they had been a stronger opponent, like the French army in Poland, he would have been in even greater trouble. The French army was an equal and even somewhat superior opponent in terms of strategy and tactics, but the level of the Turks was...
If they separated the Russian army, they would have a chance. This time, the Russian army was completely huddled together because they were besieging Thessaloniki. Solovyov could not take the initiative to find the enemy or set up a battlefield to start the fight as he had done in the past.

Although this time it can be considered a "preset", I am still trapped in a circle.

The Turkish army was not dispersed, so it was impossible for him to replicate the victory in Philippopolis and he could only fight a positional battle honestly.

This was still very difficult for him, because all his previous victories on the battlefield were due to mobility, whether it was strategic maneuvers or deployment in battles.

I was stuck behind a river and crouched for a long time, waiting for the enemy to come, but the opponent was unwilling to make a mistake and huddled into a ball.

If I don't have some reinforcements, it will be difficult to win this time, let alone a big victory.

But the only reinforcements that can be mobilized now are either from Serbia or Greece. It is difficult for the Russian army to replenish its own forces, and the number of troops it can bring to the battlefield may not even be more than 30,000.

At this time, facing the Turkish army that is at least twice as large as our own, the difficulty is indeed increased.

Although the opponent's strength is always discounted, they always have more people than us.

Now even he is a little nervous.

"Mick, the brothers all have to look to you. We have always won battles in the past. If you are confident, everyone will also think that we will win this battle. But with you like this now, everyone's confidence is not that high."

"What I'm thinking is that if we can stop the enemy, we'll have to stand off here for a long time, which will only lead to more trouble. The Turkish army will come from the main road in front of us. Although they are blocked in the middle by the mountains on both sides and cannot deploy, the longer the standoff lasts, the worse it may be for us."

"The enemy's consumption is greater."

"Karl, Amphipolis is not like Thessaloniki. The port was abandoned because of a river blocking it. There is no river flowing into the sea there, so small boats can still sail there. I asked the guide about this, and Odysseus also told me about the situation in some places in Greece."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"Do you really want to make a deal with the Jews in Thessaloniki?"

"How can you send people in? Besides, the other party's attitude is unclear. If these people are willing to sell it for a good price, it would be fine. But if there are speculators who sell your idea to the Turks, then our strategic deployment will be completely ruined, and the enemy will be more confident."

"Then let them go for now, but find some Greeks from Larissa and have them dress up in our infantry's clothes, or simply wear green cloth instead. Maybe that will scare them, and we can then pull some of them out."

"It's probably enough to deal with those idiots in the city, but what if the enemy coordinates and launches a counterattack?"

"If they are willing to come, we can accompany them to the end. I hope that the Serbs will come to their senses these days and be willing to formally accept our command. The copy of this diplomatic negotiation will not reach us for a while. Perhaps Count Kutuzov's letter can get here."

The fat old man did send a letter, but the journey was very tortuous. By the time it reached Solovyov's hands, it would probably be enough as long as it was before the war between the two sides started.

He has a lot of concerns, and they are not without reason. Both sides are facing many unfavorable conditions at this time. Whoever makes fewer mistakes in the end will probably be the winner.

The Turkish army was getting closer and closer. After passing Amphipolis, a large group of troops came from the north. The road here was also convenient for travel, but because the bridges on the road were severely damaged, every time the Turkish army crossed the river, they either waded or built a pontoon bridge, and the marching speed was not very fast.

After all, the discipline of the Turkish army cannot be compared with that of the Russian army. After intensive training, a large group of Russian infantry can travel the equivalent of 30 versts a day. The rapid movement of a small team may be even faster if the degree of organization is not taken into consideration.

As for the Turkish army, they were able to cover 15 kilometers a day, which was considered fast.

Taking into account the large number of miscellaneous troops in the Turkish army, each with different weapons and equipment, as well as the presence of merchants accompanying the army and some infantrymen bringing their followers to the battlefield, this speed will be reduced.

The cavalry does have some advantages, but they are mainly the Sipahi cavalry in the feudal territories. This is also an advantage caused by their daily martial arts training. The Turkish army still has its own set of cavalry training, and there are many distinctive heavy cavalry.

If there was a good general in command, it would be a greater threat to the Russian army.

Fortunately, the level of their generals was limited, and the quality of the infantry in the Turkish army had always been questionable. At this time, there was no "new army" that Mahmud II later reformed, only some quasi-new troops that were influenced by Europe in the early days.

At this level, they are already the best among the Turkish troops.

Otherwise, Solovyov might have to consider whether he really should abandon the pass and the siege of Thessaloniki, retreat to Vergina, and then deal with the Turkish army by using the narrow land passage between Thessaly and Macedonia.

After all, the numerical disadvantage was too great to be ignored. In Rom, he could still use his skills to defeat the enemy, but this time he had no choice but to fight hard. (End of this chapter)