Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The Turkish army's formation was large, and the team was much more gathered than before.

"It looks good, and it's deployed on one side of the mountain pass. It looks like someone who knows military skills is leading the team."

"According to the information we received, it was Aziz Ahmed Pasha and Haji Mustafa Bey who came to lead the army, and these two men won some minor battles."

"That still counts as being able to fight, right? Karl, what I'm worried about now is that if the standoff continues like this for a long time, we won't be able to get to Athens."

"You're still worried about this."

Clausewitz knew Solovyov's thinking. He was ready to fight because if he didn't deal with the Turkish support army, or at least force them to retreat, he wouldn't be able to take Thessaloniki, and then it would be impossible to solve the Greek issue and get a big piece of meat from Turkey at the negotiation table.

If Thessaloniki is left alone at this moment, the Turkish army can mobilize cavalry to attack Vergina at will, and the Russian army will have no stable rear when it moves south.

It is obvious that the Macedonian "warehouse" must be cleaned before goods can be stored in it.

"How is the front-line deployment going now?"

"Of our four divisions, only the 9th was placed in the rear as a reserve, with Trubetskoy on the right, the grenadiers on the left, and Uvarov in the center."

"What about the deployment of the cavalry? I remember I told you that Kunev's cavalry should be concentrated and hidden behind the infantry, and not released until the critical moment."

"This is easy. There are mountains on both sides. We can hide the cavalry behind them. If we follow the phalanx we proposed in the previous meeting, we can let Trubetskoy retreat, thus exposing the enemy's weakness. At the same time, the grenadiers and Uvarov also retreat, allowing the cavalry to pull out and cut off the passage to the canyon."

If it was the Russian cavalry facing the Turkish cavalry and infantry, then here they could cut off the Turkish army's retreat like a hot knife through butter, and then the infantry would counterattack and the grenadiers would seal off the valley.

Solovyov had used this kind of concession strategy before, but it was particularly effective in terms of command on the battlefield and the resilience of Russian soldiers.

Even now it seems that it depends more on the level of the commander.

"If that's the case, Mick, you also have to consider Fanarion. Although the enemy's main force can't pass through the mountain road over there, there will be cavalry coming. Should we send a small number of troops to block it?"

"It's not necessary before the battle begins. Besides, the width of this mountain pass is just right. The Turks can't deploy and they can't make a detour. It will also help us shorten the battle line. With these five divisions here, there is enough room for maneuver."

"Are you still worried about the price the Serbs will ask?"

"Of course I'm not worried!"

He listened to Clausewitz's question and laughed after he finished speaking.

After several division commanders arrived here, they also saw that Solovyov was much more relaxed than before, and he looked very confident.

This was probably a good sign. After all, the Russian army was not fully prepared, but it still had the advantage of terrain. In addition, the Russian army finally had the support of two cavalry regiments, although they were all from Karageorge.

As for the Greek militia, the purpose of their existence is probably to help the Russian army maintain transportation lines in the rear and transport supplies transferred from Skopje to the Russian front line.

This time, they finally got the "royal army", defeated the Turkish army many times along the way, and finally arrived in Greece.

It is a pity that the leaders of the Greek rebel army were either killed or died of illness. The few who went to Russia were also Phanario Greek nobles, and many of the nobles who dealt with the Turks at sea have also died.

Even the new generation of the rebels are not like their fathers. In addition, the situation in Greece has been very bad in recent years. Due to the economic decline, it is difficult to recruit privateering fleets to attack the Turkish coast. If they only fight on land, they obviously can't do anything.

At times like this, it's already good enough that they can serve as the atmosphere group and the transport team.

In the end, Solovyov gritted his teeth and left only four regiments on the main traffic routes to besiege Thessaloniki. He even mobilized a number of Greek militias to bluff on the mountains, so that the defenders of Thessaloniki would not dare to act rashly.

Then a group of Greek militiamen were called from Larissa. Some of these people were former bandits. As for Ali Pasha, he would not march eastward from Epirus - in fact, the governor of Albania was not powerful enough to fight back. Ali Pasha therefore rejected the opinion of Aziz Ahmed Pasha, saying that his limited force was also used to deal with the unruly people of Montenegro, and it was not convenient to send troops.

This always keeps the power of both sides relatively balanced, and Solovyov can barely use his tactics.

So he decided to adopt a fishing tactic, first intercepting the enemy in the mountain pass, and after weakening the Turkish army through several battles, luring the enemy deep into the territory and finally defeating them.

This was also a risky measure that he had to take. After he thought about it, he realized that the only way to achieve complete victory was to cut off the enemy's retreat here.

However, it also involves some risks, and even the risk of losing the results of entering Greece. This has happened in previous Russo-Turkish wars. For example, Peter the Great was surrounded by the Ottoman Empire in the Third Russo-Turkish War and finally had to sign a peace treaty.

Of course, there were also people like Suvorov, who used 20,000 to 30,000 people to repeatedly attack the Turkish army.

As Suvorov's de facto last disciple, Solovyov felt that although he was able to defeat a larger force with a smaller one, he really had no better way to deal with these Turkish troops huddled together.

In the past, the Russian army could use the Turkish troops' dispersed forces to defeat them one by one on the battlefield, but now it seems that this will not be possible.

Therefore, he called all the generals together and finally made the decision to fight.

".It is like this now. We still have some difficulties in supply, but we still have enough ammunition. If we defeat the enemy, we can slowly replenish our ammunition. Moreover, the Turks use a lot of British weapons. At least their gunpowder is the same as ours. Moreover, the caliber of our rifles is similar to that of the British, so it is not surprising to use their ammunition."

Indeed, this is how the Russian army is, they cannot even standardize their weapons and ammunition.

"Are you going to use the enemy's supplies to fight?"

"Yes, Uvarov. Since we can't force the enemy to eat horse meat, we can eat their horses. This way we can delay them for a while. It's a pity that no matter where our capital is, it is too far away from the Turkish front. We can't expect the emperor to send us reinforcements."

If we had telegraphs, it would be even more troublesome, for example, someone would micromanage the system.
Fortunately, as long as Kamensky Jr. waits for the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrive, he will have the power to decide on a ceasefire.

Now is not the best time to stop the war. If the war can spread to all of the Ottoman Empire's European territories, then this problem will be easy to solve. Even Soloviev has already thought about it. For example, the interests of the Tsar's Oldenburg relatives have been damaged today. Let's not talk about Serbia first. Wallachia and Moldavia can be merged, and then a relative of the Tsar can be found to be the monarch.

Unlike the affairs in Northern Europe, which still require consultation between France and Russia, France cannot interfere in the affairs of the Balkans as their attention is still on dealing with Britain.

Moreover, this is the last period of relatively peaceful relations between France and Russia, and neither side is willing to take the initiative to provoke the other at this time.

What's more, the attention of both sides is focused on the two ends of the Mediterranean, so for the time being, they can remain non-interfering with each other and each get what they need.

Alexander's uncle, Prince Peter, the regent of Oldenburg, and the mentally ill Prince William of Oldenburg fled to Russia because of the annexation of Oldenburg. Naturally, Alexander was dissatisfied with this.

Prince Peter's deceased wife was Alexander's aunt, and their two sons happened to be in this state. If Oldenburg's status is restored one day in the future, they will also be theirs.

However, these two cousins ​​can be separated. If Alexander wants, he can establish a new country here by compensating his relatives.

Solovyov had thought of this, but he was far away in the Balkans and could only speculate. After all, this plan showed that he was a relative of Bonaparte.

Napoleon had done this more than once before, and now it was the turn of Kamensky the Younger and Solovyov. The former was a professional soldier, but the latter, because of his marriage and affiliation, had a lot to consider even though he was only the deputy commander in this expedition.

But his thoughts might have really touched Alexander's heart.

At this time in St. Petersburg, Alexander did meet with his uncle, mentioned the issue of Oldenburg, and suggested that there would be an opportunity in the future to help Oldenburg restore its country, or find a place adjacent to Russia in other parts of Europe for them to serve as monarch.

It seems that there are some suitable places in the Balkans, such as Greece and Wallachia. If the Ottoman Empire is defeated, it is indeed possible to arrange for the two cousins ​​to marry the local nobles, or directly declare rule over there.

It's a good idea. If you think about it, Alexander is also very shrewd. This will also help consolidate the results of the war.

Speaking of relatives, Alexander also felt that his relatives were fond of digging holes. Only Oldenburg was more reliable, as it was strictly speaking their family - after all, Peter III was the nephew of Queen Elizabeth, and the rest were probably three brothers-in-law. Napoleon could not be blamed for this, as his ambitions even worried his adopted nephew.

It was for this reason that Solovyov sped up the progress. Otherwise, given his character, he would not have engaged in a radical battle when he was outnumbered and far away from friendly forces.

When he was in Sweden, he fought steadily and every blow he made was bloody, but he never had to worry about his flanks. After all, he had broken through the defenses on the sea. Bagration even attracted the enemy's attention in the Aland Islands, so he could go all out.

But in Greece, he rushed into Greece without waiting for the Serbs to finish their training. The sooner the war ended, the better, as he was afraid of more trouble if it took too long.

If the delay continues, the Russian army will have to withdraw a large number of troops from the Balkan Peninsula, and these achievements will be lost.

At this time, there is no point in restoring history.

In fact, Solovyov also knew that Kutuzov finally replaced Kamensky the Younger because he lured the Turkish army into the trap despite the inferior military strength, and finally defeated the Turkish army in Rushchuk and Slobozia in 1811, and forced the Turks to sign a peace treaty the following year.

If we don't act quickly now, the main force of the Russian army will be mobilized back to the country on a large scale next year, and all these achievements will basically be in vain.

In that case, it was not until the tenth Russo-Turkish war, nearly 70 years later, that these results were finally digested, and two more wars took place in between, especially the failed Crimean War.

This kind of repetition is more difficult than carrying out various reforms at home, as the strategic opportunity period is limited.

In future wars with the Ottoman Empire, it would be best if the next war could turn the opponent into an Asian country.

But there is no chance of winning in one battle, and now the pressure is on him.

"We have difficulties too, but now is not the time to think about these things. Even if reinforcements are coming, they probably won't arrive now. We can only rely on the troops we have. You should go back first and go to your respective positions according to the deployment. This battle may not only require us to fulfill our responsibilities, but also require us to pay more. In addition, if we defeat the enemy, the problem of Thessaloniki will be easily solved. As long as we are stuck here, even if the Turks still have millions of soldiers, there will be no heroes among them."

When he signaled his subordinates to leave, he also looked aside and saw a huqin.

If I pull it a little, maybe I can get some inspiration.

But he is now getting familiar with these instruments, and they are certainly listenable, but not great, so it might be difficult for him to play and sing by himself, but maybe it will be possible in the future.

He wanted to stop at the Acropolis in Athens when the war was over, overlooking everything below the mountain, and then express some emotion.

However, this opportunity only has a short window of time, and it is hard to say whether I will have the chance to return to Greece in the future.

When he thought of this, he had already played this melody on the way to Üsküdar.

Perhaps the most difficult time of this year has just arrived. As long as we can hold on and defeat the enemy, all the past achievements will be in our pocket.

And it was a good thing for him that, just as he was pulling the strings, Clausewitz came back.

"Mick, the Serbian volunteer cavalry has arrived and brought good news."

"Tell me, what good thing could it be?"

"Peric has also arrived with the Serbian Infantry Regiment that has just completed its training. There are a total of four Infantry Regiments and one Chasseur Regiment."

"This is enough."

Compared to his worries when Karageorge was going to negotiate, it can be said that it is good news that Peric has arrived here with a well-trained army.

But it is not clear whether we can catch up with this battle. (End of this chapter)