We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The mortar came on the scene, and the rest was a natural progression.

The Fengtian Army artillery regulations stipulate that the basic load of a mortar is twenty rounds.

After 800 mortars had fired half of their ammunition, there was no other noise on the battlefield except screams and neighing of horses.

Yang Zhongsi immediately fired a signal flare and ordered the troops to launch a general attack.

The mortars stopped firing, and the infantry on both sides formed a line and moved forward. Yue Yun and Wang Sanchun each led their cavalry to turn around and attack from both sides, clearing the battlefield.

The remaining Cossack cavalry had no power to fight back, let alone the will to fight. Most of them were wiped out, and a small number surrendered.

When everything was over, hundreds of captured Cossacks knelt in a row on the snow, shivering.

Yang Zhongsi, Yue Yun and Wang Sanchun stood in front of the captives and glanced coldly at the group of bearded men.

"Master." Ge San, the personal guard, stepped forward and said with a bow, "I have found a captive among this group of people who has Hu blood and can speak some Hu language."

With a wave of his hand, two Fengtian Army soldiers immediately pulled out a relatively short man from the pile of prisoners and dragged him in front of Yang Zhongsi.

Two muskets with bayonets were pointed at his neck. The man was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground with a thud, uttering incoherent words for mercy.

Yang Zhongsi and the other two looked closely.

Although this man was also wearing a Cossack's tweed coat and a fur hat, his face was flat and his cheekbones were prominent, giving him the appearance of a northern barbarian.

He looked out of place among the Cossacks, who generally had high noses and deep eyes.

"My lord, General, this man is indeed a Cossack, but his ancestors must be Hu people. I can understand his Hu accent."

Ge San explained, then kicked the barbarian captive in the waist and shouted in barbarian language:

"If you want to live, be honest and answer the questions you ask! If you dare to tell even a lie, I'll smash your head into pieces. Do you understand?!"

The barbarian captive groaned from being kicked and begged for mercy: "I understand, I understand, please spare my life, sir! I dare not lie!"

Yang Zhongsi walked to the headless body of a Cossack cavalryman with an expressionless face.

Wang Sanchun immediately stepped forward, kicked the corpse over with his feet, and dragged it under Yang Zhongsi.

Yang Zhongsi sat down on it with great confidence, showing no sign of disgust, just treating it as a temporary chair.

He stared at the barbarian captive and uttered four words:

"I ask, you answer."

Ge San immediately repeated it in Hu language, with an even more ferocious tone.

The captive nods his head vigorously, like pounding garlic: "Of course, of course."

Yang Zhongsi was silent for a moment before asking his first question: "Who are you?"

The captive opened his mouth to answer, but Ge San kicked him on the shoulder again and cursed in the Hu language: "Think it through before you fart!"

"You're not the only captive who can communicate. If you dare to fool my handsome master, I'll replace him immediately, and I'll skin you alive before I do!"

This kick and the threat completely broke down Hu Ren's psychological defenses. He did seem to be lying before.

The Hu man's face was pale, his face was covered with snot and tears, and he no longer dared to hide anything.

With a crying voice, he answered in a nonsensical language mixed with a few Russian words.

Ge San translated simultaneously:

"They are... Cossacks, from the west, very far west, from a country called the Rus' Empire."

"It's a huge country, as vast as the sky, and its population is as numerous as the grass on the prairie, at least tens of millions of people."

"Their army is as numerous as the trees in the forest, with a standing army of 200,000! Impressive!"

As Ge San translated, his expression gradually became serious.

Ever since the three brothers of the Xie family followed Li Che, he began to serve as Yang Zhongsi's personal guard. Naturally, he knew some national affairs through what he saw and heard.

With a population of over 10 million, it is a huge country. Apart from Daqing, the Fengtian Army has never encountered such a huge country.

Although Yang Zhongsi and the other two looked calm, they were all shocked in their hearts.

There is such a powerful country in this world, and in the frigid northwest, how do they survive?!

But then the Hu man took a breath and continued:

"As for the Cossacks, they weren't originally soldiers of the Russian Empire. They were serfs who escaped from the estates of the Russian nobles and gathered on the borders of the Russian Empire."

"The Russian Empire's grasslands are vast and sparsely populated, with birds and beasts roaming everywhere. Furthermore, the emperor's rule is far-reaching."

"Thus, over time, those who had fled to foreign lands spontaneously gathered together, established refuges, and gradually formed several settlement centers."

"They called themselves Cossacks, and made a living by plundering caravans or being hired by other countries to fight. Later, they were recruited by Her Majesty the Empress of the Russian Empire."

When it came to the key issue, the Hu man glanced at Yang Zhongsi's expression.

Yang Zhongsi still had no expression on his face, but Wang Sanchun's eyes became strange.

Is it true that the emperor of this damn Russian Empire is a woman?

The white ghosts in the north are really strange. It is strange enough that they live in such a cold place, and they also let a woman become emperor.

I just don't know how a queen can determine the legitimate heir...

But this is an opportunity... If we can tie him up and give him to His Highness, it would be a great achievement!

Yang Zhongsi pondered for a moment and continued to ask, "What are you doing here?"

The Hu man did not dare to pause and told everything in detail:

"We discovered that there were countless furs of mink, fox, and bear in the east, all of the finest quality."

"In Russia's enemy countries, and in the wealthy kingdoms further west, these furs are more valuable than gold."

"Her Majesty, having learned of the wealth of the East, began sending official expeditions here to collect fur taxes from the tribes living in the tundra and transport them back to Russia."

A look of regret appeared on the face of the Hu captive:

"But the Empire has a fixed tax quota, and what goes to us Cossacks is too little."

"We want more. We want to find more fur-producing areas that haven't been discovered by the Empire. We heard there are even more fertile lands further east."

"So our team broke away from the main force, hoping to run further east and find a new source of fur before the Empire did. Unexpectedly..."

With a mournful face, he looked at the cold eyes of the Fengtian Army soldiers around him with fear, his voice getting lower and lower: "I didn't expect to encounter your heavenly soldiers. Those thunders that will fall from the sky... are too... too terrifying..."

After finishing the translation, Ge San stepped aside.

Yang Zhongsi sat on the corpse silently without saying a word.

Yue Yun also had a calm expression, as if he was digesting this information.

Wang Sanchun was scornful. "Humph! You dare to run wild on Feng State territory just for a few skins? What a bunch of short-sighted desperadoes!"

After a long time, Yang Zhongsi raised his head.

His gaze swept across the kneeling Cossack captives, finally settling on the Hu captive: "You said you were advancing eastward without permission?"

"So, how far away are the Russian Empire's official expeditionary forces and army from here? What's their size? Who's leading them? Where's their base?"

The Hu captives were confused for a moment by the barrage of questions.

Under Ge San's harsh urging, he stammered and tried hard to recall:

"The Imperial army was about a month away from us, or even longer? I can't remember exactly...it was snowing so hard..."

"There were many of them, regular soldiers, officials with clerks and measuring instruments, and craftsmen who built wooden forts."

"I heard the leader was a nobleman named Khabarov. They built several wooden castles along the river. The closest one seems to be called Yakutsk, on the Lena River..."

The information he provided was fragmentary, and the pronunciations of place names and personal names were strange and vague.

But Yang Zhongsi still roughly outlined an outline through his description, combined with some crude map fragments he had seized:

A huge and greedy empire is extending its tentacles towards Feng State along the frozen river.

The Russian Empire's colonial expedition is the real trouble, and these Cossacks are nothing but hyenas chasing profit.

As for the specific location of this team, the number of people and the weapons they carry, they are currently uncertain.

The Fengtian Army knew nothing about the situation north of Heilongjiang Province, let alone places that far away.

But they had already built strongholds and obviously had sufficient logistical support to support them in launching a war of aggression or continuously harassing the border of Feng State.

Whether out of consideration for Fengguo or for his own duties as the general of Heilongjiang Province, he cannot leave this group of people alone.

The Hu prisoner was taken away, and Ge San would use him to interrogate more Cossacks to obtain more intelligence.

"Yakutsk, the Lena River."

Yang Zhongsi repeated these difficult-to-pronounce place names with a cold glint in his eyes.

"Master," Wang Sanchun said, unable to contain himself, he clasped his fists and pleaded, "Now that we know the direction of the lair of these white-skinned ghosts, I am willing to lead a group of elite cavalry, taking these prisoners as guides, and attack Huanglong directly!"

Yang Zhongsi glanced at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Don't use your brain!"

Wang Sanchun scratched his head. "We can't just leave them alone. They're heading east, and who knows when they'll come south and run into us."

"I didn't say to let it go, but this matter is no longer something we can decide."

Wang Sanchun curled his lips and retreated silently.

Of course he knew this, he was just expressing his opinion.

After all, as a general of Fengguo, other qualities are secondary, at least he cannot be afraid of fighting.

"This matter is of great importance." Yue Yun said slowly, "Let's send a carrier pigeon to Fengtian and let His Highness make the decision."

Yang Zhongsi nodded slightly and said, "I will leave this matter to Zilong. Once all the prisoners have been interrogated, I will report the situation here to His Highness."

Yue Yun is Li Che's favorite general, so it is most appropriate to entrust this matter to him.

Yue Yun had no reason to refuse, so he bowed and said, "Yes!"