Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

"What? The Qing army besieged Aichun, and the Russian army was defeated and retreated to Aichun to defend itself?"

Mushavyov was shocked and incredulous when he heard the news! Basha was his favorite general, and those 1,000 soldiers were also the elite and battle-hardened Russian troops. Even if the Qing army had 2,000 men, it would be impossible for them to defeat Basha without any chance of fighting back, not to mention that they also had a group of Cossack cavalry!

After a full day and two nights of desperate running, Kursk had completely lost his original figure. He was covered in dust and his lips were cracked. He answered with difficulty, "General, it is true. The Qing army is too powerful. Compared with the army under Yishan, it is many times stronger! And they are all equipped with advanced Western firearms. We were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. We are simply unable to fight again. Please send troops to help us urgently!"

"Trash, trash!"

Mushavyov roared, "You dare to fight them without even knowing their true strength? You're a bunch of good-for-nothings! Are they much stronger than Yishan's army? How is that possible? The most powerful army in the entire three northeastern provinces is Yishan's Green Camp soldiers. His Green Camp soldiers are not good enough, so what other army is stronger? Don't tell me which Zeng Guofan's army it is. He's suppressing bandits in the south and has no energy to take care of the faraway Northeast. Even if he could, it's at least five or six thousand miles from the south to the Northeast. Did they fly here?"

"General, there's another powerful force in the capital area. Senggelinqin's army is also very powerful. Could it be..."

Chief of Staff Sergei whispered beside him.

Mushavyov was startled, and his mind recalled the young but resolute general who had driven the British and French fleets into retreat—Liu Ye! He was a thorn in the flesh!

Immediately, Mushavyov said in a deep voice, "Impossible! Even if they come from the capital, it will take at least a month and a half. And that's with a full-scale march. After arriving in the Northeast, they will need at least some time to rest and recuperate before they can recover their fighting strength. How can they be so strong?"

Kursk stammered, "General, our intelligence reports indicate these people didn't come from the interior, but from North Korea..."

North Korea?

Could it be reinforcements sent by the Qing government from Korea? Even more impossible. The Korean army is weaker than noodles, unable to even keep up with Yishan's army! Could it be reinforcements coming from the sea? Mushavyov was horrified at this thought. If they were really mobilized from the interior and arrived in the Northeast by sea, it would be very possible. However, they were able to conceal this information so well, which is really not to be underestimated. Basha seems to be in real danger this time!

"Order the 53rd Regiment to rush to Aichun for emergency assistance! Quickly, definitely quickly, get to Aichun within two days!"

There was still more than a hundred kilometers to go from Vladivostok to Aichun. Even with two days of sleepless nights, it would be difficult. But Mushavyev couldn't care less now. Aichun must not be lost! It was the first gate of the Russian army's defense against the Qing army. Once it was achieved, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land behind it would be empty, and Vladivostok would have no barrier!

The commander of the 53rd Regiment, Komishevich, said anxiously, "General, from Vladivostok to Aichun, it's at least three hundred miles. If we only have two days to get there, the entire army will be exhausted. How can we fight?"

Mushavyov's eyes were red as he shouted, "Asshole! Now that Basha has been defeated, Aichun is in jeopardy. We absolutely cannot lose Aichun. Once lost, Vladivostok will face a huge threat. Don't you know that? March at full speed and make sure to reach Aichun in the shortest possible time. The Qing army has just experienced a major battle and is severely exhausted. By then, we won't be able to take anything away from you!"

Komishevich had no choice but to obey the order and hurried down to assemble the troops.

Chief of Staff Sergei reminded him, "General, if all of our 53rd Regiment is transferred away, Vladivostok will be left empty. We only have about 2,000 people in total. If one regiment is transferred away, there will only be 500 to 600 people left. If we are attacked..."

Mushavyov snorted coldly and replied, "What are you afraid of? We still have dozens of artillery pieces in Vladivostok. Even if we bombard it, we can contain the enemy at the gates of Vladivostok. As long as we destroy the Qing army in Aichun City, we will win!"

Sergei was still a little worried and replied, "General, what I mean is that we still need to mobilize troops from other places to strengthen the defense of Vladivostok. This place is related to our empire's entire Far East strategy. It is the best base for the future Pacific Fleet and we can't afford to lose it..."

Mushavyov nodded. What Sergei said made sense. Vladivostok was too important to the empire. Its status was even comparable to that of St. Petersburg. One was in the Atlantic Ocean and the other in the Pacific Ocean. They were Russia's only two seaports!

"Order the troops from other nearby cities to gather towards Vladivostok. The real battle has finally arrived. I think the leader of this army might be an old acquaintance of mine!"

Mushavyov replied in a deep voice.

Sergei was stunned and asked, "General, do you know the enemy's leading general?"

"It's very likely that the Qing government doesn't have many generals left who can be used now. Most of them are concentrated in the south. In the north, there is only one monk king, Liu Ye, who has just become famous. Senggelinqin has a heavy responsibility to defend the capital and it is impossible for him to leave Tianjin. If it is really a reinforcement from the capital, it can only be that Liu Ye. Humph, during the negotiations, it was he who rejected our empire's negotiation request and drove me out of Beijing. This guy is not old, but he is unusually difficult to deal with. This time we may have really met our match. He once said that as long as the Russian Empire attacked the Qing Dynasty, he would lead his troops north and drive us out again!"

Liu Ye?

Sergei felt a chill in his heart. Although he didn't know what kind of person this guy was, just looking at his maneuvering, making friends with America, appeasing Britain and France, and then concentrating all his efforts on dealing with Tsarist Russia and driving the general out of the capital, he could see that his methods were so experienced that he was definitely not an mediocre person!

Mushavyov continued, "Sergei, I'm not too confident about Komishevich coming to Aichun this time. So, you should lead the troops yourself. Be careful. I'm feeling a little uneasy. Don't let anything go wrong. If that happens, we'll be in a passive position!"

Sergei quickly agreed.

A regiment of Russian troops, consisting of 1,500 to 1,600 men, launched a charge towards Aichun, covering a distance of 300 miles in two days and two nights. Even with the Russian army's amazing physical strength, it was difficult to do so, and they could only gallop at full speed.

However, Mushavyov’s feeling was absolutely correct. The Russian army was about to suffer another severe blow from the Qing army!