Chapter 363 Rehearsal of the Russian-Austrian border
On December 27, the Fourth and Fifth Legions, numbering more than thirty-eight thousand, crossed the Bessarabia border area and entered the Principality of Wallachia.
Perhaps because the Russian army has frequently entered and exited the Principality of Moldavia in the past few decades, the Moldavia living in the Principality of Moldavia and the (puppet) ruler the Grand Duke of Moldavia did not choose to resist.
Gorchakov's army was allowed to enter the Principality of Moldavia, and many Moldavia businessmen even voluntarily followed the Russian Imperial Army to provide outsourcing services to the Russian Imperial Army, including but not limited to selling watered wine.
Moldy black bread provided some physiological benefits to some of the soldiers accompanying the army.
Military merchants like this were already commonplace during the Roman Empire, and they reached another peak in the hands of Emperor Napoleon in the early 19th century.
I think back when the First Empire sent troops to fight, there were countless German merchants, French merchants, and Italian merchants in the army. The army merchant system greatly alleviated the army's transportation problems and ensured the security of the army's logistics.
With the invention and construction of railways, transportation costs have gradually dropped. The materials that one carriage can transport can completely crush dozens of merchants accompanying the army. The unified purchase price is also cheaper than the price arbitrarily set by the merchants accompanying the army.
This special group of military merchants is gradually dying out.
Of course, such a demise did not happen overnight, but took half a century of evolution.
At this stage, except for Jérôme Bonaparte and Austria, two countries have built large-scale railways and used them for military purposes (in terms of logistics, only Jérôme Bonaparte emphasized railway transportation and dispatch), most of the remaining countries are interested in
The railroad didn't take it seriously.
Especially countries like the Kingdom of Britain, which were hit head-on by the railway bubble, are even more afraid that railways will once again become a railway craze, which will affect the economic problems of the Kingdom of Britain.
Jerome Bonaparte himself guided the army and economy to victory with his vision that transcended the world for nearly 200 years. Not everyone can have an opportunity like Jerome Bonaparte.
Even so, many soldiers still thought that Jerome Bonaparte was just messing around.
Then again, the equipment was in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, and the Russian Empire, whose combat effectiveness was weaker than the Napoleonic Wars, still used tactics from the Napoleonic period.
Naturally, the businessmen accompanying the army were left to their own devices. Not to mention the big soldiers, even General Gorchakov himself was nothing more than that. He needed these people to plunder the wealth of every soldier for him. The only way was to let their pockets
Only if they don't have a penny in their money will they fight for the Russian Empire sincerely.
Those merchants who follow the army and sell something for 1 ruble in the army need to pay Gorchakov himself a share of 0.2 rubles.
So Gorchakov is equivalent to winning twice.
On December 29, Gorchakov met with the Grand Duke of the Principality of Moldavia in a castle somewhere in the Principality of Moldavia.
As a puppet of the Russian Empire, the Grand Duke of Moldavia hosted a banquet to receive Gorchakov and asked Gorchakov about the movements of the Russian Imperial Army.
Gorchakov, who was full of alcohol, showed a look of contempt on his face. He drunkenly told the Grand Duke of Moldavia that the Russian Emperor Nicholas I ordered him to march into Bulgaria and then to Constantinople.
The Grand Duke of Moldavia looked a little ugly when he heard Gorchakov's reply.
If Gorchakov really succeeds, he and the Grand Duke of Wallachia will be surrounded by the Russian Empire.
By then, they may no longer be the rulers of the principality, and Wallachia and Moldavia will also not be vassal states, but will become part of the Russian Empire.
The Russian Empire's greed for land was insatiable.
Knowing that he could not resist the Russian Imperial Army, the Archduke of Moldavia stabilized the Russian Imperial Army and escaped with the help of urine. He told his cronies to go to Transylvania overnight to inform the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire of the news.
In the opinion of the Grand Duke of Moldavia, the Ottoman Empire should be on guard after receiving the news, and the Austrian Empire would not let this matter go unchecked.
The Grand Duke of Moldavia, who had ordered all this, returned to the banquet again, and accompanied by General Gorchakov, he drank until very late.
On December 30, 1852, Gorchakov led the troops to continue their departure and arrived in the Principality of Wallachia on the 31st.
On the evening of the 31st, Gorchakov received another warm reception from the Grand Duke of Moldavia. The successive hospitality received by the Grand Duke of Moldavia and the Grand Duke of Wallachia made Gorchakov full of enthusiasm for the Grand Dukes of these two principalities.
Good impression.
On January 3, 1853, when Gorchakov's troops were about to arrive at the border of the Principality of Wallachia, the reconnaissance cavalry of the Fourth Army reported important news to him. The same thing happened in the direction of the border of Wallachia.
An Ottoman army was also spotted.
It's just that this army is smaller in quantity than the Russian Empire's vanguard force, and its quality is even worse than Gorchakov's force.
The only thing worthy of praise is that the equipment of this border guard force is better than that of the Russian Imperial Army.
Affected by Gorchakov's long-term buying and selling of supplies, nearly one-third of the soldiers in this vanguard were equipped with old sleeved muskets with worn rifling. This type of musket was produced during the Napoleonic period, and one-third of the troops were equipped with
The remaining one-third are equipped with rifled Napoleonic-era muskets, and the remaining one-third are equipped with the best muskets in the Russian Empire.
For Gorchakov, the Russian Imperial Army under his command was not meant for shooting, but for bayonet charges.
Those rifles with worn rifling, the rifles from the Napoleonic era are all very good chargers. In just one round, Gorchakov can knock down all the soldiers and crabs on the opposite side.
However, since Prince Paskevich's reinforcements had not yet arrived, Gorchakov could only quietly engage in a sit-down war with the Ottoman Empire in the border area.
As time went by, the Ottoman army received more and more reinforcements, and soon surpassed Gorchakov's army.
Gorchakov was not afraid at all, he believed that he would be able to defeat his opponent.
On January 9, the reinforcements that had not arrived for a long time finally arrived at this time.
The first batch of reinforcements also numbered about 30,000 people and arrived at the border area under the leadership of Prince Paskievich.
Prince Paskevich and General Gorchakov met on a hill on the border between Wallachia and Bulgaria.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Paskevich brought the latest order from Tsar Nicholas I.
"Zi appointed Paskevich as commander-in-chief to assist the Danube Principality in managing the affairs of the principality. He cannot move without orders. Gorchakov was appointed chief of staff to assist Prince Paskevich in managing the army..." Paskevich
After reading what Nicholas I had written in front of Gorchakov, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Now it seems likely that Tsar Nicholas I will abandon Constantinople, and his military success will be in vain.
"Your Excellency, what happened in St. Petersburg? Why do you and I receive different news?" Gorchakov asked Paskevich.
"What you received was to attack the Bulgarian region and then capture Constantinople. Right!" Paskevich said to Gorchakov.
"That's right!" Gorchakov nodded in response.
"Before, I received the same order as you!" Paskevich pointed to the army at the foot of the hill and said: "After I led the first batch of troops to set off, a guy who claimed to be His Majesty's special envoy came
In front of me!"
"Your Majesty's special envoy?" Gorchakov was a little confused. He didn't understand what Paskevich meant.
Paskevich saw Gorchakov's confusion and took the initiative to explain: "There are two waves of His Majesty's special envoys. The first wave asked me to support you in attacking Bulgaria, and the second wave asked me to support you, but no
Attack Bulgaria."
"Understood!" Gorchakov responded immediately and clearly, and then added: "Then we don't need to attack now?"
"It depends on the situation!" Paskiewicz shrugged and said helplessly: "When will news come from St. Petersburg again, when will we take the next step?"
Immediately, Paskiewicz replied with a melancholy look on his face: "St. Petersburg now is not a worry-free place at all!"
…
Let us return our sights to St. Petersburg and adjust the time to December 30th.
Just when Gorchakov led the Fourth and Fifth Corps to the Principality of Moldavia, St. Petersburg, which had been delayed for three days, received the news that Gorchakov had led the army to enter the Principality of Moldavia.
The sudden news sent shock waves through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of War and even the "Third Section".
When Foreign Minister Karl Neserrodie went to the Ministry of War to find out why War Minister Prince Dolgorukov sent troops into the Principality of Moldavia, what he got was that Prince Dolgorukov was confused.
Eyes and answers without knowing anything.
Karl Nesserrodie immediately realized that Gorchakov’s movement of troops was probably the fault of the man in Tsarskoye Selo. Even though they had taken all precautions, they still failed to prevent Nicholas I from bypassing them and directly
give an order.
Thinking of this, Karl Neserrode felt his hands and feet were cold, and he quickly told Prince Dolgorukov his guess.
After Prince Dolgorukov heard Karl Nesserrodie's speculation, it also took a long time to react. He hurriedly asked Karl Nesserrodie what he thought.
At Karl Nesserrodie's suggestion, Karl Nesserrodie and Prince Dolgorukov immediately entered Tsarskoye Selo to plead guilty to Nicholas I.
