Struggle in Russia

Odessa.

The St. Petersburg of the Black Sea is no joke. This coastal city established by an order of Catherine the Great has become the pearl of the Russian Empire in the Black Sea in just half a century, becoming the fourth largest city in the empire, second only to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw.

Of course, the two capitals, Odessa, are incomparable, but compared with the foot-wiping cloth capital, which has a strong anti-Russian atmosphere and uprisings break out from time to time, Odessa and the empire are more connected because the city was originally exiled by Greece. It was established with the help of the former and was once a bridgehead for Russia to support Greek independence.

Of course, this is also the bridgehead for Russia to intervene in Balkan affairs. Odessa has always been the starting point and support point for all military operations against Turkey. Without the support of this port city, Russia’s gray cattle army can only drink the northwest wind in the Balkans.

As St. Petersburg on the Black Sea, the architectural style of this city is very similar to that of St. Petersburg. It is probably also a seaside city and an important port. The two cities are naturally friendly.

This made Li Xiao inadvertently think that he had returned to St. Petersburg when he set foot on the land of Odessa for the first time.

"I love the Black Sea!"

Boris happily rushed down the trestle, stood on the pier and stomped his feet several times. The down-to-earth feeling made "Samson", who had been tortured by seasickness for more than a month, finally revived with full blood.

There are many people like Boris. As the forward battalion of the 748 regiment, the second battalion was ordered to set sail from Kronstadt and cross the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, Boris The Spruss Strait and the Black Sea until landing at Odessa.

It's been a long and arduous journey. Hundreds of soldiers were crowded in the dreary bottom cabin of the sailing ship. The stench of sweat, feet and vomit mixed with the salty smell of sea water was really ecstasy.

Then seasickness and strong winds and waves came alternately, making the smell in the stuffy can even more charming. Fortunately, Li Xiao, as the grand duke of the empire, enjoys preferential treatment and lives in the first class, otherwise he might not be able to stay for a day.

This is still a steamship rented from Sweden, otherwise the journey will be even longer, maybe two months? Or longer!

"The steamboat is not comfortable at all!" Vishniak commented.

Vishniak had been on a sailboat before, and although the cabin was still speechless, he felt that it was much more comfortable than a steamboat.

"This wreck is too noisy! The smell is too bad! The soot is too irritating to the skin,

Look at the dust on my head and face! "

Indeed, steamships of this age were uncomfortable. In terms of Li Xiao's own feelings, it is a hundred times more uncomfortable than the diesel passenger ships of later generations. The old-fashioned swing-arm steam engine is huge in size and has amazing surge, and the machine is as joyful as riding a diesel three-jumper when it is started.

What's even more frightening is that even fire-tube boilers are not popular in this year. The old-fashioned boilers and the low-quality lignite used to save money make the smoke look like a leprechaun.

The natural smell is also very touching, anyway, it is a hundred times more severe than the smog in the imperial capital. If it weren't for the strong wind at sea, Li Xiao would have suspected that he would have choked to death or died of carbon monoxide poisoning before he could make it to Odessa.

Yes, the ventilation in the boiler room is particularly bad, it is almost invisible. Li Xiao went to experience it for a while, and when he came out, he looked like a black sorghum, with coal dust on his face, hair, and ears, like a coolie in a black coal kiln.

The deck is also uncomfortable. The chimneys in this era are too short and the smoke exhausting capacity is very limited. The large cloud of smoke is almost directly thrown on the deck, and then swept across the ship by the sea breeze. When the ventilation is not smooth, the smoke will spread to the whole ship along the gaps in the hull, and the smell is worse than a sandstorm.

Worse still, steam power was unreliable and not cheap these days. Therefore, the captain will order to turn on the machine only when there is no wind or against the wind. That is to say, the ship sails on the sea, and most of the time it actually depends on the sails, so the speed is very touching.

This greatly prolongs the time and frequency of suffering for Li Xiao and others. In short, the sea journey in the middle of the 19th century is really speechless. Anyway, Li Xiao doesn't want to do it a second time.

"I'd rather ride in a carriage and roll in the mud than eat ashes at sea!"

Li Xiao does not comment on this, because it is too far from St. Petersburg to Odessa, thousands of kilometers away, plus snow and bad road conditions, I am afraid that they will take three to four months at the fastest by land. to arrive. I'm afraid that they suffered a lot, and in this cold march, the troops will definitely have to reduce their number of non-combat personnel.

In sum, it is more cost-effective to take the sea route.

"The steamship will become faster and better in the future. These can all be improved," Li Xiao said, and then changed the topic: "Where shall we camp?"

Vishniak said weakly: "The Black Sea Fleet Odessa Squadron Headquarters reported that they should arrange a camp for us..."

Li Xiao knew that there was probably no guarantee for this, because the glorious tradition of the Russian army is to ignore logistics and not care about what the gray animals eat and where they live. Anyway, there are a lot of gray animals, and it would be nice to recruit young men without a draft order.

It's not just that the officers don't care about this, but the gray animals themselves don't care too much, because in their view, from the moment they join the army, they are already dead, and they can earn one more day of life.

This is not a joke at all, because the service period of gray animals ranges from 15 to 25 years, and the treatment in the army is extremely bad. Basically, they only eat cabbage soup and various porridge or mush with unknown ingredients. There is almost no military salary, and military uniforms have not been distributed in place for a long time. Who can survive such a life for more than ten years?

Therefore, joining the army as a serf was basically sent to a funeral parlor, or sentenced to death. For the condemned prisoner, it is very good to be alive, what more bicycles are needed!

However, Li Xiao and others are different. One is a traverser, and the other two have also seen a significant change in combat effectiveness after the soldier's treatment was improved, so they must strive for the best treatment.

"The good news is that we have a personal letter from Admiral Lazarev. Who is the commander of the squadron here?" Boris asked with a sigh.

Li Xiao replied seriously: "Major General Vladimir Alexievich Kornilov."

Boris was a little surprised and asked, "Is there any problem with this major general? Difficult to deal with?"

Li Xiao smiled and said: "No, this major general is a shrewd and capable person, a student and confidant of General Lazarev..."