Struggle in Russia

Dmitri felt a lot of pressure, and this counterinsurgency trip did not go smoothly from the beginning. If Li Xiao hadn't helped convince Duke Alexander, and with the support of him and Prince Mikhail, I'm afraid he would still be wrangling with a bunch of bureaucrats in St. Petersburg right now!

After finally getting over that end, when he entered Ukraine with a small number of troops, he saw such a scene again. To put it bluntly, his heart dropped.

If the entire Ukraine is in this half-dead state, it won't mean much whether it suppresses the rebellion or not.

Sighing, he sent away the timid old man and ordered his men to set up a temporary headquarters at Master Bashar's house.

To be honest, Mr. Bashar's taste is just that, and he is a bit far away from the rich country people. According to Dmitri's opinion, this person who has reached the top is just a small landowner.

But look at the intact eggs under the overturned nest?

If Russia does not change the serfdom system, the next wave will destroy the entire landlord class. It is not just one or two families that will be damaged, but the entire national system will be rewritten.

But in this situation, the conservative elements just refused to repent. They always felt that the serfs were easy to bully, and they always felt that the matter had not reached that point.

Thinking of this, Dmitri sighed again. What's the use of worrying about this kind of thing? Even if he thinks too much, he can't change the will of those old stubborns. He can only look for trouble. He'd better think about counterinsurgency. !

According to the latest intelligence he obtained, Chernihiv had also been captured by the rebels. The mayor of the city was not as fast as the mayor of Kharkiv. He was caught by the angry serfs and killed directly.

It is said that this guy died a miserable death. His whole body was torn apart by the swarming angry serfs, and in the end not even a piece of skin could be recovered. As for his wife, children, and children, none of them escaped. They were humiliated to death by the serfs, and their bodies were thrown directly into the Desna River (the largest tributary of the Dnieper River).

Of course, their family was not the only one who died. Except for a few of Chernihiv's nobles, large and small, they were almost wiped out. Mainly because these people were a bit too blindly confident.

I always thought that there were five to six thousand troops stationed outside the city. With these troops, they could teach the mud-legged people how to behave in minutes.

It's a pity that the commander of these 5,000 to 6,000 people is a fool. His previous performance in Crimea was a mess, and he was beaten by the British and French coalition forces.

After the war, this idiot was not removed from his post and was promoted from major general to lieutenant general. Then there was nothing more. He was so drunk that he didn't even know the rebels had defeated him at the door of his house. Naturally, a brigade of troops was defeated by the rebels in a daze.

There are too many such bad things in Ukraine or in the Russian army. A large number of middle and senior officers are either idiots or waste, and there are too few who are truly competent.

Even if they were educated by the British and French forces in Crimea and Wallachia, they would not be able to change the current situation of the Russian military being idle, mediocre and backward.

In Dmitry's opinion, the main reason is that a large number of noble officers are not capable enough and then they are determined to occupy their positions. Under their squeeze, the truly experienced and capable civilian officers have no room for promotion at all and are suppressed. Frustrated, he either retired hastily or simply lived a lazy life.

If you want to solve this problem, you must first solve the problem of meritocracy, and you can no longer rely solely on family background!

It's just that Dmitry still has nothing to say about this matter. At most, he can mention it to Alexander II, and the latter will probably not listen. After all, the foundation of his rule relies heavily on the support of the nobles. He cannot Cut off the foundation.

Dmitri sighed again, shook his head to get rid of these distracting thoughts, and stared at the map on the table.

Chernihiv is almost due north of Kiev. The two sides are connected by water. From the map, Chernihiv is an important transportation hub between Gomel and Kiev. Retaking Chernihiv is equivalent to opening up the country. The gateway to Kiev.

Of course, Kiev did not fall. With the support of 40,000 to 50,000 garrison troops, Kiev managed to hold on amid the frenzy of the serf uprising. It was quite embarrassing and thrilling for a time, especially after the fall of Zhytomyr and Vinnitsa, Kiev almost It became an island.

It is surrounded by rebel territory and has completely lost contact with Moscow and St. Petersburg.

If the road is not opened as soon as possible, it is difficult to say how long Kiev can hold on.

This is why Dmitri rushed to Chernikov as quickly as possible. He had to open up contact with Kiev as soon as possible and tell the gentlemen trapped in Kiev that neither the empire nor the Tsar had forgotten them!

It's just that Dmitry doesn't have much confidence in Chernikov's future battle, although he is certain that the rebels' combat effectiveness should be just that. The main reason why Ukraine has been turned upside down is that there are too many serfs in the uprising. An avalanche effect formed, which overwhelmed the Ukrainian garrison.

Of course, the morale of the garrison itself is also a key reason.

But this does not mean that Dmitry will underestimate the combat effectiveness of the rebels. Before setting off, Li Xiao told him that it might not be difficult to defeat the rebels head-on, but the problem is that the troops he has at hand are limited. In addition to the five or six thousand vanguard troops, There are still 40,000 to 50,000 people gathered later.

This small number of people is a drop in the bucket for the vast Ukraine. He could defeat the rebels from the front, but he still had to divide his forces to garrison the recaptured cities. As long as he keeps dividing his troops, the rebels will always seize the opportunity to defeat him.

Dmitri was deeply aware of this danger. It was indeed impossible for him to solve the problem of hundreds of thousands or even millions of rebels with only 40,000 to 50,000 people.

Needless to say, even if he can recapture Chernikov, he may not be able to control the Chernikov area with his military strength. As long as his main force leaves the city and goes deep alone, there will be gaps in the supply lines behind it. You don't even need to fight him head-on, just wandering around with him can kill him.

Dmitri rubbed his temples. Supplies were indeed a big problem. Ukraine was already in a mess and couldn't squeeze out a drop of oil and water. His supplies were extremely dependent on Gomel. But the treasury is tight!

This time, in order to put down the rebellion of Duke Alexander, he reluctantly came up with some money and supplies. This was completely insufficient to support a large-scale military operation.

In other words, St. Petersburg's support for him may be withdrawn at any time, and the rebels may mutiny before they can deal with his own troops.

So if he wants to truly solve the rebellion problem, he has to find supplies from Ukraine, which means he has to find supplies for himself while fighting a war. This requirement is really outrageous! At least for him, it was the first time for a grown-up girl to get on the sedan chair!