I

The Nanjing side is busy with going to sea, while the Northeast side has already sent troops.

"Living Lu Bu" Wang Fuchen led one thousand cavalry and three thousand Han and Haixi Jurchen civilians, and headed northeast along the post road left by the Ming Dynasty.

Although the post road is in disrepair, it is not very difficult to walk because there are often indigenous people coming and going.

Once you reach the grassland, it will be easier to walk.

Arrive at Yidong Hewei, also known as Changchun City, where there are Mongolian tribes and belong to the fiefdom of the Mongolian leader Gu Mu.

Gu Mu was named the auxiliary Duke by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and his ruling center was in Tongyu and Tongliao.

His elder brother Bumuba was granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and his ruling center was west of Harbin.

After the decline of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the brothers began to work in both ways.

Every time the Manchus asked for troops to help, the brothers cried and complained that they were being attacked by Horqin's troops, and in turn asked the Manchus to send troops to help fight Horqin.

Changchun belonged to Gumu's marginal territory, and his son Habutu ruled a small tribe.

Hearing that the Datong cavalry was coming, Habutu was so frightened that he summoned troops to be on guard and came to greet him personally. After seeing Wang Fuchen, Natou bowed: "Gorros Mongol Taiji Habutu, pay my respects to the general of the Chinese Celestial Dynasty!"

Wang Fuchen is very kind to others, even when he meets the natives. He took Habutu's hand and said: "I am sending troops this time to fight against the Rakshasa ghosts. Those Rakshasa ghosts are burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil in the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins. The emperor was furious and ordered us to send troops to attack them. I’m passing by your department on this trip, it’s really disturbing!”

This was the first time Habtu encountered such an amiable Han general. Under the increased military power, Habtu was a little flattered and said quickly: "General, your words are serious. If it is useful, just ask for it."

"Then I won't refuse," Wang Fuchen asked, not treating himself as an outsider. "Does your ministry have ships? I brought food and grass, which were escorted by animals and civilians. There were rivers along the way, and there were ships. It will be easier to march.”

Habutu apologized: "I'm afraid this won't help. There are grasslands nearby. We usually ride horses, and we really don't have the habit of taking boats."

Wang Fuchen asked again: "What about food? Marching along the way will consume a lot of money and must be replenished along the way. The food from your department is not free, I have military coupons here. Your department will take the military coupons and go to Anlezhou (between Tieling and Siping) ) can be exchanged for supplies. Iron pots, salt, tea, cotton cloth, these things can be exchanged for military coupons."

"Really?" Habtu's eyes lit up.

Wang Fuchen said: "Why did I lie to you? I also brought some money. If you don't trust the military coupons, I will just use the money to buy you food."

"Trust it, trust it, I will go collect food right away." Habtu was afraid of angering the Datong army.

This guy once fought with the Manchus and suffered heavy losses against the Datong Army. He was already scared out of his wits.

What's more, when the Manchus came to Guo'erluosi in the past, they asked for troops and food without any discussion. At least Wang Fuchen was not arrogant and amiable. At the same time, he also said that food could be purchased with military coupons.

In comparison, Habtu was more willing to be a dog for the Datong court.

There wasn't much food to provide here, so Habtu got a lot of dairy products, collected some dried bacon, and provided more than a hundred livestock. The livestock are all alive and can be driven along the way, and can be killed and eaten at any time.

After thinking over and over, Habtu took the initiative and said: "General, the Gorros tribe has surrendered to His Majesty the Emperor. Since the Emperor ordered to send troops, our tribe should also serve. However, this is not the headquarters, but a small tribe that has been separated. Our troops are limited, so we can send twenty warriors to follow the general to fight the Rakshasa ghosts."

"Very good, I will report it to the court and record your merits." Wang Fuchen was very happy. Although he did not lack the 20 Mongolian soldiers, his willingness to send troops meant that he had a correct attitude.

This guy not only sent 20 troops, but also sent his eldest son Hasar to accompany the army.

Hasar is only seventeen years old, a short and stocky boy, wearing leather armor, equipped with a waist knife and a bow and arrow. The twenty cavalrymen under his command were even more crudely equipped and looked like ordinary herdsmen at first glance.

There's no way, it's just a small tribe.

In the past, he helped the Manchus fight the war, and the young tribe suffered heavy losses. Frequent snowstorms and bullying by the Horqin tribe made life worse every year.

Although many tribesmen died at the hands of the Datong Army, Hasar had no resentment. He looked at the Datong cavalry equipment with envy, knelt down in front of Wang Fuchen, and said excitedly: "I am willing to serve the general. I will cut off the head of whoever the general says to kill!"

"Please get up quickly," Wang Fuchen patted the other party's shoulder and praised him, "He is majestic and powerful. He looks like a young hero at first glance. Maybe after this expedition, he can go to Nanjing to see His Majesty the Emperor after his meritorious service."

These words made Hasar smile brightly. He scratched his head and looked at the military interpreter, then looked at Wang Fuchen, grinning stupidly and saying nothing.

What a simple and honest Mongolian boy!

The premise is that they must be completely defeated. Otherwise, the honest smile in front of you will turn into a ferocious smile when you massacre the Han people.

Under the guidance of his guide, Wang Fuchen repaired for two days and then led his troops to continue northward.

Proceeding along the Tuhe River and arriving at a tributary of the Songhua River, we reached Sachahewei (west of Zhaoyuan) within a few days.

This is the territory where Muba was announced by the Manchu and Qing Dynasty. Due to the long distance, it separated from the Manchu and Qing Dynasties several years ago. Nearly a thousand of his Mongolian soldiers were killed by the Datong Army, and they no longer wanted to accompany the Eight Banners Army to death.

Bumuba, who was already old and frail, greeted the Datong cavalry respectfully.

After some negotiation, Bumuba also provided livestock as military rations. But it was far away from the Liao Great Wall, so he was unwilling to accept military tickets, only cash. In addition, he also provided more than 20 small boats, and Wang Fuchen finally had a grain transport ship.

This old guy is a little confused, he has to pay for everything, and he doesn't send a single cavalry to help.

Wang Fuchen secretly remembered it in his heart and led his troops to continue walking eastward.

When we arrived at Fotiwei (Fujin), it was already the rainy season. Both sides of the Songhua River were muddy and swampy, making it impossible to continue marching, but they were already close to the territory of the Huerha tribe who came to ask for help.

This is Beidahuang, Heilongjiang and Jilin. There are many places like this.

It doesn't look like much at ordinary times, but it turns into a swamp during the rainy season. Only by using industrial machinery can Beidahuang be transformed into Beidacang in a short time.

Of course, it can also be transformed using traditional agricultural techniques, but it will take a long time and require continuous efforts of several generations.

The indigenous people in the lower reaches of the Songhua River are called East China Sea Jurchens. The Hurha tribe here was called Wuji Tarzi in the Ming Dynasty. It was subdivided into the Woji tribe in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. North Korea called them Wudiha, which are all different homophonic pronunciations of the same name.

It was not until the end of the eighth lunar month that the rainy weather subsided and the muddy swamp gradually became passable.

During the two-month stay, a lot of military rations were consumed.

The enemy in this battle is not the Cossacks, but poor logistics. Cossacks don't have such troubles. They can eat people when they run out of food, and the natives everywhere capture them at will.

Arriving near the village of Hurha tribe, the chief received the news and came to greet him.

The chief's name is very cute, transliterated as Dai Pengpeng. But he looked quite scary, with a hideous scar on his face. When he saw Wang Fuchen, he knelt down and cried: "General, you are finally here!"

Wang Fuchen asked: "Where is the Rakshasa ghost?"

Dai Pengpeng replied: "The Rakshasa ghosts have gone away, snatched dozens of livestock, and captured some tribesmen. They want 500 skins and said they would come to get them next time. If they can't get enough, they will kill people."

Wang Fuchen asked again: "How many Rakshasa ghosts are there?"

Dai Pengpeng said: "I don't know about other places. There are more than a hundred Rakshasa ghosts who came to our village. They came by boat, and they all brought firecrackers and swords."

Wang Fuchen asked: "Where is the lair of the Rakshasa ghost?"

Dai Pengpeng replied: "According to tribes farther east, Rakshasa ghosts are entrenched in Boheli."

Boheli is Burley, also known as Burley, the urban area of ​​Khabarovka in Russia. The territory of New China is a rooster, and Burleigh is on the other side of the river at the tip of the rooster's comb.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was called Boli Prefecture, in the Liao Dynasty, it was called the Ceali tribe, in the Ming Dynasty, it was called Bahuluwei, and in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, it was called Boheli. They are all different transliterations of the same name.

Wang Fuchen got some food and continued walking eastward along the river.

Arriving at the intersection of Heilongjiang and Songhua Rivers, the indigenous people here provided new clues.

The Rakshasa ghosts had indeed been entrenched in Boheli for several months, using it as a base to plunder the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins. But after grabbing enough goods, he took the stolen goods and went along the Heilongjiang River to Beishan (outside the Xing'an Mountains).

Wang Fuchen was completely stunned. He had been out for several months and consumed so much military rations that he didn't even touch the shadow of the enemy.

The stronghold of the Cossack bandits is on the other side of the Mohe River!

what to do?

Wang Fuchen didn't want to go back home. He finally had a chance to make a contribution. How could he give up without encountering an enemy?

"Three thousand civilians, divide it into half and send a few Mongolian cavalry to lead the way," Wang Fuchen ordered. "The civilians who return from the original route do not need to bring much food. Let the Mongols and Jurchens along the way provide food. How much food you take, Give them some military coupons and ask them to take the military coupons to Liaoning to exchange for goods. If any tribe refuses to provide food, just say that I will lead troops to borrow food at any time!"

There is almost not enough food and grass to support so many civilians. The various tribes here were plundered by Rakshasa ghosts and found it difficult to provide enough food, so they had to throw the excess civilians back home.

Fortunately, the natives along the river are accustomed to taking boats, so many boats can be recruited here to get food for shipment.

A few days later, Wang Fuchen led 1,000 cavalry, 1,500 civilians, and more than 10 Mongolian soldiers along the Heilongjiang River towards the Xing'an Mountains. The nearby indigenous tribes sent warriors to follow them. They had a blood feud with the Cossacks, so they brought their own dry food and followed the Datong cavalry to fight.

Not to mention destroying the Cossacks, as long as the Cossacks are beaten so that they dare not come, the tribes in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang and Songhua River will sincerely support the Datong imperial court.

After only continuing north for a few dozen miles, Wang Fuchen had good luck.

The Cossack bandits who had their fill last year came to rob again this year and are currently plundering the Sakhalian natives along the Heilongjiang River.