Struggle in Russia

But Alexei had already spoken, and Li Xiao had to respect his opinion, no matter how much he was the governor, he had to respect his decision to some degree. And a thousand rifles are really not a lot, just bite your teeth and recognize it!

These thousand new rifles were quickly packaged and sent to the Duke of Mikhail. For this reason, Wallachia had to delay the replacement of some troops, otherwise it would really not be able to spare such a gun.

After receiving these new rifles, Duke Mikhail was as happy as a child, and apart from anything else, he immediately mobilized the most elite guards for trial.

The performance of the new gun is of course not. The rate of fire and accuracy can be used to sling the old Russian muskets, and even the Miner rifles equipped with the British and French.

Only after the trial, Duke Mikhail immediately discovered the problem. First of all, the army had already adapted to the old-style musket tactical rules, even if it was replaced with a new-style rifle, it was still using the old-fashioned code. Still used the old school of queuing to shoot.

To be honest, this is really nondescript. Duke Mikhail feels painful seeing the troops that can clearly fire a shot, pull the bolt and reload and continue firing, but still use the old three-stage shooting tactics.

He had to stop this practice immediately and ordered the troops to experiment with new tactics. It’s just that the results after the experiment were not satisfactory, and neither the officers nor the soldiers were comfortable with it. All the codes of practice and tactics need to be rewritten.

In actual use, the officers and soldiers were at a loss as to what to do, and they didn’t know what to do.

In desperation, Duke Mikhail can only let them continue their previous tactics, anyway, they are all nondescript.

The only good news is that the troops believe that the new rifle is really comfortable to use. Soldiers generally responded that the reloading was too easy, and the accuracy was one plane higher than that of the musket. Even the soldiers with the worst shooting skills have made great progress.

Of course, the problem is not without it, that is, the troops generally respond that the maintenance of the new rifle is too cumbersome, and the barrel must be carefully wiped, and the gun must be disassembled and wiped clean after shooting.

For the gray cattle of the Russian army with a worrying level of education, these cumbersome steps are too troublesome. Many new guns are inexplicably missing parts after being disassembled and turned into fire sticks. Or the soldiers can’t pretend to go back at all.

Anyway, it was the mixed blessings, which somewhat dispelled the Duke of Mikhail’s desire to continue to squeeze the wool and make more new-style rifles. Because his soldiers are not very good, the gray cattle of the Russian army really have a quality attitude, and they can only adapt to that kind of foolish weapons. Weapons that are too sophisticated and complicated are a bit hard to play.

Based on this, Duke Mikhail believed that the new rifles were only suitable for the guards, because they were of higher quality and could barely adapt to the requirements of the use of new weapons. Moreover, the Russian army can only afford the use of new rifles by a few guards, compared to the gray animals like cannon fodder.

If you really want to fully change the equipment, the finances will first go bankrupt, and it is not cost-effective. After all, low-grade gray animals can’t display the power of the new rifle at all, and it would be a waste to reluctantly equip them.

Just as Duke Mikhail was thinking about how to equip the new rifle, the negotiations between Britain, France, Russia and Turkey in Istanbul finally broke down. The differences are so great that it is impossible to negotiate.

Both sides refused to give in, thinking that the other party was bluffing.

When the news came back to St. Petersburg, apart from Neschel Rodie’s face of frustration, everyone else, including Nicholas I, was rejoicing and did not regard the breakdown of the negotiations as a major event.

Less than two hours after receiving this news, the Imperial Conference immediately made a decision and ordered Menshkov to issue an ultimatum to Turkey. Once Turkey refused, it would immediately liberate Bulgaria by force!

This news did not surprise Li Xiao at all. Although it was slightly different from the history, Nicholas I’s ambition still made him come to this point. The only good news is that the meaningless negotiation was finally Another month was gained for Wallachia, and finally the railway was opened to traffic before the war broke out.

“…The outbreak of war is inevitable. I think the Black Sea Fleet must act to block the Bosphorus in advance. The faster the mine-laying operation, the better, otherwise, once the British-French combined fleet enters the Black Sea, it will be meaningless!”

After learning about St. Petersburg’s decision, Li Xiao wrote to Kornilov and Nasimov as soon as possible, hoping that they would assemble the fleet to mine, otherwise the Anglo-French combined fleet swaying in the Aegean Sea would really break through. Come in.

It’s just that Kornilov and Nasimov hesitated, because although Nicholas I ordered an ultimatum, it did not necessarily mean that the war would break out soon. You can’t go to mine before the war breaks out, it’s a bit difficult to explain.

But let them wait for the war to break out. Li Xiao’s warning is not unreasonable. The Anglo-French combined fleet did not go far. Relevant intelligence shows that they have been active near the Aegean and Crete, not far from the Black Sea. As long as they want, they don’t need much time to enter the Black Sea.

“What to do? Do you want to go to mine?” Nasimov asked embarrassedly.

Kornilov is also a bit painful. If Nicholas I declares war without any ultimatum, it will be easy~www.wuxiax.com~ They just go to sea and do it. However, this man ordered Menshkov to give an ultimatum. It is not that they did not act in advance, let alone act in advance. It is really embarrassing.

“Go out to sea first!” Kornilov sighed and said helplessly: “Let the relevant ships prepare for mine-laying. Once the war officially starts, I will send the Mercury to notify you!”

Nasimov nodded. This is the only way he can do for the present. He only hopes that the results will come out as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the Turks discover his movements, they will definitely take precautions, which may interfere with his mine-laying operations. .

Kornilov is also a ruthless man, and he quickly made a decision: “You will take all the main forces of the fleet out and **** the mine-laying operation. If you really encounter the Turkish fleet, then destroy them directly!”

Nasimov knew what this meant, and he hesitated to ask: “Should the main force of the fleet be dispatched to obtain the consent of Grand Duke Constantine, after all, he is the acting commander, so he should always notify him?”

Kornilov shook his head and said: “There is not so much time wasted. It takes a lot of time to go to Chisinau, and the one who wants to make some moths, he uses fleet exercises. Excuse to go to sea!”