The news of the Fourth Pleven Fortress was finally confirmed in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, on April 13, 1878. Prime Minister Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha read the news in The Times about the Fourth Pleven Fortress and could not help but burst into tears. The Times is not only a well-known newspaper in the UK, but also has a huge influence throughout Europe. It published a large number of important news at home and abroad, dispatched capable reporters to hot spots at home and abroad to obtain many scoops, and the news of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 was preemptively reported by The Times.

A year earlier, when the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha had volunteered to lead an army of 30,000 men out of the city of Pleven, the Ottomans saw this as a tactical move. At that time, some people in the Ottoman Empire even thought that this operation was too risky and most likely a waste of troops and supplies. When the Russian army completely surrounded the Pleven fortress, the Ottoman Empire could only judge whether the fortress was still holding on to the fact that the Russian army had not retreated. As for the situation inside the fortress, the Ottoman Empire can only think that it is "very difficult", how difficult it is, and whether the troops in the fortress still have combat effectiveness, the Ottoman Empire can only guess.

In the latest news, the troops in the fortress still have strong combat effectiveness, and the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha can also deal an incomparably heavy blow to the Russian army. Not only did the upper echelons of the Ottoman Empire rejoice, but even the people were filled with endless praise for the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha.

Newspapers throughout Europe now refer to the city as the "unbreakable fortress of Pleven", as if it had been an impenetrable fortress since Roman times. The conscience of heaven and earth, there are some garrison facilities in the city of Plevin, but no fortress has ever been built. It belongs to a traffic artery that is not difficult to defend or attack.

As the war progressed, the significance of the city was constantly being overestimated. From a stronghold that threatened the flank of the Russian Danube Corps, to the front line against the Russian offensive, it is now dubbed by The Times as the Ottoman Empire's control of the heart of Bulgaria.

Indeed, if the Russian army had to withdraw, the city could immediately send troops to block the Danube bridge and retake the Danube corners. He could even storm Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and capture the Bulgarian traitor king. But in the beginning, no one thought about it so much. At that time, the city of Pleven was only lucky not to be occupied by the Russian army immediately because it was no longer in front of the Russian army.

In the fourth attack and defense of the Pleven fortress, the coalition forces lost more than 45,000 troops. Coupled with the previous battles, the coalition forces have already paid the price of more than 90,000 people. The total number of Russian and Balkan troops that rose up against the Ottoman Empire was about 900,000, and a tenth of the troops were consumed in Plevin.

"Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha is really good!" Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha sighed in his heart, and he continued to think, let all the Russian Danube regiments go to besiege the Pleven fortress. If the siege is carried out for another two years, the Russian army will have no choice but to retreat.

While dreaming of his own sweet dreams, Ahmet 61 Midhat Pasha did not immediately think that the city of Pleven had been held for a year, and what kind of torture had been given to Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha and his 30,000 troops in this year. For now, at least, the Ottoman Empire considers Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha and his forces to be invincible. Now it's time for the politicians to come in.

"Then it's probably time to negotiate." Osman 61 Nuri Pasha said to Leviren "Pasha".

As soon as Li Weiren finished dealing with the problem of heating the fortress, in order to prevent artillery, the residence of the troops adopted a semi-underground mode, and a fire kang imitated China was built in the large anti-artillery hole of the tunnel, and the places where the fuel and discharge were abandoned were outside the tunnel. Dozens of people squeezed into a kang, even if they could only burn a moderate amount of firewood, the soldiers could sleep warmer. Even in April, the weather is still colder, and the underground may be warmer in winter, but spring is the coldest time. So the soldiers are asking for heating for a certain period of time. Li Weiren arranged for fuel supply, and then returned to the headquarters.

After listening to such an optimistic statement, Li Weiren could not understand it very well. If the Liberation Army attacks this fortress, it is estimated that it will use artillery fire and column assault tactics, but I am afraid that it will already be successful. Even if it doesn't succeed, the tenacious style of the Liberation Army will come up with all the ways to break through this fortress. What bullshit negotiations, if the outcome of the negotiations is not favorable to China, such negotiations will not happen.

If it had been before, Li Weiren would have immediately refuted it, and hoped that Osman 61 Nuri Pasha would fully accept Li Weiren's point of view. But after this year, Li Weiren will not do it. His achievements today are entirely due to Wei Ze's allocation and the teaching of the Guangfu Military Academy. Faced with all kinds of seemingly unsolvable problems, Li Weiren had to use all his brain cells to recall what he had learned, and try to use this knowledge to solve problems he had never encountered.

In the beginning, Li Weiren was also complacent about getting the title of "Pasha". However, he soon discovered that the title of "Pasha" did not actually help to really solve the problem, and if he wanted to solve the problem, he had to be as the slogan of the Guangfu Military Academy said, "unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness." If you don't have this attitude, you won't be able to do a good job as a soldier.

After going through hard and tedious work again and again, Li Weiren, who once thought that he could make a career on his own, has changed. He finally "feared the destiny of heaven, feared adults, and feared the words of saints". That's not fear, it's true respect. With respect, you will be humble-minded, and with modesty, you will go back to study seriously. Not to mention whether there is wisdom and discernment to "choose those who are good and follow them, and change those who are not good". If you want to have a learning attitude of "threesomes must have my teacher", you must first have the mind to admit that "your knowledge and ability are very limited".

So Li Weiren nodded and asked seriously: "I don't know much about these things, and I hope that Osman 61 Nuri Pasha will say it in more detail." ”

Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha is 46 years old this year, and he has a lot of experience as an outstanding soldier at this age. For 28-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Leviren, the evaluation of the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha is getting higher and higher. It's not because Li Weiren also has the title of "Pasha", and it's not all because of the ability that Li Weiren has shown. It was Li Weiren's continuous growth in the war, which made the veteran soldier appreciate it very much.

Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha is not Chinese and has no understanding of traditional Chinese culture. However, the path to success is the same, and Li Weiren's serious, meticulous, modest, and cautious style gradually revealed is enough to become an excellent soldier. Seeing that Li Weiren had these excellent things at such a young age, Osman 61 Nuri Pasha was actually very envious, even a little jealous.

"Russia has lost so much now that if they want to avoid further losses, they can only engage in political negotiations. When the political negotiations are over, the war will be over. Osman 61 Nuri Pasha explained to Li Weiren.

After the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha had finished speaking, Li Weiren spoke: "If Russia negotiates now, won't all their previous consumption be in vain." And Russia is only frustrated in Plevin, if I command, I will let more Bulgarian militias and a part of the elite Russian army continue to besiege Plevin. Other units tried to attack other passes in the Danube direction. Even if it is impossible to break through in the Danube direction, it is possible to make progress in the Caucasus direction. Peace talks will be possible only when there is no way to make progress in all directions. And if I were the commander-in-chief of Russia, I would not agree to peace talks until Pleven surrendered or was defeated. ”

Osman 61 Nuri Pasha was stunned by Li Weiren's words, and after listening to the last paragraph, he asked: "Why?" ”

"Listen to what you say about the history of European warfare, Pleven has already made history. Even if there are peace talks, Russia must seize Plevin. If Pleven had remained in Ottoman hands, or if your forces had been unharmed, Russia would never have had the courage to challenge the Ottoman Empire again. As long as the army you lead appears in the border fortresses, will the Russians still dare to attack? "When it's time to listen to others, Li Weiren will listen carefully. When it was time for him to speak, he would not hide it.

After listening to Li Weiren's explanation, Osman 61 Nuri Pasha fell silent. Even if Russia cannot win this war, it will not be able to obediently negotiate peace. From a purely military point of view, military men need courage to fight. If Pleven could not be destroyed, as long as the Ottoman Empire built several fortresses on the border in the future, Russia would not have the courage to attack the Ottoman Empire again. This is extremely unfavorable for the Russian army.

Thinking of this, Osman 61 Nuri Pasha sighed: "It seems that we will continue to hold on. How long do you think we're going to hold out? ”

"By February next year at the latest, we will have to break through before we run out of food completely." Li Weiren smiled bitterly.

Listening to such a wise speech, Osman 61 Nuri Pasha also smiled bitterly.

At this time, it was time for dinner, and the same lunch as an ordinary soldier was served. This is a beef and mutton-based food, and in order to supplement vitamins, the raw apple paste mixed with salt is also used as a condiment per person. Thanks to the climate of Port Sudan, the beef and mutton are dried thoroughly. The spices and salt are mixed in the butter and mutton and coated in several layers on the outside of the beef and mutton. The taste is fragrant, and the taste is too strong. Even if the portion size is small, it is very satisfying.

Because of the discussion of the food problem, the Ottoman 61 Nuri Pasha, who had thought that this standard ration was insufficient, felt that the amount was too much.

Li Weiren was right, after settling the border issue with China, Russia resolutely opposed the Ottoman Empire's demand for peace talks. After paying a huge price and gaining nothing, the Russian upper echelons could not accept such an outcome. Instead, they increased their military presence in the Caucasus, hoping to completely eat up the Armenian settlements.

At this time, Britain was noncommittal about Russia's actions for the time being, and since the Ottoman Empire held on, it was better to let the Ottoman Empire and Russia consume each other's strength. The British began to put pressure on China.

India was Britain's most important territory, and for security reasons, Britain did not accept foreign powers into Central Asia that could threaten India. And Central Asia is now partitioned, with China and Russia as accomplices. No matter what kind of contradictions and struggles there are between China and Russia, China and Russia will adhere to the fait accompli of the partition of Central Asia.

Moreover, China has expanded violently in North America, building forts and communication lines everywhere. At this time, they were already facing the local British in Canada. The matter has not yet been resolved, and China has pushed closer to India, and Britain believes that it is necessary to have a serious exchange with China anyway. In August 1878, the Indian fleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire met a Chinese fleet in the waters off Sri Lanka, consisting of two warships of nearly 10,000 tons and two cruisers that impressed the British.

While mobilizing the Mediterranean Fleet into the Indian Ocean, the British Admiralty ordered that "if the Chinese Navy approaches Indian waters again, go to war immediately!" "The British Navy has already rebuilt its warships to a considerable extent, and if it fights again, it may not be without a chance of winning.