Irkutsk is also the capital of Eastern Siberia, and although there is not even a cable telegraph, there are still channels for obtaining information. Therefore, Malevich, who stayed in Irkutsk, not only knew that the war in Manchuria had officially begun, and that Karsakov and Kohl had fled north to Udiskoye, but also knew that his situation was very bad.

Because Gohinga was always clamoring to regain his homeland, the main forces of Eastern Siberia were transferred to the Armu River valley, and the capital of Irkutsk did not have many garrisons, but at the moment Malevich was facing no small problems. The Third Army Group of Jiying in the east has already captured Chita, Barguzin and Verkhniy Udinsk and is attacking the Kyakhta front. Once the commercial town of Kyakhta is lost, not only will Irkutsk have no more barriers, but the Manchurian Third Army Group will also be able to obtain domestic supplies from Kyakhta. The Bozhtu Fifth Army Group in the west had already slaughtered Bratsk, and more than 50,000 troops were killed directly at Irkutsk from behind.

The drawbacks of Russia's over-reliance on more than 20 strongholds in the Far East were exposed, and the bases were too scattered, resulting in the Russian army being able to hold on to the city and unable to concentrate superior forces to fight, and the final result could only be broken by the Manchurian army. And also because of the distance, most of the strongholds, except Irkutsk, are too slow to obtain information. The rear town that was raided by the Fifth Army Group of Bozhitu was already a bloody lesson, but Chita and other places were still defenseless in the face of the attack of the Third Army Group of Jiying. In addition, the population of Russia in Eastern Siberia is too sparse, with only a million people on millions of square kilometers of land, and the cities are too sparse. Now that there is no barrier around Irkutsk, the final battle will definitely be fought under the city of Irkutsk, and it is difficult for Irkutsk, which is under siege, to get lucky.

The only hope at the moment is 250,000 reinforcements from Europe, these well-trained and well-equipped guys, and maybe there is hope of saving Irkutsk. But their roads were not smooth, Bozhtu had a division and a brigade in Tomsk, and a brigade in Kratsnoyarsk. These Manchurian armies are relatively strong in combat, and they are all waiting for work, and they can also hold on to the city, and the reinforcements are afraid that it will be difficult to break through their blockade for a while.

There are two paths in front of Malevich, one is to hold on and wait for help, and the other is to flee north to Kilensk. The risk of sticking to the plan of waiting for reinforcements is extremely high, and Irkutsk has only about 200,000 people, even counting the common people, while the enemy on the eastern and western fronts does have nearly 150,000 people. Fleeing north to Kilensk could only escape for a while, Yeniseisk and Kratsnoyarsk in the west had fallen into the hands of the Manchurian Army, and after arriving in Kilensk, Malevich could only go to Yakutsk in the Great North, or enter the cold northern route through the tundra and return to Europe. In the face of the blow of the 1st Army Group of Biyuntao in North Manchuria, Udiskoye was already in danger, and it was certainly only a matter of time before Yakutsk was in danger, and it would be a matter of death to enter the tundra and return to Europe when winter was approaching. Therefore, the plan to flee north is not the best choice, and it is really embarrassing to run away without a stroke.

Malevich's bravery can also be shown on the hunting ground, he is a pure civilian, and now he can't contact Karsakov, so it's too difficult for him to decide the battle. And even if he wanted to leave, he could only take the army with him, and he couldn't move the 200,000 Russian civilians in Irkutsk. If you run with so many immigrants, you will definitely be caught up by Bozhtu's cavalry, so it is better to stay in Irkutsk! At least if you stay in Irkutsk, you still have the strength to fight, and if you run into the wilderness by yourself, you can only pick a handsome dying position. Moreover, a large number of people will consume too much food, whether it is to go to Yakutsk or back to Europe, it will be a heavy burden.

Malevich could only pray to God every day, hoping to wait for Karsakov's instructions, or the news of the arrival of reinforcements. It's a pity that God doesn't seem to be able to control the Easterners, and Malevich didn't wait for the news of his prayer, but the bad news of the loss of Kyakhta. Malevich was about to abandon the city and flee when the commander of the defenders of Irkutsk, Krić, stopped him and showed him the direction of victory.

Ji Ying's Third Army is strong and close to the national border, so it can fully obtain supplies, and the Russian army can only resist hard, and there is no other way. But Ji Ying's Third Army Group fought all the way from Nebuchu, but after a rapid march of more than 1,000 kilometers, it must have been exhausted. Without the support of Bozhtu's Fifth Army Group, they would have rested for a while in Kyakhta before attacking Irkutsk again. Therefore, the key to the battle is Bozhtu in the west, as long as Bozhtu's Fifth Army Group is dragged and not allowed to come to Irkutsk, Ji Ying's Third Army Group will definitely not dare to move lightly.

"But we can't hold back those Mongol cavalry who come and go like the wind!" Malevich innocently looked at Creech with his eyes wide open and pitiful.

"We don't need to drag them down, they have been galloping in our territory for more than twenty days, their supplies will drag them down, we don't have to do anything!" Creech also thought about Goshinga's biggest concern.

After Bozhtu slaughtered Bratsk, he did not attack Irkutsk south for a long time, and it was really because of supply problems. The soldiers could eat dried meat and mare's milk, and they had a few stocks of fortification to eat in the captured cities, but not rifles and artillery, which had to be replenished with ammunition. Although Bozhtu had tried his best to solve the problem with his sabre, the consumption of ammunition was still very large, and he had to stop at Bratsk and wait for the supply of ammunition from Donnu Ulianghai.

However, although Bozhtu's supply was in trouble, it was not as huge as Krich and Gohinga thought, because most of his men were Mongols. Han, Manchu, and Russians all have to eat food, and occasionally eat pure meat to satisfy their hunger, but if they eat meat for a long time, they will have problems with their bodies. But the Mongolians don't have this problem, they just grew up eating meat, and they are a little uncomfortable, just chew some tea and something. Therefore, every time Bo Zhitu occupied a key point, he ordered the herdsmen of Tangnu Ulianghai to send more than 100,000 cattle, and the cavalry were originally herdsmen, and with these cattle, their food and drink would not be a problem. Not to mention that it has only been fighting for more than 20 days, even if it is trapped for a few years, it will be fine, and the cavalry may be able to expand the size of the herd.

In fact, the problem of ammunition is not big, and both Goxinga and Krich consider the inconvenient transportation in the Tangnu-Ulianghai area, so they feel that it will be difficult to replenish ammunition. However, Bo Ritu is supported by the living Buddha Jebtsundamba, and the herdsmen are all his solid backing. After the Manchurian reform, these herdsmen had their own organizations, and their efficiency was significantly improved, and each person sent a few horses of ammunition for a few days. For these people who live on horseback, the so-called inconvenience of transportation is simply incomprehensible.

When Malevich was full of thoughts that Bozhtu had run out of supplies and was routed by Russian reinforcements, the Fifth Army Group was already under Irkutsk.