March of the 14th year of the Chengtian, North Sea - Baikal region.

After the head of Baron Farareev was cut off, the highly accomplished Colonel-General Nikolai Vasilyevich Lepnin went to the far east to succeed him as Governor of the Governor-General District along the Amur River.

At this moment, he and the commander-in-chief of the remnants of the Qing army, the first-class super brave duke Lancha, stood side by side in front of the huge map hanging on the north wall of the Chita Office, each holding a candlestick to light it up.

This is a detailed map of the region east of Lake Baikal. The rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests marked on it are all soaked with the efforts of the Russians. It is the result of more than 200 years of exploration.

General Lepnin is a well-known and excellent general in the Russian army, since joining the army, he has gone through seven years of war, partitioned Poland, suppressed the uprising of Polish nobles, and fought two wars against the Ottomans, and is one of the best commanders in Russia now.

More importantly, he was also a good diplomat, having served as Russian ambassador to Berlin, Warsaw and Istanbul. He weighed the pros and cons more clearly than the original Falareyev, and his skills were more gentle, so after he took office, he changed the previous practice of Falaleev, tried his best to repair the relationship between the Russian army and the remnants of the Qing Dynasty, and treated Yonghui very respectfully.

Thanks to his efforts, although the conflict between the remnants of the Qing armed forces and the Russian army could not be eliminated in a short period of time, the relationship did ease a lot.

It seems that neither the death of Fokangan nor the death of Farareev happened.

However, their opponents, Chen Kaishan, commander-in-chief of the Northern Xinjiang Theater, and Huang Jie, governor of the Northeast Military Region, did not expect badly, when the Russian-Turkish War broke out, when China and Sweden declared war on Russia, Austria, and an unexpected Denmark, and Austria and Denmark also declared war on the Ottomans, Sweden, and China, most of the energy and attention of the Russians and remnants of the Qing forces in Siberia were only focused on the Amur River region.

Chen Ming really didn't expect Denmark before the war, although Denmark and Sweden are traditional hostile countries and allies of Russia to contain Sweden, but Denmark is really no longer in his consideration.

Chen Ming never imagined that Denmark would be so crazy in order to contain Sweden and directly declare war on the Ottomans and China.

China did not declare war on Austria and Denmark at the first time, because the distance between the two sides was too far apart. Verbal declarations of war are meaningless, on the contrary, they affect each other's interests. However, Austria and Denmark took the lead in declaring war on China, so how could Nanjing not be warned?

To be reasonable, this was the misfortune of Gustav III, who had instigated Russia to assist him in seizing Norway from Denmark, but after Catherine II refused, he regained the throne in one fell swoop after only six months on the throne, and His Majesty, who had the supremacy of Sweden, offended Denmark and Russia in one fell swoop.

And why Gustav III turned to Russia, Sweden's traditional empire, for help was because of his blood relationship with Catherine II, the nephew of King Frederick II of Prussia and the cousin of the Russian Empress Catherine II. But apparently in the mind of Catherine II, family affection is not worth profit.

Anyway, the current war is no longer a war of the five nations, but a war of the six nations, three on one side.

At the same time that China began to attack the satrapy along the Amur River, it also launched an offensive against the Russian Orenburg satrapy in the great northwest, but in this era, the east and west were separated by thousands of miles, and it was really impossible to form a strong cooperation, so they could only fight on their own.

The vanguard under the personal command of Zheng Hongyu, the left deputy governor of the Northwest Military Region, had completely crossed the Irtysh River, and both the enemy and us in northern Xinjiang had no idea of this news.

Under the light of two candles, the names of the Russian-Qing coalition forces on the map were densely packed at the dangerous point of the Yablonov Mountain in the west of Chita, and they put on a resolute defensive posture.

Unfortunately, the Yablonov Mountains are not a very advantageous place, and the terrain here is not suitable for defensive warfare against the enemy.

As a glacier-eroded mountain range, the Yablonov Mountains are narrow, only 40 miles at its narrowest point, but stretch for 3,000 miles in a northeast-southwest direction.

There are two to three hundred large and small streams, and it is the source of the main river of Lake Baikal. Although there are many cliffs on the summit, the altitude is generally not too high - only about 1,500 meters.

There's so much to infiltrate throughout the mountains. Therefore, neither Lepnin nor Hylancha pinned their hopes on this mountain range.

On the other hand, Chita is surrounded by mountains, but there are wide mountain valleys and plains in the central and southeast. Defending the mountains around Chita is much stronger than the Yabnozov Mountains.

It's just that after the war started, it was impossible to open the door without firing a shot. So, the Yabnozov Mountains still have to fight a dozen.

It used to be a pity for Hailancha, but now it is the age of guns. If this had been put in 100 years ago, he would have dared to let the enemy go to the city of Chita first, and use a small force to take advantage of the advantages of being familiar with geography to cut off and disrupt the logistics supply of the Han army, and wait until the enemy army has been hoarding the city for a long time, the soldiers are tired and short of food, and the front of the army has been dull, and then counterattack in one fell swoop.

That won't be a big win.

But times are different now. No matter how strong the city defense of Chita is, it can't stop the heavy artillery and rockets of the Han army! According to the detailed report, the Beihai Han Army has been transporting munitions and artillery from the rear all these years, and they are all heavy artillery of eight catties, ten catties, and ten catties +! Coupled with the powerful and fast-firing rockets, the city defense of this Chita will definitely not be able to stop such a bombardment.

The Han army only needed to transport heavy artillery and rockets to the city of Chita, and it would only take a little time to take Chita.

Therefore, this Chita cannot be defended, so the battlefield must be placed outside the Chita.

"General Lepnin, look here." Hailancha pointed to a large area one hundred and eighty miles west of Chita, "...... The battlefield of our decisive battle with the Han army is here, how about it? ”

The area is very large, but it includes the surrounding lakes, in the west side of Chita, a series of mountain valleys, stretching for more than a hundred miles, there are more than a dozen lakes of various sizes, of which there are six, the area selected by Hailancha is the widest passage between the six lakes, the width is close to ten miles. Although it is not very large, it is already a relatively open terrain in terms of the terrain to the west of Chita. In particular, there are lakes on the left and right sides of the passage, and there are many hills and hills in the rear, which not only avoids being surrounded by the enemy, but also avoids the situation that it can no longer be cleaned up after a defeat. As long as they pre-positioned a receiving army in the mountains east of the Lake District.

In Hailancha's eyes, a small piece of flat land sandwiched between these two lakes can be used as a battlefield for a decisive battle between the two armies.

"Here...... By Kachin Lake and Chagda Lake? Lepnin frowned.

"More than ten miles away from the battlefield is a mountainous area. As long as we send some troops to stay here, even if the battle is lost, we will not be defeated. ”

The Lianhu area is the most gentle area to the west of Chita, and there are many cavalry in the Russian-Qing coalition army, and if you want to play the role of cavalry, you must put the battlefield on flat ground.

"We cannot withdraw from the Yablonov mountains." Hailancha said in a deep tone.

This is a matter of morale, and the war has just begun, so it cannot be immediately softened. As for the defeat that Hailancha had considered before, although it showed his lack of confidence from one side, Lepnin's own confidence was also insufficient. Otherwise, he would have attacked first.

……

"General, Dong Wei's Second Mixed Brigade has been dispatched, and it left Ulan-Ude this afternoon, and 12,000 people left for the mountains."

Ulan-Ude is a brand-new city, less than a decade old, and a strategic support point for Chen Han in the Beihai region. During the war, it became a fortress.

The city of Irkutsk is now renamed as 'Su Wu', and in the headquarters of the Northern Xinjiang Army at night, the office of Chen Kaishan, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Xinjiang Theater, is brightly lit, and the adjutant is holding a stack of the latest military newspapers and reading them to Chen Kaishan one by one.

"Is the specific battle plan finalized?" Chen Kaishan's eyes were always fixed on the map and asked lightly.

"It's settled. The 2nd Mixed Brigade entered the mountain along the No. 7 passage, and along the way encountered three Russian sniper positions No. 3, No. 4, and No. 8. The 2nd Mixed Brigade will decide whether to besiege or conquer the other side, depending on the situation.

The army advanced to the flat ground between Lake Kachin and Lake Chagda, and if the Russians did not stop it, the 2nd Mixed Brigade would immediately set up a defensive position there as a base for the troops to attack Chita. Then wait for the actions of the 1st Mixed Brigade to cooperate with the attack on Chita. ”

The Northern Xinjiang Army consisted of two mixed brigades, two infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, and logistics units. This time, the main force was used in the offensive battle of Chita.

There are hundreds of large and small passages in the Yablonov Mountains, and within the jurisdiction of the Northern Xinjiang Army, a total of 14 passages have been marked, all of which are suitable for the march of the large corps, and there are countless trails that have not been marked out, all of which can pass through the mountainous areas.

The passages along the 1st and 2nd Mixed Brigades were the most suitable for the march of the large army, although the distance was farther, but the Russians could only have two or three sniper positions in each place. There is no way, there are too many passages and loopholes here, and the Russians have to disperse their forces and defend everywhere.

Therefore, the two marching routes not only encountered few sniper positions, but also limited troops.

"Let Dong Wei be careful. They marched two days earlier than the 1st Mixed Brigade. Especially this lake area. Chen Kaishan didn't think that the mixed brigade of more than 10,000 people would be eaten by the Russians, but he was careful to sail the ship for 10,000 years.

"The general thinks that the Russians and the remnants of the puppet Qing Dynasty will choose the decisive battle in the Lake District?" The adjutant shook his head in disbelief, "If I were Lepnin, I would retreat east now." "Give up Chita.

Chen Kaishan smiled, looked at the adjutant and said: "Repnin will not dare to abandon Chita without a fight, if he abandons Chita, the war zone will be burned directly into the Amur River Basin!" ”

"What if the Northeast Military Region invades Nebuchu?" The adjutant was puzzled, "The Russians, and the remnants of the puppet Qing, their strength is limited. The large army is used in Chita, don't they want Nebuchu? "The adjutant felt that if the Northeast Military Region attacked Nebuchu at this time, Lepnin would definitely withdraw and go east......

"Old Xie. What do you see? Chen Kaishan looked at Xie Yongji with a smile. Although this general has not made any great contributions, he has reliably boiled his qualifications and has survived to the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Xinjiang Army, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The battle situation in Northern Xinjiang is transparent with each other, and they also want to get what we think of." Therefore, this mixed 2nd Brigade is not only likely to encounter Russian troops in the Lake District, I think it is very likely. "It's better to cut off one of his fingers than to hurt his ten fingers, and the Russians can see it very clearly, they are few and weak, while Chen Han has many generals. Therefore, it is not a smart choice to concentrate forces to eat one of Chen Han's offensive troops first.

Therefore, Xie Yongji not only did not think that the march of the mixed Second Brigade would be smooth, but on the contrary, he also believed that the Russian army was very likely to move in the Lake District.

He paused, and then said to Chen Kaishan: "Commander-in-chief, I don't think I need to worry about the mixed Second Brigade. In this battle, we are outnumbered, and the armies of the two roads are real iron fists, and we can't bear the shelves made of rotten wood of the Russians. ”

Although there is no shortage of miracles in wars from ancient times to the present, it is always the most comfortable to overwhelm the enemy with a dignified momentum.

Moreover, there is also a gap in the quality of soldiers on both sides, as well as logistics supplies, and Chen Han has an advantage in all aspects. What is there to worry about in this battle?

The army was pressed to Chita, and the war was won.

"As long as we make our own preparations and give full play to the combat effectiveness of our troops." Xie Yongji is full of confidence in the battle.

The adjutant gave a military salute and turned to leave. Only Chen Kaishan and Xie Yongji were left in the room, and both of them looked at the map, their eyes flashing with extraordinary light.

……

In the mountains of Yablonov in March, the temperature is still very cold.

A day after the departure of the 2nd Mixed Brigade, snowflakes were falling in the sky, and the wind was getting stronger and stronger.

However, the mixed 2nd Brigade did not stop its steps, and did not feel that there was any surprise in the snow in March. Here, there is still heavy snow in April.

Everyone wore a poncho, and the thick oil canvas not only kept the snow out, but was as warm as a thick coat.

The soldiers also have special jerky in their pockets, the main ingredient is beef and mutton, and with the super chili peppers shipped from India and Mexico, the taste is so spicy that it makes people's mouths drool, and it is so spicy that it can make people's mouths breathe fire. If you are cold, you don't need to take out a piece of jerky and eat it, you only need to bite a little bite, which is enough for you to instantly blush, have a thick neck, and sweat all over.

In addition, it is the frozen hard state of the military dry food, and if you drink it, you will drink raw water directly.

Unlike the densely populated plains, the water here is unpolluted melt water from snow and ice, and you won't have diarrhea even if you drink it directly. You just can't drink too much at once!

After half a day of snow drifting in the sky, the flying snow turned into sleet, and then turned into dripping moderate rain. Raindrops whirled down and covered a large area of the mountain. The heavens and the earth seemed to be wrapped in a curtain of rain, and it was so chaotic that they couldn't see anything clearly.

The Russian soldiers guarding the No. 3 sniper position cursed at the weather, they hated this kind of weather the most, it was better to snow directly. The rain here was wet and cold and cold, and they did not have a raincoat for their hands, so they all hid in their tents to avoid the rain, and the officers were so frightened that they sent out a group of reluctant soldiers to guard the sentry, while they themselves were drowsy and fell asleep one by one. Although Lepnin repeatedly ordered the Russian troops defending the No. 3 sniper position to be careful of the police, the quality of the Russian army is worrying, and the discipline is very poor.

And now, Jiang Kui, lurking in a low-lying area at the foot of the Russian army's No. 3 sniper position, has led his vanguard battalion to a rather dangerous position - they are only five or six hundred meters away from the Russian army in a straight line + a top of four or five hundred meters.

- The main position of the Russians is halfway up the mountain, and there is a police position at the foot of the mountain.

It was raining again in the dark night, and of course the Russian troops on the police position could not see the traces of the vanguard battalion clearly, but after dawn, at a distance of five or six hundred meters, it would be difficult for the vanguard battalion to become invisible again. Not to mention the observation post at the top of the mountain, there is also a watchtower halfway up the mountain.

Behind him, several officers of the vanguard battalion leaned forward and reported to Jiang Kui in a low voice: "The front of Lao Maozi's No. 3 sniper position is the strongest, we have found ten fixed posts, five or six mobile posts, and there may be hidden posts. ”

"The northern side is loosely guarded, but the terrain is steep and difficult to climb." Now that it's raining, it's even more difficult to climb the mountain. The reconnaissance platoon commander reported to Jiang Kui.

Jiang Kui nodded solemnly, the Russian troops on the No. 3 sniper position were about the same as he expected, the front was relatively rigid, the back was soft, and it relied more on the terrain.

"Are you sure you're going to get on board?" Jiang Kui didn't ask the reconnaissance platoon, but the officers of the mountain infantry team around him. The vanguard battalion he led was a patchwork battalion with a mountain infantry unit in it. From officers to soldiers, they all came from the Yimeng Mountains of Qilu and the Dabie Mountains of the Central Plains.

"There's no mountain we can't climb. Jiang Tou'er, you just see. ”

The mountain infantry was relatively small, a two-row squad carrying only muskets, grenades and a few small rockets, and the seventy-man mountain infantry left the depression silently like snakes. Guided by the reconnaissance platoon, they headed north of Sniper Position 3.

Jiang Kui took out his pocket watch and looked at it, the glow of the fluorite was strong enough for him to see the watch hands clearly. It's just before 1 a.m. He still has time!

"The reconnaissance platoon rested first, and in an hour moved to the bottom of the mountain. When the battle of the mountain infantry team begins, you will quickly attack Lao Maozi's police position at the foot of the mountain. ”

"Don't even think about shooting. With a knife! Get on the bayonet! Do you understand everything? ”

Even in the well-trained Chen Han National Defense Army, every year in the big exercises, there are soldiers who are 'stabbed' to death with bayonets in order to pack bullets in the air.

In this kind of night sneak attack, paper bullets are really made of paper, and bayonets are really reliable.