“…… The blizzard finally subsided, and a deathly silence enveloped all around. It's all gone. Sadness, pain, sighs, whispers, hatred, indignation, everything disappeared with hundreds of thousands of souls. Thousands of corpses on Lake Baikal lay there like that until the lake thawed the following summer. It wasn't until the ice thawed that this terrible and horrific scene quietly disappeared from people's vision and sank deep to the bottom of the lake......"

After Marshall finished writing, he closed the thick notebook, and he got up and looked out the window, unable to calm down for a long time.

As a beautiful man who went on an expedition to Lake Baikal, the sights he saw and the stories he heard there were unforgettable for the rest of his life.

At this time, Marshall did not know the real whereabouts of the gold that he thought had disappeared.

And the real situation of the "battle for gold" is different.

At dawn, Zhong Liwei, who had not closed his eyes all night, stood on a position under a mountain pass, walking back and forth.

On the night before, there had been a heavy rainfall, and the cold wind of the Siberian plains was bitterly chilling. The mountains are high and the roads are steep, and when the officers and men carrying out the task of "seizing gold" enter the ambush position in the dark, almost everyone fell into a fight, and many of them were as muddled as mud monkeys. Zhong Liwei heard that many people were complaining about the ghost weather in Russia, but he smiled rarely, and said to the [***] beside him: "When the war starts, this steep mountain and slippery road will kill me!" ”

Nestled on the top of a large mountain, this pass connects the mountain peaks to the south, and the terrain is dangerous, and it can be said that it is a secret gateway from Europe to the Siberian Plain and Northeast China. Here, Zhong Liwei found the remains of the walls of the ancient Siberian Khanate, and picked up a lot of ancient arrows and broken ancient weapons here.

Thinking that it was here that the Russian Cossacks invaded the Siberian Khanate, Zhong Liwei couldn't help but sigh.

On September 10, 1581, 840 members of the Cossack Yermak bandits, supported by the Russian Stroganov family, set out to attack the Siberian Khanate. Kuchum Khan of the Siberian Khanate issued a general mobilization order to the whole country. The troops coming from all over the place set up cards and defended them, and they were ready to fight. Although Kuchum Khan had the determination to resist and did his best to unite the forces of the entire khanate, he did not improve the military of the Siberian Khanate, not only was his weapons outdated, but also there was no standing army, and he was a temporary "militia group". Such an army is demoralized when it wins, and when it is defeated, it collapses. However, the Yermak bandits are almost all professional soldiers, and they ask for money and do not want their lives, and they can still persist in fighting in difficult situations. The comparison between the two is the gap between the modernized army and the medieval army, not only in terms of weapons, but also in terms of organization. With "guns and bows trembling", "Tatars were bleeding like rivers and corpses were strewn all over the field", under the almost frantic attack of the Cossacks, the barrier of northern China, the ancient Siberian Khanate, fell into the claws of Russia. China, on the other hand, lost the opportunity to control the Siberian Plain due to various historical reasons, and was repeatedly invaded by Russia in modern times, losing a large area of territory.

And now, history has finally given the Chinese an unprecedented opportunity.

On this very day, a squadron of [***] will fight a secret ambush against the army of another country as barbaric and powerful as Russia on the positions of the Siberians against the Russian Cossack bandits.

At this time, the three main divisions of the Chinese [***] team and a brigade of the American Volunteer Army (belonging to MacArthur's "Rainbow Division") had been deployed on the surrounding front line and fought fiercely with the Japanese army, so the rumbling guns and artillery sounded everywhere around the pass. It was under the cover of this atmosphere of fierce battle that a squadron of [***] quietly entered the position under the pass and set up an ambush circle on the hills on both sides of the road that the army must pass. At this time, all the guns and vehicles were camouflaged, even the requisitioned mules and horses were also put on bridles, and tens of thousands of Chinese officers and soldiers lay motionless on their positions, their gray cloth uniforms completely blended with the colors of the rocks and plants.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and Zhong Liwei looked at the watch on his wrist, where the hour hand was already pointing to five o'clock in the morning. He raised his binoculars again, anxiously surveying the narrow dirt road that was gradually revealing below the pass, and the enemy movements of the castle in the distance.

The arrow is on the string, but it does not start. Although the battle-hardened commanders of the Chinese army were silent on the surface, their hearts clearly felt an invisible squeeze of strong pressure.

Because they didn't know what their purpose was this time.

At this time, MacArthur, who was standing on the top of another mountain, was rapidly planning in his head, and constantly cheering himself up.

Because he didn't quite understand why he had come here secretly to fight a confused battle with an equally mysterious army.

In the face of the imminent emergence of the Yue army, the Chinese army did not have an absolute advantage in strength. According to available information, there are about 5,000 people in the 2nd Division of the Kwantung Army, most of whom are logistics baggage troops, while the Chinese Army is an elite brigade of more than 8,000 people in the "Rainbow Division" and more than 2,000 people in a special force and auxiliary units with the "Dragon" name.

According to MacArthur's deployment, the battle began, and the Chinese army would launch a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Japanese army with heavy firepower. First, cut off the enemy's retreat, tighten the pockets, and then disrupt the enemy's position, cut through the encirclement, and end the battle cleanly and neatly. By the time the enemy's reinforcements arrived (if they had one), the Chinese army had been quickly transferred.

Perhaps influenced by the traditional military science of the Chinese, MacArthur valued surprise victory the most. He believes that as long as we can accurately grasp the fighters, we can win more with less, more from the weak, and more from the small, not to mention that the arrogant man himself has committed the taboo of dispersing his troops and being alone, while the Chinese army has many advantages of the right time, place and people!

For MacArthur, this was another rare God-given opportunity to make a name for himself!

Time passed minute by minute in a suffocating silence and waiting. When a round of the morning sun rose in the eastern sky, the scout ran back out of breath and reported: "The enemy has appeared!" ”

The commander of the 11th Cavalry Wing of the 2nd Division of the Army, Yanagawa Heisuke Osa, slowly raised the binoculars. Yanagawa Heisuke is not tall, his muscles are very strong, his chin is bare, he has no beard, and his face always has a unique arrogant expression of impulsiveness and aggressiveness. The 2nd Division is also a "local division", which was established during the Russian War, and its officers and men were recruited from Yanagawa Heisuke's hometown. At that time, most of the divisions were organized in different regions, such as the Fukuoka Division, the Kumamoto Division, the Kyushu Division, the Tokyo Division, and so on.

It was a morning in late September 1921, in the mountains on the Sino-Russian border, and this menacing army was advancing with speed and indespisibility, holding high their sun flags. At this time, in front of the army stood a tall mountain that stretched for hundreds of miles to block the view, and the mountains here were rocky and few trees, so that you could see the intermittent ancient walls and fortresses winding and falling gracefully among the desolate rocks without a telescope.

According to the scout's report, the terrain ahead is a high slope on both sides, and the dirt road passes through the bottom of the ditch, and the terrain is very dangerous. At this time, if Yanagawa Heisuke had learned more about the military history of the Siberian region, he would have found that his position was exactly the ancient battlefield where the people of the Siberian Khanate swore to defend their homeland and defend their country.

The cavalry wing commander lowered his binoculars with satisfaction, he found no other movement, only a lot of blackened stones and sparse bushes in the ravine. As the mist was gradually lifting, a red light was coming out of the sky, and the blue sky was shining brightly, and a vulture was sticking to the sky motionless like a paper-cut, and he saw the shining bayonets of his squad of spearheads marching on the mountain road. “…… The terrain ahead is dangerous, do you want to suspend the advance, and ask for instructions to send planes to reconnoiter or send alert troops to the hills on both flanks? A staff officer suggested.

The commander of the cavalry coalition pondered for several minutes with blazing eyes.

Since the 2nd Division entered the Siberian battlefield, it has been used as a reserve division and has not encountered major battles, and has previously received reconnaissance reports from aircraft: the main forces of the central [***] are concentrated on the outer line for defense, and it is unlikely to encounter a large-scale attack here. It is also unlikely that the Russian army will appear here.

Yanagawa Heisuke was quite contemptuous of the Russians, believing that the sparsely armed Soviet Russian army was not worthy of fighting against the Emperor [***] team, but the squadron, which had become unprecedentedly powerful with the support of the United States, was a very dangerous enemy, so he kept asking his commanders to drive straight people and advance quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

"Our army must arrive and occupy the city of Kubhai before dark tonight, and the day after tomorrow the receiving troops will arrive." Yanagawa Heisuke categorically rejected the staff officer's suggestion, "...... Time was pressing, so he ordered his troops to pass quickly in battle formation, and resolutely destroy them when they were blocked by the enemy. ”

On his orders, the convoy of baggage, escorted by the infantry brigade and the field artillery brigade, began to pass through the dirt road under the pass. As a precaution, the marching ranks were changed: the infantry entered the valley in battle formation, while the baggage convoys carrying gold were in the center, and the rearguard troops, headquarters, and field artillery brigades followed the march.

At about 5 a.m., the squad passed through the valley without encountering any resistance. At 5:20 p.m., the headquarters and the field artillery brigade also entered the road at the bottom of the ditch one after another. At this time, Yanagawa Heisuke rode on a high-headed red horse, raised his binoculars again, and carefully observed the surrounding hills and suspicious places that might be ambushing the enemy for at least a quarter of an hour.

"Get out of the way!" With a wave of his hand, the brigade commander decisively gave the order to advance. In fact, if I had been a little more cautious, they could have sent search soldiers from both flanks to avoid being ambushed, for any lone man and a lone venture would have violated the great taboo of military science. The problem is that now he does not have much time to send out search troops.

He has taken too many risks for the gold loaded in the car, and many successes have given him a hint of luck, and this time it should be the same as usual, there will be no accidents.

No army that is lucky enough to leave it to chance can afford not to pay the price for this mentality.

At about 5:30 p.m., the army's baggage convoy entered the narrowest part of the road, because it had rained the night before, the road was muddy, and the roadbed collapsed in some steep places, and many soldiers gathered around the roadside to help push the cart. The trucks were loaded with heavy ammunition and munitions (and gold), and their wheels occasionally slipped in mud puddles, making the convoy move as slowly as a snail crawling.

Yanagawa Heisuke looked up at the sky, the sun had risen red, and he felt that if he continued at this pace, he would not be able to reach his destination before dark tonight. He seemed a little fidgety, and he didn't want to waste his precious time on the road, so he grunted and ordered the baggage convoy, the headquarters, and the field artillery brigade to keep up with the combat troops.

This order immediately caused new confusion.

At this time, the narrow part of the earthen road was crowded with people shouting and neighing, and the advancing and slippery teams crowded each other. An artillery truck unfortunately crushed the roadbed and overturned into the ditch, killing and wounding several people on the spot.

Yanagawa Heisuke, who was riding on a horse, was very annoyed when he saw this, and he glared at his subordinates and shouted, "Get out of the way!" …… The cars blocking the way overturned into the ditch, and the gun wagons and baggage wagons passed at once, and they were not allowed to stop! ”

But before the order could be carried out, a violent explosion of cannonballs suddenly sounded like thunder, causing a huge echo in the valley that lasted so long that even the well-trained Oriental war horse he stepped on stood upright in shock, and nearly threw Yanagawa Heisuke into the ditch.

It was very obvious that the army had been ambushed.

At this time, on the hidden position on the hill on the south side, MacArthur, wearing a thick leather coat, was observing the battle situation. Thanks to his good visibility, he could clearly see even without a telescope that the winding road at the bottom of the valley was crowded with enemy cars that were slowly wriggling like lice. The big war was imminent, and people were nervously watching the movements of the commander of the "Rainbow Division".

"Sir, Colonel Lewis has sent for instructions, he has spared the enemy's infantry wing, and it is time to give the order to the commander, it is time to tie the mouth of the pocket." A staff officer reported.

MacArthur nodded, indicating that he already knew.

“…… Colonel Zhong Liwei reported that a small group of troops pursued the White Russian rout to the front of our army's ambush of the enemy position, please ask for instructions on whether to block it? The chief of staff asked.

The reports followed, and the military intelligence was urgent, and MacArthur's slightly pale face became more and more lifeless. He mechanically chewed a piece of candy in his mouth, but his eyes were unblinking, staring at the unsuspecting convoy of the Japanese army gathered in the valley below.

According to intelligence, this is a logistical baggage force of the enemy. The arrogant man said that he did not even send two wings of the guard troops, so he swaggered into his pocket as if he had entered a no-man's land, and the enemy's arrogant attitude of seeing no one in his eyes made MacArthur, who thought highly of himself, very angry.

MacArthur swallowed the candy in his mouth, beckoned to the chief of staff and deputy division commander, and gave the order to attack succinctly.

The 506th Regiment, which was tasked with the task of "plucking the pocket", was the first to open fire.

The Chinese officers and men who had been lying in ambush in the ravine all night had long since held back their strength, and machine-gun bullets and all kinds of light and heavy artillery shells were condescendingly fired at the Yue army. The first salvo of the artillery company accurately overturned the car at the rear of the army, and the truck that caught fire overturned on the road, blocking the retreat of the army.

A fierce battle was fought between the two sides in this narrow valley.

Although the terrain was unfavorable and they suffered heavy casualties, they quickly overcame their panic and organized resistance on the spot. Yanagawa Heisuke determined that the enemy's strength was about one regular division, and he sent frequent reports to the division commander asking for help, and on the other hand, he ordered the troops to be gathered and prepared to organize a breakthrough. After the battle began, these soldiers showed their good military qualities and individual combat ability after different trainings, and they all lay down in the vicinity, or used the ditches, rocks, and cars on the road as barriers to shoot calmly, or seized nearby hills and favorable terrain, waiting for an opportunity to organize a counterattack.

MacArthur soon noticed that these soldiers seemed to be a little different from the officers and soldiers he had come into contact with before.

These fighting men themselves were very cunning, and they did not shout "Load!" after being besieged, as he had often seen in the past, as he had often seen in the past, shouting "Onboard!" "Desperately charging forward with a bayonet, he met the Chinese army in close combat. They hid behind cars or shelters and shot calmly to meet the attacks of the Chinese army. The gunners also set up cannons in the valley and shelled the hill fiercely to respond to the attack of the Chinese army.

At this time, MacArthur had to admit that the infantry did have a great advantage in their individual shooting skills, and the bullets they fired seemed to have eyes, causing many undue casualties to some reckless American volunteer officers and men who were planning to quickly settle the battle. Although the commandos of Company E of the 506th Regiment shouted with submachine guns in an attempt to cut off the troops, many of them were shot before they could make contact with the enemy, and the company commander, Captain Scott, was killed on the spot, leaving the corpses of many American soldiers in Chinese uniforms on the hillside.

MacArthur witnessed this thrilling and magnificent scene through his telescope, and he could not help but be secretly frightened, and he somewhat understood why this seemingly chaotic army dared to fight alone. So he ordered his troops to change their tactics, divide and surround the enemy, and concentrate their firepower to destroy them.

(To be continued)