General Raglan lowered his binoculars in grief, his gaze unbearable to peer through the clouds of smoke to look at the battlefield ahead.

Across this short space we can see that the British light cavalry is charging bravely towards the muzzle of the gun, and they are rushing left and right in the rain of bullets. Finally, a small number of survivors finally broke out of the obstacles, raised the shining saber in their hands, and quickly cut down the standing Russian shooter. They even broke one of the infantry columns of the Russian army, scattering the enemy like hay.

The apparent victory was short-lived, as the surviving British cavalry quickly turned their horses around and flew back to the British position. At this time, the fire of the flank artillery groups on the hill was once again pouring down on them, and they were again crushed as before. Wounded soldiers and fallen men galloped towards the British positions. Just as they were about to retreat, numerous Russian cavalry with spears rushed towards their flank. It is not difficult to guess that there were very few British light cavalry brigades left, including Viscount Cardigan, less than 200 people survived, and 473 lives were lost in a single charge, and the death rate of more than 60% shocked all the British officers and soldiers who witnessed the charge on the battlefield. And at this moment, the Pavlov division of the Russian army, which was stumbling late, also arrived on the battlefield.

The two Russian fronts simultaneously launched a fierce attack on the entire line of the British position, and the British position suddenly appeared precarious.

The one-armed general Raglan, the commander who participated in the Battle of Waterloo, appeared calm and composed, and he did not show the slightest timidity in the seemingly unstoppable attack of the Russians. The veteran British general personally came to the front-line command post and was under the command of the veteran general. The British soldiers, with their backs to the sea, put up an even more stubborn resistance, and as Raglan said, we had to retreat to the sea, or we could only defeat the Russians if we were not killed by the enemy.

In the face of the frenzied attack of the Russian army, all the artillery fire of the British army roared fiercely, and a large number of shotguns fell like hail. The British hunting guns in the nearby trenches blocked the advancing Russians, and the Russians charged without concessions. Rows of smoothbore guns came closer, only to see the smoke of gunpowder, and the bullets hit the British array with a "whooshing" sound, and at the same time, the Russian artillery that successfully blocked the British light cavalry made a loud noise again, pouring whistling shells into the British positions. The two sides are fighting to the death on the battlefield, and it is difficult to inseparable, if you look from above the battlefield. This not wide battlefield was crowded with tens of thousands of troops of the British and Russian armies, artillery shells fell in the array from time to time, officers were trying to maintain the formation that was broken up from time to time, the soldiers in the front row fell to the ground from time to time in the confrontation, and people in the rear continued to fill it, and the corpses that fell to the ground were scattered all over the battlefield, and the blood stained the earth.

Seeing the influx of French * troops, Soymonov had no choice but to give the order to retreat, and he sighed in his heart that if the Russian army used Mini rifles, maybe it would be the coalition forces that are retreating now.

General Raglan did not give the order to pursue. The battle had been going on for almost 10 hours, and the tired British troops were not up to the task of pursuing the Russian troops. To his relief, he received a piece of news that made him extremely excited. In Asia, China is making territorial claims to Russia, and war between the two countries is inevitable. This news boosted the morale of the coalition forces, and the British troops who had just fought bloodily were talking about the exciting news that made them excited.

Not only did they even get the news that China was about to attack Russia, but even Napoleon III happily danced in the palace. The British Earl of Aberdeen even praised China for embarking on the right track and making the right move for freedom and peace in the world and the Far East in keeping with its own identity.

It was already April 1855 in the Gregorian calendar, and the vast land finally appeared a little new green, and the winding Selenga River gradually came to life, and the thawing river slowly flowed north with ice cubes. Shi Dakai looked at the slightly undulating hills in the distance, and at the end of that heaven and earth, the blue sky and the hazy gray earth blended together, all of which made people's hearts open.

Qiu Zenan, the commander of the training and chief of the Central Route Army, said with some slight: "The cold snap here in winter is too severe, and more than 200 soldiers were frozen to death throughout the winter, but it is good that our logistics can keep up." I heard that a few years ago, His Majesty had people start preparing coats and mattresses. Otherwise, General Zeng's plan to advance north in May may have to be revised. ”

Liu Dezhi is a southerner, and he said with a smile: "We southerners are not afraid of the heat, but we are afraid of the ice and snow." If there is a fight, it is really worrying. I heard that those Rakshasas could stay shirtless in the snow for the night. ”

Shi Dakai pouted and said to Liu Dezhi: "Look at your kid's unproductive appearance, I'm afraid if it's cold, that Rakshasa is not a human, he ate a shot and still put it on the ground." Didn't two hundred people die? Last year's cold caused many of the herdsmen who had been living here for a long time to freeze to death. But we didn't all survive it, and when we arrived at the battlefield in a hurry, the rest of us would not freeze to death. ”

Liu Dezhi couldn't open his mouth when he was said, his face was a little uneasy, and he blushed and said: "Commander Shi also underestimates people, who is afraid, but some sad brothers died in vain, and they didn't even catch a single hair of the red-haired devil." What a fucking injustice. ”

Shi Dakai laughed, patted Liu Dezhi on the shoulder and said, "It's okay not to be afraid, we are a rough person, we don't talk around the corner, there are bad things, forbearance, inclusiveness." ”

Qiu Zenan smiled with the atmosphere of the scene. He knew that Shi Dakai was a good fighter, but his temperament was a little rough. It is inevitable to offend people. So he turned the topic away and asked Shi Dakai: "What does the commander think, how do we complete the task assigned to us by the General Staff. ”

Shi Dakai had already been familiar with the battle plan of the Russian Commander-in-Chief, and he sorted out his thoughts a little and said: "According to the plan of the General Staff, our army will attack in four ways in this battle, one of which is a waterway, and we will not discuss it here because of the Beiyang Fleet." The other three ways. One route was personally led by Duke Lin Wei, who had just been transferred back from North America, to attack Russia's Tomsk in the northwest direction with the forces of the Third and Fourth Armies of the Xinjiang Military Region from the Tojin and Ulianghai Banners. This is the main road connecting Russia to the Far East, and if the Russian army is cut off here, it will not be able to reinforce the Far East, and this road can be called the western road. On the other hand, the Second Army led by General Qin Han went north from Temple Street to the north with the cooperation of the Beiyang Fleet to take Okhotsk, and then used Okhotsk as a stronghold, and then went northwest to capture Yakutsk. After completing the task, General Qin left his troops to defend. It will meet us in the west. The rest of the way, that is, our way, is to occupy the entire Osawa region. Speaking of this, Shi Da smiled and said, "Actually, the duke takes good care of us. The Russians have been cut off from end to end, and we will only have to defeat the Russian troops stationed in the cities of Erkou (Irkutsk), Ulan-Ude and Nebuchu. ”

Shi Dakai watched everyone open their mouths and explain their plans.

"The focus of the defense of the Rakshasas is in Erkou City, when the red-haired devils and the former dynasty fought in Yaxa, their base camp was in Erkou City. In the past, the Rakshasas relied on firearms and artillery, but now they have no advantage, and the war Rakshasas do not have much difficulty. I am concerned that the government has sent so many troops, and the supply of these supplies is a great burden on the domestic finances. Long and Rakshasa consumed here. I'm afraid the treasury will not be able to support it. ”

Liu Dezhi smiled and said: "Commander, you don't have to worry about the affairs of the treasury, let those ministers of the Ministry of Finance have a headache." ”

Liu Dezhi continued: "This king's view is roughly the same as that of the chief of staff, our battle, it should not be a big problem to fight, it is rare how to survive the winter, how to hold here. ”

Shi Dakai also groaned: "Our army is here, and the Russians retreated to the north, but as soon as our army left, they came again. We can't have tens of thousands of troops stationed here for long. ”

Yang Banhou, as the chief of the supply department of the Fifth Army, said beside him: "As long as we build the railway here, then the Russians will not be able to snatch Daze with us." ”

Liu Dezhi took over the topic and said: "It takes us one or two years to build the railway, and it is difficult for the Russians to harass them every day. Even if it is repaired, the Russians can attack and destroy our railways. You have to garrison a large army here, which is not the solution. ”

Yang Banhou smiled: "Don't get in the way, wait here." The whole of Siberia belongs to our empire, and what we have to solve is the logistical problem of marching, but this railway construction is a good way, and it can effectively help the empire control this land without solving the logistical problem. ”

"Okay, then you can send a telegram to the General Staff and ask them to organize an engineering team to build a railway after us." Shi Da said openly.

"Yes, Commander!"