In the center of Vladivostok, in the Governor's Palace of the Far Eastern Territories, General Alekseev sat in his office with a depressed face.

Alekseev understands Chinese, so he can hear exactly what he said on the phone just now.

The second river fortress fell, and the blow was too great for Alekseev to accept for a while.

"Your Excellency, it is clear that the second river fortress has been lost."

"The second river fortress is impregnable, with more than 20,000 soldiers of the empire guarding it, and the enemy has been able to shake it for more than ten days, why did it fall in just one night?"

"yes, it's so strange that the enemy didn't attack the second river fortress last night, otherwise we should have known."

"Could it be that General Menlegisky has surrendered?"

"Alright, don't speculate."

The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Klowsky, stopped the speculation and asked Alekseev.

"Your Excellency, the second river fortress is lost, and most of the city of Vladivostok will be exposed to enemy fire."

"yes!" The Governor of Amur, Gorodikov, hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, there are still more than 200,000 civilians and tens of thousands of wounded and sick in the city, how is this good?" ”

Everyone complained again, the fierce offensive of the Chinese Emperor [***] in the past ten days has made them frightened, the huge casualties of the Russian army have made them gradually lose confidence in holding the fortress, and the fall of the second river fortress is equivalent to opening most of the gate of Vladivostok, most of the suburbs of Vladivostok have fallen into the hands of the Chinese Emperor [***], and the panic of the people is certain.

"Rest assured, although the second river fortress has been lost, isn't there still the first river fortress? The enemy will not enter the city. ”

Alekseev had to appease them, but Klovsky and others knew very well in their hearts that although there was still the first river fortress in the city, that fortress was the oldest fortress, and the first and fortress built in July 1880 was only the stronghold of Tsarist Russia that initially controlled Vladivostok, and its defensive capability was far inferior to that of the second river fortress. After the fall of the second river fortress, it was only a matter of time before the first river fortress fell.

"No, the first river fortress has been abandoned for a long time, and I ask you to open the Amur fortress immediately and let the civilians of the city take refuge in it."

"What? Take refuge in a fortress? Are you crazy? ”

Alekseev slapped the table suddenly, the fortress had already been bombed, and the placement of Russian soldiers and wounded was tight, and there was no room for 200,000 civilians. Besides, once 200,000 civilians pour into the fortress, it will seriously drag down the defense of the various fortresses.

Gorodikov said: "I am not crazy, with the attitude of the empire towards the Chinese, it is difficult to guarantee that the Chinese [***] team will not return a tooth for a tooth when they enter Vladivostok." I must fulfill my responsibilities as a Governor to keep the citizens safe, and Your Excellency the Commander doesn't want us to be a material enemy, right? ”

Seeing Gorodikov's posture, Alekseev was afraid that it would be difficult to get his cooperation in the future if he did not agree to him. At present, the medical treatment of the wounded and sick in the fortifications of Vladivostok and the transportation of materials all depend on the people of Vladivostok, and if Gorodikov is not happy, it will be difficult to guarantee the logistics of the Russian army.

"200,000 people are too many, I can only open the fortress of the Agathrid Peninsula, and you must ensure the supply of supplies for the fortress."

Gorodeikov shook his head and said, "The fortress of the Agathrid Peninsula is too small, you must open the fortress of the Tyulijin Peninsula." ”

The fortress of the Tyurykin Peninsula is the main part of the entire Vladivostok fortress defense system, and it is also the last position that Alekseev is ready to hold, and if civilians are allowed to enter the fortress, it will seriously affect the defense of the fortress.

"There is no room for negotiation!"

Alekseev finally rejected Gorodikov's proposal and resolutely refused to open the fortress on the Tyurykin Peninsula.

When the two were in a stalemate, the cannon sound of the attack of the Chinese Emperor [***] team sounded again, and the ground suddenly shook like a mountain, and the windows shook.

The guards came in full of reports: "Report to Your Excellency Commander, that the enemy is shelling the city with the fortress artillery on the fortress of the second river of our army. ”

Alekseev hurriedly got up, went to the window and looked through the binoculars, only to see that hundreds of fortress guns on the second river fortress in the northwest direction had turned their muzzles and bombarded in the direction of the city of Vladivostok and the first river fortress.

Powerful fortress shells fell on the city, each shell could easily destroy a house, and in a moment most of the western suburbs of Vladivostok were plunged into smoke and fire, and the houses collapsed in rows, and countless Vladivostok citizens crowded the streets and wailed.

"Damn, why didn't you destroy the artillery before you lost your position?"

"I don't think the cannon has been destroyed, but the ammunition has also been lost!"

"Damn Menlegiski!"

Alekseev was furious, more annoyed than he had just learned of the fall of the Second River Fortress, and he was well aware of the firepower and ammunition reserves of the Second River Fortress, where a third of the artillery and ammunition were stored. Among them, the artillery reserve is as high as 30,000 rounds, and the gunpowder reserve is 35 tons, it stands to reason that from the moment the second river fortress is broken through, the Russian army will blow up all the fortress guns and detonate the ammunition depot and the enemy will die together, but now the result is all the enemy, how can this not make Alekseev angry, thinking that so many materials are invested in the enemy, he is so angry that he is about to vomit blood.

Chief of Staff Clowski said: "If it were the enemy's infantry artillery, I think the first river fortress would have been able to withstand it for a while, but now it seems that the cunning enemy forces did not know how to take the second river fortress, so that our fortress artillery was turned by the enemy to bombard ourselves." In this way, the first river fortress lasted less than an hour. If the enemy airship comes to attack, it may not even last half an hour! ”

Then Klowsky turned to Governor Gorodikov and said: "I think we have no time to evacuate the citizens of the suburbs, and even the citizens of the eastern part of the city have only half an hour to evacuate. ”

Gorodikov glared and said, "Half an hour? It's too late to walk! ”

Clowski said: "We can't help it! If you don't evacuate, we will prohibit citizens from evacuating to the fortified area when the enemy forces enter the city. ”

Gorodikov frowned and said, "What do you mean by that?" Could it be that we will be reduced to slavery in the country? How did you make a promise? What Vladivostok fortress is impregnable, the citizens do not need to worry about the enemy, they cannot be attacked. If it weren't for believing in you, how would we have stayed here and been besieged? ”

Clowski suddenly lowered his head, he was really speechless.

Alekseev sighed and said: "We didn't expect the offensive of the Chinese Emperor [***] team to be so fierce and fast, you have also seen it in the past ten days, the second river fortress is indeed impregnable." ”

"Indestructible?" Gorodeikov snorted coldly: "Dare to say that it is indestructible even if it is lost in one night?" ”

Alekseev was speechless for a moment, and the questions went round and round, and in the end it was all because the impregnable second river fortress was silently lost overnight, so that Alekseev was caught off guard and is now in an extremely passive situation.

"Damn, what the hell happened there, how did you lose all your work in one night? We didn't even hear a single movement? ”

No one knows the answer, not to mention that the artillery fire of the Chinese Empire is getting closer and closer.

"Boom!"

A series of shells exploded near the governor's palace, shattering the roof, sand and soil fragments fell a large piece, and everyone was immediately covered in dust, and Gorodikov was choked and coughed.

"Your Excellency the Commander, Your Excellency the Governor, we need to retreat to the fortress quickly, it is not safe here."

Alekseev sighed, where is there still a safe place, if the city falls, the Vladivostok fortress will really be alone. How could the war suddenly turn sharply, Alekseev felt fear for the first time for the Chinese Emperor [***] team.

On the second river fortress in the distance, Duan Qirui, commander of the Second Front Army of the Chinese Empire, Liang Huadian, commander of the Third Front Army, and Li Guodong, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, stood on the fortress high ground and looked at the city of Vladivostok below.

"Report, the attack echelon is already in place, is it going to strike?"

"Standby!"

"Yes!"

Duan Qirui did not immediately launch an infantry attack on the city, so Liang Huadian asked, "Old Duan, what tactics are you doing?" ”

Duan Qirui said: "Lao Liang, don't you think it would be better to drive these Russian civilians into the Russian fortress fortifications?" ”

Liang Huadian thought about it, Duan Qirui must have made sense when he said this, so he said: "Don't sell Guanzi!" ”

Duan Qirui said with a smile: "There must be more than 200,000 civilians below, we drove these people into the Russian fortress, which will cause the Russian fortress to be crowded and affect the Russian army's combat performance." Second, the demand for food, drink, lazar and sleep for so many people for a day must be very huge, and the reserves of the Vladivostok fortress will have to be urgent in a few days. Thirdly, these ordinary people do not know the cruelty of war, and our attack on the Russian fortress these days will inevitably cause the fortress to be full of hell on earth. Finally, if we use poison gas against the people in the city, we will give them a handle, and we will not be happy about it. But if civilians are in the fortresses of the Russian army, the situation is very different. ”

Li Guodong next to him suddenly smiled: "Commander Duan is really far-sighted, admire!" ”

Duan Qirui smiled: "It's over, Lord Li." ”

Liang Huadian said: "More than 20,000 enemies were reimbursed in a few hours last night, and if we do it again tonight, I think the Vladivostok fortress should be closed." ”

Duan Qirui sighed and said, "I reimbursed more than 20,000 enemies in a few hours last night, and it is really against heaven and earth to use this thing. ”

Li Guodong said: "Your Majesty will be here tomorrow afternoon, can you let Your Majesty Longyan Dayue all be today!" ”

Duan Qirui said: "I don't care about currying favor with Your Majesty, but as soon as Your Majesty comes, the commanders of the General Staff and the Theater Command will definitely ask for credit in front of Your Majesty, and when the time comes, they will order our army to storm the fortress at all costs, I don't know how many brothers will be sacrificed." ”

After a success, hearing Duan Qirui's words, Liang Huadian and Li Guodong were suddenly silent.

Soon, Duan Qirui smiled again: "There is no reason to let our brothers sacrifice, we have to be ruthless when we should be ruthless, anyway, over the years, the Russian old Maozi have not harmed the Chinese, and they are innocent of death." ”

"That's right! Why should we pity these brutes? When they slaughtered and bullied us, they didn't see them pity us! ”

The trio quickly came to an agreement and decided to continue fighting with poison gas if Alekseev did not surrender.

At about nine o'clock in the morning, the Chinese Emperor [***] used more than 100 fortress cannons on the second river fortress to bombard the city of Vladivostok, causing tens of thousands of civilian casualties, and more than 200,000 Russian civilians poured into the Galivaya fortress in the east of the city, the fortress on the Tyulijin Peninsula in the southeast, and the fortress on the Agathrid Peninsula in the south.

At first, Alekseev was worried that the Chinese Emperor [***] would take the opportunity to attack the fortress with the crowd, after all, most of the artillery fire and fortifications of the fortress were defended in the direction outside the city, and the internal fortifications were very weak, after the Chinese Empire captured the second river fortress, the remaining Kalivaya fortress, the Tyulijin Peninsula fortress, and the Agathrid Peninsula fortress of Vladivostok Fortress, the rear convenience of the three fortress fortifications was exposed, Alekseev was worried that the Chinese emperor [***] would take the opportunity to capture the fortress, so he strictly ordered that Russian civilians should not be allowed to enter the fortress.

However, the Chinese Emperor [***] simply bombarded the city with fortress artillery, causing fear among the citizens of Vladivostok, and as a result, all of them flocked to the vicinity of the fortress, crying and shouting to enter the fortress for refuge.

"This is a conspiracy of the enemy, and we must not open the door. If the gates of the fortress are opened, the enemy will take the opportunity to rush in, and then we will be all finished. ”

Alekseev repeatedly rejected the requests of his men, but the sight of the dense crowd of refugees outside the fortress, listening to their heart-rending wails and cries, Alekseev and his men were heartbroken.

Time was consumed like this, at about twelve o'clock at noon, Duan Qirui ordered the artillery of the second river fortress to start artillery fire extension, shelling the Gariwaya fortress in the east, the fortress of the Qiulijin Peninsula in the southeast, and the fortress of the Agathrid Peninsula in the south. The Russian soldiers above suffered numerous casualties and rivers of blood. It was only then that most of the citizens of Vladivostok really saw the cruel side of the war, and they immediately panicked even more.

Many of the facilities used to prevent civilians from entering the fortress were destroyed in the shelling, and most of the citizens of Vladivostok believed that the inside of the fortress must be safe, so they no longer listened to the persuasion of the Russian soldiers and rushed through the checkpoint and rushed into the fortress. Most of the Russian troops in Vladivostok Fortress belong to the Far Eastern Military District, and they are all brought by their families, and their families live in Vladivostok, and they are all in the flow of refugees, so at first they shot to block the influx of refugees, but soon some Russian soldiers could not get their hands on it, so they let them go.

It didn't matter if this release was released, hundreds of thousands of panicked civilians flocked in, causing the Russian fortress to be quickly overcrowded, and all kinds of passages quickly became impassable.

Duan Qirui and the others, who saw this scene in the telescope, immediately ordered the attack echelon to start moving.

Just after one o'clock in the afternoon, the Chinese Emperor [***] gathered the forces of three corps in the direction of the northwest city of Vladivostok, and advanced to the fortress of Garivaya in the east, the fortress of the Tyulijin Peninsula in the southeast, and the fortress of the Agathrid Peninsula in the south.

At about two o'clock, the 15th Army launched a fierce attack on the fortress of the first river, and under the fierce artillery offensive, the 17th Infantry Brigade of the Russian army, which was guarding the fortress of the first river, collapsed without a fight, because the fortress of the first river was located in the center of Vladivostok, and because of the expansion and development of the city, the fortress had actually become a city within a city. When the news of the loss of the second river fortress reached the first river fortress, the Russian troops guarding here had no heart to fight, they were afraid of being surrounded, and the brigade commander, Major General Pinkasga, immediately abandoned the first river fortress and fled, and then the 17th Infantry Brigade turned into birds and scattered to different fortresses.

At half past two, the 15th Army occupied the first river fortress.

At 2:50 p.m., the artillery brigade of the 15th Army concentrated 48 75 infantry guns, 36 105 infantry guns, and 36 155 mm heavy howitzers to bombard the Lujiawa Ya fortress, which was closest to the first river fortress. At the same time, the 35th Division, as the first echelon of the attack, began to attack the rear of the Lujiawa Ya Fortress. At the same time, outside the eastern part of the Lujiawa Ya Fortress, the 50th Army of the Third Front Army launched an attack from the front to contain the firepower of the Russian fortress.

With the fierce attack of the 15th Army, the Lujiawa Fortress was attacked by the enemy, and the Russian army in the fortress was already exhausted to deal with it, coupled with the influx of a large number of Russian refugees, the movement and support of the Russian army were hindered everywhere, so that the defensive strength fell sharply.

The 15th Army seized the fighter plane and launched an attack in the direction where there were many Russian refugees, and the panicked Russian refugees rushed into the fortress desperately, which not only blocked the Russian troops in the fortress from reinforcing the fortress, but also became a good cover object for the Chinese Emperor [***].

At 3:40 p.m., the 71st Regiment of the 35th Division of the 15th Army took the lead in rushing to the 413 Heights and occupied the commanding heights of the Lujiawa Ya Fortress. Then the heavy machine-gun positions were arranged, and the attack on the frontal Russian fortified positions on the other side of the hill began.

Due to the condescending position of the 71st Regiment, the Russian defensive soldiers basically turned their backs to them, and as a result, the soldiers of the 71st Regiment rushed into the Russian frontal fortress with a charge, and attacked the defending Russian troops along the breastwork and ladders, and rushed into the fortress battery and shot the Russian artillery.

As the 71st Regiment successively knocked out a large number of Russian artillery positions and heavy machine gun positions, the 50th Army in the frontal attack was also able to successfully capture the fortress.

At about five o'clock in the afternoon, more than half of the Russian troops on the Lujiawa Ya fortress were wiped out, and the remnants of the Russian army were divided into a mess by the flow of refugees.

(To be continued)