Night falls, and darkness covers the land. Every house in the village lit oil lamps and lit up the whole house with sparks. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's economy, farmers facing the loess with their backs to the sky can also go to nearby towns to do odd jobs to subsidize their families, and even farmers who are far away from towns can participate in military training to obtain subsidies in their spare time. The increase in income allows every household to save on oil lamps, which are not very expensive.

The young girl lit an oil lamp in her boudoir, and her beautiful face was reflected in the calm water. As a good-looking woman in ten miles and eight towns, there are always many people who come to propose marriage, but she actually already has a home in her heart.

He was tall and handsome, and he was a good guy who was praised by everyone in the village. Always with a sunny smile on his face, he is a little silly. She once peeked at him working shirtless from a distance, watching him work hard in the scorching sun, she wanted to step forward to wipe away his hard sweat like her mother stepped forward to sweat his father, but for reasons of etiquette, she could only peek from a distance. Why didn't he come to her house to propose? He didn't know that in order to wait for him, she had already rejected many boys?

Looking at the reflection in the water, the girl's face flushed. Isn't this fool beautiful?! The shy girl put her hand into the basin and stirred the calm water, and also disturbed her mind.

The orange light illuminated her every move, and also imprinted her figure on the window, she didn't know it, in fact, he was watching her from the window.

Her well-proportioned figure shines on the window, and her every move is so graceful. He liked her, but he didn't say anyone. She is so beautiful and moving. But he was just an ordinary boy. He only dared to look at her figure from a distance in the night, but he didn't dare to step forward and knock on her window. Tonight he didn't have the excitement he had when he peeked at it in the past. At the moment, the mood is extremely calm. Tomorrow he will leave the hometown where he was born and raised, and go to the battlefield to pursue no longer ordinary.

"Goodbye beloved dream girl. I'm going to look for the future far away. If I return to my hometown one day, I will tell my feelings outside your window. Goodbye beloved dream girl, say precious to your shadow. If I never come back, let the moon stay outside your window. He silently recited the words he had learned not long ago, and then turned away resolutely.

The night will always go out, and the sky will gradually brighten. By the time the sun rose, the village threshing floor was already crowded with people. Surrounded by a circle of people from the village, they want to see off their children.

He was one of the reservists who were about to leave for the northern battlefield in the innermost line. He looked at the gray-bearded old patriarch standing on the stage with a cane: "How many places did the Russian Maozi rob of our China in the former Qing Dynasty." You've learned all of this in the school. But they were still not reconciled, and sent a large fleet to fight us, intending to make us slaves. It's tolerable, it's unbearable. Speaking of this, the old patriarch angrily slammed his cane on the cement floor: "Fortunately, my emperor Shengming, the emperor took our Chinese navy to defeat the Russian Maozi's navy, and now you have to drive away all the Russian Maozi's soldiers." You are all the best young men of our race, and when you come to the battlefield, you will fight hard to kill the enemy and do what you want to do to serve your country. Don't be timid and retreat. Lose face to our people! Written down? ”

"Whoa." The reservists replied in unison.

"The two armies intersect, and the brave are invincible. I hear courage in your voices, and it's good! A lame captain walked up crookedly, looked around and nodded, "The backpack is very good." The guns are also carried very regularly, and the formation is horizontal and vertical, which shows that you have worked hard in your usual training. It stands to reason that guns shouldn't have been handed out to you right now. But it was done anyway. Why? I just want you to get familiar with guns a little faster. As for the absence of bullets in the guns, they were not uniformly distributed until the final assembly area. As a soldier who survived from the battlefield. As your instructor, I will give you one last piece of advice before you go. On the battlefield, a gun is a soldier's life, don't let go of the hand holding the gun unless you die. Now, stand up—"

"Turn left, run forward--" The captain gave the order to set off, and under the guidance of the instructor sent by his superiors, the soldiers ran away with neat steps.

He ran in the queue with firm steps, but his eyes kept wandering, would she appear? Suddenly, a bright red in the distance caught his eye. It's her, it must be her! He didn't know why he was so sure, but he just believed it had to be her. He smiled sweetly at her, and then ran off into the distance. He told himself that he would use the military exploits he earned on the battlefield as a dowry and go to her house to propose marriage.

"Little Seven. Although we know the righteousness of going into battle to kill the enemy, protect the family and defend the country. But these are the elite children of our clan, and they are all those who have never been in the battle array, once they are too damaged, our clan is also greatly damaged. The old patriarch looked at the children in the distance and was worried.

The little seven in the old patriarch's mouth is this lame captain. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, the old patriarch, they can't go to the battlefield with Ben." In fact, this time the imperial court recruited reserves, mainly to maintain the order of the rear, at most to go to the nearby battlefield to feel the atmosphere of the war, which is a clear rule of the imperial court. The emperor once said that whether a country is strong in the future depends on whether the young people are strong or not, and the emperor will not let the young people sacrifice easily. As you know, our China has conquered the whole of Siberia this time, which is a bigger place than our China, and the army needs to go to the front line to kill the enemy, so someone has to guard such a big place, and they are going to guard these places this time. Of course, it is not completely without danger, there will always be some enemy agents making trouble in the rear, but this is war. ”

The old patriarch nodded and said, "It's also a common thing to go into battle to kill the enemy's horse leather shroud, so let them go." A few days ago, the imperial court didn't say that they wanted to immigrate to Siberia, so when you go to the county seat tomorrow, ask how it was moved. We China occupy such a large area, and it is not okay to be barren. ”

"Hey." Xiao Qi responded, and respectfully sent the old patriarch away.

used to be Xiao Qi was the best lazy second-rate child in the village. Ten years ago, he was finally kicked out of the village for stealing, but he didn't expect to join the army. Through the Sino-Russian conflict and the Japanese war. He has accumulated military merits and has been promoted to lieutenant company commander. Unexpectedly, in the last battle to suppress the Fushiminomiya rebellion, he was shot in the leg and disabled, and after being promoted to one level, he was retired to the reserve and returned to his hometown. Become a reserve instructor in these local towns. In the eyes of the villagers, he was the first official in the village to eat imperial grain. In addition to continuing to hold military ranks, there are also disability allowances and instructor allowances, and they no longer have to rely on the weather to eat, so that they have become the richest people in the village. Don't look at him as a cripple, now his daughter-in-law is also married, and he has children. It is precisely because the young people in the village have an extra income in addition to the fields, and life in the village has gradually improved. And also because of the appearance of people like him in the locality. The recruitment and training program for the reservists is proceeding well.

The quality of the reserve force is an important embodiment of the country's ability to sustain the war, and Li Ming has paid great attention to this point since the First Sino-Japanese War, and the building of the reserve force began after the war. When disabled veterans return to their hometowns, they take on the main work of reserve training. In the countryside, young people with hoes are usually required to participate in training during their leisure time, and people in factories and towns are required to undergo a certain period of military training every year. Because their instructors are all from the battlefield with real guns and real guns. The subjects and objectives of the training are also more targeted. In addition, China, which is bound to win every battle, has seized a large number of guns and ammunition from the battlefield, which also allows the reserves to conduct shooting training with a certain amount of live ammunition every year. Li Mingdang said: Among all countries in the world today, China's reserve quality is the highest.

So when the call-up order is issued. In just one month, an army of 300,000 was formed, and the huge human resources finally showed a huge advantage, but they were not regular troops after all. Therefore, upon arrival at the station, they will undergo a three-month closed and rigorous training. In the end, they will be pulled to the front line position, and let them really feel what war is. After that, they will be thrown into some low-intensity wars to let them grow. After they are real soldiers. After going through the test of blood and fire, the soldiers of the older generation will gradually retire and become a new batch of reserve instructors.

"The older generation has stepped down from generation to generation, and the younger generation has come up, and this is how the history of China has come over for several years and thousands of years!" Li Ming was standing on the platform of Wuchang Railway Station at this moment, watching a group of reserve soldiers board the train.

For many reservists, this is the first time in their lives that they have traveled far away. They sat in the roaring train for days and nights, watching the train climb over the mountains and watch the rivers flow under their feet. Yesterday was still the scorching sun, today is the spring rain, and after another night I woke up covered in snow, but still did not reach the destination. For the first time, they really felt how vast the country was.

When the reservists arrived in Siberia, the units of the Northeast Army, which had been surrendered, slowly withdrew from the city and marched towards the western battlefield. All the eastern cities, including Irkutsk, were handed over to these reservists and the North Korean army after the prisoners were transferred, and the pressure on logistics and supplies was even greater.

"Good news, the last section of the railway from Ulaanbaatar to Ulan-Ude has been opened-" Duan Qirui was a little excited. Before the war, a large amount of supplies had been hoarded in Ulaanbaatar, and the train took three days faster to go to Ulaanbaatar than to Harbin.

"Okay, more than 100,000 laborers finally didn't smash into it in vain, and the whole line will be opened to traffic in half a month, okay. Now the big problem is the section from Novosibirsk to Omsk. Feng Guozhang rubbed his hands happily: "Order Nozu Daoguan, let him lead the construction corps to escort all 40,000 Russian prisoners into Novosibirsk City, and start repairing the money road as soon as possible." If he can build the railway from Novosibirsk to Omsk within two months, the official will give him a first-class meritorious service. ”

Today, logistical supply capabilities have become the biggest obstacle to expanding the gains on the front lines. At the end of last year, when Russia withdrew from Novosibirsk, they did not forget to destroy the railway, and if they just demolished the tracks, it would not be a big deal. Before the war, the General Staff Headquarters estimated that the Russians would sabotage the railway, so a large number of tracks had been customized for preparation. Unexpectedly, the Russians actually blew up the railway, so that the foundation was all potholes, and the melting of the heavy snow in winter made all the potholes waterlogged, which is equivalent to rebuilding the entire foundation, and the amount of work is much larger.

"The stakes are high on this railway. Zhan Tianyou, the Minister of Transportation, has personally taken the engineer to the site for an on-site inspection, and when the construction corps arrives, it is believed that the construction can start immediately. In this war. The credit of the Japanese is still obvious to all. It's nice that they're Japanese, but don't because they're Japanese. The credit that should be given is not given. If they want to feel a sense of belonging to China, they must be treated as Chinese. Wang Shizhen was very dissatisfied with Feng Guozhang's attitude of using the two Japanese divisions on the front line to death, he pointed to the map and said: "Has the order to withdraw the Japanese division been issued?" ”

"I sent it, and I sent it out the night I received the naval battle report. But they can't get out now. Feng Guozhang said helplessly: "The Russian side got the news of the complete defeat of the navy, and the Russian army began a full-scale counteroffensive. Our army's previous strategy was originally to attack first and then retreat to lure the enemy into depth, but the Japanese attacked too fiercely in the early stage, killing all the way from Chanet to Karachinsk, and there were too many casualties in the battle. As a result, the Japanese withdrew to Tatarstan and were bitten by the Russians. Now simply trapped and dying in Tatarstan. Even if they abandon the wounded now, they will not be able to evacuate with Ben. ”

"Our army had already begun its full-scale march four days ago, and the 1st Division was even more in a hurry to reinforce the Japanese army. But for reasons of distance, the Japanese also need to support for five more days. Duan Qirui pointed to the map and was a little helpless. Without the railway, it would have been very difficult for Siberia to march quickly.

"It's going to be five days away." Dashan Yan shook his head helplessly compared to the map, because the current situation of the Japanese army could not last five days.

In order to achieve the tactical goal of the suddenness of the attack, the army must make a rapid march. Therefore, when the Japanese army set out from the city of Novosibirsk, all of them carried light weapons, and rifles and grenades were the main weapons. Equipped with a small number of machine guns and a handful of mortars, this is also standard equipment for the assault program of the Chinese army. However, in the early days of the engagement, the Japanese army attacked unexpectedly and quickly, causing the forward Russian army to fall into a state of collapse. Heben was not mentally prepared for the collapse of the Russian army at the first touch. The Japanese followed them in pursuit. The troops at the front finally sent an alarm message to the rear, but it exaggerated the Japanese and reached the ears of ordinary soldiers. The Russians, who had only stopped to build a defensive line in the rear, were worried, and such a fearful army could only collapse in the face of the Japanese army's pig attack tactics.

Smoothly. It's too smooth. The Japanese attack was fierce and swift, and a large number of Russian troops did not have time to respond effectively. It was broken by the Japanese army. The Russian defense line was lost one after another, and the retreating Russian officers and soldiers were scattered all over the mountains. The Japanese army did not collect prisoners, but only concentrated their forces and advanced forward, so that the Japanese attack was faster than the retreating Russian army.

Faced with defeat after defeat at the front, the roar of Tsar Nicholas II in St. Petersburg reached Omsk. Alekseev, as the front-line commander of the Russian Army, had to analyze the situation of the war and speculated that the Japanese army would not exceed 30,000 men at most, and that they only had light weapons. He had organized two strong lines of defense, and he believed that he could resist the attack of 50,000 Japanese troops. But it was the Russian army that broke through his position.

The Russian troops who retreated from the front fled to the position in a swarm, and in the face of their own people who fled for their lives, the Russians did not shoot but accepted them to their heart's content. But the rout of the Russian army was followed by the Japanese army. At this moment of inseparability, all of Alekseev's defense plans failed. It was only one round of strong assault that the Japanese captured Alekseev's painstakingly managed defensive line. The scale of the rout was even greater, and the latter line of defense lost its position without even seeing the Japanese and the whole army retreated. Alekseev learned from the pain and set up strict military regulations on the Karachinsk front: all the officers and soldiers withdrawn from the front line bypassed the position, and those who stormed the position were killed. In order to ensure that the military regulations can be thoroughly implemented, Alekseev personally patrolled the front line, and finally held the Karachinsk defense line with the absolute superiority of troops regardless of the killing or wounding of the enemy or the enemy.

For the Japanese army, which was progressing well, in fact, their life was not easy. Only the assault with light weapons made them insufficient in the firepower output during the engagement, and once the Russian army resisted somewhere, it often caused heavy casualties to the attacking Japanese troops. The total strength of the two divisions before the departure was more than 20,000 men, and thirty percent of the attack along the way had already been lost. Fortunately, the Fourth Division was desperately transporting supplies forward, and all the combat materials were barely enough. Since two attacks in Karachinsk were repulsed by the Russian army. Oyama Rock knew very well that this was the end of the Japanese attack, but he still maintained an offensive posture. The Russian army was also frightened by the ferocious attack of the Japanese army and did not dare to leave the position easily, so the two armies entered the stage of confrontation.

When the news of the total destruction of the Russian Navy came, the commanders of both sides knew that this confrontation was coming to an end. That night, Dashanyan received a naval battle report and a retreat order from the Chinese General Staff Headquarters, and that night Dashanyan arranged for the wounded soldiers to retreat first. Alekseev received the results of the naval battle and the order to attack the next afternoon, and at the same time he saw the roaring Tsar His Majesty between the lines of the telegram. So he decisively ordered the march, believing that the Japanese should have received the news earlier and had begun to retreat.

However, Alekseev, who was in a hurry to comfort the tsar with a counteroffensive, was still too anxious. In order to give his wounded enough time to retreat, Oyama Rock did not move the main force with Ben. In the face of the Russian army approaching step by step, Dashanyan decisively launched a counteroffensive, not only beating the Russian army back, but also having a chance to capture Karachinsk again if his troops were sufficient. The battle knocked Alekseev out like a slap in the face, and he could not judge what China's strategic intentions were. At the same time, he was so frightened that 24 hours later he found out that all the Japanese troops had withdrawn.

Oyama also knew that the Japanese army, which had only 20,000 men, could not really decide the victory or defeat of the war. Therefore, when the two armies had just turned into a confrontation, the wounded soldiers began to evacuate as soon as possible, and the retreat plan and route began to be decided. In fact, what Dashanyan is most afraid of is not the pursuit of the Russian army, but the most afraid of being surrounded, because the hundreds of thousands of Russians on the opposite side are fully capable of encircling them from the flank. Perhaps it was the early assault that frightened the Russians, so much so that Russia, which had nearly ten times the number of troops, did not dare to launch an active attack. As an assault force, the Japanese army broke the hearts of the Russians with a swift attack, and Dashan Yan did it. And this counterattack gave him an extra 24 hours.

Alekseev was not a fool either, when he learned about the fact that the Japanese had retreated, he knew that he had been deceived. So he ordered the whole line to attack, and the Russian army, which saw the fact of the Japanese retreat, was also demoralized and strode forward to catch up.

The pursuit was not smooth, and the Japanese sappers made the remaining war materials into various bombs and obstacles to delay the pursuit of the Russian army, but the Russian army, which had the advantage of cavalry, quickly caught up with the Japanese army. Although the Japanese repeatedly repelled the pursuit of the Russian army, the increase in casualties made the Japanese army's march slower and slower, and it was finally bitten by the Russian army in Tatarstan. If the wounded were abandoned at this time, the main force of the Japanese army would still have a chance to withdraw, but Oyama Rock did not. Bringing these young people to fight for China from the barren and chaotic days doesn't they think that they can have an income so that their families can live a better life? Dashanyan could not ruthlessly abandon them in Siberia, far away from their homeland, after all, this was not a Japanese war, and victory was not what the Japanese needed. After he hesitated for half a day, the main Russian forces finally caught up with him, and then surrounded him, and there was no chance to withdraw again.

The rumbling of artillery outside was a signal for the arrival of Russian artillery. It doesn't sound like the sound of heavy artillery, and heavy artillery shouldn't be able to come up so quickly. But with the support of strong firepower, the Russian soldiers, who were also armed with light weapons, had the basis to break through the Japanese defense line, and the Japanese army could only rely on light weapons to fight for the remaining five days. Dashan Yan looked at the dark night outside the window, and sat down helplessly to ponder.

There was a creak, and the door was pushed open. The chief of staff of the Japanese army, Gentaro Kodama, strode in and said anxiously: "The Russian artillery has arrived, and among them are small-caliber guns similar to mortars. The first line of defense of our army was broken through. ”

Oyama Iwa just nodded and didn't speak, and Gentaro Kodama also sighed and sat down without saying a word. In fact, they all knew very well that the Japanese troops who retreated all the way had abandoned a lot of baggage, and the remaining supplies would last for another three days at most. He knew that this army could not surrender to Ben, because no matter how much the surrendered army had achieved before, it could not cover the sin of surrender, and the Europeans may not see it that way, but this is the case in China and Japan. It seems that the last two days can only be relied on bayonets.

"Report." The Chinese signal corps came in: "The General Staff of the Northern Front Theater has called, asking our army to concentrate all the uniforms, clear out enough sites in accordance with the specified requirements, and the air force will airdrop supplies to our army early tomorrow morning." ”

"Airdrop?" Oyama Iwa and Kodama Gentaro stood up at the same time. (To be continued.) )