The bitter cold wind roared, and the blizzard pierced the body like a tug-of-war, bringing unspeakable suffering to the people of the Great Migration, which was rare in history.

On the snow-white earth, people are like zombies on the move, their thoughts have long been frozen by the cold temperature, and only one pair of feet are still moving instinctively to the left and the right.

"Poof..."

A middle-aged man dressed as a monk fell into the snow, but beside him, a middle-aged man dressed in the same costume just walked numbly past him.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the whole universe seems to be a huge package sealed by snow flakes. At first, the conductor shouted "No sleep" in a hoarse voice to motivate the people. But later, even they themselves were seduced by the god of sleep.

So far, the situation is relatively good, and only Kolchak and others who are hiding in the cold weather in the train are left.

However, how much better is it to sit in a well-ventilated carriage than to sit outside the train..."............"

Sitting in the train compartment, Kolchak silently looked out the window.

In the carriage he was sitting in, there was no warm bedroom, not even a soft bed, the carriage he was in had only more than a thousand tons of gold and all kinds of supplies that the whole team urgently needed, and even he himself was sitting on a box of gold―――――― which is why until now, no one has attacked the train.

Because in addition to the [useless] metal such as gold, the rest of the train is food and other materials that sustain the life of the entire team. If a person marches in a low temperature of more than minus 50 degrees Celsius, at least there is a certain chance of survival, then if the supplies carried by the train are gone..."General, take a sip of wine to warm up..."

Walking up to Kolchak's side, Kolchak's adjutant spoke, and as he spoke, he handed a glass full of liquor to Kolchak's hand.

"General, take a sip, although the wine sold by the Chinese is not as good as our own vodka, but now this situation is better than not drinking at all..."

As he spoke, Kolchak's lieutenant expressed disdain for the low alcohol content of Chinese baijiu―――――― and it seemed that the adjutant did not understand that a wine with a high alcohol content did not mean that he was a good wine... Seeing the wine glass handed over by the adjutant, Kolchak reached out to take it.

Although Kolchak was allowed to stay in the train unlike the ordinary soldiers or his entourage below, in order to transport as much gold and food as possible, Kolchak took a freight train.

Freight trains, the carriages of this kind of train certainly cannot be compared with passenger trains, such as the train that Kolchak took, many parts of the carriage are leaky, so although it is in the carriage, the temperature in the carriage is not necessarily much higher than outside.

So now Kolchak really needs a glass of liquor that can warm up the body.

However, just as Kolchak was about to take the liquor handed over by the adjutant..."poof..."

Outside, there was the sound of people falling to the ground, and Kolchak only looked outside to see a soldier who had followed him lying on the snow.

And just like the man who fell to the ground just now, the soldier who fell to the ground was also ignored..."Alas..."

Looking at the soldier who fell to the ground, gradually moving away from the train, Kolchak sighed heavily, full of self-reproach.

"It's all my fault, if I hadn't..."

Hearing that Kolchak blamed himself there, Kolchak's adjutant hurriedly persuaded.

"General, there is a saying in Chinese that the sky is unpredictable, how can the current situation be all blamed on the general!!"

Indeed, Kolchak cannot be blamed for the current situation.

Tomsk, where Kolchak and his entourage are located, is located on the right bank of the Tomi River, 50 kilometers from where the Tomi River flows into the Ob River, and 3,500 kilometers from Moscow in a straight line.

In previous years, the average annual temperature in Tomsk was -0.6°C. The frost-free period is about 100-105 days per year.

Also What is the average temperature in Tomsk in January? 19.2°C, it may seem cold, but for Russians, the weather around -20°C is not cold at all, in fact? The weather of around 20°C is equivalent to winter in northern China at best.

Although it is true that it is very cold in Siberia, and it is normal for it to reach minus 50 degrees Celsius in many places, the temperature in January is at most minus 2 or 30 degrees Celsius.

However, as the adjutant said, there were unforeseen circumstances, and no one could have imagined that not long after Kolchak had just moved to the Far East with his troops, the climate in Siberia would suddenly drop.

And this reduction is not an ordinary reduction, it has suddenly dropped from more than minus 20 degrees Celsius to minus 60 degrees Celsius... Such a big climate change, even Kolchak did not expect.

Therefore, everything at the moment can really only be described by the words "unpredictable circumstances".

While Kolchak and the lieutenant sighed there, a nearby nobleman spoke.

"General, now that the weather is so cold, what do you say if we turn around and advance towards the sphere of influence of the Chinese in the south, if we continue like this, I am afraid that it will not be long before all our people will freeze to death here..."

When it came to freezing to death, a look of fear was evident on the nobleman's face.

It can only be said that no matter what time it is, people have to be divided into ranks.

Even at this time, some people with real status can still get some convenience, just like this nobleman, although he himself has not contributed much to the White Army, but because he is the most noble former Russian nobleman in the White Army today, so he and his family and a few other nobles are fortunate to be able to squeeze into a carriage with gold or food and other materials―――――― don't look at the air leaking everywhere in the carriage, the temperature in the compartment may not be much warmer than outside, At least sitting in the train doesn't have to march in the ice and snow like the people outside, so the people in the carriage are still much taller than the people outside at least in terms of survival chances, after all, it can also save some more physical strength.

"Walking south, I'm afraid it's not feasible." Without waiting for the nobleman to speak, Kolchak continued. "It will take at least six or seven hundred kilometers to travel from Tomsk to the Chinese's sphere of influence, and such a long distance, even if we leave the gold behind and there is no train to pull the supplies of grain and tents, I am afraid that before we have gone a hundred kilometers, we will all be frozen to death on the road..."

That's it, if walking south is a good solution if the weather doesn't drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius, then marching south is already a complete suicide when the temperature drops to minus 60 degrees Celsius.

In the extremely cold weather, even the Siberian breeding horses pulling sleds are dying one by one, without these Siberian horses to pull supplies, how far can these ordinary human beings go?

In the case of hunger and cold, I am afraid that their chances of death will increase several times.

After all, both humans and horses are too vulnerable in such cold weather.

Therefore, now the only life of Kolchak and his party is on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs through the whole of Siberia, as long as they continue to walk along the Trans-Siberian Railway, then in the case of trains pulling all kinds of supplies, at least they can still die for a while.

But if you break away from the railway, then it is impossible to rely on horse-drawn sleds alone to pull supplies..." But fortunately, when I was in the Urals, I bought a large amount of supplies, including tents, from the Chinese, otherwise I am afraid that the number of casualties would be much greater. ”

When he said this, Kolchak's face was full of joy.

Indeed, when he was in the Urals, because Kolchak had more than 1,600 tons of gold in his hands, he not only bought a large amount of weapons and ammunition from Jiang Baili, but also bought a lot of food, winter clothes and tents.

And the reason why Kolchak's team can still survive until now has a lot to do with the quilts and tents that were purchased at the beginning. If it weren't for these tents and winter clothes, I'm afraid Kolchak's team would have been reduced by half.

"Are we going to keep going..."

"That's right, go on, keep going..."

When he said this, Kolchak's face showed a little hideous.

Although they were extremely frightened of the uncertain future and the continuous cold winter, the people in the carriage also knew that Kolchak's words just now did not deceive them.

In the weather of minus 60 degrees, if you break away from the Trans-Siberian Railway and advance south, I am afraid that if you do not enter Outer Mongolia of the Chinese or Kazakhstan that has been mastered by the Chinese, the people who go south may have starved to death or frozen to death on the way.

And like now, it's still simple, but at least people can stay in tents while they're staying, so..."Let's move on..."

―――――――――― "Buckle Buckle Button..."

When it was already dark, in the conference room of the presidential palace, Yan Guang was constantly tapping his fingers on the table.

It wasn't until Yan Guang had been making noise like this for five or six minutes that he stopped his movements and turned to look at Xu Shichang on the side.

"Where is that Kolchak's team now?"

Because the meeting itself was to discuss the issue of Kolchak, it didn't take long for Xu Shichang to return to the Tao.

"Kolchak's team is still in Tomsk, but it is advancing towards Yurga."

"That's—" Yan Guang pondered for a moment. Is it possible that they made it to Irkutsk alive? ”

Irkutsk is a city located near Lake Baikal.

At the same time, the city is also one of the destinations of Kolchak and his party, which will definitely pass through the city as part of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

And this is also the reason why Yan Guang asked this.

Because Irkutsk is only a little more than 100 kilometers away from the Chinese-controlled border of Outer Mongolia. Compared with the current Kazakhstan, which is more than 600 kilometers away from Tomsk, the distance in Irkutsk is now much shorter.

Moreover, what is happening in Tomsk is indeed a bit daunting.

After all, in any case, the temperature of minus 60 degrees Celsius is not something that ordinary people can bear.

Yan Guang, Xu Shichang and others are very confident, they are very confident in the national defense force they have created, and they believe that no matter what kind of enemy is in front of them, the national defense force they have created will not lose to the other party.

But... What is happening in Siberia now is truly irresistible to manpower ... Hearing Yan Guang's words, Xu Shichang smiled bitterly.

"President, this is really..."

Yan Guang's question, Xu Shichang can't answer.

After all, now Kolchak and his entourage are encountering a cold winter of minus 60 degrees Celsius, such a cold weather, Xu Shichang has not encountered it for so many years, and there is no way to answer Yan Guang.

However, in Xu Shichang's opinion, if Kolchak can leave the team and run directly to Irkutsk with gold by train, the chances of survival are still quite high.

Merely... If Kolchak really dared to do this, he would not need his followers, but the White soldiers who were originally responsible for protecting him would probably have to kill him with guns.

"It's really hard to do..."

Shook his head.

"Isn't Xiong Kewu there in Outer Mongolia now?"

"That's right."

"That's fine, let him get ready at Outer Mongolia first, and use all the trucks I sent him and everything. It would be best if Kolchak could make it to Irkutsk alive, and if he died on the way, let him wait until the weather warms up and bring me all the gold with his troops..."

Speaking of this, Yan Guang's expression darkened.

"I've got to get my hands on the gold..."

"Understood!"

―――――――――― Kolchak didn't know, until now Yan Guang was thinking about his gold.

Or rather, Kolchak knew, but he couldn't take care of it.

Because... With the weather not warming up at all, Kolchak's ranks were dwindling.

Almost every day, thousands of people freeze to death.

By the end of February, Kolchak's ranks had shrunk from 1.2 million to more than 500,000, and a considerable number of them were strong White officers and soldiers.

(According to some sources, by the end of February, Kolchak's team had changed from 1.2 million to 250,000 people, and more than a million people died along ――――――the way. The chances of survival will also be much higher) Although people froze to death on the road almost every day, after a long journey, Kolchak's party finally reached the city of Irkutsk on the shore of Lake Baikal.

Merely... What Kolchak didn't know was that in one of the largest cities in Eastern Siberia, there was more to it than just a warm bed, but so many other things... For example... Rebellion... After the defeat, Kolchak by this time had become a British, French, and Czech general. Obstacles to Gaida and the Cossack leader Semyonov and others. They all wanted to take possession of the train with the gold, and none of them cared about the life or death of the supreme consul.

But it's also normal, after all, it's gold worth more than three billion silver dollars, and it's a strange thing if no one is greedy. Moreover, when Kolchak was still in the Volga Valley, he was beaten by Frunze, and on the way to Irkutsk, his 1.2 million troops were reduced to more than 500,000 men.

As for the remnants of the White Army? It has been reduced to more than 200,000... And among them, a considerable part of them were Czech legions of Czechs.

Under these circumstances, it is almost impossible to want these people who are not of the same mind as Kolchak to not have crooked thoughts.

Moreover, the Czechs had already made contact with the Russian regime in Moscow and had made a deal to hand over Kolchak to the Russians in exchange for a guarantee that they would leave Russia safely.

First, the temptation of more than a thousand tons of gold, and the guarantee that they would leave Russia safely, it was impossible for the Czechs to ignore Kolchak in this case.

So right inside Irkutsk, the British and French, and of course most importantly, the Czechs had prepared a sumptuous gift and were ready to go to Kolchak.

Unlike the ignorant Kolchak, the Military Intelligence Agency, which also had a certain number of personnel in Irkutsk, quickly got reliable information about the conspiracy―――――― which is not very strange, after all, the Czechs had also thought of returning to their homeland of the Czech Republic through China.

It's just that, unlike Soviet Russia, what the Nationalist regime on behalf of China longed for was Kolchak's more than 1,000 tons of gold, and not even a single hair was prepared to be left to the Czechs, which is why the Czechs chose to trade with the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia.

After all, trading with those Bolsheviks may not be safe enough, but at least the gold can be brought back to the country. But if you trade with the Chinese, their safety is guaranteed, but gold or something... Soon, members of the military intelligence in Irkutsk sent back home information about the readiness of the Czechs to deal with Kolchak.

In the face of this news, there was a little disagreement at the top of the political axe.

There aren't many differences, just two.

One is to notify Kolchak of the message, and the other is to hide the message.

The former can make it easier for Kolchak to clean up the Czechs in Irkutsk, after all, Kolchak still has more than 200,000 troops under him, although the long journey has seriously reduced their combat effectiveness, but at least 20,000 or 30,000 Czechs are no problem.

As for the latter?

is going to watch Kolchak and the Czechs fight to the death, and after the strength of Kolchak and the Czechs is consumed, let Xiong Kewu in Outer Mongolia attack, and then come to a fisherman to profit... It's just that this plan also has a certain danger, that is, if the Soviet Russia moves too quickly and takes the gold away, or the Czechs will run away by train after they are done... You must know that the border of Outer Mongolia is more than 100 kilometers away from Irkutsk, and in the cold winter, although several troops in Outer Mongolia have been equipped with trucks and other vehicles, and they can be regarded as semi-motorized troops, but the reliable surname of cars in this era is too much... In the end, the discussion came to the conclusion that the news was communicated to Kolchak.

After all, notifying Kolchak can let him slowly clean up the Czechs, but if he doesn't notify, in case the Czechs run away, he really can't catch up... When Yan Guang sent the news to Kolchak, Kolchak was not very far from Irkutsk.

Fortunately, there were such communication tools as wireless telegraphy in this era, so even though the telephone poles along the route had been damaged by the war, Kolchak was still able to sit in the train and receive the telegraph.

When Kolchak saw the contents of the telegram, he was not surprised by the Czechs' betrayal, after all, Kolchak ended up in this field, and it was really difficult to keep others loyal to him.

But what surprised him was that the Chinese would actually convey the news to him.

You know, the Chinese covet the gold he has, he is very clear.

"Could it be because the Chinese know that if I die, the gold will definitely not fall into their hands, so these Chinese will notify me?"

With the telegram just sent in his hand, Kolchak asked his cabinet of prime ministers with suspicion? Pepelyaev said.

Pepelyaev did not answer Kolchak's question, but simply looked at the telegram in his hand.

"How are you going to solve the Czechs?"

"How to fix it?" After putting the telegram aside, Kolchak sneered. "Didn't those Czechs want to wait for me to enter the city and start a rebellion? Then I'll get rid of them when I enter the city..."

The admiral is also an admiral, and although he has been defeated in successive battles, Kolchak is not a soft-hearted man. What's more, now it is a group of foreigners from the Czech Republic who want to rebel against him?

Over the next few days, Kolchak slowed down the march of the troops, and after taking control of all the radio in the ranks, Kolchak ordered the hundreds of thousands of white troops still loyal to him to disarm and escort all the Czech troops in the ranks.

It was only after solving the problem of the Czechs in the ranks that Kolchak resumed the pace of the march, and by this time, Irkutsk was already close at hand.

(To be continued)