How else could the Japanese have come to fight, just running all the way through. Siberia was already desolate, and together with the war, the only population in the already sparsely populated area fled to the rear with their families to escape the war, so that the vast fields from Omsk to Novosibirsk were deserted. Ignoring pre-war reconnaissance and the Russians did not even understand the movements of the Chinese army.

Alekseev was staring at the map with a frown at the moment. He was very clear about China's recruitment of Japanese volunteers, and he also knew that China had only recruited five divisions, and the number was just over 50,000, but the front said that there were at least 100,000 people. If there was a Chinese army mixed in, of course, it was said in the past, but according to the news from the front, everyone spoke Japanese, and the two armies attacked in turn, so they did not have time to set up defenses, so they were defeated.

Maybe they take the words of other countries as Japanese. Alekseev wanted to think about this, after all, this time China also conscripted the troops of Korea, Ryukyu, Anui, and I heard that there were also troops from Luzon. But the question is, is the 100,000 people reported above credible?

That's 100,000 men, 100,000 people marching from the city of Novosibirsk. Is it possible to consume 50 tons of food per person every day, and to bring ammunition for 100,000 people to transport it out in this icy and snowy weather?

Alekseev consulted with the staff officers and decided that 100,000 men was certainly an exaggeration, but 50,000 was still possible. Looking at the more than 200,000 troops under his command, Alekseev believes that the destruction of this Chinese army is still very certain. As a result, the Russian army, which had been stationed in Omsk for a long time, finally set off in a mighty way. In fact, Alekseev will not be able to go without departure. His Majesty Nicholas II, the great Tsar's supreme ruler, had given him an order to denounce the successive defeats of his army. Ask him to learn from Zalubayev in the middle how to kick the Chinese in the ass. He was ordered to strike at once, and be sure to destroy the Japanese troops that were the vanguard of China at once. It is necessary to teach the Chinese and the Japanese a hard lesson.

Zalubayev turned out to be only the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, which could be regarded as a diversionary force. But since the surrender of the Russian fortresses in Siberia and the sudden appearance of the Chinese to break out of Ili to open up the battlefield on the southern front, Zalubayev has become the commander of the central front. In fact, he is the only army that has been advancing so far.

On the southern front, Russia only had local garrison troops, and there was no problem in defending the localities, but if they were to engage the Chinese elite field corps, they would only be defeated again and again. Liu Shengxiu led the Sixth Corps to attack the city and plunder the land, and the big cities and small villages were crushed by the rubber wheels of the ironclad chariots along the way. Just because of the distance. They have only just taken Almaty.

The Russian army in the middle seems to be advancing all the way, but in fact, Zarubaev is very bitter in his heart. The Chinese on the opposite side were too desperate, they never fought head-on, and machine gun grenades formed a tight network of fire at close range, blocking the charge of Russian soldiers. Light artillery and heavy artillery of various calibers formed a long-distance firepower network to block the reinforcements from the front, and after starting from Semiy, they fought with China for three consecutive days, each time the Russian army paid a heavy price and rushed to the front of the Chinese army's position, and the Chinese army abandoned the position and retreated. Zarubaev believes that if the Chinese are willing to hold their ground, he may not be able to move forward. Zarubaev sighed deeply. There are so many medicine bombs in the Chinese. And he asked the country to allocate more ammunition, and the result was boxes of statues. Zarubaev was furious at the thought of this, and without ammunition, should he let the soldiers attack the enemy with their teeth? If the god statue can defeat the Chinese, why don't those officials and old men directly invite the god. Let them perform miracles on the heads of the Chinese, so that they don't even have to fight. Looking at the casualties carried down from the front line, Zalubayev was even more furious. Just three days of fighting. The Chinese's intensive firepower cost him more than 3,000 soldiers, while the Chinese probably didn't even have a thousand casualties.

The damned bureaucrats - Zarubaev cursed and cursed. Things still have to be done. He could only take his troops and continue to launch attack after attack on the heavily defended positions of the Chinese.

However, just as the Russians were attacking again, a soldier reported to Zarubaev that the 8th Regiment, which was transporting ammunition supplies, had been attacked by a local armed force. After a night of fierce fighting, the 8th Regiment was almost completely wiped out, and all the ammunition supplies it had transported were lost.

"Oh-God." Zarubaev jumped up. A regiment is more than 1,500 people, and even if they are not the main force, they are still a regiment. With sufficient ammunition supplies, more than 1,500 people could not hold even a night, how many people did the enemy dispatch?

"According to the soldiers who fled back, the enemy had at least one division in size. Attack them from all sides. The soldier who reported replied with some belation.

"Oh-God." Zalubayev punched himself in the forehead, and now he is in big trouble.

Zalubayev had heard of the Chinese arming these locals, and he had also tried to collect and suppress the rebels, but he did not know when the local armed forces became so strong under his harsh suppression. Because of the attacks and harassment of these guerrillas, his logistical forces were expanded from one company to one battalion, and now every regiment has been completely annihilated. The guerrillas have developed to attack on divisional units, how many people are the Chinese armed? With a total of five divisions of the main force, is it possible that an elite division will be dispatched every time supplies are transported in the future? That's a fart. In fact, Zarubaev had already ordered the front to stop the offensive, and he was considering whether he should withdraw to Semiy instead of fighting in the field with the Chinese.

No matter how carefully planned the war is, there will always be countless unexpected events that disrupt the original plan. The sudden surrender of Irkutsk and other places led to the fact that the eastern part of the war was forced to start a month earlier before the war; According to a study report by the Folklore Office, which had secretly returned from Tibet, Li Ming suddenly ordered Liu Shengxiu's corps, which had originally marched into Astana, to divert southward, so that the original plan was to completely annihilate the Zalubayev corps and outflank Omsk from the southern front so as to contain the Zalubayev corps. And that's just unplanned changes. Planned negligence is a big problem.

Since ancient times, the Western Regions have been a desert area due to lack of water. The Han and Tang Empires repeatedly used troops against the Western Regions. Its core purpose is not to occupy land, but to repeatedly expand the strategic buffer zone for the sake of absolute security in the Central Plains. These places did not have any interest in the Central Plains Dynasty. So once the dynasty declined, these places were the first to give up. The problem in the Western Regions is okay, the Russians came in late, and the remnants of the vassal states of the Central Plains Dynasty will not only organize guerrillas to assist the Chinese army in the war, but also appease the local people and take over law and order. Naturally, the vassal states could do the same, but how could Siberia, which was about to be annexed to the territory directly under the state, be handed over to the locals for so-called self-government.

Siberia is a wilderness, with a population and a huge area that is not proportional to this. Moreover, Russia has ruled these places for hundreds of years, and a large number of immigrants from Europe have taken root in this land. Want to really turn Siberia into a territory. It is necessary to open a government to implement real rule, so the place must have enough population and must be its own people. Emigration is not just for the sake of the frontier, but also for the sake of influence. The imperial court will issue various preferential policies to relocate the Han Chinese from the Central Plains to Siberia, while expelling one part of the former Siberian people back to Europe and another part to the Central Plains. In this way, whether in Siberia or in the Central Plains, the Han nationality will become the main population, and with the Han clan concept and the Han culture with incomparable assimilation ability, Siberia will become an inseparable territory of China within 50 years. Of course, immigration was after the war, and before that it was the military rule of Siberia. Forcibly centralize the management of indigenous people in preparation for future migration. At the same time, reservists were called up in the rear to form a third-line army. One is to strengthen local rule, and the other is to provide sufficient troop replenishment and establish sufficient strategic space for the front. Third, these third-line troops will be left behind as local garrison troops in the future, and once the immigration policy does not go smoothly (after all, the traditional Chinese concept is that people leave their hometowns and are cheap), they can stay behind for a long time to carry out tuntian. Their families were then moved in order to increase the number of immigrants. The idea is good and well thought out. But that's not the case.

The original plan was to call up the reservists after the end of the siege of Siberia. The program is expected to start in late April and early May. However, the surrender of the Siberian cities brought the whole plan forward by a month, but this month was the busiest spring ploughing period in the Central Plains. At this time, the large-scale conscription of reserves will inevitably lead to a shortage of labor for spring ploughing, which will affect the summer harvest. This is a serious problem.

"There are reinforcements from the Northeast Shoushan Corps, whose strength meets the needs of the current war. Reserves may not be required for a month. "This was sent back by Liang Huadian, the opinion of the front on the conscription of reserves.

"Since the front line can support for a month, the reserve call-up is still going according to the original plan." At the court meeting of the fierce debate, Yan Fu made a decision: "The soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass go first." Originally planned shipments to Siberia began immediately, leaving no other land plans intact. In addition, the United Kingdom issued a message informing them that our navy would take the initiative to meet the Russian army in the Strait of Malacca. ”

"This is to make us come forward to force the Russians to march—" British Prime Minister Arthur? Balfour put down the telegram in resentment.

With the advent of the Baiqi-class battleships, Britain, once the world's largest naval power, has begun to lag behind in technology in addition to maintaining its superiority in the number of warships. More and more new warship design concepts began to learn from China, and China has become a de facto global warship design vane, which is a fatal blow to the British Empire. As China's naval power grows, they are already dissatisfied with the small South China Sea, they form a hidden alliance with Hawaii to the east, infiltrate Australia to the south, and now the Chinese army has occupied the entire north and is still extending to the west, once they defeat Russia, the whole of Siberia will become Chinese territory, then the world's first continental country will appear, and with China's huge population base, it is only a matter of time before the whole of Siberia is occupied. Therefore, the Chinese can no longer be allowed to extend their naval power out of the Strait of Malacca, which is already the consensus of the entire British high-level.

"The Strait of Malacca is long and narrow, which is not conducive to the deployment of the Grand Fleet. The Chinese are far superior to the Russians in terms of the quality of their warships and combat experience, and a terrain type like Malacca is beneficial to the Chinese Navy. At least tactically. The Chinese made the right choice. "John Fisher, Britain's First Admiralty, explained China's reasons for doing so from a naval military point of view.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister." Former ambassador to China. Ogna, who is now the Far East adviser in the Prime Minister's Office, slowly got up under the gaze of everyone: "Perhaps." We should reconsider our Far Eastern policy. ”

"Reconsider Far Eastern policy?!"

"Yes. In my opinion, the reason why our relationship with China is becoming more and more rigid today is actually because our interests in southern China have suffered a great loss. However, from the beginning, this could have been avoided. ”

"Your Excellency Ogna, could you please be more detailed?" Belfort looked at his adviser on Far Eastern affairs with some bewilderment.

"Every country has some resistance to a more powerful foreign country, and that's the same all over the world. This is especially true in China, a country with a long history of civilization, but this does not affect the interests of our country, because the Qing government at that time carried out a lot of government and non-governmental cooperation with our country. The winter of Anglo-Chinese relations came during the First Sino-Japanese War, when the Japanese government was starved of funds. It was our country that allowed Japan to issue government bonds in our country to support the war. However, when China then proposed that there should be a national debt in China, it was rejected by China. Of course, the Sino-Japanese war at that time was a complete defeat for China, and we only did this to maximize our interests. Judging from the attitude of the Qing State towards our country after the war, although it was somewhat stiff, there was no conflict with nature. However, with the final defeat of Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, our country naturally suffered huge losses, so it took full support for Japan to recover the previous losses, and the result was that Japan was defeated again and our losses were even more heavy. Meanwhile. The Chinese people, under the deliberate guidance of the government, began to act in anti-British behavior and drew in other countries to boycott the British, so that China's losses increased day by day, but China benefited a lot from such actions, and the relationship between Britain and China became more and more estranged. Now go back and think about it. In fact, everything now is caused by Britain itself. ”

"This is why you think it is necessary to change the policy in the Far East?"

This reason, of course, is not sufficient. It's just that everyone ignores the fact that even if China does not rise, our interests in the Far East will also be damaged. You can predict it. If China had lost the First Sino-Japanese War, the huge indemnities that would have followed would have completely ruined China's opportunity for development. In that case, Japan will become a maritime power in the Far East. Then came the Spanish-American War, in which the United States would occupy the Philippines and extend its influence into the South China Sea. Russia in the north will still move south, France in the south will try to go north, and the situation in the Far East will be further complicated. If that's the case, then I'd rather face only one China than so many countries. At the very least, China has stopped Russia's expansion and the United States has been held back on the American continent. ”

"But so what, if the Russian navy enters the South China Sea, maybe China will not be able to care about the north." Belfour said with some concern.

"No, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I firmly believe that the ultimate winner of this certain war, whether by sea or land, must be China." Ogna let out a long sigh: "Because China began preparing for this war ten years ago. ”

Balfour was hesitant, which violated established national policy. China's sudden arrival of new battleships was already a challenge for the British. In South Africa, the Boers, unwilling to be defeated twice, are ready to move again, and there is still the shadow of China behind them. It's a difficult question, Belfort shook his head slightly.

"There is an old saying in the Chinese that the icing on the cake is not as good as charcoal in the snow. By supporting China while the Sino-Russian naval war had not yet begun, I believe that China will certainly benefit Britain handsomely after the war. Once China finishes its naval war, it will be too late. ”

"No, no." Before Ogener's words fell, Fisher immediately stood up excitedly: "Your Excellency Ogener, what you said is correct, but you don't see the ambitions of the Chinese. They are beginning to expand in all directions, south, east, west, and west, and this is a country that was invaded ten years ago. They had only just fended off the invasion before they began to expand outward, and once they had their strength swelled to the top, they would trample the whole world under their feet. ”

"If the behavior of the Chinese is called expansion, then what are the Ryukyu countries and the Anui countries? Lan Fangcai said that he would be incorporated into China, what was the reaction of the Chinese emperor? Luzon in the South China Sea is not always a Chinese country, if China wants to expand its power, they have the ability to annex or colonize Luzon, why should China help the Luzon people build their own country? The Chinese navy clearly had the strength to occupy Hawaii directly, but China refused even the demands of the other vassals. Can you tell me why? Ogna retorted: "I have served as the Great Historian in China for many years, and I have read a lot of Chinese history books at the suggestion of the Chinese Emperor, and I know this nation. For thousands of years, China has occupied the indisputable hegemony of the Far East, and the idea of the Celestial Empire for thousands of years still firmly imprisons the Chinese. Since the Japanese invaded China, the Chinese have come to their senses. All they did was to restore the majesty of the Celestial Empire. I believe that once the Sino-Russian war ends, the former vassal states of China, such as Kazakhstan and Kokand, will be re-established. ”

"What about Afghanistan and Burma, are we going to give them back to China?"

Fisher's words stopped Ogna. Indeed, Afghanistan and Burma were originally vassal states of China, and now they are occupied by the British, so should they be returned? The conclusion is yes - no. This means that Britain and China will inevitably clash in the future.

"However, as soon as China defeats Russia, the situation in the Far East will be under China's control, and if there is a conflict with China, then China will definitely expel all British forces in the Far East, including the Far East fleet."

"With China's current naval strength, even if it wins, it will be a crushing victory. At that time, the Chinese Navy was almost equal to sinking. ”

"But China already has the ability to build its own battleships."

“……”

Looking at the arguing crowd in the room, Balfour was even more entangled, he needed a policy that could be balanced by many parties, but how could he have imagined it for a while. Balfour waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "First urge the Russian Navy to leave Bandazia, as for the Far East policy, let's wait until the Sino-Russian war is over." ”

"Your Excellency, I don't think it's a good choice." Ogna is still trying to support his own point.

"Let's do it first." Balfour concluded, but what he thought was: Trouble everywhere - (To be continued.) )