"Wulianghai—my hometown, your sons and daughters are back—" the herdsman shouted to the sky.

They were the place where their ancestors lived for generations, and this was the sacred place where their ancestors were born, but the Manchu Qing were incompetent, and the 1727 Treaty of Brenski, the 1860 Treaty of Peking, the 1864 Treaty of Survey and Demarcation of the Northwest Boundary, and the 1869 Covenant of Uriya Sutai made the Amukha River region occupied by Russia and expelled the local population, but the Tangnu-Ulianghai Basin south of the Sayan Mountains and east of the line from Shabindabaha to Bogosuk remained Chinese territory, so Russia began to change its strategy. Through predatory trade, illegal gold mining, illegal immigration, etc., infiltrated the Tangnu Ulianghai region. In the face of Russian infiltration, although the people of Tangnu Ulianghai continued to revolt and struggle, they still could not curb the infiltration of Russian forces.

But now the army of the imperial court has returned, and the Russian Maozi have been beaten all over the place, and the land that had been ceded has been recovered, and the people who had been expelled have returned to the land where they were born and raised. They drove the herds of cattle and sheep and returned from a distant foreign land. Now is the time of spring flowers, and it is also the day of grazing by herders on the grassland. After a cold winter, the cattle and sheep have lost weight, and this year's water and grass are abundant, and the cattle and sheep will be fat and strong. In recent years, the number of cattle and sheep purchased by the imperial court has increased, and as long as you can raise your own herd of cattle and sheep and raise them strong, and then sell them to the imperial court, you can get a considerable income. With abundant meadows and herds of cattle and sheep, the future will be even better. It's just that the amount purchased by the imperial court this time is too large, to the point that the entire Mongolian tribe can't meet it. I heard that the imperial court is to carry out some kind of education and popularization, so that all children in the world can eat meat. Hi - where do we Mongolians lack meat? It's pitiful that there are few dishes, and I don't know if the court will give them some. The Great Khan of the tribe went to the capital. Before leaving, he summoned everyone to speak, and this time he went to Beijing to ask the imperial court to send them a gentleman too. Let the children here also be literate. If you can achieve it well, your children will also be scholars, and you can become officials when you grow up. It's just that Wulianghai is such a remote place, can the imperial court think of it?

While the herdsmen were looking forward to a better future, they were worried about whether the policies of the imperial court could really be implemented for the people in the border areas, but they did not notice that their cattle and sheep began to scatter.

Yo - Drink! The herdsmen chased after their flocks, brandishing their whips and shouting trumpets, but this time the flocks did not return to the flock as usual, but fled in all directions. They are all veterans of herding and know that things have changed. They looked around and felt the shaking of the ground. They were shocked, at least 10,000 horses were galloping towards here, didn't the Great Khan say that the Russian Maozi had run away? Could it be that the Russian hairy man is fighting back?

There were tens of thousands of horses galloping, but they were galloping from the eastern side of the steppe. It turned out to be the army of the imperial court, and the herdsmen jokingly drove a few cattle and sheep forward. Wherever the army comes, the herdsmen have been sacrificing cattle and sheep for thousands of years.

"Stand still and don't move." A small group drove out of the majestic army formation, and they came to them in beautiful military uniforms, and said in the same Mongolian: "This is the imperial cavalry, and the heavenly soldiers are everywhere and the people are avoiding." Now turn around and close your eyes and cover your ears. Whatever you see or hear must be forgotten. ”

The military master was fierce, and the murderous aura on his face made the herdsmen do the same. The officers were very reasonable and commanded the soldiers to drive out the scattered cattle and sheep, and they were all veterans of grazing, which had nothing to do with Ben.

I saw that the cattle and sheep were taken care of. The herders are more at ease. I don't know how long I squatted, but my legs were numb anyway, until the officers told them they could stand up. What they saw was a herd of cattle and sheep that had gathered together.

The herdsman crossed his arms in front of his chest and bowed: "Honorable lord, Zhemutai sacrificed ten sheep and two oxen for the army. May the great army be victorious. ”

The officer suddenly frowned: "This is the army of the imperial court, not bandits." The army of the imperial court has its own imperial court provisions. I don't need to rob your cattle and sheep. Remember, now it's the Chinese Empire, not the Manchus. No army will rob its own people. unless it is bought with silver, it must be the market price. Remembered. ”

The officer left angrily with the soldiers, but the herdsmen were even happier. Yes, it's the Chinese Empire now, and it's the imperial court's army that has just left. The herdsmen sang songs and danced merrily as they saw off the departing army.

Cavalry is a flexible and mobile force, good at skirmishers, in the era of cold weapons, it can "defeat the army, cut off the grain road, and attack the coward", and can also run long-distance to outflank the battle. The Mongols pushed cavalry tactics to the peak of the Cold Weapon Age, and they were invincible across Europe and Asia. With the advance of the times and the rapid development of hot weapons, the status of cavalry gradually declined, and since the Ming Dynasty, cavalry has lost its status as a strategic force, but it still plays an important role in tactics.

However, in this era when locomotives were just getting started, cavalry was still an irreplaceable mobile force. Therefore, after the First Sino-Japanese War, Li Ming ordered the War Department to form a cavalry unit, but Li Ming ignored the advice of the generals and only gave three divisions to the establishment. Because since the technology of the internal combustion engine matured, Li Ming began to build his own tank corps. Siberia is flat and barren, and this is the most suitable battlefield for cavalry. The long distances of towns also require a strong mobile force, which is necessary for tactical needs such as interspersed divisions. No matter how bad it is, it is good for the cavalry horses to be used to transport materials.

However, Li Ming ignored the front's requirements for the mobility of the army, and stubbornly pressed the three cavalry divisions in his hands, and the hard work of the staff headquarters for this purpose was of no avail. Li Ming's aim was to ensure that the armored forces would not be exposed before the war, so as to achieve tactical suddenness. And this time, the cavalry that had been hidden in the snow for ten years was sent to the battlefield in order to allow them to cover the first armored force.

Before the formation of the armored force, Li Ming thought that the armored force was nothing more than equipping more armored vehicles and training more skilled sergeants. However, in the 10 years since the formation of the armored forces, as many as seven types of armored vehicles have been produced, but these armored vehicles still cannot meet the operational needs of the military department. Therefore, the formation of armored forces was delayed until three years ago, and in order to carry out the northward expansion plan smoothly, they could only choose the tallest among the shorter ones. Barely mass-produced by one armored car. If it's just a matter of the vehicle, it's nothing, Li Ming has money. How many armored vehicles have been built. However, the high mobility of the armored forces makes the immature parts wear out greatly, and a single wheel makes the household jump and scold the mother. Today's wheels are still made of raw rubber. It is still used in ordinary cars and vans to meet basic needs. But armored vehicles are not only heavier, but also require many quick maneuvers in wartime, and one wheel can last for three days. That is to say, every three days each armored car has to replace four wheels, you must know that the automobile industry is just beginning to start, and wheels are still a valuable commodity. Although Li Ming used his meagre chemical knowledge to put vulcanized rubber into research and development five years ago, although the trial production of samples has been completed, it has not been able to be mass-produced.

This was a campaign thousands of miles away, and the armored troops far from home had to carry all kinds of supplies on their own. A four-regiment armored division. Its combat unit consisted of only two regiments. Because in order to ensure the smooth operation of these two regiments, it is necessary to transport a whole regiment of automobile vehicles to transport various supplies such as fuel, wheels, replacement parts, etc. for them. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the armored division, it is necessary to arrange the corresponding mechanics and necessary maintenance equipment, and the current armored vehicles are not able to advance off-road on complex terrain, so they also need engineers to build bridges and pave roads, and these non-combatants need to arrange escort troops, these people also need to use car transportation in order to keep up with the rapid movement of the armored division...... So for ten years, only one armored division was built.

But this one armored division is enough. On the open plains, this single armored division was enough to crush five times as many enemies head-on with minimal losses. Now that the main forces of the Russian army are all concentrated in Omsk, it is time to throw in armored divisions to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy. Therefore, before the war, it is even more necessary to maintain the concealment of armored forces. So the cavalry of three divisions became the escort of the armored division. They set out from Ulianghai on May 16 and marched all the way to Omsk on the inaccessible road.

Omsk is divided in two by the Irtysh River, and if you want to cross the Irtysh River quickly, you will need to capture the bridge over the Irtysh River. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Alekseyev, blocked the 2nd Chinese division on the northern front. All the troops blocking the 1st Chinese Division on the southern front were recaptured, and dense fortifications were built on the west bank of the Irtysh River. Once the bridge was destroyed. A situation in which the Chinese and Russian armies face each other across the river will appear, and in such a situation. It is not good for the Chinese army, which is at a disadvantage and has a long supply period. Therefore, the top priority is to occupy a few bridges as soon as possible, and while the Russian army is routing and rushing to its own positions in a disorderly manner, the Chinese army should take advantage of the situation to cover up and further expand the chaos of the Russian army. Before that, the Japanese had already demonstrated it very well.

As the commander of the 12th Division, Ge Hengwei did not chase the Russian rout in the Battle of Karachinsk with the army, but personally led a task force composed of the highest soldiers in the whole army, dressed in Russian military uniforms and disguised as an embarrassed Russian rout, quietly bypassed the chaotic Russian army, marched all the way along the Far Eastern Railway, and finally arrived at the moment when the Russian rout crossed the bridge.

"All lurk and rest on the spot." Ge Hengwei did not order the troops to capture the bridge immediately. China and Russia must be of different races, not to mention appearance, they cannot be disguised in height alone. It's daytime, and if the attack is at this time, it will be easy to be detected by the Russian troops stationed there. In addition, the officers and men of the task force battalion who have not rested for several days and nights along the way have reached the limit of their physical strength, and they also need to eat and rest to replenish their physical strength. So the best time to attack is at night, when the night will cover everything......

"Guard platoon, follow me." As a commander, he had no right to rest, so Ge Hengwei led the guard platoon to quietly touch a dense jungle at the far end of the bridge, carefully observe the situation at both ends of the bridge, and prepare for the attack at night.

Ge Hengwei knew very well that if he wanted to rely on a battalion of troops to raid the railway bridge heavily guarded by the Russian army, it was not enough to rely on the darkness alone, and the chaos of the Russian army was his best helper. That's why he brought a platoon of people over, a platoon of death fighters, who were going to blend in with the enemy and create chaos. The more chaotic the Russian army, the better his chances.

However, he prepared a little too much, perhaps because the Russians also knew that it would be safe to cross the bridge, so the Russian rout scrambled to the bridge, they crushed the fortress and position set up in front of the bridge, and they squeezed the defenders who led the rout onto the bridge. Chaos was inevitable.

Since this is already the case, why sacrifice your own children needlessly. Ge Hengwei arranged the observation post and asked them to keep an eye on the bridge deck, and wake him up immediately if there was an abnormality. Then a strap was tied in the mouth. Fall asleep. No way, people who are too tired will snore after falling asleep. If you are found out by the enemy, you will be wronged. So the whole contingent is like this.

Ge Hengwei slept very deeply this night, but he was woken up by someone. When he opened his eyes, his first reaction was that it was completely dark. The observation post pointed to the bridge deck and handed him the binoculars.

The bridge deck was already lit up, but the dim light still illuminated the entire deck. The bridge deck was crowded with people, and the sounds of fighting, shouting and scolding were mixed with wailing and chaos. More and more people fled from the east, and everyone desperately squeezed forward, especially the sound of artillery from time to time in the distance, which made the Russians panic. The people on the bridge were crowded and couldn't move forward, and the people at the head of the bridge were even more desperate to squeeze forward, not only did they lose all their belongings, but they even threw away all the guns that are known as soldiers' lives. There was also chaos on the bridge. From time to time, people were squeezed down the river, and those who couldn't make it to the bridge even got into a fight.

"Such a chaotic army should be broken with one blow." Ge Hengwei immediately summoned the platoon commander of the company to make tactical arrangements: "A company will attack the east of the bridge with a platoon as a unit, and rush wherever there are many people, so that the Russian army will have no time to take care of it and only flee for its life." After the first company launched an attack, the second company and the third company immediately mixed into the Russian army and crossed the bridge. After crossing the bridge, the second company went deep into the Russian army, and the third company squeezed into the bridgehead position through chaos, paying attention to using cold weapons as much as possible and not attracting the attention of the Russian army. Now the companies began to prepare, and half an hour later they were called by the sound of artillery. Ge Hengwei patted the only mortar he brought out.

After an afternoon break. The troops had recuperated, and the company platoon commander led the troops to their respective attack points. Ge Hengwei looked at his watch and waited for time, and at this time, there was only one guard squad by his side.

"Boom, boom, boom—" Bursts of artillery were heard farther north,

It was a bridge-grabbing operation by other task forces. Ge Hengwei looked down at his watch. There were still nine minutes left before he attacked, but there was no time to wait. Ge Hengwei decisively ordered: "Shoot out all the shells." ”

"Knock knock knock-" At the moment when the shell went out, the soldiers who had already scattered a company attacked. The crisp sound of gunfire mixed with the sound of fighting and shouting and the sound of explosions close at hand made the Russian army even more panicked, and the Chinese came. They have already killed themselves. Cross the bridge and cross the bridge, and only after crossing the bridge can you escape. The rout of the Russian army was even more chaotic. The Russian troops, who were crowded across the bridge and confused, did not notice that there was a group of slightly shorter soldiers beside them. Silently but orderly, he squeezed out a passage in the crowd and left quietly.

"What, the Chinese have already killed?" Alekseyev, who received the report, stood up in a panic: "How many Chinese came?" ”

"Explosions are everywhere throughout the East Coast. There may have been more than a division of Chinese troops. Even the officer who reported it looked panicked.

"Impossible, the Chinese army can't be so fast!" Alekseev said it very resolutely, but he lacked confidence in his heart. The Chinese and Japanese armies have demonstrated countless times how they conduct long-distance assault operations. Alekseev trotted all the way to the rooftop, which is the tallest building west of Omsk, and Alekseev looked through the telescope at the west of the river, where there were gunshots everywhere, and the Russian army on the east of the river formed countless torrents to the Irtysh River, and only four bridges converged.

"There are certainly not many Chinese coming, this is just their vanguard. Send troops across the river to fight back against the Chinese. "Alekseev gave the order.

"Your Excellency, this is impossible. All the bridges are blocked, and I can't get across......"

"What then?" Alekseev also had no idea for a while.

"Boom-" An explosion suddenly sounded at the east end of the railway bridge, and it was the discovered Chinese soldier who pulled the grenade that he was carrying.

"It's over, it's exposed." Ge Hengwei, who had been observing the battle situation, was scared out of a cold sweat, and the second company that had just crossed the bridge was discovered, what should I do next? A company of no more than 200 men, and their task was to infiltrate the other soldiers who had crossed the bridge, believing that they had dispersed. The point is that the third company, which is responsible for the task of fighting for the bridgehead, is still blocked on the bridge. "Guard class, follow me." The priority is to provoke more chaos among the Russians, and perhaps the Russians can ignore this small incident.

"What's going on?" The sudden explosion east of the bridge also attracted the attention of Alekseev. Soon the news came back, and there were Chinese mixed in with the rout.

"Blow up the bridge, blow up the bridge immediately." Alekseyev, already covered in a cold sweat, gave a brutal order.

"But Your Excellency, the bridge is full of our soldiers, and there are many more who have not yet had time to cross the bridge. Once the bridge is blown up......" the herald trembled with fear.

"Once the bridge is occupied by the Chinese, the whole of Omsk will be lost, and then His Majesty the Tsar will kill our entire family. Blowing up the bridge!! "Under the military pressure of the Chinese and the threat of His Majesty the Tsar, Alekseev could not take much care of it.

Abandoning Hexi and holding on to Hedong was Alekseev's established strategy. In order to achieve this goal, enough explosives had already been planted on the four bridges. Then the bridge shook suddenly, and after a muffled sound, countless stones and cement splashed in all directions. The entire bridge, which had lost the support of the piers, began to deform and collapse. All four bridges collapsed at the same time, and the entire deck fell into the water, making a skyrocketing splash.

"Beasts—" Ge Hengwei suddenly knelt on the ground and cried. His three companies sank into the river without firing a single shot, perhaps the first Chinese army to disappear in size since the start of the Sino-Russian war.

All the soldiers on both sides of the river fell silent at the same time, and they all stared at the collapsed bridge until the water had fallen. The sound of cries for help on the river finally woke everyone up, and in the face of the sudden catastrophe, the Russians united and began to rescue the officers and soldiers who had fallen into the water. The Chinese task force was quietly withdrawn, because the point of their attack was no longer there.

The destruction of the bridge did prevent China's rapid advance of strategic objectives, while also cutting off all the escape routes of Russian troops in Hexi. The pursuing Chinese army stopped and instead of carrying out senseless massacres, it besieged the Russian rout. The empty-handed Russian army was no longer able to break through, and their only way was to sneak across the river. However, after several days and nights of running, the Russian army did not have enough physical strength to swim across the wide river, and the entire lower reaches of the Irtysh River were full of Russian corpses.

"Order the front-line troops to help the Russian army as much as possible." After Liang Huadian, who was still on the road, learned the news, he sent an order to the troops in front: "We are an army, not a butcher. ”

Although China provides very little food, at least it does not starve to death. More than 40,000 Russian soldiers who had lost their weapons surrendered in this way, and they sat quietly in the east of the river waiting for the arrival of the main Chinese army. (To be continued.) )