The news of the fall of the impregnable fortress of Vladivostok, which is known as the third in the world and the first in the Far East, caused an uproar around the world.

If the great victory of the Chinese Emperor [***] in the previous raid on the Korean Peninsula was considered to be due to the lack of preparation of the Russian army, then now the Chinese Emperor [***] has captured the Far East Vladivostok fortress defended by more than 200,000 Russian troops in just half a month, which is enough to show the strength of the Chinese Emperor's [***] team.

In the past, the European and American countries were only public opinion that was not optimistic about Russia's victory in the war, but now the politicians of various countries are beginning to worry about Russia. Many countries that did not know much about the Chinese Empire began to change their tune, saying that the Russian army was backward in equipment and training, and was not at all an opponent of the well-equipped and well-trained squadron.

Britain, as a military ally of the Chinese Empire, was the first to jump out and applaud.

The current British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, publicly sent a telegram to Zhang Feng, Premier of the Imperial Chinese Cabinet, congratulating the Chinese Emperor on his capture of Vladivostok, the first fortress in the Far East, and further emphasizing that Britain's support for the Chinese Empire was unchanged and the relationship between the two sides was unbreakable.

Arthur, the Conservative candidate in the British general election? Balfort has just won the election and will replace the Marquess of Salisbury as prime minister in July. As a prospective prime minister, Arthur? Balfour also sent a telegram to the Imperial Chinese Foreign Office, saying that he would continue to maintain and consolidate the Sino-British military alliance in accordance with the will of the Marquess of Salisbury, and seek to visit China during his term of office, so as to strengthen relations with the Chinese Empire, Britain's first ally, and expand cooperation in the political, economic, military, and cultural fields.

However, as an opposition party, Henry, the leader of the Liberal Party, who has lost the opportunity to govern for 12 consecutive years? Sir Campbell-Bennenan poured cold water on the British political axe, saying that the outcome of the war between the Chinese Empire and the Russian Empire seemed to be predictable. The Chinese Empire was well prepared before the war, and during the war it was a brilliant victory, and it is foreseeable that it will win this war in the near future. Henry? Sir Campbell-Benenan believed that with the end of the Second Sino-Russian War, Russia would inevitably lose the Far East, and the Chinese Empire would regain more than 1.5 million square kilometers of land that had been stolen by Russia, and even more. In that case, since 1840, the Chinese Empire has had territorial disputes with the Chinese Empire, and the Chinese Empire's [***] team will not hesitate to invade Hong Kong Island and recover Hong Kong.

Henry? Sir Campbell-Benenan's words immediately caused panic among the British government and the opposition, although most people referred to it as the Chinese Empire, even if it defeated Russia, it was not an opponent of the British Empire, and there was no need to worry that the Chinese Empire would seize Hong Kong Island by force. In fact, in these years, the Chinese Empire has completed in-depth and thorough reforms in the military, finance, industry, agriculture, commerce, political system, education, medical care, etc., and has achieved great success, especially the annual steel output of the Chinese Empire has surpassed that of Britain to rank third in the world, and the Chinese Empire has the ability to build the world's first 20,000-ton battleship. There are all kinds of signs that the Chinese Empire no longer has to fear the British.

Differences began to arise within Britain over the issue of the Chinese Empire, but Salisbury still believed that the current alliance between the Chinese Empire and Britain was correct, and that the two sides had a common position, at least on the issue of Russia.

"Although Russia lost the fortress of Vladivostok and lost more than 200,000 troops, it can be said that this was the largest defeat in the history of the Russian army. However, the British side believed that Russia and Turkey had been fighting wars for centuries, almost every year, with a small fight every three years, a big fight every five years, and a full-scale war breaking out every twenty years or so. But Russia is still strong, they also have the largest army in the world, the third largest navy in the world (it has been reduced to fifth), so even if Russia loses to China this time, it will not let Russia break its bones, and Russia still has the ability to challenge the British Empire. As long as Russia had this ability, he would remain an enemy of the British Empire. ”

Although differences began to emerge within Britain on the issue of China, under the premise of the strategy toward Russia, Britain and the Chinese Empire still had a common enemy, and as long as this common enemy did not disappear, China and Britain would not be antagonistic.

Based on this view, the British political axe suppressed the opposition at home. The British political axe continued to provide all kinds of assistance to the Chinese Empire, including the purchase of the Chinese Empire's war treasury bonds, suppressing the British financial predators from attacking the Chinese Empire's financial markets, providing various technical assistance and technology exports to the Chinese Empire, and supporting the Chinese Empire in international issues.

The countries and individuals who gambled heavily on the victory of the Chinese Empire were naturally happy, but the countries and individuals who supported Russia were quite sad and even crazy.

In particular, France and Germany, which had taken huge loans to Russia, would be difficult to repay in the event of Russia's defeat. If it is pushed too hard, it may lead to the collapse of the Russian economy and even the instability of the regime. The French political axe is worried that France's money may be wasted, because France needs Russia to contain Germany and the Allies, so the French political axe does not want Russia to have economic turmoil or regime change because of the defeat, so once Russia cannot repay the loan, then the French political axe has to reduce the loan, rather than forcing Russia to smash the pot and sell iron to repay the money.

The French political axe immediately issued a policy to appease the French people not to panic, and the Russian government bonds they bought would be purchased by the French political axe at the original price. As a result, the huge loan that France had lent to Russia would eventually be shared equally by the French people, which was a heavy burden, and the French officials immediately regretted that they had lent money to Russia to fight the war.

For Germany, Germany's initial aim was to divert Russia's attention to the Far East in order to relieve the military pressure on German East Prussia. None of the German politicians thought that Russia would be defeated, so when the fortress of Vladivostok was captured, the Germans' first reaction was disbelief, then shock, then confusion.

The reason for the confusion is that there are two differences at the top of the German political axe. One faction believed that Russia should continue to be financed in order to divert the huge Russian army to the east, thereby reducing the military pressure on the German border. The other faction believes that it is necessary to beat the water dogs, urgently sell off the Russian national debt, collapse the Russian economy, and let this "European gendarme" completely return to primitive society, so that the military pressure on the German border will still be reduced.

As a result, a heated debate ensued in the German parliament, in which both factions expressed their views and expressed their respective positions. Eventually, when the two factions were at loggerheads, Kaiser Nicholas II chose to continue to support Russia in its war against China. Wilhelm II's reasoning was simple: if Russia was defeated, then Russia would lose all its access to the Far East, and Russia would no longer be able to expand in the Far East, and then Russia would transfer its huge forces and energies back to Europe, which would put unprecedented pressure on Germany's defense and security.

Wilhelm II continued to support Russia, supporting his cousin Nicholas II, and buying Russian government bonds sold by other countries, while further lending to Russia to support Russia's continuation of the war against China.

Russia was very grateful for the support of Germany and France, especially since Nicholas II desperately needed German financial assistance at this moment.

Originally, the Russian army was not fully prepared and lost the lead in the war on the Korean Peninsula, so that international public opinion and finance were very unfavorable to Russia. Nicholas II and the Russians planned to launch a combat operation codenamed "Thunder Strike", but one of the key links was that the Vladivostok fortress would last at least until the end of 1902, so that the main army of the Chinese Empire would be absorbed and pinned down under the Vladivostok fortress, and the Russian army would have time to mobilize a large army to carry out a counter-encirclement of the main force of the Chinese Emperor [***] surrounding the fortress of Vladivostok, so as to annihilate the main force of the Chinese Emperor [***] in one fell swoop.

This plan was originally seamless, and the Russian General Staff Headquarters deduced it hundreds of times, and all indications showed that once the main force of the Chinese Emperor [***] attacked Vladivostok, the result would be the total annihilation of the Chinese Emperor [***].

However, what is infuriating is that the Russian army has made a mistake where it should not have gone wrong, and it is a big mistake, a big mistake that cannot be undone.

The loss of the fortress of Vladivostok deprived the Russian army of the most powerful stronghold in the Far East, and even more so the largest supply base in the Far East, making it impossible for millions of Russian troops to launch a large-scale offensive in the Far East.

Whether it is from a military perspective, an economic perspective, or a political and spiritual consideration, the loss of Vladivostok is a fatal blow to the political axe of Tsarist Russia.

The Tsarist Empire, which was not wealthy, tightened its belts and saved money to buy a large number of military and strategic supplies, of which the amount hoarded in the fortress of Vladivostok accounted for two-thirds of the total material reserves in the Far East, and the other third in the fortress of Boli is also in danger. The Russian troops heading from Europe to the Far East, which had planned to reach Vladivostok and Boli fortresses and then replenish and reissue their equipment on the spot, were now blocked at the Nebuchu fortress and could not advance.

Although the Tsarist Russian Central Asian Corps invaded the Outer Mongolia region of the Chinese Empire and occupied most of Outer Mongolia, this was only achieved by the Chinese Emperor [***] who took the initiative to retreat, and compared with the fall of the Vladivostok fortress in the Far East, it can be described as a small thing.

However, this is the Minister of the Russian Army, General Sukhomlinov, and the Chief of the Army Staff, Ivan? The life talisman of General Gilinsky, otherwise the two of them would have really been kicked to death by Nicholas II.

In the Kremlin, Nicholas II convened a royal council to discuss the issue of war against China.

Nicholas II did not get angry at the Imperial Council, which surprised the civil and military officials present. Only Sukhomlinov and Ivan? Gilinsky and the two knew in their hearts that the two of them had been called separately and scolded before the meeting.

"Your Majesty, I have just received a report that the fortress of Boli had fallen seven days ago, and the commander of the garrison, Lieutenant General Enochoff, and more than 30,000 soldiers surrendered to the enemy, and a large number of fortress weapons and strategic materials were invested by the enemy. At present, the enemy forces have occupied the entire Primorsky Territory, Amur Oblast and Sakhalin Oblast, and the 1st Front of the enemy Army has captured Skovorodino and Tenda respectively three days ago. ”

The defense capability of the Boli Fortress was not as strong as the Vladivostok Fortress, but it lasted a day and a half longer than the Vladivostok Fortress. The commander of Boli Fortress originally swore that he would hold the fortress and that Ningyu Fortress would live and die together, and he did it in the early stage, but with the capture of Vladivostok Fortress by Emperor China [***], the Air Force transferred the airship to Boli Fortress, and as a result, under the attack of the powerful gasoline incendiary bombs of the airship, the defenders of Boli Fortress were frightened, and as a result, they held on to the city and surrendered in less than a day.

With the loss of the Boli Fortress, the second fortress of the Russian army in the Far East has been uprooted, and all the strategic materials hoarded by the Russian army have become the trophies of the Chinese Emperor [***].

Subsequently, the First Front Army of the Chinese Emperor [***] pursued the victory and captured the important town of the Trans-Siberian Railway Skovorodino in one fell swoop, completely cutting off the eastern section of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and becoming a strategic channel for the Chinese Emperor [***] to transport troops and materials. Later, the First Front Army captured the Tengda Pass, which was a military center set up by the Russian army in the Starov Mountains (Trans-Khingan Mountains), and once it controlled Tengda, it was equivalent to cutting off the connection between the Amur Oblast, Sakhalin Oblast, and Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East and the Russian East and West Bilia and Central Siberia. Of course, the Russian army could try to reach the Far East by crossing the Trans-Khingan Mountains and the Zhugzhur Mountains, but that is obviously unlikely, because the freezing cold of minus 60 degrees Celsius and snow several meters deep, as well as mountains and primeval forests thousands of meters high, will swallow them.

After the First Front captured Tenda and Skovorodino, it stopped the offensive, because the First Front had been fighting in the field for almost 20 days in the bitter cold, and although the officers and men were in high morale and wore warm winter uniforms, they could not withstand the severe cold of minus 50 or 60 degrees, and many soldiers suffered frostbite. With the completion of the strategic task of the General Staff of the Chinese Empire, the First Front Army stopped the offensive and withdrew into the city and moved to strategic defense.

During this period, the Russian forces in the direction of Nebuchu attempted to attack Tengda and Skovorodino in an attempt to capture these two important towns, but they were repulsed by the powerful defensive artillery and heavy machine guns of the Chinese Empire. After several days of trying to attack, the Russian army only increased its casualties, and the weather became worse and worse, so the Russian army in the field had to retreat and retreat to the Nebuchu fortress.

At the same time, after the capture of the Vladivostok fortress by the Second Front and the Third Front, the large forces began to withdraw to the northeast for recuperation, and some remained at the Vladivostok fortress, and the 79th Division continued the northern expedition. Since the main forces of the Russian army in the Far East are all concentrated in the two fortresses of Vladivostok and Bole, the rest of the country is already sparsely populated, the largest Nikolaevsk is only 30,000 people, and the defenders are less than 1,000 people, which is not the opponent of the 79th Division at all. Thus, the 79th Division captured Decastelli and Nikolaevsk all the way and occupied the entire territory of Primorye.

At the same time as the advance of the Imperial Chinese Army to the north, the Pacific Fleet of the Navy had already sent marines to land in Sakhalin (Sakhalin) and captured Alexandrosek, the only populated city in the state, without fierce resistance.

Since then, the Imperial Chinese Navy has successively sent warships to sail all the way north, successively occupying the Khabarovsk Territory, Kamchatka, and all the way to the northernmost Bering Strait mouth of the Arctic Circle of Uerlian. The population of these areas is not large, at most 200 people, at least more than 30 people, and the Chinese Imperial Marines implemented a three-light policy of burning, killing and robbing all of them, and as a result, these states suddenly became uninhabited states. However, the plundered property was not enough for the Pacific Fleet to spend money on coal and guns, for which the officers and men of the Navy cried out.

In accordance with the battle plan previously drawn up by the General Staff, the Chinese Emperor [***] team will switch to strategic defense once the raid on the Korean Peninsula and the Far East is successful. Let the Russian army travel long distances and spend a lot of money to come on an expedition, so that it is more cost-effective to fight a war of attrition with Russia.

However, the Russians did not know the strategy of the Chinese Empire, and they did not know that the entire Far East had fallen.

This can be known from the war report from the Russian [***] side to Nicholas II, which was all intelligence from a few days ago, or even earlier. It can be seen from this that the intelligence system of the Russian army is really not flattering.

Despite this, Nicholas II was furious when he heard that the fortress had also fallen. scolded Lieutenant General Enochov, who lost the Boli Fortress, and scolded General Alekseev, who had already died in the line of duty.

Knowing that Nicholas II vented, the Minister of Finance and Transport, Witte, reported.

"Your Majesty, the loss of Vladivostok and Burley Fortresses has wiped out all the weapons, ammunition and strategic reserves that the Empire has hoarded in the Far East, and the Empire's operations in the Far East will temporarily lose its backing, and the millions of soldiers on the front line will soon face the threat of lack of supplies."

Nicholas II said: "Then let them attack and retake Boli and Vladivostok." ”

Sukhomlinov hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, by all means, now that the Imperial Army has suffered a setback in the Far East, its morale is already low, and if it attacks in the cold winter again, I am afraid that the gains will outweigh the losses." ”

Nicholas II suddenly said angrily: "The soldiers of the empire can't fight in the cold winter? So how can Chinese soldiers? ”

Sukhomlinov suddenly had a bitter face and said: "Your Majesty, it is obvious that the [***] squadron is a quick and decisive surprise operation, and they have stopped attacking now, because they also know that they can't stay in the cold field for a long time. ”

Nicholas II had a calm face, and when he learned that the Chinese Empire had declared war on Russia, all Russian officials thought that this was just a small fight by the Chinese Empire, because they did not believe that the Chinese Emperor [***] would attack the strongholds heavily defended by the Russian army in the Far East in the middle of winter. Even if they learned that the Chinese Emperor [***] had really attacked, they did not think that they would be able to capture the two strong fortresses of Vladivostok and Boli, believing that the cold would force the enemy to retreat.

But now it seems that all the things they thought impossible had happened, and it really made them lose face, including Nicholas II.

"And when are we going to attack?"

Sukhomlinov replied: "After waiting for two months, when the weather warms up, you can go on the offensive!" ”

"Is there enough supplies for the front line?"

"Not enough! A large amount of supplies were lost in the Far East, so the emperor's [***] army had to withdraw 500,000 men. ”

Nicholas II frowned and said, "How can you toss back and forth?" Isn't the battlefield of Outer Mongolia open? Let the soldiers of the empire go to Outer Mongolia to feed the war with war. ”

Witt was horrified: "Your Majesty, Outer Mongolia has already surrendered to the empire, if we feed the war in Outer Mongolia, then it will arouse the anger and resistance of the people of Outer Mongolia." ”

Nicholas II had made up his mind and said fiercely: "The losses of the empire in the Far East must be replenished!" ”

Seeing that Nicholas II had been carried away by anger, Witte could only sigh. The other civil and military officials also understood that this was wrong, but they didn't dare to provoke the already hairy emperor at this time.

(To be continued)