On October 3, 1918, in Mariupol, southern Ukraine, this important port in the northern part of the Sea of Azov has recently begun to look unusually busy.

The 48,000 officers and men of the 4th Division of the Chinese Workers' Corps commanded by Wang Ruqin began to board the ship here as the first batch of "Chinese laborers" to return to China, preparing to return to the motherland after three years of separation. Xu Shuzheng, Wang Ruqin and several other high-ranking generals set off from the port on Admiral Pachner's flagship "Queen Teresa", and then joined the convoy of transport ships assembled on the sea, in order to transport the personnel and equipment of the Chinese Workers' Corps, Austria-Hungary requisitioned 36 transport ships, and sent an escort fleet composed of the 1st Battlefleet of the Navy. Of course, the Austrians did not make a special trip to escort the Chinese Workers' Corps, and their main task was to receive the colonies of Annam from the French.

The 4th Austro-Hungarian Marine Division had been ordered to assemble in Alexandria and prepare to go together to the Far East. Not to be outdone, the Germans who went to the Far East with Austria were appointed commander of the new Far East Fleet, and the German Navy sent a large Far East Fleet consisting mainly of four King-class battleships and three Deflinger-class battlecruisers, as well as a Marine Brigade and a Far Eastern Army consisting mainly of a mechanized infantry division.

The Germans needed to demonstrate to the Japanese, and at the same time show their national power to the Orientals, and at the same time force the Japanese to obediently pay huge war reparations. The war reparations of 5 billion yen are equivalent to Japan's total raw silk exports for 10 years, and this is a huge blow to Japan's economy.

"Xiao Xu is returning to China with soldiers, and the pressure on President Li is great, Yuyan, when will you return to China?" Standing on the dock, watching the "Empress Teresa" slowly leave the port, Jiang Fangzhen turned his head and said to Jiang Zuobin.

"Probably not, Xiao Xu has promised us to try to communicate with the president before doing anything." Jiang Zuobin said, "Besides, if he does this, he will lose the support of Austria." ”

"It shouldn't be too much, but with Xiao Xu's personality, if the president doesn't agree to anything, he will definitely embarrass the president." Jiang Fangzhen said, "The country is easy to change, but the nature is difficult to change. It's always too domineering to do things again. ”

"Alright then, I'll take our next group back to restrain him a bit." Jiang Zuobin said.

"Vice Chief Jiang, will our division return first in the next batch?" Song Huanzhang said suddenly.

"I'm afraid not, Brother Kaichen, we still have nearly 500,000 Chinese laborers on the Urals and in Siberia, and we have arranged for some officers to carry out activities there. Moreover, Xu Shuzheng also sent two regiments to lurk there, one in Perm and the other in the Omsk area, and before leaving, he told us that we would definitely bring these two regiments back to China. Jiang Zuobin's face showed a look of embarrassment, "After we discussed, we decided to send the 7th Division to march to the Urals line, and then withdraw to the country along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and also bring back hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers and some troops to the country as much as possible." It's a long and dangerous journey, and you really need to ask my brother. ”

Song Huanzhang lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "Okay, it is the duty of a soldier to obey orders, and it is also the responsibility of the state to protect the lives and property of overseas Chinese." Now that the two Vice-Ministers have decided, I will do my best to escort the expatriates in Russia back to their home countries, although the journey will be difficult. ”

"I'll really ask my brother for this!" Jiang Zuobin said seriously, "If you need any supplies, just say that you want hundreds of cars, and I will definitely try to raise them." ”

"There is no need for cars, and in the current situation in Russia, it is not easy to get gasoline. But I needed a lot of horses, war horses, pack horses, and pull horses, and there were so many on the way. Song Huanzhang said.

"Well, I'll let the troops free up all the horses and prepare enough food and forage for you. I really can't do it, I'll go to the Austrian emperor to borrow some again. Jiang Zuobin said.

The cavalry regiment commanded by Zhang Weicheng crossed the Volga River at Tsaritsyn as an advance detachment, and each regiment had two horses, just like the Mongol cavalry of Genghis Khan's expedition in the past, with one horse carrying food and fodder, and one horse for riding. They were very fast, and in only four days they crossed the steppe and reached Kula on the Volga, where they crossed the Ural River.

The area is currently occupied by Dutov's "Protectors", and there are occasional skirmishes between the "Protectors" and the Red Guard partisans. But the villages and towns are not peaceful, and there are murders, robberies, and extortions every day. Not only were the White Army collecting the peasants, but the Red Guards were also forcibly collecting grain and grass, and violent clashes continued to occur.

On an autumn morning, when the weather had become somewhat cold, the cavalry regiment continued its advance along the Ural in the direction of Orenburg, despite the cool air emanating from the river bank.

"It's going to get colder and colder, and when we get to the Urals, it might snow." Zhang Weicheng's adjutant, Sun Fucheng, rode on a big green horse, shrunk into a military coat, frowned at the gloomy sky, and kept snorting in his nose. Last night he slept with a cold and felt sick all over.

"Less nonsense, who let you be dishonest when you sleep on your own, and put the blanket on your own." Zhang Weicheng turned his head and glared at him, he had never been happy in his heart, and sighed to himself that he had caught up with such an unlucky errand. Walking back from Sibery all the way, who knows how much trouble he will encounter, and if he doesn't make it, his little life may be confessed on the road.

At this time, the chief of staff, Dai Ji, rushed over from the front, "We are walking on the original road of Wobasi Khan's eastward return." He said, "O great king, return quickly to your homeland with these lost lambs!" ”

"You think beautifully, we need to go to Siberia, and we have to carry hundreds of thousands of people, I don't know if everyone will starve to death on the way." Zhang Weicheng looked at him with slanted eyes.

"That's not true, it's really not possible, we can kill the horses and eat them. Two horses can hold up for a while. Dai Ji said, "No kidding, where did the division command order us to find Bai Chongxi and them first?" ”

"Chelyabinsk or Yekaterinburg, it is not yet possible to determine." Zhang Weicheng said, "Shangfeng has ordered them to gather Chinese workers along the railway line. ”

"There must be some people who are reluctant to leave, after all, it is easier to make money in Russia than at home." "In Ukraine, some Chinese workers stayed. ”

"I hope those money fans can save their lives in the end, and they can only earn their lives if they have money." Zhang Weicheng said, "We try to persuade them to retreat with us, but if they don't leave, we can't do so much." ”

Both of them became silent, and thousands of horses divided into four or five columns, rolled forward along the Ural valley like a thunderclap and noise.

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