18th day of the sixth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Omsk.

By nine o'clock in the morning, when the defenders had already left Omsk, there was no one to ask the mayor of Lastov for instructions. All who can go, they themselves are gone; Those who remain, they themselves will decide what to do.

Lastov instructed his servants to harness their horses and prepare to go around the city to see what was going on. In his hands he held in his hands the only military force in Omsk today - a militia of 13,400 people, organized by 100 policemen and 230 Cossacks.

Rustov frowned, his face, which had been fair and rich a month ago, now sallow, and sat silently in his office with his arms folded.

He was now the weakest time of his life. Ratov, who was born into the aristocracy, became the administrative assistant to the mayor of Yekaterinburg before the age of thirty, and now at the age of thirty-five he has become the mayor of the city of Omsk, and his next goal is the governor of the Omsk province.

When the world was peaceful, every official felt that only by relying on his diligence could the common people under his rule live comfortably and prosper. There was a sense of self in his head, which was their spiritual reward for his 'hard work and diligence'. You can understand that when the situation is calm and peaceful, the administrator, as the ruler, will think that he is the master of the city, and his every decision and every consideration will affect the future of millions of civilians. They ignore all public opinion!

And when troubled times come, they will feel that public opinion is so turbulent, completely incomprehensible and violent. His hands and feet were all tied. He was propelled forward by this tremendous force, because he did not dare to go against it in the slightest. For example, in the past few days, Lastov did not dare to send people to stop the exodus of citizens. The position of the officials as rulers plummeted. From the ruler, the source of power, the master of all, to the insignificant and useless weak man.

Rustov felt this, and it annoyed him.

The chief of police came to Lastov's office and walked into the office with the adjutant who had come to report that the carriage had been set. The two men turned pale. Because the remaining citizens of Omsk have gathered together and are rushing towards the city government.

Without saying a word, Rustov got up and walked quickly into the luxurious and bright living room on the second floor. He walked to the balcony door, grabbed the handle, let go of his hand, and walked towards the window. From there, you can see the crowd outside the city hall more clearly. Sure enough, it was the civilians who were in a commotion. There were at least five or six hundred people outside the city hall, and through the closed windows, the commotion could be heard.

"What do they want?" He asked the police chief.

"Your Excellency, they said that the departing army was not ordered to fight the Chinese, it was to flee, it was abandoning Omsk, and it was shouting what traitors. These people are a bunch of thugs. Your Excellency, you cannot repay them with mercy and leniency......"

Rustov was angry. "A mob, a mob!" Rustov felt an unquenchable anger rise in his heart. This account can't just be settled. The Chinese have not yet arrived, and he still needs to stay in the city of Omsk for a while, and he cannot tolerate the dignity of his mayor being trampled under the feet of a mob during this time. He was going to find someone to vent to, and he was going to use this person to warn the restless civilians. Tell them that he is in charge of this city, even now!

After all, more than half of the citizens of Omsk have fled the city. And Lastov had a regiment of militia in his hands.

"Pull that tall guy out. This bunch of untouchables, the scum of the common people. It is their stupidity that stirs up these scum and untouchables, and they need a victim to sober up. "As is often the case with people with a hot liver, anger took control of Rustov.

Ten minutes later, the noise outside the city hall increased several times over.

"Your Excellency. What did you order to do with Ogarkov? He has been brought by Sergeant Fedorovich. The adjutant came up.

A sneer appeared on Rastorf's face. He quickly pulled the door to the balcony and strode onto it. The noise outside the city hall suddenly stopped, and all eyes were raised to look at the mayor who walked out.

"Hello, citizens!" Rastov's voice was loud, "Thank you for coming. I'll come down to see you right away, but we'll have to deal with a bad guy first. We must punish a bad guy who does things for the Chinese. Please wait for me! Rustov hurried back indoors and walked briskly downstairs and out of the city hall.

Angry voices were heard in the crowd, and everyone saw that Ogarkov was arrested by the sheriff, what was Rustov going to do?

"He's such a person."

"Ogarkov is an honest man. I don't believe he will be bought by the Chinese. ”

"Look, Your Excellency the Mayor will soon put all the blame on Ogarkov's head. This poor man! People say so. No one is a fool who thinks reality doesn't exist in front of them.

A few minutes later, a lieutenant officer hurriedly walked out of the main gate and gave some order, so Lastov had only twenty regular soldiers in his hands in two long rows. Lastov strode out of the doorway, through the middle of twenty Russian soldiers.

"Where is he?" Rustov asked. With a wave of his hand, two policemen walked out of the corner of the house with a young man in his twenties, who was not tall and thin, wearing a shabby blue shirt and dirty linen trousers, the cuffs of which were tucked into boots with open toes.

Rustov didn't even bother his eyes, and pointed to the lowest step of the porch. "Bring him here."

After the young man was dragged to the foot of the designated steps, he quickly moved his aching arm that was being grabbed by the two policemen, twisted his neck twice, and glanced at Lastov with a slight resentment in his eyes. The look of anger subsided, and all that was left was fear.

Lake Alaa lost, Lake Balkhash lost, the Aral Sea lost ......, and now Chinese are almost to Omsk. As a result, the army withdrew at this time, and said something to fight the Chinese. The Chinese are coming from the east, so should the army go to the west to fight the Chinese? That's ridiculous. What about being angry?

It seemed that the hundreds of citizens in front of him gave the young man courage, and soon the look of fear receded. There is a 'hard air' on the face!

Rustov saw that the young man did not even kneel down to him and beg for mercy, and the sneer on his face turned gloomy. He gave him a chance, but he didn't take it.

"Citizens!" Rustov's loud voice said, "This is this person, as a traitor to Russia, he is a traitor to the Chinese." He was the source of the catastrophe for the destruction of Omsk. ”

The hardness on Ogarkov's face completely disappeared after hearing Rastov's first few words. He slowly raised his head and looked up at Rustov, his eyes full of wonder and disbelief. Is he so a traitor of the Chinese? I love Mother Russia, how did I become a traitor? There was anger in his eyes, and he was going to make eye contact with Rustov, and he thought that in this case, he would be able to see the dodge in Rustov's eyes.

But Lastov did not look at him.

On the young man's neck, the green tendons bulged out like ropes, and his face was as red as drunk. "Slander. I didn't ......" A policeman standing beside him suddenly twisted his face viciously, raised the butt of his rifle and smashed it on Ogarkov's head.

"Ahh Ogalkov cried out in horror and shock, fear on his face. Then there was a terrible pain that I couldn't bear. He was bleeding profusely and was caught by another policeman before he could fall.

"Oh God!" Someone in the crowd let out a sad sigh.

Lastov watched the commotion of the crowd with satisfaction, which he considered to be a horror to him. Lastov never saw anything wrong with being an official who feared the civilian population. In his mind, officials are the ones who terrify civilians. Even he enjoyed the fear. At this moment, Rustov had forgotten his panic for the past three days. Most of the city's citizens fled further west, and of the nearly 20,000 citizens of Omsk, only six or seven thousand remain.

All eyes were on him in one volley. Lastov didn't feel weak at all, he knew well the innocence of the young man at hand.

"He betrayed the great tsar and his homeland, he was loyal to the Chinese, he tarnished the honor of the Slavs." Rustov calmly raised his voice and shouted, as if what he was telling was true. "Kill him now. Let this lowly traitor go to hell to atone for his sins, and not allow him to damage the reputation of the Russians! The Slavs are a fighting people, and we will not submit to any aggressor. We will always enjoy the freedom that God has given us. ”

The corpse, covered in blood, collapsed at the foot of the steps. Everyone who witnessed this scene rushed to the back with a look of horror and panic at this moment.

A bridgehead south of Omsk, a tributary of the Irtysh River.

Thousands of Russian troops were crowded here. It's still hot. The gloomy and melancholy Major General Commander sat on a stone by the bridge, his eyes rolling wildly. The resistance battle failed, completely failed. The Chinese cavalry swept like the wind over the rear of his troops, and then the marching troops collapsed.

The Major General is well aware of why. How can a force that has lost confidence hold back a force with high morale?

The Chinese emperor defeated the Russian army again and again, and St. Petersburg drew out the already small number of troops in Western Siberia in order to defend the Caspian Sea and Orenburg. The fact that half of the troops of two thousand people were able to remain is already God blessing. If it were not for the limited number of cavalry of the Chinese, only two or three companies, this would have been the vanguard of the Chinese army. Then you will be humiliated and become a captive.

"Your Excellency, the mayor of Lastov sent someone to greet you!" The adjutant's voice sounded in the ears of the major general.

"Okay, tell him, get ready to defend. I will not hand over Omsk without a fight. (To be continued......)