"God, this is simply the sorrow of the Russian Empire!"

At the Gatchina Palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Tsar Alexander III looked at the telegram from the East, his face haggard and sad. Yes, haggard and sad, not furious like a volcanic eruption!

The total annihilation of the Shirokov corps brought fatal wounds to the Russian army, and on the banks of the Ergos River, the independent division commanded by Leshan also entered the Kuitun defense line, and then launched a counterattack against the Russian infantry corps that had been attacked for a long time and had been severely bruised in terms of strength and morale.

The commander-in-chief of the front, General Alekseev, commanded the Russian army to retreat to Kuitun, a bulging fortress of the Chinese army, but the latter was too badly wounded during the Russian offensive and has not been repaired at all, and it has not played the role of a fortress and defense at all.

Now that the Chinese army that ended the Battle of Daxigou has merged into the Kuitun battlefield, Nikolai . Even if Grand Duke Nikolayevich personally arrived at the front line of the war, he could not save the defeat of the Russian army.

Alexander III died of a headache. Russia can no longer send troops to Central Asia, can no longer provide large quantities of military ammunition to troops fighting in Central Asia, and Russia's finances are in danger of collapse. Their biggest financiers, the French, have suffered heavy losses because of the new economic crisis caused by the United States.

"Russia is going to suffer the humiliation of the Chinese at my hands. I can't put into words how I feel. "Alexander III to his own empress, Princess Mary of Denmark. Sophie. Frederica. Dagmar said. His demeanor was very low, the Tsar was already exhausted by the country's financial constraints, and the defeat of the Chinese war made the empire even worse.

Maria. Feodorovna. After marriage, the Danish princess looked at her husband with tenderness in her eyes.

Although seventeen years ago. Joining Alexander III's elder brother Nikolai did not go on horseback and fell off the horse. Mortally wounded, the Danish princess would become the empress of the Russian Empire. Because the Russian royal family and the Danish royal family in this year, Nikolai and Mary were already planned. Sophie. Frederica. Dagmar gets married. Shortly before his death, Nikolai knew that his days were numbered, and he specially instructed his second brother Alexander to marry Princess Dagmar. Alexander already had a crush, but for the sake of his brother's wishes, he had to make a promise. In the end, Alexander married a Danish princess who was like a passerby, but the two were quite harmonious after marriage. So far, he has four sons and two daughters. The first eldest son was Nicholas II, who buried the entire Russian Empire in the original plane.

"Is Grand Duke Nikolayevich also able to resist the Chinese? Is the empire about to be defeated in Central Asia? "Isn't it irretrievable? Fedorovna did not dare to imagine.

The Russian Empire was in Central Asia, not France in Vietnam. Russia can invest several times the strength of the French in the Central Asian theater to fight against China's Xinjiang troops, which are far inferior to their own in strength and strength.

Feodorovna never set her sights on anything, and all her attention this year was focused on the newborn princess Olga. Alexandrovna. It was her sixth child and second daughter with Alexander III.

Grand Duke Nikolayevich was the uncle of Alexander III, he was the third son of Nicholas I, but when Alexander III heard this name from his wife's mouth, his expression did not show the respect that Grand Duke Nikolayevich deserved. Although Grand Duke Nikolayevich was the nominal commander of the 10th Russo-Turkish War, he also served as the chief of cavalry of the Russian army. Director of the Military-Technical Committee, etc., with the rank of Field Marshal. But he was extremely lustful and had many lovers, and the contemporaries commented that he was "liked by all the women of the world except his wife." even openly cohabited with his lover, which made Alexander III very dissatisfied, plus his third uncle was too powerful. There was also a bribery scandal, and Alexander III's attitude towards him was absolutely not confronted by the second uncle Konstantin. Grand Duke Nikolayevich was so respectful and respectful. The latter was after the Crimean War. The founder and builder of the Russian Navy in the new era. He was the most respected and respected marshal in the entire Russian Navy and an important promoter of the reform of serfdom in Russia in 1860.

In that political reform that affected the course of Russian history. Among the 50 important figures, 20 came from the Russian Geographical Society, which was founded by Konstantin. The teacher of Grand Duke Nikolaevich single-handedly created it in 1845 and gave it to him to lead.

"Queen, don't think that just because your uncle is a field marshal, he has a high military standard. The commander and commander of the 10th Russo-Turkish War was the former Minister of War Dmitry. Alexievich. Marshal Milyutin.

Nikolai. Grand Duke Nikolayevich was only a nominal commander-in-chief. I don't think he was as good as Skobelev in military prowess. ”

Alexander III still valued Skobelev very much. Therefore, although Skobelev became the object of ridicule and ridicule of countless people in St. Petersburg, his position was the commander of the cavalry division of the Janissaries.

"This time the war with the Chinese can only end. The empire's finances could not withstand the high military expenditures, and the Turkmen of Central Asia were eager to try again. I wonder if they have made a deal with the British. "What's more, the British have ended their intervention in Egypt. In September, the British raided Taylor. Kebir, only 40 minutes, the Egyptian army, which was backward in equipment and had people to lead the way, was defeated. After the fall of Cairo on 15 September, Olabi Pasha, the leader of Egypt's anti-British movement, was captured, and the whole of Egypt was in British hands. Alexander III was afraid that the British would take this opportunity to stir up trouble in Central Asia. So, the war is coming to an end......

"The humiliation of my father twelve years ago, the humiliation of the Russian Empire, came to me again. For more than a year, tens of thousands of soldiers' lives and prisoners, tens of millions of rubles in military spending, such a result was obtained. ”

"Anger will consume my heart like the flames of a volcanic eruption. There are no words to express this pain. ”

"I will always remember this day, and in the near future, I will surely let the emperor of China taste the same taste as I do today. My soul is tormented in the flames, and I swear to God, I will take revenge, I will take revenge—"

Feodorovna looked at her hideous husband in front of her, and her blue eyes filled with tears. "Yes, dear, great tsar, you will, you will." It had been seventeen years since she was married, and it was the first time that Fedorovna had met Alexander III like this.

The firm, oath-like voice disappeared in the palace, Alexander III had already decided the fate of the war soon after, but at the same time, the Russian army in Central Asia was still making a final effort to save its defeat.

Two thousand Russian cavalry and one infantry assembled at the appointed place after dark, and marched at night, a night with bright moonlight. The snow on the ground was still there, and the ground was harder than rammed earth. The army marched silently, except for the occasional faint snort of the horses.

Soldiers were not allowed to talk loudly, smoke or light fires; Try not to let the horse neigh. The secrecy of the march was to meet the strictest requirements. Some of the guards stopped at some high ground along the way, set up their guns and lay down on the cold ground.

The Russians did not dare to be negligent at all. Before the battle, he was always preparing for the imminent defeat of the enemy.

Colonel Denisov led a detachment of Cossacks to the appointed place at the appointed time. It's the edge of a forest, near a path.

It was almost eight o'clock when Colonel Denisov, who was still asleep, was awakened. Then he saw Colonel Glekov dressed in wolf bèi. This infantry regiment commander of the Russian army.

"Why are you so wolf? What did you encounter? Colonel Denisov looked horrified. Colonel Glekov in front of him was one of the two main infantry forces of the operation.

Now that he is so wolf in front of him, there will only be one answer.

"I encountered a sneak attack by the Chinese."

In the early hours of the morning, Glekov was still sleeping soundly.

"Rush—"

The shouts of the Chinese resounded throughout the camp, and the Russian soldiers who woke up in panic had not yet been able to bring their guns, and on the periphery of the camp, a group of Chinese cavalry, like pouring out of a pocket, quickly crossed the stream next to the station, and rushed towards the Russian camp like a whirlwind.

The first Russian soldier on duty to see the Chinese cavalry let out a desperate cry of horror, and before they could all put on their clothes, they hazy threw down their cannons, guns, and horses and fled in all directions.

If the Chinese cavalry, taking advantage of what was behind them and what was around them, pursued Glekov with victory, they could have captured Colonel Glekov alive. This time, at almost a small cost, the Chinese cavalry captured 1,500 captives, about 200 mule and horse vehicles, and many flags.

Nikolai. The last effort of Grand Duke Nikolayevich also suffered a crushing defeat. The two bands of infantry and three bands of cavalry he arranged were all discovered by the pursuing Qin army reconnaissance troops. Then a group of cavalry and an infantry unit suffered a heavy blow, and the remaining three forces fled in a hurry.

The Chinese army has regained Boluo Khugil, and the independent division led by Leshan has swept away the blocking troops left by the defeated Russian army along the way with heroic and fearless momentum. They naturally paid huge casualties, but this price also made the independent division gradually integrate into the big family and environment of the Qin army.

Now the Russian army has retreated into the area of the Kulongkoy Mountains. Grand Duke Nikolayevich also did not break away from the troops and went first. However, the Russian army was still unstable, and under the attack of the pursuing Qin troops, the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Kulongkui Mountain area was just around the corner. (To be continued......)