Blocking the Russian cavalry out, Dong Liu, the commander of the communications platoon, led Major Marinin towards the command post, and the snow under his feet creaked. Peeking in, the major liaison officer sent by the Russian army had a gloomy face, and his hairy face was covered with frost flowers.

This is the third one. The first time he was a lieutenant, and the second time he was a captain. Now a major. Dong Liu thought silently.

"Report!" Dong Liu stood in front of the command department and shouted loudly.

"Come in." It was Chief of Staff Deng's voice.

"Please, Mr. Major." Dong Liu said in Russian.

"Major Marinin is ordered to convey orders to your department!" The Russian major adjusted to the warm environment a little and shouted at Deng Qinghua.

Before Deng Qinghua could speak, Lu Shan's deep voice sounded at the door, "If my conditions are not met, the independent regiment will not go to the front line." ”

Marinin turned his head, and an officer in a gray coat of the Russian army pushed the door in, the tall figure hid the light, and the room seemed to be much darker.

Major Marinin did not understand Mandarin, and it was a Mandarin with a Shandong flavor. Fortunately, Dong Liu immediately translated Lu Shan's words.

"Who are you?"

"He is the head of our independent regiment." Dong Liu introduced.

Marinin glanced at the colonel's epaulettes on Lushan's coat, reluctantly straightened up, and saluted, "Mr. Colonel, by order of Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, your troops will be removed as soon as they accept the supplement, and they will arrive in the designated area on January 18. This is an order signed by the commander-in-chief! Marinin pulled out a paper bag from his bosom.

Lu Shan did not answer the order and asked rhetorically. "Looks like the command has met my request?"

"Yes. The weapon you want is already on its way and will arrive tomorrow morning at the latest. After listening to Dong Liu's translation, Major Marinin suppressed the anger in his heart and replied reluctantly.

Lu Shan suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the blue envelope, "Please take a seat, Mr. Major." When the weapons arrive, our department can leave within two days. As he spoke, he said to Dong Liu, "Pour a cup of tea for the major." It's cold enough today. ”

Marinin didn't move, but pulled out another piece of paper from his bosom. "Please sign."

Lu Shan took the pen handed by Deng Qinghua. Sign your name on the receipt of the order.

"Mr. Colonel, on the orders of the headquarters, I will serve as the liaison officer stationed in your department." Marinin glanced at the receipt, he didn't recognize the black bean-like Chinese characters.

"Oh? Welcome. What's your name? Lu Shan smiled and listened to Deng Qinghua's translation. Please go and rest first. I'm going to study the route of the march. ”

Liaison officer? The last liaison officer died at the hands of the Naganuma detachment. The Russians finally sent a new liaison officer. After coming to Kanto for more than a year, many of his officers have learned simple Russian, but Lu Shan can only understand simple conversations. I can't speak Russian well.

Marinin saluted again and turned to leave. Dong Liu glanced at Lu Shan and followed the Russians out.

"It looks like we can't avoid this battle." Deng Qinghua took the order from Lu Shan's hand, tore it open, looked at it carefully, and searched for it on the map, "Here, Shen Danbao...... It's about thirty miles from Mukden," he measured with his finger, "and it will take two days at most." ”

"Don't worry, wait until the weapons arrive." Lu Shan leaned over and looked at the map on the wall, "Grandma's," Lu Shan scolded, "Lao Maozi is really a bear bag, if you lose Fengtian, Nanman will be finished!" ”

"Lost Mukden? No way? Deng Qinghua closed the door tightly to block the cold wind blowing outside, "It is said that the Russians have the advantage in terms of strength. Moreover, they have been building positions for so long. ”

"No matter how strong the position is, can it surpass the mouth of Arthur?" The scar on Lu Shan's face twitched twice involuntarily, it was a memorial left by the battle with Zhang Zuolin's troops last summer. The 6.5mm bullet almost hit his left eye socket, and in that case he would be doomed. However, it still left a gap on his left cheek, which was disfigured after healing, and the scar was always twitching when thinking about problems, which looked very hideous.

Fortunately, Lao Tian transferred instructions from home in time. Otherwise, we are afraid that this little family foundation will be lost in Lushun. ”

"It's not a thing to hide all the time! It's not like we haven't done it seriously with the little devils! The Naganuma detachment is fierce, right? Didn't we kill it yet? The commander asked us to find out the characteristics of this war, how to find out if we don't have it so seriously? Guerrilla warfare and regular warfare are two different things entirely! Lu Shan waved his hand and finally made up his mind, "Call them together." ”

According to Long Qian's request, the major combat operations of the South Manchurian detachment must be approved by two-thirds of the members of the committee, but Shang Fengchun (who served as the deputy chief of staff of the detachment), who led the fourth batch of reinforcements to aid the Kanto, brought Long Qian's latest instructions - when the situation is urgent, Lu Shan has the final decision of the troops!

Deng Qinghua got up and put on his coat, thinking, you have the final decision, how can others object?

The South Manchurian detachment now has the official number given by the Russian army - the main officers of the South Manchurian Independent Regiment entered the command post in Lushan after a quarter of an hour. Fan Deping, the deputy regiment commander with one arm, Cheng Erhu (Qi Huzi), the commander of the first battalion, Xiong Xun (Ma Yong), the commander of the second battalion, Sheng Guang, the commander of the third battalion, Ding Xiaofu, the commander of the machine gun battalion, Jiang Cunxian, the commander of the cavalry battalion, and Xu Gongzhi, the commander of the guard company, each found a chair to sit on, and began to smoke, and the room soon became full of smoke.

"I just received an order from the Russian General Headquarters, and a new liaison officer has also been sent in writing," Lu Shan raised the blue envelope, "and ordered all members of our regiment to march in, and the destination is Shendan Fort in the southwest of Mukden." I called you to come, and I did not go down to counsel......

"Lao Maozi is going to counterattack on all fronts," Fan Deping, who has not yet completely healed from his serious injuries, looks bad, "It is said that Russia has been in chaos because of the fall of Arthur, and Kuropatkin must have been under great pressure. This time, we were going up to carry out a positional attack, and the commander repeatedly instructed our army not to engage in positional warfare with the Japanese army......"

"If it weren't for the hard fight to get rid of the Naganuma detachment, the Russians wouldn't have valued us so much. The little devil is not a big deal, I think it should still be fought. Ding Xiaofu said.

"We are in the inner circle of the Russian army," Xiong Xun muttered. "Resist the war and think of a perfect way."

"We are a regiment, at most a strengthened regiment! It is only a regimental task. If you refuse the order, I am afraid that you will have to turn against the Russian army. The family instructed us to choose the opportunity to transfer to North Manchuria, and it would be difficult for us to go openly without the permission of the Russians. My advice is to strike and act on the opportunity. If Lao Maozi wins, everything is easy to talk about, if he loses, our opportunity will come. It was Jiang Cunxian, the commander of the cavalry battalion, who spoke.

"Xiao Shang, you are the deputy chief of staff. What about your opinion? "Because Shang Fengchun is the last batch of senior officers to come. Lu Shan attaches great importance to Shang Fengchun's opinion.

"The commander judged that the Russian army would be defeated, and the loss of Mukden was inevitable. So don't be optimistic about this big counteroffensive of the Russians. Now it is not appropriate to disobey orders, the troops are in the gap between the two Russian divisions, and we have thousands of people. It's not a small unit anymore. It is difficult to hide the whereabouts and highlight the gloom. I agree to go up and fight. But to delay, by no means act as the first attacking force. ”

"That's good. Now issue the command. Lu Shan made up his mind, "The main force of the regiment is led by me." After receiving the Russians' weapons replenishment, they marched in advance. Fan Deping led the 1st Battalion and the Cavalry Battalion to follow, ready to withdraw from the battlefield. In case, Deping, you take a battalion and a cavalry battalion into Beiman! Leave seeds for the Commander! I didn't listen to Deping and Tsinghua's opinions at the beginning, and the responsibility lies with me. The 2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion and Machine Gun Battalion each set aside a number of deputies for the deputy commander. Do you understand? ”

"Understood!"

A month ago, Lu Shan did not listen to the opinions of Fan and Deng, and in order to quickly replenish them, he brought the independent regiment into the Russian army camp in the northern suburbs of Mukden to rest. The supply of weapons was quickly replenished by the Russian army due to the elimination of the Naganuma detachment, but it was not easy to get out. Now, Lushan's deployment is to prepare for the main force of the regiment to be wiped out, leaving Fan Deping's two battalions to continue to complete the task.

"Commander, I don't, I don't agree with such a ministry or deployment. The cavalry battalion can stay, but the first battalion still has to go up. We are all together, and we can move freely. Cheng Erhu, the commander of the first battalion, shouted.

The first battalion was the number one main battalion of the detachment, with the most veterans and the largest number of officers from Shandong.

"The opinion of the two tigers is right. Please, Commander, think again. Deng Qinghua said.

The three infantry battalions of the Independent Regiment were all four companies, each of which was four platoons. After resting and expanding, all companies were in a state of overstaffing, and with the addition of machine guns, cavalry battalions, and baggage battalions, the actual strength of the whole regiment reached more than 5,500 people, far exceeding the regimental establishment of the Russian army, and it also had four field guns, four Makqin heavy machine guns, and four Madsen light machine guns transported from the Guannai, and the firepower was fierce. If the weapons promised by the Russian army (four heavy machine guns and four mortars) are in place, it is possible to attack a brigade of the Japanese army alone in a positional battle. But if it is disassembled, the situation is different.

"Okay, a battalion. But the guard company and the cavalry battalion escort the baggage battalion, and the back road will be handed over to you. Lu Shan said to Jiang Cunxian.

"Yes!" Jiang Cun stood up and saluted.

"Lao Jiang, you have to find out the way to retreat, since the commander said that the Russians can't win, he can't win." Shang Fengchun reminded.

After destroying the Naganuma detachment, which was all cavalry, the Nanman detachment had a large number of horses. The Russians had no shortage of horses, so more than 1,500 horses were incorporated into cavalry battalions, machine gun battalions, and baggage battalions, and the detachment's marching ability was raised to a new level.

"This is not a reminder." Jiang Cunxian said lightly.

"Okay, Lao Deng, you and Xiao Shang go and talk to the new liaison officer. In particular, bullets and shells should be prepared. Let's go and prepare. This time, let's repair the little devils and avenge the brothers who died in the destruction of the Einuma army. Lu Shan ended the meeting.

"Isn't that right?" After Lu Shan waited for everyone to leave, he stood alone in front of the large military map on the wall and pondered.

The Russo-Japanese War had reached a critical juncture. The battle at sea was not clear, and all he got was messy news, but the defeat of the Russians was assured. After the death of the much-anticipated commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, Makarov, in April last year, the Russians had lost all hope of fighting for the vital supremacy of the Yellow Sea, and their realistic goal was to break through the blockade and return to Vladivostok. On the contrary, the morale of the Japanese Combined Fleet was to blockade the Russian fleet so that it could not break through, or to look for an opportunity to annihilate it at sea. On August 7, the Russian army received an edict from the Tsar, demanding that the Arthur detachment quickly break through the encirclement and sail to Vladivostok. So the Battle of the Yellow Sea broke out.

On August 10, the Russian fleet rushed out of Port Arthur. The Russian fleet that broke through had both 6 battleships and 4 cruisers. 14 destroyers, as well as a hospital ship. Led by the commander, Major General Vizofut. The flagship is the Crown Prince.

The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet that intercepted the Russian forces was Heihachiro Togo, and there were 4 battleships, 2 armored cruisers, 8 protective cruisers, 18 destroyers, and 30 mine ships. The flagship is the Mikasa.

At noon, the two sides came into contact and an artillery battle broke out. The distance between them was about 4.5 nautical miles, and the hit rate was not high, and the Japanese ship Mikasa was shot. The captain was wounded. At this time it is beneficial for the Russian army. But ten minutes later, a 12-inch shell hit the Russian flagship Cambridge, and the violent explosion not only destroyed the signal station, but also killed the commander of the Russian army, General Vitzofut. Since no representative was appointed in advance. The Russian army lost its command. Other ships do not understand the idea of warfare. Unable to maintain formation and act in unison, it was dispersed under heavy Japanese shelling. Until nightfall, most of the remaining ships of the Russian army fled back to Arthur. The flagship, the Crown Prince, and 3 destroyers fled to Qingdao, where they were detained by the Germans. 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer fled to Shanghai, and 1 cruiser sailed to Saigon. The breakthrough of the Russian army failed.

On August 14, the Battle of Ulsan broke out when the Russian cruiser fleet, which had moved south from Vladivostok to meet the Arthur squadron, encountered the Second Fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Murahiko off the coast of Ulsan, South Korea. The Russian armored cruiser Rurik sank, and the remaining two ships fled back to Vladivostok with wounds.

At this point, the Russian Pacific Fleet was considered a failure. The defeat in the naval battle led to a tilt in the land war. The Japanese were able to transport troops and supplies from the sea with ease. In order to save the fleet, which was divided into two places (Port Arthur and Vladivostok), and also to completely defeat Japan. The Tsar had no choice but to assemble his fleet in Europe and form the Second Pacific Fleet to support Asia. An American magazine gave an incisive analysis of this: the outcome of the upcoming battle between Rozhestvensky (commander of the 2nd Pacific Fleet) and Heihachiro Togo (commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet) will determine the outcome of this war. If Togo wins, Japan will lay the foundation for victory. Turning Japan into a first-class power. If Rozhestvensky wins, he will be able to seize sea supremacy and cut off the main supply lines of the Japanese Army stationed in Manchuria, and Russia will regain its declining fortunes in one fell swoop.

However, calculating the voyage of the Russian support fleet, it will be at least until the spring of next year to reach the Asian theater. It's a bit of a far water that doesn't quench your thirst.

The war on land is also bad for the Russian army. On May 1, the Japanese army crossed the Yalu River, repelled the Russian army's 25,000-strong interceptor force, and occupied Jiuliancheng and Phoenix, ensuring that the subsequent troops entering Manchuria would enter the depth. On May 4, about 38,000 men of the Japanese Second Army (under the jurisdiction of three divisions) under the command of General Ogongbao landed at Piziwo, 60 miles north of Lushunkou. The next day, the Russian Governor-General of the Far East, Colonel-General Alekseev, fled by train to Mukden. On the 7th, Ogongbao's Second Army moved south to the Isthmus of Jinzhou, completely cutting off the land connection with the outside world after Lushun. Subsequently, Ao Gongbao waved his army to storm Nanshan, and it took nearly 20 days to occupy Jinzhou after paying more than 6,000 casualties, and on the 31st, the Japanese army occupied Dalian.

Subsequently, the Japanese army divided its forces and attacked north with three armies (the first army Kuroki as Zhen, the second army Okugongbao and the fourth army Nozu Michikan) under the command of Marshal Oyamayan, the general department of the Manchurian Army, forcing the Russian army to retreat in the direction of Liaoyang and Haicheng. Leaving General Nogi Noshinori to command the Third Army (60,000 men) to besiege the fortress of Arthur.

On August 24, the Battle of Liaoyang broke out, which ended on September 4. During the ten-day battle, the Japanese Second and Fourth Armies, which were the main frontal attackers, suffered more than 25,000 casualties and consumed 120,000 rounds of artillery shells. The casualties of the Russian army were about 18,000 people, but due to the serious asymmetry in the number of artillery forces (the Russian army only had seven mountain guns, but the Japanese had 200) and the fear that the Japanese First Army placed on the flank would outflank the rear road, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Kuropatkin, took the initiative to abandon Liaoyang and retreat to Mukden. However, it was soon discovered that the Japanese army had also lost its attack power, and the Russian army, which was scheduled to fight the Japanese army to the death in Mukden, crossed the Shahe River in early October and launched a counterattack in an attempt to outflank the Japanese flank.

The commander-in-chief of the Japanese army, Marshal Oyama Iwa, had insight into the intentions of the Russian army and made defensive arrangements in advance. On October 9, the Russians stormed the Guards Reserve Mixed Brigade under the command of Major General Michiharu Umezawa. What is surprising is that this improvised second-rate unit stubbornly withstood the onslaught of the Russian army and thwarted the Russian army's counterattack attempt. Dashanyan immediately ordered the Japanese army to counterattack, and the Battle of Shahe lasted until October 19, when the Japanese army finally stopped the counterattack operation due to lack of ammunition and confronted the Russian army across the river. At this point, the battle of southern Liaoning came to a standstill.

The Japanese turned their attention to the southern front. Concentrate all your reserves and attack the fortress of Arthur.

At this time, Lushunkou was already a rare strong fortress in the world. In order to build this fortress, Russia spent eight years to build an extremely powerful defense system with minefields, power grids, searchlights, and hundreds of pillboxes and batteries. The total strength of the Russian army in the fortress of Arthur is as high as 51,000 people, including 8,000 sailors. It has 646 cannons (350 of which are fortress guns), in addition to more than 60 machine guns. Alekseev, the Russian Governor-General of the Far East, once boasted that even for European armies, it would take at least three years to defeat the Arthur fortress group.

The Japanese army besieging the fortress of Arthur was the Third Army under the command of Nogi Noshinori, with 60,000 troops and 400 cannons, of which 200 were siege artillery. Beginning on August 19, Nogi Noshinori began a general attack on Lushun, which lasted for two months, paying heavy casualties, and the mouth of Lushun still stands. Criticism of Nogi grew louder and louder in Japan, including the founder of the Japanese Army, Tomotomo Yamayama (then chief of staff), who lost confidence in Nogi and suggested that he be replaced. However, Emperor Meiji regarded Nogi Noshinori as "pure and sincere" and trusted him undiminished. For this reason, Nogi was so grateful to the emperor that he even prepared three coffins for himself and his two sons, Nogi Katsunori and Nogi Honori, to be "buried together" to repay the emperor's kindness.

At that time, the Second Pacific Fleet, reinforced from Russia, had already set off, and Nogi knew that the battle situation was critical, so he continued to wave his troops and attack fiercely, taking the 203 Heights, which held the commanding heights of the eastern defense line of Arthur, as the main target, and launched four general attacks successively, adopting the "meat bullet attack" method of daring to the death, and advancing forward regardless of the huge casualties. Finally, under the bombardment of 280mm giant siege mortars urgently brought from China, the forts, fortifications, barbed wire and trenches of 203 Heights were almost all razed to the ground, and by December 6, 1904, after paying a huge number of 17,000 casualties, including 259 generals and junior officers (including Nogi Noshinori's two sons), 203 Heights finally fell into the hands of the Japanese.

The Japanese army immediately set up an artillery observation post on Heights 203 and directed heavy artillery to bombard the Russian fleet in the port. On 6 December, the Russian battleships "Poltava" and "Retvizan" were sunk, and on 7 December, the battleships "Victory" and the cruiser "Homo sapiens" were sunk. The Russian brigade was on the verge of annihilation.

On the 15th, the brave and prestigious Russian commander Major General Roman was killed in the East Jiguanshan Battery. He was replaced by the incompetent Major General Fokk, and the Russian army began to lose its morale. It was delayed until January 1, 1905, and the Russian army sent a military envoy to submit a surrender letter to Nogi Noshinori. The fortress of Arthur has finally fallen.

The fall of the fortress of Arthur caused an unprecedented violent reaction in Russia. The people from all walks of life were extremely dissatisfied with the defeat in the war, and the revolutionary factors brewing were further heightened. The Russians never imagined that the mood at home was caused by a Japanese spy named Akashi Motojiro. Akashi Motojiro took 1 million yen from the military department and went deep into Petersburg and other places to carry out espionage activities, effectively coping with the Manchurian battlefield. (To be continued......)