In the early morning of October 2, 1903, the general flagship of the Combined Fleet "Ruixiang".

The sound tube of the command station kept coming from the news of the various battle positions.

"The bow is broken!"

"Anchor chain compartment flooded!"

"The first sailor's cabin is flooded!"

"The ammunition compartment of the A turret is closed!"

"The ammunition compartment of the B turret is sealed!"

"Engine shutdown complete!"

"The ship's hull tilts to the right three times!"

"The first damage management team is in position!"

"The Mobile Damage Management Team enters the responsibility area of the First Damage Management Team!"

"The third damage management team is on the move!"

"Port side water filling is in progress."

"The first filling of the port side is complete!"

"Stop leaning to the right, prepare for the second filling on the port side!"

"Port side water filling in progress ......"

Vice Admiral Lin Taizeng, commander of the Combined Fleet, held on to the railing of the command platform that was crooked to the side, and sighed softly: "It's really dangerous. ”

Rear Admiral Sa Zhenbing, chief of staff of the fleet next to him, pulled the railing with one hand and held the telescope with the other, and said silently: "The enemy ship is sinking, and I think the other party is deliberately leading our troops into the minefield, what an amazing suicidal tactic...... If this mine had exploded next to the ammunition depot, we would have been reduced to powder. ”

Lin Tai once nodded: "It's really amazing, but the protection of the flagship itself is also the key, the underwater honeycomb protection partition and the improved cabin watertight separation system were originally set up to resist mine and torpedo attacks, and now it should be said that the requirements of the design have been verified." If the lightning is an electric or cloud number, I am afraid there will be no such good results. ”

At this time, the hull began to gradually flatten, and the secondary water injection on the port side showed an effect, and by the time the hull was completely changed, about a thousand tons of seawater had been swallowed into the ship.

"The battle is over, evacuate."

Sa Zhenbing let go of the railing, stood steadily on the command platform and said.

Lin Tai had looked at the dark sky and sea, and the dim lights around him muffled his expression.

"I don't think the enemy will stop there, so I'll let this ship go to Sasebo to repair it, I'm going to the Rigi, I always feel that tonight's results are more than that, what do you think?"

Sa Zhenbing raised his binoculars: "Listen to Your Excellency's orders." ”

Lin Tai once snapped his fingers: "Adjutant Ye, give the order." ”

"Yes!"

Lin Taizeng's adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Ye Fei, responded in a loud voice.

"The Fleet Commander will transfer to the battleship Rigi and order the expulsion of the remnants of the 1st Sentai to escort the damaged Mizusho to the Sasebo Military Port for urgent repairs, and if the Ruisho is to be overhauled, its captain may, after notifying the commander, lead the expulsion of the 1st Sentai to Yokosuka Military Port. Torpedo Squadron 5 shall immediately commence minesweeping operations to open a safe route for the fleet to withdraw, and the remaining ships shall remain in place until a new order is received from the commander-in-chief. ”

After issuing the order, Lin Tai and his staff team were transferred to the "Ruixiang's" sister ship, the "Ruixiang", which had the same facilities as the "Ruixiang", and was immediately able to perform the flagship function as only with sufficient personnel.

At about 3 o'clock in the morning, the flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet, "Petropavlovsk".

Vice Admiral Makarov, commander of the Pacific Fleet, stood on the command platform of the battleship, combing his long thick beard with a small comb with goat's horns.

The sky was thick with clouds, and there was not a trace of starlight or moonlight, and visibility on the sea was low, but you could still see five fingers when you reached out.

After the "Petropavlovsk", where Vice Admiral Makarov was in charge, it was followed by the armored battleships "Sevastopol", "Dawn" and "Victory", and the cruisers "Novik" and "Hercules" each led three destroyers to protect the battleship column.

The chief of staff of the detachment, Wittgeft, stepped into Makarov's ear and whispered: "Your Excellency, it has been half an hour since I lost contact with the Rurik, and I think the ship has been destroyed by the enemy......"

Makarov shook his head, his eyes filled with a terrifying murderous aura: "I can't lose the Rulik, I can't lose anything, I'd rather let the fleet and the enemy die at sea than leave them all in the harbor and let the enemy's airship blow up!" ”

Wertgeft was taken aback, and at some point his commander had become so impulsive, impatient, and extreme.

During the six months that Makarov was the commander of the Pacific Fleet, he left the impression on his subordinates that he was basically positive and wise, enthusiastic and calm.

Perhaps it was the bombardment of the Chinese army that destroyed the commander's will.

Wittgeft thought, feeling as if his will was being eroded by something.

"Shadow of the ship found in front of port side!"

The observer at the command stand shouted, and Wittgeft shuddered, and for a moment thought he was no longer alive.

Makarov was extremely excited, he slapped the railing of the command platform heavily, raised his hand and ordered: "Maximum speed, prepare for artillery battle!" ”

Wittgeft's lips trembled, and he whispered, "Your Excellency, there may be an enemy minefield near here......"

Makarov roared angrily: "There may be enemy minefields everywhere, in this case, we should never sail, all trapped in the harbor and slaughtered by Chinese aircraft!" ”

"Preliminary confirmation that there are five enemy armored ships, four second-class cruisers, and six destroyers."

The observer had just sent out his report when suddenly several strong searchlight beams came in, shaking Makarov's eyes.

"Attention of the whole ship, concentrate on irradiating and attacking the enemy flagship!"

Makarov cried out covering his eyes.

The large-caliber searchlights on the "Petropavlovsk" were the first to open and shine directly on the Chinese battleship "Rigi" 1,000 yards away, and the two twin 305-mm main guns of the "Petropavlovsk" and the three twin 305-mm main guns of the "St. Regis" opened fire almost simultaneously, and the dazzling flash of the muzzles clearly reflected the majestic posture of the warships of the two sides. The human beings who participated in the war were all boiling with blood, and when the blood boiled out, then the brains boiled, and when the brains boiled, the nerves boiled, and the collective blindness, the collective hallucinations, and the collective madness. At three o'clock in the middle of the night, at a distance of less than 1,000 yards, people carrying hundreds of thousands of tons of steel killed each other with shells ranging from 1 kilogram to 400 kilograms, hundreds of megawatts of electric light swept across the sea, and the flashes of hundreds of cannons came and went.

At such a close distance, the heavy armor of both sides became meaningless, and the main guns of both sides could easily penetrate the armor of the opposing battleship at this distance, and the number of main guns and the high probability of hitting determined the outcome of the battle.

The Russian battleships "Petropavlovsk" and "Sevastopol" were each armed with 4 305-mm guns, and "Dawn" and "Victory" were each equipped with 4 254-mm guns, for a total of 8 305-mm guns and 8 254-mm guns.

The Chinese battleship "St. Regis" is equipped with 6 305-mm guns, and "Feidian", "Zhendian", "Thunderbolt", and "Yundian" are each equipped with 4 305-mm guns, for a total of 22 305-mm guns.

Less than five minutes after the battleship columns of the two sides began to fight, the Chinese armored cruiser column suddenly appeared behind its own battleship column, including "Suzhou", "Hangzhou", "Blowing Clouds", "Caiyun", "Baiyun", and "Xiangyun", a total of six, each of which was equipped with four 305-mm main guns, so that the ratio of large-caliber main guns on both sides became 46 to 16, and the combat rate of fire of the Chinese army's main guns was twice that of the Russian side.

Vice Admiral Lin Taizeng was well aware of these figures, marveling at the strong will of the Russians to fight, and at the same time secretly rejoicing that he had the opportunity to annihilate the main force of the enemy fleet outside the harbor.

To the senior generals of the Imperial Chinese Navy, everything in the Russian Imperial Navy was not a secret, and all kinds of information that was difficult to obtain by manpower magically appeared in the confidential document rooms of the Intelligence Office of the General Staff and the Intelligence Department of the Naval Command, detailing the design plan of each Russian capital ship, and the food and slang of the Russian sailors, which made people think that "every institution of the Russian Navy has a door leading directly to the Intelligence Department of the General Staff of China."

Makarov was a wise general, but also a fierce general, full of belligerent elements in his heart, he was not afraid of sacrifice, he was hungry for honor, all his wisdom was only an appendage of his passion, and he would never tolerate a future trapped in the harbor like a caged bird. Makarov lost patience with the non-stop air raids on Vladivostok by the Chinese army, and every large warship of the Pacific Fleet was scarred, the port facilities were heavily damaged by the Chinese bombs, and the repair of the warships could not be carried out normally.

But that night's impulse was so inexplicable that he pulled out all the remaining available forces to fight a duel with the superior enemy in order to rescue a besieged cruiser, which made one wonder about Makarov's mental state at that time, after all, no admiral had to watch the enemy in the sky bombard his fleet every day with almost no threat and he could not do anything about it.

"Order, 02, 03, 04 concentrated attack on the enemy 01, 04, 05, 06 concentrated attack on the enemy 02......"

Lin Tai was shouting an order from the command platform of the "St. Regis" when a 152-mm shell exploded under the command platform, and the strong vibration shook everyone on the command platform.

Lin Taizeng grabbed the railing and stood up and continued to give orders, but Adjutant Ye Fei begged him to leave the command platform, but he ignored it. Within five minutes of the start of the battle, four officers and men had been lifted from their positions on the command platform of the "St. Regis," their blood and brains still on the railings and floor, clearly visible under the reflection of the enemy's searchlights.

Sa Zhenbing also came to beg Lin Taizeng to evacuate and temporarily avoid the enemy's intensive artillery fire in the armored main artillery command post, but Lin Taizeng replied casually: "I browsed Chinese and foreign history books, and I have never heard of the fact that you can win a naval battle by hiding in the cabin, my battle position is here, whoever wants to drive me away, I will drive him away first!" ”

※※※

Sa Zhenbing was speechless, and had to accompany the commander to stand on the command platform in the rain of bullets, fortunately, from beginning to end, none of the Russian shells hit the command platform, and after a fierce battle, the commander and the chief of staff were safe and sound.

The Russians were not so lucky, the flagship "Petropavlovsk" was fired at by three Chinese battleships, the two main guns were ineffective, and then the chimney was destroyed, and the gray and black soot covered half of the ship's hull, and the fire jumped and rose in front of the superstructure, sweeping towards the command platform.

A piece of shrapnel passed through Makarov's shoulder, and the pain brought him to his senses.

"Herald! The armored ship column turned right and broke away! The destroyer column turned left and rushed to the enemy ships to cover the retreat of the main forces! ”

The signal flag hung the mast, the signal lights flashed, the radio also sent a telegram, and before the whole fleet began to act according to the command, the "Petropavlovsk" received at least eight or nine more large-caliber shells.

The Russian destroyers drove at full speed, passed through the columns of their own armored ships, and headed straight for the Chinese capital ship group, releasing more than a dozen torpedoes at a distance of one or two thousand yards, forcing the Chinese battleships to turn around to evade, and the Russian battleships took the opportunity to flee at full speed towards the harbor.

Of course, the destroyers of the Chinese army were not idle, and the six destroyers of the Fifth Sentai passed through the column of their own battleships, rushed towards the Russian destroyers, and attacked the enemy ships with torpedoes and artillery; among them, the torpedoes fired by the "Ningyue" sank the Russian destroyer "Proud," and the "Qingyue" and "Lingyue" sank the Russian ships "Positive" and "Lili" with accurate main gun fire. The remaining three Russian destroyers were at full speed and pursued in the direction of their capital ships, but the Chinese destroyers clung to the rear, and the Chinese warships and patrol columns pursued closely according to the fire on the Russian battleships.

"Quick, organize people to put out the fire! The light of the fire will draw enemies in! ”

Makarov roared, grumpy, weak, powerless.

He lowered his head, put his hands on his head, and whispered ghostly, "What am I doing?" What did I do? God, are we really hopeless? Where is the hope? Is hope a bubble? O God, please tell me, am I mad or dead, if I am mad, please let me die, if I die, please let me see you, please give me instructions, please let me be strong......"

Wittgeft looked at the fragile Makarov with contempt, and although he also felt that he was weak, he still couldn't tolerate his boss becoming so cowardly.

"We prayed, but we ourselves are not real, we are just a bunch of waste, we are helpless, no one is helpless, no one can change, God has driven us crazy, all that remains is to perish, die together, or surrender, it makes no difference, it makes no difference if you lose your body or only your soul. God, you don't forgive anyone......"

The fire on the "Petropavlovsk" was finally extinguished, but the warship was also close to cripple, most of the main guns and the port side were damaged and irreparable, the superstructure was blown to pieces, the broadside armor belt was covered with huge bullet holes, and a few shells penetrated the ammunition compartment of the secondary gun, and then pierced through the other side of the hull - the excessive penetration of the main guns of the Chinese battleships allowed the Russian battleships to survive close combat.

In addition to the flagship, the other three battleships involved in the battle were also seriously damaged, and the "Sevastopol" was also bombarded by three Chinese capital ships, the front main gun was destroyed, the port side secondary gun was completely destroyed, all the masts, chimneys and spare command platforms were destroyed, and the ship's face was a mess, and the flesh and corpses were entangled with twisted steel, which was disgustingly beautiful. There was not much difference between the situation on the "Dawn" and the "Victory", and according to the Russian side after the war, the casualty ratio of the capital ships in this battle was more than 20%.

After the fire on the "Petropavlovsk" was extinguished, the Chinese warships could still vaguely recognize the figure of the Russian warship, but Lin Taizeng on the "Rigi" was relieved when he saw this, and immediately ordered to stop the pursuit and recall his own destroyer fleet.

Adjutant Ye Fei was puzzled: "Your Excellency, Commander, why did you stop the pursuit?" Don't we still see the enemy? Destroy the enemy fleet in one fell swoop and avenge 'Ruixiang'. ”

Lin Taizeng replied leisurely: "The situation ahead is unknown, I don't want to change the flagship twice overnight." ”

Sa Zhenbing also continued: "That's good, the other party has also suffered a big loss, and it shouldn't be easy to come out in the future." ”

Lin Taizeng sighed lowly: "Staying up late is really not good for your health, go and see what kind of supper you can take out in the kitchen." ”

Sa Zhenbing and Ye Fei both expressed 200 percent agreement with this.

The Battle of Peter the Great Bay on 1-2 October came to an end, and the Russians paid a heavy price, sinking the 10,000-ton armored cruiser "Rulik" and the armored battleship "Petropavlovsk" with heavy losses, as well as the loss of six destroyers, 1,195 officers and men killed and missing, and 532 wounded.

The Chinese side lost the destroyers "Feixue" and "Luoxue", and the armored battleship "Ruixiang" was heavily damaged by mines and needed to be docked for repairs for at least three months. A total of 317 officers and men were killed or missing, and 208 were wounded.

Now, all seven armored battleships of the Russian Pacific Fleet are scarred, four of them will not be able to go to sea for at least three months, while the Chinese Navy still has five intact battleships and the same number of armored cruisers, and the latest battleship is on trial voyage and will be able to join the battle sequence by the end of the year, that is, even if the Russians have the opportunity to repair all the battleships in three months, they still have no chance of winning.

The Russians had only one hope, and that was the Second Pacific Fleet, which was transferred from the European part of their country, and the Second Pacific Fleet was expected to be comparable in size to the First Pacific Fleet, which would be enough to achieve numerical superiority over the Chinese navy, but the key question was whether the Chinese would give the Russians the opportunity to let the two fleets meet smoothly. Idiots don't choose "yes".

On the other hand, in the early morning of October 2, four hours after leaving the battlefield, in the second sailor cabin of the "Ruixiang", a group of sailors were excitedly discussing with their fox friends about Tokyo.

A bearded sergeant asked an old sergeant, "Have you ever been to Nihonbashi?" ”

The old sergeant stuck out his tongue: "Nonsense, how can you not go to Nihonbashi if you go to Tokyo." ”

Nihonbashi has been a bustling red-light district since the Edo period, with brothels and beautiful women, making it a great attraction for sailors who have been adrift overseas for many years.

A middle-aged sailor next to him interjected: "It's much livelier there than Nagasaki, not only in terms of the number of women, but also in terms of quality. ”

Another sailor continued: "And no one in Tokyo is going to cut us with a knife." ”

The old sergeant flicked the ashes of his cigarette and said disappreciably: "Nonsense, how many little slaves dare to deal with us now?" ”

The bearded sergeant said: "The events in Nagasaki in the Guangxu era cannot be forgotten." ”

The middle-aged sailor said: "What if you forget? Didn't they make us play well? ”

The bearded sergeant shook his head: "Who knows what to do......"

The "events of the Guangxu era" mentioned by the sailors were the Sino-Japanese Nagasaki Incident that occurred in the twelfth year of Guangxu, that is, in 1886.

The original cause of the incident was a report sent by Yuan Shikai, then Minister of International Trade of Korea, to Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang in July of that year. The report reminded the imperial court that some people in Korea were planning to unite with Russia to defend Britain, and Russia was also coveting Woody Bay outside the Wonsan Pass on the east coast of Korea, that is, Korea, which was then a vassal state of China, was in danger of being interfered by Russia.

Li Hongzhang immediately ordered Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Beiyang Naval Division, and Xi Lang Weili, a German instructor of the Beiyang Naval Division, to lead six warships, "Zhenyuan," "Dingyuan," "Jiyuan," "Weiyuan," "Chaoyong," and "Yangwei," to cruise around Wonsan in Busan, on the east coast of Korea, in order to deter Russia.

On July 21, Ding Ruchang and Luang Weili led a fleet to Wonsan. On 6 August, the fleet sent Wu Dacheng to Vladivostok, leaving the two ships "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei" on standby, while the remaining four ships went to Nagasaki, Japan, for overhaul.

The people of Nagasaki have long been accustomed to European and American warships, but this is the first time that they have seen a giant ironclad ship from China. The pier was crowded with people watching the excitement. Looking at the dragon flag flying high and the majestic giant ship, the citizens mixed complex emotions such as amazement, envy, jealousy, and resentment. These sentiments, along with the militaristic ideology propagated by the Japanese government and opposition for a long time, will eventually lead to a riot.

On August 13, the Chinese sailors went ashore on vacation, wandering, drinking, and prostituting, basically just doing what any sailors of any country would have done when they were on vacation overseas.

According to the English-language Nagasaki Express, a group of drunken Chinese sailors went to a brothel in Nagasaki to have fun, and when they got into a dispute with the brothel — something as trivial as flipping the table and smashing a cup, the brothel owner went to the police station to report it. A Japanese policeman arrived, and the dispute was successfully calmed, but the drunken Chinese sailors refused to give up, and soon six people went to the police station to theorize, very excited, made a big noise, caused a conflict, and immediately stabbed a Japanese policeman, and the sailor who caused the accident was also arrested, and the other sailors fled. As far as the events of that day are concerned, they were not a major event, but the situation was quickly escalated due to the extreme national sentiment on the Japanese side.

On the 15th, the Beiyang Fleet was on holiday, and hundreds of sailors poured into Nagasaki for sightseeing.

※※※

However, in the area around the concession outside Guangmachang and the overseas Chinese residential area, the Chinese sailors were ambushed by the Japanese police, who blocked the streets at both ends and slashed them with knives when they saw them. Local residents were also instigated, pouring hot water from the upper floors, throwing stones, and others carrying knives and sticks in the scuffle. The Chinese sailors were caught off guard, unarmed, and scattered through the streets, and suffered a great loss. As a result of the melee, 5 sailors were killed, 6 were seriously wounded, 38 were slightly wounded, and 5 were missing. One Japanese police officer was killed and 30 wounded, in addition to many citizens were injured.

The two sides began negotiations through diplomatic and judicial channels, but it was not until February of the following year that an agreement was reached, saying that the conflict was a misunderstanding between the two sides due to a language barrier, and that there was no accountability and right and wrong, and that the dead and wounded were each given 6,000 yuan for each of the officers and policemen, and 4,500 yuan for the sailors and policemen. Sailors who are disabled due to injuries are 2,500 yuan per person. A total of 52,500 yuan was paid by the Japanese side and 15,500 yuan by the Chinese side. In addition, the medical aid fee of Nagasaki Hospital is 2,700 yuan, which is paid by the Japanese side.

The "Nagasaki Incident" reflected the sentiment of the Japanese people, and since then, "we must win the battle against 'Dingyuan,'" has become a popular phrase among Japanese naval personnel. Even elementary school children's games divide children into two groups, one group dressed up as the Chinese fleet and the other group dressed up as the Japanese fleet, and engaged in battle games to capture "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan".

However, eight years later, the Beiyang Fleet was equipped with two ironclad giant ships, "Longwei" and "Fengxiang", which were more powerful than "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan". Later, after the "Rebellion War", Japan turned into an ally of China and began to "serve the strong around it" and deal with the European and American powers together. The question of whether Japan could continue to exist as an ally of China was not in the minds of the vast majority of people at that time, and the fact now is that Japan is fighting against the mighty Russia as a close ally of China, and that is enough, and whether China wants to firmly control everything in Japan should not be considered by normal people at all. The cost of "controlling everything" in a medium-sized country with a level of modernization similar to that of its own, or even more advanced in some respects, is likely to be far greater than the benefits that can be obtained. Slavery can only lead to hatred and resistance, and it can lead to external interference, and it is better for a wise statesman not to make such a decision lightly and hot-headed until he has the confidence to destroy all resistance and interference.

The sun leaps out of the sea level from the port side of the Mizusho, and the Rising Suncountry, south of the Sea of Japan, is waiting for a huge warship to serve this sunset country.

At the same time that the armored ships of the two sides were fighting desperately outside the port of Vladivostok, in order to coordinate the operation of the Russian troops in the area from Shuangchengzi to Vladivostok, the East Asian coalition forces specially formed the Vladivostok Army Group, with its headquarters temporarily located in Dongning, located on the south bank of the upper reaches of the Suifen River, with General Ma Chengwu, former director of the Equipment Division of the General Staff of the Chinese Army, as commander, Lieutenant General Zhao Minhe, former chief of staff of the Third Army, as chief of staff, and Lieutenant General Yuan Shikai as adviser and liaison officer.

Vladivostok Army Group under its jurisdiction: *Chinese Third Army: Commander Lieutenant General Chen Xingyun, Chief of Staff Major General Zheng Hong; It has jurisdiction over the 11th Infantry Division, the 13th Infantry Division, the 5th Cavalry Brigade, the 4th Independent Artillery Brigade, and the 34th Reserve Infantry Division; * First Korean Army: Commander General Kim Yong-nyeong, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Roh Sung-bo; It has jurisdiction over the Korean Praetorian Guard Division, the 1st Korean Infantry Division, the 2nd Korean Infantry Division, the 6th Korean Reserve Infantry Division, the 1st Korean Cavalry Brigade, and the 1st Korean Mixed Artillery Brigade; * Japan's Provisional First Army: Commander Kuroki is Admiral Zhen, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Kiyota Shoe; It has jurisdiction over the Japanese 2nd Division, the 10th Japanese Reserve Division, and the 2nd Japanese Mixed Artillery Brigade; At this time, the group army had five standing infantry divisions, three reserve infantry divisions, three artillery brigades, and one cavalry brigade, together with the service units attached to the army and the group army, which should have 322,000 men according to its establishment.

The first important task facing the headquarters of the army group after its formation was to capture the fortress of Shuangchengzi in order to open the passage to the fortress of Vladivostok.

Previously, in the Battle of Novoshakhtinsky-Shuangchengzi on October 20-21 (see Chapter 73), the Third Army of the Chinese Army was hit by the Russian side's serial strategy, suffered a heavy blow, and the offensive plan was completely disrupted, and in the next ten days, the Third Army of the Chinese Army and the First Army of the DPRK put pressure on the entire line of the Russian army, approached the Shuangchengzi fortress from three directions, and captured and consolidated the starting position of the general offensive, and the original plan was to launch a general offensive on October 2, due to the formation of the group army headquarters, it was necessary to coordinate personnel changes, The general assault was postponed to 4 October.

Ma Chengwu, commander of the group army, is Liu Yun's old descendant and has unique views on the use of military equipment, and has always advocated "striving to bring the effectiveness of existing weapons and equipment into full play through appropriate use." Liu Yun's dispatch of him here from the General Staff Department shows that the base camp attaches great importance to Vladivostok.

Before leaving, Ma Chengwu received a special instruction from Liu Yun: "Annihilate the enemy's vital force as much as possible outside the Vladivostok fortress...... That, after all, is the most powerful fortress in the Far East. ”

In this regard, Ma Chengwu replied with his usual smiling expression: "I will naturally do my best." ”

Ma Chengwu was Chinese New Year's Eve and eighteen years old, and his chubby round face was often full of smiles, but this did not mean that he was always immersed in happiness, even when he lost his temper with others, he would smile - about a mocking or contemptuous smile, for him, there were many kinds of laughter, and all kinds of smiles constituted his main expression elements, so it was no way to be named "Smiling Tiger".

At this time, this "smiling tiger" was sitting in the office of the commander of the group army in Dongning, listening to the report of Lieutenant General Zhao Minhe, chief of staff.

Zhao Minhe was originally the chief of staff of the Third Army, but he was wounded on the front line in the operation of Shuangchengzi on October 21, and it was rumored that he was at odds with Chen Xingyun, the commander of the Third Army, and this time he was promoted to chief of staff of the group army and became Chen Xingyun's boss, and I don't know what Chen Xingyun would think.

Ma Chengwu was not interested in the above things, he just wanted to try his best to complete the task assigned by Liu Yun, and then hurry home to enjoy life - how beautiful life is, and how stupid it is to add trouble to himself for no reason.

"To the north of the fortress, here, the 13th Division has entered the position, the departure position in the northwest of the fortress is arranged with the 11th Division, the 1st Korean Division is in the position west of the fortress, this is it, the 2nd Korean Division is in the southwest of the fortress, and the Korean Guards Division is in the south of the fortress......"

Zhao Minhe held a bamboo stick in his right hand and pointed at the large map spread out on his desk, although the bullet on his left shoulder had been removed, the wound had not healed immediately, and there would be labor pains from time to time, but compared to the joy and satisfaction of being promoted to the commander of the group army, the physical pain was insignificant at all.

Ma Chengwu raised his head with a smile: "Chief of Staff Zhao, I understand all of the above, before I ask you more questions, I want to know Lu Dao, do you have any questions for me?" ”

Zhao Minhe was stunned: "This ......"

Ma Chengwu's smile seems to be very simple, so simple that people can't help but have scruples.

"For example, the base camp's views on certain issues between you and Commander Chen."

Ma Chengwu reminded.

Zhao Minhe immediately put down the bamboo stick, put his feet together, and resolutely responded: "Please rest assured, commander, there is no problem between me and Commander Chen that hinders the battle situation......

"That's not the case, Wu Weigong is also very concerned about this matter...... Don't mind, I'm just communicating Basecamp's concerns. ”

Zhao Minhe secretly swallowed his saliva, and pressed his hands to the seam of his trousers: "Don't dare...... I would like to inform the commander that there was indeed a small misunderstanding between me and Commander Chen, and although it was not completely resolved, it should not affect the situation of the war. ”

"You're sure."

"I dare to guarantee it with honor and character."

Ma Chengwu hugged his hands on the table, the corners of his mouth pursed up, so the smile was slightly mocking, and a gentle but sharp voice spit out from his small mouth: "That's good, but you really don't have any problems?" ”

Zhao Minhe originally only wanted to stop here, but he didn't know why, he suddenly thought of asking something, something that he had never been able to understand for him.

"Actually, I've always had a question, I don't know who to ask for it, and I don't know whether I should raise it or not."

Ma Chengwu blinked his eyes and rubbed his finger on his chin: "This is very interesting, but I think you already know who to propose it to." ”

Zhao Minhe nodded slightly.

"Then say it, as long as I have the ability to answer."

Zhao Minhe hesitated, bit his lip, and asked as gently as possible: "It is said that the commander was once a close entourage of Duke Wu Wei, and the commander knows what the origin of Duke Wu Wei is?" ”

The corners of Ma Chengwu's eyes twitched, and his smile turned into a complete mockery: "Do you want to know the way? ”

"Well, it's just curiosity."

Ma Chengwu stood up, walked to Zhao Minhe's side, grabbed his shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and said softly: "If you want to know about this kind of thing, first prepare the coffin of the whole family." ”

Zhao Minhe's eyes suddenly widened.

"How? You ready? ”

Zhao Minhe licked his lips, his face turned slightly pale, and he responded in a soft voice: "This, commander, my lord, I'm joking." ”

Ma Chengwu laughed and patted Zhao Minhe on the shoulder: "Don't be too nervous, it's really just a joke, I hate the dull atmosphere the most - you take it seriously." ”

"Ah, where, how can it be, Lord Commander, it's funny."

Zhao Minhe barely held back some smiles, and slapped a few haha

"These people are really problematic."

Zhao Minhe thought and took the opportunity to do a few more times.

So the first question Zhao Minhe asked the commander ended here, stagnating, stranded, and rotting. Zhao Minhe didn't get an answer, but he had received a response that was more important than an answer, and he seemed to confirm what he suspected, although he didn't know what the purpose of his senseless suspicion was.

After all, there is still an essential difference between human and machine parts.