September 9, 1903, Manchuria.

As early as a few decades ago, it was an important border trading city where business travelers gathered, with the steppe of Outer Mongolia in the east, Hulun Lake injected into the Krulun Lake in the south, the Erguna River formed by the confluence of the Krulun River and the Hailar River in the east, and the Russian border in the north, the situation was very critical. In view of the growing tension between China and Russia, in 1896, the Wenyi cabinet ordered the army to build a military fortress in Manchuria, the first phase of the fortress project officially started in 1897 and was completed in 1901, with 6 main fortresses, 10 batteries and a number of permanent support points, breastwork, trenches and other facilities, a garrison of 9,000 people, 18 field guns, 109 fortress guns, and 76 machine guns. The second phase of the fortification, which began in 1902 and has not yet been completed, was mainly the construction of large barracks and military warehouses on the outskirts of Manchuria, with an eye to providing garrison and logistical support for the large number of infantry divisions or more - that is, the second phase of the fort was focused on offense rather than defense.

After entering September, the headquarters of the First Field Army of the Chinese Empire was set up in the fortress of Manchuria.

The composition of the 1st Field Army was as follows:

Commander Lieutenant General Zhao Feixue, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Qin Feiye (note that this person has the same name as the naval pilot who drove the airship for Liu Yun in Chapter 48);

Jurisdiction

1st Infantry Division (34,000 men),

3rd Infantry Division (34,000 men),

1st Cavalry Brigade (6,500 men),

2nd Cavalry Brigade (6,500 men),

1st Separate Artillery Brigade (4,500 men),

Reserve 25th Infantry Division (34,000 men),

Reserve 27th Infantry Division (34,000 men);

There are 4 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades and 1 artillery brigade, totaling about 150,000 people (excluding porters and coachmen).

Deployment area - the line from Mohe to the southwest to Manchuria;

Its main combat mission was to cover the left flank of the Janissary Field Army and advance towards Chita in order to prevent the Russian army from supporting its troops south and east of the Trans-Khingan Mountains.

On September 9, the deployment of the 1st Field Army was as follows:

The 1st Infantry Division, which was deployed in front of the fortress of Manchuria, was to cross the border as the main attacking force and outflank the city of Krasnokamensk, a Russian concentration 60 kilometers west of the Ergun River.

The 7th and 8th Brigades of the 3rd Infantry Division were deployed on the right flank of the 1st Infantry Division, in the area of Montenegro on the right bank of the Ergun River, and were to roll from west to east towards the city of Krasnokamensk, and flank the Russian army with the 1st Division.

The 9th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, together with the 1st Cavalry Brigade, will control the area on the right bank of the Ergun River from the head of Montenegro to the Mohe River to prevent the Russian army from crossing the river and invading.

The Reserve 25th Infantry Division was assembled behind the 1st Infantry Division, and the Reserve 27th Infantry Division was assembled behind the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The 4th Cavalry Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade deployed in front of the 1st Infantry Division as the advance guard, while the rest of the forces were grouped in Manchuria as a reserve.

The main force of the 1st Artillery Brigade was assembled in Manchuria to support the 1st Infantry Division nearby, while some artillery companies were reinforced and deployed to brigade and regimental units of the 3rd Infantry Division.

On this day, there were dark clouds and winds over Manchuria, and it was a good weather for home travel and killing people (it seems to be a bit -).

On the lookout platform of the fortress with the word "Yong" in the fortress of Manchuria, facing the cool north wind, one, no, two, wearing navy blue woolen uniforms, wearing large black brims, golden dragon emblem military hats, with one and two large six-pointed star medals on their shoulders, and holding black binoculars, are carefully watching in the direction of the wind.

A cool man with a star on his shoulder, thick eyebrows, big ears, and an angular face said: "The 4th Cavalry Regiment has moved. ”

With two stars on his shoulders, a handsome man with a high nose and broad shoulders, bright eyes and bright teeth responded: "I saw it." ”

"The first stop is Zabaikalsk, a small village, and it's too easy to erase it...... Then there was Dauria, the larger village, where our merchant said there was a great tavern, which might have to be erased...... Next is Haranor, the village, still the village, in the savannah, which should be undefensible, and further north is Borja, a lovely town, a lot of girls, that intelligence officer only knows how to play with girls - just take Borja, Krasnokamenzi...... Sk - the Russian name is the pass - then that Krasnokamensk is completely cut off, if the Russian troops defending there are going to fight to the death, then our two main divisions will work together to complete them......"

"Generally speaking, that Krasnokamensk is the first stop, and the third army of the other side is defending from this, and the second stop should be in the area from Sherlova to Oloviyan, where the terrain is suitable for organizing a line of defense with flank support, but there must be enough troops...... Therefore, we must fight a war of annihilation, destroying as many of the enemy's vital forces as possible, so that it is impossible to organize a second effective line of defense......"

"It's Sherlovayagora and Oloviyanaya, right?"

"It's too long, Koukou."

"Each other, each other."

The cool man said, put down the binoculars, put his hand on his shoulder, and the adjutant behind him immediately handed over a 1 to 2 million war zone map, the map was very large, and the cool man had to unfold half of the map in front of the handsome man with two stars on his shoulder.

The two of them each took a magnifying glass from the adjutant and studied it carefully.

The official name of the cool man is naturally not called the cool man, his surname is Qin name Feiye, the character Haolan, directly subordinate to Baoding, is Chinese New Year's Eve 66 years old, born in the short-term 93rd class of the Lu University, at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, he served as a cavalry company commander of the Janissary Fat Cavalry Brigade, participated in the Second Neutralization Campaign, the Suikang Pingan Campaign, the Seoul Campaign, etc., and was promoted to cavalry battalion commander after the Seoul Campaign. On May 17, 1896, under the command of Xiang Lan, then the commander of the Praetorian Guard Fat Cavalry Brigade, Qin Feiye was directly ordered by Liu Yun to lead his headquarters to rush into the military street outside the Desheng Gate, besiege the mansion of Lieutenant General Ding Jieyun, the commander of the Praetorian Guard at that time, defeated Ding's guards, arrested Ding Jieyun and escorted him to Babaoshan Military Prison. Lieutenant General Wang Zhen, commander of the Third Praetorian Guard Division, Lieutenant General Du Zhuolin, director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff Department, and Major General Chen Jiayun, commander of the Janissary Teaching Brigade, were arrested by the Praetorian Guards Brigade on the same day. Qin Feiye was immediately promoted to the commander of the First Chest Cavalry Regiment of the Praetorian Guards because of his meritorious service in counterinsurgency, and soon entered the middle class of the Army University for retraining, and after graduation, he was appointed as the commander of the Guard Fat Cavalry Brigade, and continued to serve as the deputy director of the cavalry of the National Defense Army, the deputy chief of staff of the Zhili Military Region, and the chief of staff of the Outer Mongolia Special Military Region, and in August 1903, he became the chief of staff of the First Field Army.

As for the handsome man, surnamed Zhao Feixue, the character Mingde, a native of Datong, Shanxi, is Chinese New Year's Eve and eight-year-old, born in martial arts, and served as a horse battalion officer under Tianjin General Soldier Nie Shicheng, and was later accepted by Liu Yun's new army and entered the short-term 91st cavalry specialty of Lu University for training. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, he was the commander of the Second Cavalry Brigade, because the brigade was left behind as a reserve around the Beijing Division, and failed to participate in the war, in 1896, he entered the middle class of the Lu University for retraining, and after graduation, he served as the deputy director and director of the cavalry of the National Defense Army, the chief of staff of the Outer Mongolia Special Military Region, the deputy commander of the Northwest Military Region, and the deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region.

The 1st Field Army, under the command of these two generals, was to advance from west to east towards Chita, cutting off the Russian hinterland from the Far Eastern governorates and blocking Russian reinforcements from the Far East, the latter task to be carried out with the support of its own reinforcements.

As of September 8, the 1st Field Army's immediate enemies (referring to all Russian troops east of Lake Baikal and west of the Ergun River) include:

* 2nd Russian Siberian Army, commander Lieutenant General Billy Gerlinger.

Subordinate

Directly subordinate to the 7th Trans-Baikal Cossack Brigade,

Third Siberian Army,

Fourth Siberian Army,

Successive years of Kampf cavalry group (50 cavalry companies),

Trans-Baikal 1st Artillery Group (10 artillery batteries);

There were 72 infantry battalions, 50 cavalry companies, 116,000 men, 326 field guns and 92 machine guns.

* Russian Chita Fortress Garrison: about 15,000 people, 32 field guns and 125 fortress guns, 20 machine guns.

* Border guards of the Trans-Baikal Military District: about 9,000 people, 32 field guns.

* Garrison of the Russian-Ulan-Ude fortress: about 10,000 people, 16 field guns and 90 fortress guns, 16 machine guns.

* Third Russian Siberian Army, commander Lieutenant General Grypinberg.

Subordinate

Directly subordinate to the 5th Trans-Baikal Cossack Brigade (7000 people), the rest of the troops have not yet been put in place.

The above Russian army has a total of 157,000 men, which is more numerical than the First Field Army of the Chinese Army, but the above-mentioned Russian troops are scattered on a broad front from Lake Baikal to the Ergun River, and its right flank is oppressed by the Chinese Janissary Field Army, and the left flank is attacked and harassed by the Outer Mongolian Front of the Chinese Army, and the only force really deployed on the front of the First Field Army is the Third Siberian Army, about 48,000 people, which is centered on the town of Krasnokamensk, 80 kilometers north of Manchuria and 70 kilometers west of Montenegro. The best route for the movement of the 1st Field Army of the Chinese Army to Chita was closed.

General Zhao Feixue wrote in his memoirs: "...... From Manchuria to Chita, it is better to advance along the route of Borja, Sherlovagoa, Oloviyanaya, Karymskoye, and Novokrudchinsky, because the terrain on this route is relatively flat, the rivers are less obstructed, the road conditions are good, it is convenient for backup and supply, and the towns along the road are rich, so that the troops can eat on the spot...... Although the General Staff had strictly ordered the troops participating in the battle not to harass the local population, the vanguard of the First Army invariably looted food and firewood as they passed through these towns...... Because...... The divisions of the First Army advanced too fast between 9 September and 15 September, allowing for a ...... of supplies Quite nervous......"

As Zhao Feixue said in his memoirs, the advance speed of the First Field Army in the early stage of the war was indeed much faster than that of the other three front-line field armies of the Northeast Front, mainly because the Russian army did not build a strong fortress defense line in front of the First Field Army, and the Chita Fortress and the Ulan-Ude Fortress were two or three hundred kilometers away from the border. It was expected to be supported by the growing Siberian Third Army, which was massing to the Far East via the Trans-Siberian Railway, with at least two fully equipped infantry regiments arriving or passing through Chita every day since 7 September, a number that doubled in the two weeks following the outbreak of the war.

In any case, the 1st Field Army was indeed smooth sailing in the early stages of the operation, and of course this was relatively - relative to several other field armies of the Northeast Front.

On 9 September, the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, as the vanguard of the whole army, spread out in front of the 1st Infantry Division, first crossing the border, destroying several Russian outposts, and then advancing towards the village of Zabaikalsk, 15 kilometers northwest of Manchuria.

The autumn breeze rises, the coolness is shallow, and the yellowish grassland is scattered with withering wildflowers, the petals gradually disperse, and the branches are withering. The sky was dark, the gray clouds were low, and the dark green pine forests were like pieces of malachite embedded in the yellow carpet, dimming around the grasslands and standing solemnly on both sides of the riverbank.

The shallow water can be without horseshoe, and the river meanders out of the depths of the woods, carrying the yellow water muddled by the horses' hooves, to the depths of the grassland.

A cyan uniform, a gray cape, a green military hat inlaid with a golden dragon emblem, a calfskin sabre with a copper sheath hanging from the waist, a one-handed loaded short-barreled rifle hanging diagonally behind the back, a cartridge box tied to the belt, a water bottle and a bag of dry food tied to the saddle, a blanket and raincoat tied behind the saddle, and a war horse specially bred by the military horse farm - these are the standard equipment of an Imperial Wehrmacht cavalryman on the battlefield.

One man, one horse, one horse, ten horses, one hundred horses, within ten minutes, thousands of cavalry in four columns crossed a small river in front of the road, and disappeared behind a forest in a blink of an eye, leaving only the bank of the river trampled into mud and a line of muddy water.

Lieutenant Colonel Liu Yangbo, commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, is a tall man in his early thirties, with a Chinese face, rosacea, a wide forehead and high eyebrows, high cheekbones, a thick beard covering his cheeks, hair like needles, eyes like copper bells, and ears like Buddha, and he is known for his fierceness. During the First Sino-Japanese War, he served in the cavalry regiment directly under the Second Janissary Division, and in the first neutralization campaign, he entered Nogi Noshinori's Meiji Loyal Team with the team and slashed and slashed, taking six heads and eight left arms, and was promoted to corporal for merit; During the Battle of Sekigahara, under the command of Xiang Lan's mixed first cavalry brigade, he broke through from behind the enemy's Sekigahara city street position with the team, contributing to the general collapse of the enemy's second division. At this time, Liu Yangbo was lightly raising the reins and walking side by side with Major Luo Jianqiu, the chief staff officer of the regiment headquarters, and four or five hundred meters in front of them, a company of the First Cavalry Battalion was spreading out into an evasive horizontal column to search and advance.

"Staff Officer Luo, let's go to the battlefield for the first time."

Liu Yangbo looked at the sparse horse's butt in front of him, said to Luo Jianqiu, and subconsciously pressed the saber with a shark skin and silver sheath on his waist.

"Yes, Xia Guan was born a few years later, and it is a pity that he missed the First Sino-Japanese War."

Luo Jianqiu said, looking left and right, observing the surrounding terrain.

"People always have the first time, right, I think when I first went to the battlefield, I was a little cowardly, and I always refused to rush to the front, and then I finally figured it out, whether you want to die or not, if you accidentally come over, everyone has to die, rather than die behind people, it is better to die in front of people, simply rush to the front, kill a few more enemies, kill one is enough, kill two and earn, kill three if you die, you should be blinded...... Lao Tzu cut off six heads in neutralization......"

"The head of the regiment is right......"

Luo Jianqiu nodded frequently, not taking Liu Yangbo's words to heart, he thought that the duty of the staff officer was not to listen carefully to things that had nothing to do with the operation, he was checking the terrain to confirm whether the troops were moving according to the route in the plan.

A short burst of gunfire interrupted Liu Yangbo's nostalgic speech, and Liu Yangbo hurriedly raised his right hand and ordered: "All stop advancing!" ”

"All stop moving!"

A series of identical orders were spat out from the mouths of the battalion commanders and company commanders one after another, and the long serpentine cavalry columns froze one after another and froze in place.

The herald of the vanguard company rode his horse and saluted on his horse: "Report to the regimental commander!" A battalion and a company encountered a group of more than 20 Russian cavalrymen, and after the enemy opened fire, they fled behind the forest to the east, and our company commander did not dare to make a decision for fear of the enemy's deception, and asked the regiment commander for instructions. ”

"It's a patrol."

Luo Jianqiu said.

Liu Yangbo nodded, and said to the herald: "Go back and tell your company commander that you can't attack without my order, let him send a small team of people to search in that forest, the main force of the company will continue to advance around the forest, and if it encounters a small group of enemies, it can be driven away by fire." ”

The heralds obeyed.

"After that forest, you can see the village...... Commander, do you want to spread out a company on each flank of the column as a flanker? ”

Luo Jianqiu suggested that he felt that the nearby forests were too dense and suitable for hiding ambushes.

"No need, if the enemy dares to attack from the side, they must be good-looking."

Liu Yangbo's remarks are not unreasonable, the 4th Cavalry Regiment has more than 1,600 people, and its heavy equipment includes 6 57 mm light cavalry field guns and 3 80 mm mortars, 3 heavy machine guns and 6 light machine guns, and its firepower is enough to effectively suppress the Russian cavalry infantry unit of the same size. The battle cavalry in the column could also form a four-row horizontal column by simply turning the horse's head, firing at the opponent with dense and continuous rifle fire or turning into a white-knuckle charge.

On this day, as expected, no Russian army attacked the 4th Cavalry Regiment from the flank, not that the Russian army did know the above situation, but that the Russian border detachment stationed in the village of Zabaikalsk had only one and a half infantry battalions, 1 cavalry company, 1 artillery company, 8 guns, and 3 machine guns.

In Bauseliye's opinion, his 1,000-strong troops had no other way out than to rely on a few dirt slopes and trenches around the village of Zabaikalsk, and such adventurous ideas as taking the initiative should be rolled into hell. By the time the vanguard company of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Chinese Army appeared on the mainland, two kilometers south of the village, Bauserier's troops had dug three jagged trenches nearly two meters deep on each of the two high slopes at the south entrance of the village, and connected them with communication trenches, and the cannons were erected at the highest point of the earth slope, each of which was protected by sand bunkers.

The vanguard company of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion, bypassed the woods southwest of the village and turned onto the main road from Manchuria to Chita, which ran through the village of Zabaikalsk, so the village had to be "erased".

A volley of shells whistled and exploded within twenty to fifty meters in front of the company's top soldiers, the company was forced to turn around and hide behind the woods, and the Russian artillery blasted at their horses' buttocks, but no one was hurt.

After receiving a report from a company, Liu Yangbo and Luo Jianqiu approached the main road along the edge of the forest, and carefully observed the Russian position with a telescope under a tall and verdant tree.

Liu Yangbo looked at it for a while, and subconsciously pressed the saber and said, "It looks okay, if you break through from the front, ......"

"Commander, our mission is just reconnaissance."

Luo Jianqiu reminded that he felt a little bad, because he found too strong fighting spirit in Liu Yangbo's eyes.

"If you want to reconnoitre, one company is enough, we are the vanguard of the whole army, and if necessary, it is not indispensable to fight a battle......

"It doesn't seem necessary right now."

Liu Yangbo smiled contemptuously: "Staff Officer Luo can't be scared. ”

Luo Jianqiu didn't fight back, but said lightly: "Commander Zhao sent our regiment as the vanguard, mainly to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and intercept the opponent's cavalry, to prevent the enemy cavalry from reconnoitring the main force of our army, we should now deploy the troops and form a cavalry curtain for the whole army......"

"I know this," Liu Yangbo said unhappily, "The cavalry naturally has what cavalry should do, but no one stipulates that cavalry can only do these things...... Heralds! ”

"In!"

"Spread the commanders of each battalion and the commanders of the artillery and machine gun companies."

"Yes!"

Luo Jianqiu sighed, knowing that it was useless to say more, so he agreed with Liu Yangbo.

Ten minutes later, the first company bypassed the small forest again, turned onto the main road, and the Russian artillery who had been paying attention to the main road immediately opened fire, and the first company hurriedly hid behind the woods, and a few minutes later, the cavalry of the first company rushed onto the main road in an evacuation column, leading to a burst of Russian artillery fire again, and the cavalry of course also obediently hid behind the woods again.

When the first company continued this action until the fourth time, the Russian commander finally couldn't hold it anymore and sent a company of Cossack cavalry to charge the company under the cover of artillery fire, and the company slowly retreated along the edge of the forest, gradually disappearing from the sight of the Russian gunners.

When the Cossacks turned the corner of the woods, they were greeted by a dense row of cold iron pipes.

Three companies of cavalry lined up in double rows, mounted flat on horses with 7.92mm cavalry rifles aimed at the Cossacks, and on the flanks of these cavalry were placed two 57-mm cavalry guns and two Maxim heavy machine guns, in which there was a deep darkness.

"Put!"

The Cossacks' eyes were filled with the stars as bright as the Milky Way on a summer night.

Within two minutes, almost all the Cossack riders of a whole company had fallen from their horses, and the Chinese cavalry in blue uniforms stopped firing rifle platoons, drew their sabers and rushed forward, capturing thirty-four wounded riders.

Two or three riders were lucky enough to escape and returned to the main position to report to Lieutenant Colonel Bausserier, who did not dare to send any more troops into battle, so he ordered his troops to hold their positions, especially the observation posts to keep a close eye on movements near the woods southwest of the village.

After a while, a company of Chinese cavalry came out from behind the woods, waving the fur hats of the newly captured Cossacks to provoke the Russian positions. Shoot at those cunning yellow dogs! ”

The eight field guns of the Russian army roared again, and the shells exploded in the rear of the Chinese cavalry, and the Chinese cavalry did not continue to advance, and quickly disappeared behind the woods as before.

Bauselier was enraged by this repeated provocation, but he did not dare to send his troops again, he knew his mission, and he knew the strength of his troops, and he must hold the place as much as possible, and not set out from here to attack a strong enemy army.

Almost all the middle and lower commanders of Bausserier's unit were attracted by the Chinese cavalry of that company, and everyone tried to teach the handful of "nasty little flies" a lesson, but Bauselier stopped them as a commander.

"You can't act rashly, there must be a large army behind them."

So said Bauselier, his judgment was correct, but he did not think further about the movement of the great forces, and his eyes were confused by the cavalry of that company.

"Enemy, there is an enemy to the west of the village!"

By the time Bauserier heard this, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 4th Cavalry Regiment had bypassed the woods southwest of the village, waded through a stream to the west of the village, and set up artillery firing positions along a string of small earthen bags along the stream, with four 57-mm cavalry guns and three 80-mm mortars.

"The enemy is in the west, quickly turn the muzzle ......"

Bauserier shouted at the commander of the artillery company beside him, when a string of mortar shells fell, and a piece of shrapnel cut into his chest, and Bauserier fell forward, foaming at the corners of his mouth, struggled for a while, and died.

"Rush!"

Before the Russian artillery completed the turn, a red signal flare flew into the sky, the 2nd battalion of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Chinese Army first launched a charge, and the three companies of the 2nd battalion formed an evacuation horizontal formation, brandishing a saber to attack the west side of the Russian position, followed by a platoon of riders dragging machine guns to follow up and support, after entering the effective range of the enemy's machine guns, the soldiers of the machine gun platoon dismounted, arranged machine guns and fired at the Russian positions.

The battle flag was dancing wildly, the guns and bullets were flying, the blades were shining, the horses' hooves were dusty, and in a moment, the Chinese cavalry had already rushed close to the Russian position.

Although the Russian army lost its supreme commander, it still moved quickly under the instigation of middle and lower-ranking officers, organized starting machine gun fire to block it, and knocked down many Chinese cavalry.

The Russian gunners also turned their artillery to the west and loaded the shells to fire, but hundreds of cavalry of the 2nd Battalion of the Chinese Army had already drilled into the dead end of the artillery fire, and the hooves of a few war horses had already jumped over the first trench of the Russian army and rushed towards the artillery position on the top of the slope.

The commander of the Russian battalion, Major Artseev, led a platoon of the reserve to jump into the third line of trenches, and fired a volley to knock down several Chinese riders who rushed to the front.

"The enemy is coming from the south!"

When Artseev heard this, he hurriedly looked south with his binoculars, and sure enough, hundreds of cavalry, guided by a dragon flag, galloped into the wind, ignoring the bullets as nothing, and rushed towards them with dust - this was the 1st Battalion of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Chinese Army, which had annihilated an entire Russian cavalry company behind the woods, supported by 2 57mm cavalry guns and 2 heavy machine guns.

"Another group of enemies is coming from the west!"

Atsaiev turned his eyes to look again, but it happened to collide with a machine gun bullet, which entered the forehead and came out through the back of the head, and Atsaiev died instantly.

The 2nd Battalion of the Chinese Army took advantage of the situation to rush to the top of the high slope to the west, where there were 5 Russian cannons, the gunners knew that the enemy was no more than the cavalry, and scattered, but the Russian infantry still refused to give up their positions, they drilled out of the trenches, and continued to shoot at the Chinese cavalry, and the commander of the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion, Captain Gao Shengning, was killed in the melee.

The 3rd Battalion quickly followed, and together with the 2nd Battalion, cleared the Russian troops on the western slope.

The 1st Battalion attacked directly on the eastern slope, but was repulsed by Russian fire, suffering more than 70 casualties, and then retreated to the back of the western slope.

Lieutenant Colonel Liu Yangbo, commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, rushed up the western slope behind the 3rd Battalion, and the mortar platoon also followed in time, and the gunners set up mortars on the top of the slope and fired continuously at the Russian artillery positions on the eastern slope, while at the same time, a platoon of the 2nd Battalion, under the command of Major Li Xilian, a regimental artillery staff officer, turned the muzzles of the captured 5 Russian cannons and fired fiercely on the eastern slope until all the 76-mm shells that could be found on the position were shot.

The 4 regiment's 6 57-mm cavalry guns were also assembled south of the western slope, and these light guns, combined with 9 light and heavy machine guns, easily suppressed the only heavy machine gun of the Russian army on the eastern slope.

After heavy shelling, the 2nd and 3rd battalions simultaneously charged the eastern slope, and the Russians put up a stubborn resistance, and no one fled—perhaps because they realized that human legs could not run over horses' legs.

After a fierce hand-to-hand battle, a large number of human and horse bodies fell across the dirt slope - only the body and not the corpse, because many horses were only wounded and fell to the ground, the wounded waiting for someone to come to help, and the wounded horse waiting for someone to replace the gun.

A company of the Russian army stationed in the village and its baggage troops did not retreat because of this, they relied on houses and hastily constructed barricades as cover, repelled an attack of the 2nd Battalion, and killed Captain Wang Naitian, the commander of the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion.

"But they have backbone, they should know that they can't hold it here."

Liu Yangbo was stationed in Ma Xipo and sighed to Luo Jianqiu.

"The Russians are indeed tough, although we have won this battle, but we have also suffered a lot of damage, I wonder if the road will be blamed for this......"

"The winner is the winner, and it stands to reason that he should not be held accountable."

Liu Yangbo raised his head and said, turned around and called the artillery staff officer Li Xilian: "Staff Officer Li, I want you to use artillery to flatten that village." ”

"Commander, there are not enough shells...... Today's battle may not be over, it is necessary to leave some shells just in case ......"

"Then you can do it, at least bring every house out of the fire."

"Yes."

After a few minutes, a dense rain of bullets covered the entire village, and every wooden house was on fire, and the small church in the village was quickly collapsed by concentrated fire because it blocked the view of the artillerymen.

After the shelling stopped, the 1st and 3rd battalions launched an assault from two directions, engaged in a scuffle with the remnants of the Russian army in the village, and finally captured only sixteen prisoners.

Liu Yangbo led the regimental staff into the village, the regimental headquarters cooks set up a pot stove in a vacant lot in the north of the village, and began to cook, and a squad of the regimental headquarters guard platoon was sent to collect firewood, and everyone naturally pulled out the broken wooden planks from the burning houses and came over.

One of the privates dragged a huge cross past Luo Jianqiu and was stopped by him.

"Where did this come from?"

"The ...... over there"

Private said, pointing to the chapel that had been reduced to rubble.

"Put it back."

The private hesitated for a moment, then complied.

Liu Yangbo happened to be next to him, and when he saw the little soldier dragging a cross around, he came over to ask.

"That's something from the church, we should put it back."

Luo Jianqiu explained.

"Where's the church?"

"It's gone, and only the cross remains."

"Then the cross should be burned and the corpse destroyed."

Liu Yangbo said, and then called the private again, and asked him to pull the cross to the side of the stove.

The private muttered and dragged the cross over again, apparently not thinking it was any pleasure to be called by two commanders to do the opposite.

Luo Jianqiu smiled slightly bitterly, helpless.

The next day, Liu Yangbo received a letter from the field army headquarters, in which he wrote:

Lieutenant Colonel Liu Yangbo, commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Second Cavalry Brigade:

Yesterday I received a report from your unit that your unit launched a separate attack on the enemy's defensive position in the village of Zabaikalsk, and after a fierce battle, captured the village, killed 587 enemies, captured 315, captured 6 intact 76 cannons and 2 machine guns, killed 96 of your own troops, and wounded 231 Yunyun. The results of the battle of your unit have been verified by the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division, and the headquarters has discussed and held that the task of your division is to cover the deployment and advance of the 1st Infantry Division, and that it has not been ordered to attack the village of Zabaikalsk, and that what your unit has done is beyond its authority, and that the losses in the battle are relatively large, which has affected the future use of your unit by the headquarters, and as the commander in chief of the unit, you must bear the corresponding responsibility. However, your unit's ultra vires action annihilated a large number of Russian troops, alleviated the resistance of the 1st Infantry Division, and opened the way for the operation of the 1st Infantry Division. The personal punishment for you is 15 days of confinement, and as soon as your combat mission is completed, you should report to the Gendarmerie Section of the Field Army Headquarters to carry out the punishment of confinement.

Chief of Staff of the Second Field Army: Major General Qin Feiye,

September 10, 8th year of Guangxing.

Liu Yangbo closed the reading, smiled slightly, and passed it to Luo Jianqiu, Luo Jianqiu frowned and was speechless.

Liu Yangbo was in Dauria at this time, a village with more than 100 households 45 kilometers northwest of Zabaikalsk village, and 90 kilometers east of it was Krasnokmensk, the center of defense on the first line of the Russian Third Army. At noon on the same day, the town was occupied by the sudden appearance of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the Chinese Army, and the two Russian infantry companies stationed in the town were routed, and the remnants retreated into the woods northwest of the village and town. A battalion of Russian infantry ordered to strengthen the defenses of Dauria was at Haranor, 30 kilometers north of Dauria.

The 4th Cavalry Regiment jumped 60 kilometers in 24 hours, and destroyed more than 1,000 enemies in the village of Lianke, for which their commander would most likely enter the confinement room at the same time as receiving the medal.