"Your Majesty, a telegram has come from the front, and with the assistance of the Imperial Air Force, the army has broken through the Yekaterinburg defenses. At the moment, the Imperial Army in the battles in Yekaterinburg, has already gained an advantage. It is estimated that it will not be long before Yekaterinburg will be captured. Admiral Sun Hao, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, said to Long Yufei. The battle reports from the front were exciting, and it was originally thought that the Imperial Army would pay a heavy price when attacking Yekaterinburg. However, now it seems that with the assistance of the Air Force, the problems of Yiqiē have been solved.

Long Yufei nodded: "That's good!" After the capture of Yekaterinburg, the Russians had no foothold on the Western Siberian Plain. The whole of the Western Siberian Plain belongs to us! ”

Although, the West Siberian Plain is very cold, and the winters are particularly long. However, the fertile soil and rich mineral resources of the West Siberian Plain, especially those buried in the ground, will be a rare resource for the empire outside the city in the future. The incorporation of the Western Siberian Plain into the rule of the empire was important for the future of the empire.

"Your Majesty, the generals on the front line are very satisfied with the air force's performance. The Air Force now has only more than 100 airships and more than 10,000 personnel. In our opinion, the size of the Air Force can be increased appropriately. Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, Minister of Operations, also said. There is no doubt that the Air Force has already conquered the senior generals of the Empire with this table.

"The expansion of the Air Force can be carried out. However, the technical content of the airship is too low. There are also many methods of restraint, which are not suitable for large-scale construction. When the aircraft can be put into actual combat, the Air Force will make great progress! Long Yufei said. After all. Airship, though, has a considerable load. However, the speed is too slow. At the time of bombing. The flight altitude also decreases. Once the enemy develops weapons such as anti-aircraft machine guns, the airship will become a living target for the enemy. The Air Force in Long Yufei's mind. It will be airplane-based, not airship-based. Airships, nothing more than weapons in the transitional period.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming nodded. Although they didn't understand what Long Yufei meant, it didn't prevent them from acting according to Long Yufei's orders. After all, countless facts have proven Long Yufei's correctness. In the past, they couldn't understand the things, but now, they undoubtedly showed Long Yufei's foresight.

"In this case, we are expected to be able to take Yekaterinburg by September. So. Can we continue our westward offensive before winter and conquer the Ural Mountains and enter the Eastern European Plain? Long Yufei asked. Even if Russia cannot be defeated in one fell swoop, it must occupy a foothold on the Eastern European Plain! In this way, at the beginning of next spring, the Imperial Army will be able to launch a large-scale attack on the hinterland of Russia, and strive to destroy Russia in one fell swoop next year.

"陛xià. The plan of the General Staff was that after the capture of Yekaterinburg, the Chinese and Russian troops on the battlefield would temporarily stop attacking. Admiral Sun Hao said.

Long Yufei nodded, ready to listen to his explanation.

"Your Majesty, after several months of fighting. Several army groups fighting on the front lines of the Imperial Army were already very tired, and the casualties were not small. The General Staff plans to spend this winter replenishing and recuperating troops. In addition, the previous battles. We have almost exhausted our stockpiles of war materiel, if there are no supplies. It was difficult for the Imperial Army to continue the offensive. Admiral Sun Hao said.

"Alright then, let's do what you planned!" Long Yufei nodded. He's not one who doesn't listen to opinions. Now it seems that the Imperial Army is not fit to continue the offensive to the west.

"There is another consideration, that is, if we continue to attack now, we will let the Ottoman Turkish Empire take advantage of it. The Ottoman Turks sent 500,000 men to attack Russia, and because the main Russian force was held back by us, they had already succeeded in conquering a large area of land along the Black Sea coast. Otherwise, the whole of Ukraine could fall under the rule of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. A powerful Ottoman Turkish empire, which was not in the interests of the empire. Therefore, we plan to let the Ottoman Turkish Empire fight hard with the Russians first, so that when they fight to the death, the Imperial Army will be dispatched, and the pressure will be much less! Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, Chief of Operations, said. After all, there is no reason for the Empire and Russia to fight to the death and let the Ottoman Turkish Empire pick up the bargain in the back!

Long Yufei nodded: "Well, then let's do it!" ”

However, this is also equivalent to giving the Russians a respite. The Russians have now lost quite a few troops. However, their ability to mobilize is also very terrifying. Once these Russians have completed their mobilization, it will be even more difficult for the empire to destroy Russia.

On the Yekaterinburg front, the Imperial Army was still launching a fierce attack on the positions of the Russian army, and the cooperation of infantry and air force greatly enhanced the attack power of the Imperial Army, and the Russian defense line was constantly blown up by the Imperial Air Force, clearing the obstacles for the offensive of the Imperial Army. In such a situation, the morale of the Russian army has almost fallen to the freezing point.

"Lao Zhao, the progress of the troops is very good! In a few days, you should be able to take the whole of Yekaterinburg! Lieutenant General Zhang Wei said excitedly, the addition of the air force has made the attack of the Imperial Army more smooth, the casualties of the troops have also been reduced, and a big victory is just around the corner!

"Hmmm! If this continues, the Russians will not last long! However, we are now attacking the western part of Yekaterinburg, which is still under the control of the Russians. Once they blow up the bridge over the Iset River, then we will attack Dongcheng District, I'm afraid it won't be so easy! Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu, commander of the 2nd Army, said. It was the flood season of the Iset River, and if the bridge over the river was blown up by the Russians, it would be almost impossible for the Imperial Army to cross the Iset

"What's this? It's a big deal to let the Air Force assist us and open a gap from the east! Lieutenant General Zhang Wei said nonchalantly.

Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu nodded, when the time comes, that's the only way to do.

On the afternoon of August 28, 1854, the Imperial Army had captured the western part of Yekaterinburg, and the Russian troops stationed there were almost completely strangled, and the rest of the troops had withdrawn to the eastern part of Yekaterinburg. As Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu expected, the Russian army blew up all the bridges over the Iset River when they retreated. After the Imperial Army pursued to the river, it could only look at the river and sigh, unable to cross it.

"General Song, the Russians have blown up the bridge over the Iset, which makes it necessary for us to relaunch the attack from the east of Yekaterinburg! However, the Russians also had a series of fortifications and pillboxes in the east of Yekaterinburg, and we had to rely on the Imperial Air Force to clear the way for us. Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu said.

"General Zhao, this is no problem, leave it to us!" Major General Song Zhiyuan, commander of the Imperial Air Force, accepted the task without saying a word. Clearing the way for the Imperial Army, which would have been the accusation of the Imperial Air Force.

The battles of the past few days, the table of the Imperial Air Force, have won the admiration of everyone.

The next day, the Imperial Air Force dispatched dozens of airships to bomb the eastern Yekaterinburg line. When the dense bombs fell from the airships, destroying the fortresses and fortresses that the Russians had painstakingly built one after another, the morale of the Russian army was dealt a heavy blow. As if it were a repeat a few days ago, after the Russian defense line was blown up, the Imperial Army would attack.

The command of the Russian army, the commander of the Russian army, Marshal Wittgenstein, was full of miserable whiteness, the troops paid heavy losses in the Chinese offensive, plus the positions were constantly broken, in just a few days, Yekaterinburg lost half of the city, such a blow directly made Marshal Wittgenstein sick. His illness made the Russian army seem to have lost its backbone.

"Lieutenant General, how is the marshal's condition now?" Admiral Alexander asked with a dark face. Now the Chinese are storming eastern Yekaterinburg. Under the bombardment of the Chinese Air Force, the defense line of the Russian army will soon be broken through. What will they do when the time comes?

Now, when someone needed an idea, Field Marshal Wirtgenstein fell ill, and they were thrown into disarray.

"General, the marshal is now very sick and can no longer serve as a director. The defense of Yekaterinburg, I'm afraid, still needs more attention from the generals! Lieutenant General Nevelskoy said.

"This, how can this work?" Admiral Alexander was stunned. If in peacetime, he could replace Marshal Wirtgenstein as the commander of the Russian army, Admiral Alexander, of course, would not refuse. But now, with the fall of Yekaterinburg imminent, taking over the post of commander will not only not do you any good, but will also bring infamy on your back!

"General, the marshal is now ill, and he can't be allowed to command the troops anymore! The marshal also means that it is up to the general to decide. After all, the general is the highest-ranking person here under His Excellency the Marshal! Lieutenant General Nevelskoy said.

Admiral Alexander felt as if he had been trapped. Originally, Yekaterinburg had a strong defense, impregnable, and everyone thought that it could completely withstand the attack of the Chinese. Of the 500,000 troops stationed in Yekaterinburg, there are now less than 300,000 left. It can be said that Yekaterinburg has reached the point of exhaustion. (To be continued......)

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