On 16 March, fifteen kilometers northeast of Yablonovo, in the steep Yablonov Mountains, an offensive and defensive battle was raging.

On the defensive side, the second independent detachment of the Russian army Yablonov has nearly 1,000 troops and five guns, holding a dangerous mountain pass to Yablonovo called "Nemulan", and condescendingly arranging three lines of defense.

The attacking side was the Xu Soul Detachment of the Chinese Army, with a strength of about 3,000, equipped with six mountain guns and a number of mortars, and was forced to climb the rugged mountain road to attack on the back.

Since the 14th, the Xu Soul detachment has marched rapidly along the mountain road at the northern foot of the Yabulov Mountain, driving away the Russian troops who stand in the way along the way, and repeatedly repelling the Russian partisans who came to harass them. In order to deter the annoying enemy guerrillas, most of the killed guerrillas had their heads cut off and hung on trees along the road. The troops marched without stopping during the day, rushed and attacked the enemy violently, and when they were attacked and harassed by the guerrillas, they responded with intensive artillery fire, and only stopped late at night to rest and eat, so they actually ran 200 miles of mountain roads in two days, and now, Xu Soul's detachment for the relief of the siege was only 15 kilometers away from the 4th Cavalry Regiment that was surrounded, and from the road point of view, as long as they ran another 50 or 60 miles, they could rush to Yablonovo to relieve the siege of the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

However, there is still a hard nail in front, there are quite a few Russian troops in the Nemulan Pass, the position is also very superior, and the bunkers built are also quite strong, with the existing strength and firepower of the Xu Soul detachment, the strong attack is bound to pay a heavy price.

The first exploratory assault was repulsed, and with the support of mountain artillery, three companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Forbidden Regiment carefully advanced to the enemy's forward position to the left of the mountain pass, and were driven back by the enemy's dense rifle and machine-gun fire.

Xu Soul set up a command post in the hollow behind a large rock at the bottom of the mountain, and he could clearly see the battlefield by poking his head out of the rock.

"It was too difficult to attack frontally, the hill was so steep, and the enemy's chosen position was very convenient for the development and transfer of firepower......"

Wen Yu, the chief staff officer of the First Forbidden Brigade, analyzed, his face was full of uncertain expressions, and Xu Soul didn't care about it.

"Do you want to wait until the evening......

Xu Soul's response to this suggestion was very resolute: "No, there is no time, the 4th Cavalry Regiment has been trapped in the encirclement for six days, and it should not be able to enjoy such intensive air support in the past two days. ”

"But like now, if you fight hard, I'm afraid you will lose a lot of people, and then you won't be able to rescue the 4th Cavalry Regiment."

Xu Soul crossed his waist and nodded: "With the existing firepower, it is indeed impossible to pry open the enemy's position, our ammunition is limited, and the power of the artillery fire is not enough, I think, it is time to ask for air support." ”

Wen Yu was a little disapproving: "I think it's a little difficult, the division also said hello before leaving, during this time, the air force should concentrate on supporting the First Army, and correspondingly, the support for Yablonovo will be greatly reduced......"

"No matter, ask and talk, I'm going to tell them that if you don't give me a heavy airship, I'll fight with human flesh!"

"It's not a good thing to threaten your superiors, is it?"

"The superiors should also reflect on this kind of task they have assigned, right?"

"Where are you going to send a telegram?"

"It's good to send it directly to the front army headquarters, anyway, the original mission was directly distributed from there."

"In this way, the division commander may be angry......"

"No matter how much, it's too time-consuming to convey it layer by layer!"

Xu Soul did what he said, and immediately asked Wen Yu to write a message for him.

A quarter of an hour later, a reply from the front headquarters translated: "At 3:15 p.m., four medium-sized airships will be sent to bombard the enemy positions in the Nemoulin Pass. ”

Xu Soul immediately raised his hand to look at his watch: "There is still an hour, let's prepare." ”

Wen Yu nodded a little angrily, he didn't expect the Front Army Headquarters to attach so much importance to this siege relief operation, and he actually got a response as soon as he made a request. Originally, he didn't think that this operation was of much significance, he didn't think that such a small-scale detachment was capable of completing the task of rescuing the 4th Cavalry Regiment, he always subconsciously felt that the 4th Cavalry Regiment was caught in a big boiling pot surrounded by countless enemies, and their 3,000-strong troops either couldn't rush in, or it was likely that after rushing in, not only could they not save the 4th Cavalry Regiment but couldn't get out, and finally everyone was finished together.

The battle plan was decided in a matter of minutes.

An hour later, the four "Ziyun" airships arrived on time and accurately dropped 96 heavy bombs of 250 kilograms, and the Russian troops on the mountain pass were blown up.

"Forward!"

Xu Soul pulled out a saber, this is a saber imitated by a commander in Western Europe, and the big blade he used when he "harvested" the heads of Japanese soldiers in Seoul is not the same thing at all, and now, Xu Soul, known as the "Thousand Head Beheading", naturally has no chance to repeat the scene of the year, however, the pride and ferocity of the year do not seem to have the slightest attenuation.

The troops advanced, and three battalions of infantry spread out in three scattered lines, climbing with difficulty towards the Russian positions on the Nemulan Pass.

Xu Soul personally led the Forbidden Regiment and a battalion as a reserve to press the rear formation, and he had already made up his mind that if necessary, he would rush to the front of the battalion and fight the enemy as an ordinary soldier.

His subordinates didn't give him a chance to perform.

Heavy bombs and rapid-fire artillery fire seriously reduced the morale of the Russian army, and the bullets of the Chinese machine gunners and snipers further atrophied the remaining courage, the Russian army on the first line of defense first retreated without a fight, the Chinese infantry seized the first trench line with clean bayonets, and then launched a charge to the second line of defense on relatively gentle terrain, and after a fierce and suffocating white-knuckle battle, the Russian army was defeated.

On the rearmost line of defense, the Russians quickly withdrew with great professionalism after only sporadic firing, leaving two damaged artillery pieces and a total of 286 corpses on the mountain pass position.

The price paid by the Chinese was that 14 were killed and 51 wounded – at least three of them were injured by a fall while climbing the hill.

When the battle was over, the "Thousand Head Behead" did not cut off a single head with his own hands, nor did he order his subordinates to cut off the heads of the enemy - Xu Soul's principle at this time was that the punishment of beheading was only applicable to those guerrillas who suddenly appeared in the forest, and the enemy who was fighting in a dignified manner should still have the necessary respect.

Now the gates to Yablonovo are open.

This mission seems to have completed the most difficult journey.

Xu Soul didn't think so.

He had long been aware of the most difficult situation, but unlike Wen Yu, he believed that this operation was meaningful, even if the siege could not be lifted, but he fell into the same heavy encirclement as the 4th Cavalry Regiment, but since he rushed to the enemy's rear hinterland, it should more or less have an impact on the situation on the front line, no matter how it can be said, it can be regarded as attracting a group of vitality from the enemy......

In fact, does a completely meaningless action really exist?

Now, Xu Soul is going to Yablonovo, he really wants to meet the commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, Liu Yangbo, and at the same time, he is also interested in the soldiers who go crazy with the leader of the Tyrannical Clan.

Because of them, the world will show a shadow called "wonderful......

Shylock.

It is a station on the Ulan-Ude - Chita railway line, 160 km to Ulan-Ude in the west and about 200 km to Chita in the east.

On the platform of the station, a general, with his left arm in a plaster cast and hanging from his neck with a strip of white cloth, walked to the train car waiting by the platform, accompanied by two or three attendants.

He was none other than Kuropatkin, the "former" commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Army.

Three days earlier, he had been in Chita, and while fleeing from Chita, he had been attacked by soldiers and civilians who were dissatisfied with him and the war, and after a commotion, his carriage was overturned, an adjutant was killed, his personal guard was wounded, and he himself had a broken arm. After this incident, he no longer dared to stay in Chita for long, and after disposing of his left arm, he immediately jumped into another light carriage and galloped all the way here.

However, on this very morning, a bolt of light struck: the Tsar dismissed him as commander-in-chief and replaced the commander of the 5th Army, Lieutenant General Linevich, as commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Army.

For Kuropatkin, this is not necessarily a bad thing, at least, he can get away and hide far away, and he will no longer have to be distraught and even frightened by the enemy, for his subordinates, and for the rampaging rioters.

This was the end of Kuropatkin's war, but he did not think that he had lost the favor of the Tsar, and he was confident that with his knowledge of the Tsar and his incorruptible tongue, he should soon recover from this shadow.

"General, I am bidding farewell to you, His Majesty the Tsar still wants me to remain as Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Army, and I will wait here for General Lynevich, who will continue to carry out your operational plan to withdraw the main forces of the whole army to Ulan-Ude for defense."

The Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Army, Sobolev, did not immediately change his face because of Kuropatkin's dismissal, and his expression when he spoke was still as respectful as before, and he understood very well that Kuropatkin would definitely make a comeback, because His Majesty the Tsar needed not only capable generals, but perhaps "interesting" generals who could please His Majesty.

Kuropatkin nodded to Sobolev by the car door: "See you again, our cooperation is very pleasant, I am very happy to have you as my chief of staff, I hope the new commander-in-chief will think the same." ”

The new commander-in-chief, General Linievich, is still in Chita, and in Kuropatkin's original battle plan, Linievich should lead his army group as the rearguard of the whole army to resist the incoming Chinese army, even if at the risk of being cut off and encircled, to attract the Chinese army to the Chita fortress, so that the main Russian army can smoothly withdraw to Ulan-Ude.

An order from the Tsar was like saving Lynevich's life.

Kuropatkin doesn't have any thoughts about this.

Now, he just wanted to get out of here quickly, out of this place, where he was depressed to the apex - damn, Siberia......

St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrogov Palace, a group of ministers who had just finished attending the Imperial Council poured out on the steps in front of the palace.

The chairman of the Council of Ministers, Sergei Yulyevich Witt, was worried, grabbed his close friend, Foreign Minister Ramsfold and whispered: "What do the Americans say? How deep are they willing to get involved? ”

Ramsfold looked left and right, and also lowered his voice in response: "They declare that their position is completely neutral, and they are willing to act impartially on behalf of the two sides in contact and negotiations." ”

"Send one or two competent men to find out the rumors."

Ramsfold hurriedly shook his head: "No, no matter what, we must have the approval of His Majesty the Tsar, otherwise the matter will leak out and none of us will end well." ”

Witte sighed: "Your Majesty is too stubborn, the current situation no longer allows the war to continue......"

"Your Majesty has pinned all his hopes on the Second Pacific Fleet, and even if we are defeated and retreated on land, as long as the Second Pacific Fleet rushes to the Far East, we will be able to force the enemy to sign a treaty favorable to us...... Before this hope is dashed, the content of the treaty that His Majesty can approve should be to allow Chinese to retreat beyond the borders before the outbreak of war, and to compensate our country for all losses......"

"We are no longer able to sustain this war, we are financially poor, we are in debt, we are in revolt, and the country is full of conspirators trying to incite the people to revolt! The revolution is approaching, and I can already hear the fuse that leads to the fire depot hissing......"

Ramsfold shrugged: "Your Excellency the Minister of the Interior knows this very well, and has also submitted relevant reports to His Majesty, but these are not what His Majesty wants to know, His Majesty only wants to know how many more divisions the army can send to the Far East, whether it is feasible for the army to attack Xinjiang, whether our flying units can be used, how our air defense weapons are being developed, and where General Rozhestvensky's fleet has gone...... Your Majesty is full of expectations for victory, and we can't just pour cold water on the side. ”

Witte bowed his head weakly: "This will only lead to more serious losses, our enemies in Europe and the Near East are laughing, Austria-Hungary and Turkey are triumphant, fortunately Germany has stabilized relations with us, the Krupp factory continues to produce heavy artillery and ammunition for us, and the German army has also provided us with improved combat airships, but I know what they are thinking, Wilhelm II wants us to turn all our attention to the Far East, so that he can use all his strength against France...... But there is nothing wrong with us in this way, the German-Russian alliance or the Russian-French alliance now seems to make no essential difference, we urgently need anyone's help, and if the devil can give us strength, we can also be in peace with the devil......"

"Sergei Yulievich, let's sit down and wait slowly, it's useless to be in a hurry, no matter how things turn out, there is always work that we need to do, farewell, please take care."

Ramfold took off his top hat and hopped briskly into his carriage.

The earth continued to rotate, and Witt did have his own things to do, but his heart was full of uneasiness, he had already realized that he had underestimated China, that it was no longer a sick man in East Asia who would become a third-rate country if he was put in Europe, it was a male lion who was slowly getting up, he shook off the lice on his body, dispersed the buzzing mosquitoes and flies around him, sharpened his claws, smashed the head of a fox when he stretched his waist, and then began to challenge the black bear deep in the forest...... What it wants to take is the path to becoming the king of beasts. It woke up, it had been asleep for too long, and once it was fully awakened, the majestic roar of the lion would not only shock the beautiful sky in that magical land of East Asia......

"Sergei Yulievich, you are pondering again, what are you going to prophesy this time?"

Interior Minister Bobedonostsev squinted his rat eyes and smiled at Werther.

"Your Excellency, I solemnly state to you that I do not have astrologer blood in my body."

Pobedonostsev put away his boring smile: "Well, then let me give you some prophecy." The Far Eastern Army is heading for collapse - not by the force of the Chinese, but by the tongue of the socialists. ”

"You mean that socialists are infiltrating the army?"

"It should be said that we are the ones who have conscripted socialists into the army and sent them to the front, and those who are conspiring and rioting do not have labels on their faces."

Werther's throat suddenly itched, and he couldn't help but cough violently.

"Are you alright?"

Pobedonostsev pulled out a handkerchief.

"I'm fine......"

Werther solved the problem with his own handkerchief.

"Do you know what happened in Chita? Kuropatkin was almost beaten to death by the rioting soldiers and civilians, but fortunately this kind of thing is far away from the capital, except for the unlucky Kuropatkin, other high-ranking officials and officials do not feel that kind of horror, but if one day, something similar happens in St. Petersburg......"

"So far, as Minister of the Interior, you should have the basic confidence to deal with any domestic incident."

"Who knows, the provinces of the lower Volga River are already in chaos, the fires are spreading everywhere, and every nerve in me is aching."

Bobedonostsev said, tapping his temple very vividly.

"Please take care, in short, you must not let the flames enter the corners of the eyes of His Majesty the Tsar."

Witt said, dragging his heavy legs into his carriage.

"I can only do my best."

Pobedonostsev waved at him.

Werther's buttocks sank into the soft leather cushions of the carriage seat, and he felt his body and mind slack for a moment.

The carriage began to move, the body shook, Werther's back pressed against the backrest of the seat, and an inexplicable sense of grievance rushed into his mind.

It was a prophetic sense of grievance, yet incredibly real.

The specific direction of the prophecy is not very clear, but the key words have emerged from the dust-wiped bricks: negotiations, representations, traitors......

Werther buried his head deep in his arms, and now, even God couldn't see his expression.

Imperial Chinese Division, Beijing, Zhongnanhai Imperial Palace, Base Camp Conference Room.

Emperor Guangxing was still nowhere to be seen on the dragon chair at the end of the long table, and the meeting was nominally presided over by Acting Prime Minister Zhang Zhigao, but the actual affairs were controlled by Defense Minister Liu Yun.

Under the Imperial Constitution, the Emperor may appoint the Prime Minister in the event of his death, resignation or dismissal from office during the recess of the Diet, provided that his Address shall be passed by at least one of the two Houses of the Diet when the Diet is resumed. In the event of the death, resignation or dismissal of a Prime Minister, the House of Councillors shall nominate three or more candidates to be appointed by the Emperor as temporary (acting) Prime Minister until the current Diet is re-elected.

Wen Yi resigned last year when the parliament was in session, and then the Chinese People's Party-controlled Senate nominated Defense Minister Liu Yun, Foreign Minister Zhang Zhigao and House Speaker Huang Linhong as candidates for acting prime minister, and the emperor did not hesitate to choose Liu Yun at that time.

This year, Liu Yun resigned in order to inspect the front line coincided with the recess of the National Assembly, and the emperor directly appointed Zhang Zhigao as the prime minister, after the Spring Festival, the National Assembly resumed, Zhang Zhigao took out the policy address adhering to the consistent policy of Wenyi, which was passed in the Senate and the House of Representatives in three readings, according to the constitution, the term of office should end in the 05 general election.

As soon as Liu Yunyi returned to the capital, he originally hoped that Zhang Zhigao would resign on his own and that the Senate would nominate him as a candidate for the emperor's appointment, but seeing that Zhang Zhigao had no intention of resigning, he hoped that the emperor would remove Zhang Zhigao from office, but the emperor had not acted, and at the same time saw that Zhang Zhigao was implementing some anti-militarization policies formulated by Wen Yi and opposed by himself step by step, and he was angry, so he had a head-on conflict with Zhang Zhigao.

Since that "dignified" conflict, the two sides have suddenly returned to a state of "normal" as if nothing had happened...... No, it should be said that on the surface, the relationship between Liu Yun and Zhang Zhigao has become more intimate, and they will hook their shoulders from time to time in front of everyone, and chat with a smile, and those who don't know, such as Han Lang, the Minister of Finance who likes to create or spread the so-called "gossip", will chew the ears of other ministers and say mysteriously: "Do you know what is the Tao of Wu Wei and Xiao Zhang suddenly become so good these days?" Let me tell you, the two of them got married, the youngest son of the Liu family and the second miss of the Zhang family are engaged, how to say it, the youngest son of the Liu family is ten years old this year, and the second miss of the Zhang family is four years old this year, it seems that they have agreed to get married after twelve years......"

At this time, the huge Minister of Industry and Commerce will squeeze in and mercilessly expose and attack him: "Han Ma Pole, Han Ma Pole, you are talking again, aren't you?" The two of them are engaged to each other, and the rest of us will not know what to do? Leaving you alone to watch? In fact, you took a fancy to the eldest son of the Liu family, and wanted to stuff your kitten-like baby daughter over, but spread rumors here, wanting to cover it up! Cunning, too cunning! ”

The ministers were detonated by this fuse, and took the opportunity to gossip and began to comment on the children of each family, and discussed the topic of who and whose children are more compatible...... provoked Liu Yun and Zhang Zhigao, who were chatting outside the door, intentionally or unintentionally missed a few curious glances.

The meeting was over, Liu Yun and Zhang Zhigao rushed out of the room together in front of everyone, and several ministers who were about to walk out of the conference room found an interesting topic and couldn't come out of it, so Liu Yun and Zhang Zhigao walked downstairs together.

Passing through the brightly dressed human telephone poles that stood beside the Greek-style columns, the two came to the atrium paved with bluestone slabs.

"Isn't it too contrived for us to be like this?"

Zhang Zhigao said, his smile has begun to fade.

Liu Yun snorted lightly in his nose: "What is needed now is unity, whether it's really or pretending, originally public opinion used to clamor for my discord with you, but now they have nothing to say." This is necessary for you and me, for the Chinese People's Party, and for the empire. And you've said that you don't have any ill feelings toward me, do you? ”

"Yes. The war is still going on, and we all have to do our duty, and we will talk about it later, but I still insist that everything must be resolved within the framework of the law. ”

Liu Yun smiled slightly and climbed Zhang Zhigao's shoulder: "I will let you, Wen Yi be satisfied, at least I won't let you hate me, OK?" ”

Zhang Zhigao nodded slightly: "I hope so, I think time can give us a better understanding of the ideas we are holding on to now, and it is possible to finally reach a consensus that is most beneficial to the construction of this country." ”

"That's what I thought too."

Liu Yun said, letting go of Zhang Zhigao's shoulders and no longer looking down at the current prime minister, who was seven centimeters shorter than him.

Between storms and storms, the calm of the sea is always fascinating.

Oloviyanaya, Command of the Western Front.

Zhong Xiahuo, the commander of the front army, looked like a mad and terrifying, and roared like a wolf at the map: "What is the First Army doing!" What is the First Army doing! What does Zhao Feixue eat and do! Doroninskoye has not taken it down after three days of fighting! How many days will it take to reach Harragon like this! If this continues, the enemy will run out! Who else are we surrounding, wrap him up XXXXXXX! ”

Today is 17 March, the First Army failed to break through the Russian defense line on the left bank of the Yinda River as originally planned, and Zhao Feixue, commander of the Group Army, attempted to break through from Doroninskoye (located 120 kilometers southwest of Chita) in the middle reaches of the Yinda River with three divisions of the First Army, and the Russian army frantically counterattacked regardless of losses.

In the front army headquarters, the only person who dared to approach Zhong Xiahuo while he was burning and tried to extinguish the oil field fire in his brain was none other than General Deng Jian, chief of staff of the front army.

"Old Zhong, calm down and think about the real problem."

Deng Jian said calmly.

This cold water was not enough to extinguish the oil fires in Kuwait.

"Calm down! Cool off! Pass my order and remove Zhao Feixue! I'm going to personally command the First Army, personally command the First Army, damn, I don't believe it, a small Yinda River, we can't beat it?! ”

"They really can't keep up with their supplies."

"Excuses! Excuse! Shameless excuses! ”

"It is true that it is impossible to keep up, the enemy completely destroyed all the bridges before retreating, burned all the ships, and bombed the villages to the ground, plus the weather warmed up, the snow and ice melted, the roads were muddy, the enemy cavalry often infiltrated and harassed, and there were problems with the supply of the 1st Army and the Janissary Army, which had long supply lines, and these two armies were on the most two flanks of the battle line, and if they could not advance, then the whole campaign concept of bringing most of the Far Eastern Army into the encirclement could not be realized."

Zhong Xiahuo's fuel is still very sufficient: "If you can't move forward, you must move forward!" Give it to me empty-handed! Damn, I can end the war in one go......"

Deng Jian smiled coldly: "Old Zhong, you so hope that the war will end as soon as possible?" No matter what the cost, it doesn't matter? ”

Zhong Xiahuo was slightly stuck: "This ...... If you can surround hundreds of thousands of enemies at once......"

"Please be aware of the fact that the enemy has suddenly and greatly retreated, our supply lines have suddenly lengthened, and the weather conditions have caused the road conditions to deteriorate, and the supply of the whole army has been unable to keep up, and the original food and grass prepared for the campaign is only forty days, and can only last until the end of the month...... Now that the attack on the Yinda River defense line is not going well, blindly forcing the First Army to move the encirclement line to the west is bound to further lengthen the supply line, aggravate the supply difficulties, and adversely affect the operations of the group army. In addition, according to the latest information, the enemy has formed a new headquarters of the 6th Army in Ulan-Ude, with 4 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry divisions, and is preparing to go to meet the troops withdrawn from Chita in two ways......

Zhong Xiahuo was gone, and the general's calmness and domineering spirit returned to his face.

"Well, I'm used to scolding, and my head is not clear......"

Although the limited excuses cannot be compared to introspection, I can finally realize that what I have just done is not a good thing.

Zhong Xiahuo crossed his waist and carefully studied the latest marked battle map.

"So, it's impossible to complete the original plan?"

"Yes."

Deng Jian's answer was not simple enough.

"It seems that we have no choice but to return to the starting point, since the First Army is no longer strong, and the defenses in the middle and upper reaches of the Inda River are so strong, then the other divisions of the First Army with relatively complete strength and relatively sufficient ammunition will be concentrated and organized into an assault group, and the breakthrough will be carried out from Kuka, northeast of Doroninskoye (about eighty kilometers away), to Yablonovo. At the same time, the Second Army to the north was organized in the same way, making a breakthrough from the upper Chita in order to join the assault group of the First Army in the area of Yablonovo. The Korean Army, on the other hand, continued to steadily press the enemy front from the front, thus completing the encirclement of the enemy at Chita - as much as it can encircle, let's take Chita down first! ”

Zhong Xiahuo's big fist like a hammer smashed into the two black letters "Chita" on the map.

The western limit of the encirclement line was retracted from Haragon to Yablonovo, and the distance was shortened by 120 kilometers, so that most of the Russian Far Eastern Army would be drawn out of the encirclement.

Deng Jian didn't have time to understand the commander's mood at all, he immediately raised a realistic question: "I agree, but this matter is extraordinary, we have to report to the base camp, and only after getting affirmation can we really implement it, if the base camp does not agree, we can also propose a compromise plan, such as adjusting the breakthrough from Kuka to Uliot further west, and extending the encirclement line from Yablonovo to the west to Mogzong, although the risk and predictable losses of this plan are very large, but at least it is better than sticking to the original plan...... ”

Although Deng Jian's emotionless sense of reality is very different from Zhong Xiahuo's style, Zhong Xiahuo is still very glad that he can have such a chief of staff, romanticism should be laid by realism, and greatness needs to be realized concretely, it seems to be the truth.

"Then, send a report to the base camp in my name......"

"In our name."

Deng Jian's tone was non-negotiable.

Yablonovo, East Exit.

Lieutenant Colonel Liu Yangbo, commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, immediately stood in front of the Dongkou position, which was full of Russian soldiers' corpses, and quietly looked at the canyon that was gradually disappearing into the mountains and forests.

Today is the seventh day of the entry of the 4th Cavalry Regiment into Yablonovo as a railway blockage.

Yesterday afternoon, Liu Yangbo received a telegram from Xu Soul, commander of the 1st Forbidden Brigade, that the detachment leading Xu Soul had broken through the Nemulan Pass held by the Russian army, and would rush to Yablonovo to join the 4th Cavalry Regiment before nightfall on 17 July.

It was six o'clock in the afternoon, and the twilight was dying, and the distant bend in the valley was still empty, with no one in sight.

Luo Jianqiu, the staff officer of the regiment director, walked up to Liu Yangbo and stroked the face of the millet mare.

"Commander, let's go eat first, they may have been delayed on the way, they should arrive later."

Liu Yangbo pressed the saber on his waist, and the scabbard was full of bloodstains.

"Didn't Brigade Commander Xu send another telegram?"

"Didn't receive it."

"I'll wait."

Liu Yangbo said, patted the horse's neck, suddenly turned his face to the side, and wrinkled his brows.

"Staff Officer Luo, listen, is there the sound of gunfire over there?"

Luo Jianqiu raised his right hand to cover his ear, groaned slightly, and nodded: "There is indeed the sound of gunfire, it seems that the fight is quite fierce......

"I'll go take a look."

"What?"

"I'm telling you, I'm going to go and have a look."

"Commander, you ......"

Luo Jianqiu almost shouted: "You're crazy!" ”

As he desperately swallowed the words into his stomach and tried to replace them with other words, Liu Yangbo had already rushed down the hill on horseback.

"Someone's coming!"

Luo Jianqiu shouted.

Before the twenty or thirty cavalrymen of the guard company rode out of the army, Liu Yangbo had already galloped for almost two miles on a battlefield full of craters and dead bodies.

Along the way, there were large and small craters, some filled with snow water, others filled with broken parts of vehicle weapons, the valley was lined with broken trees, the rocks were clearly marked with bullet marks, and from time to time you could see a section of overturned railroad tracks.

After running for some distance, there are no more dead bodies of people and horses, which should be out of range of snipers, and the enemy can safely remove the corpses.

After running six or seven miles, the sound of guns and cannons in Liu Yangbo's ears became tighter and clearer, he loosened the reins slightly, jerked hard on the horse's buttocks, and rushed to the bend in the valley where he had never arrived.

In front of it, there were the wreckage of badly twisted and deformed cannons and shell boxes all over the ground, which must have been once the enemy's artillery position, which was blown up like this by our heavy airships......

The sound of gunfire suddenly became sparse, and Liu Yangbo's thoughts shifted slightly, he tightened the reins, pulled out his revolver, and slowly moved forward along the bend of the railway.

Closer, closer.

Time passed slowly, slowly, but night had already crept in.

Who's up ahead?

"Stop! Who is it! ”

Beijing accent, don't think about it anymore.

This was followed by a Russian sentence.

Liu Yangbo raised his hand, his throat trembling slightly: "I am Liu Yangbo, the commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, please take me to see your Brigade Commander Xu!" ”

In the faint moonlight, a first-class soldier of the Praetorian Guard in black uniform and black coat walked out, he put the butt of his rifle on the ground with his skillful and standard movements, and saluted Liu Yangbo with his chest straight: "I am happy to serve you, sir!" ”

The meeting between the rampage and the siege breakers took place on horseback, Liu Yangbo's millet mare panting, and Xu Soul's black and shiny war horse flicking its neck coquettishly.

"You are Head Liu? Fortunately, fortunately. You're coming alone? ”

Liu Yangbo shook his head back: "The others should be behind." ”

Before the words could be spoken, the shouts of the sentries and the exclamations of the cavalry could be heard behind them.

"I'm sorry, but there's a bunch of minions standing in the way here, and it's been a little delayed. I am Xu Soul, and my mission is to transfer the rest of your group out of Lu. ”

Xu Soul stretched out his hand.

Liu Yangbo politely shook hands with Xu Soul: "We don't want to transfer out of the army, we want to continue to stay here, this is the most convenient retreat channel for the enemy, Commander Zhong said, he wants to encircle the Far Eastern Army." ”

In the dark, Xu Soul's expression was blurred, he just lowered his head and replied noncommittally: "That's it, it's really embarrassing......"

Liu Yangbo made an inch: "It's better for Brigade Commander Xu's troops to stay and block this passage with us, our regiment now only has four or five hundred people left to fight, half of them are still lightly wounded, we don't lack machine guns and artillery, but we are short of manpower." ”

Xu Soul half-pushed: "But I still have a task......"

Liu Yangbo changed the direction of attack: "It's not so simple, it's not like the rumored style of a thousand heads." ”

"You can't say that......"

"Brigade commander, there is a situation!"

Brigade commander staff officer Wen Yu rode over and stopped beautifully in front of Xu Soul.

"What's the matter?"

"A large force of enemy troops is coming in the direction of Chita, the outpost is retreating, and the enemy is only ten kilometers from here."

Xu Soul nodded and turned to Liu Yangbo: "There is no time, my people will resist here first, you organize it, and quickly retreat to the mountain." ”

"It's too late, the enemy is keeping a close eye on us at the west entrance and the southern slope of the position, and is constantly making tentative attacks, and if we withdraw en masse, they will soon be detected. In addition, we have a lot of wounded, and we will not be able to evacuate quickly, and when the time comes, it is likely that you will be exposed to the enemy in the valley......"

"You don't have to worry about this, our task is to help you withdraw from Lu, you just have to withdraw, and leave the rest to us, if you are worried that the enemy on the west side will take the opportunity to attack, I can send a battalion to resist for you."

Liu Yangbo suddenly grabbed Xu Soul's hand tightly: "Brigade Commander Xu, I hope you stay, don't fight with me, pull the troops to the mountain pass, don't worry about supplies, we still have more than a thousand live war horses, anyway, there is not much feed for them now, slaughtered in batches, enough for the two of us to eat for many days...... We can't withdraw from here, this place is too important, we must not allow the enemy to use this passage at will, if you are not willing to stay, please go back, we don't need to be rescued, we can still last three or four days with our own strength, I believe that in these few days, the enemy will definitely be surrounded, before that, our mission is not really completed. ”

"I see."

Xu Soul put his other hand on the back of Liu Yangbo's hand.

"In fact, my radio station suddenly malfunctioned, and I had no choice but to go to Commander Liu to borrow the radio, which delayed for some time, at this time the enemy suddenly launched a large-scale attack from several directions, and as a last resort, I had to pull the troops up the Yablonovo Pass, and together with the 4th Cavalry Regiment, fell into a state of siege...... It shouldn't be too obvious to say this. ”

Liu Yangbo nodded knowingly: "It's not false at all, it's a last resort, it's really a last resort now, you can't withstand the enemy's counterattack in this valley, Chita can send a whole division to deal with you at any time, you came out of the mountains, you didn't bring many cannons, you can't stand it, come to the mountains, machine guns and cannons are piled up." ”

Xu Soul smiled slightly, and turned to the chief staff officer Wen Yu: "Order, one regiment and one battalion are the rearguard, relying on the enemy position that has just been captured to block the enemy's reinforcements, and the other departments will march to Yablonovo in the original marching order!" ”

On March 17, the ninth year of Guangxing, Xu Soul officially joined the "Military Department Violent Clan", which was controversial in the military history circles of later generations.

Three days later, on March 20, the two cavalry units met near Yablonovo.

The Second Army's assault group, consisting of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division, began to carry out a breakthrough operation from the upper Chita side in the early morning of 18 March, and the Janissary Cavalry Brigade of the Janissaries Brigade quickly penetrated from the breakthrough as a mobile force and rushed to Yablonovo at noon on 20 March.

The 10th Cavalry Brigade of the Reserve 10th Cavalry Brigade arrived near Yablonovo on the afternoon of 20 March as the vanguard of the mobile forces, and its reconnaissance unit joined the search party of the Praetorian Cavalry Brigade in the valley and the encirclement was closed.

Five infantry divisions and one cavalry division of the Russian 5th Army, together with the garrison of Chita Fortress, totaling more than 100,000 people, were surrounded in a radius of several tens of kilometers around Chita.

The next day, the temperature suddenly cooled, and a snowstorm that lasted for two days and three nights swept across the north and south of the Yablonov Mountains, and the military operations between the two sides had to come to an end, and the so-called Battle of Chita slowly ended in colorful snowflakes.

According to post-war Russian information, as of 20 March, there were more than 11,700 Russian troops encircled in Chita, including about 15,000 wounded who were too late to evacuate.

From 20 February to 21 March, the total number of casualties and missing of the Russian Far Eastern Army (including the 5th Army) was 179,273, of which more than 14,000 Russian troops were lost near the Yablonovo Pass.

Through the clamor of war correspondents from various countries, the names of Yablonovo Pass and Liu Yangbo spread all over the world for a while.

The big headline of the Imperial Daily about the Battle of Yablonovo was "Glory of the Empire!" Miracle of Yablonovo! ”。

The "Commentary on Current Affairs" run by the Chinese People's Party is impressively marked: "One ride is a thousand!" Battle Yablonovo! ”

The Battlebreaker, the Amazing Battle.

The Liberal Party's "Voice of the Nation" praised it: "...... The Battle of Yablonovo shocked the world...... The tenacious spirit of our great Chinese people is well known...... From now on, the European and American powers dare not look down on me a little! ”

The royalist-run Xinmin Bao commented: "With the strength of thousands of people, we blocked the retreat of hundreds of thousands of strong enemies, fell into the encirclement of tens of thousands, and held on day and night...... Iron bones, crying heaven and earth! ”

The "Shiwen Bao" of the Republic of China Party jumped out and accused: "Liu Yangbo violated the military order, deliberately turned off the radio station, and led the team to act without authorization...... The original task was to rescue the 4th Cavalry Regiment, but instead fell into the encirclement with the 4th Cavalry Regiment...... Both of them have violated military law, and although they have contributed to the country, their crimes should not be investigated? So what is military law? Doesn't such a disregard for military law and blind indulgence encourage soldiers to act recklessly for their own merits? ”

The arguments of Shiwen Bao have quite a market in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other places, and local public opinion has generally demanded that Liu and Xu be punished by military law, and some members of the House of Representatives have also raised questions with the Ministry of National Defense, asking why Liu Yangbo, who has repeatedly violated military orders and military law, should not be dealt with.

Liu Yun raised the matter at the base camp meeting and made his attitude unabashedly clear.

“…… At first, Liu Yangbo did violate the military order, but afterwards, the front army command recognized his actions and assigned him a new task...... It is understandable that front-line officers should make adjustments to their operational plans in accordance with the situation they are currently aware of, and, more importantly, the results of such adjustments have been of great help to the situation on the battlefield as a whole...... I believe that what happened in Yablonovo is not some irrational nonsense, but a well-planned and courageous action after seeing the overall situation clearly, which should be commended, and we must not stifle the initiative of the front-line soldiers for the sake of framework rules, and of course, we should also make it clear that we need rational bravery, not brute force on a whim. We can't be tied up by those laymen, on the side of the Congress, I will personally explain it, and my decision is to award Liu Yangbo a medal and a commendation to the 4th Cavalry Regiment. There is also Xu Soul's detachment to relieve the siege, he did a good job, not only broke through many obstacles and quickly arrived at Yablonovo, but also realistically changed the battle plan when the situation suddenly changed, and in hindsight, he did not do anything good for the future development of the situation, and he should also be commended......"

Premier Zhang Zhigao expressed his approval of Liu Yun's decision, and the generals of Liu Yun's faction in the General Staff system were even more eager to raise their hands and feet to agree.

Liu Yangbo's matter is not the most important thing after all.

After the Battle of Chita in recent months, the coalition forces failed to complete the original strategic concept - to annihilate the main force of the Russian Far East Army. The main forces of the Russian army desperately broke out of the encirclement, and then it is likely that a new defensive line will be established with Ulan-Ude as the center, relying on the Sezhige River and Lake Baikal.

Between 24 February and 20 March, 71,654 casualties were lost in the Western Front of the coalition forces. Since the only rapid supply route, the Manchuria-Qiqihar railway, was already overloaded, the Western Front could not get enough replenishment in a short period of time, and the further lengthening of the supply line and the approach of warm spring would also make the logistics situation of the front even worse.

Now, the base camp needs to make the next decision on the direction of the campaign of the Western Front, and indeed the entire battle situation.