"The enemy is coming up from the southern slope!"

Liu Yangbo, who was commanding the battle at the east entrance, was not surprised when he heard the report, although there was only one company of the 3rd Cavalry Battalion with less than 100 men on the southern slope to monitor them, but during the day, they had already been equipped with four machine guns and two 80-millimeter mortars, and 30 boxes of 600 grenades were sent to the position of the 1st Company.

"Go back and tell your company commander, resist me, I don't have any reinforcements for him, even if there is only one person left, I have to fight to the end."

Liu Yangbo said to the correspondent who came to report the news, but he didn't expect the correspondent to have a request: "Our company's signal gun is gone, and there is no way to fire signal flares, so the company commander wants me to get one." ”

"Adjutant Xiao! Take him to see Staff Officer Qin and ask Staff Officer Qin to get him a flare gun and a box of signal flares. ”

Liu Yangbo gave a loud order to the adjutant, and then personally operated a machine gun to fire fiercely at the enemy, and the front of the position illuminated by the flares was densely packed with moving heads.

The Russians' bullets also flew straight at them unequivocally, and several fighters around Liu Yangbo fell one after another, and the bullets hit countless chaotic mud debris on the slope of the bunker.

"Bang", the bullet was finished, Liu Yangbo was changing the drum, several Russian soldiers who seemed to have been swept down dozens of yards away suddenly got up, grabbed their rifles and rushed over, the speed was unbelievably fast, Liu Yangbo shouted in his heart Don't panic, don't panic, but the drum just can't get stuck on the machine gun, seeing that five or six Russian soldiers have rushed five or six steps away-

Liu Yangbo simply left the machine gun, and easily pulled out the revolver from the holster on his waist to shoot to the end in one go, the three Russian soldiers in front fell, and the three behind stepped over the bodies of their comrades and continued to rush up.

"Fight!"

Liu Yangbo immediately drew his knife out of the sheath, jumped to the front with the trench wall, dodged first, dodged the bayonet of the Russian soldier in front of him, and at the same time lowered his body slightly, and the saber slashed into the opponent's abdomen.

The two Russian soldiers in the back shouted, and at the same time raised their guns to stab Liu Yangbo, Liu Yangbo did not avoid, but rushed towards the enemy, opened the bow left and right, waved the knife with his right hand to open the bayonet of one person, grabbed the rifle body of the other person with his left hand, and took advantage of the situation to use the force to cut off the forearm of the person in front of the right with a knife, and then returned to the hand to block the second thrust of the person on the left, and unexpectedly raised his foot and kicked the person in front of the left down the slope.

Before he could catch his breath, a large group of Russian soldiers rushed out from dozens of yards away, and several of them had already raised their rifles and aimed at him......

Suddenly, there was a deafening sound of machine guns, and the Russian soldiers in front of them fell down, and the rest of them retreated in a panic.

Of course, Liu Yangbo couldn't let go of this good opportunity to escape, jumped back into the trench, and with the help of the 80mm white phosphorus flares fired by the mortar, he clearly saw that there were two people in flight jackets in the cat's position just now, and one of them gave him a thumbs up.

"Squadron Leader Cai......"

Of course, Liu Yangbo recognized the other party, and early this morning, Cai Jie, the captain and squadron leader of the 88th Aviation Reconnaissance Squadron in front of him, smashed a plane on the ceiling of his bedroom, almost completely destroying the regimental headquarters of the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

"And me, Flight Sergeant Lu Kai."

The little ghost next to Cai Yi, who looked no more than twenty, introduced himself pretentiously, and he was holding the Type 99 light machine gun that Liu Yangbo fiddled with just now.

Liu Yangbo put the saber back into the sheath and stretched out his hands to the two: "In this way, I owe you something." ”

Cai raised the other machine gun in his hand: "We're even." ”

Suddenly, two red and one green flares were raised in succession in the direction of the west exit, which was a signal for help.

"Can't you stand it at the West Exit? The enemy is cooperating well this time, damn it, this side is still attacking so tightly, I really can't pull away...... Shawshank! Adjutant Shaw! ”

Liu Yangbo anxiously called for the adjutant, but no one around him answered, and only he, Cai Ye, and Lu Kai were left in this section of the trench of dozens of yards, and the sound of explosions and gunfire on the battlefield filled the ear canal made people breathless.

"Your name is Adjutant Xiao, it's him, he led us to the medical director for help today."

Lu Kai said, helping up a young ensign next to him, it was Liu Yangbo's adjutant Shawshank - a hole had been deeply dug in his left forehead, his eyes were open, and he couldn't bat himself. Liu Yangbo sighed lowly and reached out to wipe Shawshank's eyelids, which made him close his eyes.

"If there's any mission, let me go."

Cai said that he already considered himself a member of the group.

Liu Yangbo hesitated slightly, and pointed to the end of the trench: "Go over there, find the current supreme commander of the 3rd Battalion and 2nd Company, and ask him to bring five or six people over." ”

"Yes."

Cai Ye handed over the machine gun in his hand to Liu Yangbo, and patted Lu Kai on the shoulder: "You stay, although we are pilots, we are soldiers after all, it doesn't matter whether we fight in the air or on land." ”

Lu Kai patted the machine gun in front of him: "I understand, don't worry, whether in the air or on the ground, the machine gun in my hand will shoot just as accurately." ”

"No, you have to be more accurate! Well, see you later. ”

Cai Yi bent on his waist and disappeared into the corner of the battlement-like trench at once.

"The enemy is coming up again!"

Lu Kai reflexively pulled the trigger while reporting to Liu Yangbo, and on the plane, he was an excellent backseat observer and machine gunner, and in a fixed position, his marksmanship was even more amazing...... Liu Yangbo also picked up the machine gun and joined the battle, and in a few minutes he emptied three drums in a row, and the dense shells that rained down made the enemy cry wolf and run away. The position is temporarily impregnable.

After a while, the deputy company commander of the 2nd Company of the 3rd Battalion rushed over with four soldiers, and Liu Yangbo didn't see Cai Yi.

"Where's Captain Cai who gave me orders?"

"Wounded, just now the position was plunged into hand-to-hand combat, he was stabbed in the chest with a bayonet."

"Does it matter?"

"It's sent down for rescue, it's not clear."

"Where's your company commander?"

"Killed, now I'm the commander of the 2nd Company."

Liu Yangbo nodded numbly: "How many people are there in your company?" ”

"There are still fifty or sixty of them on the position, and half of them are slightly injured and cannot get out of the line of fire."

"Gather up the people who can get on the horse, gather at the position of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Artillery Battalion, and the few people you brought will stay behind to defend this position."

"Understood."

Liu Yangbo patted Lu Kai on the shoulder: "You can go back." ”

Lu Kai looked puzzled: "For what?" ”

"Squadron Leader Cai is injured, if anything happens to you, we won't be able to indicate the target for the airship that is dropping supplies."

Lu Kai was very stubborn: "I'm fine, you can go, Captain Cai and I have encountered a more dangerous situation, nothing happens, it can't hurt us, this time he and I will be fine, don't worry, Captain Cai's life is big, but he was stabbed, it's nothing." ”

Liu Yangbo didn't have time to insist on anything, so he said, "Then you take care of yourself", and ran away with the deputy company commander.

In a few minutes, Liu Yangbo picked out about 90 soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 3rd Battalion to leave the Dongkou position, ran to the woods behind the position and took out the war horses, and beckoned the artillerymen of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Artillery Battalion to follow and move the position.

When the reinforcements arrived at the Xikou position, the Russian infantry had already broken through the trench line guarded by the dismounted cavalry of the 2nd Battalion of the Chinese Army. Preparation...... Come on! ”

Ninety cavalrymen rode into the enemy formation, swords were chopped indiscriminately, horses' hooves were trampled, and the momentum suddenly overwhelmed the opponent, the Russian infantry hesitated for a moment, and the raindrops of mortar shells fell on the heads of the Russian follow-up troops, followed by deadly shrapnel fired by 87mm howitzers, and the front and rear of the Russian army were almost completely cut off.

"Go, get the machine gun back! What are you doing? ”

Liu Yangbo roared wildly, whipped the cavalry on foot who tried to retreat with his horsewhip, drove them back to their positions, jumped off his horse himself, picked up a machine gun and swept the enemy line, and soon, seven or eight machine guns began to play a waltz of death with more than two dozen cannons and several mortars, which needed to be dotted with blood and bones.

The Russian army, whose endurance was close to the limit, finally collapsed, and the soldiers scattered, abandoning their weapons, crying and screaming like ghosts, rolling and tumbling, passing between the dead and the wounded who could not move, moving faster than ever, as if the imps in the frying pan of hell saw a road to heaven that was about to disappear, and frantically fled, frantically moved away, frantically fell and fell and got up again at the guns of their own warlords......

The situation at the west entrance seemed to be under control, and suddenly, a soldier next to Liu Yangbo reminded him: "Regiment commander, there is a signal on the south slope." ”

Two red, one green, is a distress signal.

"Won't it?"

Liu Yangbo only complained about this, and immediately ordered the remaining seventy or so horsemen to go to the southern slope with him.

"Commander, you stay, I'll take you there."

Ma Pingyu, deputy commander of the 2nd Company, said, but Liu Yangbo did not respond to him at all, and only urged everyone to bring as many grenades as possible in a slightly hoarse voice, and also brought three machine guns and a mortar to the horse.

"Follow me!"

"Captain, stay ......"

"Don't be wordy, follow me!"

"Commander......"

"I'm dead, if you don't come with me, I'll kill you!"

Liu Yangbo led more than 70 horsemen to gallop to the foot of the slope first, and then abandoned their horses to climb to the top of the slope, and saw at a glance that the position of the 3rd battalion and 1 company had become a mess, and the enemy and the enemy were mixed and killed in one place.

"Draw your sword! Preparation...... Come on! ”

Liu Yangbo issued this order without thinking about it, and everyone carried out the order without thinking about it, drew their sabers and swarmed down, slashing left and right, unstoppable, and in a blink of an eye, a pool of blood was killed, and the enemy was expelled from the position.

"What are you doing! Throw me a grenade! ”

Liu Yangbo kicked the buttocks of the still fluting foot cavalry, jumped into the trench first, grabbed a box of grenades, lifted the lid of the box and threw it wildly, shouting behind him as he threw it: "I am your regiment commander!" Listen, set up the mortar for me, shoot the flares out for me! Machine gun! Machine gun! Where are the machine gunners! Come here, come to me, and set me up right here! Strafing! Fuck to death! ”

The phosphorescent glow of flares clearly illuminated the enemy within a few tens to hundreds of yards, the muzzle flames of machine guns, cavalry guns and revolvers shone non-stop, and hail grenades and mortar shells blasted through bloody holes in the dense enemy formation......

There was only a steep and narrow path from the southern slope to the top of the mountain, and the Russian troops were densely packed on the path, and they were killed in a mess, and the vanguard troops suffered casualties, and the follow-up troops could not withstand the terrible fire of the Chinese army, so they retreated down the mountain in a hurry.

The battlefield calmed down temporarily, but Liu Yangbo had to settle accounts after the autumn.

"What about the company commander? The company commander will come out for me! ”

"Here."

A warrant officer replied, holding a corpse with blood stains on his chest to show Liu Yangbo.

Liu Yangbo wiped the bloodstained saber on his cloak: "So who is the supreme commander now?" ”

"It's me, now I'm the highest, I can't find any other officers who can still speak......"

The warrant officer said, laying down the body.

"What just happened? How did you let the enemy touch it? Your company's position is so good, the fortifications are stronger than elsewhere, and the firepower is not weak, it stands to reason that the enemy will not be able to attack it. ”

"I don't know what to do...... The general outpost did not raise the alarm, and the enemy suddenly killed in front of me, and the company commander had just asked me to fire a signal flare, and I was shot and fell......"

Liu Yangbo put the knife into the sheath and patted the warrant officer's shoulder: "What's it called?" ”

"Zheng Yan."

"Okay, Warrant Officer Zheng, now that you are in charge of here, I will leave twenty people for you, you must guard it for me, remember to send more outposts, now I have to go back, remember, don't expect me to bring someone to rescue here next time."

"Yes......"

The warrant officer's answer was very unconfident, but Liu Yangbo couldn't care so much, leaving the 20 able-bodied soldiers who had just followed him to the 3rd Battalion and 1st Company, and he led the remaining 40 people to carry the seriously wounded down the hillside......

At noon on March 12, Chita, the headquarters of the Russian Far Eastern Army.

Kuropatkin darkened his not-so-beautiful face and snarled low at the map, like some kind of watchdog meeting some kind of human......

Two days later, the Yablovono Pass was still in the hands of the Chinese army, and Samsonov's division, which was responsible for attacking the eastern entrance, had paid the price of nearly 6,000 casualties and failed to make any progress, while the camp troops that had launched the attack from the western entrance and the southern slope had lost more than 3,000 men and also gained nothing.

Samsonov's 14th Cavalry Division and Chita Separate Brigade were largely incapacitated, with half of the eight artillery batteries under them suffering damage and three-quarters of the artillery casualties...... On the afternoon of the 11th, one of the additional Buryat border regiments that Kuropatkin had specially ordered to be assigned to him also lost two-thirds of its combatants in the night's attack, and without further reinforcements, Samsonov could no longer drive the remnants of the army, which had lost their morale, to continue their near-suicidal attacks.

Over the years, Kampf's three cavalry regiments and one infantry regiment had been killed and wounded, but the Ulan-Ude side quickly sent him an additional cavalry regiment and two infantry regiments, and he still had a chance, but there was not much time left to give him alms.

At the same time, the large forces of the Chinese army were approaching step by step, the entire defensive circle was being pressed and shrinking inward a little, and the two flanks of the battle line were also being detoured by the large forces of the Chinese army...... If the railway line is not opened as soon as possible, hundreds of thousands of the main forces of the Far Eastern Army will be completely destroyed around Chita!

"What is Samsonov doing! Is he a pig! Chief of staff! ”

Sobolev answered honestly: "Here I am, commander. ”

"Do we have any troops available on our side?"

"It's a pity that there are no reserves left in the command, and now there is a lot of pressure on the front, and the reserves of the armies cannot be transferred...... In short, there are no available troops. ”

"Then the attack can only be strengthened from the west...... This pig in Kampf for many years! ”

"It is said that the enemy's air raids were so intense that the attacking forces on both sides were unable to deploy during the day and artillery support at night...... We have a serious shortage of artillery flares...... And the field artillery generally lacks training in night battles......"

Kuropatkin punched the map, which was also the wall on which it hung, and suddenly his face cried, and he was probably on the verge of collapse.

When long-standing rhetoric is ruthlessly punctured by reality, when grand goals and fluttering vanities are brutally stifled by terrible conditions, when frequent failures and the prospect of total destruction are piled up and fermented, madness and suicide are the general paths to liberation.

Kuropatkin has not yet been able to extricate himself.

"My dear Chief of Staff, what shall we do......"

Kuropatkin was crying, and of course lacked the key tears.

Sobolev gritted his teeth, glanced at the map, and then at Kuropatkin, who had buried his head in his arms, and made up his mind to speak: "At this point, we can only sacrifice some people to save the majority. ”

Kuropatkin raised his head, his face full of excitement, as if he was about to drown and grabbed the straw: "What did you say? That's right, that's it, I'm going to despair, it's not like this, there's a way, there's a way, there's a way, yes, you're right, keep talking! ”

Sobolev walked to the map and drew it with his fingers: "On the one hand, we should continue to order Kampf to lead his troops to attack the Yablonovo Pass, and on the other hand, we should also make a plan not to retreat by railroad." While the encirclement is not yet tightened, we can also hurry up and withdraw our troops from several other routes, first of all, from the road south of Yablovono, on the line of Kuka-Uriot-Tanga-Bilizier-Shilok, which is in good condition, and Shilok is on the railway line, and as soon as we arrive in Shilok we can board a train to Ulan-Ude. Now, the enemy is trying to detour this route, and we must concentrate our forces to resist it! To this end, we should first shrink the defensive line in the northern and central sectors, draw the enemy under the well-fortified Chita fortress, and strengthen the southern defensive line with the freed forces to ensure the retreat of the main force. In addition, there are several steep mountain roads to take from Verkhniy Chita, bypassing north of Yablonovo, from which it is possible to withdraw some lightly armed troops......"

Kuropatkin hesitated: "In this case, it is to put the garrison of Chita in a dangerous situation, and they will be cut off and surrounded by the enemy at any time...... Do you mean to sacrifice the Chita garrison in order to save the big army? ”

"Yes, and in order to attract the enemy, the number of Chita garrisons must not be small, at least two corps, so that they can pose a threat to the enemy, and if the enemy wants to bypass the fortress, he will have to risk cutting off the supply line with a large force of our army......"

Kuropatkin did not hesitate longer, and the subconscious mind that saved himself prevailed first.

"So, that's the only way?"

"This is the most appropriate way to avoid greater losses."

Sobolev did not blush at all.

An hour later, the plan was drawn out, and the commander of the 5th Army, Lieutenant Linevich, and his 12th and 16th armies were sacrificed to "that raging, incredible dragon."

In the afternoon of the same day, in Yablovono, the 4th Cavalry Regiment received another batch of airdropped supplies - five light machine guns, 100,000 rounds of machine-gun ammunition and 50,000 rounds of cavalry ammunition, five 80-mm mortars, 5,000 mortar shells, 5,000 grenades, a batch of medicines and bandages, several boxes of canned meat, several large bags of rice. In addition, five machine gunners of the aviation unit parachuted from the airship and joined the 4th Cavalry Regiment as the first reinforcements.

Before dinner, Liu Yangbo learned from Luo Jianqiu, chief staff officer, that after two days of fierce fighting, 381 of the 1,536 men of the regiment had been killed and 558 wounded, of which about 180 were lightly wounded and returned to their positions after being bandaged and treated. With the addition of the "reinforcements" with a total of five people, the regiment still had less than 800 personnel capable of fighting. The 800 men were able to handle 43 intact cannons, 18 80-mm mortars, 34 light and heavy machine guns, and 1,000 mounted guns plus dozens of revolvers.

Liu Yangbo knew very well that no matter how many weapons and ammunition were airdropped, casualties would always be inevitable, even if it was really one as ten, if the enemy repeatedly attacked at any cost, there would always be casualties in the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

Seeing Liu Yangbo's brows twisted, Luo Jianqiu presented a bowl of hot white rice under his nose: "Commander, what a luxury-after gnawing Russian bread for half a month, I'm dying...... In any case, eating is the most important thing. ”

Liu Yangbo smiled and nodded, picked up the rice bowl, and picked up the rice with the shiny canned braised pork in front of him.

As if he suddenly remembered something, Liu Yangbo raised his head, and there were still grains of rice on his huge nose.

"By the way, let's go down and cook some white porridge for that Squadron Leader Cai, he is injured in the chest, I'm afraid it will be difficult to swallow rice - he can do us a great favor."

Luo Jianqiu was about to agree, but the flight sergeant Lu Kai, who had "fallen" down with Captain Cai Yi, the leader of the 88th Aviation Reconnaissance Squadron, shouted beside him: "Commander Xie Lu Xie cares, this matter is on me, Captain Cai is my boss and my partner, and it is natural for me to take care of him." ”

"Then it's hard for you - I should thank you too, you also helped us a lot, today's airdrop instructions are all up to you."

Lu Kai touched the back of his head and smiled shyly: "This ...... Hehe, in fact, what can I do alone, I have to rely on the guidance of our Squadron Leader Cai......"

Liu Yangbo suddenly shouted on a whim: "Young man, have you Squadron Leader Cai married a daughter-in-law?" ”

"Hehe, our captain, we were engaged before the war, and the other party is the youngest daughter of Count Nie Shicheng, the commander of the Southwest Military Region......"

"And what about you, lad, what about you? Do you have a daughter-in-law? Or is it a fiancée or something? ”

Lu Kai blushed and lowered his head: "No, not yet, I didn't expect so much, the family is poor, the population is large, my eldest brother has a crippled foot, and he hasn't married a daughter-in-law at the age of twenty-seven, and the following younger siblings rely on my salary to study, and the matter of marriage, hehe, I can't think of it, I can't think of it......"

A photo dangled in front of Lu Kai's eyes: a beautiful woman in plain clothes, smiling gracefully, even if it was not a city and country, it could finally make this twenty-year-old peasant boy fall in love at first sight.

"My fourth sister, sixteen years old, goes to a girls' middle school in the county, and has no in-laws, now I have the final say at home, I always think about finding him a reliable young man, just now I thought, you and your Squadron Leader Cai are very good, since Captain Cai already has someone, see if you can consider it......"

Lu Kai panicked: "This ...... Head Liu...... You suddenly said that, we only met yesterday...... It's too ...... What's that......"

Liu Yangbo's face was horizontal: "What, I think my sister is ugly, and she doesn't deserve you?" ”

"That's not what it means......"

"I didn't force you to marry her, I mean, after the war, you come to my house, you meet, you two like it, and it will be done, if either party doesn't like it, forget it, isn't that free love in fashion now...... What do you love ......?"

"Free love." Luo Jianqiu added.

"Yes, free love, you just love freely, love love, can't you do this?"

Although he felt that it was not like that, Lu Kai still had no resistance to Liu Yangbo's hideous face, and nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "Okay, okay, I just promise......"

"Okay, go take care of your squadron leader, tell him for me, and I'll go see him later if there is nothing to do."

"Yes......"

The reserve brother-in-law, Sergeant Lu Kai, respectfully handed back the photo and walked away in a trance.

Luo Jianqiu glanced at the photo, and his expression changed: "Leader, in fact, ......"

"What's the matter?"

"Does your sister have to marry someone who has never been married?"

"Yes, my sister is so decent, why do you want to be a concubine for others?"

"What about the divorced?"

"What? You want to divorce your wife and marry again. ”

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

"You...... Dig a pit and bury yourself. ”

Luo Jianqiu was hit hard, so he shifted his enthusiasm to rice and canned braised pork, but even so, he was still far inferior to the head of the regiment in terms of speed and momentum in terms of grilled rice......

Signal flares were raised at the same time from the positions at the west entrance and on the southern slope, one red and two green, "the enemy is coming".

Liu Yangbo licked off the last grain of rice in the bowl, brushed the ground and got up: "I'm going to the West Exit position to have a look." ”

Luo Jianqiu grabbed him: "Regiment leader, don't be bored, they should be able to withstand it, besides, the enemy's main attack direction in the past two days is in the east exit, I think in a while, the enemy should come up from the east entrance, the so-called good steel should be put on the blade, even if you don't want to go, I will still drive you to go." ”

Liu Yangbo shook the tip of his chopsticks at Luo Jianqiu: "You kid, you are oily, okay, I won't go, swallow another bowl of rice...... Damn, eating bread every day, it's really going to die. ”

Another bowl of rice went down, but the rice grains on the wall of the bowl had not yet been licked clean, and a signal flare was raised on the west side, two red and one green, "Request for support".

"There's no way, it seems that this time the enemy is fighting for his life to come up from the west entrance, as usual, you watch the house, I will lead the reserve team over."

"I'll go this time......"

"Go aside, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, I'm the regiment commander, you have to listen to me, think back then, when Lao Tzu drove a horse to death in Guanyuan and trampled on that mountain pass lieutenant general, you didn't even touch a gun - stay well, the regiment headquarters is all up to you."

Liu Yangbo slapped Luo Jianqiu on the shoulder, swaggered to call the reserves, and after a few steps, his reserve brother-in-law, Lu Kai, a flight sergeant of the 88th Aviation Reconnaissance Squadron, came over.

"Commander Liu, take me there, you also saw it last night, my skill in playing machine guns is not covered...... Give me a machine gun, and I'll be sure to make a thousand! ”

"Good boy, you know how to behave in front of your eldest brother, okay, come here, give you a machine gun, and I'll write to my sister tomorrow and praise you from head to toe - don't worry, my sister will listen to me."

Lu Kai was speechless for a while, so he had to smirk.

The so-called reserve, that is, a company of 87-mm howitzers, plus seventy or eighty cavalrymen.

Lu Kai couldn't ride a horse, so he had to sit in a carriage that pulled ammunition, holding a light machine gun in both hands, and his backpack was stuffed with drums and bags.

"Let's go! Go to the West Exit! ”

After the day's rest, the cavalry did not feel tired at all, drove their horses along the dirt road beside the railway, and after a while rushed to the position at the west entrance, the enemy had indeed reached the front of the position, and the 2nd battalion of foot cavalry was fighting with the enemy infantry with shiny bayonets with swords in their blades.

A string of sonorous and powerful slogans ejected from Liu Yangbo's mouth, and the cavalry rode their horses to kill at a distance of dozens of yards, instantly breaking into the enemy formation, slashing their horses and stepping on them, and rushing the enemy formation backwards for dozens of yards at once.

Just as Liu Yangbo was rushing around and gathering the young cavalrymen with strong blood and strength back, several straight pillars of light suddenly flashed in the sky, cross-colliding into the camp of the Russian army, and shot out several circles of bright oval light spots.

Liu Yangbo couldn't help but look up at the sky, and under the phosphorescent light dragged by the 80mm flares, a huge cigar-shaped object with a shiny appearance floated faintly in the air, which couldn't help but send chills down the spine......

Three cigar-shaped objects erupted from the familiar tongues of fire – the Type 96 heavy machine guns erupted from their muzzles during long bursts at night, and three Chinese airships appeared in the night for the first time, illuminating the ground with searchlights mounted on pods, and then strafing the poor Russian troops from top to bottom with machine guns hundreds of meters from a low altitude of several hundred meters.

The Russian soldiers who were shocked by this inhuman scene were either swept down in a daze or turned back and ran away in fear, and no one could calm down, especially these newly transferred troops from Europe under the command of Kampf for many years, who had hardly experienced any fighting - they had probably only seen the Chinese aerial weapons for the first time during the daytime, and now they were ruthlessly swept away by these monsters with ferocious machine-gun fire in the fierce battles of the night......

"Hooray! Long live the Air Force! Long live the airship! ”

The Chinese positions resounded with heartfelt cheers like waves, and the airships responded with signal flares indicating "victory in battle."

On the other hand, over the southern slope position, a modified "Purple Cloud" airship drove back the Russian troops who were swarming at the risk of death with an equally shocking appearance.

For the first time, the Imperial Floating Fleet is engaged in a night battle!

As a matter of fact, these airships arrived at the battlefield as early as dusk, and then kept hovering over the battlefield at a speed of less than 30 to 40 kilometers per hour, and as soon as the battle began, and when they saw an indicator flare or a signal flare for help rising, the airships quickly drove there, turned on the searchlights to shine on the enemy troops, and then killed and wounded the enemy troops with several heavy machine guns mounted on the side of the pods. Originally, only two or three experiments were carried out, but because the commander of the Front, Admiral Zhong Xiahuo, was extremely concerned about the battle in Yablonovo, he hastily put these "night battleships" into the first actual battle.

With the assistance of four floating night battleships, the Russian army no longer had the courage to attack the positions of the 4th Cavalry Regiment that night.

"All the best."

Liu Yangbo was supposed to take a nap with such thoughts, but when Lu Kai, who was shot in the chest, was carried in front of him, his drowsiness was completely shattered like a crystal cup that fell to the rock from a height of 10,000 meters......

"How so...... Hey, man, are you okay? ”

Liu Yangbo held Lu Kai's hand, Lu Kai's palms and fingers were full of calluses, very rough, but very solid.

"Doctor, how is he?"

A second lieutenant medical officer replied while beckoning to the stretcher: "The bullet has entered the lung, there is a lot of bleeding, it has been treated urgently, and it needs to be sent for surgery immediately......

"You must save him, he will go to my house for a blind date after the war!"

"We'll do our best."

The medical officer responded procedurally, and together with the two stretcher bearers, he carefully moved Lu Kai onto the stretcher, then set up a carriage and ran to the bandaging center near the regiment headquarters - since a complete set of surgical instruments had been airdropped during the day yesterday, the medical director of the regiment would also perform many kinds of surgeries, and the bandaging station had already opened an operating room.

Liu Yangbo followed closely and rode on his horse, ran to the bandaging center, and while consoling his subordinates, he waited for Lu Kai's news, and finally fell asleep on a saddle outside the bandaging center.

When it was almost dawn, the medical director woke Liu Yangbo.

"That flight sergeant named Lu Kai said he had something to tell you."

Liu Yangbo stepped into the ward in three steps and two steps, Lu Kai's face was pale, and he nodded to him with a smile, and Liu Yangbo leaned his ear over knowingly.

"Your sister...... It's beautiful...... Thank you, thank you, you look up to me...... Unfortunately, I probably don't have that...... Blessings, cough ......"

A mouthful of blood spilled, Lu Kai fainted, and never woke up again.

March 13, Oloviyanaya, Forward Command of the Western Front of the Coalition Army.

Zhong Xiahuo, commander of the front army, received a report: The enemy's 5th Army and 2nd Army, which were located in the northern and middle sections of the front, were rapidly shrinking their positions with Chita as the center, and at the same time, the enemy's 3rd and 4th armies, located in the southern section of the front, had already extended their defensive lines to the upper reaches of the Yinda River and organized a strong force to launch a counterattack against our First Army in front of them, which seriously hindered the action of the group army to make a detour to the west of Chita in order to bring the enemy troops into the encirclement.

"So that Kuropatkin guy is determined to slip away?"

Zhong Xiahuo furrowed his brows.

"In this way, in order to escape, the attack on Yablonovo will be intensified, and the pressure on the 4th Cavalry Regiment will be even greater......"

Chief of Staff Deng Jian had another opinion: "I see that the enemy can't take Yablonovo for a while, and now our floating troops are circling there day and night, and the 4th Cavalry Regiment has a large number of artillery and machine guns, and the airdrop supply can basically meet the demand...... Now that the enemy has strengthened the defenses on the line of the Inda River, it is probably to cover the main force to bypass the retreat of Yablonovo - starting from Kuka, southwest of Chita, there are several large and small roads that can go around the railway station west of Yablonovo, although it is not as convenient as railway transportation, but when there is no way, as long as it is a road, it will go......"

"Then it is time to order the First Army to intensify its offensive, and it is necessary to quickly break through the first-line defenses of the Inda River, cut off the main thoroughfares, including the railway line, and close the main forces of the enemy to the west of the Yablonov Mountains...... However, if it is still necessary to join the 2nd Army at Yablonovo as planned, a large number of enemy troops will be drawn out of the encirclement along the enemy line that stretches to the upper reaches of the Inda River, and if the enemy forces have begun to move the main force westward now, there will be more Russian troops who can escape......"

"In this way, the main forces of the First Army should shift the axis of attack slightly to the west, and the encirclement line, which was to be completed in Yablonovo, could be extended fifty to a hundred kilometers to the west, in the area from Mogzon to Haragon, and if it was not possible, it could be extended further to Shilok, so as to bring as many enemy forces as possible into the encirclement...... As for the defenders of Yablovono, it was relieved by the right flank of the Second Army. ”

Zhong Xiahuo pondered, his gaze wandering back and forth between the map and Deng Jian's face.

"The right flank of the Second Army...... Where have the closest troops to Yablonovo arrived? ”

"The 1st Praetorian Division is already approaching Upper Chita, and to its north is the 3rd Praetorian Division, which is the far right wing of the army...... The forward of these two divisions was eighty kilometers in a straight line from Yablonovo, but it was necessary to break through the heavily defended defensive line of the enemy in the area around Chita in order to approach Yablonovo, and because the supplies could not keep up, these two divisions could not launch a large-scale attack for a while, and in the Chita fortress defense area south of Upper Chita, it was even more unlikely that the rest of the Second Army would immediately launch a meaningful attack......"

"Is it okay to take a detour? Passing through the Yablonov Mountains? ”

"The terrain is not familiar, the situation in the mountains is not very clear, if you get lost, it will delay the opportunity even more, according to the preliminary report of the Forbidden Third Division, the road into the mountains is narrow and rugged, and the artillery baggage is not easy to transport......

Zhong Xiahuo hugged his thick arms to his chest and continued to ponder.

Deng Jian helped his delicate gold-rimmed glasses: "Old Zhong, you want to try your best to rescue that regiment, right?" However, as the supreme commander of the front, I think it is very inappropriate to spend time on the situation of a regiment. In order to rescue the 4th Cavalry Regiment, we sent the main attacking forces of the front army and even the base camp floating group, and the effect was naturally very significant, but on other fronts, the troops of the entire division and army did not receive the air support that was urgently needed......"

Zhong Xiahuo's angular face trembled slightly: "You mean, it's time to give up riding the 4th regiment?" ”

Deng Jian's glasses shone slightly: "I didn't say that...... I also hope that the regiment will be saved, and then serve as a typical big tree, so as to raise the morale of the troops, increase the confidence of the population, and at the same time increase the prestige of our army and the leaders of the army, but there is something more important than the rescue of the 4th regiment of cavalry. We must make every effort to ensure the breakthrough of the First Army to the enemy's defense line on the Inda River in order to encircle as many Russian troops as possible. As for Yablonovo, the 4th Cavalry Regiment could be ordered to completely destroy the railroad in the defense area as much as possible, and at the same time send heavy airships to carry out non-stop bombardment of the railway transfer hub between Chita and Ulan-Ude, so that even if the enemy recaptures Yablonovo, it will not be able to effectively use the railway line between Chita and Ulan-Ude for a while, and even if the enemy army makes a detour to the railway station west of Yablonovo, he will have to flee to Ulan-Ude on foot because the Ulan-Ude side cannot send a train to pick it up. ”

"So do you want to ride the 4th regiment and try to break through after destroying the railway?"

"It's good to let them stick to the end, it's always useful for them to be nailed there, even if they are destroyed."

Zhong Xiahuo laughed coldly: "So, what is it?" Military economics? Leave the troops that can be rescued and watch it be destroyed? ”

Deng Jian's white fingers flicked nervously two or three times on the table: "The principles of economics are applicable to any rational situation, and they are basically the most rational allocation and the fullest use of resources......

Zhong Xiahuo began to be hideous.

Deng Jian raised his palm: "Okay, you don't like to hear it, then I'll give you another extravagant suggestion, send a lightly armed force to bypass the mountains, the scale is not too large, the important thing is that the quality of the commander is high...... The task is to rescue, just rescue the rest of the 4th Cavalry Regiment, to avoid fighting hard with the enemy, and if you can't fight, you must withdraw in time......"

"Very well, let's do it, you make the order."

Zhong Xiahuo said very simply.

"So, the commander is ......"

"Commander of the First Forbidden Brigade, Xu Soul."

"Is that the legendary 'Thousand Heads Chop'?"

"That's right, it's him, and you have to use him at this time."

Zhong Xiahuo said, put his hands behind his back, and turned to look at the huge map hanging on the wall.

Around Chita, in a sea of blue composed of the number of the Russian army unit and the symbol of the defensive line, there was a small, bright red, striking flame, which was three words: 4QT - the map number symbol of the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

"I will definitely be able to persevere, but if you are destroyed like this, where is the 'faith' of loyalty, bravery, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith? I've promised to help you out......"

Deng Jian pretended not to hear anything, sat aside and began to formulate orders to the headquarters of the Second Army and the commander of the First Forbidden Brigade, Xu Soul.

Before lunch, Xu Soul, who was stationed at the forward command post, received a telegram directly from the front headquarters, ordering him to draw four or five battalions from his brigade to form a lightly armed infantry detachment, with himself as the commander, and the detachment must make a detour from the Yablonov mountain north of Verkhniy Chita to Yablonovo, which was being surrounded by enemy troops, within three days, and rescue the 4th Cavalry Regiment defending the place.

"Am you not mistaken? The Forbidden Third Division is not right on the side of the mountain, so it would be nice to call the troops of the Forbidden Third Division to go, but they will pick us up......"

"What's wrong?"

Wen Yu, a staff officer of the brigade commander, asked with concern.

"See for yourself."

Xu Soul handed the telegram to Wen Yu, Wen Yu glanced at it slightly, nodded and said: "I can't ignore the words of the front army headquarters, in short, let's go and say hello to the division commander first, he should have been notified there." ”

"Okay, I'll take a look, you're waiting for me at the rear command post."

The division headquarters was in a small village seven kilometers away, and it was only a quarter of an hour away.

"Report!"

"Come in."

The division commander Luo Kun was holding a telegram in his hand, and when he saw Xu Soul, his kind smile brightened.

"Brigade Commander Xu, it's amazing, where does Commander Zhong of the Front Army want you to go by name......

"You know everything......"

"Just transferred from the army headquarters," Luo Kun put down the telegram, and the temperature of his smile rose slightly, "Your name of a thousand heads is getting louder and louder, I, it's useless to be envious, in short, you do a good job, what do you need, just tell me, your brigade will be withdrawn from the position today, and first concentrate on completing the tasks assigned by the front army, and I will arrange the change of guard." ”

"Take it all down? Didn't you say that you only need to send four or five battalions? ”

"Yes, but you have to select the elite from each regiment, and after the selection, you have to organize the planning, and arrange the carriages and horses...... After you withdraw it, you can concentrate on planning, and besides, your brigade fought fiercely a few days ago, so it's time to rest and recuperate...... Don't worry, after the selection, the remaining troops will be handed over to the deputy brigade commander to command, and I will arrange another task for them. ”

Luo Kun said very reasonably, Xu Soul didn't want to waste any more time, and after thanking him, he retreated.

"Stinky boy, it's very beautiful, it's about to climb on my head, hum, wait and see......"

Not long ago, Xu Soul had been promoted to brigadier general for merit, and won the third-class White Tiger Medal and the third-class Blue Dragon Medal at the same time, and Luo Kun, as Xu Soul's boss, only recently got the third-class Green Dragon, and the newly promoted brigadier general immediately got the third-class and above Green Dragon Medal that only generals are eligible to obtain, which Luo Kun could not accept anyway.

Jealousy is a matter of course, and as long as it does not breed poisonous schemes, jealousy can be considered normal.

Luo Kun didn't know what his jealousy would bring.

Xu Soul rode his horse back to the rear command post of the brigade and began to set up a rescue detachment.

While selecting troops, there is still a lot to do.

Xu Soul needed information in the mountains, so he sent people to collect information from the forbidden third division close to the mountainous area in the defense area, and all the information and scouts were needed.

There were no carts in the mountains, so donkeys and mules had to be used, and the division did not have these pack animals, so it had to report to the army and draw them from other divisions.

Of course, the 90-mm howitzers of the brigade and the 100-mm heavy mortars of the regiment cannot be brought, and the mountain artillery of the regiment can be disassembled and carried by donkeys and mules, but they cannot be carried too much, six guns are enough for a company, and the saved animal power can be carried with more shells.

On the night of 13 March, the Xu Soul detachment completed the formation, with a total of four full-strength infantry battalions, a mountain artillery company, and a special baggage detachment, totaling 3,200 men, and marched overnight to the Yablonov Mountains to the north.

Of course, there are enemies in the mountains, and Xu Soul has been fully aware of this.

To detour from Yablonov Mountain to Yablonovo to rescue the 4th Cavalry Regiment, there are three roads that have been identified, the southerly one is the closest and in the best condition, but because it is close to the main position of the Russian army in Upper Chita, there are many garrisons, and it is easy to get the support of large Russian troops. The northerly section was the farthest and in the worst condition, with several very steep passes to pass through, and relatively few defensive troops. The middle distance is moderate, the road condition is average, the terrain is very complicated, and the middle has to pass through a large area of mountains and forests and many canyons, and the defense force is unknown.

Xu Soul chose the northernmost road.

The reason is simple: the farther away from the main enemy forces, the better.

In order to save the physical strength of the soldiers, Xu Soul asked the division commander Major General Luo Kun in advance for permission to call the carriage of the division's baggage regiment to transport the troops to the foot of the mountain, so at three or four o'clock in the morning, the entire detachment, including officers and soldiers, mules and horses, artillery, and supplies, arrived at the foot of a certain branch of the Yablonov Mountains located north of the current defense line of the Forbidden Third Division, and then immediately camped and rested, and officially marched to the mountain at half past nine the next morning.

While the officers and men of the Xu Soul detachment were sleeping soundly at the foot of the Yablonov Mountain, the 4th Cavalry Regiment, which controlled the Yablonovo Pass, once again engaged in a fierce battle with the Russian troops attacking at night, and firmly held its position with the support of floating night battleships.

However, the order given by the Front Army to completely destroy the railroad in the defense zone caused unease among the officers and men.

"Didn't you say that reinforcements would arrive in three days? Why is there no news of reinforcements approaching yet? And we want to completely destroy the railway...... What does this mean, is it that we are already expected to be wiped out? ”

"yes, if you are sure that you can save us, what's the point of destroying the railroad now? Wouldn't controlling the mountain pass mean making the railroad useless? ”

"Looks like the above is trying to give up on us......"

"You can't sit still...... Let's ask the regimental commander to take us through the siege! ”

"Yes, so many people have died tonight, and we have blocked the way of the enemy's hundreds of thousands of troops to break through, and we will definitely be attacked most fiercely...... If this continues, everyone will be doomed, and break through to the mountains to the north, and then we may return home alive......"

"We're going to see the head of the regiment......"

Carrying feelings of unease, fear and anticipation, a group of soldiers clamored to the new regimental headquarters of the 4th Cavalry Regiment.

"We want to see the regimental commander!"

"Head Liu, we have something to tell you!"

Liu Yangbo, who had dark circles under his eyes, walked out, and beside him was Luo Jianqiu, the staff officer of the regiment director.

Luo Jianqiu immediately reprimanded angrily: "What are you doing! Rebellion is not possible! ”

An elderly non-commissioned officer stood up: "We don't want to rebel, we just want to ask the regiment commander to explain, why do you want to sabotage the railway from now on?" Has the above abandoned us? ”

"Bold! Is this a question you should ask? Gendarme, arrest this guy who is leading the rebellion! ”

Two gendarmes wearing armbands on a red ground and white letters rushed over and were about to arrest the non-commissioned officer, when the soldiers behind suddenly rushed forward and pushed the gendarmes out of the way.

"Listen to me...... Be quiet! ”

Liu Yangbo shouted with a calm expression.

The crowd was silent for a while.

"I know that everyone trusts me very much, so they follow me to carry out this dangerous mission, and in the past few days, we have fought beautifully, and we have blocked the superior enemy again and again......"

Liu Yangbo paused, put his hands on his waist, and nodded subconsciously.

“…… Of course, these days, there are also many excellent comrades-in-arms who have left us, and like you, I am very sad...... I know what you are thinking, the higher authorities want us to destroy the railway, you will think that this is a sign to abandon us, but you also saw last night, the airship sent from above helped us drive the enemy down, and early this morning, there were airships to drop supplies on us, brothers, if the higher authorities really want to abandon us, is it a waste to do so? Yes, when I first received this order, I had a pimple in my heart, but, brethren, I can solemnly tell you that I have absolutely no intention of martyring all of you here, and I believe that with a steady stream of supplies and a strong air force, our 4th Cavalry Regiment will be able to continue to hold out until the final victory is won. Take a step back and say, if I find out that the above is really going to abandon us, I, Liu Yangbo, will go out of my way, and I will desperately lead everyone to break through! If your trust in me hasn't changed, go back to your posts now, and I won't blame anyone for today's events. Also, the task of sabotaging the railway must be carried out unconditionally! ”

The soldiers chattered for a short time, and although some people were still unwilling, the crowd quickly dispersed.

Luo Jianqiu snorted angrily behind him and said to Liu Yangbo: "Just let them go?" This is a rebellion! It is necessary to arrest the leaders and send them to a military court! ”

Liu Yangbo shook his head slightly and said, "Military court?" If all the people here are dead, the court-martial will still be a piece of! Damn, it's the fourth day, and four days ago the nearest unit was only forty kilometers away, and it can't be done by breaking through ten kilometers a day? ”

"Commander......"

"Forget it, anyway, this incident was originally caused by my personal discretion, and I can't blame anyone, I already have the consciousness of being punished afterwards...... In any case, after all, we are nailed here, cutting off the most convenient retreat for the enemy, and if we can drag it out for a day, when it is really not possible, I will lead the people to the rear of the palace, and you are responsible for leading the rest of the people to retreat to the mountains to the north, and take the radio into the mountains to hide for a while, and when the army comes, you will be saved......"

Luo Jianqiu wanted to say something, but was stopped by Liu Yangbo with a gesture.

"I know what you want to say, but I want you to obey my orders at any time, and here, I am the Supreme Commander."

"Yes......"

Chita, on the street in front of the headquarters of the Russian Far Eastern Army, there is a river of gray people and vehicles heading west.

Thousands of soldiers and refugees were about to withdraw from the city, which was about to be on the front line, while the commander of the Far Eastern Army, Kuropatkin, and his entourage were floating in it.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! This is the convoy of General Kuropatkin! ”

The leading hussar officer shouted rudely, whipping the soldiers and civilians in front of him with his horsewhip, and the discontent of the commotion spread like a ripple.

"Kuropatkin? It's not because of him that we've retreated again and again, and now even Chita is going to lose ......"

"That incompetent commander-in-chief!"

"He also claimed to be the second ...... Suvorov"

"I heard that his greatest specialty is nothing more than using lewd jokes to please the Tsar!"

"Isn't the tsar responsible for liking such people?"

"This battle shouldn't have been fought in the first place!"

"I heard that there was a riot in Rostock......"

“…… What about the collective strike of the workers of the Voronezh Arsenal......"

"We're just here to die, this battle can't be won at all, look at Chinese monsters in the air that are more terrible than the devil......"

The chatter grew louder, the people were getting more and more unscrupulous, and the atmosphere in the crowd was getting more and more tense.

"For what are we going to be killed like dogs here...... I don't care about Siberia, I'm going home, I'm going back to Orel, my fiancée is waiting for me......"

"My wife was insulted by the young master of the earl's family, but I still have to fight for those nobles! I quit! ”

"We only have black bread and buckwheat porridge, and often we are not full, but we have to wait at the front to be killed, and those nobles eat caviar and drink champagne every day, and watch us be killed, brothers, what are we doing! What are we waiting for! ”

"To hell with those nobles! We're going home! ”

"To hell with that incompetent commander-in-chief! How many of our brothers have died because of his stupidity! ”

The verbal impulse quickly turned violent into action, and some of the agitated soldiers jumped out first and rushed towards Kuropatkin's convoy.

"What are you doing, this is the commander-in-chief's convoy! You have rebelled! ”

The cavalry of the guards raised their whips and whipped the rioters, which further aroused the anger of the soldiers, and they rushed up and pulled the few cavalrymen off their horses and beat them severely.

Several young soldiers rushed close to the light carriage in which Kuropatkin was riding, banged on the window and shouted: "Come out! You murderer! Executioner! You stupid pig! ”

The carriage door opened, and an officer with an ornate ribbon on his uniform poked his head out and shouted, "Who are you!" How dare you be so bold......"

Before he could finish speaking, the enraged soldiers pulled him down and pressed him to the ground with a flurry of fists and kicks that cut his head and covered his face.

At this moment, a revolver stretched out from inside the carriage and fired a shot into the sky.

As soon as the guns rang out, the streets were in chaos, the civilians who were ready to flee panicked and trampled and trampled, and the ranks of the army were also swept to pieces, and tens of thousands of people screamed and shouted as if to turn the city upside down......

Half an hour later, Lieutenant General Linievich, who had just been appointed commander of the Chita Fortress Defense Zone, personally led the Guards Cavalry Regiment and the Gendarmerie to the scene of the riots.

In the middle of the street lay several carriages that had flipped to the side, and Lynevich recognized one of them as the one that Kuropatkin had boarded after saying goodbye to him.

"Go and see, see how the Commander-in-Chief is!"