A week after the signing of the contract between Russia and Italy, a large number of Russian naval officers and sailors arrived in Italy, where they were to undergo fifteen days of training and then set off on their own warships.

The Italian naval officers and men who trained them found out after some contact that the quality of these Russian naval officers and men was worrisome, and many of them could not even figure out the equipment, and many of them were directly drawn from merchant ships.

Speaking of which, the number of officers and sailors of the Russian Navy is also quite large, but the most elite officers and sailors are basically serving in the Far East. I don't know what the Russian government thinks, the quality of the officers and men sent to receive the battleships is so poor.

In addition to sending officers and soldiers to receive Italian warships, Russia was also preparing for a march.

The two Borodino-class ships No. 1 and No. 2 that were launched, the Borodino and the Alexander III, must definitely be carried.

However, considering that the number of battleships was only five, it felt almost meaningful, so a group of old combat ships also brought with them, three armored ships, the Oslyabia, Navarin, and Sisoy. These three are all 10,000-ton battleships, which were built by Russia in the 90s, but they can only run at a speed of 15-16 knots, and I don't know what the Russians are bringing them out for.

And in addition to these three battleships, the Russian Navy also turned out some other battleships after checking their own home. For example, the armored cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, the cruiser Oleg of the 1st class, the cruiser Alfla of the 1st rank (the one that shelled the Hermitage), the cruiser Donskoy of the 1st class, the cruiser Monomakh of the 1st rank and other 28 warships, among other things. The total tonnage reached 185,000 tons, plus the warships purchased from Italy, this is more than 40 nearly 50 warships, and the total tonnage is as high as 300,000 tons.

Moreover, the commander of the team this time has already been chosen, and Lieutenant General Rozhestvensky, a favorite of the tsar, will be in charge of leading the team to the Far East in a month.

That's right, it's as simple and crude, because His Majesty the Great Tsar demanded that the reinforcements of the fleet must depart in a month's time, so there was not much time left for them, the officers and men of the navy.

After all, Russia paid such a high price for these warships, so it had to play its due role, so it is understandable that the tsar was eager.

When the Russians got the Italian ships and began to form a reinforcement fleet, they were in front of the fortress of Arthur, and a new battle was about to begin.

The Japanese soldiers, wearing the headscarves of the deadly Chengren, led by the officers, launched a charge towards the 203 heights.

Heights 203 is located on the west side of Arthur, very close to the city and the port, if the Japanese army captures the heights, then it can directly attack the Russian warships in the port, which is the stronghold of the Russian Arthur fortress that cannot be lost and lost, so the Japanese army regards it as the key to victory in conquering the Arthur fortress.

And when the Japanese army launched a tidal offensive, the Russian troops stationed on the high ground were also in good standby. The Maxim machine gun, which it regarded as a defensive weapon, was already in place, waiting for the Japanese to enter the firing range and fire. Soon, the Japanese officers and soldiers scattered all over the mountains came into the eyes of the defenders. With the Russian officer's order to open fire, the guns rang out on the position, and the charging Japanese troops were constantly knocked down.

In particular, the 17 Makqin machine guns arranged on the position formed a rain of bullets, causing the rushing Japanese troops to fall in batches, turning the front of the position into a Shura field.

As the commander of the Third Army, Nogi Noshinori watched the whole process of his subordinates being shot by the Russians. Unlike the other officers with rich expressions, he continued to give orders without changing his face. "Let the 1st Division prepare and continue the attack. At the same time, an order was given to the artillery positions, and the shelling must not be stopped until our soldiers have not boarded the positions. ”

Nogi Noshinori's words shocked the other officers in the Third Army Headquarters, because it was too dangerous for the attacking soldiers, and it was not possible for the soldiers to be routed by their own artillery fire.

"Your Excellency, Commander, please think carefully."

Lieutenant General Chikosuke Iji, who was the chief of staff of the Third Army, made a rare suggestion to his commander.

The chief of staff, who had studied in Germany, felt that such an attack would demoralize his side. At present, the Third Army has failed in two successive general attacks on Lushun. The third officers and soldiers had a trace of fear of the Lushun fortress, and some people privately called Lushun the Ghost Gate, and attacking Lushun was like breaking into the Ghost Gate. At this time, regardless of the safety of the soldiers, forcibly letting the soldiers use their lives will lead to a backlash.

Faced with the chief of staff's advice, Nogi Noshinori shook his head and said. "There is no need to think about it, I have made up my mind, and I order that the artillery fire cannot be stopped, unless our army attacks the position, otherwise if the shelling stops, it will be dealt with in accordance with military law."

In the face of Nogi Noshinori's tough attitude, what can the other officers in the command say can only be to carry it out.

So under his orders, the next group of attacking Japanese troops rushed forward again, and these Japanese soldiers rushed to the enemy position with a sad and angry face in the face of enemy fire and their own artillery bombardment.

More people fell to the ground along the way, and the losses were even greater.

"Very good, continue to attack, the artillery will not stop."

Nogi Noshinori, who was holding a telescope to observe the battle situation, finally had a moving expression when he saw the situation on the battlefield. He looked at the defenders' positions, under this desperate attack, the casualties of the Russian positions were increasing, after all, these Russian officers and soldiers needed to resist the Japanese attack in their positions, so they had to stay and expose themselves, and the casualties at this time would definitely be greater than before. But in any case, the greater casualties of the artillery attack must have been the Japanese army, because they were the attacking side, and in the absence of cover, the casualties of one artillery shot were at least many.

However, although the Russian army suffered many casualties, it was the Japanese army that suffered greater losses.

When the night falls, both sides lick their wounds, of course, there are still necessary vigilances, because they also know whether the other party wants to use the night to give themselves a ruthless blow.

After returning to the headquarters, Nogi Noshinori left the staff officers to make plans for tomorrow and dragged Kosuke Ichi to another room.

"Chief of Staff, this time I will refute your opinion to your face, don't take it to heart, I must maintain the authority of the chief officer."

Nogi Noshinori, who entered the room, can be regarded as an apology to Chikosuke Iji.

"I dare not be ashamed, I also understand the commander's mood at that time, it was me Meng Lang."

After revealing this little problem before, Nogi Noshinori sighed and said. "The Lushun fortress is too difficult to fight, and I hope that the Qing army I face can win without a fight."

Of course, Ichi Chikosuke knew what his chief official meant, and the pressure on him and Nogi Noshinori was very high until this battle was fought. The government has urged it several times, and the United Fleet and Togo have also come to visit. Even at the headquarters of the Manchurian Army, the commander, Marshal Oyama Yan, personally asked if he needed help.

These words only convey one meaning, to take the strategic point of Lushun Fortress as soon as possible. Especially after learning that Russia had purchased Italian warships, it was more concerned about it.

How can this not put the Third Army under tremendous pressure, you must know that the Third Army is asking for people and things, even if there are such large casualties, the base camp has not said a word, what is wanted is for the Third Army to seize Lushun as soon as possible. One can imagine how much pressure the two of them have.

"I plan that if this general attack fails again, I will submit my resignation to Your Majesty, and I have failed Your Majesty's expectations."

Nogi Noshinori suddenly came up with such a sentence, in fact, since the Lushun battle, he has been under tremendous pressure. On the one hand, Lushun has not been able to conquer it for a long time, and secondly, because of the huge casualties caused by the attack. These two mountains have been overwhelming him, and when he saw the casualty report today, he had the idea of resigning. Counting the fact that the Third Army has paid 46,000 casualties so far, but Lushun is still firmly controlled by the Russians, which is too demoralizing to people's confidence.

And his words shocked Kosuke Iji, and I saw the chief of staff hurriedly say. "Your Excellency Commander, this is very inappropriate, it is extremely irresponsible to resign at this time, it is not up to Your Majesty's trust, and it will also make Your Majesty tainted with the notoriety of not knowing anyone, I hope to think twice."

Seeing that his chief of staff never left the emperor, Nogi Noshinori, who was loyal to him, hesitated again. It doesn't matter if you die to apologize, it can't even affect His Majesty the Emperor.

"Then let's continue to fight and talk about it, and I won't talk about the resignation."

After seeing that the idea of resigning the chief official was dispelled, Kosuke Ichi also breathed a sigh of relief. If Nogi Noshinori resigns, then it can be said that he is also incompetent as the chief of staff, which is too unacceptable.

Thinking of this, he looked at the Lushun fortress that was stuck in the night, what method should he use to break through the enemy's position?