As the two largest land empires on the Eurasian continent, the total length of the border between China and Russia is as high as 5,000 kilometers, which is a veritable 10,000-mile frontier.

In this remote northern borderland, the two sides have divided their territories according to the provisional border division agreement signed more than 20 years ago, but there are countless differences and disputes.

Two days later, in the early morning, in accordance with the practice of patrolling once every three days, the 93rd Frontier Battalion, which was stationed nearby, organized a platoon-level patrol as usual.

Two infantry squads with a heavy machine gun, a total of 28 people, set off in the morning and trekked through the bumpy northern frontier.

Over the mountains, over the mountains, over the streams...... They spotted the uninvited guests that afternoon.

"When did these guys sneak here?"

"I should have found the right time to cross the border in between patrols."

"The last time was last winter, right? I'm betting on when these guys will come, and I'm going to make a lot of money. ”

The border troops have long been accustomed to this, and they have encountered them at least once or twice a year, and if not more, they have even crossed the border eight times in seven months.

The soldiers were chatting casually, and the second lieutenant who led the team said casually: "Send a few people to report, 'There is an old Maozi on the 089 Heights of Yaerling who has crossed the line, about dozens of them, and I want to entrench myself in this posture'." ”

After saying this, he pointed to the east and ordered: "The rest of the men will camp on the spot and move their heavy machine guns to the dirt slope." ”

"Great!"

The Ming officers and men of the Border Patrol immediately found a suitable dirt slope nearby, deployed the Type 20 heavy machine gun on the slope, and then everyone rested at the bottom of the slope, boiling water, cooking, and camping.

It makes sense not to take the initiative to expel it, and if the other party dares to fire suddenly, then the game will be over.

Something like this has happened countless times along the long border over the past few decades, and both sides have done it many times, and now there is no trust, only deep vigilance.

The three soldiers who had been sent for interrogation were lucky enough to have not yet set off today, when they happened to encounter a liaison plane flying from the southwest.

It flew low and slow along the border, apparently carrying out routine patrols as well.

So everyone fired several flares to signal the plane to land. After circling twice, the pilot found a fairly flat spot and landed the plane.

This kind of small single-wing plane can only carry two or three people, but it can take off and land on 50 meters of flat ground, which can be said to be a panacea, carrying news, providing transportation for officers, transporting the wounded, and other miscellaneous tasks.

In this way, the news of the armed crossing of the border by the Tsarist Russian army was quickly transmitted back to the battalion headquarters, and at the same time as it was uploaded from level to level, the 93rd Frontier Battalion sent a team to reinforce it.

After arriving, more than 100 Ming troops set up a position step by step, with heavy machine guns set up at the commanding heights, mortars deployed on the anti-slope of the earth slope, and the infantry looking for cover.

After this arrangement was made, the captain who led the team sent personnel to negotiate.

According to past experience, the two sides will confront each other for a long time, maybe for several hours, or for several days, and in the end, if they do not tear their faces and start an exchange of fire, they will generally end up with the Russian army leaving in a huff.

But this time it was a surprise to everyone - the six or seven people who went to negotiate had not yet reached the hill where the Russian soldiers were entrenched, and the latter shot directly into the sky to warn.

The situation was so abnormal that the captain, who did not dare to make his own decisions, sent a telegram to ask his superiors for instructions.

That night, dozens more Russian troops crossed the border and joined the detachment here, so that the number of Tsarist Russian troops entrenched in the territory of Daming increased to nearly 100 people.

The next day, September 29, the matter of the disturbance in the border area of Beihai Lake was reported to the imperial court step by step.

Originally, there was no regular cabinet meeting today, but because of this sudden and strange incident, some cabinet ministers had to temporarily suspend their affairs and hold temporary meetings to deliberate.

At 7:46 in the morning, in the elegantly decorated No. 2 conference hall of the Wenhua Palace, several Zhongshu people came and went in a hurry, distributing documents, serving tea and pouring water for the "central nervous system" of the Ming Empire.

"It's strange, the Russians are now too busy to take care of themselves, and the country is in a mess, how dare they be so bold?" Xie Qinrui, the minister of civil affairs, said suspiciously.

Li Guangyuan, who has always been straightforward, didn't think much about it, and replied casually: "Maybe you want to use this to divert some attention, right?" But it cannot be ruled out that there are British people who are making trouble in it. ”

Yu Shenhua looked up at the huge map hanging in front of him, and said with a smile: "Mingyin, you can be sure, why do you need to speculate?" This is obviously a double plan, showing favor and temptation. ”

Lin Xi, who was on the side, was wiping his glasses with a small silk handkerchief, and when he heard this, he said, "Have you forgotten the news a few days ago?" There are a lot of things given by the British, and the old man is also sincere, and the action is really fast, I originally thought that I would have to live a month. ”

"What did the British give?" Xie Qinrui's mind and duty are not in this area, and he has been busy with the contents of the war readiness bill that need to be implemented this month.

"The low-interest loan of 20 million pounds was all used to purchase machinery in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States." Lin Xi spoke as fast as ever, "It is known that the Russians have purchased 4,000 high-quality cutting machines, 1,500 tons of aluminum, 200 locomotives, the main equipment of a chemical plant, and a number of miscellaneous items. ”

The pound was worth a lot of money in those days, and the exchange rate with the US dollar was one to five, and one pound was equal to about five dollars.

Before the war began, the British generously gave such a not small loan, which can be described as full of sincerity.

"It's not a small hand, no wonder the Russians are so obedient." Xie Qinrui nodded, and then asked, "Hezhong, so ...... Resolutely rush back? ”

"That's nature." Lin Xi's tone was very determined.

Soon after, the Forbidden City, the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.

If you rest after a hard day, in order to make up for the lack of rest, many people can sleep for more than ten hours in one breath.

Since inheriting the unification, Zhu Lingjing has been busy for a whole month, all day long.

At first, she was a little skeptical about life - I'm not lazy, why am I always busy from morning to night? How did the ancestors do it in ancient times?

However, she immediately figured out that compared with the agricultural society, although the speed of information transmission and the efficiency of transaction processing have increased by leaps and bounds, the complexity of the industrial society is incomparable to that of the agricultural society.

Agriculture, industry, commerce, transportation, water conservancy, political affairs, military affairs, foreign affairs, and so on have become more and more numerous, and they have also exploded.

Finally, on the 28th, that is, yesterday, she finished all the backlog of political affairs before and after the succession, and won half a day of extra rest for today.

"Convinced, why do I always get the drudgery!"

The military aircraft waiting for the edict is equivalent to the emperor's military advisers, so Zhou Changfeng had to go to the emperor to explain the cabinet's decision - to organize people to drive these Russian troops who crossed the border as soon as possible.

The anxious Zhou Changfeng stopped in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, pacing back and forth, but he didn't dare to wake up the emperor who hadn't gotten up yet.

Su Yiyi, who was passing by here, saw him, so he stepped forward and asked, "Is Zhou Zhizhao in a hurry to see the emperor?" ”

The girth replied in a tangled manner, "Uh...... It's not in a hurry, but... A little rushed. ”

Su Yiyi was a little speechless, and stopped talking, and only replied after a few seconds: "Then you might as well wait here?" His Majesty confessed last night that she should not be disturbed by non-militaristic matters, and that she should have a good night's rest. ”

So Zhou Changfeng went to the waiting room next to him, drank tea and ate snacks, read three newspapers, went to the toilet twice, and no one came to tell him to get up until nine o'clock.

Tut! Why is this woman still sleeping!

At this time, the cabinet called again to inquire, and the helpless Zhou Changfeng had to answer truthfully, and then asked: "Elder Lin Ge, do you need to wake up Your Majesty now?" She explained that she was not allowed to disturb important matters of the non-militaristic state. ”

Lin Xi on the other end of the phone was obviously stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "That's not necessary, this matter is not bad for this hour." ”

So, everyone can only wait patiently......

It wasn't until nearly eleven o'clock that the bored Zhou Changfeng learned that the emperor had finished washing.

Since I got up late, there was no need to take breakfast seriously, a small bowl of rice wine dumplings was enough.

“…… According to the latest aerial reconnaissance yesterday, about two regiments of the Russian army are marching, and the route can be determined to be in this Yaerling. The Cabinet decided to expel them by force as soon as possible, and the War Department suggested that the nearby 47th Division should be reinforced in case of contingencies. ”

After finishing the explanation, Zhou Changfeng took a deep breath, and then stared at Zhu Lingjing in front of him.

"Well, that really doesn't give them an advantage. It's hard for these guys to deal with the Germans, and they have to cause trouble, and it's not interesting to talk to themselves. She took a sip of the warm rice wine and continued, "Okay, let's do it now." ”

Immediately, an attendant handed over a smaller seal, Zhu Lingjing knocked it casually, and the attendant left quickly.

Zhou Changfeng looked at the window and thought for a while, then hesitated: "The British don't dare to go down in person, driving the Russians to attack and disturb... It's a matter of doing everything possible. ”

"It's useless, even if the Russians are obedient, they can't distract much from the country's energy." Zhu Lingjing, who looked indifferent, slowly stood up, "The railway supply in northern Xinjiang is difficult to support the battle of the army, and our army has a natural advantage in waiting for work. ”

"After this lesson, they should be able to settle down for a few years."

Due to the capacity constraints of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Russian army cannot meet both "large-scale" and "short-term" at the same time.

If you want to organize a large-scale military operation of several divisions or more, you have to wait for a period of time to accumulate supplies; On the contrary, at most, it is possible to organize an offensive at the regimental and brigade level.

In the case of a field battle, it is difficult to say whether the Russian army and the Ming army can retreat in a head-to-head encounter, and it is almost in vain to take the initiative to attack with inferior forces.

If materials are slowly accumulated, then this time is enough for the Ming army to reconnoitre, reinforce, and dispatch.

"Then you'll have to be ruthless." Zhu Lingjing slowly passed by Zhou Changfeng, and prepared to leave the Qianqing Palace to go to the Zhaoren Hall next to it.

"You can consider luring the enemy in, assembling two or three regiments, and quickly annihilating one of them with a fierce multi-way combined attack......" The latter followed her closely, and suddenly clenched his fists as he spoke, "I don't want to destroy all the enemy, but I want to be quick and ruthless." ”

Zhu Lingjing bowed her head lightly and said lightly: "Then do it." ”

She glanced up at the sun and said lightly, "The tone of this battle has almost been set. Calm and calm, we are not in a hurry, just others. ”

The next day.

The 47th Infantry Division of the Army stationed in Fuyuan Prefecture began to transfer troops to Beihai Lake in accordance with the direct orders of the Metropolitan Governor's Office.

The location of Fuyuan Prefecture is actually the Chita of the later generations, and the location of the two is very close.

Beihai Lake, later known as Lake Baikal, is not only the deepest lake in the world, but also the largest freshwater lake in Eurasia, with an area of more than 30,000 square kilometers and an average water depth of 700 meters.

In China, the explicit record of it is the "Book of Han - Su Wu Biography", and the story is also very - according to legend, Su Wu was forced by the Xiongnu to take to the deserted Beihai Lake, and the Huns sent him a group of rams, promising to let him go back after giving birth to a lamb, so that he could return to China after many years of suffering.

After many years of turmoil at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the rebuilt Ming Dynasty was trying to recuperate for a long time.

At the same time, it is well known that after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the situation of the Mongols, who had been targeted by the Ming Dynasty for decades, deteriorated, and it became miserable.

Iron weapons are scarce, and the fierce heavy cavalry that swept across the Eurasian continent no longer exists, and only light cavalry equipped with leather armor remains; Eating has also become a big problem, so much so that raiders going south often give priority to grabbing iron pots.

This also made the Mongols at the end of the Ming Dynasty completely unable to compete with the Later Jin, and after the rise of Dzungaria in the west, the Khalkha Mongols also retreated one after another.

By that time, the Cossacks sent by Tsarist Russia to the east had invaded this vast area, including the Heilongjiang River valley.

The Cossacks clearly had nothing to do with "military discipline", and in order to raise food, they exterminated the Khalkha Mongols and Daurs.

The centuries-old feud between the two sides has been forged since then. is also attacking a Tucheng garrisoned by hundreds of Cossacks like Yaxa, compared with the Qing army's long-term siege strategy, the Ming army's approach is much simpler and rude - using shield vehicles as cover, burying tens of thousands of catties of gunpowder, and directly raising half of the Tucheng.

However, due to the transportation and productivity of that era, there were not many conflicts between the two sides, and in the end, after the boundaries were clarified, most of them were peaceful.

It was not until the 18th century that the Turkut tribe, who had been canonized by the Yongle Emperor, could no longer bear to be deliberately harassed by Catherine II, and decided to take the risk of breaking away from Tsarist Russia and returning east to their homeland hundreds of years ago.

In history, this legendary story has been widely circulated, in fact, where did the Turgot tribe have such a fist heart? They had hoped to seize the Ili region directly from the Qing Dynasty, but when they arrived, exhausted and ragged, they found that the Qing army was waiting for them.

So, I could only change my attitude and obediently obey.

The Russian army that followed the pursuit refused to give up, and the proud Ye Er took this as a threat, declaring that if the Qing Dynasty did not return the Turghut tribes, then it would take the initiative to attack.

However, Qianlong's refusal was quite tough, causing Ye Er to give up his war plan.

However, in this plane, in the face of the same situation, the Ming monarchs and ministers were entangled in "whether the seal of Turgut was given by Ming Taizong", and they were a little sluggish and indifferent to Ye Er's threat.

This only angered Catherine even more, and made her think that there was a chance.

Thereupon......

(End of chapter)