(According to the time, the Zhili-Fenghuang Railway has not been opened to traffic at this time. I have slightly modified the opening time. The Zhili-Fenghuang Railway in the world of this article has been fully operational for about two years. In addition, I have relatively little information about railway construction in the late Qing Dynasty. I will write later
There may be some questions, I hope some readers who are familiar with this can provide me with some reference materials)
Major Petro Prokofievich was playing with the tea set on the table in front of him with a look of impatience.
When Pietro was in military school, he eagerly hoped to participate in the Second Crimean War and serve His Majesty the Tsar. However, when Pietro graduated from school, the Second Crimean War also ended because he was not the Queen of England at that time.
It ended with the heroic performance of Isabella Victoria, and the Russian Empire once again sat at the negotiating table with humiliation.
Thanks to his defeat in the war, Pietro had been busy suppressing revolutionary movements and uprisings in Russia throughout his military career so far. Pietro did not sympathize with the revolutionaries, but he felt that having his hands stained with the blood of the people was a valuable thing.
Things that tarnish the honor of a soldier. So Pietro hated the Queen of England and her outstanding talents. It was she who made Pietro's military career dim.
Now, the time has finally come to serve the motherland.
The leading troops led by Petro are currently stationed at the foot of Fengtian City. The territory of the Russian Empire in the Far East is waiting for Petro to open up.
What makes Pietro unhappy is that even though the victory of this battle is right in front of him, he can only obey the arrangements of the Russian secret agent in Fengtian City. In this room full of puzzling oriental atmosphere, he and Fengtian City
The Qing army guards drank tea together!
Pietro squinted at Andre, the spy chief who planned the meeting, without concealing the dissatisfaction in his eyes.
Andre turned a blind eye to this, but chatted friendly with Suksaha, the guard of Fengtian City, in a language that Pietro could not understand.
Pietro impatiently tapped the Eight Immortals table with his fingertips, expressing his dissatisfaction with his voice. In Pietro's view, the Chinese army is vulnerable. They can't even defeat Japan, which is only the size of a little finger on the map. It's so huge.
China is like a big piece of cheese, waiting to be carved up by the great powers. Countless Chinese people are waiting to be enslaved by the great powers. There is no need to talk to the Chinese. The Russian army should march directly into the city and put machine guns and cannons on it.
At the door of their government, the Chinese will surrender, and the railway from Fengtian to Beijing will be open to the Russian army.
Thinking this way, Pietro's dissatisfaction with Andre became even stronger.
**
At this time, the chief spy in China, the Tsar's Far East Commissioner Andrei, was talking to Suksaha. In fact, Andrei was not necessarily much calmer than Petro. Russia's intention to send troops this time was to "assist in suppression".
After the intervention of the Three Kingdoms and the return of Liao Dynasty, Russia had actually controlled most of the Northeast and had almost squeezed Japan's power. It was really uneconomical to carry out military occupation again.
This time Russia set its sights on Shandong. The Tsar's aides formulated a "Southern Advance Plan", intending to squeeze out Japanese power as much as possible out of Shandong in the name of aiding the suppression campaign, and occupy a base along the coast of Shandong.
Nicholas II was not a fool. He knew very well that the main opponent of imperial Russia in the Far East was not Britain, France, and Germany, but Japan, which was also eyeing the Southeast. As long as they did not plot the southeastern region, Britain, France, and the United States would exercise restraint to a certain extent. As for Germany, it was under great pressure in the Far East.
The restrictions were the most, and the Russian bureaucrats believed that Germany’s reaction was the least that the Russian Empire needed to worry about.
If Germany has any objections, they will bulldoze them on the ground in Europe. This somewhat arrogant idea actually has a lot of market among the imperial Russian bureaucrats. Russia never believed that the two defeats in the Balkans were due to its insufficient ability to fight.
, and it is appropriate to attribute this to the fact that a good tiger cannot fight against a pack of wolves, so it is appropriate to challenge Germany alone...
In the last time and space, this kind of arrogant idea cost the lives of a large number of Russian soldiers in the early days of World War I, causing a magical situation on the Eastern Front battlefield in the early days of World War I: the Russians were always attacking, but the front line was
Gradually moving towards Russia...
Now, Russia's arrogant thinking has led them to formulate a huge southward expansion plan, preparing to turn Shandong into Russia's sphere of influence in one fell swoop, and use the two goalkeepers Weihaiwei and Lushun to turn the Bohai Bay into a czar.
Another inner lake in hand.
Of course, the moderates in Russia strongly opposed this plan and believed that the implementation of this plan should wait for the completion of the Siberian Railway-at least until the railway was built to Manchuria. But Nicholas II rejected the suggestions of the moderates and insisted on adding more money to his empire.
A large and fertile land.
Then, capturing the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway is the key to the entire operation.
Before the Chinese government responds to Tsarist Russia's proposal to aid the suppression, allowing the Russian army to go to the front line will create a fait accompli that the Russian army has already advanced towards Shandong. Even if subsequent developments are out of Russia's control and the southward advance plan is aborted, it can still be guaranteed.
Russian power's control of the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway.
In this era, controlling the railway is equivalent to gaining the right to speak in the areas along the railway. Wherever the railway is built, the foreigners who control the railway will colonize.
Because of this, Tsarist Russia sent a capable leading force to Fengtian before the main force could take action. In addition, Tsarist Russian intelligence agencies also carried out rebellion work in Fengtian for more than a year, and successfully got through the garrison and the Shenji Battalion stationed in Fengtian.
At the commander's juncture, Fengtian's senior civil servants either complied with the request of the Russian secret service to take leave to recuperate, or, depending on the situation, found reasons to leave Fengtian City early. Starting from September, Fengtian City, except for a few military chiefs, had no one.
A civil servant in charge.
According to the plan, as soon as the Russian leading troops arrive in Fengtian, they will be loaded onto trucks and sent to Tianjin, Beijing and Tang Dynasty.
It's a pity that the Russian actions were noticed by the Qing court. Although it was a corrupt court, there were still capable people, so the Fengtian Shenji camp suddenly changed its defenses in September, catching Russia by surprise. But as the saying goes, the arrow is on the string and must be fired. It has already
Tsarist Russia, which is ready for war, will never change its timetable because of this change.
So the current situation emerged: the leading troops of the Russian army were blocked by the Shenji troops guarding the city in Xiaofeng Village outside the city, and could not even get close to the train station. Since the two countries had not officially declared war, the Russian Shenji troops stationed in Lushun
There was no way to help - the Fengtian Shenji Camp did not attack the Russian army, but only blocked them from approaching the city.
Commissioner Andrei of the Far East has been running back and forth in Fengtian City these days, but Luo Tianyi, the new adjutant of the new commander of the Fengtian Shenji Camp, gave the reason that "the commander is seriously ill and can't see anything", so it was delayed for four days.
In these four days, the leading troops of the Russian army should have been sent to Tianjin, Beijing and Tang Dynasty, and controlled some small stations that were not garrisoned by the Qing army as forward troops stations - this is what it should have been.
Now, Andre, together with Suksaha, who had collaborated with the enemy, and Pietro, the commander of the leading force who was still trapped outside the city, were waiting to meet Luo Tianyi who finally recovered from his illness.
"No questions?" Andre asked Suksaha in slightly unfamiliar Chinese.
The fat Manchu noble waved his hands and comforted him: "No problem, Luo Dutong is still young and easy to deal with. She claimed to be sick before, so she must be really sick, or it was the work of her lieutenant."
Since the 19th century, China has experienced domestic turmoil, and the "production" of Shenji has been worrying for several consecutive years. The strength of the Shenji camp in the Qing court has been greatly reduced. The number of high-level Shenji who are qualified to serve as the commanders of the Shenji camp has become increasingly scarce.
The only option is to shorten the time limit for the training of goddesses, and allow those who have not yet reached the age of joining the military to be incorporated into the establishment system of the goddess camp. This Luo Tianyi is one of the batch of gods who have recently been transferred from the training agency to become the capital commander.
Ji Yi is only 15 years old...
Judging from Shen Ji's pedigree, Luo Tianyi is undoubtedly excellent, but as a military officer, her abilities are bound to be restricted by her age.
This is also one of the main reasons why the Russian army dared to act according to the original plan even after the Qing court discovered its intentions.
Andre himself was inclined to accept Suksaha's view, but he couldn't help but worry, what if the previous pretending to be ill was Luo Tianyi's deliberate delaying technique?
The only thing that reassured Andre was the movement of Qing troops on the front line in Shanhaiguan reported back by intelligence personnel. In the past few days, the Qing Dynasty had shown no signs of increasing troops to Fengtian.
At this moment, someone outside the door announced loudly: "Luo Dutong is here!"
So Andrei and Suksaha stood up together. Pietro couldn't understand Chinese, but he stood up after half a beat.
Then the petite southern girl stepped into the object and came into everyone's sight.
The girl was not wearing the official uniform of the Shenji Camp at all, but was dressed in an ordinary robe. The sky blue-based robe was in sharp contrast to the rigid and formal clothes of the men in the room.
What shocked Andre even more was that the girl was not wearing official uniform. She was holding a paper bag of buns in her hand. The aroma of the buns was felt by the men who had been busy with the current situation since the morning.
Hunger in the stomach.
"Ah, General Su." Suk Saha has a Chinese name, but Luo Tianyi takes the first character of his first name as his surname. This makes the Manchu nobles look very ugly, but the girl turns a blind eye to it, "Come and taste it."
Try the steamed buns, and your Russian friends will come and try them too."
As she spoke, the girl took out a bun from the paper bag in her arms and stuffed it into the three people in the room one by one. Then she found a chair and sat down, picked up a bun and bit into it.
The juice in the soup bag immediately flowed down the corners of her mouth. Luo Tianyi's adjutant hurried forward and wiped the officer with a handkerchief.
"Oh, it's delicious. I only knew that the Goubuli steamed buns in Tianjin are delicious, but I didn't know that the steamed buns in Fengtian City are also so delicious. I can see it today."
Andre glanced sideways at Suksaha. The Chinese general had obvious anger on his face.
It seemed that there was no need for him to take the lead. After Andre made this judgment, Suksaha spoke as if he was deliberately cooperating with his judgment: "Commander Luo, look at the Russian army's assistance in the suppression..."
"As for me, I don't understand complicated things." When he spoke, Luo Tianyi's mouth was full of buns, so his voice sounded like a pillow, "Assisting in the suppression, Russia's goodwill, these I
I don’t even understand, so it’s useless to tell me so much. As long as Beijing sends me a telegram saying that you can enter the station and get on the train, I will allow you to enter the station and get on the train. It’s that simple.”
Andre and Suk Saha looked at each other, speechless for a moment - Luo Tianyi used her "youth and ignorance" as a weapon, and I'm afraid no matter what "reasons" the two came up with to try to persuade her
, she would respond by pretending to be stupid.
Andre's worries turned into reality.
As if they were deliberately trying to get into trouble with the serious-looking adults, the young goddesses all blinked their big, innocent eyes, looked back and forth at the two of them, and asked curiously: "Don't you like steamed buns? Why don't you eat them if you hold them in your hands?"
Woolen cloth?"
Suk Saha snorted heavily and stuffed the bun into his mouth with abandon.
Andrew also took a bite of the buns cautiously. He had stayed in China for a long time and naturally he would not be as wary of the buns as poison as Major Pietro did.
"Well, it's delicious." Andre praised sincerely.
But in his heart, there was a bitterness that was completely opposite to the fragrance in his mouth.
**
After leaving Fengtian Barracks, Luo Tianyi said to his adjutant on the carriage: "We are preparing to retreat."…
"Huh?" The adjutant's eyes widened with confusion on his face, "What do you mean..."
"We have been waiting for four days, but no telegram with substantive content has been delivered to us. At the station, we only saw trains transporting goods and commodities, not a single train of military vehicles. The imperial court... probably does not have the guts to confront Russia.
Yes. Humph, even the defeated army of Yaksa came to ride on our heads. This court is hopeless."
"But after Shenji Camp left, Fengtian City..."
"Without the support of ordinary troops, if we defend the isolated city alone, wouldn't it be like sending prisoners to our doorstep?"
In modern times, due to the expansion of the scale of war, more and more Shenji troops were captured by ordinary troops when they were exhausted. Therefore, the number of ordinary troops used to accompany Shenji actions became larger and larger. The situation of Shenji troops without the cover of ordinary troops was
It will become very dangerous. This has become the consensus of the international military community.
Therefore, the adjutant did not raise any objection to Luo Tianyi's words.
"Hey," Luo Tianyi raised the curtains of the carriage, looked at the street scene of Fengtian City outside the window, and sighed softly, "I have only been here for more than a month, and I haven't tried all the snacks yet."
Before he finished speaking, the carriage suddenly braked. Before the two people in the car could calm down, someone opened the door of the carriage.
"Luo Dutong," outside the carriage door, the goddess on duty today breathlessly said, "Military vehicles, there are military vehicles coming into the station."
"Huh?" Luo Tianyi looked in disbelief, "Did you mistake the truck for a military vehicle?"
"It's absolutely true. Although we didn't see cannons and there weren't many horses, the people who got off the cars were indeed fully armed troops. They were unloading ammunition and baggage. Colleagues on guard along the railway line also reported that this train
There are other trains behind, and the density of their formation is definitely other military vehicles transporting the same troops."
"Did you see the flag clearly?"
"It's a flag with gold stars on a red background, and the troops also have gray military uniforms that I've never seen before."
Luo Tianyi opened his mouth wide and didn't even notice that the half-eaten bun he was holding fell to the ground.
"With military uniforms and flags like that... why are these Southern guys here?" The girl murmured, with a puzzled look on her face, but suddenly she looked like she had woken up from her sleep, and she rushed in to report to the officer on duty.
Shenji pulled off the flying amplifying wings from her waist, stuffed the unfinished bag of buns into the adjutant's arms, jumped out of the carriage, and flew away.
**
Arriving at Fengtian Station was the advance team of the Nanyang Army's Northward Advance Detachment.
It turned out that Chen Tianhua had already noticed that the situation in the Northeast was different from the abnormal personnel changes in the Qing court, so he instructed the Lin Ji branch in Tianjin to secretly open up the joints to control the wagons. After more than a month of operation, Lin Ji controlled a large number of flatbed trucks and trucks used to transport lumber.
Stuffy can truck.
After the northern marching detachment received a secret telegram from the southern Helangyabo base camp, Chen Hongda, the temporary commander of the detachment at this time, combined Chen Tianhua's judgment and decided to organize the troops to board the train to move north while asking for instructions from Helangyabo.
Therefore, when Tianjin Station received a telegram from Lin Youde approving the northward movement, the main force of the northbound detachment was already on the train going north. Chen Tianhua's men controlled several small stations along the way to provide the train with coal, water, and other supplies.
The dispatching department of the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway also provided considerable accommodation to the military trains during the silver bullet offensive.
So on the fourth day when the leading Russian troops were blocked in Xiaofeng Village outside Fengtian City, a train carrying about a thousand Nanyang Army soldiers entered Fengtian Station.
As soon as the train arrived at the station, the heavily armed Nanyang Army rushed off the train and disarmed the station garrison.
At this time, Shen Ji from Fengtian Shen Ji Camp arrived at the station.
Chen Hongda, who was leading the team, originally prepared a set of words, but when he saw the attire of the goddess who descended from the sky, he was speechless for a moment...
What's going on? What's going on with this young lady's outfit for going on an outing?
The petite goddess glanced at the platform and immediately recognized that Chen Hongda was the chief officer of this unit, and immediately ran towards him.
"I am Luo Tianyi, the Commander-in-Chief of Fengtian Shenji Camp, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nanyang Army. I ask you, how far can you go to be rebellious for the sake of the motherland?"
Chen Hongda was stunned and reflexively replied: "Since it is for the motherland, how can it be treasonous?"
"Very good!" The little girl, who seemed to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, put her hands on her hips and showed a sweet and innocent smile to Chen Hongda.
**
Neither Suksaha nor Andre spoke.
With the combat power of the Russian army's leading troops, trying to suppress the Shenji Battalion is basically a fool's errand, so the strategy of rushing south to secure the Beijing-Fengtian Line is actually bankrupt.
There must be a decisive difference between aiding suppression and formally declaring war. Although Tsarist Russia has made up its mind to forcibly implement the southward plan even if it declares war, if possible, they still hope that things can be handled in a "relatively mild way" without declaring war.
conduct.
Andre's mission failed, and it was time for the performance of General Kuropatkin, commander of the Far Eastern Front, and Sasha Pandelinevna, Grand Knight of the Third Cossack Holy Order. Waiting for Andre,
If he returns to China to report on his work and treat him coldly, his career will be quite bleak in the next five years.
But at this time, Andrew was full of confidence that he would eventually make a comeback. Maybe there would be a time for him to show off his talents in the next war in the Far East. As long as he got enough meritorious service to make up for his past mistakes, it wouldn't be such a bad thing to return home to report on his duties.
He never imagined what an outrageous joke fate would play on him a minute later.
The heavily armed gray-clothed soldiers rushed into Suksaha's headquarters with lightning speed, pointing their black guns at the three people in the small flower hall.
Luo Tianyi, who was fully dressed in military uniform, strode into the flower hall with his head held high, completely different from the lazy girl just now.
**
In Xiaofeng Village outside Fengtian City, Russian soldiers were bored and waiting for orders from their superiors.
The discipline of the Russian army has always been a problem. The young Cossacks who are used to being dissolute always like to seize every opportunity to show their unrestrained nature - for example, raping women stationed in the camp when their commanders are not around. This
It's too normal for them.
Of course, the Chinese in Xiaofeng Village have almost fled. This is the Northeast. Before Emperor Kangxi's victory in Yaksa, the crimes committed by the Russians have been passed down by word of mouth through the older generation for so many years. The Russian Army
From Dalian, Lushun, where they were stationed, there were often rumors of inhuman atrocities, so as soon as the news came that the Russian army was marching here again, Xiaofeng Village was completely deserted.
When the Russian cavalry vanguard entered the village, only the elderly and aunt-level women and children were left in the huge village.
For four days, the Russian army ran rampant in the village. They robbed everything they could, took everything they could, and smashed everything they couldn't take away. In the end, they had nothing to do and were so idle that they almost panicked.
Because of this, Private Akshay, who was on guard, openly slept on his post, and no one came to scold him. The officer was in Fengtian City, and the fierce Chief of Staff drank too much food collected from the Chinese family last night.
Poor quality rice wine, now sleeping like a dead pig.
No one came to stop Akshay from enjoying this pleasant nap. The sunshine in early winter was warm and soft, reminding people of the embrace of the Don River. The wind in this foreign land seemed to carry a bit of the smell of the grasslands that Akshay was familiar with...
Private Akshay lost his life forever in this homesickness that he did not even understand.
**
A large group of Nanyang Army soldiers broke into Xiaofeng Village and launched a crazy offensive against the unprepared Russian army.
The sound of shooting from the flower machine came and went, breaking the silence of this otherwise ordinary northeastern village, and there were also explosions of grenades...
But after all, the total strength of the Russian army was stronger than that of the Nanyang Army's advance team. Soon the Russian army reacted and began to organize defenses. Although the military officers followed the commander of the army, Major Petro, into the city, the lower-level officers were
Quite conscientiously, they drew their pistols and shouted at the top of their lungs, finally pulling the troops out of the chaos after the sudden attack and stabilizing their positions.
Under the organization of a captain who had participated in the Second Crimean War, most of the Russian army withdrew from the village and organized defense near the small temple at the head of the village where the terrain was relatively more conducive to defense.
The Nanyang Army advance team immediately surrounded the hilltop where the small temple was located.
The Russian army did not know that the Nanyang Army was weak in strength. Seeing that the Nanyang Army had been surrounded for a long time and only fired at each other without launching a charge, it was like waking up from a dream. However, at this time, the troops who had just got off the train at Fengtian Station had already arrived and surrounded the hill.
As a result, the Russian army immediately lost the chance to break through.
In the afternoon of that day, the Nanyang Army conducted two probing attacks, but were easily suppressed by the Russian army. This made Chen Hongda, who rushed to the front line from the city, extremely anxious.
If we attack the fortress, our own troops are already weak. If we suffer heavy losses, we are afraid that we will not be able to suppress the Qing army in Fengtian City. Suk Saha's direct troops must take action. If we do not attack the fort, Lushun will be only a few days away from Fengtian, and the main force of the Russian army will come up.
Then nothing can be explained clearly. Furthermore, the current situation requires a clean and tidy victory to embolden the Qing court. It is better not to invest in the Shenji and just rely on the victory achieved by the new Nanyang Army. That way
Afterwards, the political activities of Lin Youde's faction will be more confident, and it will be easier to win support from the United States and France.
Chen Hongda is a white feather fan, not a pure soldier. He is very clear about these political interests, which is why he has such a headache when facing the hill where the Russian army is guarding.
It would be nice if the artillery team of the Northward Detachment was strengthened. Unfortunately, in order to advance quickly, the infantry troops of the Northward Detachment went into battle lightly. The artillery team and large baggage were still behind, and they probably had just passed Shanhaiguan.
Looking at the darkening sky, Chen Hongda sighed.
It seems that the only option is to force the charge.
At this moment, the voice of Chen Hongda's guard reached his ears: "Reporting to the Acting Commander, Major Mu of the Technical Experimental Force to ask for a meeting!"
Chen Hongda turned around and met the eyes of the school officer behind the guard who was wearing an all-black military uniform that looked like mourning clothes.
The school officer stood at attention and saluted, and without waiting for Chen Hongda to return the salute, he said: "I am Mr. Mu, Major General, commander of the third detachment of the technical test force. I request to use the new weapons our team is responsible for conducting battlefield experiments to attack the enemy's positions."
"Approved!" Chen Hongda agreed immediately, with an excited look, as if he had finally grasped a life-saving straw.
So the black-clad technical test troops unloaded their equipment from the carriage and began to assemble it. Five minutes later, all four 80mm mortar test pieces were erected.
Following Major Mu's order, the first artillery shell was put into the chamber, and a cloud of dust immediately rose in front of the small temple on the hill.
After three rounds of test firings, the mortar team that completed the calibration began firing rapidly.
The mortars equipped by this technology test unit are all processed using Zhurong, and due to the "guidance" of Lin Youde, a time traveler, their technical performance is similar to that of the mortars during World War II. As long as ammunition is inserted from the muzzle, it can be fired.
There are no cumbersome shooting steps like the common artillery currently equipped by various countries, so the rate of fire is extremely fast.
In 1900, artillery that used fully loaded ammunition with shells was still called "quick cannon." After the artillery shot, in addition to removing the shells and other actions, the gunpowder residue in the barrel also needed to be cleaned before it could continue to be loaded and fired.
In contrast, when Lin Youde's mortar was tested, it only had to stop shooting to clean the barrel and cool down the barrel after firing 200 rounds. When firing rapidly, the rate of fire could reach a terrifying rate of one shot every three seconds.
Not only is the rate of fire fast, but the power of the mortar is also insane - the shells are filled with new explosives configured by Victoria. As a rocket expert, this girl is extremely familiar with various explosive chemical compounds.
, according to her, this is a by-product of her research on rocket fuel.
After the black-clad test troops frantically poured more than 400 mortar shells onto the hilltop, the Russian army raised the white flag.
Afterwards, the captured Russian commander insisted that the Chinese used corps-level artillery units to cover them with firepower.
On October 25, 1900, the Nanyang Army's Northward Detachment annihilated nearly 4,000 Russian advance troops outside Fengtian City with extremely low casualties. At the same time, the commander of Fengtian Shenji Camp issued a telegram to the whole country, claiming that the Russian army had lured Fengtian City into
General Suksaha went out of the city to negotiate, and then detained Suksaha and asked him to surrender the city. General Suksaha was not afraid of death and died heroically in the face of the Russian army's evil guns. This coincided with the Nanyang Army's northward march.
Upon arrival, the entire army launched an attack to annihilate the invading Russian army, and recaptured the general's remains.
For a time, the world's public opinion was in an uproar.
Chapter completed!