Vladivostok, known to Russians as Vladivostok, was the most important city in the Far East of Tsarist Russia and was known as the biggest gain after the failure of the Crimean War.
The top military officer of the Russian Far East, Diyachenko, and Commodore Aitorin stood side by side on the newly built breakwater, looking coldly at the bay in front of them.
Rows of Russian soldiers stepped off the battleships moored beside the pier. The pier was full of chaotic sounds of boots, grumpy soldiers yelling, and the Chinese civilians carrying supplies were whipped. He didn't dare to say anything and could only carefully avoid these murderous gods.
Countless grievances accumulated on the dock. These soldiers who had just finished the Battle of Qingdao thought they would get a long winter vacation, but they did not expect that the sudden military order forced them to march north again.
"These damn Chinese have actually launched such a huge rebellion. We must kill them all and leave no one alive..."
Russian soldiers are not afraid of fighting. The hail of bullets and the flash of swords are commonplace for them. But what they hate most is trouble. Repeated and monotonous work can drive them crazy.
It's no problem to attack the Qingdao gold mine by boat. You can go to war after sitting on the deck playing cards and bragging for a while. If you are dead, you can just sleep. If you are alive, you will continue to receive rewards and military merits. Anyway, it is just a one-shot deal to win or lose. It will be clear within.
But conquering Sandaogou was annoying. There were not enough war horses in Vladivostok for them to ride. These old soldiers could only rely on their own legs to march more than 100 kilometers to Sandaogou for a decisive battle with the enemy.
It would be best if the enemy were still there, but all fools know that Sandaogou is different from Qingdao. One is an isolated island and the other is a mainland. The enemy has legs and it is impossible not to escape.
If you run away, do you want to chase him? Catching these yellow monkeys all over the mountains and plains is an extremely troublesome thing when you think about it. It’s too troublesome, it’s really too troublesome.
Diyachenko and Aitorin were keenly aware of the change in the soldiers' mentality. Of course they knew what kind of people their men were. They were bellicose but extremely lazy. This was simply a curse in Russia.
None of the Tsar's warriors were cowards on the battlefield, but they were all lazy pigs in life. They were unwilling to farm, let alone produce, and were incompetent for some tasks that required patience. They drank alcohol, fought, gambled, and played with women... …Leading a group of soldiers like this is a headache to think about.
Diyachenko took out a silver flask from his arms, took a sip and handed it to Aitorin, "This is the good Moscow wine I brought when I took office. There is not much left, so try it..."
As soon as the highly concentrated vodka entered his throat, a hot stream of heat went down his esophagus. Etolin let out a sigh of relief, "I really miss my hometown. I don't know when Moscow will be able to transfer me back..." …”
Diyachenko did not answer him. Instead, he pointed to the magnificent mountain and river scene in front of him and sighed, "This is such a vast land, and it is so rich. It is really hard to imagine why God gave the pagans so much wealth..."
"Vladivostok? The Chinese actually gave such an unpleasant name to such an excellent deep-water military port in the Far East. In their eyes, is it just used to fish for sea cucumbers? Idiot..."
"Look at the new name given by our tsar, Vladivostok... the city guarding the Far East, how majestic and domineering it is, one name has already clarified the importance of this city..."
Etolin also sighed, "Yes, it took Russia hundreds of years to open up Europe and Asia. Such a vast land belongs to the Tsar. It makes people feel excited to think about it...The failure of Crimea that year We completely lost the key to entering the Mediterranean from the Black Sea, but as a blessing in disguise we got the key to the Pacific. God still favors us..."
Diyachenko turned to look at Aitorin, "My old friend, you are from the navy. Of course you know the importance of ports. Our Russian dream for hundreds of years is to have a warm-water port with a superior geographical location..."
"The motherland is very huge, but its geographical location is too remote. All the military ports in Europe are either located in the cold zone and are frozen for half a year, or they are in bad locations and are tightly trapped by the British. The empire cannot distinguish them. How painful it is to become the big cake of ocean trade..."
"Crimea! This is a scar in our hearts. The road to expand from the Black Sea has been blocked. Now the strategic focus of the empire can only move eastward. Fortunately, we encountered such a weak Qing Dynasty, and we still Well, we occupied this excellent military port..."
"Aitorin, I can tell you now that the empire's eastern strategy goes far beyond this. After we gain a foothold here, our goal is still the south, the warmer south..."
Aitorin's eyes lit up, "South? Do you mean the Liaodong or Jiaodong Peninsula of the Qing Dynasty?"
"Yes, it is backed by the huge market of the Qing Dynasty and faces the golden waterway of the Pacific. If our Far East Fleet headquarters is located here, then the Western Pacific will become ours. This is the century-old dream of the empire. !”
"It's exciting to think about it! Those army officers and soldiers who only know how to complain will never have a deeper understanding of this strategy than you do, so I beg you that this time you, the Commodore, will personally lead the troops. , I will guard Vladivostok to protect you!"
"You just came from Qingdao, and you don't know many intelligence details. This battle of Sandaogou is not simple. According to the defeated soldiers, the enemy is composed not only of local thugs, but also an extremely tough Chinese army. Soldiers and Japanese samurai with weird tones, and their banner is the Far East Volunteer Army..."
"It seems that we have to face more than one enemy. Needless to say about the local mobs. I am almost certain that those tough Chinese soldiers are from Ryukyu. No one in Asia except Xiao Letian can train such an army. , and the identity of those Japanese samurai is worthy of speculation. Does an island country that is closed to the outside world dare to challenge the dignity of Russia? It would be a damn if there is no conspiracy here..."
"And that flag, what does the Far East Volunteer Army mean? These guys who hide their heads and tail, think that they can hide the mastermind by using the flag of this civil organization? There is a Chinese saying that 'there is no three hundred taels of silver here', I think it's very interesting reason!"
"Who is behind it? Xiao Letian? The Qing government? Or are they colluding? Or maybe there is a British influence in it..."
It has to be said that the smarter a person is and the higher his status, the more things he has to think about. As the commander-in-chief of the Far East Military, Diyachenko must consider this issue from the perspective of great power competition, but the more he thinks about it, the more he thinks about it. Xiao Letian was misled even more deeply.
