"With only ten thousand people, you dare to take the initiative? Is Akito crazy?"
Musayev paced back and forth with a look of shock on his face.
"They are coming for Abakan. If Russia is driven away in Abakan, our Asian territory will not be preserved!" a colonel said with a cold face.
"I suggest establishing a foothold in Abakan and letting them annihilate this Ming army after a bloody blow on our defense line!"
"Yes, we must let the Chinese know that the Russians are not sheep who can be bullied by them casually! If we don't give them a hard blow again, we will not have the face to stay in Asia!"
"With the loss of part of the territory in Asia, all the achievements of the empire's expansion for more than a hundred years will be lost!"
A group of Russian officers shouted, their faces looking very aggrieved.
Last time.
They lost the battle of Irkutsk and lost Eastern Siberia.
In the past two years, the Russian Empire has also been summarizing the reasons for its defeat.
They believe that the key to failure is that "tools are not as good as people."
Therefore, in the past two years, the Russian Empire has also been desperately trying to replenish rifled guns for frontline officers.
There are not many technical barriers to bottom expansion bombs.
Therefore, in terms of weapons, the gap has been evened.
In terms of tactics, the Russian Imperial Army also imitated the Ming Army and carried out new tactical reforms.
Therefore, now, the Russian army's "myophobia" has basically disappeared.
As soon as they heard that the Ming army was coming, everyone started shouting for a fight.
"The battlefield experience of the past two years tells us that current military technology and tactics are beneficial to the defending side, and our troops are far more powerful than the Ming army!"
"As long as we stay on the defensive, if the Ming army dares to attack, they will smash their heads and bleed in front of our barbed wire fences and trenches!"
"But there isn't much food in Abakan. If the Chinese surround us, we won't have enough military rations!"
"We don't have enough food. Do the Chinese have enough? They have traveled hundreds of kilometers to come!"
"That's right, it'll be a waste at worst."
"Who has more food than anyone who is fighting now?"
"Isn't it? I don't think the Chinese have the guts to attack a fortification consisting of barbed wire and trenches!"
"We can't compare with them. They have Mongolians to help herd sheep and cattle, and they are also equipped with a large number of Mongolian horses. If it doesn't work, they can kill horses for food... This is the best tactic for grassland warfare! In comparison , we rely too much on the logistics line to ensure supply!”
A group of Russian officers argued.
Commander Musayev was shocked.
"Enough! We can't be surrounded in our position! They have the entire Mongolian grassland as a logistics supply base, and we can't use them up!"
Musayev said coldly: "Hiding in the trenches is a safe approach, but this approach is not enough to win the war, nor is it enough to help the empire maintain part of its territory in Asia. We must take the initiative! We must use superior forces to Give them a heavy blow on the grasslands of Abakan! Break the Chinese's greedy claws reaching toward the west!"
Musayev shouted.
It’s really unimaginable that it’s time for the Russians to fight against imperialism and aggression.
"Lao Yang! Lao Yang!!"
Outside Yang Yuchun's military tent, the voice of Army Chief of Staff Chen Dewang came from outside the tent.
The chief of staff's voice in the newly formed Zhengxi Corps was not inferior to that of Yang Yuchun, and even Yang Yuchun did not dare to offend him.
Because this man followed Marshal Zhao, Duke of Song, to recover Shandong and Zhili, and was also one of the three hundred old brothers, his position in the court could be said to be very stable.
This time, he and Yang Yuchun led the Western Army together. The reason why Yang Yuchun became the commander was because he considered that Yang Yuchun had an old relationship with some senior officials in the Manchu and Mongolian plains and was able to save face.
"Lao Yang! The large army of Rakshasa ghosts has been discovered!"
Yang Yuchun was studying the enemy's situation with his staff. Hearing this, he immediately stood up and asked, "How many people are there?"
"Tens of thousands! I don't know the exact number. The Rakshasa ghost's Cossack cavalry are becoming more and more difficult to deal with. They won't let us get too close!"
Yang Yuchun came and took two steps towards him.
"You actually put on a turtle shell and dare to take the initiative?"
"They are probably afraid that we will adopt the strategy of siege and starvation of food!" Chen Dewang said with a smile.
"That's fine, no matter how many people they come, they can't go back!"
Yang Yuchun's hand flicked twice on the map.
"In this case, this place cannot be left to them!"
He looked up at Li Sheng and Wang Dayong.
"Given you two days, can you capture the Rakshasa ghost's Kyzylorda?"
Kyzylorda is the frontier of Abakan and is an older fortress consisting of several bastions.
"Aren't they just a few bastions? Two days are not needed, one night is enough!"
Li Sheng smiled.
"Aren't you going to give Rakshasa Ghost any thought?" Wang Dayong said with a smile.
With Kyzylorda in hand, the Russians probably won't have too desperate plans - in the worst case, they will enter the fortress and defend it.
"It doesn't matter whether you give it or not!" Chen Dewang said, "Old Maozi doesn't have many Cossacks on hand. Most of their Cossacks have been transferred to the battlefield in the west. They are just a group of infantry. How can they outrun us!"
'Why not rely on trench barbed wire to fight positional warfare? '
Yang Yuchun shook his head repeatedly: "Our goal is to annihilate these tens of thousands of Rakshasa ghosts. Only by leaving their lives in Abakan can we truly take control of central and western Liya. Otherwise, it will be troublesome for tens of thousands of troops to be outside. They will also You are not a fool, you will bump into our barbed wire fence when you see it! I asked you to dig trenches and pull barbed wire around the perimeter just to stay invincible. But I didn't expect them to bump into it stupidly. '
"Then it's time to fight in the field!" Li Sheng clapped his hands and said.
The Ming army was never afraid of field battles.
"Capture the fortress in one day!" Chen Dewang said to Li Sheng.
Li Sheng nodded immediately: 'Yes! '
Yang Yuchun said to Fukangan on the side.
"Mr. Fu, I'll leave the camp to you. Drive the cattle and sheep into the barbed wire fence." '
He turned to look at the generals.
'It is June 3rd now. We will attack at sunrise on June 5th and fight to the death with the Rakshasa ghosts on the Abakan grassland! '
Boom boom boom! !
The roar of artillery sounded in the Kyzylorda Fortress, which the Russians had painstakingly managed for more than half a century.
After half a night of fierce fighting.
The battle at this time was nearing its end.
With the advent of high explosives.
The days of impenetrable bastions are over.
At least for the Ming army.
The Ming army, which has a staff department and an army officer school, has summarized a complete set of procedures for attacking the bastion.
It is different from the traditional army.
As long as standard tactics can be summarized, the Ming army, which has a staff system and a military academy system, can quickly promote the tactics to the entire army.
The progress of traditional armies is very slow. Old tactics are often used for hundreds or even hundreds of years without corresponding new tactics being developed according to changes in opponents and weapons.
Such was the case with the Huai Army in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894. Although their failure was related to the backwardness and corruption of the feudal army, their outdated tactics were indeed an important reason.
The tactics of the Huai Army were learned from Western instructors during the Taiping Rebellion.
In fact, it is the Western queuing and shooting method.
When breech-loading guns were used, this tactic had long been eliminated by the modern armies of the West and Japan, but the Huai Army brought this style of play to the battlefield of the Sino-Japanese War.
However, the current Ming army's organization, command, and officer training methods are all very advanced and standard modern military systems.
This is a modern army with strong learning ability, so on this night, the Ming army easily solved the Kyzylorda Fortress with textbook combat.
As the fierce battle ended.
Outside Kyzylorda Fortress.
Bang bang bang!
A series of crisp sounds rang out.
A large number of prisoners were tied up, kneeled on the ground, and then shot in the back of the head by Ming soldiers with muskets.
In modern times, executing prisoners is extremely inhumane and violates the rules of war.
But in this era, especially on the grassland desert.
Such behavior is commonplace.
It has nothing to do with being cruel or not.
In fact, if Ming army soldiers were captured by the Russians, they would be treated in the same way.
Because this place is too far from the food-producing areas of both parties.
Logistics are very difficult!
To keep a prisoner is to place an unnecessary burden on yourself.
After a burst of gunfire.
Hundreds of Russian soldiers were all executed neatly.
Guan Shanyong, the company commander of the First Dragoon Division of the Zhengxi Corps, waved his hand, and soldiers dragged the tall Russians and threw them into the large pit they had dug.
Honestly.
Instead of choosing to be buried alive, he wasted a bullet and sent the Russians back to the west. This can be considered a very civilized Ming army.
Guan Shanyong was originally a bannerman, but now he is a successor officer of the Ming Army who works for the Emperor of Heaven.
"Laoguan, after getting rid of the prisoners, arrange for the troops to rest. We will continue to attack westward tomorrow morning!"
The one who was speaking was Lu Fuhai, the staff officer of the 1st Cavalry Division.
This Hakka hunter who joined the Ming army during the Battle of Nanxiong has now graduated from the military academy and became a division staff officer.
He now holds the title of Lord, has 200 acres of paddy fields in his hometown, and 500 acres of military land in the northeast.
It can be said that this life has been completely sold to the Emperor of Heaven.
"clear!",
Guan Shanyong nodded excitedly, and then said to his subordinates: "Hurry, hurry, gather together after collecting the loot in ten minutes!"
The loot is of course collected from the dead! Shoes, coats, watches, jewelry, gold teeth, wallets, swords, etc. are all trophies that can be owned by individuals.
However, all firearms must be owned by the public.
"Yang Shuai, Kyzylorda has been defeated."
At this time, Li Sheng was reporting the results to Yang Yuchun with a proud look on his face.
"More than 1,000 enemies were killed, 211 of our troops were killed, 436 were wounded, 22 cannons, 365 muskets, 155 rifled guns, more than 3,000 kilograms of gunpowder were seized. In addition, hundreds of thousands of kilograms of wheat were seized. If not for the old Maozi's defenders set fire to several large warehouses..."
As Li Sheng spoke, he handed Yang Yuchun a rifled gun.
"This should be a replica of the Guangfu Year 2 rifle. The workmanship is pretty good, and the bottom expansion sheet is also equipped. The accuracy of the bullet processing is a little rough, but it is still pretty good. This kind of firearm has a longer range than the breech-loading gun we use. Farther away, our advantage lies in the rate of fire and design posture!" Wang Dayong said.
Late at night on June 4, the raging fire ignited in the Kyzylorda Fortress during a fierce battle, which reflected half of the sky red and was faintly visible hundreds of miles away.
The Russian commander Musayev, who was riding on a Don horse, looked at the night sky with a serious expression on his face.
"The bastion is obsolete"
he said.
It's more of a repetition than a surprise.
The era of invincible bastion defense passed so quickly.
Past war experience has proven to be of little use now.
The Chinese always have an endless stream of new weapons.
This time.
They take the initiative.
Is there anything new emerging?
Musayev thought.
He reined in his horse and turned to look south.
"map!!"
he shouted.
The adjutant next to him hurriedly pulled out the military map carefully stored in the copper tube, opened it and handed it to Musayev.
Musayev watched for a while.
The hand points to a river to the south.
"Syr Darya! Let's move towards the banks of the Syr Darya!"
Musayev was looking for a suitable battlefield for the battle.
But the commander of the 15th Infantry Division beside him, Lieutenant General Andrei, asked the Governor of Orenburg in confusion: "Your Majesty the Governor! Kyzylorda Fortress may still be saved. If we rush there immediately..."
Musayev snorted: "Lieutenant General, do you want the Chinese to taste another victory like that in Irkutsk?"
Holkat, the commander of the 11th Infantry Division who had suffered in Irkutsk, echoed bitterly: "It is useless even if the Kyzylorda Fortress is not breached... Are we going to attack the Chinese fiercely?" Barbed wire and trenches?”
"You can't fight like this."
Holcutt said: "This will cause us heavy losses! The best way now is to fight on the grassland. The range of our rifles is twice as far as the breech-loading guns they replaced."
Musayev nodded: "So it is most advantageous to have a decisive battle in an open area... Give the order, we must rush to the edge of the Syr Darya River as soon as possible. We are not far from the Kyzylorda Fortress, and the decisive battle may take place tomorrow night. It's about to begin! We must establish a position first before the Chinese, and rely on the solid position to fight an upright battle with the Chinese! We have an army of 30,000, and the Chinese only have 10,000, 30,000 versus 10,000 , on the edge of the open Syr Darya River, the advantage is on our side!"
This time, Lieutenant General Andrei finally nodded convincingly, "Great, your Excellency, General, has properly read the cards. Tomorrow's victory must belong to us, to Russia!"
Holcutt was a little hesitant, "They may use position against position... Such things are very common on the Western battlefield now."
"Then let's go and retreat to the west coast of the Aral Sea!"
Musayev smiled helplessly and said, "If we want to keep the land in Asia, we must first keep this army."
"Without the army, the land cannot be saved no matter what."
(End of chapter)
