The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Li Yong said in his loudest voice: "Why do we have to join the militia? There is only one reason. We must unite and arm ourselves to survive. Why do we become miners? Because we can't survive anymore. We will die tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Don't people die frequently in our mines? If we die, will the Russians give money to our families? They won't. They will even throw our bodies to the wolves.

If we don't unite and arm ourselves, we will be bullied to death by the Russians. Why are we fighting the Russians? To earn a living for our descendants. Why are you joining the militia? To earn a living for yourselves. Join our militia, and we'll help each other. We have guns and people, and we won't be afraid of the Russians. If anyone truly doesn't want to join, we'll let you go after you return to Wujiabaozi and give you travel expenses. Before that, no one will be allowed to leave."

Now was not the time to do ideological work. We would slowly absorb the ideas after we brought them to Wujiabaozi. What we had to do now was to clean up the entire mine immediately and leave with the supplies and miners.

"Militia fighters, each with fifteen men, will immediately begin clearing the battlefield. Take whatever machinery from the mines you can carry away, and destroy everything you can't. Blow up the mines. These things, left here on the vast land of Northeast China, will one day belong to us. If someone else digs them up, they'll belong to someone else. Then we'll leave immediately. Remember, all captured items must be turned over to the public. No one is allowed to keep them privately. Violators will be severely punished."

"Yes. Several of the miners we hired earlier were experts in explosives, and they came in handy this time."

After several thousand men quickly cleaned up the entire mine and blew up the mine shaft, Li Yong immediately led the miners away, heading towards Wujiabaozi. This wasn't a good place to count the spoils. Looking at the truckloads of supplies, everyone knew they had captured a lot. However, for Li Yong, he was expected to be promoted to battalion commander upon his return, so the miners were his most important.

At this time in Anshan County, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph and Colonel Koryevsky, who had secretly arrived with his troops, were awaiting the results of the ambush on Sun Tongpao at the checkpoint. To completely eliminate the bandits in Wujiabaozi, they planned to first wipe out the bandits in other areas. Joseph had been meticulously planning this ambush on Sun Tongpao for months.

However, what they waited for was a constant stream of bad news. With Wujiabaozi as the center, all checkpoints and strongholds in all directions were attacked by bandits. A very bad premonition quickly struck the old Russian Joseph and the regiment commander Koryevsky.

According to their plan, Sun Tongpao should have been killed by the company they had sent out last night. Ultimately, their fears were fulfilled. Instead of receiving news of Sun Tongpao's demise, they received news that the checkpoint had been breached, and all the Imperial warriors, save for a few who escaped, had been annihilated, and all the supplies inside had been emptied.

It was really the worst news. The regiment commander Koryevsky immediately learned about the situation from those who survived. After analyzing the map, he knew that the bandits who appeared behind the checkpoint were from Wujiabaozi.

If this information had allowed them to remain complacent, the news that a mine with 3,000 men had been breached and the Russians inside had been killed was a bolt from the blue. Regimental Commander Koryevsky and Company Commander Joseph realized this might be a major incident. Unable to remain in Anshan County any longer, they immediately led their troops to the mine to personally investigate the situation.

Captain Koryevsky had previously thought that this was a vacation-style military deployment, but he had not expected that things would develop to this point! A large mine, more than a hundred fully armed imperial warriors, and hundreds of civilian lives of the Russian Empire were lost in such a broken place in the Far East.

Joseph had seen the devastation left by the bandits' raid on the mine, and he could barely accept it. Captain Koryevsky and his soldiers, seeing this hell on earth, were furious, visibly overcome with rage, and a sense of empathy.

Seeing these bizarrely shaped corpses along the way reminded Captain Koryevsky of the massacres committed by the Russian army in Hailanpao and the Sixty-Four Villages of Jiangdong. It reminded him of the invasion of Northeast China, when all places that might have an impact on the construction of railways in the Russian Empire were indiscriminately killed. After they entered the Northeast, they started a killing spree, and thousands of Chinese became victims of the Tsarist Russia's guns.

The entire Russian operation had resulted in only a few hundred deaths and thousands of injuries. However, the subsequent raids on Wujiabao had caused losses far exceeding those of the initial "expedition."

Seeing the hellish mine before him, Captain Koryevsky finally believed this almost impossible reality. Then, he sat down on the platform where Li Yong had once stood, his whole body powerless. He looked around and saw the devastation everywhere.

However, the dejected expression on Colonel Koryevsky's face didn't last long. Before long, the limp Colonel Koryevsky stood up again, a chilling murderous aura emanating from him.

The whole person was like a roaring beast, a demon from hell, roaring at Joseph in front of him: "I want to know who dared to kill the citizens of my Russian Empire so cruelly. I will kill them all and avenge the tragic deaths of Russian citizens!"

Facing the furious eyes of the Koryevsky Regimental Commander, Joseph felt a little panicked, but he remained calm and replied, "We haven't found any of the enemies who attacked us yet, but based on the current situation, it's likely the bandits from Wujiabaozi who did it."

Soon, the silent Koryevsky Regimental Commander spoke up. He said loudly: "Wujiabaozi, right? Very good. I will send a large number of troops to destroy them and avenge these warriors and citizens of the Russian Empire who were brutally murdered."

Joseph wanted to order Colonel Koryevsky to dispatch troops immediately, but he had to shake his head and reply, "Your Excellency, we have people monitoring Wujiabaozi, but there aren't many people there. If we march in with such fanfare, once the news reaches Wujiabaozi, the bandits will immediately flee into the mountains. I believe that Wujiabaozi must know that we will retaliate against them sooner or later, so they have built a secret base in the mountains. Their supplies and personnel are probably hidden there to avoid our heavy encirclement and suppression."

Hearing this, Colonel Koryevsky, who had a murderous look on his face, was completely furious this time.

Chapter 278:

Colonel Koryevsky directly ordered Joseph: "I don't care... I give you three days. No matter what method you use, you must find the secret base of Wujiabaozi within three days."

"Sir, if nothing unexpected happens, the total strength of Wujiabaozi now exceeds one thousand. If we add the more than three thousand miners in this mine as reserve troops, their strength will expand rapidly, which is extremely detrimental to the rule of our Great Russian Empire. Therefore, we must not only completely destroy Wujiabaozi, but also completely eliminate these thousands of hidden bandits, so that the people of the northeast of the Qing Dynasty will never dare to resist us again."

"Hmm~ What should we do? The bandits in Wujiabaozi have killed too many of us. We must find them and eliminate them immediately, otherwise, more Russian citizens will die at their hands. The bandits in Wujiabaozi have obtained a large amount of our equipment and ammunition, especially heavy machine guns. To a certain extent, their firepower is now equal to ours."

"Sir, this is precisely why we can't rush. We only have one regiment now. If the bandits in Wujiabaozi are hiding in the mountains, we won't be able to defeat them. Even if they attack us head-on, they will be defeated and will flee. We will never be able to completely annihilate them. Therefore, we should mobilize the army and surround them from all sides, destroying their manpower and supply bases. If we implement a scorched earth policy around Wujiabaozi, they will definitely engage in a decisive battle with us."

Captain Koryevsky thought for a while and said, "Joseph, you are right. We must do our utmost to wipe out the bandits in Wujiabaozi. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"My suggestion remains the same as before. We should take photos of this place, publicize the bandits' atrocities, and gain support from countries like Britain, France, the United States, and Japan. Then we can fully wipe out this group of bandits. It will be a simple task."

Captain Koryevsky thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, you're right. Arrange for someone to take photos immediately. I'll personally report this to my superiors and ask for their approval as soon as possible. At the same time, we must continue to increase our forces to completely wipe out this bandit group."

With the approval of the Koryevsky regiment commander, Joseph immediately set out to take action. He discovered that all the Russian soldiers outside the mine had stab wounds. He disguised them as ordinary civilians, posed them, and then took photos of the bandits wantonly slaughtering Russian civilians. He also focused on photographing the women, children, and the elderly inside the mine, creating a documentary of a hellish disaster.

After collecting the images, the next step was to destroy the bodies. Koryevsky and his men ordered the cremation of all the bodies in the mine. Koryevsky worked hard to find out the names of each person and then placed the ashes in a box. After all, these fallen Russian soldiers needed compensation, otherwise who would be willing to fight for the Russian Empire in the future?

The people Liu Wenxiu and his companions were also inexperienced. They didn't burn the bodies with a huge fire to destroy the evidence. Unlike the Japanese and Tsarist Russia, they tried their best to leave no evidence or film footage of their crimes.

Colonel Koryevsky submitted Joseph's photographs and reports, which eventually reached the hands of Russian Minister Plenipotentiary to the Qing Dynasty, Resar. Resar was no military man; his political acumen was unparalleled, and he immediately saw the enormous benefits involved.

Resar immediately convened a meeting with photos and documents, demanding support from Britain, France, the United States, and Japan for the Russian military's continued presence in Manchuria. He fiercely denounced the crimes and atrocities of the Manchurian bandits, arguing that the Qing government was unable to guarantee public security in the region and was powerless to suppress them. Investments from various countries would be at risk, and the safety of merchants from various countries would be threatened. The natural conclusion was that Russia could not and should not withdraw from Manchuria.

It must be said that what Resar said does represent part of the truth. Some people would say that since it is dangerous, why don't you, the great powers, not come to the Northeast? The Chinese did not invite you to come.

This is nonsense, born of a misunderstanding of the logic of capitalist industrialization; it's typical idealism. The Communist Manifesto states: "...the need for ever-increasing sales of its products drives the bourgeoisie to the four corners of the globe. It must establish itself everywhere, start businesses everywhere, and establish connections everywhere. By opening up the world market, the bourgeoisie has made production and consumption in all countries global...

Moreover, the Western powers had been plundering the world for centuries. What had they not seen? What danger had they not faced? Their sole concern was profit. As for the lives of the local indigenous people, that was completely none of their business. For the powers, indigenous resistance to their ways was a sign of ignorance and backwardness, while resistance was considered thugs. Imperialists only spoke imperialist principles, landlords only landlord principles, and the proletariat only proletarian principles. Therefore, what Resar said was politically correct for the powers.

Resar then took these photos and materials to the Qing court, forcing it to admit the unequal treaty they had signed and the Russian army's decision not to withdraw from the Northeast. Faced with these materials, the Qing court dared not say a word and continued to lie flat on its back and let the hammer fall.

Soon, the photos in Resar's possession appeared in newspapers around the world, reprinted by newspapers worldwide. The tragic deaths of unarmed civilians, especially women and children, sparked sympathy and concern from people around the world, leading to widespread condemnation of the Northeastern bandits. Domestically, public opinion was also surging. Some supported the killings, but their voices were immediately drowned out by those opposed. Those opposed the killings were overwhelmingly in favor. To them, China was a nation of benevolence and justice, and such cruelty should not be tolerated. Instead, they believed that love and kindness should be used to influence the people.

Regardless of the turmoil outside, a storm of anti-banditism had already begun. After all the comrades returned to Wujiabaozi, Liu Wenxiu and Lian Chengjue immediately convened a meeting to discuss the encirclement and reorganization of the Russians. Liu Wenxiu and Lian Chengjue both realized that for the miners in Northeast China, the traditional Sichuan model of step-by-step training was unnecessary. They only needed to be taught the basics and then learn to fight in battle.

Tang Genli also joined Wujiabaozi, and still did not actively reveal his identity as a member of the Forward Party. However, he did not join the army, but joined the civil affairs system to help Wujiabaozi strengthen the construction of the base.

The unit had already undergone several expansions, and Liu Wenxiu and his men were now experienced. However, the prospect of expanding by nearly 3,000 men all at once still presented them with a dilemma. Simply expanding the existing unit would significantly dilute its combat effectiveness. Therefore, they ultimately had to fill out the existing unit and form a new one with the remaining miners.

Everyone then discussed which soldiers had performed well during the operation and made promotions. Li Yong was promoted directly to battalion commander. With so many officers suddenly needed, anyone with impressive performance or special skills could be promoted to a minor position. Of course, the people Liu Wenxiu and his team appointed were indeed among the most outstanding. Since everyone was unfamiliar with the situation, the squad leaders were directly appointed, without elections. Once these junior officers were assigned, the thousands of miners were immediately assigned.

A few days later, Sun Tongpao also arrived with his men at Wujiabaozi. With Sun Tongpao's return, all personnel for the operation were in place. Liu Wenxiu and his men were not polite to Sun Tongpao and his men at all, disrupting their original organization and placing them in different teams. Because Sun Tongpao was familiar with the situation in the Northeast, he was directly appointed as the marching staff officer without the captain.

These bandits were also a rebellious bunch, and naturally, they were not happy to be asked to start from the grassroots. They had previously been a powerful faction, so they naturally understood that this was an attempt to completely dismantle their group. Sun Tongpao didn't care, as he was only there to fight the Russians and didn't care about official positions. However, he represented the interests of this group of bandits, and in the end, he was left with no choice but to bring them to Liu Wenxiu.

"We don't want to separate. We still need Mr. Sun to lead us to continue fighting..." "Yes, Mr. Sun has always led us. We only trust Mr. Sun..."

Sun Tongpao was deeply moved by this situation. He certainly understood the intention of Wujiabaozi's arrangement, and these bandits needed a guarantee. But hearing them say such things, he felt it was inappropriate. Those who had been saved by Wujiabaozi were fine, but those who stayed behind in the stronghold had no trust in Wujiabaozi at all.

"Alright, everyone, shut up! The heroes of Wujiabao are our saviors. We should trust them and follow their instructions."

Sun Tongpao said this, but after he finished speaking, he looked at Liu Wenxiu and the others to see how they would respond.

Seeing this, Liu Wenxiu knew this was what Chairman Zhang Yinghao had called "factionalism." He wasn't sure what to say. After all, this was the first time they had recruited bandits in Northeast China. Bandits in Sichuan weren't treated so politely as in Northeast China. They were either eliminated outright, surrendered, or left Sichuan. Recruiting them? No way. The revolutionary army in Sichuan had never lacked manpower.

However, the special environment in the Northeast has made it necessary to make certain compromises with the bandits. But it is necessary to break them up and unite them. If they are united, how can the party command the guns? The Forward Party and the Revolutionary Army cannot tell lies, so just tell the truth.

"Staff Officer Sun, they're right. Just because we saved you doesn't mean you should obey us or be grateful to us. This isn't a deal. Just because we saved you doesn't mean you should work for us. We don't have such principles or rules in Wujiabao."

Sun Tongpao and the other bandits were confused after hearing Liu Wenxiu's words. What did he mean? Did he confirm or deny what the bandits had said? Then Liu Wenxiu continued, "Fighting the Russians will require bloodshed and sacrifice, so fighting the Russians is entirely voluntary. We cannot force anyone to join us in fighting the Russians."

Liu Wenxiu made his position clear. Although he didn't say he didn't want to fight the Russians and that those who feared death could leave, all the bandits understood and a commotion broke out. Sun Tongpao, hearing Liu Wenxiu's words, felt that it was a bit inappropriate. He implied that they were afraid of death, which was intolerable.

"We are not afraid of death. We just want Mr. Sun to lead us to fight the Russians."

"Yes, we can continue to fight the Russians."

"Anyone who is afraid of death is not a hero. At worst, he can be a hero again in eighteen years."

.Out =--

Liu Wenxiu laughed and said, "Of course I know you are good men, but since you have joined my Wujiabaozi, do you think I should treat you equally? Should I treat you as my own people..."

Sun Tongpao was a bit impatient. After listening to Liu Wenxiu for a long time without getting to the point, he replied directly: "Of course we should treat everyone equally. Once you join Wujiabaozi, you are one of us."

Liu Wenxiu smiled and said, "That's it. If we continue to let Staff Officer Sun lead you, will we give you any dangerous missions? If we do, some people will say we're taking the opportunity to suppress you or even kill you with someone else's knife. If we don't give you any dangerous missions, the other soldiers will think you're not one of them. So, we're breaking you up for your own good, so that you can fully integrate into the big family of Wujiabaozi..."

Chapter 279:

Liu Wenxiu certainly knew that some bandits wanted to become officials directly, rather than starting from the grassroots. But he certainly wouldn't tell them to rely on their abilities to rise to the top. If he'd said that, the bandits' motivation for joining Wujiabao would have changed. They joined to fight the Russians, not to become officials, or to assume official positions if they succeeded. Once they developed that mindset, they were doomed. Once they understood these things, they understood them. The correct approach was to see through them without saying anything.

Just like later generations, everyone knows that industry is the foundation and manufacturing is important, but how many people are willing to work in factories? They say that workers have a low status and should be raised, but many people who say this look down on workers on the assembly line. They say that workers' work is hard and their income is low, but who dares to say to what extent workers' wages should be raised?

It's all forced, the result of struggle. In reality, workers' wages have always been the same; it's just that productivity has increased and overall wages have risen. The rise in social wealth has boosted the nation's income levels, significantly increasing the number of people earning high incomes through "skill," resulting in the living standards of ordinary workers lagging significantly behind in comparison.

It’s like the original income was a small pyramid, with workers’ income at an upper-middle level. Workers could see the top by looking up, and there was a large group of people below who were worse off than them, so the working class had a very high sense of honor.

But when productivity increased and everyone's income soared, the original pyramid suddenly became like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with no bottom, because no one was starving to death. Workers' incomes remained at the same level, but when they looked up, the gap seemed to have reached a point of no return, and when they looked down, it was only a step away. Naturally, workers felt a huge psychological gap.

Just like those who see a hundred million or two hundred million as a small goal, compared to ordinary workers, how can workers really claim to have high incomes? As for the difficulties faced by workers and other working-class people in getting married and buying homes, because society's discourse is dominated by the wealthy, people's focus on them leads to an insatiable desire for wealth, a constant desire for "get rich quick," which further degrades the status of workers and other working-class people. Without any voice, workers and other working-class people naturally become the silent majority, grumbling when they have the chance and mumbling to themselves when they don't. However, as long as people recognize these high-income groups, allow their so-called legal wealth, and as long as people themselves aspire to be among them, these problems will inevitably arise.

As for the solution, it is very painful to talk about it, so I will not talk about it here for now. Let the book lovers think about it and I will give the solution later.

The Chinese are the most reasonable and receptive to reason. Liu Wenxiu explained everything clearly, and the bandits understood. Even if a few still felt dissatisfied, they were too embarrassed to speak out. After all, fighting for the interests of other bandits is understandable, but asking them to say they didn't start from the grassroots and wanted to become officials is selfish and will naturally not gain the support of the majority of the bandits. It's pointless to say more.

Ultimately, the bandits had no choice but to comply and join the training. Even staff officer Sun Tongpao was no exception, having to complete basic cultural studies and military training, including physical fitness. Lian Chengjue and his men then launched a new round of grievance campaigns against these bandits and miners. Sun Tongpao and his men weren't exactly bandits in the truest sense of the word; they were mostly peasants from impoverished backgrounds, many of whom had lost their families during the Russian invasion. These stories are truly heartbreaking, and deeply moving.

Slogans of overthrowing Tsarist imperialism and flames of revenge rose in their hearts, and at the same time, the seeds of hope were also nurtured in their hearts.

Lian Chengjue and the comrades from Sichuan also sought out outstanding comrades who were undergoing training and learning, explaining Sichuan's affairs, the policies of the Forward Party, and Zhang Yinghao's thoughts to them, giving them Party lectures and introducing them to the Party. Because the Sichuan-based movement was still under wraps, the Forward Party's presence in Northeast China was not publicly announced. When they approached Tang Genli, he immediately explained that he had been sent to Northeast China by Sichuan to recruit members of the Forward Party. The merger of the two Party committees greatly alleviated Liu Wenxiu's shortage of manpower and significantly expanded the Forward Party's presence in Northeast China, laying a solid foundation for its liberation.

Taizu once said, "Outside the Party, there are no parties; there is imperial thinking. Within the Party, there are no factions; there are all sorts of strange things." Wherever there are people, there will be struggles and factions. Although Liu Wenxiu and Tang Genli were both members of the Progressive Party, that didn't mean they were free of selfish motives. While maintaining their loyalty to the Party, they also had their own interests and selfish desires. Naturally, they would fight for the interests of their comrades, and vying for positions was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Now that they've been promoted, they naturally hope those they've developed will get better positions in order to increase their power and influence within their new team. Of course, everyone is aware of their own ulterior motives, and without strong suppression, things appear even more fair.

Therefore, without making everyone wait too long, Lian Chengjue said with a quick smile on his face: "We are all members of the Forward Party. We have our own ideas and our own set of practices. In our Forward Party, to gain status, we rely on our ability to work and the recognition of the soldiers. Squad leader, deputy squad leader, platoon leader, deputy platoon leader, etc. are all elected by the soldiers themselves. Now we have so few people. You are capable and still worried that our base will not expand fast enough? We just don't dare now. However, if you don't have the ability, you will not be able to hold on to the highest position.

We are now facing the encirclement and suppression of the old Russians. If we fail, there is nothing to fight for. If we win, there is actually no need to fight.

Because as our base expands, we will need more and more talents. So I propose to set up a committee to discuss and handle major matters together.

Comrade Liu Wenxiu will be in charge of the overall situation, and Comrade Tang Genli will be in charge of most of the administrative affairs. We are now holding a meeting to establish the rules. We will promote the capable and demote the incompetent. Those new recruits who have experienced combat and are capable can be elected as squad leaders, and then we will climb the ladder step by step. Whether they can move up a level depends on their own ability...

Lian Chengjue and his men had not learned any other methods of establishing a base, so they naturally followed the Sichuan model.

Commander, Tang Genli is the highest authority in the government, but in fact they are all officials. Only the Party Committee is the highest authority. He is the chairman because he is currently

He is the most suitable candidate, bar none. The others are naturally the committee members.

The army led by the Progressive Party is always a place where soldiers come and go.

The power of an officer comes only from his position. It is very difficult for anyone to train a private army within the army. Sure enough, as soon as Lian Chengjue made his decision,

Everyone in the family also agreed with this arrangement and accepted this fact very readily.

Wujiabaozi smoothly passed through an internal crisis, but this was all competition within the system, and now their power is in a period of rapid expansion. The conflicts are not big, and the problems can be solved by mutual coordination.

After all personnel information was sorted out, the first phase of the troops' complaints concluded. Many of those who had originally wanted to leave decided not to. For the few who still wanted to leave, Liu Wenxiu provided them with travel expenses, allowing them to depart. Revolution is entirely voluntary; those willing to sacrifice their lives and work hard for the people's liberation are welcome. The progressive Party has always maintained the attitude of parting amicably.

While Liu Wenxiu and his men were frantically training their soldiers, the Russian army was also rapidly deploying its forces. Once in place, they launched attacks on their respective targets. This time, the Russian army had abandoned its original plan to simply eliminate Wujiabaozi. With the support of Britain, France, and other countries, they planned to launch a large-scale bandit suppression operation in South Manchuria. The Russians' massive offensive was not only aimed at Wujiabaozi, but also at bandits like the Liaoxi bandit Du Lisan, who were also targets of the Russian attack. The Russians had already mobilized a division and a large number of peripheral troops to encircle and suppress the bandits in Wujiabaozi. At the command of the division commander, the Russian troops responsible for encircling Wujiabaozi launched an attack into the encirclement.

Due to the previous propaganda, there was a large audience at this time, and many foreign journalists also followed the army's actions, specifically reporting on the encirclement and suppression of Wujiabaozi by Division Commander Vladimirovich.

Secretary Boris came to the side of the division commander Vladimirovich and said: "General, how do we arrange for the reporters?"

"Let them follow the main force. The vanguard has their mission. Those who committed heinous crimes against the citizens of our Great Russian Empire must pay the price! Our boys have set out now to find that group of bandits and then eliminate them! Let them know what true Russian warriors are. Those bandits must pay the price of blood for their foolish actions. Only in this way can we wash away our shame!"

Division Commander Vladimirovich's words couldn't have been clearer. Their scorched-earth policy was to force the bandits out of Wujiabao and then engage in a decisive battle with the Russian regular army. The vanguard troops were to commit murder and arson along the way, something no civilized nation would do, and naturally, they couldn't let reporters witness it and leave behind any film or television footage.

Secretary Boris listened and replied calmly: "Okay, General, I will arrange it right away."

Because the struggle in Sichuan was not so brutal at the time, and the entire Sichuan was liberated quickly, Zhang Yinghao appropriately weakened the establishment of the militia system. Because Liu Wenxiu and his men did not consider the special environment of the Northeast, they did not vigorously develop the militia system according to local conditions, but simply copied the system established by Zhang Yinghao in Sichuan. As a result, the militia forces in the base they established were not taken seriously, so the firepower was not strong.

Since Liu Wenxiu and his men were inexperienced in fighting the enemy, they had no idea how brutal the Russian invaders would be. They also knew nothing about tunnel warfare, so tunneling between villages was rare. Only a few villagers dug simple tunnels as a precaution.

Although the liberated areas had been informed of the impending Russian attack, this time the Russian advance was sudden and purposeful. While the militias didn't flee at the sight of the Tsarist Russian regular army like the Qing army, they could only offer sporadic resistance, delaying the Russian advance and completely failing to withstand the Russian advance. Ultimately, only a partial civilian evacuation was hastily organized, and those who didn't have time to evacuate perished at the hands of the Russian bayonets. The Russians then razed the captured villages and towns to the ground and burned them to the ground.

As the key offensive area, the encirclement and the villages that had not yet been liberated were also attacked by the Russian invaders. In Xiuyan, there was a fort that blocked the Russian invaders' attack path. The people inside the fort had not been notified by Liu Wenxiu and his men. When they learned of the Russian invaders' arrival, there were no roads around for them to escape.

Hong Baotian, a wealthy landlord in the fort, was a shrewd man. He immediately opened the gates of the fort and welcomed the Russian invaders. Hong Baotian's father named his son Baotian, implying that he should protect the family land and not seek advancement, but rather maintain his success. Northeastern landlords were always keenly aware of current events. Hong Baotian knew that a bandit gang had emerged in Anshan, specifically targeting the Russians. Although he didn't know the exact whereabouts of the Russian invaders, he knew they weren't coming to attack him. As long as he behaved well and provided them with food, money, and even women, he could return to his former safety.

Unfortunately, Hong Baotian was too naive. If it were in the past, perhaps his actions could have averted disaster. However, this time, the Russian invaders implemented a scorched earth policy, determined to completely eliminate the bandits in Wujiabaozi and completely intimidate all the Qing people in Northeast China. So, seeing Hong Baotian's cooperation, the Russian invaders naturally entered the fort happily and easily confiscated all the guns and ammunition in the fort. Then, under the pretext of investigating bandits, they gathered all the people in the fort together, men in one group, women in another.

If the British were ruling Northeast China, they would have singled out a few individuals and had Hong Baotian personally execute them, effectively turning him into their own, while also completely intimidating the entire village, ensuring no one would dare to resist them again. But the Russians were used to being crude and ruthless. Looking at the servile Qing landlord standing before him, the invading Russian commander, Volokov, let out a cold sneer. He glanced at the group of women and, pointing to the youngest and most beautiful of them, said, "Call her over. I want to talk to her."

Chapter 280:

Hong Baotian followed Volokov's finger and saw two women. One was his youngest daughter, sixteen years old, young, beautiful, and tall. The other was his youngest concubine, only twenty-four years old, also pretty and good-looking.

Hong Baotian didn't know which Russian guy he was referring to, and he was a little confused. Volokov saw Hong Baotian's expression and said, "Hurry up."

Hong Baotian said angrily, "Why don't you come up and talk to the general?"

Hong Baotian didn't care who came up, as long as one of the two people came up.

Hong Baotian's daughter and concubine each took a step forward, but upon seeing the other's foot, they immediately retracted it. After a moment's pause, they each tacitly took another step forward, then retracted it again. The first time these two women took a step forward, they thought the Russian was referring to them; the second time, they intended to sacrifice themselves.

Volokov had no interest in watching the two women perform the trick of giving way to each other, and immediately said: "Let both of them come up."

Hong Baotian had no choice but to wave his hand and said, "Both of you come up!"

These two women were naturally different from ordinary peasant women. A landlord's daughter, needless to say, naturally had plenty of food and drink, and having been genetically modified by the landlord's wife, she was naturally pretty. And if a landlord's concubine wasn't pretty, she wouldn't be in the landlord's sight. The two women approached with their heads lowered, faces filled with fear.

Volokov took a few glances and nodded with satisfaction. In the end, he still felt that the concubine was more attractive. He pulled the concubine into his arms, pushed the landlord's daughter to the adjutant next to him, and then kneaded the concubine's chest with one hand. The concubine screamed and struggled.

Hong Baotian quickly stepped forward and said, "Don't shout. It's your blessing to be able to serve the foreign master. Hurry and take the master into the room to avoid embarrassing him outside."

When the Russian soldiers below saw this scene, their eyes lit up and they began to look for targets among the group of women.

Volokov looked at Hong Baotian and nodded with a smile. Hong Baotian immediately showed a chrysanthemum-like smile on his face. Although Hong Baotian also felt very ashamed, he felt that it was worth it to lose only two women in exchange for the safety of the whole family. Moreover, he was able to get back what he lost soon with these old Russians in front of him today. Just when he thought that today's hurdle was over, Volokov said directly in Russian: "Warriors of the Empire, we will only stay here for half a day. During this half day, everything here is yours. You can do whatever you want, but don't leave any trouble."

The words were unclear, but the Russian invaders knew exactly what they meant. After Volokov finished speaking, he ignored everyone, hugged the landlord's concubine, and turned to go into the room. Seeing that Volokov had left, and hearing what Volokov had said, the adjutant also bent down and carried the landlord's daughter into the house.

Seeing his daughter still struggling, Hong Baotian immediately shouted, "My dear daughter, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

After hearing this, the landlord's daughter stopped moving and was obediently carried into the room by the adjutant.