The sun never sets

Accepting surrender is like being attacked. The Russians had already surrendered, but he did not relax at all and made arrangements for response. So when the troops approached, he immediately received the news. "Get ready for battle!"

"The ones coming should be friendly forces."

"You said it should be, but that doesn't mean it must be! Be prepared for danger in times of peace! It's better to overreact than to be caught off guard by the enemy!"

Guo Songling asked the soldiers to prepare for battle, but soon his tense expression relaxed. "They are our own people," he muttered to himself.

"Captain, what did you say?"

"Nothing," Guo Songling paused and said, "Alert lifted, Deputy Battalion Commander Yang, let's go meet the friendly forces."

From afar, there was a singing voice coming over. "........I want to get 100,000 soldiers, march to the northwest, drink water from Wulianghai, ride horses to Wula Mountain............", this is a military song composed by Marshal Lin "personally" and written by him "personally", officers and soldiers can sing it. Hearing the singing, many soldiers sang along loudly.

"...I will never return until I win! You will play the cymbals and I will listen to the song of triumph!"

The singing was generous and heroic, resounding like the clouds. On the side of the road, Grand Duke Nicholas listened to the singing coming from afar, with a complicated expression on his face. Someone asked, "What's that sound?"

“It’s a Chinese military song.”

"Cema Wula Mountain? Hey, the Chinese are so arrogant!"

Grand Duke Nicholas sighed, "They are not only arrogant, but also capable."

One general said unconvincedly: "If we were in Europe, the Chinese would never be our opponent."

Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov shook his head. “But this is not Europe.”

At Zhima Ridge, Guo Songling was ready to welcome the friendly troops, and then he saw the brigade commander Wu Peifu and several guards riding towards him. He immediately stepped forward and saluted, "Brigade commander!"

Wu Peifu jumped off his horse and saluted in return, "Guo Songling, you fought well this time! You made me proud!"

Scout Xiao Yang followed behind Wu Peifu and winked at Guo Songling. Guo Songling didn't understand what was going on, but said from the bottom of his heart: "It was the soldiers who fought desperately that stopped the Russians!"

"Hey..." Wu Peifu was about to continue

Before he could say anything, the sound of horse hooves rang out on the road behind him. Some Mongolian cavalrymen on tall horses rushed over, but braked suddenly when they got close, showing their superb riding skills and arrogance. The leading general asked loudly on horseback: "Where is the prince of the old Russians?"

Guo Songling was furious, but Wu Peifu, who was always sour-tempered, was very easy to talk to this time. "I'll send someone to call him over. Captain Guo, go and invite Archduke Nicholas over!"

Guo Songling put his feet together, straightened his back, and answered loudly: "Yes!"

He turned to leave, but before he had gone far, he heard the general on horseback behind him say, "Is this the guy who stopped the Russians? Hey, he looks like a man with a bad temper, but it doesn't matter, as long as he has the ability. Brigade Commander Wu, how about giving this guy to me? I'll trade you a hundred horses..."

Guo Songling was far away and did not hear Wu Peifu's answer. He found Grand Duke Nicholas who was drinking tea in front of the tent and explained his purpose. The Russian generals and officers nearby became angry when they heard this, "A mere brigade commander dares to do this..."

Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov Nicholas was very aware of being a prisoner. He stretched out his hand to stop the generals and officers from acting rashly, saying, "Quiet, gentlemen, quiet!"

Then he said to Guo Songling: "I'm sorry, please forgive me, they just experienced a tragic defeat, so they are a little emotional."

Guo Songling had no objection and took his hand away from the pistol at his waist. "Please get ready as soon as possible."

Archduke Nicholas smiled bitterly and said, "What else is there to prepare? Please lead the way." Having said that, he still arranged for people to stay behind to maintain order, and then took several generals and translators with Guo Songling to the road below Zhimaling.

When approaching the mountains, Grand Duke Nicholas carefully observed the positions on the mountains and the traces of the battle. Although he suffered a defeat, he was still a first-class commander. Russia's failure in the Far East cannot be blamed on him. The long distance seriously weakened the Russians' fighting power.

But failure is failure, no matter what the reason, failure is failure.

There were more and more people's troops under Zhima Ridge. When Guo Songling came back, he saw the brigade commander Wu Peifu and the Mongolian general he had met before standing on the side of the road, talking to a big bald man. Wu Peifu was arrogant and looked down on people, giving people a sense of dominance. The Mongolian general was even more arrogant, with the word "arrogance" written on his face. However, when they stood together with the big bald man, their aura disappeared completely and they became as gentle and kind as little lambs.

The bald man just stood there, listening, and all the light around him naturally focused on him. Guo Songling felt the height as if it were a mountain, and his breathing became rapid. He took two quick steps, saluted, and then shouted in a loud voice: "Marshal!"

The bald man turned around with a smile on his face. He walked over, shook his hand, and shook it up and down. "Ha, Guo Songling, Captain Guo, even if you are in a difficult situation, you will stand out. We meet again!"

Chapter 295: Defense is not omnipotent

The big bald man was naturally Chairman Lin Yongchang. Apart from him, no one else could make Wu Peifu and Meng En* Borjigin as docile as a cat. Lin Yongchang shook hands with Guo Songling enthusiastically and laughed, "Captain Guo, we meet again!"

Guo Songling felt warm in his heart and his face flushed, but he couldn't say a word.

Lin Yongchang punched him lightly on the chest. "The war is over, but it's not over yet. Soldiers can rest now. Captain Guo, you still have to stand guard for the last time."

Guo Songling nodded heavily, still unable to utter a word.

Lin Yongchang then went to see Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholas next to him. He had seen photos and portraits of the Grand Duke, but this was the first time he saw him in person. To be fair, Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov Nicholas's performance in the war was remarkable, and the changes in the Russian army in the Far East were also obvious to all. If it weren't for Grand Duke Nicholas, the Russian army in the Far East would have collapsed two years ago.

"Mr. Nicholas, I need your help with something."

"......Please go ahead."

"Please order the Russian troops in Harbin and Lushun to lay down their arms and surrender. The war is over, there is no need to continue bleeding." Lin Yongchang speaks fluent Russian with a St. Petersburg accent, which Princess Olga taught him. Sometimes, learning a foreign language at a negative distance is also very interesting. "The rest can be resolved through negotiations."

Grand Duke Nicholas was silent for a while, then said, "I can give such an order, but before that, I would like to ask you a question."

Just as Lin Yongchang had seen the portrait of Archduke Nicholas, Archduke Nicholas had also seen the portrait of Lin Yongchang. His iconic bald head is now almost known to everyone in East Asia. Even if they have never seen Lin Yongchang himself, many people know the appearance of this Chinese leader known as the "Butcher of the Far East".

"Please tell me."

"Olga...is she okay?"

"Well, it should be very good." Lin Yongchang scratched his head, "I eat well, dress well, and look better than before.

It's much better, but whether it's better or not is a very subjective question, so you might as well ask her yourself." He paused for a moment and added, "After you ordered the Russian troops in Lushun, Liaoyang and other places to lay down their arms."

Nicholas Romanov stared at Lin Yongchang for a while, his heart full of surprise, how could this man be so young? In comparison, the Marshal Lin in the oil painting obtained by Chekov looked too mature. Hearing that Princess Olga was doing well, his demeanor became more relaxed, "Mr. President, it is useless to rely on my orders alone, we also need the orders of His Majesty the Tsar."

Lin Yongchang smiled and said, "Our foreign minister is working hard in St. Petersburg, and I believe there will be results soon."

Nicholas Romanov said that his orders were useless, but that was not the case. After receiving the order from Grand Duke Nicholas, the Russian army in many places chose to lay down their arms and surrender, including Liaoyang and Lushun. The former had the largest Russian corps, and the latter was a fortress group that the Russian army spent two years building, as well as the first-class docks and shipbuilding factories in the Far East.

Considering that the shipyard in Qingdao and the factory in Taiyuan used many advanced technologies, the dock and factory in Lushun may not be the most advanced, but they are not outdated and can barely maintain the first-class echelon, but the dock there is definitely the largest. The acquisition of Lushun almost doubled the shipbuilding capacity of the Central People's Government.

Lin Yongchang has no plans to join the "shipbuilding competition" now. Those shipyards can also be used to build merchant ships and transport ships.

Liaoyang and Lushun surrendered, but only the Russian troops in Harbin refused to lay down their arms. Unlike Lushun and Liaoyang, which had been surrounded for a long time and fell into a state of hunger, Harbin was connected to Vladivostok after the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The Russian army had stockpiled a large number of troops and supplies in Harbin, and three or four months of siege were not enough to starve them out of combat effectiveness.

Lin Yongchang was not polite to Harbin's stubborn enemies and pulled all the heavy artillery over. There were 100 heavy artillery pieces, including those purchased and captured. If the artillery pieces with a caliber below mm were also counted, the number of artillery pieces reached . This was a powerful firepower that had never appeared in the history of East Asia. Just one salvo destroyed the one-kilometer-long defense line outside Harbin.

The Russian troops stationed in Harbin thought they had sufficient food and grass and a strong defense line, but their defense line was soon shattered by heavy artillery bombardment. At the current level of military technology, the "defense theory" is very useful, but it requires strong national strength, sufficient artillery, shells and reserve forces.

The "defense theory" is not to shrink back and take a beating, but to use defense to consume the enemy's manpower and morale as much as possible, so as to accumulate advantages for counterattack. Defense is not the goal, but winning is. When Marshal Lin taught the generals in the military academy, he said, "The primary goal of fighting is to win. If defense is effective, then we will take defense. If offense is effective, then we will take offense. Don't use some rules and regulations to bind us. We must be rigorous in the execution process after the plan is completed, but in the planning process before that, we may as well be more imaginative."

The military theory construction of the Tsarist Russia has always been very poor. Grand Duke Nicholas did not learn the essence of "defense theory", let alone other Russian generals, who only learned to dig trenches and put up barbed wire. The Russian troops in Harbin were surrounded, but they still wanted to rely on trenches and barbed wire to hold on. How could this be possible?

Even if the People's Army could not break in for a while, they could raze Harbin to the ground by repeatedly bombarding it with heavy artillery. If it were not for the sake of avoiding more trouble, the People's Army could have surrounded Harbin and starved it out. If three months didn't work, then six months, if six months didn't work, then one year, two years, sooner or later the defenders in the city would be starved out and surrender.

The Tsarist Russia was not the Reds forty years later, who could still fight despite the starvation of 500,000 people. Most of their generals and officers were hereditary, and most of their soldiers were serfs recruited from the vast territory. Such an army could fight favorable battles and tough battles in the unique cultural atmosphere of Russia, but they could not maintain high morale under extremely adverse circumstances.

In the later period of World War I, the Russian army was beaten by the Germans again and again, and each time it was a big loss. A few years later, after transforming into the Soviet Union, the Soviet army was able to drive the expeditionary forces of the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries out of the country and even push them back to the city of Warsaw. Although they were defeated in the end, that was also due to the fact that European and American powers provided a lot of free aid to the Poles.

Lin Yongchang was very wary of the Red Hairs forty years later, but he didn't care much about the current Tsarist Russia. The Japanese devils today can't be compared with the Japanese devils thirty years later, and the current Tsarist Russia is not the same as the Red Hairs that dominated half the world. The Tsarist Russian Empire was very powerful, but it couldn't transfer all its troops to the Far East.

Even if the Russian Empire sent 500,000 troops, Marshal Lin would not be at all afraid. If he was only fighting against the Russian Empire.

Chapter 296 Earthquakes

In 1900, after the Empress Dowager Cixi issued the "Declaration of War on All Nations", the Russian army invaded Northeast China. The nearly Russian troops were an unstoppable force at the time. Four years later, the number of Russian troops in Northeast China expanded to , and the strength more than doubled, but it did not bring more glory and land to the Russian Empire.

And fell into a desperate situation.

Kondrachenko, the garrison commander of Liaoyang, surrendered to the People's Army in front of him with more than 80,000 Russian troops after defending for a week as agreed. Subsequently, the Russian troops in Lushun, Changchun, Qiqihar and other places also chose to surrender. The Russian troops in Harbin wanted to hold out a little longer, thinking that as long as they held out a little longer, maybe things would turn around.

However, in the face of the powerful artillery force of the People's Army, the defenders of Harbin quickly recognized the reality. After two days of bombardment, they also made the right choice. Thousands of cannons bombarding at the same time was too terrible. Those who participated in the Battle of Harbin said afterwards that "it felt like the world was shattered."

From the beginning, Lin Yongchang paid great attention to equipping the front-line troops with powerful firepower, and thought of many ways to obtain rifles, machine guns and cannons. Harbin was the last tremor of the war against Russia, and the People's Army pulled almost all its heavy firepower there, with more than 400 heavy artillery deployed on the same front line. Such firepower configuration had never appeared even in Sedan and Crimea.

When the British fought in South Africa two years ago, there was no such luxurious display.

This battle was not only to capture Harbin, but also to intimidate Russia, Japan, Britain, Germany, the United States and other countries. When thousands of cannons roared together, there was only one sound left between heaven and earth. The shells fell on the ground, the earth shattered, the soil seemed to boil, and the Harbin defense line that the Russian army had painstakingly built collapsed in an instant.

Grand Duke Nicholas, the rising star of the Japanese army, and others, who were watching the battle, looked at each other in amazement, and were deeply shocked by the incredible firepower of the People's Army. Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov Nicholas has read many military works of Marshal Lin in recent years, and believes that the "defense theory" has great potential, and defense can indeed effectively reduce casualties and improve combat efficiency.

But after seeing such a horrific bombardment, his position wavered again. Wasn't it because the "offensive theory" was invalid, but because the offensive force was not strong enough? If there were so many heavy artillery for the attack, even the steel defense line would be blown to pieces.

Tanaka Giichi replaced Kodama Gentaro to observe the battle between the People's Army and the Russian Army. He was a rising star in the Japanese army, and was appreciated and supported by Yamagata Aritomo and Ito Hirobumi. He made some contributions in the war against Russia. When the war turned into a siege of Vladivostok and Shuangchengzi, the war became boring, so he took the initiative to ask to join the military observation group.

Then he saw the fierce bombardment like a landslide and tsunami. In such a sky full of artillery fire, the spirit of Bushido was completely useless. Tanaka Giichi was shocked at first, but then he remembered that many of those heavy artillery were "gifted" to the Chinese by the Russians, and his fear was reduced a little.

"Artillery still needs to be concentrated!"

Tanaka Yoshiichi muttered to himself, "The power of the heavy artillery is too strong, and it is beyond human power to resist. We... need more heavy artillery!"

Because the main forces of the Russian army in the Far East were trapped in the Northeast, the Japanese army made very smooth progress in Sakhalin Island and Outer Northeast, and defeated the Russian army many times in field battles, and fought all the way to the outskirts of Vladivostok. At that time, the army was filled with an optimistic atmosphere, believing that as long as they pushed forward, they could take Vladivostok.

But things were not that simple. The Russian army suffered a series of defeats in the field, but they withdrew voluntarily after blocking for a period of time. It seemed that the Russian army was defeated, but their main force did not suffer serious losses. Instead, they used the time of blocking to build a relatively solid defense line in Vladivostok, Shuangchengzi and other places.

When the Japanese army reached the outskirts of Vladivostok, they faced a defense line consisting of trenches, barbed wire, mines, heavy machine guns and artillery components. The Japanese army launched an attack, and the bodies hanging on the barbed wire changed from Russian soldiers to Japanese soldiers. Kodama Gentaro believed that even if the Russian outer defense line was broken, there was no good way to deal with Vladivostok, so he suggested postponing the attack and waiting for the 280mm howitzers in the country to be transported over before attacking the city.

Kodama Gentarō's suggestion was rejected by Oyama Iwao, and many Japanese generals also believed that Vladivostok could be captured without artillery. Tanaka Giichi was one of the few generals who supported Kodama Gentarō, and was ridiculed for "lacking samurai integrity". When he left Vladivostok, the Japanese army was using human lives to fill the Russian trenches.

Facing the Russian defensive positions, the People's Army used artillery to bombard them, while the Japanese used human lives to fill the gap. Harbin's defense line was much stronger than Vladivostok's, and it was easy to force the Russian army to surrender, while Vladivostok was still fighting hard.

After the Russian troops in Harbin surrendered, Tanaka Giichi went to check the Russian defense line that was bombarded by heavy artillery and confirmed again that more heavy artillery was necessary. "Artillery is the god of war", Napoleon said this more than a hundred years ago. Don't Oyama Iwao and Yamagata Aritomo know this?

But knowing is one thing, and being able to do is another. The Yawata Iron and Steel Works, which the Meiji government spent a huge amount of money to build, is still not able to produce normally. Japan's annual steel production just exceeded 10 tons. How could it afford to equip the army with many heavy artillery and shells?

The Japanese army did not even have many heavy machine guns, let alone heavy artillery. Oyama Iwao and Yamagata Aritomo wanted to arm the Japanese army with weapons similar to those of the German army, but after calculating the cost, they found that it was too expensive, so the military reform was halfway through and returned to the original path.

, we need the soldiers to develop their character. The price of a heavy machine gun can recruit 100 foot soldiers, so it is more cost-effective to pile up human lives.

The People's Government's monthly steel output exceeded 100,000 tons, which was ten times that of Japan, so it could afford to use artillery. Even the Central People's Government had almost used up all the artillery shells delivered to the front line. It was not that there were no shells, but that they had not been delivered yet. In order to maintain the 400,000 troops in the Northeast, the railway's transportation capacity had been used to the limit, and the People's Government also mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to transport supplies to the front line with carts.

Fighting a war means burning money and materials. The administrative efficiency of the people's government is very high, and the losses in the middle are compressed to a very small extent. The people's army is also used as an organizational form, and the military expenditure is much lower than that of the armies of the great powers. But even so, the total military expenditure is also a huge tree. When the battle is fierce, tens of millions of yuan will be burned every day.

When Lin Yongchang thought about how much money was burned in the war, he felt that the fireworks were not so beautiful. The army felt very happy, 400 heavy artillery fired at the same time, the ground shook, and the scene was magnificent, but that was all money!

Chapter 297 Caviar

The Central People's Government has already owed a lot of debts, both foreign and domestic. Lin Yongchang would count the accounts at the beginning, but later he simply stopped. The purpose of making money is to use it, and the development of heavy industry and military industry is also for use. Otherwise, what was the point of working so hard before? All the foreplay is just for this shudder!

But after the fun, you will enter the sage time.

Thousands of cannons firing together were magnificent, bringing out the aesthetics of violence to the fullest. But after the battle, Marshal Lin became Chairman Lin and began to feel sorry for the money. However, seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of Nicholas and his men, all the expenses were worth it.

After seeing the exaggerated firepower, the Russians must be more straightforward, and the British should think twice before threatening the people's government with war. As for the Japanese, to be honest, Marshal Lin no longer sees them as a threat. Yes, the Japanese army has a lot of brute force, and can mobilize nearly a million troops under extreme conditions, but the Japanese government is not strong enough, and no matter how much it promotes the "samurai spirit", it will be just that.

The Japanese army was besieging Vladivostok while hoarding troops in Korea. Did they really think they could keep it secret? Even if there was no such news, Lin Yongchang would not relax his vigilance against the Japanese. He despised Xiao Guozi strategically, but in terms of tactics, Marshal Lin never relaxed.

When fighting the Russians, the People's Army would rather postpone the time of launching a general offensive and stop the Japanese first. At this time in China, many people had some good feelings towards Japan, but Lin Yongchang's attitude towards the Japanese government never changed - it was a mad dog, and he could not let his guard down at any time.

Since he had such an attitude, many generals in the army and the government also had a bad attitude towards the Japanese government. Without having experienced the eight-year war of resistance, those people would not have a deep hatred for Japan, but would just traditionally and contemptuously regard the Japanese as pirates.

The southwestern corner of Harbin had been reduced to ruins by artillery fire, but most of the city was still intact, with many Russian-style buildings preserved. The City Hall was full of Orthodox and Russian styles, and was used to entertain military attachés from military observation groups from various countries after being decorated as a buffet.

Many generals and combat heroes of the People's Army were also invited to the reception. The war was over, and as the victors, they had reason to enjoy everything. Marshal Lin was never willing to spend money himself, but he was very generous to his own people. Senior generals and combat heroes were able to attend the reception, and other officers and soldiers also received many additional supplies, including canned fruit and fresh beef and mutton.

The mobilized people were also able to have a good meal and get "IOUs" that could be used to offset taxes. In order to mobilize farmers to transport supplies to the frontline soldiers, the people's government mortgaged the tax revenue for the next two years. In other words, in the next two years, North China and Northeast China would basically not be able to collect any taxes.

As nationalism sweeps across the country, of course, patriotic enthusiasm can be used to mobilize the people, but Chairman Lin said that the people's government should not consume the people's patriotic enthusiasm, and those patriotic people should be rewarded accordingly. The people's government was established to seek welfare for the people, and officials are not tyrannical officials, but servants of the people.

Of course, this is just an ideal situation, which is difficult to achieve in reality. But it is better to set the standard higher. In this way, even if the best situation cannot be achieved, it is possible to maintain the second best situation and not slide into the point of sucking the people's blood and marrow. The situation of emptying the people's six wallets and making them bear a lifetime of debt should not appear in the new China.

Lin Yongchang also knew that when he was in this world, he might be able to suppress the ever-expanding bureaucracy. When a new group of people came to power, the situation would definitely change. The people would definitely suffer a second wave of hardship and punishment, but history is always an upward spiral. Should we do nothing now just because there will be setbacks in the future?

People at a self-service cocktail party will not be like Lin Yongchang, who has already thought about the situation in a few decades or a hundred years. People attending the cocktail party will either concentrate on enjoying the feast in front of them or seize the opportunity to conduct diplomatic activities. For many foreign military attachés,

This is a rare opportunity to build relationships with the People's Army generals.

Wu Peifu held the plate in his left hand and the chopsticks in his right hand, picking up the beef slices and cabbage leaves nonchalantly, his eyes moving around on Tanaka Giichi, Morrison, Nicholas Nicholas and others. Many people thought that the war was over, but a senior general like him could see different information from the order of the General Staff.

The war with the Russians was temporarily over, but the army did not recover on a large scale, only some civilians who "supported the front" were recovered. The troops entering the Northeast were busy setting up the Yalu River defense line, targeting the Japanese on the other side of the river. He also heard some news that the Japanese supported the assassination of the president, and vaguely heard that the People's Government accepted a lot of Korean exiles.

The era of colonization of the world is over. Except for the Antarctic and the Arctic, there is no land left under the sun that can be occupied. New countries want to expand, but there are no natives to bully, so they can only start a war with another country. There can only be one leader in East Asia, and there will be a war between China and Japan sooner or later!

The Russians were kicked out of the war, but the Japanese were not.

Tanaka Yoshiichi behaved politely, like a civilized person, but Wu Peifu had not forgotten how vicious these Japanese were during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. The Japanese government's humility, which had stabbed Russia in the back over the past few years, was likely a prelude to their sneak attack!

Unlike Wu Peifu, who was full of thoughts, Guo Songling used a clamp to pick up some crabs, cakes, caviar and other things on the plate, and then ate with his cheeks wide open. He was strict with himself and never made special arrangements in the army, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy delicious food.

He had heard that the president liked to eat crabs, so he wanted to try it to see if it was really that delicious. And caviar, the old Russians in the People's Army boasted about how delicious caviar was, so he wanted to try it too. Standing in the corner with him, eating and drinking like crazy, was Li Chengxi. In the battle of Zhimaling, Li Chengxi killed more than a hundred Russian soldiers, most of whom were Russian officers, including a colonel and a lieutenant colonel. He was awarded the first-class individual merit and the first-class collective merit, so he was also called to attend the buffet.

"Captain, is this black stuff delicious?"

"What do you know? This is called caviar, don't you understand?"

Li Chengxi showed an honest smile, "I have eaten fish roe before, and the crucian carp from my hometown is delicious. When you come to my house, I will go catch crucian carp for you to eat."

"You... forget it. Come, try some of the Russian caviar. We captured it!"