Chapter 1190: Standing for a Thousand Years (Third update, please subscribe)
Who could have imagined that as the New Year of 1885 was about to pass, Central Asia, located in the heart of the continent, would usher in a baptism of blood and fire...
Six days later, February 14th, is Valentine's Day.
The mighty Russian army finally passed Hu Zhande and reached Suihua Fort.
"Chinese..."
Looking at the fortress in the distance through the telescope, Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev's tone was full of contempt. He had enough reasons to look down on the Chinese.
Twenty-five years ago, he arrived in the capital of the Qing Dynasty as an envoy at the age of 28. Although he was ordered by Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty to leave the capital and go to Kyakhta because he refused to kneel, he did not leave. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity of the British and French forces besieging Beijing during the Second Opium War. Without authorization, he pretended to be the middleman to mediate the war between China and Britain and France. As a reward, he asked Prince Gong Yixin to sign a treaty to cede 400,000 square kilometers of land east of the Wusuli River to the Pacific Ocean.
Throughout history, has anyone ever expanded 400,000 square kilometers of territory by just talking?
It was only him, Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev!
When he returned to St. Petersburg, the whole of Russia cheered for his victory, he conquered the East!
He became a hero, but he looked down on the Chinese in his heart. It was like this in the past and it is still like this now!
What appeared before him was an earthen fortress built on a raised high ground in the river valley plain, surrounded by low walls, watchtowers and bunkers. The fortress was of Western style and was built under the guidance of imperial military advisers. In addition to the fortress, there were two trenches on the periphery, with deer forts and barbed wire outside the trenches. There were many criss-crossing communication trenches between the main body of the fortress, bunkers and trenches. In addition, there were carefully arranged artillery and machine gun positions, with 12 cannons, 36 small mortars and 16 machine guns forming a tight cross-fire network.
However, for Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev, this was just a fortress of barbarian defense.
"General, we can take it with just one charge!"
Colonel Ivanovich's big talk made Nikolai laugh.
"No, Colonel, I think we still need artillery before the charge! Send someone over to issue an ultimatum first!"
…
"The Russians are coming!"
Putting down the telescope, Meng Guoren frowned. After receiving the news of the Russian invasion, he gathered the nearby residents. Now there are more than two thousand soldiers and civilians in Suihua Fort, so they can hold on for a while.
"Battalion Commander, the Russians are coming!"
Two fast horses came galloping over, leading the way was a Russian with a big beard and wearing a white military uniform, followed by soldiers holding white flags. It was Captain Rudolf of the Russian border guards, and the two of them were acquaintances.
Seeing this, Meng Guoren walked out. When he got closer, the Russian captain jumped off his horse.
"Hello, Captain Meng, I am Captain Rudolf of the Roman Empire Army. I am here to negotiate with you on the orders of the commander."
Looking at the officer in front of him, Captain Rudolf spoke in stiff Chinese.
"The Khanate of Kokand is a protectorate of the Roman Empire. Your invasion of the Khanate of Kokand has seriously damaged the interests of the Roman Empire. To safeguard the interests and dignity of the Roman Empire, we demand that you withdraw from Kokand immediately!"
Meng Guoren heard every word of the captain. He looked at Captain Rudolph, then pointed to a lonely mound in the distance and said.
"Captain, do you know what that is?"
"What?"
Captain Rudolph looked at the mound with some confusion.
"That's a beacon tower from the Tang Dynasty!"
Meng Guoren said with a serious expression.
"The Tang Dynasty is the dynasty of our China, and this place is our Chinese homeland. The beacon towers and ancient cities all over the place are proof of this!"
In the past few years, archaeologists from the Ming Dynasty have discovered a large number of ancient cities from the Tang Dynasty here, and many of the unearthed cultural relics have strongly proved that this has been the territory of China since ancient times.
"Since it is my homeland of China, what does it have to do with Rome?"
Rudolf said, staring at the lonely "earth pillar" that has stood for thousands of years.
"Captain Meng, that is history, that is the past. The reality is that Kokand was a vassal state of the Roman Empire, and you are invaders!"
"We are the real masters of this land! We are taking back the land of our ancestors! Now, we will defend it with our lives!"
…
Bombardment!
A few minutes later, a heavy bombardment began, with field guns and large-caliber mortars.
Torrential artillery fire pounded Suihua Fort. Amid the fierce artillery fire, the soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom huddled in trenches and fortresses. Although this was the first time they had suffered such fierce artillery fire, thanks to years of training from imperial military advisers, they were still able to skillfully use fortifications to protect themselves.
"Everyone, pay attention, the Russians are coming!"
Although shells continued to explode near the shelter, Liang Laosan still kept his eyes wide open and stared at the situation ahead. The thick smoke and flying dust raised by the explosion blocked his vision, and the smell of gunpowder made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
After loading the rifle with a "crash", Li Jie squatted in the trench and panted nervously. He could feel the shock of the shell explosion as he leaned forward against the trench. The howling and cries for help of the wounded were everywhere in his ears.
die!
Coming so fast!
A 120mm mortar shell weighing more than ten kilograms fell into a trench, which not only destroyed the trench, but also blew the people in the trench into the sky. Blood, flesh and mud were scattered around the trench. Li Jie even saw a foot falling in front of him.
Whose foot is this?
Where did the shoes go?
With this thought in mind, after several rounds of intensive artillery fire, the sound of explosions became sparse.
"The Russians are coming!"
Although artillery shells were still exploding around the position from time to time, Li Jie and his comrades raised their heads from the trenches. Through the black and gray smoke, Li Jie and his comrades saw a vague shadow - it was the Russians.
"The Russians are coming!"
Lying on the edge of the trench, Li Jie aimed his rifle forward.
"Don't shoot, get closer!"
Liang Laoshan shouted loudly.
In the past, they would have certainly fired from a distance, but over the past years, under the training of the Ming Empire's advisory group and the officers who studied abroad in the empire, they are no longer the Amons of the past.
"Hold on, hold on..."
Even though he had fought against the Qing demons and the roundworms for more than a decade and had never been scared on the battlefield, Liang Laoshan still seemed a little nervous. After all, the enemy he was facing now was the Russians.
Under the cover of artillery fire, thousands of Russians in white uniforms rushed over, holding rifles and looking contemptuous and fanatical.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out. The dense gunshots echoed on the battlefield, and instantly a bunch of blood flowers were set off in the white area...
(End of this chapter)
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