Usurping the Qing Dynasty: My first love was Cixi

Chapter 286 Industrial Miracle! Brilliant Victory!

When night fell, the battle was over.

For the Russian army, this nightmare was finally over.

But now my ears are still full of auditory hallucinations.

The hell is, this is not the auditory hallucination of an explosion, but the auditory hallucination of the whistling sound of falling artillery shells, like the kind of ghosts crying and wolves howling.

Throughout the day, the Chinese army dropped countless artillery shells.

Just keep blowing, blowing, blowing, blowing.

In previous wars, the Chinese army also liked to use artillery fire to clear the ground, but only in the initial stage of the battle there would be large-scale bombing. Then when the infantry charged and attacked in large numbers, this large-scale bombing would end.

And today's battle is bombing all the time.

What's even more disgusting is that the Chinese army's airships are in the sky, so the deployment of the Russian army in the trenches is almost unobstructed.

After the observers on the airship monitor the position of the Russian troops, they report it to the troops on the ground.

And this reporting method is also very simple, just use a mirror to reflect the light and shine it on the target location.

On cloudy days, use high-power searchlights to illuminate the target location.

Immediately afterwards, large-scale mortar crews fired at the target.

Just a moment later, shells rained down like raindrops.

The Russian troops in the trenches were blown to pieces.

In this way, mortars were used to clean the trench defense lines, and then a large number of infantry rushed forward, occupied the position, and killed the surviving Russian troops.

Keep pushing, keep pushing.

On this day, the entire front line was pushed forward by more than three kilometers. As for the casualties of the Russian army, they have not yet been counted.

………………

Inside the Russian military headquarters.

There was a dumb bomb on the table, and the Russian general was watching carefully.

"This is an unprecedented weapon, somewhat similar to the previous mortars."

"It just looks similar, but the principle is different. This is an infantry massacre."

"The emergence of large-scale trenches has protected the lives of soldiers, but the emergence of this weapon has made the trenches more deadly."

If it explodes on flat ground, the shock wave will spread. The trench is a narrow area, and the power of the explosion can be released to the extreme.

Therefore, the Russian soldiers who died in the battle today were all very tragic.

Quite a few of them have incomplete bones.

"We must find ways as soon as possible to prevent this weapon."

The Russian governor of Eastern Siberia suddenly said: "I have a very unreal dreaming feeling."

Many senior officers present did not quite understand what he said because it was their first time coming to China and their first time facing the Chinese army.

But the Cossack cavalry officer present had a completely different feeling.

Because just a few years ago, they faced Heilongjiang General Yishan and the Eight Banners soldiers led by him.

At this time, the combat effectiveness of the Cossack cavalry was already weak, but when they moved south in a large scale, these Eight Banners soldiers fled one after another and did not dare to resist at all.

Later, sporadic conflicts also occurred.

These ridiculous Eight Banners soldiers are extremely decadent and backward regardless of their tactics or appearance.

Among them were muskets, bows and arrows, swords and all kinds of weapons.

Of course, there are also more advanced rifles.

But these Eight Banners soldiers, who were dragging whips and wearing ridiculous costumes, even with the most advanced rifles, were just beating them randomly. After the Russian army rushed up, they dispersed.

How long has it been? Five years at best.

What they faced was such an elite new army.

They all wore straight new military uniforms and their hair was neatly trimmed.

Equipped with the most advanced weapons.

Although he is still very immature, he is very heroic.

It's as if there is no transition at all. It went from incredibly backward to incredibly advanced.

"Times have changed. The most advanced repeating rifle in the world was ostensibly produced by the British, but it was designed by Su Yi of China. It was even named the Su's repeating rifle." The governor said: "Now, they "There's this whole new kind of artillery, it's almost ridiculous, it's crude artillery."

The commander of the expeditionary force said: "The cannonballs have been captured, but have the barrels been captured?"

"No, General. Because they are all in the rear and well protected."

"But there's one thing. Their gun barrel looks ridiculous. It can't even be called artillery at all. One person can just pick it up and run away. However, it is very difficult to make." An officer said.

The commander of the expeditionary force asked: "Why?"

The officer said: "This kind of artillery is not loaded with explosives, but is loaded directly into the shell. It is activated by the firing pin, and the explosive in the rear half is used to launch the shell. The warhead in the front section is responsible for exploding after landing, killing the enemy. ”

"There are two places here that are very difficult to manufacture."

"The first place is the cannon barrel. Although I didn't see it clearly, judging from the movement speed of their individual soldiers carrying the cannon barrel, this thing is very light, so the wall of the cannon barrel is very thin, which imposes requirements on the metal smelting process. Very very high.”

The governor asked: "Can't our country reach that level?"

The officer said: "It can't be achieved."

The governor said: "We can't achieve it, how can the Qing Dynasty achieve it?"

The officer said: "Mr. Governor, you may not know that the finished products of Jiujiang Iron and Steel Plant are already among the best in the world."

The Governor said: "Impossible. How many years has the Jiujiang Iron and Steel Plant been established? It has only been in operation for a few years, less than four years. And how old are the iron plants in Europe? Decades, hundreds of years."

The officer said: "Your Excellency, the longer you are, the more advanced you are. Sometimes, newness is also an advantage."

This sentence goes to the core. Because Jiujiang Iron and Steel Plant started from scratch, it avoided many detours and adopted the most advanced ones from the beginning.

The first is the advancement in design, and the second is the advancement in the introduction of production lines.

Of course, there is another core reason. Su Yi's WeChat group can have the most advanced craft recipes and so on.

The officer continued: "You probably don't know that some British arsenals even import high-grade steel from Jiujiang?"

The governor said: "This, this is impossible."

The officer said: "This is a fact."

The governor said: "China is so backward and decadent. When you look at it, it seems like it was in the last century."

The officer said: "This does not hinder their advancement in very few aspects."

The commander of the expeditionary force said: "You continue."

The officer said: "The second thing is that the production of this artillery shell is more difficult than the barrel. Even the Chinese have not managed it, so a large number of dumb bombs have been produced. This artillery shell requires two kinds of gunpowder , one is the primer, used for launching. The other is the anti-personnel explosive. According to my estimation, the two explosives are also different, both in terms of explosive technology and fuze technology. It has reached the advanced level of our country and even the world.”

The Governor said: "State your conclusion."

"We are facing a very dire dilemma," the officer said.

"All of you are thinking about this war from a military and political perspective. I am an engineer and have worked in an arsenal for a long time, so I look at the problem from an industrial and technological perspective."

"Our opponents are advancing at an incredible speed, even flying."

"What we have seen is this... infantry division artillery, but who knows if they have any other secret weapons? What will they bring to the table in the next war?"

The Governor said: "Continue."

The officer said: "The pace of time is on their side, not on ours."

"If we fail to win this battle, we...may never lose the chance to win. If we continue to grow at this rate, the 600,000 square kilometers of land we just annexed will be lost. The entire Far East will be lost. All of Siberia will be lost."

"At that time, we will face blockade from China in the east and blockade from the British and French groups in the west."

"We are very likely to become a second-rate country."

Everyone present was stunned. Are you being too sensational?

It's just an infantry-style artillery piece. Why do you make such a big judgment?

The commander of the expeditionary force said: "This topic is too far away, let's talk about the problem we are facing now, how to face this new weapon?"

A colonel said: "The reason why they hit so accurately is, firstly, because of the density, and secondly, because the airships always mark their position, use high-power searchlights, or use mirrors to reflect light. We have nothing to do against their airships. , so we can only find other ways.”

"There are two methods. The first is to retreat immediately when the searchlight shines on a certain direction of ours. The second is to cover the trenches with coverings, such as wooden boards, tent cloth, etc."

The commander of the expeditionary force said: "We can only use the first method. The second method is too late now."

First of all, it was impossible to find so many wooden boards without demolishing the houses and barracks.

But if the house is demolished and the barracks are demolished, where will they live?

October is about to enter, and the temperature here is already very cold. It is several degrees below zero at night. If the house and barracks are demolished, they will freeze to death.

And I don’t know how long it will take to transport these supplies from Europe.

……………………

The next day!

Once again a war broke out.

The Chinese army's mortars have begun to show off their power again.

The Russian army has been ordered to evacuate all soldiers in that place when searchlights or mirror reflections shine on it.

result……

After waiting for a long time, there were no searchlights or mirror reflections at all.

No, there is!

However, these places were reflected by mirrors and illuminated by searchlights, and the Russian troops here desperately evacuated.

However, the shells did not fall.

On the contrary, certain places that were not reflected by mirrors or illuminated by searchlights were bombarded by countless mortar shells with extremely precise accuracy.

Once again, corpses litter the land.

Shattered to pieces once again.

Damn it, the Chinese army, how do you mark the target location?

This is more advanced and more difficult to calculate.

The observers on the airship used cameras to take pictures of the enemy's entire defense line.

Then, scale it up proportionally.

Then, coordinate and grid the entire battlefield layout map.

Which point needs to be bombarded, just use semaphores directly, plus flashing searchlights and other methods, and report the coordinates at the same time.

Specialized calculators will use the shortest speed to calculate where the coordinates are and inform the mortar operator.

In short, it is very high-end stuff.

These two thousand mortar gunners have been training for several months, training these things.

Of course, they are not experts in mathematics or geometry, and they don't need to calculate.

It's completely an instinctive reaction.

What parabola, what elevation angle, and so on.

For them, it's all instinctive reaction after countless training.

As for the difficult calculations, they are all handed over to specialized mathematical talents.

In fact, it shouldn't be like this. This group of gunners should be able to complete the calculations independently. But there is no way. Su Ye can pick out dozens or hundreds of mathematical talents, even the top students in the UK can be hired with high salaries.

However, he can't ask two thousand mortar gunners to have such a high level.

So, today's battle is still a terrible massacre.

The hell is that because of the command of the headquarters, once the searchlight and mirror reflection are found, they must evacuate and flee immediately.

The airship troops obviously also discovered this, so they searched and illuminated randomly.

As a result, the Russian army on the ground ran away.

Every time they desperately ran and evacuated, the shells didn't fall, and the Chinese army might have approached.

So, later they decided not to run.

But when they didn't run, the shells fell again.

………………

Just like that, the second day of the battle.

The Chinese army advanced more than three kilometers.

The Russian army suffered heavy casualties again.

Moreover, they faced another problem.

Behind them was Aihui City, and behind them was Heilongjiang River.

Now, they faced two choices.

The first choice was to use Aihui City as a base and fight the most resolute defensive war without retreating.

The second choice was that part of the army used Aihui City as a base to delay the attack of the Chinese army. Most of the army took the opportunity to cross the Heilongjiang River and return to Blagoveshchensk (Hailanpao) on the north bank.

However, there was a distance between Aihui City and Hailanpao, and they were not across the river from each other.

After rounds of discussions, they finally decided to adopt the second plan.

Because Aihui is just a small city, it is not as strong as a rock. It is extremely difficult to rely on it for a decisive battle.

If you are not careful, the whole army may be destroyed.

But Blagoveshchensk is different. They have been operating for a long time. There are many strong fortresses and large artillery. Moreover, it is difficult for the Chinese army to cross the river before it freezes.

Therefore, the Russian expeditionary force made the final decision.

Ten thousand troops will be the rear guard, using Aihui City as a base to delay the Chinese army.

More than 20,000 people will cross the river at night and head north to Blagoveshchensk to set up defenses.

Now, the Russians have also recognized the reality that it is difficult to win quickly.

The only way is to prolong the war and drag it into winter.

Then take advantage of this winter to let St. Petersburg continue to increase troops, regardless of the cost.

Increase troops to 100,000 or 150,000.

We must win this battle.

We cannot give China any more time to develop. We must take advantage of this battle to drive Su Ye out of power.

We must interrupt China's development.

Otherwise, it will be a huge trouble in a few years.

Final decision.

Two days later, at night, 20,000 main forces crossed the river and headed north, returning to Blagoveshchensk.

……………………

The headquarters of the Chinese army.

Su Ye is convening a high-level meeting above the division commander level.

"The problem we are facing now is the next move of the Russian army."

"Will they use Aihui City as a base and fight a decisive battle with us?"

"Or will they choose to cross the river and head north, return to their base camp in Hailanpao, and drag the war into winter and into next year?"

"Once they withdraw to the base camp in Hailanpao, it will be difficult to fight this battle, because they have built a large number of fortresses there, and winter is coming soon."

"Of course, when winter comes, the Heilongjiang River freezes, which is suitable for our infantry to cross the river."

"And our logistics are better than the Russians, even if we fight in winter, it may not be impossible."

"But the worse result is that even if we take Hailanpao at the cost of huge casualties, the enemy army continues to retreat, then we will turn into a disadvantage, and it will be a battle deep in enemy territory."

"So, try to end the battle before winter and completely eliminate the enemy."

Chen Yucheng raised his hand impatiently.

Su Ye nodded and said, "You say."

Chen Yucheng said, "I think the Russian army will definitely adopt the second plan."

More than a dozen senior generals present nodded in agreement.

Senggelinqin said, "If they adopt the second plan, they will cross the river to the north at night to avoid our airship reconnaissance. In that case, we will have to dispatch the navy to rush to this area in advance and carry out surface strikes."

"Aihui City is about 80 miles away from Hailanpao. If their crossing force does not exceed 20,000 people, it will take about nine hours to complete the crossing."

"According to our reconnaissance, they have about 700 ships of various types, and they need two groups to transport these 20,000 people."

"The Heilongjiang River is not wide enough. Once our fleet enters, it is easy to be attacked by the enemy's artillery fire."

"There is another key issue. It is cold this year. Heilongjiang River may freeze in 20 days. If our fleet does not evacuate at this time, we may never be able to leave."

Finally, everyone looked at Su Ye, waiting for his decision.

If the fleet came to attack, the greatest achievement would be to kill about 10,000 people.

But there is the risk of being bombarded, or the risk of being unable to return after freezing.

Taking a deep breath, Su Ye made a decision.

"Order our fleet to approach immediately!"

"Yes!"

Soon, the airship took off and headed towards the naval fleet on the river 200 miles away.

Convey Su Ye's order.

A few hours later, Xu Youren and Count Eugen led the fleet to march westward, taking great risks to enter this war waters.

……………………

The next day!

Another big battle.

The Russian army used Aihui as a stronghold and carried out a stubborn defense.

In the past few days, there have been large-scale casualties again, but it is much better than the previous two days.

After all, there is Aihui City as a stronghold, which is a large castle after all.

After the night fell.

The Russian commander ordered 20,000 people to gather at the dock.

Countless ships sailed south from the Hailanpao dock to the Aihui City dock.

More than two hours later.

These hundreds of ships arrived on the river near Aihui City.

More than 20,000 Russian troops began to prepare to assemble and board the ship.

They firmly implemented the second plan, and the main force withdrew north to Blagoveshchensk.

But at this time.

A team of scouts rushed into the command center.

"Governor, General, we found the Chinese navy and are rushing at full speed."

"It's only a few dozen miles away from us."

Damn it, it was still discovered by the Russians.

The actions of the Chinese fleet have been very secretive, and this section of the river is basically under the control of the Chinese army. The Russians don't have airships, so it is generally difficult to discover the movements of the Chinese navy.

However, there are usually Russian scouts on the right bank of the Heilongjiang River. Despite the crazy hunting by the Chinese army, the number of reconnaissance teams has become smaller and smaller, and with such a short time, it should be difficult to discover the movements of the Chinese navy.

But...

The luck is so bad that it was discovered by Russian scouts.

"Governor, General, the retreat plan must be terminated. Our navy is gone. Once these hundreds of small boats are on the river, they will be completely slaughtered lambs."

"Although the Chinese navy is still dozens of miles away from us, it takes time for our soldiers to board the ship."

"According to calculations, we may have time to land in Blagoveshchensk before being attacked devastatingly. But this is only theoretical. If there is a slight mistake, we may be strangled."

So.

The commander-in-chief of the Russian expeditionary force and the governor-general of East Siberia ordered to stop boarding and crossing the river.

………………

"Your Majesty, the enemy stopped crossing the river, the enemy stopped crossing the river."

The airship troops immediately informed the enemy of their movements.

"It seems that our navy has been discovered."

"It's just a little bit, just a little bit of luck."

Su Ye suddenly said: "Has the main Russian army returned to its position and defense line?"

"No, it is still gathering by the river, probably waiting for new movements of our army and new orders."

Su Ye suddenly asked: "If... our main force now rushes directly to the left bank of the Heilongjiang River and kills these 20,000 Russian main forces, what will happen?"

Although that place is backed by Aihui City, there are no fortresses and no trench defense lines.

Senggelinqin said: "Your Highness, this... this is a night battle. We... have never fought before. And at such a close distance, our movements are likely to be discovered."

Su Ye said: "If we haven't fought before, then give it a try! As for whether we will be discovered, the benefits outweigh the risks, it's worth a try."

With an order.

Four divisions, a total of 50,000 troops, rushed towards the rear of Aihui City like a tide.

Directly bypassing the dense defense lines of the Russian army.

At this time, if the Russian scouts discovered it, the main force of the Russian army would retreat to the defense line as quickly as possible.

But...

The wonder is.

The movement of the Chinese fleet, which is hundreds of miles away, was discovered by the Russian scouts.

And the Chinese army attacked at night not far away, but the Russians did not discover it.

The 20,000 main forces of Russia are still gathering on the riverside, waiting for new movements and new orders.

Time is like fire.

Time is life, it is death.

More than three hours later!

China's 50,000 troops successfully entered the target battlefield.

The Russian army was directly cut off from it.

The war broke out.

Su Ye seized the enemy's fleeting flaw and achieved the most glorious victory.

……………………

Note: There will be more than 10,000 words updated tomorrow, thank you everyone! Happy May Day everyone.