Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 88

After following the Chief of Staff up a flight of stairs, Tamura finally said, "I don't think it's him. Lin Feng may be very courageous, but he might not have such meticulous calculations. How could someone like him put himself in such a deadly situation? Even now, the slightest mistake would mean he wouldn't come back alive. If the Navy truly valued him, they wouldn't send someone like him to India..."

At the Tokyo Ichiro home, Ichiro Kiko, who had just finished her piano lesson with her teacher, was called to the living room by her adoptive mother, who pointed to a package and said to her, "Someone sent this to you from China. Take it upstairs."

Ichiro Muko immediately said happily, "It must have been sent to me by Lin Jun. Is he preparing to return to his country?"

Watching her adopted daughter happily run upstairs with her package, Shi Laiqin shook her head. That Lin Xinyi hadn't written back for almost a year, and she had even thought he had met with misfortune.

Upstairs, Ichiro Muko opened the package and found a small cloth bag inside. Inside the bag were a bunch of plant seeds, a letter, and a photograph. Lin Xinyi, dressed in Tibetan clothing, was standing under a cherry blossom tree. She turned the photograph over and looked at the back; it had a note that read, "This is a cherry blossom tree from the Himalayas." Ichiro Muko suddenly felt a surge of anger.

Chapter 308 The Russian Counterattack (Part 1)

The Battle of Shanhaiguan was an absolute humiliation for the Russians. After the Russian army occupied Shanhaiguan, the Governor-General of the Far East and Commander-in-Chief of the Far Eastern Armed Forces, Alikseyev, sent a telegram to St. Petersburg to claim credit. In the telegram, he optimistically stated that the imperial army would soon arrive in Tianjin and then force the Qing government to acknowledge the reality.

In the telegram, Alikseyev told the Tsar that in order to prevent the Chinese from fleeing Beijing again, the Russian army should not attack Beijing after arriving in Tianjin. Instead, it should use diplomacy to force the Qing government to cede Manchuria and recognize the independence of Outer Mongolia. After the earthquake, Outer Mongolia’s hostility towards Russia has increased. The Russians believe that this region should be separated first, rather than continuing to use force to conquer it, since the railway has not yet been built into Outer Mongolia.

Before the Tsar could make a decision, news of the crushing defeat at Shanhaiguan arrived. The Times had been the first to report the news. Like the German Emperor, the Tsar always paid more attention to foreign newspapers, because only foreign newspapers would have truthful reports about the country. As for domestic newspapers, they were not allowed to report the truthful news under their orders.

In fact, the Tsar himself remained remarkably calm. He didn't even seem concerned about the exact number of deaths in the battle; he was simply relieved that he hadn't yet issued a decision to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Tsar's demeanor greatly surprised the anxious Minister of War and the ministers who had initiated the war. They wondered if the Tsar was waiting for retribution later, or if he simply lacked some kind of affection for the Imperial Army.

Far East Governor-General Alikseyev was even more worried when he did not receive a reprimand from the Tsar. He then sternly ordered his chief of staff, General Nikolai Mikhailovich Voronov, to launch a counterattack against the Chinese as soon as possible in order to save face for the empire in front of the great powers. At this moment, the governor-general valued the face of the empire even more than the 6000 Russian soldiers he had just lost.

However, the Russian troops on the front lines were currently incapable of launching an offensive. Although the Far East Governor-General's Office immediately dispatched a reinforcement force from Shengjing to Suizhong after receiving news of the defeat—eight battalions of infantry and three battalions of artillery—restoring the expeditionary force to its pre-war strength and even reinforcing it, the distance from Shengjing to Suizhong was nearly 300 kilometers. There was no railway between Xinmin and Shengjing, meaning it would take at least a month to transport the reinforcements and supplies to Suizhong.

General Mishenko, the former cavalry commander who replaced Major General Kashtarinsky as commander of the expeditionary force, sent a protest telegram to the governor's office, stating that the morale of the soldiers at the front was very low, and that forcing them to launch a hasty attack at this time was blind and could be the root cause of another defeat.

After hearing the telegram from Mishenko, Governor-General Alikseyev ordered Major General Anisimov and General Mishenko to switch positions, with the former becoming commander of the expeditionary force and the latter responsible for logistics, security, and coordination. On September 1st, Major General Anisimov arrived in Suizhong and handed over command to General Mishenko. The consecutive replacement of two commanders further dampened the morale of the expeditionary force.

However, Colonel Flug, a subordinate of General Voronov, offered a good suggestion: to use the gunboats at Yingkou as cover to move two to three battalions of infantry from the sea to land near Shanhaiguan, and then support the attack of the Suizhong troops. In fact, Colonel Flug proposed a larger plan: to mobilize a portion of the Pacific Fleet to directly transport two to three regiments to Qinhuangdao for a landing, as there was a ready-made port there that would allow ships to dock directly.

This naval offensive plan was actually one of the pre-war Russian military's operational plans, but at the time, Britain and Japan strongly opposed the Russian navy's operations in the Bohai Bay, believing that it would infringe on the freedom of navigation of neutral countries. Therefore, the plan had to be shelved. Now that the Russian military's land offensive has been thwarted, the General Staff has picked up the plan again. This is the best operational plan that can meet the governor's requirements, and it doesn't require considering any new options.

The governor-general ordered General Voronov to revise the plan. He hadn't completely lost his mind and didn't believe there would be any benefit in breaking the verbal agreement with the British and Japanese at this point. Moreover, he had already begun negotiations with the British regarding the right to use the railways inside and outside the Great Wall. He intended to exchange the agreement to build the Xinmin-Shengjing railway for the Russian army's right to use the railways inside and outside the Great Wall. The British hadn't shown strong opposition, so naturally, he couldn't afford to displease them at this time.

In contrast to the Russian army in Suizhong's constant claims of difficulties in launching an immediate attack, the Russian navy and army in Yingkou were in high spirits. Upon receiving the order, they immediately took action and completed pre-war preparations in less than a week. On September 10, they began boarding ships. On the morning of September 11, under the escort of the gunboats "Brave," "Far-off," and "Ukrainian Cossack" commanded by Navy Captain Klapie D. Kolog, three ships carrying the First Infantry Regiment of Eastern Siberia docked at the coastline 5 versts east of Laolongtou and began transporting the army ashore.

The landing point chosen by the Russian army was actually on the southeast coast of Huanxiling. Although there were several places to land from Qinhuangdao eastward to Suizhong, apart from Qinhuangdao having a modern port, the other places were just small fishing villages and could not accommodate ships. This meant that landing was a very troublesome task, especially landing under the nose of the enemy.

According to Russian reconnaissance, the Chinese had set up their defenses more than 20 kilometers east of Shanhaiguan. To prevent the Chinese from reacting, the Russian army ultimately chose to land there. Once they captured Huanxiling, they would have blocked the Chinese army's retreat route, and victory would be theirs.

When the Russian army landed, some members of the Beiyang Army and the Hubei New Army were repairing their defenses in the Huanxiling area. Although the two sides had different defense arrangements, the officers and soldiers at the junction of the defense lines were still able to have friendly exchanges.

The Beiyang Army initially disliked the Hubei New Army, which came under the banner of the Yi Army's reserve force. They thought that taking the imperial army's pay and then rebelling against the imperial court was clearly not in line with the moral values ​​of the Beiyang officers and soldiers. After all, northerners are more honest and value loyalty and righteousness the most. In particular, the Beiyang soldiers from Shandong were especially obedient to orders. This is best demonstrated by the performance of the Chinese Regiment recruited by the British during the Boxer Rebellion.

However, because the Chinese Regiment performed so well, the British felt that it might become a problem in the future, so they disbanded it. However, the British still recruited a lot of Shandong people to serve as police in their colonies, because Shandong people were not only hardworking and obedient, but also did not have as many religious problems as the Sikhs.

The performance of these Hubei New Army soldiers in the Battle of Shanhai Pass drew attention from the Beiyang Army. Yuan Shikai and his generals all hoped to bring this army into the Beiyang Army to bolster their own strength. The North was not short of soldiers, but training an army that could obey orders and was not afraid of death was not easy. Even the Beiyang Army itself did not have many such core forces.

The First Sino-Japanese War did indeed break the backbone of the Huai Army. The Wuwei Army system was no longer considered part of the Huai Army, but rather a force formed by the Qing government by mixing various northern troops. However, the Wuwei Army was defeated again during the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, which led to the formation of the Beiyang Army. But from the First Sino-Japanese War onwards, the Beiyang Army was actually a force born from the Qing army that suffered repeated defeats, and it has no glorious history to speak of.

Yuan Shikai was indeed one of the most outstanding talents in the Qing Dynasty. He was able to transform the old Huai Army, which had fled at the first sign of trouble in the First Sino-Japanese War, into a disciplined Beiyang Army. In terms of military administration, he was much better than Li Hongzhang. When Li Hongzhang formed the Huai Clique, he relied on some key members and foreign-equipped troops recruited from the Xiang Army. His greatest achievement was the treacherous massacre of the Taiping Army in Suzhou, who had surrendered peacefully. This made the Taiping Army unable to trust the Xiang Army anymore and saved the fate of the Manchus. In fact, without this move, the Taiping Army would have already planned to surrender to the Xiang Army and support Zeng Guofan to become the emperor of the Han people.

If Zeng Guofan was a butcher, then Li Hongzhang was the true lackey of the Manchus. This is the fundamental reason why Li Hongzhang has been so highly praised. Without this true lackey, the Manchu court would have perished after the Taiping Rebellion. In terms of personal military leadership, among the Han Chinese governors-general during the Tongzhi Restoration, Li Hongzhang didn't even qualify as a theorist.

However, Yuan Shikai also understood that the Beiyang Army only appeared impressive on the surface, but its foundation was very weak. Without a real victory, this army would also collapse suddenly like it did during the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion. This is why he insisted on winning the Battle of Shanhai Pass in the hands of the Beiyang Army. Only by securing the victory in this battle could the Beiyang Army have a spiritual pillar and not collapse at the drop of a hat.

Yuan Shikai's generals shared this view. If they could bring these three battalions of southern soldiers under their command, their strength would be greatly enhanced. Therefore, with this in mind, communication between the two sides gradually increased. Leaving aside the interactions between the officers, the soldiers' conversations naturally revolved around their treatment.

For example, when soldiers from both sides were working together, the Beiyang soldiers couldn't help but ask the New Army soldiers, "Brother, you're working so hard, how much is your monthly salary?"

The new army soldier, head down digging in the dirt, replied without looking up, "We're conscripts, we don't get paid, but we get one silver dollar a month for pocket money. There's not much to spend money on in the army; clothes, shoes, socks, and food are all free. Only soap, toothpaste, and cigarettes need to be bought, but I smoke no more than two packs a month, so I don't need to buy cigarettes..."

Hearing that the new army didn't receive any pay, the Beiyang soldiers nearby felt it was a bit of a loss. However, upon hearing that the new army had so many free things, they nodded and said, "This treatment is enough to support ourselves, but not enough to support our families."

The new soldier was somewhat surprised and said, "I'm a conscript. I'll go home after my three-year service. The committee allocated land to my family. How can I not support my family?"

"You get land when you join the army?" A group of Beiyang soldiers were stunned and started asking questions all at once. After a while, they realized that these new army soldiers were actually from Nanyang. Their families had all been redistributed land. Of course, it wasn't just the military families who were given land, but everyone. This was one of the reasons why they joined the army.

Now the Beiyang soldiers, who had initially felt the New Army's treatment was poor, fell silent. Compared to them, those risking their lives for four and a half taels of silver felt far more pitiful. Moreover, the treatment of volunteers after completing their conscription was much better; from the moment they retired as volunteers, they were given jobs immediately—the difference was even greater. Just as these Beiyang soldiers were feeling discouraged, an officer ran over and shouted to them, "The Russian army is coming from the sea! All units, return to your posts!"

Chapter 309 The Russian Counterattack Part Two

The three gunboats that Tsarist Russia moved from Yingkou were essentially river gunboats. The smallest, the Brave, was only 60 tons, and the largest, the Ukrainian Cossack, was only 400 tons. Although this ensured that the Tsarist warships could get close to the shore to provide cover for the landing Russian troops, they could not actually provide much defensive firepower; they could only control the landing site.

Of course, the 120mm main guns on the Ukrainian Cossack were still more than capable of suppressing the Beiyang Army's 75mm field guns. The Russians were quite familiar with the Beiyang Army's artillery. After suffering a defeat at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, the Russians naturally wouldn't allow the Beiyang Army to show off their 75mm field guns in front of them again.

The only problem is that while the Liaoxi Corridor region boasts many excellent seaports, it is also a hilly area, with large plains offering good views only appearing near Jinzhou. Of course, compared to the adjacent Yanshan Mountains, this low-lying hilly region can indeed be described as flat; even Huanxi Ridge is only slightly higher than the Shanhaiguan city wall. Along the coastline are also a large cluster of earthen and rocky mounds, ranging from five to over ten meters high.

Russian warships actually had a hard time spotting what was behind the hill; they could only gamble that the Chinese army hadn't set up mountain artillery positions there, and they were right. A single division of the Beiyang Army had 54 cannons, divided into three battalions: two battalions of field guns and one battalion of mountain guns. However, the Beiyang Army placed more emphasis on direct-fire field guns than on interval-firing mountain guns, because the latter couldn't be trained through experience alone.

As for the Huanxiling defense line east of Shanhaiguan, the Beiyang Army had not yet set up artillery positions, because this was not the first line of defense. Moreover, the Beiyang Army had focused its attention on the port of Qinhuangdao, as this was the only port where ships could dock directly. Naturally, they did not expect the Russian army to launch a landing operation on the coast east of Shanhaiguan.

Tactically, the Russian army achieved surprise in its attack, but this surprise was quickly destroyed by the Russian landing operation. As early as 1763, the Tsarist Russian army established the "General Staff of the Army" based on the Russian military service departments. However, the Russian General Staff was always nominal, unable to formulate war plans in peacetime or take over command functions in wartime. Their main responsibility was to inspect the training and equipment of various units on behalf of their superiors.

In other words, although the Far Eastern Russian military staff formulated a landing plan, the Far Eastern Russian army had not actually conducted any landing operation training, nor did it have any ships or equipment specifically for landing, or even a landing command to coordinate the army and navy. The landing operation plan currently being implemented by the Russian army is actually just sending a few gunboats to escort the army safely to the sea, and then watching the army board the ships and land.

This was clearly a disaster, because the army commander, Major General Kolenzhenkov, was not on the ship. He had accepted an invitation from Navy Captain Kolog to board the Ukrainian Cossack gunboat, thus depriving the army on board of a unified command. As a result, each ship proceeded according to the orders of its own captain.

Some ships advocated sending the infantry ashore first, some the horses, and others the cannons. The number of ships for landing was already insufficient, and the army hadn't considered the need to get the troops ashore as quickly as possible. Instead, they complained that the large boats on the steamships took up too much space and insisted on making room for the cannons.

The navy was certainly trained in amphibious operations, but in this operation, they were only responsible for escorting the troops, so they didn't pay any attention to the army's actions. Once they arrived at the landing site, the army suddenly realized that rowing the landing craft from the steamships for more than half a verst to the shore was even more difficult than charging the enemy's positions. Even more difficult was transporting horses and artillery onto the landing craft; the former were easily startled, and the latter were too heavy.

Before landing, the army lost a cannon and capsized a landing craft, resulting in two soldiers going missing. The landing operation, which began at nine in the morning, did not complete the landing of a battalion of infantry and a company of cavalry until one in the afternoon. Only two cannons were transported ashore, and the carriage of one of them was damaged.

The disastrous Russian landing operation left the British Navy, who were observing, dumbfounded. To prevent the Russians from breaking the agreement and attacking Qinhuangdao port, the British warships in Yingkou adopted a strategy of following and observing. One of the British warship captains couldn't help but say to his subordinates, "Perhaps it would be better if these Russians went back to their ships now, sailed back to Yingkou, and pretended nothing happened. They don't seem to be here to attack the Chinese, but rather to bring honor to them."

Major General Kolenko clearly disagreed with the British view. After lunch, he finally reached the shore and addressed his men: "Even with just one battalion, we can wipe out those despicable Chinese. We have the navy backing us, so we don't need to worry about Chinese resistance. Now, I request that the Third Battalion first occupy the high ground to the west, then move the artillery up there and establish a defensive position..."

Although the major general was unwilling to relinquish the honor of the Russian army, he did indeed sense the crisis and therefore wanted to first seize the high ground to the west to protect the landing zone. In his view, even if this landing operation failed to prevent the Chinese army from withdrawing to Shanhaiguan, forcing the Chinese army to retreat would at least accomplish half of his objective. And if his troops could occupy the southeast of Shanhaiguan, what could the Chinese use to attack him?

However, the Russian army wasted too much time on the landing. The Chinese army had obviously occupied the high ground along the coast. After sending out a small number of troops and cavalry for a feint attack, Major General Kolenzhenkov quickly confirmed this. However, he was not surprised. If the Chinese army had not set up a good defensive line, they would not have suffered such a defeat at Shanhaiguan.

Even though he believed the Russian army would inevitably win, the major general did not think that these Chinese troops would be the kind that would collapse at the first sign of trouble. He believed that they should at least have the courage of Nie Shicheng's troops in the Battle of Tianjin, since the Beiyang Army was, after all, a branch of the Wuwei Army.

Major General Kolenzhenkov gathered the soldiers who had come ashore and lined up to salute the sacred regimental flag. The soldiers gradually regained their morale amidst thunderous shouts of "Hurrah!" The major general knelt before the statue of St. Mikhail, who represented the commander of the march, and prayed. The soldiers followed him in praying for St. Mikhail's blessing.

“Mikhail, you are the leader of all armies in the universe. We, a bunch of worthless people, will pray to you forever. We prostrate ourselves and beg for your grace, asking you to protect us and help us fight bravely. We recite scriptures, longing for your radiance to shine upon us. You are the goddess king with infinite strength. We pray for your protection. When we are in trouble, please save us from disaster.”

Behind the hills a mile away, watching the Russians perform their pre-battle prayers, Zhang Nanxian couldn't help but complain to his companion, "These foreigners say the Boxers drinking talismanic water is superstition, but they think praying to a god like this is faith? That's utter nonsense..."

However, Zhang Nanxian soon discovered that there was a difference between the foreigners and the Boxers. At least the foreigners had cannons to bombard the ground before charging. After the Russians tested the defenses behind the hills, they notified their warships at sea to bombard the hilly areas to the northwest and north. This did cause a lot of confusion among the soldiers, but the casualties were minimal.

Although the navy fired howitzers, without a sighter to guide the fire, the shots either landed too low on the hillside directly in front of them or flew too high, penetrating the hilly terrain. Aside from a few unlucky soldiers who were stunned by the blast or injured by flying debris, it was almost entirely a waste of effort. The Russian army seemed to realize this problem and quickly stopped firing.

Meanwhile, the Russian army formed two columns, one heading due north and the other northwest, and launched an attack in goose-step formation. In fact, according to the Russian infantry regulations, they should have launched a running charge when they were one verst away from the enemy's position. However, the landing zone was too close to the hilly area, and it seemed that the Chinese army did not have artillery. Therefore, the Russian army still adopted the method of attacking in goose-step formation.

Zhang Nanxian led two companies to defend the northwestern hilly area, which was about three to five meters higher than the northern hilly area, making it the main direction of the Russian army's attack. Although the Russian attacking force initially formed a single line, it quickly split into two parts, left and right, but they were still two shorter single lines, with no change in the spacing between soldiers, still a gap of one person between them.

Zhang Nanxian was in no hurry to reveal his firepower. He ordered the riflemen of each squad to take turns firing, making sure they aimed before firing. On the other hand, he instructed the machine gunners to be ready to fire only when he gave the order.

Although the First Eastern Siberian Infantry Regiment, led by Major General Kolenzhenkov, was the earliest established armed force in the Far East, during the large-scale military expansion in the Far East in 1900-1901, veterans were constantly transferred out to fill the ranks with new recruits. Today, nearly one-third of the regiment still consists of new recruits who have been in the military for less than a year.

So when they marched in formation to the music of the military band, many new recruits would instinctively lower their heads upon hearing the sound of bullets being fired. At this moment, the veterans or sergeants next to them would sternly reprimand them: "Are bullets your relatives? If not, why are you bowing to bullets?"

Under this rigorous training, the recruits, who had bowed their heads, quickly straightened up in shame and marched forward, silently praying that the bullets were stupid and wouldn't bend to numb them as they looked at the backs of their comrades. Although their comrades fell from time to time, the Russian troops maintained their formation. When they were a quarter verst away from the hill, the Russian officers finally ordered a charge.

Just then, several dark objects flew in from the sky. Some Russian soldiers couldn't help but stare at them. They soon realized what they were, because they exploded after landing.

While the Russian troops were stunned by the sudden artillery barrage, the sound of machine guns rang out again. This time, the Russian troops advancing towards the northwest hills finally lost their discipline. As they turned and fled, the Chinese troops did not pursue them. However, the machine guns and artillery on the northwest hills launched an attack from the flank on the Russian troops advancing towards the north hills. The massacre was only stopped when the warships at sea fired their cannons again. However, the Russian battalion had lost at least half of its men.

Chapter 310 The Russian Counterattack (Part 3)

Without the protection of naval guns, the Russian army could be said to have already failed. However, the Chinese army was clearly unwilling to learn the lesson of naval guns, so it allowed the Russian army to retreat to the landing point.

But for Major General Kolenzhenkov, this was a terrible situation. Because the Chinese army did not pursue, he could not order a retreat on the grounds that his troops were unable to continue fighting. From any perspective, his troops were still capable of fighting another battle. However, he knew that continuing to fight would only lead to further defeats, because his artillery was clearly incapable of destroying the mountain artillery positions that the Chinese had hidden.

However, the Governor-General probably wouldn't understand the situation he faced. He would only see himself as having commanded a disastrous landing operation, and then retreating after a single failed attack—a decision only a coward would make. It would have been far more appropriate for him to wait for news of Major General Anisimov's failed attack before ordering a retreat.

Major General Kolenzhenkov ultimately chose to hold the landing point, which was actually a very bad decision. Even some of his subordinates objected because although the location was suitable for landing, it lacked the terrain needed for defense. Most importantly, there was no water source nearby, and seawater could not quench their thirst. In other words, they would have to rely on the water stored on the ships to supply the more than 2,000 people.

However, the major general also asked his subordinates, "If we were to lose the cover of naval gunfire, how long do you think we could hold out against the Chinese artillery and machine guns?"

This was clearly an unsolvable problem, and Rear Admiral Kolenzhenkov immediately requested more support or permission to retreat. He attributed the failure of the attack to the navy's choice of the wrong landing point, which was too close to the hilly terrain, lacked water, and had no dock to load and unload the artillery.

However, the Russian gunboats were not equipped with radios, so the Brave had to act as a messenger. It had to run to the Suizhong area, 60 kilometers away, to land, inform General Anisimov, and then send a telegram to the Governor-General's Office for instructions.

General Anisimov rejected Major General Kolenzhenkov's request to retreat, believing that the major general should stay there with his troops and that he would lead his troops to rescue him. He also argued that the major general's presence would draw some of the Chinese army's attention, creating favorable conditions for his troops' offensive.

General Anisimov's decision was understandable. While Major General Korenzhenkov had endured a disastrous day, General Anisimov's troops had advanced 3 kilometers. In General Anisimov's view, the Chinese army's forward positions in the Gaoling area were almost completely destroyed, so if he launched another attack the next day, he could quickly rendezvous with Major General Korenzhenkov outside Shanhaiguan. So why would the enemy retreat?

While General Anisimov and his men were in this optimistic mood, Fu Cixiang, Zhang Nanxian, and other Beiyang generals, including Feng Guozhang, Zhang Huaizhi, Wang Zhanyuan, and Bao Guiqing, were holding a military conference at Qiansuo to review the day's battle.

Frankly speaking, the Beiyang Army was not adapted to the current tactics. In their view, the real battle was to establish a solid defensive line and fight to the death without retreating an inch. However, the Southern Army advocated for the continuous establishment of defensive lines, preferably one every li (a Chinese unit of distance), with the goal of slowing down the enemy's advance and retreating to the next defensive line before the enemy could breach it.

Wang Zhanyuan said with great dissatisfaction, "I think today's fighting strategy is wrong. We didn't lose many men, but the Russians didn't lose many either. If we keep retreating like this, how can we fight to the death in the future? How can we defeat the Russians if we don't fight to the death?"

Bao Guiqing also supported Wang Zhanyuan's view and said: "Now the Russian army has landed on our flank and rear. We can either concentrate our forces to wipe out these Russian troops in the rear, or simply withdraw to Shanhaiguan to set up defenses. If we dig here all day, we will eventually have to give it to the Russians. Isn't that a waste of effort?"

"Otherwise, we should fight the Russians to the death tomorrow. Nangaogang Mountain is a commanding position, the closest high ground to the east of Qiansuo. Losing Nangaogang is equivalent to losing Qiansuo, and we'll have to retreat to Xiaosheshan and Matigou. Even if we fight here tomorrow, and lose, we'll be willing to retreat."

Feng Guozhang and Zhang Huaizhi remained silent, only looking at Fu Cixiang. The two understood better than the other Beiyang generals that the Beiyang Army's current strength was actually supported by these Hubei people. In ordinary times, everyone would say they would die for the Marshal, but on the battlefield, the soldiers would only obey those who could lead them to victory.

Today, the Russian army launched an offensive from the front while also carrying out a landing operation. If it were only the Beiyang Army, they might have collapsed long ago. However, because the Hubei New Army was guarding the rear, everyone felt a little more at ease, thinking that the people of Hubei would not abandon them and run away. Otherwise, they would not have needed to fight so desperately at Shanhaiguan.

If it were the Beiyang Army itself defending Shanhaiguan, they might not have been able to remain calm and focused. After all, they had already done something similar during the Boxer Rebellion: sit idly by and watch their allies fight while protecting themselves. They could unite against the Boxers or bandits who lacked a strong foundation, but against the armies of foreign powers, their hearts and minds were not necessarily set on fighting.

Fu Cixiang glanced at these Beiyang generals, considered his words carefully, and said: "A voluntary retreat and being driven back by the enemy are two different things. The former is at least a complete formation, and after a short rest, it can be put back into battle. The latter cannot be put back into battle without a major reorganization."

The Russian army has over 30 troops in the Far East, while the combined forces of the Beiyang Army and the Yi Army number less than 10. As for the troops in other northern regions, they are only capable of maintaining local order. Therefore, if we were to fight the Russian army to the death, it would actually be disadvantageous for us.

Therefore, in fighting the Russian army, we must ensure the integrity of our organizational structure. This way, even if there are casualties, we can quickly replenish our forces and restore our combat effectiveness. After all, in terms of manpower, my country's population is three times that of Russia. As long as we can mobilize the strength of our people, there is no reason for us to lose. However, mobilizing the people to join this war takes time, and we must buy that time.

If we want to defeat the Russians in this war, we certainly can't do it by our own strength alone, and I think you all understand that. Therefore, the key is to preserve our own strength and eliminate the enemy's strength.

Trench warfare is advantageous to the defender. The reason we haven't been able to eliminate too many Russian troops today is because the Beiyang Army is not yet familiar with this type of combat, and our trenches are not well-constructed. However, we can learn trench warfare through continuous combat. In this learning process, the most important thing is to be patient and summarize experiences, rather than being easily provoked by the enemy and trying to fight recklessly…”

Feng Guozhang and Zhang Huaizhi ultimately chose to support Fu Cixiang, suppressing the discontent of some officers and soldiers in the army. The layered defenses essentially turned the war into a kind of manual labor for civil engineering, which was quite unsuitable for the veterans of the Beiyang Army. They received better treatment because of their excellent combat skills, not their physical labor skills, which was part of the training program for new recruits.

However, with the pressure from their superiors and the demands of the Third Battalion of the Hubei New Army, these veterans ultimately yielded. Their usual tactic of refusing to fight on the battlefield was to back them up with the Hubei New Army's support, which greatly diminished their threat. The new recruits, on the other hand, clearly respected the newly victorious Hubei New Army more than these veterans of the Beiyang Army.

With the Beiyang Army unified in its thinking, and the Russian troops that had landed near Shanhaiguan reportedly already besieged at their landing point, the fighting on the second day was far more impressive than the first. As Wang Zhanyuan had predicted, the strategic location of Nangaogang Mountain was enough to control the surrounding plains, so the Russian attack on Nangaogang Mountain was the most intense that day, and the Beiyang Army truly demonstrated the results of their daily training.

The Russian army suffered more than 800 casualties in its attack on Nangaogang Mountain that day. It was only after the Beiyang Army withdrew at dusk that the Russian army was able to occupy the hill.

On that day, the Russian army fired over 3000 artillery shells. This was also the first time the Russian army had implemented the 1904 Field Command in its operations against the Chinese army, conducting an hour of artillery bombardment before launching a bayonet charge. Most of the Beiyang Army's casualties came from the artillery fire, while the Russian casualties came from Maxim machine guns and mortars.

After a day of fighting, the Beiyang Army's objections to trench warfare finally vanished. It was clearly unwise to engage the Russians in an artillery duel, even if their supply lines were limited; it wasn't a shortage of ammunition or supplies. The Russians had clearly demonstrated that even the weakest imperialist power is still an imperialist power.

However, the Russian offensive was finally slowed down. Just as Fu Cixiang had predicted, the Russian army might be able to launch one or two desperate charges in hand-to-hand combat, but it was impossible to maintain this morale indefinitely. As time went on, the Russian soldiers who participated in the hand-to-hand combat quickly realized that they would die, whether today or tomorrow, as long as the Chinese continued to resist.

Once the Russian soldiers realized this, they lost the same fighting spirit they had on the first two days when launching their attacks. Meanwhile, the Beiyang Army gradually became accustomed to concealing themselves in trenches. When they realized this war wouldn't be a one-sided duel, the Beiyang soldiers began searching for ways to improve their survival rate; the defender always has an advantage over the attacker.

However, for the troops led by Major General Kolenzhenkov, the stalemate on the eastern front brought them a major crisis. Due to General Anisimov's refusal, they had to garrison on a coastline lacking water and were frequently shelled by the Chinese army. By the second day, the warships at sea could no longer retaliate with their cannons because they were running out of ammunition.

Although Major General Kolenzhenkov attempted to advance northeast to rendezvous with General Anisimov, his earlier assessment proved correct. Now free from the protection of naval guns, the Chinese began to bombard his troops with unbridled artillery fire. Major General Kolenzhenkov held out for four days, but his men could no longer endure the stalemate and strongly demanded to leave this damned trap. Faced with the potential for mutiny, the Major General chose to yield.

On September 15, Yingkou dispatched ships to retrieve Major General Kolenzhenkov's troops. This unit had gained nothing at Shanhaiguan, abandoning all its supplies and nearly a battalion of soldiers. With Major General Kolenzhenkov's retreat, General Anisimov also encountered the trouble of having to retreat, as his artillery ammunition reserves had run out, while the Chinese army's artillery fire was becoming increasingly fierce.

When a Chinese cavalry force appeared near Suizhong, General Anisimov suspected his army was being outflanked by the Chinese and decided to withdraw his forward troops back to Suizhong. He telegraphed the governor-general: "...A single infantry division is clearly insufficient to break through the enemy's front. We have devoted most of our forces to protecting our supply lines, and the number of troops available to attack the Chinese is still too small... At least an army group is needed to quickly break through the Chinese defenses and completely destroy their resistance..."

Chapter 311 The Concerns of the North and South

The Russian withdrawal did not shock any countries. After the Battle of Shanhai Pass, the Russians still attempted to defeat the Chinese with a force almost identical to the previous one. This decision, based on maintaining the face of the Russian Empire rather than on the laws of war, was something even the French found hard to believe.

However, for Yuan Shikai, defeating the Russians once again brought him real benefits. The British finally relented on the issue of freezing tariffs. After the mutiny in Wuhan, the forceful seizure of the customs house directly led the British to announce a freeze on Chinese customs revenues.

This didn't really affect Wuhan much, because at one point Wuhan had even cut off the Yangtze River waterway, essentially severing its foreign trade. Even after the Yangtze River waterway was reopened, Wuhan did not hand over customs control to the British. Instead, it felt that the Inspector General of Customs, led by Hart, had not served China. For example, during the British invasion of Tibet, foreign customs officers had deceived Tibetan soldiers on behalf of the British army, which violated their professional ethics.

Since Britain failed to overpower Wuhan militarily, and Germany and the United States believed that the British officials serving in the Chinese Customs Service during the Tibet Incident had indeed acted improperly, Britain had no choice but to abandon its interference in the customs administration of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and instead acknowledge that it was China's internal affair, hoping to restore the Qing government's customs administration over this region.

The British wanted the Qing government to first restore customs control over the Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan regions before discussing the freezing of tariffs, while the Qing government needed to use the tariffs to expand its military before discussing the unified management of customs. The two sides had discussed this issue many times before, but had not been able to reach a conclusion.

This time, the British made concessions, handing over the frozen tariffs to Yuan Shikai for use, which effectively opened up a source of revenue for the Beiyang Army. After the signing of the Boxer Protocol, China's customs tariffs were roughly 13%. Last year, the total import and export trade volume was 5.8 million taels, with customs duties exceeding 4000 million taels. The funds frozen by the British were approximately 400 million pounds sterling, equivalent to 4000 million yen. For the imperial court, whose taxes had been withheld by local governors, this was a lifeline.

However, the British also told Yuan Shikai that they probably wouldn't be able to stop the Russians from occupying the railways inside and outside the Great Wall, but they would still be responsible for the coastal security of the section from Shanhaiguan to Tianjin. Yuan Shikai thought for a long time before angrily saying to Tang Shaoyi, "The British are just sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight. They don't care who gets killed."

Tang Shaoyi could only shake his head and smile bitterly, saying, "Fighting with the Russians is ultimately not worthwhile. Even if we drive them away, there are still the Japanese and Germans. I think we should ultimately rely on diplomacy to solve the problem. Otherwise, if our country and Russia fight to the death here, wouldn't it just benefit others?"

Yuan Shikai nodded in agreement, but he still sighed and said, "I would like to make peace, but the Russians refuse to back down. They keep hitting walls, and I'm worried that this war is going to escalate."

After thinking for a moment, Tang Shaoyi said, "Russia's monopoly on Manchuria ultimately harms the interests of all countries. Although the British claim to be neutral, their inclination towards us is quite obvious. Therefore, if we can win over other countries to mediate, Russia may not necessarily back down. For example, the United States and Japan probably hope that Manchuria will remain unchanged."

After thinking for a long time, Yuan Shikai shook his head and said, "The United States is too far away from us. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Japan is too close to us. We can't do something as foolish as driving away a tiger at the front door and welcoming a wolf at the back. It's best to communicate with the Russians separately. As long as they are willing to recognize our sovereignty over Manchuria and Outer Mongolia, other interests can be discussed. You go and talk to the Russians about this matter."

Although he failed to persuade Yuan Shikai to accept his proposal, Tang Shaoyi still accepted Yuan Shikai's order. He felt that Yuan Shikai's proposal was actually not a problem, it was just that the Russians were unlikely to accept it. But since Yuan Shikai had said so, he had no choice but to give it a try.

Just as Tang Shaoyi left, Yuan Shikai summoned Tian Wenlie and said to this trusted confidant in charge of the Beiyang Army's logistics: "Although we have repelled the Russians again this time, the front lines are suffering greatly."

The soldiers believed that the Russian artillery fire was too intense and the Russian soldiers were extremely brave when they charged. If we deployed too many soldiers on the front line, they would be killed by artillery fire, and if we deployed too few, we would not be able to stop the Russian soldiers' charge. Therefore, we needed more Maxim machine guns and rapid-fire cannons, especially the small trench guns used by the Yugoslav army. In addition, we needed a large amount of barbed wire, landmines and grenades, as well as tools for digging earth and rocks.

We can still buy Maxim machine guns from the Germans or British, but as for trench guns, grenades, bullets, and shells, you should contact the people in Wuhan and see if they're willing to sell them. Since they're talking about defending the country, they can't be holding our Beiyang Army back now…”

Meanwhile, after inspecting the military camp inside Shanhaiguan, Fu Cixiang entered Zhang Nanxian's office. Seeing him hunched over his desk writing something, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you writing a letter home?"

Zhang Nanxian initially shook his head, but quickly nodded and said, "You could say I'm writing a letter home. I plan to summarize my feelings about these two battles and then send it to the Military Commission."

Upon hearing this, Fu Cixiang immediately perked up, walked to the window opposite him, sat down, and said in the afternoon sunlight, "Tell me about it, and see how it differs from my summary. I was just planning to give the Military Commission a summary of these two battles."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Nanxian immediately stopped writing, then looked at the letter in front of him and read aloud: "Judging from the situation in these two battles, the land revolution is the foundation of the army's ideological work, as well as the basis of the army's organization and discipline. In terms of the effectiveness of promoting nationalism and the concept of family and country, clarifying whose family and country is the fundamental issue for uniting the hearts and minds of the soldiers is to first clarify whose family and country is the fundamental issue for uniting the hearts and minds of the soldiers."