Chapter 65 I'm getting closer and closer to victory

  The Russian army, due to the main force of the navy being annihilated by the Japanese army and continuous defeats on land, coupled with increasing domestic turmoil, was unable to cope, directly leading to a collapse in morale and a weakening of their will to fight. As a result, without the need for the Jin army to engage in brutal siege warfare, they surrendered voluntarily.

  Although the Japanese army had just experienced a bloody battle with the Russian army, suffering heavy losses in personnel and equipment, the participating troops did not receive good rest and were exhausted, lacking supplies and ammunition, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. This time, they suffered from the continuous and intense attacks of the Jin army and were almost on the verge of collapse. However, under the influence of Bushido spirit for a long time, with stable domestic politics and prevailing militarism, the fighting will of its officers and soldiers remained strong, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

  So, in this battle of annihilation, Kang Fang assembled almost all the artillery to conduct a long-lasting firepower preparation against the Japanese army's gathering area. The dense and intense artillery fire repeatedly swept through the Japanese army's gathering area, so that when the Jin Army armored units began their assault, the Japanese resistance was already very weak.

  After the artillery preparation, the Jin army launched a general attack from the north, west and south, leaving an escape route for the Japanese army in the east towards Korea. Kang Fan gave up the idea of annihilating the Japanese army because he considered that this group of Japanese soldiers had the strongest combat effectiveness among all Japanese troops. If they were to pursue and attack recklessly, despite the Jin army having the upper hand, the desperate Japanese army would still inflict heavy casualties on the Jin army.

  Next is to drive the Japanese army out of China as soon as possible, move the battlefield abroad, minimize the damage to the domestic, and then rely on the natural barrier of the Yalu River to establish a defense line, block the Japanese army's entry into China, and win time and free up troops to deal with the possible counterattack of the Russian Far East Army.

  For Field Marshal Oyama Iwao, commander of the Japanese forces, this war against Russia has already cost over 200,000 casualties among Japan's finest young men. If he were to allow the remaining troops who have followed him through thick and thin to be annihilated as well, he would be a criminal for all eternity rather than a "god of war".

  Under his personal command, the Japanese army concentrated all artillery and various cannons to intercept the Jin army's armored units. The infantry, cavalry and other combat troops concentrated their forces to break through a bloody road, surging towards Korea like a tide. Behind him, although many Jin army tanks were disabled, exploded or burned, other Jin army tanks were unaffected, fearlessly breaking through their own artillery fire, charging into the artillery positions, firing guns and cannons wildly and crushing his artillerymen, almost every vehicle was covered in blood and flesh, making one's heart and gallbladder shatter!

  Their own infantry and cavalry were even more unbearable: it was unknown whether the Jin army was trying to save ammunition or doing it on purpose, these pursuing armored vehicles stopped using their guns and cannons, and instead used their steel bodies that were impervious to swords and guns, and their rapidly rotating tracks to collide and crush, filling the road with the incomplete and bloodied corpses of their own officers and soldiers, the intense bloody smell almost made him faint!

  What moved him was that the brave officers and soldiers of his own side charged forward wave after wave, hugging explosives, using their flesh and blood to block these armored vehicles with difficulty. Although most of these "human bombs" were knocked down by the Jin army's fierce machine gun fire, the "human bombs" continued to advance, and a considerable number of them successfully crawled under the enemy's armored vehicles and detonated the explosives, killing both themselves and the enemy together.

  The Jin 3rd Division stationed at the Yalu River followed Kang's order to open a gap for the Japanese army, monitoring the retreating Japanese army escorting General Oyama Iwao and other high-ranking generals "successfully" crossing the Yalu River into Korean territory. Immediately afterwards, they merged with the pursuing troops of the Jin Army that had been following the Japanese army and re-blocked the Yalu River.

  On August 12, the Russian army stationed in the Far East was unwilling to give up and gathered its remaining forces along the Chinese Eastern Railway to invade Northeast China. After Kang Fa received an urgent telegram from Hui Feng, he immediately turned his troops around to reinforce them.

  The Russian army that invaded Northeast China was blocked by the Heilongjiang garrison led by Hui Feng in the Suifenhe area and could not advance, gaining ample time for Kang Fa's reinforcement action.

  Kang Fan ordered the 4 "Jiaolong"-class submarines of the Coast Guard to advance into the Yellow Sea, bypassing the Korean Peninsula, entering the Sea of Japan through the Korea Strait, and waiting in Peter the Great Bay to closely monitor the movements of Russian warships in Vladivostok, the main naval base of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Then, he left behind the 3rd Division of Shanxi Army to continue blocking the Yalu River, preventing the Japanese army from counterattacking, while personally leading a part of the Shanxi Army northward, crossing the eastern section of the Sino-Russian border demarcated in 1860, entering Russian territory along the coast of the Sea of Japan, and launching a land attack on Vladivostok, forcing this group of Russian troops to retreat.

  Vladivostok originally belonged to China, traditionally known as "Hǎishēnwān" in Chinese, and locally referred to as "Wǎizi", meaning bay or harbour, due to its abundant production of sea cucumbers. After the signing of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Beijing in 1860, it was occupied by Russia and renamed Vladivostok, meaning "Ruler of the East". In 1872, Russia built a military port here, moving the base of the Pacific Fleet from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur on Sakhalin Island to this location.

  Vladivostok is surrounded by low mountains, with a picturesque landscape, large forests, long coastline and rich fishing resources. In winter there are three months of ice cover, in summer it is an excellent resort area. It is the largest and most important base for the Russian army and navy in the Far East region, and is also the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, with a very important strategic position.

  However, at this time, the local Russian army was mobilized and the defense force was weak. The main force of the Pacific Fleet had been annihilated by the Japanese Navy a year ago, and only some non-mainstream ships remained in the port, which no longer posed a threat.

  Kang Fan led the Jin army to rush and besiege the city. At the same time, four "Jiaolong"-class submarines ambushed outside the military port, sinking several small Russian ships that intended to leave the port, coordinating with the Jin army on land to complete the sea blockade of Vladivostok. The Russian army, which was blocked by Hui Feng's army in the Suifen River area, had no choice but to abandon its attack and hastily defend Vladivostok.

  Kang Fan left a small number of troops to continue besieging Vladivostok, led the main force of the Jin army northward to attack the Russian army, and with the Heilongjiang mobile detachment closely pursuing the Russian army, annihilated this batch of Russian troops outside Vladivostok, and captured nearly 10,000 Russian soldiers again. The Jin army immediately took advantage of the victory to recover the territory of the Qing Empire from the lower reaches of the Amur River on the south bank to the coast of the Sea of Japan.

  This land was taken away by Russia for nearly 50 years, but due to the limited national strength of Russia, it was unable to provide good development. Only a few important towns such as Vladivostok and Khabarovsk have a small number of permanent residents. The vast region has preserved its original ecological environment, with no signs of human habitation in sight, only mountains, rivers, and dense forests.

  Kang Fan's army arrived here, and he couldn't help but shed tears. Hui Feng was also infected by him and couldn't help but moisten his eyes. The two men looked at each other silently, holding hands for a long time. The officers and soldiers behind them were also silent and solemn, quiet and soundless.

  "I'm really relieved!" Kang Fan sighed.

  Huifeng said: "This is the first step. Wait for the day when we reorganize our forces, recover all my lost territories, and even death will be a comfort!"

  Kang Fan nodded and smiled: "You know my heart."

  Thereafter, Kwantung Army ordered the construction of defensive lines along the south bank of Heilongjiang-Amur River to the west coast of Tartar Strait and stationed troops for defense. Continuing to besiege but not attack several important cities such as Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, with the 1st Division as the vanguard, the main force crossed the Amur River and continued to put pressure on the Russian army. Only because there was no strong naval support, it was impossible to cross the Tartar Strait, otherwise Kwantung Army would have taken Sakhalin Island, which originally belonged to China, also known as Karafuto.

  In September 1905, under the mediation of the United States, Japan and Russia signed an armistice agreement in the United States, ending the Russo-Japanese War. Subsequently, the US mediation team began negotiations with the Qing government to resolve military conflicts between China and Russia, and China and Japan.

  Huifeng, as the General of Heilongjiang, represented the Qing government in proposing a ceasefire: both Japan and Russia would withdraw their troops from the northeastern region of the Great Qing Empire, confiscate all assets left behind in the northeast, take full responsibility for the destruction caused in the northeast, and compensate the people of the Great Qing Empire for losses of property and personnel with gold.

  Russia hastened to cope with the domestic chaos, first agreeing to a ceasefire and paying compensation, and withdrawing troops from several important cities such as Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. Kang Youwei immediately ordered the Jin army to occupy these well-protected cities, sending tens of thousands of Russian prisoners back home, and ending hostilities between China and Russia first. However, the Japanese government took a tough stance and refused to accept the ceasefire terms. Kang Youwei led his troops back to Shengjing, setting up his command center in Andong on the west bank of the Yalu River, preparing to attack Korea.

  After the end of this stage of the campaign, the Jin army and its allies had driven the Japanese and Russian armies out of the mainland of the Qing Empire, moving the main battlefield abroad. In fact, Kang Fan's choice of timing for the battle was just right, and the new-style weapons and equipment also played a decisive technical advantage, the "Iron Fire Open Screen" tactic was well implemented, and with the well-trained officers and soldiers, the results achieved were surprising even to Kang Fan himself!

  Especially the application of reconnaissance aircraft, wireless communication/command systems and mechanized logistics vehicles made outstanding contributions to the successful implementation of the "Iron Fire Open Screen" tactics: The reconnaissance aircraft's high-altitude reconnaissance operations allowed the Jin army command to grasp the enemy's movements like a palm; A perfect wireless communication/command system enabled the Jin army units and friendly forces to form a tight iron fist, attacking and defending at will; While the application of various mechanized combat support vehicles enabled the participating officers and soldiers as well as heavy weapons such as artillery to achieve large-scale rapid mobility and receive timely ammunition/materials supply, equipment maintenance services and medical rescue.

  Among them, the advanced medical equipment, efficient medicines and professionally skilled male and female medical personnel equipped by the Jin army have a very good reputation among the officers and soldiers, becoming a decisive factor in boosting morale.