Chapter 69 of Part One

  A quiet night, it's already April weather, the spring of 4 years is about to pass, at this time Siberia still has a hint of coldness, the soldiers are still wearing two or three layers of clothes. The river water gurgles and flows from the edge of the camp, the bonfire in the camp is particularly eye-catching in the quiet night sky.

  The warriors standing guard outside also appear to be highly vigilant, constantly sizing up the movements in the distance. Always ready to prevent and block any incoming enemies.

  The atmosphere in the combat conference room of the middle military department was very depressing at this time. Zhao Zhe sat there without saying a word, and several staff officers and deputy generals of Blood Dragon also did not speak. On the other side, Bao Xue and several combat military advisors beside him were sitting there like sulking.

  "We are now hundreds of kilometers away from the Seven Star Fortress and New Luoyang, which is the oil-producing area I mentioned earlier. There isn't a highway like the one we have back home that connects us to the Seven Star Fortress, nor do we have convenient transportation options. If we just stay here and wait for the migrants to arrive step by step, I predict that by the end of this year, we will be able to control the entire Western Line defense. However, along the way, we've encountered many cavalry units, and our logistical consumption has made it difficult for us to do much more. Therefore, I think we must stop here and use the Volga River as a barrier to build a city first. When the weather warms up a bit, we will continue our attack."

  "Bao Xue also spoke with a gloomy face, 'Commander Zhao, based on the intelligence I have, there are only over 10,000 people in the entire Siberian region, and that old Alexander's place is just a small part of it. Li Keming can easily take care of them, and their so-called Cossack cavalry is also very weak. Even the Yelizavetgrad fortress on the Ural Mountains only has a few thousand people. Now we can take advantage of our victory to pursue and attack all the way to the Ural Mountains and the Ural River, controlling the entire transportation hub between Europe and Asia. Later, we can focus on rectifying the occupied areas.'"

  "Sorry, General Bao Xuejun," Zhao Zhe said with a sigh. "The Blood Dragon Special Forces have received orders to assist you in action, and the special privilege given by the Commander-in-Chief is that if the command is not accurate, we have the right to refuse your order. Sorry, this time we will continue to advance, but we will no longer participate." After finishing speaking, he turned to several staff officers and deputies beside him and asked, "What do you think?"

  Li Yun and Li Feng, the two brothers replied, "Yes, we also have a bad premonition. So we agree with the commander's order, the Blood Dragon Corps will wait for the arrival of the main force here and build a solid temporary city defense."

  Bao Xue gave Zhao Zhe a cold glance, with a hint of pain in her eyes. After a moment of silence, she looked at the several staff officers beside her and said, "Alright then, let your Blood Dragon troops stay here as our rear guard. Our Eighth Army has never suffered defeat since its establishment, our military prestige is invincible. Let us take the lead then." She stood up and walked out with a group of officers from her side.

  Zhao Zhe watched Bao Xue walk out and sighed, "A proud army will surely be defeated."

  Li Yun comforted him, saying, "Captain, don't worry, we have secretly dispatched a thousand soldiers to follow up, and also use our special communication channel to inform the Blood Dragon Brigade in the main force to rush here quickly. Ensure that nothing goes wrong."

  Zhao Zhe nodded and said, "At this point, there's nothing else to do but hope that we can save the Eighth Route Army." He looked at Li Yun and his brothers and said, "You tell me, am I really overthinking things? Logically speaking, we should continue advancing, but for some reason, I have a bad feeling in my heart. That's why I decided not to continue advancing."

  Li Feng and his brother looked at Zhao Zhe and said, "Captain, we didn't blindly agree with your decision. My brother and I also felt that something was off, so we agreed. At first, we thought you didn't have this feeling, so we didn't say anything. It wasn't until you yourself said you wouldn't leave that we dared to speak up."

  Zhao Zhe looked at Li Yun and Li Feng with a comforting gaze, saying "Now that things have come to this point, there's only one road we can take. You two lead the first battalion along the route to prepare for their arrival. Alas, I really don't know how they'll get past Yeselein Castle with just 4,500 people."

  Li Yun said in shock, "Commander, then you'll only have 500 men left? If we go like this, you'll be in even greater danger!"

  Zhao Zhe waved his hand and said seriously, "No, my mind is made up. You just follow my instructions."

  Li Yun and Li Feng, the two brothers, could only salute and say "Yes, Commander" before leading a group of troops to rush towards Bao Xue's advancing direction.

  Zhao Zhe gazed into the distance and muttered to himself, "Hmph, I wish you all the best of luck."

  "Alright, go prepare simple defensive fortifications to prevent the enemy from attacking."

  Moscow

  The Kremlin, the Tsar glared at the ministers below and roared: "You accursed Chinese, our vast Russian lands have all been seized by them. You are only drinking and reveling every day, while Grand Duke Alexander is now surrounded by the enemy's encirclement. You don't even have a single thought. When the enemy arrives here, you will become lowly slaves."

  After finishing speaking, with a "pa" sound, he smashed down a cup.

  At this time, all the ministers and nobles lowered their heads and didn't dare to breathe out. A general in uniform walked out calmly and said: "Your Majesty, I have mobilized all 30,000 Cossack cavalrymen and our empire's invincible army of 130,000 men to march towards Yekaterinburg Fortress. I believe that by now we have already surrounded the enemy. Please give me another month, Your Majesty, and I guarantee that we will drive the Chinese back to Inner Mongolia."

  Bao Xue looked at the weather and said "Let's continue to rush, strive to control this area as soon as possible. We will hurry for another 20 miles today before resting."

  Zhao Zhe had already rolled up his pant legs and sleeves and was digging trenches with the soldiers. The outermost layer was covered with iron caltrops, in the middle was a circle of trenches, and inside were some wooden abatis. Zhao Zhe looked at the soldiers who were working hard and said "Hurry up, after we finish, we will consolidate this area, and establish another Qixing Fort here."

  The warriors looked at Zhao Zhe's encouraging eyes and words, and they all cheered up. At this time, a team of patrolling soldiers rushed over quickly, galloping on horseback while shouting "Urgent military situation."

  Zhao Zhe stopped what he was doing and jumped out of the trench saying "What's going on?"

  The patrol soldier walked forward and saluted, saying "Commander, there are a large number of enemy troops ahead. The cavalry is estimated to be around 30,000. The infantry is probably in the form of an army corps."

  Zhao Zhe furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice, "Pass down my orders. All soldiers, quickly leave the completed defensive fortifications and prepare to enter combat state. Prepare the five mortars. Have all ammunition ready, no firing without my command. Now, quickly enter defense."

  Five hundred people against tens of thousands. What a concept. The warriors quickly formed a defensive formation, of course not like the ancient formations, but the Blood Dragon troops' warriors had been specially trained and now completely followed the modern firearms era's warfare to conduct defense and attack. Now in a surrounded circle, almost every ten meters there was only one warrior defending. But next to the warriors were piles of hand grenades and whatnot.

  Zhao Zhe gathered several platoon leaders and said to them, "We're all idiots now, surrounded by the enemy. Our only way out is one." Looking up at the floating clouds on the horizon, Zhao Zhe continued, "We have no room for retreat. We must hold our ground to the end and wait for the arrival of the main force. You are not allowed to use mortars unless absolutely necessary, understood?" After finishing speaking, he looked at several platoon leaders with his severe eyes.

  Several rows of soldiers nodded and saluted, saying "Yes, Commander"

  The sound of horseshoes echoed from afar, and after a cloud of dust flew by, the army in the distance was faintly visible. People rushed over from all directions, surrounding the area.

  Zhao Zhe calculated their range step by step, and with a gunshot, the battle finally broke out.

  Looking at the Russians carefully clearing the iron caltrops outside, Zhao Zhe smiled and said "Quickly trigger the landmine. Blow these sons of bitches to death." In just three days, the Russian artillery was not to be underestimated either. Several careless soldiers had already lost their lives to the artillery fire.

  "Fire the howitzer, troops quickly integrate defense, increase firepower and attack."

  The warriors had not eaten for several days, watching their comrades die one by one. Remembering that they had already annihilated more than 10,000 people with just over 500 men. All the warriors burst out laughing. The firepower at this moment was even more fierce.

  Zhao Zhe crawled out of the muddy trench and shouted "Follow me and charge forward. Give them a good beating!"

  In the end, only over a hundred warriors seemed to have gained some kind of strength and rushed out quickly. Over a hundred people had already been submerged in the sea of people. Looking at the warriors beside him who were exhausted and fell to the ground, Zhao Zhe shouted loudly: "Comrades, our reinforcements are coming! Hold on, we are not witnesses to history, we are creators of history!"

  The warriors formed a circle and resisted with all their might. The Cossack cavalry had long since retreated, for in their eyes these hundred or so people were nothing but objects of their own oppression. So now the infantry surrounded Zhao Zhe and his men.

  Rumors had already spread from behind, the Cossack cavalry horses had neighed, and hoofbeats were heard, in the distance, Zhao Zhe was familiar with the sound of cannons and gunfire.

  The warriors around me, hearing the arrival of reinforcements, were filled with energy to block the impact one after another. The battle had become particularly bizarre under the arrival of more than 100,000 main forces from the Blood Dragon and the Eighth Group Army, with enemy corpses everywhere.

  Zhao Zhe saw that the encirclement around him had been broken through, and his tense nerves suddenly relaxed. All the warriors also fainted to the ground like Zhao Zhe.