Chapter 414 Lend your head for use
Nicholas is the Tsar and Alexei is the Crown Prince. Theoretically, they cannot go to Amur at the same time.
But Nicholas can’t care so much anymore. George is going to rebel now, and no one can stop him.
Of course it is not that easy for Nikolai to go to Amur.
The empire is currently suffering from internal and external troubles. Nicholas has to arrange things before he can go to the Far East. The trip will not be possible until June at least.
George did not wait for Nicholas, and he was very dissatisfied with Nicholas' appointment because Nicholas did not meet all of George's requirements.
George's current condition is not only absolute command power, but also punishment of those responsible.
Both Witte and Milyutin advised George to focus on the overall situation.
Even if Alexeev and Kuropatkin were to be tried, the settlement would have to wait until after the war.
Vladimir and Alexei are even more difficult to deal with. One of them is the Minister of War and the other is the Minister of Navy. If Nikolai were to replace them at the same time, it would cause a major earthquake in the military. For frontline operations, The Russian army is even more disadvantaged.
"Your Majesty is sending people to investigate Alexeyev's criminal behavior. He will definitely pay the price and will never go unpunished."
Witt was helpless, the situation in the empire was too complicated.
Kuropatkin committed dereliction of duty, which did not amount to a crime. He was simply incompetent and was placed in an inappropriate position. Upon closer inspection, Nikolai seems to have greater responsibility.
Alexeyev’s crime is unforgivable, but he is only a part of the entire criminal chain. If you dig deeper, he will definitely pull out the carrot and bring out the mud. Therefore, it is most likely that he will find a reason to go to jail for questioning. .
Alekseyev thought he was smart and did not deposit his money in Russian banks, but in foreign banks.
But in St. Petersburg, although they can move freely, their every move is controlled by the secret police.
You have a life to earn, but you have no life to spend.
George had no time to hold Alexeyev accountable.
After Fengtian was lost, the Russian army retreated to Siping.
After obtaining the strategic materials hoarded by the Russian army in Fengtian, the Japanese army's morale was greatly boosted and they continued to advance north, with their troops pointing directly at Ice City.
The Middle East Railway is also George's hard work, and George will not let the Japanese get involved in the Middle East Railway.
On April 17, George arrived in Siping by train.
Siping was the front line at this time. When George got off the train, he could clearly hear the sound of artillery in the distance.
The train station was in a state of chaos, with supplies uncovered and piled haphazardly on the snow-covered platform.
The broken wooden box was left unpacked and the icons inside were scattered all over the floor. No wonder no one cared about it.
Kuropatkin was also aggrieved.
When the Russian troops on the front line needed artillery shells the most, what they sent from St. Petersburg were truck after truck of holy statues. The Russian army joked that once the Japanese attacked, they would have no choice but to use the holy statues to hit the Japanese.
Kuropatkin could only reassure the generals around him: Don't be anxious, be patient, everything will be fine.
But even Kuropatkin himself doesn’t know when he will get better.
Now these are no longer Kuropatkin’s problems.
Kuropatkin was not dismissed, but was demoted to commander of the 1st Kwantung Army, swapping with Linevich.
The situation in the waiting hall was even worse. There were wounded soldiers everywhere who had not been sent away in time. The dead soldiers were wrapped in white cloth from head to toe and piled against the wall.
Kuropatkin still had a conscience and did not let their bodies be exposed in the wilderness.
But putting corpses and wounded soldiers together seems to have more serious consequences.
George is now the Governor of the Far East and the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in Kwantung. He has sole power. The generals of the Russian Army in Kwantung rushed to the train station to welcome George's arrival.
Among the large group of golden generals, George unexpectedly discovered that Brusinov was also there.
"Duke, you shouldn't come here, it's too dangerous here!"
After George accepted the post of commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in Kwantung, Linevich, who miraculously recovered from health, hoped that George would be the commander-in-chief. The troops should be placed in an ice city farther away from the front line, preferably in Vladivostok.
The Japanese army is attacking and Siping may be lost at any time.
The empire has suffered too many failures. If we lose George, the governor of the Far East, it will be completely over.
George suddenly pulled out his command knife and stabbed it into the floor of the waiting hall with his backhand.
"I'm right here, and I won't take a step back!"
George's voice was sonorous and powerful, and his firm eyes looked at the faces of the generals one by one, and the generals subconsciously straightened their spines. , showing his best side to George.
"You return to your troops immediately and stabilize the defense line. No matter who it is, if his position is lost, I will kill him personally!"
The generals looked solemn.
"If Siping falls, I will fight until the last moment!"
The morale of the generals was greatly boosted.
Whoosh!
Ye Luoxin, who arrived in Siping with George in the same car, drew his sword and shouted to the sky: "Defend the Empire!"
Brushinov clenched his fist and shouted: "Fight to the death for Your Majesty!"< br>
The generals drew their sabers and shouted, "Ula" resounded throughout the waiting hall.
Andre did not enter the waiting hall. The Harbin Division was arriving in Siping one after another to take over Siping's defense.
The Russian army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Fengtian. The cavalry troops suffered slightly smaller losses because they did not participate in the battle. Almost all the baggage of the field troops was lost, and many soldiers lost their guns.
After retreating to Siping, Kuropatkin counted the losses and felt like crying.
More than half of the 180,000 Russian troops who participated in the Fengtian Battle were lost. The three main battle divisions had less than a thousand soldiers left. Among them, the 3rd East Siberian Division was almost completely wiped out. The division commander died in the battle and the chief of staff was missing.
There were more than 20,000 wounded waiting to be transported to the rear in Siping, and the remaining combat troops were less than 100,000.
The transportation capacity of the South-Manchuria Railway is limited. The Harbin Division has a lot of heavy equipment and it will take three days to arrive. The Yushi and Ni divisions will also set off one after another. Vasily led the Talisman Division and went to Korea with the Sakhalin Division to cooperate with Yankov to prepare for the counterattack against the Japanese army.
With the arrival of George, order at the train station immediately returned to normal.
George first sent people to remove all the materials accumulated on the platform, and sent people to clear all the snow in the train station.
Wounded soldiers also began to be transferred to Bingcheng and Vladivostok respectively. The lightly wounded were treated in Bingcheng, and all the seriously injured were sent to Vladivostok.
The supplies sent from St. Petersburg began to be distributed in Chita.
Materials that are not needed on the front line, such as holy statues, are first placed in Chita.
The artillery shells urgently needed on the front line will be transported first.
The supplies hoarded in Vladivostok also began to be concentrated in Siping. Late at night when George arrived in Siping, 48 rocket launchers arrived in Siping on a truck.
After sending all the Russian generals back to the front, George left Brusinov alone.
After the war broke out, Brusinov took the initiative to ask for war, but the Guards did not participate in the war. Brusinov came to Kanto almost alone. Since he had no troops under his command, Brusinov was assigned to Staff work.
“The situation is very bad. Most of the troops have lost their combat capabilities, their morale is low, and their equipment is severely damaged. The machine guns have no bullets, the artillery has no shells, and many soldiers have run out of bullets, but they cannot be replenished in time—— ”
Brushinov was full of grief and indignation. He wanted to go to the front line, but the front line was full of carrots and pits, and there was no place for him.
“You are now my quartermaster, and it is up to you to solve these problems.”
George first arranged for Brusinov to wait for the opportunity.
Brushinov did not wait long.
The Japanese attack was crazy. Despite George's repeated orders, the 2nd West Siberian Army still lost its position. Commander Zasulich was taken to George's headquarters.
During the Battle of the Amur River, Zasulich served as the commander of the East Manchuria Detachment. He was almost unprepared before the war. Faced with the Japanese attack, he panicked and mismanaged the command, which led to the collapse of the entire Russian army and the Japanese invasion of Kanto. .
After the Battle of the Amur River, Zasulich was not held accountable, but rose through the ranks and served as the commander of the 2nd Army in Western Siberia.
"Duke, give me one day, and I will definitely take back the position!"
Zasulic has not yet realized the seriousness of the matter.
“Remember what I said the day before yesterday?”
George wanted to borrow Zasulich’s head.
Zasulic was stunned and could not utter a word.
"I said, no matter who it is, if he loses his position, I will kill him with my own hands!"
George said sharply, pulled out his gun and threw it in front of Zasulic.
"If you commit suicide, I will treat you as if you died in battle."
George used to watch movies, and every time this kind of plot happened, George would laugh at the screenwriter's stupidity.
Just throw the gun in front of the opponent, just in case the opponent jumps over the wall——
it's useless.
Zasulich’s family in St. Petersburg.
If Zasulich died in battle, his family could still enjoy prosperity and wealth, and enjoy special treatment from the empire as the family members of a lieutenant general.
If Zasulich had evil intentions, his family would also be implicated if he died without telling anyone.
"Duke, please give me a chance, I will definitely take back the position——"
Zasulich cried bitterly and regretted it beyond measure.
George was indifferent, turned and left.
As soon as George went out, gunshots were heard behind him.
After the news of Zasulich's death spread, the morale of the Russian army recovered instantly, and the Cossacks finally turned back into the feared Cossacks they were.
In Laoyegou, less than 10 kilometers away from the train station, the 37th Regiment of Russia's Eastern Siberia was fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese army under the leadership of the regiment leader Petrovich.
The bullets of the 37th Regiment have been exhausted. Petrovich led the officers and soldiers through hand-to-hand combat and just repelled another Japanese attack.
"Including the regiment headquarters, we only have 450 people left, and the seriously injured need to be sent to the rear——"
Chief of Staff Ivanovich has a bandage on his arm, the 37th Almost everyone in the regiment was injured.
“Give each of the seriously wounded a bayonet, and everyone will fight to the end!”
Petrovich’s forehead was still bleeding. After Zasulich was “killed”, everyone understood , Grand Duke Yuriev kept his word.
The dignified lieutenant general died in battle when he said he was killed.
Zasulich was the only lieutenant general killed in the Kwantung Russian Army since the war began.
"The Japanese are fighting more and more, and we need support."
Ivanovic also knows that he and Petrovich have no retreat.
“If we die in battle, the Duke will take good care of our families——”
Petrovich felt a fire burning in his heart.
The Japanese are indeed fighting more and more.
But who can blame them? The Japanese confidence was cultivated by the Russian army through continuous victories.
Petrovich would rather die fighting than run away again!
(End of this chapter)