1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 63

By piecing things together, five thousand cavalrymen quickly gathered in Shenyang, and after a thorough search, they managed to gather three horses for each man.

In terms of personal equipment, Dai Mingde made a move and immediately had it. If he couldn't produce any on hand, he would draw from surrounding units. It was certainly impossible to gather tens of thousands of elite troops, but it was perfectly feasible to gather more than five thousand.

In mid-October, Xilin Gol sent another urgent report: the Eighth Division was almost at its breaking point. Winter was approaching, the grasslands were turning yellow, the cattle and sheep captured with the army were losing weight rapidly, the supply line was constantly disrupted, and the enemy was constantly harassing them.

The Eighth Division had begun slaughtering its last reserves of cattle and sheep. The entire army could only hold out until November at most before running out of ammunition and food. In despair, the division commander even attached a roster of all officers and soldiers to his urgent appeal. He knew that no one would come to their rescue, and the only outcome would be the death of the entire army on the grasslands.

The Eighth Division entered the grasslands last year. Having experienced a winter on the grasslands, they understood how terrible the "white disaster" on the grasslands was.

But the Eighth Division had already done its best, and all its officers and soldiers still marched into Mongolia in June 1906. It was easy to enter Mongolia, but it was extremely difficult to establish a foothold there.

Logistics supplies from within the Great Wall had to cross thousands of miles of grassland to reach Kulun, resulting in enormous losses along the way. The 20,000 officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division were stationed deep in the grassland, where logistical conditions were the worst in the entire army, with only one meal a day during difficult times.

On ordinary days, troops were needed to suppress the constant unrest, and rebel attacks occurred every few days. The Mongols submitted to the Manchu Qing dynasty, but not to the Han people. After the revolution, the Han people looked down on the Mongols even more.

Amidst sharp ethnic tensions, the Eighth Division has been fighting every month for over a year, doing its utmost to maintain the situation.

Until the outbreak of a large-scale war, the national leadership focused all its attention on North Korea and the Northeast, gradually neglecting support for Outer Mongolia.

In particular, Zhao Yan's continuous fighting for several months led to Outer Mongolia being abandoned by everyone, leaving only the Eighth Division struggling to hold on.

When they could no longer hold on, the Eighth Division made a desperate attempt to turn the tide, but the division suffered a major defeat due to the division of its forces. In the end, only half of the troops were able to retreat back to Inner Mongolia, but they still persisted in engaging the Mongolian-Russian allied forces, trying to block the threat from the Mongolian Plateau from the Northeast.

The Eighth Division has done an extremely commendable job, and they have truly lived up to the expectations of the nation and its people.

The commander of the Eighth Division sent a messenger at great risk to deliver the roster and a farewell letter. The letter did not mention the dispatch of reinforcements from the country, but only expressed the determination of the entire army to die on the battlefield to repay the kindness of the leader. The only request was that Zhao Yan could rebuild the Eighth Division in the future and return to the grasslands to avenge them.

When such a letter and roster were delivered to Zhao Yan, he could no longer sit still.

I'm happy to be called Führer, but if you say you're hopeless, Führer will be furious.

If I can't spare the manpower, I won't need so many. If the other generals lack confidence, I'll go myself. In short, if you acknowledge me as your leader, I must protect you.

On October 20th, the five thousand cavalry and supplies that Zhao Yan had requested were all in place, plus the five hundred members of the head of state's guard, totaling five thousand five hundred men, each with three horses.

At this time, snowflakes began to fall in Northeast China and the grasslands, and the temperature plummeted.

Everyone advised Zhao Yan not to send troops, saying that going to the grasslands in this terrible weather would be suicide, and even the Mongols wouldn't launch an attack during this season.

Seeing the snow fall, Zhao Yan was not surprised but delighted. What he feared most was that God would play tricks on him at the crucial moment. Now that things were at their worst, Zhao Yan was no longer afraid.

I'm not afraid of bad things happening, I'm afraid of bad things happening at the most critical moment. It's snowing now, so things can't get much worse. You can't just stab me in the back at the most critical moment, can you?

Even his own side disagreed with sending troops into battle at this time, so the enemy would be even less likely to expect him to send troops at this particular moment.

With a small army to begin with, if you choose to launch an attack during the pleasant spring season, the enemy will also be caught off guard. The weak must strike unexpectedly and seize the opportunity to ruthlessly eliminate their opponents.

Be ruthless to the enemy, but even more ruthless to yourself!

On October 21, Zhao Yan decisively led his army westward to conquer Mongolia, bringing only 5,000 cavalry and 500 members of the Yuan leader's guard. His forces were so small that it was almost like a joke.

The logistics line was completely nonexistent, because the grasslands were impassable after the snowfall.

Zhao Yan didn't care about any of that. He only cared about how long the Eighth Division could hold out. Tens of thousands of his brothers, who had entrusted their lives to him, were in despair on the grasslands.

Zhao Yan himself was also filled with rage that was about to explode. He was determined to end the resentment from previous battles in this Mongol war.

The army rolled westward, and Zhao Yan also galloped away on his horse. Several thousand people disappeared into the vast white snow.

Zhao Yan pointed at the sky with boundless pride and shouted, "How are you going to let me down this time? I don't believe they can escape with this much snow!"

"I control my own life!"

"This time, none of the Mongols or Russians on the grasslands can be saved. Even God's help won't help. I'm telling you!"

Chapter 115 The Difficulty of Marching on the Grasslands

Amidst the raging wind and snow, Zhao Yan led his army from Shenyang, heading north to Siping and then westward, galloping along the Xiliao River.

They didn't stop along the way except to replenish horse feed and provisions, working tirelessly without sleep, and arrived in Tongliao in just forty hours.

Zhao Yan is not old, but he is not young either. He is only thirty-two years old this year, but there are quite a few people who die young these days.

More importantly, Zhao Yan never rested. From the Changsha Uprising onwards, he commanded the army to revolt while injured. Then came the Northern Expedition, and for more than a year after the Northern Expedition, he was preoccupied with political affairs.

After arriving at the front lines, Zhao Yan fought continuously. While other generals had some rest periods, he worked tirelessly without sleep.

His subordinates were all terrified that their leader would die from exhaustion, and they urged Zhao Yan to rest for a while, but Zhao Yan resolutely refused, for now was a time to race against time.

Even those at the lower and middle levels can now see that Zhao Yan has become noticeably more impatient, and his strategic actions have become distorted. In previous battles, Zhao Yan had the idea of ​​a stalemate, spending ten days or half a month searching for the opponent's weaknesses.

But this time Zhao Yan was risking his life, racing against time. Nobody would believe that the Mongolian-Russian cavalry could annihilate a standing division of the National Defense Army in just a few days.

Especially against the backdrop of such a series of victories, whenever any unit of the National Defense Force was surrounded and besieged, their first thought was not to give up or simply surrender, but to persevere and wait for a miracle to happen.

With Zhao Yan around, miracles could happen at any moment; this was the confidence the leader instilled in them.

Resting for a day or two on the road is considered normal by everyone. The Eighth Division should be able to hold out until early November, so there's no need to race against time like this.

Ultimately, different perspectives lead to different ways of thinking. Zhao Yan's approach to problems, from the highest point, is completely different from that of those below him.

They consider issues from the perspective of the North or a corner of the Korean battlefield, and at their highest level, they consider issues from the perspective of the whole country as a whole.

Zhao Yan, on the other hand, considers the issue from the perspective of the entire world. He is currently the most vulnerable person in all of China, without exception.

Everyone else seemed panicked, but as long as Zhao Yan was still there, they were actually full of confidence. As long as their leader hadn't collapsed and was still holding on, they were confident that they could fight alongside him.

But Zhao Yan had no one to give him confidence. He couldn't rely on anyone. What seemed like a thriving and prosperous situation was, in Zhao Yan's eyes, like walking a tightrope a thousand meters in the air. If any problem occurred on any battlefield, it would lead to a series of systemic collapses.

Because he had run out of chips, and all of China had gone all in, Wu Zifu had emptied his last mobile force and gone on a southern expedition. He had already revealed his biggest trump card.

Zhao Yan had no cards left to play. Wu Zifu led his army south, and Wang Dingyun commanded two divisions in the southwest to reinforce Xinjiang. The fighting forces within China had been depleted, and there were no reserves left.

Previously, Zhao Yan could still plan that even if he collapsed, his disciples could establish a new dynasty in the south and carry on the banner. But now, that path is no longer viable.

Anyone who plays cards knows that you should always keep 100 yuan in hand to buy fried rice and take a ride home, even if you lose.

Zhao Yan had not only set aside money for the car fare and fried rice, but also for a foot massage, which was why he dared to fight so recklessly. After all, even if he lost, at least the South would still exist.

But now Wu Zifu has taken the money for foot baths to the southern expedition, and Wang Dingyun has taken the fried rice and travel expenses to aid Xinjiang. If they lose, let alone foot baths and fried rice, even going home will be a problem.

If you lose all your money in a normal card game, you can ask the winner for travel expenses to get home, and no one will refuse. But if you lose this card game and ask the British and Japanese for travel expenses, do you think they will give you any?

Zhao Yan had brought 1,000 to the table before, bet 900, and planned to keep the remaining 100. But his disciples were too aggressive, and now it's a sure-fire all-in.

The eggs were originally divided into two baskets, but now they are in one basket. Zhao Yan didn't know what to say. Could it be that it was wrong to accuse his disciples of sharing life and death?

Everyone else saw the battle situation as very favorable, but only Zhao Yan understood that even though he had gone all in, the enemy still had reserves. The British and Japanese still had strength left to use, and they had not yet reached their limit.

As for the Russians, they're the kind who take advantage of the chaos; they're still not sitting at the table, they're just standing on the sidelines.

At this point, Zhao Yan only had one option left: to cheat, to bluff his opponent into thinking he had three Aces and thus be afraid to continue betting.

However, there are nuances to bluffing your opponents. Currently, the UK, Japan, and Russia are the ones you're putting the most effort into. Zhao Yan doesn't have the confidence to bluff the UK and Japan, who still have leverage, especially the UK, as they have the most leverage.

Although Japan doesn't have many chips, they are extremely stubborn and single-minded. If you bluff Japan, they are likely to get angry and go all in.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yan realized that the Russians, who had no chips in their pockets and seemed quite nervous, were the easiest to bluff. They weren't sitting at the poker table; they were just standing on the sidelines and getting involved, which was the easiest way to scare them away.

How do you scare the opponent away? You must cut off their claws reaching for the card table. Where is the card table? It's in Northeast Asia. And what are the Russians' claws? They're the Trans-Siberian Railway!

Where is the best place to cut off the claws? Definitely from the elbow. The elbow of the Trans-Siberian Railway is located in Irkutsk on the shore of Lake Baikal. Cutting it off here would be like severing the claws of the Russians advancing eastward in the middle.

Fighting Mongolia would not only allow Zhao Yan to reclaim a vital shield for northern China, but also conveniently sever the Trans-Siberian Railway and ultimately liberate the Eighth Division—a three-in-one campaign that Zhao Yan could not possibly let slip by.

If the Russian wins this round, he will almost certainly abandon his bet and cut his losses by leaving the table. The Russian leaving won't significantly change the amount of chips on the table, but it will have a huge impact on the opposing player.

Later generations have said that Russia was a weak link in the imperialist camp, but this view came after the October Revolution. Today, Russia is still a first-tier power.

Zhao Yan clearly saw Russia's weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and was confident that he could easily force Russia out of the game. However, the British and Japanese were unaware of this; they would only see that Zhao Yan had forced the Russians off the table.

They would only think that the Russian had noticed Zhao Yan's three Aces and thus withdrew from the game. They wouldn't have thought that the Russian actually only had a loose hand of 263.

Once the Russians concede defeat and withdraw from the game, Britain and Japan will no longer dare to bet. Coupled with their previous series of great victories, these two rivals will most likely start negotiating while fighting.

In the end, the most that will happen between China, Britain, and Japan is a surrender with each side losing half of their forces. Neither side will completely win the other's victory, and this is the situation Zhao Yan desires most.

Zhao Yan, this contestant, doesn't want to learn from the God of Gamblers Ko Chun's style of playing and gamble away his entire rural credit cooperative savings account—that would be too irresponsible. He only wants to learn from Big Fool Brother's style of surrendering and losing half.

As the war dragged on, Zhao Yan finally understood that it was impossible to establish China as a regional hegemon in one fell swoop; the only option was to establish it as an independent and autonomous nation.

In the end, compromise and negotiation were still necessary, but Zhao Yan already had enough bargaining chips and could only win so much. If he continued to push his opponent too hard, they would choose to raise the stakes, and Zhao Yan would be the one in trouble.

Forcing the Russians to quit and leave the card table was Zhao Yan's last resort. Whether this move would succeed in intimidating the Russians would be crucial to the success or failure of his final scheme.

You're saying that things have come to this point, how could Zhao Yan not risk his life? Rest? Only those who are useless to the country would rest!

"Speed ​​up! In war, speed is of the essence. We must reach Xilin Gol and relieve the Eighth Division by the 26th!"

Zhao Yan completely disregarded the opinions of his subordinates. At this point, everyone was risking their lives; why bother with military democracy? They might as well just withdraw their troops.

At Zhao Yan's command, the more than 5,000 troops did not rest in Tongliao. After only replenishing themselves with some soybeans and dried meat, they continued their rapid march through the wind and snow.

More than 400 people were lost along the way due to the cold and getting lost. Zhao Yan did not stop or even carry out basic rescues. He gritted his teeth, maintained his speed, and continued to move forward.

Kindness cannot govern an army, and righteousness cannot govern finances. At this time, time is the most precious thing. If we stop, we will never be able to move forward again. Only by moving forward can we maintain this morale.

On the 24th, after driving continuously for more than 72 hours, Zhao Yan had to stop temporarily to rest because he got lost!

The biggest difficulties in grassland warfare are logistics, water supply, and routes! This time, Zhao Yan's army consisted of one person and three horses, carrying enough food, fodder, and ammunition, all for one-way travel, with no consideration given to logistics.

Water is a major problem on the grasslands during spring, autumn and summer. The reason the grasslands are called grasslands is because they can only grow grass and not crops when there is a lack of water! But this problem is no longer a problem after snowfall in winter, as there is ice and snow and there will be no shortage of water.

But the most difficult part is the route. In winter, the grassland is a vast expanse of white. You can find the four directions of east, west, south, and north, but you can't find where you are!

It is extremely difficult to find landmarks to determine direction on the grasslands in other seasons, let alone in winter.

"Zhao Hao! Where are we?" Zhao Yan stared at the map, puzzled. He had never encountered such bizarre terrain before. There were no villages, no rivers, not even roads. The world was a vast expanse of white, and he had no idea where he was.

Zhao Hao stared at the map for a long time, then shook his head helplessly: "Master, after running like this for so long, my brain is completely fried. I can't find my way around anymore!"

Zhao Yan was furious: "What kind of person are you, the head of the Führer's bodyguard? You can't even figure out a direction. Have you been eating military rations for nothing?"

Zhao Hao had no choice but to say, "Sir, we can hardly tell which way is which in this situation. This damn grassland is too strange. Even the compass is wobbling."

Zhao Yan drew his pistol: "Your head's shaped like a chamber pot. I'll shoot you dead, you believe me?"

Zhao Hao didn't believe it at all: "Master, I was also taught by you. If you can't tell the difference, how could I? Besides, we need people right now. Keeping my head is still useful. It's better for me to be a suicide squad member than to be killed!"

Zhao Yan readily agreed: "Fine, I'll spare your head to atone for your sins. Now hurry up and lead the Presidential Guard to clear the way. If we can't find our way, we'll all freeze to death here!"

Zhao Hao obeyed the order and quickly led the head of state's guard to clear the way.

They quickly found a Mongolian tribe hiding nearby. After several hundred heavily armed cavalrymen approached, the tribe surrendered decisively. In the dead of winter, they couldn't fight them, and there was nowhere to escape. If they didn't surrender, they would only face death.

Soon after, the main force arrived, and several thousand soldiers poured into the tribe, slaughtering cattle and sheep without hesitation, burning all the tribe's stored hay and cow dung, and then having a hot meal.

The tribe was a small group of about a thousand people, located near the interior of China. They had a lot of contact with Han Chinese and were considered a pro-Han Mongol tribe, so they were quite cooperative.

Zhao Yan didn't want to cause a scene, so he wrote an IOU and told the tribe to take it to the Republic government the following year to settle the debt.

The tribal chief cried, holding an IOU written in incomprehensible Chinese characters. He knelt down and said, "You sent thousands of troops to ravage the tribe, ate all the tribe's food, burned all the tribe's fuel, and then left with just an IOU. How am I supposed to survive until next spring to settle accounts? I'm going to starve to death this winter!"

The tribal chief, being ruthless, insisted that Zhao Yan take his group with him. After all, staying behind was the only option for them; without food and fuel, the tribe would not survive the winter.

The tribal chief even told Zhao Yan that there was another large tribe hibernating somewhere ahead, and that everyone could eat and drink their fill there.

Zhao Yan was immediately delighted and, in his capacity as the supreme head of state of the Republic of China, personally appointed the tribal leader Naqin as the "Guide King"! He ordered Naqin to lead the tribe ahead and guide the army to "convert" more Mongol tribes.

Chapter 116 The Wheels That Shake the Grasslands for a Century!

Having a local guide on the grasslands is a completely different experience than not having one, especially in the vast expanse of white in winter.

Wang Naqin led the tribe in front, while Zhao Yan led the army behind. Zhao Yan was not afraid at all that Wang Erxiao of Naqin's tribe would lead the head of state's army into the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army... ah no, the Mongol-Russian allied forces.

Because Zhao Yan was very cunning, he mobilized all the men, women, and children of the Naqin tribe. If they could find the next tribe, everyone would have food, drink, and fuel; if they couldn't, they would just freeze or starve to death!

There was even a wicked, unspeakable thought in Zhao Yan's mind, and the other members of the Führer's guard and cavalry thought the same thing.

That means if we can't find another tribe, and we run out of military rations and fuel, then your Naqin tribe will be our fuel and military rations!

The Naqin tribe, with its mere thousand or so people, men, women, and children, were stared at from behind by thousands of fierce cavalrymen with eyes that looked at them like fat pigs. Despite it being the dead of winter, they were constantly sweating.

The Naqin tribe wouldn't dare to play any tricks. They understand the rules of the grassland very well, and when they're starving, they're capable of anything.

Inside the pass, there might still be a last shred of humanity left, leading to cannibalism through exchanging children, since they couldn't bring themselves to kill their own. But on the grasslands, when people are starving, they'll kill even their own fathers, let alone their own sons!

Zhao Yan's several thousand troops still have dried pork. If they run out of dried pork, then they'll have to eat Mongolian dried meat. It's a joke that Cantonese people eat Fujianese people, but if there's nothing left to eat on the grasslands, it's no joke that Han Chinese eat Mongolians.

To save time, Naqin personally led the way, riding her horse around everywhere, digging and scraping, until she found several piles of stones and rivers hidden under the snow and ice, constantly adjusting the route.

Finally, before nightfall, they found another unfortunate tribe. This tribe had more than 8,000 people and tens of thousands of horses, cattle and sheep, making it a large tribe.

What was supposed to be a peaceful winter was disrupted when Zhao Yan and a group of ruthless individuals came knocking on their door.

Naqin still has a conscience. Instead of looking for the other tribes that had helped them, she specifically sought out the largest tribe in the region, simply because they had bullied her last autumn over the ranch.

Naqin herself doesn't have the ability to take revenge, but now that she's in trouble, she can easily take you with her to die.