Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 114

Pukody sighed and said, "We cannot defend the embassy on our own, so continuing to resist is pointless. For the current empire, escalating the conflict with China will only put Russia in a more unfavorable situation. Our primary enemy is Japan, not China, and easing relations with China is clearly more important. Mr. Vogak, please represent the legation to contact the Chinese; we are willing to lay down our arms..."

After a long silence, Vogak finally nodded to Pukody and left. Only after he left did Pukody turn to Korsovitz, his brow furrowed, and say, "The political situation in China has changed drastically. The roads we built to the Chinese court have been severed in this upheaval. In fact, I doubt whether the Chinese court still controls the country. We need someone to stay and observe the situation in China, to prepare for the Sino-Russian negotiations..."

Many people in Beijing were paying attention to the conflict in Dongjiaomin Lane, but most did not believe that the foreign powers would back down easily. A few people, however, were quick to condemn Qin Lishan as the second Yu Xian after the conflict broke out, hoping to repeat the national calamity of the Boxer Rebellion.

Some people went to Zhang Zhidong's residence, trying to get him to persuade the foreigners not to vent their anger on the Chinese because of Wuhan's rudeness. Others went to see Xu Shichang, demanding that the Beiyang government intervene to mediate and have the troops in Wuhan withdraw from the Legation Quarter, so that the diplomatic corps would not be seen as a barbaric nation.

However, before Zhang Zhidong and Xu Shichang could make up their minds, news of the Russians surrendering their weapons had already spread. Upon receiving the news, Zhang Zhidong didn't say much, simply showing it to his guests before taking his leave to rest in the backyard. His guests could only leave awkwardly.

On Xu Shichang's side, Cao Kun was assembling troops to mediate. Upon hearing this news, Cao Kun couldn't help but sigh to his subordinates, "When did the foreigners become so weak? Could it be that Wuhan is truly blessed by fate?"

Chapter 403 Guangxu's Resentment

The National Assembly's successful takeover of the Russian embassy and barracks in Dongjiaomin Lane silenced the voices of Beijing natives who were already deeply dissatisfied with the National Assembly's meddling in the capital. These dissatisfied Beijing natives referred to the children of the Manchu bannermen, especially families associated with the Imperial Household Department and the Vanguard Battalion, who suffered heavy blows in this loss of power for the Empress Dowager Cixi.

For example, the Zeng Chong family, known as the head of the eight great families in Beijing, suffered a huge financial loss when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing. Two of their jewelry shops were looted by the allied forces. However, after the Empress Dowager returned to Beijing, the Zeng Chong family prospered again. After all, three generations of the Zeng Chong family had served as ministers of the Imperial Household Department, and their businesses were spread throughout Beijing. They even had shares in the famous Four Great Heng Banks.

As long as Zeng Chong remained an official in the Imperial Household Department, his family could not possibly decline. However, this time the National Assembly launched a drastic crackdown, targeting the Imperial Household Department as part of the Empress Dowager's faction—something unprecedented since the Manchus entered the Central Plains. After all, the Imperial Household Department was the emperor's personal servant; no matter how much the emperor reformed it, he could not eradicate its roots.

Centuries of intermarriage within the Manchu banner system had created a deeply entrenched network within the Imperial Household Department, forming a monster bound together by blood ties and interests. This monster could have one head cut off and another quickly grow back; it was impossible for it to truly die.

Therefore, the Imperial Household Department was not afraid of any reforms at all, but when faced with a revolution that wanted to eliminate the system they depended on, they were truly helpless, because their power was all within the system. When the system could not resist the forces of revolution, they could only perish along with the system.

Before the parliament sent troops to take over the Russian legation quarter, these Manchu bannermen were trying to find a way to survive in the old power struggle. So what if the Empress Dowager fell? They were still Manchu bannermen, servants that the emperor could use. Now they should just cling to the emperor's leg and wrest power back from the parliament.

However, once the National Assembly suppressed even the foreigners, the Manchu bannermen in Beijing knew that they were truly doomed. After the Boxer Rebellion, the Manchu bannermen in Beijing, young and old, all understood this principle: although the Empress Dowager held immense power, she still had to bow down to the foreigners. Therefore, the first class in the Qing Dynasty was the foreigners, and the second class was the Manchu bannermen.

Since this country dares to fight even foreigners, it means they certainly won't easily hand over power to the emperor. If they want the Eight Banners men and women to fight these wolves and tigers of Han people, everyone might as well just go home and sleep.

However, just because they cannot fight the Han people to the death does not mean that they can let the Han people ride on the heads of the Manchus. For example, everyone hopes that the emperor can speak out and not give these Han people an excuse to keep attacking. After all, everyone is the emperor's servant. If the Han people mess up all of the emperor's servants, who will the emperor be able to order around?

The ones pushed forward by the Manchus to plead with the Emperor were naturally Guangxu's two younger brothers, Zaifeng and Zaixun. Guangxu's siblings had all died young, and his closest relatives were his three half-brothers. His youngest brother, Zaitao, had been adopted by Prince Zhong, leaving only Zaifeng and Zaixun as adult males in Prince Chun's lineage.

However, after leaving the palace, Emperor Guangxu's temperament changed somewhat. Before, he never expressed his opinions in front of others. After Consort Zhen's death, Guangxu realized that there were Empress Dowager Cixi's spies around him, which is why so many private words reached the Empress Dowager's ears. From then on, he became taciturn.

However, after publicly accusing Cui Yugui of murdering Consort Zhen in the special court, his personality changed again. He became particularly intolerant of anyone speaking well of the Empress Dowager's faction or explaining their hardships, even if it was his own brother who said it.

Zaifeng's pleas for leniency on behalf of the Imperial Household Department officials still provoked Emperor Guangxu, who retorted, "Do you even know who Ronglu is?"

Zaifeng was momentarily stunned by the question, and it took him a long time to say, "Ronglu has indeed wronged His Majesty in some ways."

Emperor Guangxu flew into a rage, saying, "Sorry? You make it sound so easy! Ronglu is the most notorious traitor in the Qing Dynasty. His evil surpasses even that of Aobai. Aobai merely seized power; Ronglu plotted rebellion. How could such a traitor be given the posthumous title of Wenzhong? What a joke! To this day, I have not received a single memorial impeaching Ronglu. Do you even care about me, your emperor? You keep proclaiming your loyalty to me, but what about that devil in your room? Have you dealt with him yet?"

Upon witnessing Emperor Guangxu's violent temper for the first time, Zaixun was so frightened that he lowered his head and stared at the floor tiles, barely daring to breathe. Zaifeng, on the other hand, could only kneel down on the ground with a thud, his face ashen, pleading for his wife: "Your Majesty, my wife is pregnant. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness. I have never had any disloyal intentions towards Your Majesty, but my wife is truly innocent."

Emperor Guangxu stared coldly at his younger brother and said sarcastically, "Yes, wasn't that person just waiting for him to be born so that I could be sent away and the Qing Dynasty would still be yours? Don't you feel wronged? You were so close to letting your son sit on the throne, but now Councilor Qin and his group have ruined everything. Now that they've been dealt with, are you feeling sorry for them?"

Zaifeng dared not speak further, only repeatedly kowtowing to show that he had absolutely no such thoughts. However, he knew very well that Empress Dowager Cixi, who had gone so far as to force his former fiancée to commit suicide in order for him to marry Ronglu's daughter, might have harbored similar intentions. In the past, Emperor Guangxu had been powerless to resist, forced to watch helplessly as Cixi put the noose around his neck and awaited death. But how could Guangxu now tolerate this resentment that had festered for years? Zaifeng's plea for the officials of the Imperial Household Department struck a nerve with Guangxu.

Emperor Guangxu finally spoke up and stopped Zaifeng, saying, "Let these people go for the sake of the Qing Dynasty? Then I would rather let the Qing Dynasty die with them. You don't need to come here again. Go and live your life. Seeing you reminds me of that person, and it makes me feel uneasy. If you kill the people in your family, I think you will become even more like her. So, let's not see each other again. It won't do anyone any good."

After Guangxu finished speaking, he got up and went into the back hall. Only after watching Guangxu's figure disappear through the small door did Zaixun dare to go forward and help his brother Zaifeng up. He then noticed that Zaifeng's forehead was already scraped. He quickly helped his brother leave the Qing residence, feeling extremely fortunate.

On the other side, after Emperor Guangxu entered the inner hall, he saw the eunuch Wang who had been serving him and asked, "Has the dismissal of palace staff begun?"

Eunuch Wang nodded and said, "It has already begun today. As per Master's orders, the number of people serving the Empress Dowager cannot exceed twice that of Master's. The elderly and weak have been released, and new people have been selected to serve her..."

After listening for a while, Emperor Guangxu interrupted him and asked, "Was that thing also sent?"

After a moment's hesitation, Eunuch Wang replied in a low voice, "It's been sent, sent in the name of Chief Steward Li..."

Inside the Fozhao Tower, Rongling and her sister Deling were bidding farewell to Empress Dowager Cixi, who sat in the main seat of the hall. It wasn't just the sisters leaving; a large group of people were also departing—all the female officials and eunuchs who had served Cixi in the past. They all silently stepped forward to say goodbye to the Empress Dowager, some even sobbing uncontrollably. Cixi, sitting there, calmly took some of her usual small jewelry, such as pearl flowers, from a nearby table and gave them to these close attendants as a token of their affection.

The atmosphere inside the building was extremely oppressive, but when Rongling and her sister stepped out of the Fozhao Tower and looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside, their mood suddenly brightened. Although Empress Dowager Cixi was usually amiable, if anyone violated the rules or happened to be in her mood, they could be beaten to death. Therefore, even the female officials and eunuchs who were favored by Cixi did not dare to completely let their guard down in her presence.

Now the sisters no longer have to live in fear. Looking at the bright sunshine, Rongling felt the beauty of the Fozhao Tower for the first time. It is said that the Fozhao Tower is exactly the same as the Haiyan Hall in the Yuanmingyuan, except that the 12 animal heads at the entrance do not spout water, but hold electric lights, making the Fozhao Tower look like a fairyland at night.

Rongling led her younger sister down the steps, taking one last look back at the entire Fozhao Tower. She always felt that a part of her life had been left here. At that moment, her sister pulled her hand and called out, "Mother, Mother has come to take us..."

After the crowd inside the Fozhao Tower dispersed, Empress Dowager Cixi picked up a brocade box containing a small porcelain bottle. She examined it for a long time before a smile crept across her face as she muttered to herself, "What a filial child! Daring to send poison to his mother, yet afraid to administer it himself. I'll see if you dare commit this heinous act..."

If the confrontation between Emperor Guangxu and the Empress Dowager was like the flashing swords in the quiet night, something that ordinary people could hardly perceive, then the actions of the National Assembly towards the Manchus were like relentless pressure under the open sun. No one was unaware of what the National Assembly wanted to do, but no one could stop it.

After Congress mobilized troops to take over the Russian Legation Quarter in Dongjiaomin Lane, it effectively occupied the American barracks as well, refusing to return them. Congress then ordered the relocation of the Congressional offices to the Russian Legation Quarter, converting the main building of the Russian embassy into the Congressional Chamber. This was because the first floor of the Russian embassy was very spacious, with a ceiling height of nearly six meters, and could accommodate hundreds of people for events such as balls.

The former American and Russian barracks became the offices of the Workers' Party in Beijing and the bases of the Red Army. With such a force to rely on, the National Assembly quickly announced that the Vanguard Battalion had not fulfilled its responsibilities since the Wuxu Coup. They had not only failed to protect the Emperor, but had also become accomplices in the Emperor's house arrest. Therefore, the National Assembly announced the disbandment of the disloyal Vanguard Battalion and the arrest and interrogation of officers of the rank of Vanguard Colonel and above to determine whether their actions in the past few years had been harmful to the Emperor.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly raised questions about the Wuxu Coup, considering it an act of military treason, and telegraphed the governors and viceroys of various provinces inquiring whether they supported a National Assembly investigation into the coup. In addition, the National Assembly proposed a new special case concerning the alleged plot to assassinate the emperor by Ronglu, Prince Duan Zaiyi, and Pujun during the Boxer Rebellion.

With Ronglu dead and Prince Duan Zaiyi and Pujun exiled to Xinjiang, although the masterminds were not in the capital, Zaiyi and Pujun were from the line of Prince Dun. This case directly included Prince Dun's line and Ronglu's relatives and friends, and the blow to the Manchus had expanded from princes and nobles to the core members of the Manchu society.

As the National Assembly presented one case after another, Yuan Shikai was the first to feel uneasy. The Beiyang clique, which had originally planned to sit back and watch the tigers fight, suddenly realized that the National Assembly had gone mad. Even though the Beiyang clique still held a military advantage in the north, it was beginning to find it difficult to resist the constant pressure from the National Assembly.

According to Ruan Zhongshu's account to Yuan Shikai, "The National Assembly first liberated the Emperor, then revoked some of the privileges in the Legation Quarter, and it was right at every step. In the past, we thought that the imperial court had money and power, and the foreigners had powerful ships and cannons, so the National Assembly was just a figurehead and couldn't accomplish anything. But now it seems that with the name of the National Assembly and the guns of Wuhan, they can really get things done. We can't sit idly by any longer. If we do, the National Assembly will become the new imperial court, and we, the Beiyang clique, will become a local power..."

Chapter 404 Battle of Jinzhou

On September 10, 1906, under the cover of the navy, the Third Army led by Nogi Maresuke landed near Yanda'ao on the Liaodong Peninsula. The Russian troops there were not well defended and fled without any decent resistance. The Japanese then established a solid landing camp there.

On September 18, three divisions of the Third Army and their artillery units landed here. On September 20, Nogi divided his forces in two: the main force went south to attack Jinzhou, the gateway to Port Arthur, while the remaining forces went north to occupy Pulandian, in order to cut off the Russian army's connection with Port Arthur, indicating his intention to capture Port Arthur first.

Given the Japanese army's clear intention to land, on September 18, Lieutenant General Anatoly Mikhailovich Stessel, commander of the Kwantung Military District, ordered the 4th Infantry Division of Eastern Siberia to send two detachments to intercept the Japanese army at key transportation routes leading to Jinzhou. On the 19th, on the high ground outside Shisanlibao in Jinzhou, the Russian detachments engaged in the initial battle with the vanguard of the Japanese army.

The Japanese army displayed high morale in this battle, but it also exposed their lack of military capability to immediately organize an offensive after landing. The initial Japanese advance troops launched an attack without reconnaissance of the Russian positions, and were quickly outmaneuvered by Russian artillery. After the initial setback, the Japanese hastily brought up their artillery from the rear. Although they managed to suppress the Russian artillery with their numerical superiority, the hasty action resulted in heavy losses for their own artillery.

However, the Japanese army gained the upper hand at Chafangtai, south of Shisanlibao, because the Russian army had not anticipated that the Japanese army would land at Yanda'ao. Before the war, the Russian army was focused on landing on the Japanese archipelago and believed that the Russian navy would not lose control of the sea. Therefore, they did not set up any defensive fortifications in the Dalian and Jinzhou areas.

The Russian troops at Chafangtai received no artillery reinforcements and only had one battalion stationed there, while the Japanese on the opposite side had at least one regiment, and their strength continued to increase over time. Meanwhile, the Russian troops received no support because Lieutenant General Stessel had not yet decided to stop the Japanese on the Liaodong Peninsula coastline. The purpose of the two Russian troops he sent out was to find out the scale of the Japanese landing.

Therefore, after holding out for three hours, the Russian troops at Chafangtai were completely breached by the Japanese army. That night, the Russian troops in the area retreated into Jinzhou City. Thus, the Russian troops at Shisanlipu were surrounded by the Japanese army on three sides. As a result, the Russian troops at Shisanlipu had no choice but to abandon their positions and retreat to Jinzhou City.

Both the Russian and Japanese armies regarded the Jinzhou Isthmus as a strategic pass. However, the Russian army did not focus its defense on Jinzhou City, but instead placed the core of its defense on Nanshan Mountain, which is located southwest of Jinzhou City. This mountain, also known as Shanzi Mountain, is located on the narrow waist of the Jinzhou Isthmus and is a natural fortress.

The Russian army put a lot of effort into the defense of Nanshan. Before the Japanese army joined the war, the Russian army had already built fortifications there. By the time the Japanese army arrived in Jinzhou, the Russian army had built 13 artillery emplacements and a large number of permanent fortifications along a 4-kilometer-wide defensive line, and set up barbed wire and minefields around the perimeter of the positions.

The only regret for the Russian army was the delayed arrival of the machine guns they ordered from Europe, leaving the Nanshan defense line with only 10 Maxim heavy machine guns. However, more than 60 medium-caliber artillery pieces made up for the lack of firepower. The Russian army's lack of a defensive strategic plan made it difficult for the high command to determine the allocation of defensive forces.

For the Russian army in the Kwantung region, the defense of Port Arthur was naturally the top priority. However, they were completely clueless about how to arrange the defense of other areas. For example, Major General Fuk, commander of the 4th Infantry Division of Eastern Siberia, believed that the main task of his division was to protect the Port Arthur fortress and that too many troops should not be placed in the area surrounding the Port Arthur fortress. He rejected Colonel Tretyakov's request to increase troops and artillery by refusing to deploy troops in the area south of Nanshan.

Was Major General Fu Ke's idea wrong? Of course not. If the enemy had already reached Jinzhou, why bother defending Nanshan? The obvious course of action would be to quickly withdraw troops back to the Lushun fortress and hold out for as long as possible. However, this assumption was a reasonable judgment based on the premise that the enemy had already occupied southern Manchuria. At present, the Japanese army had not occupied southern Manchuria, and they did not even have a stable foothold in the Jinzhou and Dalian areas.

In other words, the Russian army's defensive strategy at this time should have been to hold Jinzhou and Dalian, preventing the Japanese army from gaining a foothold on the Liaodong Peninsula, and then consider holding Lushun after the southern Manchuria fell to the Russians. Of course, as an invading army, the Russian military leadership did not consider the Liaodong Peninsula to belong to them, so they naturally could not judge whether the Japanese army could gain a foothold and could only make the most conservative decision.

Major General Fu Ke then only gave the colonel a reserve battalion, but transferred the large-caliber naval guns from the position back to the Lushun Fortress. As a result, the Russian army was essentially fighting against an attack by nearly two Japanese divisions with only one regiment. Moreover, Nanshan was close to the sea, and the Japanese army also requested naval gun support. The Russian army on Nanshan was thus completely at a disadvantage.

On the evening of the 30th, the Japanese army began its attack on Jinzhou City. On the morning of October 1, they occupied Jinzhou City. At dawn, four Japanese naval gunboats, protected by six destroyers, entered Jinzhou Bay and fired at close range at Russian positions.

The Japanese Navy was clearly much luckier than the Russian Navy. The Nanshan position was a very clear target for the Japanese Navy, and the Russians did not create false targets or build hidden underground fortifications. Therefore, the Japanese bombardment of the Russian positions for four hours almost completely destroyed the artillery positions on the west side of Nanshan.

Even so, when the Japanese attacking force advanced to within 200 meters of the Nanshan position, they were still met with fierce interception by Russian machine guns. The Japanese troops who managed to reach the Russian trenches were blocked by a 3-meter-high barbed wire fence. The Japanese launched several attacks but failed to break through the Russian position.

When the Japanese army attempted to cut off the Russian army's retreat through the open ground at the foot of Nanshan Mountain, they were met with a mopping-up operation by Russian artillery positions and machine gun fire deployed at Dafangshan. At 10:00 AM, Russian gunboats, under the cover of two destroyers, rushed into Dalian Bay and opened fire on the Japanese attacking forces. With the cooperation of the Russian army and navy, the Japanese attacking forces were almost unable to move, as if they were the ones being attacked.

However, at 11:00 AM, the tide receded in Dalian Bay, forcing the Russian gunboats to return to port, which finally gave the Japanese a chance to regroup. After regrouping, the Japanese launched a renewed attack at 2:00 PM. This time, the Japanese focused their attack on the positions on the north side of Nanshan Mountain, away from Dalian Bay, and on the side protected by their own navy.

By 18 p.m., the Nanshan position was still in Russian hands, while the Japanese reserves and ammunition were running low. The Japanese army finally began to waver. The military staff suggested that General Nogi withdraw the attacking troops and readjust the attack strategy, but Nogi quickly rejected the suggestion. Nogi went to the battlefield to supervise the battle and ordered all units to continue the strong attack.

However, at this moment, the Russian left flank suddenly began to retreat, which triggered a full-scale retreat of the Russian army. As a result, the Japanese offensive finally began to bear fruit, and they captured Nanshan at 19 PM. In this battle, the Russian army suffered more than 1400 casualties, while the Japanese army suffered more than 4000 casualties, exceeding the size of a regiment.

In his postwar report, Nogi Maresuke also admitted that there was insufficient intelligence and the anticipated difficulty of the attack on the Nanzan position. He said that if the Russian army had not withdrawn on its own, the Third Army would not have been able to capture Nanzan.

The Battle of Jinzhou Nanshan served as a wake-up call for the fervent army, making them realize that the war against Russia could not be a repeat of the war against the Qing Dynasty. The idea that simply displaying the Imperial Army's fearless spirit of sacrifice would be enough to defeat the Russians in hand-to-hand combat was far too naive. The Imperial General Headquarters even questioned whether Nogi's report was flawed, given the extremely low losses suffered by the Japanese army in the previous Battle of the Yalu River.

The rapid occupation of Jinzhou by the Japanese army greatly shocked the Russian army. The Russian troops in Dalian quickly retreated to Lushun, and the Russian army headquarters in Fengtian also began to fall into chaos. After Kuropatkin arrived in Manchuria, he divided the Russian army in South Manchuria into five combat groups: the East Manchuria Group in the direction of the Yalu River, the Kwantung Group centered on the Lushun Fortress, the West Manchuria Group west of Jinzhou, the South Manchuria Group centered on Liaoyang, and the headquarters' directly subordinate troops stationed in the Gaiping area of ​​Fengtian.

Of the five groups mentioned above, except for the Kwantung Army Group with 4.5 troops, the other four groups had approximately 8 to 9 troops. In other words, nearly 9% of Russia's military strength in the Far East was in southern Manchuria, leaving northern Manchuria and eastern Siberia extremely vulnerable. Kuropatkin was naturally uneasy about this situation.

Therefore, after arriving in Manchuria, he did not think about how to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, but tried to stabilize the situation first, wait for European troops to be deployed to northern Manchuria, and then concentrate his superior forces to fight against the Japanese and Chinese armies.

According to Kuropatkin, the biggest problem for the Russian army lies not with the Chinese army, yet it also lies with the Chinese army. The former is not with the Chinese army because the Chinese army has no intention of launching an offensive; therefore, as long as the Russian army does not attack in the direction of Beijing, the Chinese army will not pose a significant threat to the Russian army.

The latter point concerns the Chinese army. The Russian army's offensive against the Chinese army made it difficult for them to retreat from the west. This forced the Russian army to hold the Fengtian area. Once Fengtian was captured by the Japanese army, the Russian army west of Jinzhou would be surrounded by the Japanese and Chinese armies.

In contrast, the situation for the Russian forces in Lushun was much better, because Lushun was a peninsula fortress, which meant that as long as the Russian European navy reached the Far East, Lushun might still exist. However, once the Russian forces west of Jinzhou lost Fengtian as their rear base, they would inevitably collapse immediately.

Faced with this situation, Kuropatkin could only consider launching a counterattack against the Japanese forces in the Jinzhou area to prevent the Japanese forces in Jinzhou and the Yalu River from launching a simultaneous attack on Fengtian. However, while Kuropatkin was mobilizing his troops to launch a counterattack against Jinzhou, a new problem arose in the Primorsky Krai of Russia. On September 21, a Japanese fleet attacked the port of Chongjin in northeastern Korea, and on September 23, General Oku Yasuhisa led the Japanese Second Army to begin landing at Chongjin. At this time, the Russian army was completely focused on the news of the Japanese attack on Jinzhou and did not notice the large-scale Japanese landing at Chongjin.

Chapter 405 Tamura Takes the Lead

Tamura Isozo arrived in Kiyotsu on September 25th. By then, the vanguard of the Japanese army, together with the navy, had captured Rajin Port, 66 kilometers away. Tamura, who volunteered to serve as the chief of staff of the Second Army, knew better than anyone what his objective was.

Upon disembarking, he immediately convened a meeting with some officers of the 4th Division in Chongjin City, clarifying once again the objectives of the 2nd Army.

"66 kilometers northwest of here is Rajin Port, which is also the terminus of the Korean branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway. 54 kilometers from Rajin towards the mouth of the Tumen River, across the river is what the Russians call Hassan. We should thank the Russians for building a wooden bridge across the river that can accommodate trains. Our first goal is to seize this wooden bridge and not let the Russians destroy it."

48 kilometers north of Hassan lies Kraskino, known to the Russians as Kraskino and to the Chinese as Mokowai, also a town with a good port. Continuing north from Kraskino for another 190 kilometers, you reach Baranovsk, a station on the Trans-Siberian Railway. This station is less than 30 kilometers north of Shuangchengzi and about 70 kilometers south of Vladivostok.

Our second objective is to capture Baranovsk and Shuangchengzi, severing Vladivostok's connections with Harbin and Khabarovsk, and turning Vladivostok into an isolated city.

Although there is a railway from Shuangchengzi to Khabarovsk, the surrounding area is all undeveloped primeval forest, and Khabarovsk is only connected to the Lake Baikal region by water transport on the Amur River, with no rail access. Therefore, capturing Lesozavodsk, north of Shuangchengzi, would prevent the Russian army from advancing south from Khabarovsk. Similarly, the most prosperous city between Shuangchengzi and Harbin is Suifenhe; if we seize Suifenhe, the Russian army would have to concentrate its forces in Harbin if it wanted to attack us.

Therefore, the third phase of our army's objective is Lesozavodsk and Suifenhe. After occupying these two cities, we will adopt a defensive posture, then seize Vladivostok, and completely control the Pacific terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, thus establishing a departure base for our army's northward advance..."

Tamura set very clear objectives for the Second Army, and the local Koreans had largely sided with the Japanese, believing that Japan had come to liberate them. As a result, the Japanese army gained great advantages in the early stages of the operation.

The Japanese 4th Division was formed in 1888 in Osaka. Compared with other Japanese divisions, the 4th Division was actually much more disciplined. Because Osaka was a wealthy region in Japan, it was not as barbaric and ignorant as the divisions in the northeastern part of Japan. It also had a higher understanding of combat missions.

Division Commander Inoue Mitsuaki, a native of Yamaguchi Prefecture and a key member of the Choshu faction, carried out Tamura's orders quite effectively. Therefore, after capturing Rajin, the 4th Division did not stop for rest and reorganization, but immediately set off for the Tumen River Bridge.

Frankly speaking, the Russians did consider security issues when building the Rajin branch line, but Japan's concessions led the Russians to believe that the risk of a conflict between Russia and Japan was not high, and that the possibility of a compromise between Russia and Japan to divide the Korean Peninsula equally was very high. Therefore, Russia insisted that the Rajin branch line must be built in order to resist Japan's infiltration into northeastern Korea.

As an island nation, Japan has far more convenient access to trade routes with the Korean Peninsula than Russia. For example, the port of Wonsan was almost entirely occupied by Japanese merchants, but from Russia's perspective, Wonsan should fall within its sphere of influence. To bring North Korea under true Russian control, simply sending a small force into the country was clearly insufficient; it was essential to establish Russia's entire trade network there.

The Rajin branch line was built to allow Russia to more easily deploy its forces to northeastern Korea via rail, ultimately driving the Japanese out of the region. According to Russia's plan, Rajin Port was not the end of this branch line. The minimum objective for Russia regarding the Korean Peninsula was to connect Rajin to Wonsan, Wonsan to Seoul, and then to Vladivostok, Incheon, and Port Arthur via land and sea. The ultimate goal, of course, was to occupy the entire Korean Peninsula and share control of the Korea Strait with Japan.

Of course, to avoid conflict with the only major power in East Asia, the Russians considered it acceptable to rely on this land and sea route to connect Vladivostok and Port Arthur, thus protecting Manchuria within this route and preventing Japanese influence from crossing it. To this end, Russia continuously increased its troop presence in the Rajin region in an attempt to protect this railway branch line.

However, the conflict with the Chinese caused Russian troops in the north to be continuously transferred south, especially the Russian troops attacking Zhangjiakou, which suffered devastating blows. The Japanese army also suddenly joined the war and attacked Vladivostok. This led Far East Governor Alekseyev to make a wrong judgment out of fear. He worried that China and Japan would besiege southern Manchuria from the east and west respectively. In addition, the Japanese navy blockaded Port Arthur, and there was a risk that the Russian army in southern Manchuria might be surrounded by China and Japan.

It can be said that at this time, the adventurists in the Russian Far East army, after being hit by a series of defeats on the battlefield, quickly shifted from a policy of quick victory to one of defeatism. They forgot that China and Japan were two different countries, and it was obviously impossible for the armies of these two countries to trust and cooperate with each other in joint operations. They only remembered one thing: if China and Japan launched an attack on Mukden from three directions, the Russian army in southern Manchuria might be divided, encircled, and ultimately annihilated.

This idea overwhelmed Governor-General Alekseev. As the only supreme commander in the Far East capable of directing both the army and navy, he did not hesitate to order the Russian forces in Harbin and other areas to redeploy mobile forces from the north to southern Manchuria. While this stabilized the situation in southern Manchuria, it also weakened the protection forces along the Rajin branch line.

Compared to Vladivostok, Rajin Port was developed as a commercial port and naturally had fewer fortifications. Its importance was also incomparable to Vladivostok, Port Arthur, or even Dalian and Incheon. Therefore, the Russian forces defending this branch line numbered no more than 2000, a far cry from the strength of the Japanese Second Army, composed of three divisions.

For the Russian army, after losing contact with Rajin, the top priority should have been to blow up the bridge over the Tumen River, which would at least delay the Japanese advance. However, the bridge over the Tumen River wasn't something the garrison could just blow up at will. Without approval from higher command, who would dare to destroy the Tsar's property? That would be a matter for a military court.

The problem is that although the Tumen River Bridge is located in Primorsky Krai, it is under the management of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which is theoretically under the management of the Far East Governor-General's Office. If St. Petersburg had not appointed Kuropatkin as the Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Army, this matter would have been reported directly to Governor-General Alekseev, and it could have been implemented as long as the Governor-General signed his approval.

However, after Kuropatkin took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Army, the Governor-General's Office had to forward the telegram to the Far East Army Headquarters in Fengtian. At this time, it was a critical moment for the Japanese army to attack Jinzhou, so this telegram was not considered important and was placed after the official documents in the Jinzhou area. As a result, Kuropatkin did not see the telegram until October 1. On that day, the Shuangchengzi garrison had sent him an urgent telegram that the Japanese army had occupied Baranovsk and cut off the connection between Shuangchengzi and Vladivostok.

For Russian generals like Kuropatkin, the Japanese actions were utterly incomprehensible. This was no longer a contest with the Russians for control of the Korean Peninsula or Manchuria; rather, it was an attempt to wipe out the entire Russian military force in the Far East. This war had surpassed the scale of a colonial war, and the importance of the war between Japan and Russia had overshadowed that of the war between Japan and China.

Why did the Russian Far East commanders have this idea? Because Baranovsk is to Vladivostok what Jinzhou is to Port Arthur. When the Japanese attacked Jinzhou, the Russians naturally realized that Japan wanted to occupy Port Arthur and then use Dalian as a landing base to advance north along the railway line. At least the Russians would have a rear area to retreat from.

However, the Japanese occupation of Baranovsk meant the threat wasn't just to Vladivostok, but potentially to Harbin, cutting off the Russian army's supply lines in southern Manchuria. If the logistical support of over 30 Russian troops was cut off, their annihilation would be imminent. While Manchuria was a relatively wealthy region in China, and northern Manchuria was a relatively new area, southern Manchuria's development dates back over a thousand years. The Chinese primarily cultivated soybeans and sorghum, rarely growing wheat, and rye was even rarer, while the Russian army's staple food was black bread.

Therefore, the food supply for the Russian Far East forces did not rely on local resources but came from the Black Sea region. This doesn't even mention the fact that the Russian army's ammunition and weapons supplies had to be transported from Europe. These supplies were transported in two ways: by sea and by rail. With the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur, Russia's maritime transport was effectively cut off. Due to the war with China, railways inside and outside the Great Wall were also disrupted. Thus, the Russian army's logistics essentially depended on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Although the railway was already in operation, it was only a single-track line, and Russia lacked both locomotives and carriages. In addition, it needed to transport food, ammunition, and equipment to the Far East, as well as people. This meant that the Trans-Siberian Railway's transport capacity was not sufficient to support the combat needs of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in the Far East, but it became the lifeline for the Russian troops in the Far East.

Kuropatkin was already feeling overwhelmed. He realized that he could not abandon Fengtian, nor could he sit idly by and watch the Japanese army further encircle Fengtian. However, he could not abandon the Primorsky Krai. The Russian Far East Army had too many places to defend, but not enough troops. Even if more troops were transferred from Europe, he could not support the consumption of so many Russian troops' supplies.

However, for the 4th Division led by Tamura, the battle became increasingly comfortable. If Hassan's Russian troops could still put up a fight against the Japanese, from Hassan onwards, the Russian troops' low combat effectiveness and poor organization made Tamura feel as if he were fighting against the Qing army.

On October 1st, a regiment he led launched an attack on the defenders of Shuangchengzi. Although the defending Russian army numbered a regiment, they were quickly routed in the attack. When Tamura entered Shuangchengzi, Kuropatkin's reply to the defenders had just arrived. After reading the telegram, Tamura quickly sent a reply to Kuropatkin: "Our army has taken over Shuangchengzi. Your Excellency need not worry about the security of this place any longer."

When Tamura telegraphed his report to the Imperial General Headquarters, he said, "The Russian troops along the way are almost entirely composed of young men, mostly reservists aged 30 to 40. They are not familiar with the weapons they have, are very resentful of being drafted, and believe that this war has nothing to do with them. They are very worried about the livelihood of their families..."

The Russian military's regional mobilization system has prevented the full utilization of Russia's abundant human resources. While active-duty soldiers in other regions of Europe are idle in peacetime, middle-aged men who have been retired for a long time are forced to abandon their farm work and go to the front lines in Siberia, the region most in need of labor.

This made the Russian soldiers feel that it was unfair and filled them with resentment towards St. Petersburg. In the war, they only thought about saving their own lives. If we could treat the Russians well, the Russian army would not be difficult to defeat…”

Chapter 406 The East Asian Situation Away from Japan's Plans

The loss of Shuangchengzi caused Kuropatkin to lose his composure, making him waver in his plan to counterattack Jinzhou. He worried that the Japanese army would directly capture Harbin next, completely cutting off the logistical supply of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in southern Manchuria. Even if he recaptured the Jinzhou Isthmus, it would only lead the Russian army in southern Manchuria into an even bigger trap.

Kuropatkin's behavior echoed the advice his superior, General Skobelev, had given him years earlier: "May you never become the commander of a campaign. You are an excellent staff officer, but not suited to command an army, because you lack the conviction to turn plans into reality."

Kuropatkin's counter-offensive in Jinzhou proved his former superior right. The Russian forces, originally intending to retake the Jinzhou isthmus, were instead engaged in large-scale reconnaissance missions against the Japanese due to the loss of Shuangchengzi. From October 1st to October 5th, Russian and Japanese forces fought repeatedly for five days at Pulandian, but ultimately had to abandon the battle due to continuous Japanese reinforcements and a lack of Russian support.

Although the Battle of Pulandian was not as large-scale as the Battle of Yalu River, it was far more intense. This was not a case of Russian troops fighting Japanese troops on fixed positions, which allowed the Japanese to gain a deeper understanding of the differences in combat capabilities between the two armies. The Imperial General Headquarters believed that the Russian army was not as formidable as pre-war estimates, but certainly not as weak as Chief of Staff Tamura had claimed, indicating that the Russian army was an army with uneven combat capabilities.

The outcome of the Battle of Pulandian boosted the General Staff's confidence in Japan's eventual victory, but also surprised them with the rapid consumption of ammunition. In five days of fighting, the Japanese army used over 2 million rounds of ammunition and nearly 30,000 artillery shells—equivalent to one-tenth of the ammunition consumption of the entire Sino-Japanese War. The Battle of Pulandian, however, was only a small-scale engagement and did not play a decisive role in the overall war effort.

The Imperial General Headquarters had no choice but to summon Takahashi Korekiyo, the financial officer stationed in Britain, and request that he raise another 2 million yen in government bonds in London. This was the second round of war bonds issued by Japan in London. After the outbreak of war, Takahashi went to the United States to raise funds, but because the United States was in the midst of reconstruction after the San Francisco earthquake, Takahashi immediately went to London instead. Within a month and a half, he raised 1 million yen, but half of the bonds were underwritten by American bankers.

Takahashi was also surprised by the speed at which Japan was spending money domestically. However, given Japan's advantage in the war against Russia, he believed that raising another 2 million yen in government bonds wouldn't be a problem, so he resumed fundraising efforts. But Takahashi also reported back to Japan that he had received some information in London: Britain was planning to compromise with the Chinese.

This was a genuine compromise, not a ploy, as the Secretary of State for India, John Morley, had already departed for India. As a key figure in the Liberal Party, John Morley wielded far more influence on Indian affairs than his predecessors, while the Viceroy of India's position steadily declined. Both the Earl of Minto's own standing in British politics and the incompetence displayed by the British Indian government over the past two years had given London a greater say in Indian affairs.

John Morley's visit to India was clearly not to inspect the country's governance, but rather to address its current troubles. Judging from Takahashi's observations in London, India's problems were already having a profound impact on the British Empire, an impact that went beyond mere damage to prestige and was beginning to affect all aspects of politics and the economy.

Perhaps initially the British were displeased with the Chinese invasion of India. In the eyes of British imperialists, although the war was initiated by the British Indian government, the Chinese invasion of India was an offense against the authority of the British Empire. Just as the British invasion of Afghanistan was met with a crushing defeat by the Afghans, a result that infuriated the British, and the victims' mentality of demanding retaliation against Afghanistan was consistent.

However, as the British Indian government suffered repeated defeats at the hands of the Chinese, and London Indian bonds continued to fall, the prices of some daily necessities began to rise, causing discontent among ordinary Britons. Especially after London redeployed troops from the mainland to India, calls for an end to the war with the Chinese surged, putting considerable pressure on the Liberal Party cabinet.

The Liberal Party cabinet came to power because it clashed with the Conservatives on two issues: support for Irish autonomy and opposition to the Boer War. The Conservatives lost public trust on both issues, forcing them to dissolve their cabinet and resign prematurely.