On August 13, the third year of Renhe, the First Division of the First Army led by Yue Zhongqi arrived in Xi'an, joined forces with the Seventh Army that had arrived earlier, and formed a westward march camp with the Sixth Army. Before that, Shaanxi Governor Li Shuangchun The mobilization of grain, fodder, and baggage has begun. Military depots from Xi'an to Yili are intensifying their construction. Grain, fodder and baggage transferred from various places are also being continuously transported to the front-line military depots. Everything seems to be in order, but as the saying goes, there are unforeseen circumstances. , while the Qing army was still actively preparing for war, the Turgai River defense line of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces suddenly collapsed - General Lev Torsky, the defeated general of the Qing army, led 30,000 Cossack cavalry from The upper reaches of the Turgai River surged thousands of miles, raided the flanks of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces, and attacked from two directions with the main force of Grand Duke Ivan Ivanzhovich Ivanov, defeating the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces in one fell swoop. In the face of resistance, Kazakh Khan Kepu and Turgut Khan Ayuqi led more than 30,000 remnants of their troops to flee towards Ili, throwing away their helmets and armor and being completely defeated! The failure of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces is not surprising in itself, and nothing else. Although both Turkey and Kazakhstan received a lot of help from the Qing Dynasty, not only arms - many of the weapons replaced by the Qing army were It was given to these two countries and even sent many tactical instructors to train the armies of the two countries. However, both countries are nomadic countries and their populations are limited. Except for a few very small regular armies, the rest are all It is a militia, and its combat effectiveness itself cannot be said to be very strong. Facing the superior strength of the Russian army, failure is bound to happen sooner or later. The Qing military has long agreed on this, but the coalition forces of the two countries were defeated. It was so tragic and so fast, but it was obviously unexpected. As a result, a grim reality was placed in front of the Qing military - how to deal with the pressure of the Russian army! On August 16, as soon as he received an urgent telegram from General Tashan of Yili, Hongqing's chariot went straight to the General Staff Headquarters and summoned the commanders of various military services and many generals in Beijing to discuss countermeasures. The previously drafted war plan against Russia was changed a lot. Early the next morning, the emperor issued an edict and announced to the world: The Russians are cruel and brazenly violated the power of our Qing Dynasty. Their crimes are unforgivable and should be severely punished. Special order The troops from the main camp in the north immediately attacked and broke through the Bratsk fortress line. ¦ç? Bratsk is located on the left bank of the upper reaches of the Angara River. It was founded in 1631 AD. In its early years, it was the bridgehead for the Russian Empire to invade the Qing Dynasty. The city was not originally large, just a small castle. , but since the Russian defeat of Ili in the second year of Chengde, the city has attracted the attention of the Russian Empire. After nearly ten years of construction, it has become the largest city in Eastern Siberia, with more than 40,000 troops stationed and dozens of fortresses built along the river. , together with the castle itself and the Angara River with many dangerous shoals and rapids, formed a strong fortress line with only one purpose, which was to stop the Qing army from looking at Eastern Siberia. "Report to the general, eight miles ahead is the Angara River. Our troops have reached the river and no enemy sentries have been found along the way. Commander Zhao (Zhao Shuo) has requested an order to launch a sudden attack. Please give the general a clear indication." It is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is the most suitable time of the year for marching. Although the main force of the Qing Dynasty's Third Army, which attacked from the Chita Camp, did not march particularly fast, it took less than ten days to reach Li'an. Near the Gala River, when the army was meandering forward, a horse riding a horse galloped towards the center of the army. However, when the knight on the horse quickly and neatly rolled his saddle and dismounted, he stood up straight and raised his hand towards Keluntai performed a standard military salute and hurriedly reported something. "Go back and tell you, Master Zhao, not to act rashly. Stand back three miles, be on guard all around, and wait for the arrival of the main force." It is a good thing for your subordinates to have the determination and courage to fight, but when the enemy's situation is unclear, blindly attacking blindly is absolutely unavoidable. This point, Keluntai knew it well and rejected the invitation of Zhao Shuo, the commander of the first division, with a wave of his hand. "Yes!" The military order was like a mountain. The communications officer who came to report the matter did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. He hurriedly agreed to the promise. After saluting, he got on his horse and galloped towards the front army. . "Order: All units should speed up the march and rush to the predetermined location. The camps must be set up before sunset!" Keluntai ignored the communications officer's departure and looked up at the sky. With a wave of his hand, he issued the general order. Immediately, the horns sounded, and the marching army immediately heard the order and rushed towards the Angara River "The Army Commander is here!" Night had just fallen, and the temporary war room was already filled with people. The seats were full of people, and officers from all brigades and above of the Third Army had arrived. They were chatting together in twos and threes. Suddenly, there was a loud shout, and Keluntai was surrounded by several accompanying officers. Striding into the big tent, when the generals saw this, they didn't dare to be careless, and they all stood up in unison. "Sit down." Keluntai strode to the big seat in the middle, looked around at everyone, pressed his hands, and gave a solemn order, and soon saw all the generals sitting down, with their bodies upright, their eyes He looked at Keluntai without squinting. "Chief of Staff Chen, introduce the enemy's situation." After all the generals were seated, Ke Luntai didn't say much nonsense. He raised his hand and gave the order in a low voice. "Yes!" Chen Taihe, a bannerman of the Han Army, was a graduate of the first batch of the Staff Section of the former Artillery Command College. During the Western Expedition to Junggar, he served as the commander of the first division and was later transferred to the General Staff Headquarters. Last year He was transferred to the Chief of Staff of the Third Group Army with the rank of lieutenant general. He was always capable. Hearing Keluntai's name be called, he didn't say much. He quickly stood up, agreed loudly, and then commanded. Several staff officers carried a large sand table to the center of the war room. "Please see, our army is located here. Three miles away to the west is the Angara River. This river originates from Lake Baiga and winds for thousands of miles. There are many mountains on both sides of the river. Only the area near Bratsk The terrain is relatively gentle, with the widest point of the water reaching more than 100 feet and the narrowest point of about 60 feet. The water flow is rapid, and the deepest point in the center of the river is about 80 feet, making it impossible to cross. On the left bank, with Bratsk as the center, the enemy There is a bunker every half a mile, forming a line of fortresses. If our army forces a large-scale crossing, it will be impossible to hide it from the enemy's detection. A strong attack will be disadvantageous. The only way to win is to be smart. " Chen Taihe cleared his throat briefly and gave instructions. Looking at the large sand table, he briefly explained the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and finally came up with a wise suggestion. "Well, let's talk about it. What suggestions does the General Staff Headquarters have on this?" Keluntai did not comment on Chen Taihe's statement, but followed up the question calmly. "The commander of the army knew clearly that his subordinates believed that they should use a frontal attack to attract the enemy's attention, and then sneak across the Angara River from the enemy's flank. From the terrain analysis, the area around the 343 Highlands is the most suitable place to sneak across, as the water here is relatively thick. Although the Russian army has a bunker on the high ground, due to the terrain, it is difficult for the left and right bunker groups to support this place in time. If our army can occupy this place, it will be able to hold on safely. Once the pontoon bridge is built, the enemy's geographical advantage will be lost. , It is impossible to stop the clearing out of our superior forces." Chen Taihe had repeatedly deduced the evolution of the battle situation before the meeting began, and he was confident. Now he was confident. "Do you have any opinions on this tactic? Let's talk about it." Kellen Taihe still did not comment on Chen Taihe's proposal. He just nodded indifferently and signaled Chen Taihe to retreat first, and then He looked around at the generals and asked calmly. "Reporting to the commander, I will lead my troops to seize the 343 high ground!" As soon as Ke Luntai finished speaking, Zhao Shuo, the burly commander of the first division, stood up proudly and asked for orders loudly. "Report to the commander, the general is also willing to lead his troops to seize high ground 343!" "Commander, this task will be left to the general. If we can't take the high ground 343, the general will come to see you!" "Commander, commander. , our troops request orders to attack, and ask for permission from the commander of the army! "" Since returning from the Western Expedition to Junggar, the generals of the Third Army have not fought again for several years, and they have already been working hard to make more achievements. This time they saw Zhao Shuo took the lead and jumped out, but they all couldn't bear it anymore and stood up one after another, noisily saying that they wanted to fight. "Zheng Zaishan!" Keluntai was obviously very satisfied with the courage of the generals to ask for battle, but he did not intend to let the generals argue endlessly at this moment, but when he saw him pressing his hand, he motioned for the generals to take their seats, and The person behind him looked solemn and named Zheng Zaishan, the commander of the military reconnaissance battalion. "The general is here!" The reconnaissance battalion was adapted from the earlier scout battalion. It concentrated almost all the elite officers and soldiers in the army and was exclusively used for special operations. All officers and soldiers were equipped with two levels higher. Although Zheng Zaishan's position was only a name Battalion commander, but his military rank is colonel, and he is also the only colonel qualified to participate in military meetings. When the generals are asking for battle, he is calm and calm. In his opinion, such a sneak attack The mission can only be completed by its reconnaissance battalion, and there is no need to come forward to fight for it. As expected, the first name Keluntai called was his Zheng Zaishan. When he heard this, Zheng Zaishan was secretly happy, but He didn't bring it to his face, so he just responded respectfully and settled the matter. "We will attack at night the day after tomorrow. The First Brigade of the First Division will cooperate with your troops and capture Highland 3, 4 and 3 for me. Is there any problem?" Keluntai glanced at Zheng Zaishan and asked sternly. "Promise to complete the task!" Zheng Zaishan was so confident that he agreed loudly without even bargaining. "Very good, order: All ministries will start logging tomorrow morning,"Early on the morning of the same day, the 2nd and 3rd brigades of the 1st Division launched a frontal feint attack between Highland 212 and Highland 104. The Second Division launched in front of Highland 178 and Highland 117, and the Army Artillery Division was responsible for cooperating. , the harder you hit, the better, no mistakes! " Keluntai didn't say any more. He suddenly stood up, looked around at the generals, and issued the battle order with great enthusiasm, his voice full of steaming murderous intent