The sun never sets

Guo Songling gave some of the caviar on the plate to Li Chengxi, who tasted it and frowned, "It's too salty, not tasty!"

The food in the army is often high in sugar, salt, and fat, but caviar is rarely as salty as this. Guo Songling looked at Li Chengxi frowning and couldn't help but smile, "I also thought it was too salty just now, and I thought I didn't know how to eat good food. If you also think it's not delicious, then it's really not delicious!"

"The Russians' food just doesn't taste good!"

Chapter 298: Xiafei Cheeks

"Look at how proud the Chinese are of themselves. They only defeated the Russians by luck because of hunger!"

Someone on the side said this. Joffre looked at the British who were obviously trying to stir up trouble, then looked at the Chinese generals who were drinking and talking loudly, and said calmly: "They won the war, that's enough."

The French have a complex feeling towards the British. Historically, Britain and France fought the "Hundred Years' War", and later the British organized several anti-French alliances to bring France down from its heyday. During the Franco-Prussian War, the British gave Prussia blood transfusions behind the scenes. These things make it difficult for the French to have a good impression of Britain.

Because of the rapid rise of Germany, France had no choice but to accept the olive branch from Britain and stand on the side of Britain. However, from a personal perspective, the hatred for the British still occupies the majority. Besides, Morrison is just a reporter, what does he know about war?

Joseph Joffre participated in the Franco-Prussian War, a war that turned France from the strongest army into a joke. Since then, Joffre, like other French people, has been full of hatred for Prussia and Prussia's transformation into Germany. He went to the Far East 20 years ago and participated in the invasion of Vietnam, fought against the Chinese, and organized French soldiers to dig trenches to stop the Vietnamese attack. During the Sino-French War, he also dug a long trench in Taiwan to fight against Liu Mingchuan's troops, which achieved very good results.

Since then, the trench-digging method has become popular in the French army. Digging trenches was not invented by Marshal Lin. Europeans had already learned this method in hundreds of years of war. However, the method of combining barbed wire, mines and heavy machine guns with trenches was first proposed by Lin Yongchang, as well as the concepts of "flank fire" and "cross attack".

The reason why Joseph Joffre was good at digging trenches was that he had been a professor of engineering at the Fontainebleau Military Academy. However, although he was good at digging trenches, he did not "invent" the defense theory like Lin Yongchang, but continued to insist on "offensive warfare". For the French, especially the French soldiers, defeating Germany and retaking Alsace was a difficult task.

Si and Lorraine are the eternal dream.

You can't defeat the Germans by relying on defense, you can only attack. Perhaps this is why Joseph Joffre still stubbornly insisted on "attacking" after seeing the tactical advantages brought by defense.

After the Franco-Prussian War, the French paid Germany 50 billion francs in war reparations. 50 billion, francs! In 1872. This amount of money was enough to fight ten Boer Wars. But the compensation was not the most infuriating reason for the French. France is now filled with a strong sense of "revenge", mainly because the Prussians humiliated France after the Franco-Prussian War.

William I was crowned as the German Emperor in the Palace of Versailles, and the humiliation of the French reached an unprecedented level. Well, it was unprecedented, because the mustache humiliated the French again. At this time, the French certainly did not know that their descendants would be even worse. The French were still immersed in the glory brought by Napoleon. After being humiliated by the Germans, the people, the military and the government were full of hatred for the Germans.

In addition, the French also hated Britain, which had supported Prussia in the past. It was only because of the current situation that they had to work with Britain. However, deep down, Joseph Joffre still hated the British. In order to defeat the Germans, he had to have a good relationship with the British, but it was impossible for him to have any good feelings towards the British.

Just a year ago he had supported the Boers in South Africa.

His main purpose of appearing in the Far East was not to observe the combat effectiveness of the Chinese People's Army, but to understand the combat effectiveness of the Russian Army. The left, center and right of France were all clamoring to declare war on Germany, and the military generals were also eager to prepare for war. For this reason, they came up with the "Miss 75" field artillery, which was far ahead of the German field artillery. But the Germans were not so easy to fight. The German Army is now recognized as the world's number one. In order to contain Germany and make more money, France tried its best to win over Russia and formed a pincer attack on Germany.

They thought they could win the war by attacking Germany from both sides, but the Russian army suffered a series of defeats in the Far East, which forced the French government and military to consider a question: Can the Russians be trusted? The huge Russian army was once the "European steamroller", a barbaric country that all Western European countries would feel a headache when they thought of it. In the Crimean War, the Russian army lost nearly 500,000 people, but it was still able to maintain its position as a great power. Its strength was unquestionable, but why was it beaten again and again by the Chinese in the Far East?

The French did not think that the Chinese were too strong. They had fought against the Chinese in Vietnam and admitted that the Chinese army was difficult to deal with, but not so strong that it was difficult to deal with. After Joseph Joffre came to the Far East, he joined the military observation group on the Russian side and saw how the Russian army was heading towards destruction step by step.

Now that Russia's allies were defeated by the Chinese supported by the British, the British came to stir up trouble for the Chinese again. This kind of trouble-making style could not help but disgust Joseph Joffre. But Morrison did not care about Joffre's indifference and continued to express his own opinion, "General, I think the Russian army was not defeated by the Chinese, but by the Japanese."

Joseph Joffre was about to leave the birdman, but he stopped and said, "Sir, have you ever seen how the Chinese fight?"

"Of course I have. When Marshal Waldersee died in 1900, I was by his side and witnessed the battle between the Chinese and the civilized world."

Alfred von Waldersee was the second marshal of the Eight-Nation Alliance. After being surrounded by Chinese troops in North China, he died of a sudden heart attack in the army. Originally, Lin Yongchang wanted to hang this guy, but he was already dead and couldn't be hanged again, so he had to let it go.

Joseph Joffre felt a little better after hearing Morrison talk about the death of Marshal Waldersee. It was always a pleasure to hear about the misfortune of the Germans. "That was four years ago. Did you see the Chinese army attacking Harbin a month ago?"

"That's not the case. But I think it's no different from four years ago."

Joseph Joffre said: "I don't know what the Chinese were like four years ago, and I have never seen them. Anyone who has seen the Chinese army attack Harbin thinks that their fighting ability is comparable to that of the Americans and Italians."

Chapter 299 Excuse

At this time, the Italians had not yet become a laughing stock among the great powers, and the Americans were not the royal teachers of later generations, but these two countries were old powers. Joseph Joffre believed that the Chinese army was comparable to the Italian army and the American army, which he considered a compliment.

The American army is very weak, with a small number of troops and poor equipment, but that is determined by the geographical environment of the United States. The United States does not need to maintain a large army to ensure its own security, and the United States' land force is not only the army. Each state has its own militia and a large number of armed civilians.

The United States' external forces are not as strong as the British, but they are definitely not a soft persimmon that can be easily manipulated. Their industrial strength ranks first in the world, and their steel production is almost equal to the sum of Britain and Germany. However, the United States' technology is still a bit backward, with large quantities but not refined, and more defense than offense. In addition, the psychological trauma caused by the British made Wang Shi

Always seem a little short of breath.

Similarly, many French people are quite disgusted with the word "English", but they will also feel short of breath when facing the British. On the contrary, the British naturally have a sense of superiority when facing other countries. Morrison is not a genuine citizen of the British Empire, but a person born in the colonies, but at least he is a member of the British Empire, the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets", so when facing Joseph Joffre, he has a psychological advantage.

"General, do you think that the Lin Yongchang government, which only has half of China, can be compared with the United States and Italy? If Marshal Lin unified the whole of China, wouldn't it be better than the United States and Italy? If that happens, I'm afraid they will want to re-enter Southeast Asia."

"I didn't say that," Joseph Joffre looked at Morrison and said, "Besides, you British people won't let that happen."

The second Germany that Prussia transformed into was Little Germany, not Big Germany. In addition to wanting to keep Hungary within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the most important factor was that the British could not tolerate such a situation. Therefore, after consultation, Prime Minister Bismarck and William I and others only established Little Germany instead of merging all German states into Germany.

Bismarck designed a fragile balance system to keep the balance of power on the European continent. According to his idea, Germany would not become Britain's next target, but his era was over after all. After greatly increasing its strength, Germany was no longer willing to be the British's younger brother forever. This was the choice of history and the voice of the "people". Although Bismarck was powerful, he could only be driven back to his hometown to spend his old age.

My lord, times have changed.

Morrison also felt that the times had changed, but it was not a change in Europe, but a change in Asia. Four years ago, the British were in a high position in China, with extraterritoriality. When they were unhappy, they would rush into the Chinese capital and burn, kill and loot. The British had already burned Beijing twice, and he thought he could see a third time. Who could have thought that the Chinese would move the capital to Taiyuan?

He raised his glass and said to Joseph Joffre: "Of course, the Empire will not allow such a situation to happen, but this place is too far away, on the edge of the civilized world... I think it is necessary to re-establish the principle of unity among the great powers."

The so-called "principle of consensus among the great powers" means that the great powers need to reach a consensus before changing the existing situation and pattern, so as to avoid fundamental conflicts of interest among the great powers and prevent internal strife among the great powers that would hurt both sides. Li Hongzhang and his people talked about "using barbarians to control barbarians", and the "principle of consensus among the great powers" was designed to counter "using barbarians to control barbarians".

In the past, the great powers were able to maintain unity in China. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces were defeated, the principle of unity was also defeated. It was not only because the people's government showed strong combat effectiveness, but more importantly, there were irreconcilable contradictions among the great powers. Russia, despite the opposition of Britain and the United States, forcibly occupied the entire Northeast. From that time on, it was destined that a new round of conflict would break out between Britain and Russia.

When the People's Government was fighting the Tsarist Russia, Britain provided a lot of support behind the scenes, including military weapons and diplomatic support. The greatest support was that when the Chinese were fighting the Russians, they did not stab the People's Government in the back. The British government is used to taking advantage of the situation. When the People's Government was fighting the Tsarist Russia in the Northeast, the British did not take the opportunity to add insult to injury, so they thought they were very noble.

Joseph Joffre had fought against the Chinese in Vietnam and Taiwan, and when he heard Morrison talk about "rebuilding the principle of unity of the great powers in China", he could not help but be moved. Of course, he hated the British, but he had to admit that Morrison's proposal was good for France. If the "principle of unity of the great powers" could be truly rebuilt, then France's interests in the Far East would be more secure.

In today's South China, the British have the greatest interests, followed by the French. The entire South has become the sphere of influence of Britain and France. Morrison's suggestion is to ensure that the interests of both countries are not harmed, but...

"Does Britain intend to give up its interests in northern China? The north is now all American goods."

Morrison smiled and said, "As long as we can maintain consistency, the United States will agree to open door policy. After all, it was the U.S. government that proposed open door policy and equal opportunity."

Joseph Joffre was very annoyed. What the British meant was that the existing situation in southern China, where they held the upper hand, should not be changed, but in northern China, where the Americans held the upper hand, there should be "open doors and equal opportunities." The Anglo-Saxons have always been so shameless.

He pointed with his chin at Zhang Zuolin, Wang Hu, Cao Kun and others who were laughing heartily, and said, "That also depends on whether they agree or not." The British diplomatic means are very powerful, but in the final analysis, the order of the world is still determined by force, and the important interests must be ultimately seized by the army.

Morrison looked at the generals of the People's Army and gently shook the glass in his hand. "The Chinese have good fighting power, but they also have to abide by the international order, don't they?"

They were talking about others and were the subject of others' talk. Cao Kun said to Wang Hu, "Those foreign devils seem to be talking about us."

Wang Hu laughed loudly, "It's not as if, they are talking about us. One is a French general, the other is a British journalist, and this is the Anglo-French coalition forces."

"Damn the British!"

Cao Kun put down his wine glass, rolled up his sleeves, and pretended to go forward and beat up the foreign devils. But the people around him did not stop him, but instead watched the excitement and thought the matter was not big enough. Cao Kun laughed and said, "Forget it, they are guests invited by the generalissimo, let them go this time!"

"Hahaha, you idiot Cao San, you are a coward, but you still make so many excuses for yourself!"

Cao Kun explained: "Excuse? What excuse? Isn't what I said the truth? Who of you dares to beat up those two foreign devils? We are not afraid of the foreign devils, but we can't cause trouble for the Marshal!"

Chapter 300: Choice

Cao Kun had a simple and honest face and liked to play dumb, but he was not really stupid. He would never beat up a British journalist or a French military attaché. No matter how others instigated him, he would not go. "If you want to go, go by yourselves. I won't fight at a cocktail party!" Cao Kun said righteously, "I know etiquette!"

"Hahaha!"

"Haha! Cao Laosan is like this every time. He brags loudly, but when it comes to the real thing, he doesn't dare to do it anymore!"

The battle between the People's Army and Tsarist Russia was not completely smooth sailing. There were many hard battles. At one point, many teams were beaten and lost their combat effectiveness and had to retreat to the rear for repairs. During the confrontation on the "Liaoyang Line", the fierce artillery bombardment and bayonet charge of the Russian army directly broke down Zhao Erhu's brigade. If it were not for the powerful artillery firepower of the People's Army, which blocked the subsequent deployment of Russian troops, more troops might have fallen into chaos.

But no matter how hard the People's Army fought, it won in the end. The Japanese army also fought hard for a month, but still failed to take Vladivostok. A year ago, when the Russian army in the Far East was in the most difficult time, Grand Duke Nicholas prepared for the People's Army to attack Vladivostok. He dug several long trenches outside the city and built many semi-permanent firepower points. Many of those trenches were later filled, but the firepower points were still preserved.

After Japan declared war on Russia, the firepower points were put back into use, causing great trouble to the attacking Japanese army. After the wars in North China and Liaodong, the Japanese army thought they had learned modern warfare, but they had not. Faced with the defensive positions composed of trenches, barbed wire and machine gun firepower points, the Japanese army had no good way except to fill them with human lives.

The Japanese lost thousands of men in their first large-scale offensive, with dozens or even hundreds of Japanese soldiers hanging on the broken wire mesh, and some wounded soldiers wailing in the gaps between positions, which greatly affected the morale of the Japanese army. Marshal Oyama Iwao could only send the vanguard to a remote area to prevent other troops from being affected.

Because of the heavy casualties, Kodama Gentaro once hoped to postpone the attack on the Russian army's solid defense line and wait until the heavy artillery from the country was transported, but his suggestion was rejected by Oyama Iwao. So the Japanese army launched wave after wave of attacks, relying on their flesh and blood to attack the Russian defense line. After more than a month of hard fighting and more than 10,000 casualties, they finally dismantled the defense outside Vladivostok. Next, it was the attack on Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is not a strong fortress like Lushun, but the city itself is a huge fortress. As long as the defenders have enough troops, morale and supplies, they can hold on for a long time. It just so happens that in Vladivostok, the Russian army has all these things. As the largest city in the Far East of the Russian Empire and the logistics supply center of the Russian army in Northeast China, Vladivostok has stockpiled a large amount of food and weapons and ammunition, including those 280mm mortars shipped from Europe.

The Japanese bought 18 guns of this caliber at first. The German Krupp Arms Company copied the 280mm howitzers bought by the Japanese army and made mortars of the same caliber, all of which were sold to the Russians. At first, only four guns were shipped to Vladivostok, and the remaining six guns were also shipped a few months later.

At that time, the Russian army was desperately transporting troops, food, and weapons and equipment to the Far East. Grand Duke Nicholas wanted a mortar that was light, easy to carry, and could be used in field battles, but St. Petersburg sent him a lot of big guns. Is the 280mm cannon good? Of course it is good, but it can't be used for a while in a war with the Chinese.

Because they were too heavy, Grand Duke Nicholas did not think of taking these 280mm mortars to the battlefield, and planned to use them as defensive firepower for the fortress. He originally wanted to transport them to Lushun and Liaoyang, but he didn't take care of them for a while, and the Japanese army had already attacked, so the 280mm shells fell on the Japanese.

The shell weighing more than 200 kilograms had a terrifying power. After it hit the ground and exploded, a huge crater was created. Almost no one within a hundred meters was left intact. After the shell exploded, many Japanese soldiers fell to the ground and never stood up again. They looked uninjured, but blood was flowing from their mouths and noses, and their internal organs had been shattered by the horrific bombardment.

The Japanese army organized several attacks, but as long as a few shells fell, morale would drop quickly. As long as one shell landed in the Japanese army's ranks, an entire squadron would lose its combat effectiveness. Before launching the general attack on Vladivostok, Major General Toyoshima Yozo once again rejected Kodama Gentaro's request to postpone the attack and wait for the 280mm howitzers from the country to be shipped, believing that relying on the heavy howitzers carried by the Japanese army was enough to capture Vladivostok.

崴。

As the commander of the siege artillery, Toyoshima Yozo couldn't have been unaware of the meaning of the 280mm heavy artillery, but he still rejected Kodama Gentaro's request. Perhaps it was not his own intention, but the intention of Oyama Iwao, Yamagata Aritomo and others. Toyoshima Yozo was only a major general, how could he decide to suspend the attack?

It was not until the first general attack on Vladivostok completely failed that the Japanese army made up their minds to transport the 280mm howitzers to participate in the siege. Vladivostok is not an isolated city. There are cities such as Shuangchengzi and the entire Primorsky Province behind it. If the Japanese army cannot capture this city in the first place, the subsequent battle will inevitably become a long-term one.

Because of the failure of the general offensive and the suspension of the offensive, some voices emerged among the Japanese troops under the city of Vladivostok.

"If only I had listened to Kodama earlier..."

"Kodama-kun is indeed the wisest general of the Empire of Japan!"

In the Japanese army, there are many people who are brave and good at fighting and do not take human life seriously, but few people have brains. Kodama Gentaro is the smartest among the Japanese generals with brains, but he would rather guess wrong than see the Japanese army suffer such heavy casualties.

"Kodama-kun, are you resentful of me for not following your advice?"

In the makeshift camp, Dashanyan sat on a chair and said, "I knew your suggestion was right, but I still rejected it."

Kodama Gentaro shook his head. "No, I am the operational staff officer, and it is my job to make suggestions. You are the marshal, and it is your responsibility to make choices based on the advice of the staff officers."

"But I made the wrong choice."

"Until the results come out, who knows which choice is the right one?" Kodama Gentaro coughed a few times. "Winter comes early in Vladivostok. If we can't capture the city in the shortest possible time, the war will drag on until winter. The tragedy at Hakkoda Mountain seems to have happened yesterday. It's really worrying!"

Chapter 301 The Best of Both Worlds

The Hakkoda Mountain Massacre, or the Hakkoda Snow March Disaster, refers to a mountain accident that occurred in Hakkoda Mountain, Aomori Prefecture, Japan in January 1902 (Meiji 35). The 1th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Division of the Japanese Army, in order to conduct military training in cold weather, set out from Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture to Tashiro Shinyu on Hakkoda Mountain, and died while marching in the snow. 5 of the 210 people who participated in the training died (199 of them died after being rescued), making it the accident with the most casualties in the history of winter military training in Japan, and also the world's largest mountain accident in recent decades.

Because of the low steel production, the Meiji government could not equip the army with a large number of heavy machine guns and cannons, and could only find ways to improve the "quality" of the soldiers. Whether in the Northeast or Vladivostok, the winter is very cold. If the Japanese army does not resolve the battle within three months, the war will drag on into the winter. In order to continue fighting in winter, the Japanese army found the coldest place in the country for special training.

The People's Army was fighting with the Tsarist Russia in Northeast China. During the coldest months of winter, they would stop fighting because there were too many casualties in winter and morale dropped very quickly. However, the Japanese army thought they were better than the Chinese and Russians, so they would send troops when it was most difficult. However, they did not think of strengthening material support, but of tempering their will and spirit, and wanted to use the so-called "samurai spirit" to overcome the cold environment.

The result was that 210 of the 199 people who participated in the training died. It is not possible without spirit, and it is not possible to emphasize the role of spirit blindly. We must be strong in both spirit and material, and we must grasp both with both hands. Only by holding to the middle and being impartial can we find the right way.

The Japanese military training created an unprecedented disaster, but objectively speaking, it still provided the Japanese army with some winter survival experience. In this sense, the Hakkoda Mountain training had a certain significance, but it is hard to say whether it was worth sacrificing so many people.

Kodama Gentaro talked about the casualties during the march in the snow on Mount Hakkoda. Oyama Iwao was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Kodama-kun is truly the wisest general in our army. Nothing can be hidden from you. Yes, what I was most worried about before was that the war would drag on until winter. As long as we can capture Vladivostok before winter comes, it is worth paying a few more casualties. But now it seems that we will inevitably have to fight the Russians in winter."

"Others only want to seize Vladivostok, the largest city in the Russian Far East, but I know that you, Mr. Kodama, understand my concerns."

A cold wind blew outside, making the flags and tents rustle. Oyama Iwao raised his voice a little, "For the next thing, I'll have to trouble Kodama-kun. Please make a new battle plan as soon as possible, and launch the attack as soon as the heavy artillery arrives!"

"I have looked at all the generals in the army, and only Kodama-kun can take on this important task!"

Oyama Iwao said in a deep voice: "We have no way out. Only by winning can the Great Japanese Empire prosper!"

"Ahem," Kodama Gentaro coughed a few times again, then said, "I'll come up with a siege plan before the heavy artillery arrives." He resisted the itch in his chest and asked, "Since the main force of the Russian army has been lost, it shouldn't be a problem for our army to take Vladivostok. Even if we fight in winter, we can win. But the Army Department still has a follow-up combat plan... Marshal, what do you think?"

Spent time in the military observation group

Although he was not able to watch the People's Army fight up close for a while, Kodama Gentaro also saw a lot of things and had a general understanding of the strength of the People's Army. It was a very remarkable thing that they could organize an army of hundreds of thousands and equip them with rifles and artillery, even if there were several types of rifles, and most of the artillery was simple and easy to carry mortars.

The Japanese army's equipment is not as good as that of the People's Army. In terms of numbers, they can be mobilized to a similar extent. However, considering China's huge size, if it comes to numbers, Japan probably has little hope.

Oyama closed his eyes and fell silent again. After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked up at the top of the tent. "The arrow is on the string and must be shot! Kodama, it is not us who chose the war, but the war that chose Japan!"

Kodama Gentaro hesitated for a moment, "Maybe..."

"No maybe!" Oyama Iwao said sternly, "Kodama-gun, you are very smart, but Japan and China are different! Don't be led astray by Lin Yongchang's fallacies!"

"Ahem... I'm not talking about the theory, but the idea proposed by the Chinese. The Chinese dominate the continent, and we Japanese seize the ocean... ahem... this way we can have the best of both worlds."

"No, there is no such thing as having the best of both worlds in this world. Victory or destruction, there is no other way for Japan."

This time it was Kodama Gentaro's turn to remain silent. The cold wind outside was still howling, the neighing of war horses could be heard from afar, and the wailing of wounded soldiers could be heard faintly. After a long time, Kodama Gentaro pulled himself together and expressed his concerns, "Please ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish formal diplomatic relations with the People's Government as soon as possible. It would be terrible if the Chinese released all the Russian prisoners of war."

"That won't happen. The negotiations between China and Russia will take at least several months. Even if the situation you described occurs, it will take a long time for the Russian army to regain its combat effectiveness. Before that, we have already taken Vladivostok!"

Kodama Gentaro had nothing to say, but he was still a little worried. Would things really go so smoothly? According to his past life experience, anything could go wrong. I hope so, he thought to himself: I hope I am overthinking this time.

In March, the Russian army in Northeast China launched a limited counterattack and opened up the connection between Qiqihar and Harbin. In April, the People's Army began to increase its troops in Northeast China and transported many artillery and shells. In May, the People's Army launched a counterattack and fought with the Russian army in the vast land of Northeast China, captured many villages and towns, and surrounded the Russian army in several large cities. It was not until July that a confrontation with the Russian army was formed on the Liaoyang defense line.

The two sides fought for more than a month around the Liaoyang defense line, mainly shelling each other, and it seemed that neither side could do anything to the other. The situation changed after the Japanese army joined the war. In other words, the Japanese army did not declare war on Russia until late August. They made good progress in the early stage, but later on, the fighting was not so smooth. It was October when the Japanese army's first general attack on Vladivostok ended.

At this time, it was snowing in Vladivostok, the ground was covered with frost, and the port was frozen. The Combined Fleet defeated the Russian Pacific Fleet in the naval battle, blocked the Russian ironclad ships in the port, and provided artillery support for the army. Now that the port was frozen, the Combined Fleet had to withdraw first, and the battle in Vladivostok could only rely on the efforts of the Japanese Army itself.

However, someone who attended a military academy in Japan once said that the worst part of Japan is the army...

Chapter 302: Supernatural Powers and Chaos

The "Xiaguang" was on its way back to the military port, and not far away was another warship of the People's Army, the "Dawn". These two ironclad ships were captured Russian ironclad ships. After certain modifications, including replacing new steam turbines, removing the second-level main guns, and installing new aiming equipment, their combat effectiveness was greatly improved and their speed was also faster. They reaped great rewards when hunting Russian merchant ships at sea.

However, the Russian army in Northeast China had already admitted defeat and surrendered. The signalmen on the battleship received the latest orders and battle situation reports. After repeated confirmation, they embarked on the journey home together. Although the war was over, the comrades in the navy did not relax their vigilance. At sea, their enemies included not only the Russians, but also the unpredictable sea and the Japanese.