Black Flag Army

On the morning of December 1, 1914, in Okha, a small town in the north of Sakhalin Island, the temperature was more than 30 degrees below zero. Liu Zhendong and Leng Hanbing, disguised as Mongolian merchants, led a caravan into the streets of the town. They were greeted by the intelligence team leader Tang Zhan and deputy team leader Yin Quan who had arrived earlier.

Because the weather was very cold, everyone wore thick sheepskin coats and thick cotton hats.

In the shabby hotel room, Tang Zhan said to Liu Zhendong and Leng Hanbing while warming himself by the stove, "We have already found out. Gebriski is the commander of the garrison in Okha Town. The last time he led his troops to counterattack the southern part of Sakhalin Island, they were defeated by the Japanese army and almost all of their troops were wiped out. He has been demoted from brigade commander to regiment commander. He recruited three battalions of troops again. After three months of training, when he was preparing to attack again, the European war broke out. Many Tsarist Russian troops in the east were withdrawn to the western battlefield. One battalion under Gebriski was also withdrawn, and now there are only two battalions left. The Japanese army has a brigade, and Japan and Russia have signed an armistice agreement. He is full of resentment, but he can do nothing about it."

Tang Zhan and Yin Quan led the intelligence team to Blagoveshchensk and Vladivostok, and finally found out that Gebriski was transferred to Sakhalin Island. They contacted Liu Zhendong and Leng Hanbing in time and told them this information.

Sakhalin Island is located near the mouth of the Heilongjiang River. It covers an area of ​​more than 76,000 square kilometers and was once the largest island in China. It is larger than two Taiwan Islands and is shaped like a fish. There are more than 6,000 rivers and about 1,000 lakes on the island. The freshwater resources are quite rich, and various fish products are very abundant. The word "Sakhalin" comes from the name given to the indigenous Feiyaka people on the island by the Heishui Mohe (the ancestors of the Manchus) in the Tang Dynasty of my country.

After the Opium War in 1840, Russia and Japan successively sent expeditions to Sakhalin Island, built barracks, developed fishing grounds, and set up shops. The Qing Dynasty had too few troops stationed there, only a few hundred people, and the officials were corrupt. After receiving bribes from Japan and Russia, they turned a blind eye to them and allowed them to continue to expand their territory and fight each other. Only the local indigenous Feiyaka people resisted with primitive weapons, but the broadswords and bows and arrows were no match for the muskets and artillery. The land was eroded piece by piece, and finally the Qing Dynasty officials were also driven out of Sakhalin Island. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, the Qing Dynasty signed the "Beijing Treaty" with Russia and officially gave up Sakhalin Island. Japan and Russia fought for more than 60 years on Sakhalin Island, basically occupying half of the north and south. In 1900, Russia once took over the entire territory of Sakhalin Island. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the Japanese took advantage of the victory to occupy most of the land on the island. The Russians only had a quarter of the northern region, but the Russians were not willing to fail and had been preparing for a counterattack. The armies of the two countries fought a battle almost every month. Although the two countries have signed armistice agreements many times, for a country that has no faith, this thing is just a piece of waste paper that can be torn up at any time.

Yin Quan pointed to a two-story gray restaurant across the street and said, "Gerbryski would go to this restaurant to drink almost every night. When he got drunk, he would curse the Tsarist Russian government. There were only two guards around him, but the Tsarist Russian military camp was only 500 meters away from here."

Tang Zhan said: "Speaking of which, the character of these Tsarist Russians is really bad. I investigated Chief Leng's enemy named Gebriski. This man not only likes to drink, but also has a very cruel personality. He often finds various excuses to withhold soldiers' wages and beats and scolds his subordinates at will. It is said that more than a dozen soldiers were put in solitary confinement by him last month alone, and five soldiers were executed."

Yin Quan laughed and said: "What's the point of this guy only being able to fight his own people? If he has the guts, go fight the Japanese."

Leng Hanbing said: "Now that Russia is involved in the world war, its main forces are basically in Europe, and there are not many troops left in Asia. Although Japan has also announced its participation in the war, its attitude is very negative. The so-called fighting is basically to seize the German colonies, and Japan has many troops in Northeast China and Korea. Once a large-scale war breaks out, Russia will not be able to bear it. In addition, although Japan and Russia have many contradictions, they are allies in this world war after all. They will not easily fight for the sake of face. The current small-scale fighting is already the limit of the Russian army."

Liu Zhendong said: "There is no need to talk too much about the world war. The problem now is how to get rid of that Russian officer. Yin Quan, Tang Zhan, how are your two investigations on the situation in his military camp going?"

Yin Quan said: "We have roughly calculated that the support speed of their military camp is average. If we can kill the officer without being discovered, we will have ten minutes to withdraw. The Russian patrol team that hears the gunshots will not exceed one platoon. However, the lookout tower of their military camp is a bit dangerous because the lookout is very high. According to our observation, the sentry of one of the lookouts can directly observe the tavern. Moreover, according to the laborers in the military camp we bribed, they have secret sentries hidden nearby, and their positions are often changed. If our actions are discovered by the lookout, both battalions in the military camp will be dispatched, and then I am afraid none of us can escape."

Tang Zhan went on to add: "We only have one chance for the assassination attempt. If we fail, even if we can escape the pursuit of the Russian soldiers, we may not be able to stay in this place. The Russian army will definitely launch a large-scale search and massacre. A similar situation occurred when the Mongols rioted here before."

Leng Hanbing picked up the telescope and looked outside carefully. After looking for a while, he said, "I see a small bridge near this tavern. It is the only way from the military camp to the tavern. There are many uneven houses. The street lights over there are also broken. The street surface is black. I think we can prepare a few baskets of black pocket mines in advance. After the gunfire, the minelayers will quickly throw the pocket mines on the road to slow down the enemy's attack speed."

Liu Zhendong thought for a while and said: "Your idea is good. To be absolutely sure, I will lead the team to assassinate the Russian officer, and you lead the rest to cover us."

Leng Hanbing immediately rejected it and said, "No, he is my enemy. I have been waiting for him for fourteen years. I must get rid of him myself, otherwise I will be sorry for my dead relatives. Captain Liu, you will be responsible for the cover."

Seeing that he was determined to take revenge on his own, Liu Zhendong said helplessly: "Forget it, just you do it. I will take care of the lookout tower with a sniper rifle. Let's talk about other aspects. What is the enemy's firepower configuration? I remember we have three light machine guns. They cannot misfire at that time. Antifreeze oil must be applied carefully."

Yin Quan picked up a notebook and continued, "The enemy's complete firepower configuration is not clear, but according to the normal configuration of the two battalions of the Tsarist Russian Army, there are at least a dozen light machine guns and two Maxim heavy machine guns. Fortunately, the heavy machine guns are relatively large, and their accuracy is not that high beyond a range of 500 meters, but there are at least five or six mortars, so we must be careful. In addition, the enemy is equipped with at least three snipers. The laborers have seen them shooting, so our actions are full of danger. After all, the Tsarist Russian Army is not the Beiyang Army, and their assembly speed is quite fast. As long as the gunshots are heard, they will definitely be alarmed."

Listening to Yin Quan's report, Liu Zhendong suddenly had an idea and asked, "Since firing a gun will definitely alert the Russian army, can we use cold weapons such as crossbows or daggers to eliminate the enemy without alerting the army?"

Yin Quan shook his head and said, "I don't think this can be done. First of all, Gebriski is a sturdy Russian officer who has received professional combat training. I estimate that only Captain Liu on our side can fight with him, and it is quite difficult to kill him with cold weapons. Secondly, this guy is a regular customer of the tavern. The waiters and the owner of the tavern are very familiar with him. There are other officers in the tavern, so it is difficult to approach and kill him quietly without alerting others. Also, his guards often come in with sniper rifles. If one of them fails, we will be the ones to be killed by the gun."

Leng Hanbing said, "That means we will inevitably engage in a firefight with the Russian army. We have about 20 people. Even if the Russian army gathers quickly, no more than two platoons can get here quickly. As long as we prepare for the retreat properly, we can escape from here."

Yin Quan said: "In order to retreat, I walked through the sewers here. I specifically asked the workers beforehand and they dug an exit passage near the tavern that leads directly to the dock. I think it should come in handy this time."

Liu Zhendong said: "Since Team Leader Yin has even prepared the retreat route, the last question is the time of action. When are we going to assassinate the Russian officer?"

Leng Hanbing said: "I have already thought about this. Around seven o'clock tomorrow night, Gebriski will come to the tavern to drink, and his troops have basically just finished their meals, which is a time when they are likely to relax. We will assassinate him at that time."

Just as Leng Hanbing and his men were discussing the assassination, there was also unrest in the nearby Russian military camp. Gebriski was also holding a meeting in the camp at this time. He received a report from his subordinates that five Russian soldiers had broken into the Japanese territory and clashed with the Japanese. Two people were killed and three were captured. The Japanese army sent people to question them. He had a big quarrel with the Japanese envoy and drove him out. However, Gebriski was not clear about the cause of the incident and had to hold a meeting to inquire.

A battalion commander named Alexander said: "Sir, the one who led the team to the Japanese territory was Platoon Leader Vasily. He saw a new brothel opened by the Japanese at the border yesterday. There were several pretty Japanese prostitutes. He seemed to have taken a fancy to one of them and has always wanted to get that woman. I warned him not to have any excessive thoughts about Japanese women, but judging from his behavior today, he must have taken people to a Japanese brothel."

Gebriski was very annoyed after hearing this. He threw several thick books on the table, then pointed at Alexander's nose and cursed: "You idiot, how do you usually discipline your subordinates? What period is it now? We just lost a big battle to the Japanese, and now there are still lustful men who are thinking about Japanese women. I don't know how such a pervert can get into my army. What I want are soldiers who can win battles, not fools who are greedy for beauty. This matter was caused by your subordinates. You should talk to the Japanese yourself. By the way, I will hold a military parade tomorrow. I want to see how many useless people are there in my army. Are you guys worthy of being the soldiers of His Majesty the Tsar?"

Back to more than two months ago, the assassination in Beitang City resulted in the sacrifice of Hu Canglang and Wang Dachun, serious injury to Xian Yuji, and the death of several innocent civilians. This was after receiving a timely report from the Tianjin Intelligence Station. Di Xiong was very angry and called the police chief Li Fei, the guard captain Wang Shitou, and the deputy chief of the supervision department Gu Xingzhi to his office for a lecture. Di Xiong believed that if the joint search team had caught the Japanese agents in the big search a few days ago, this would not have happened. Li Fei and others also felt very wronged. There were too many refugees entering Beitang City now, and they had too few people to check them all.

After Di Xiong invited his deputy Wu Zhong and Lan Jinping to consult, he announced that Li Fei would be demoted to deputy director of the police station, but would serve as acting director to see the results. Wang Shitou was removed from the post of captain of the guard battalion and transferred to the first brigade of the Justice Army as company commander. Zhang Zhongzhi, battalion commander of the Justice Army, was transferred to the captain of the guard battalion, and company commander Liu Bao served as deputy captain to assist Zhang Zhongzhi. Gu Xingzhi was removed from the post of deputy section chief and demoted to supervisory captain, and Su Jinxu was promoted to deputy section chief. Considering that what Li Fei said about the shortage of manpower was also true, Di Xiong agreed to expand the three departments. The patrol brigade under the police station was increased from one brigade to three brigades, with a total of more than 300 people. The guard brigade was expanded from five squadrons to ten squadrons, with 50 people in each squadron, with a total of more than 500 people. The Supervision Department also added two supervisory teams, but the Supervision Department is a special department, and it is difficult to train supervisors. First, the empty establishment of two teams will be increased. The specific approach will have to wait until Leng Hanbing returns.

At Beihai Hospital, the hospital director Yuan Suifeng personally performed surgery on Xian Yuji and removed three bullets from her body. When she walked out of the operating room after the surgery, she saw the corridor outside was full of Mongolians who had come to visit her, including Bagen, Subuda, Timur and other officers of the Royal Palace Security Corps.

When Di Xiong came to the hospital with flowers in his hands, he also saw this scene. He realized the importance of Xian Yuji to the Justice Party and regretted not arranging more people to protect Xian Yuji. He immediately asked Di Chun to give an order to the new guard captain Zhang Zhongzhi, asking Zhang Zhongzhi to select four guard experts to go to the hospital to protect Xian Yuji 24 hours a day.

Di Xiong went to the dean's office to ask Yuan Suifeng about Xian Yuji's condition. Yuan Suifeng said, "The operation was very successful. After the bullet was removed, as long as she rests and recuperates, her injuries will gradually improve. However, the damage she suffered this time was not only physical, but also mental. There is nothing I can do about it."

Di Xiong asked, "I don't understand, what does the dean mean?"

Yuan Suifeng said: "Hu Canglang's sacrifice was a huge blow to her. She had already given up on the world. Before the operation, the nurse discovered that she was secretly writing a suicide note."

After another search by the joint search team, Gu Xingzhi, who had been demoted to the captain of the inspection team, made up for his crime and made meritorious service. When searching a private house, he saw through Yamauchi Ryuichi and Miyano Yuka who were pretending to be a Mongolian couple. The two Japanese agents hurriedly drew their guns to resist. After a gun battle, Yamauchi Ryuichi was shot dead and Miyano Yuka was injured and arrested. In the interrogation room, Miyano Yuka gritted her teeth and resisted the flogging and branding, but when the cruel Gu Xingzhi wanted to stuff her head into a rat cage full of rats, she was scared out of her wits and honestly confessed the accommodation of other agents. The search team then captured six more agents. Xiang Yue's house saw that the situation was not good, so she fled from Beitang City with the remaining three agents and fled to Mulun City. The Justice Army Cavalry Regiment, which was ordered to pursue them, killed the three agents on the way. Only Xiang Yue's house escaped into Mulun City. Since Prince Mulun had been hostile to the old Prince Erdenet for a long time, in order to avoid conflict, the cavalry regiment had to give up the pursuit.