Master Yuan, start!

Lieutenant General Baranov grinned, looked at Ji Fengtai and said, "However, the strength of a country does not depend on these things.

How many thousand-year-old countries did the Mongols destroy?

At that time, they were just a tribe that had only been established for a few decades."

At this point, Baranov seemed to be in high spirits. He raised his head and said proudly:

"Both China and Russia were once enslaved by the Mongols.

But the path we took later was completely different.

Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great did not dwell on Russia's past, but actively embraced the future, making Russia stronger step by step and its territory spanning the Eurasian continent.

As for the Chinese, after expelling the Mongols, they established a central empire, but soon fell into a period of historical obsession and were eventually ruled by the Tatars for more than 200 years.

The Chinese are a nation that only knows how to create wealth, but not how to protect it.

"It's Lieutenant General Baranov. You are absolutely right."

Ji Fengtai listened beside him and nodded, his back never straightened, with a fawning look on his face.

He agreed with Baranov's point of view from the bottom of his heart, otherwise he would not have chosen to become a Russian citizen more than ten years ago.

In fact, at this time, Baranov and Ji Fengtai had not yet received the news that Vladivostok had been captured.

What they saw was the scene where the Qing army was vulnerable after the Russian troops from the Amur Military District moved south.

Although I heard that a coup had taken place in Beijing, the regent of the Qing Dynasty was abolished, and some kind of republic was established.

But in their view, there will be no substantial changes whether it is the Qing Dynasty or the Republic.

...

Just as the two men were standing at the bow of the ship and talking, the Russian troops patrolling the southern dock suddenly became agitated.

"what happened?"

Baranov quickly looked towards the southern sky and saw huge hot air balloons floating in the sky.

"Hot air balloon tactics? What do the Chinese want to do?"

Baranov recalled the classic European battles he had learned in military school.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French relied on hot air balloons to observe enemy movements, disrupt battlefields, and win many battles.

But it has been almost 100 years. Is the hot air balloon tactic still useful?

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, look!"

Just as Baranov was thinking, Ji Fengtai pointed at the note floating down from the hot air balloon and shouted.

"What is that?" Baranov was a little surprised and quickly ordered the guards, "Get off the boat quickly and bring one up!"

"Yes!" The guard hurried to the gangway.

"Also, tell the soldiers not to stand there and shoot at the hot air balloon!" Baranov shouted again.

"Yes!"

The guards brought the order to the soldiers.

However, the hot air balloon was obviously well-prepared, with its lowest altitude being above 300 meters, and was not afraid of these Russian rifles with a range of 2-300 meters.

Before the guards returned, the hot air balloon had already crossed the Songhua River and headed north, following the south wind.

Pieces of paper also fell onto the deck of the gunboat in the river.

"What's that, Ivanovitch?"

Baranov asked curiously after seeing Ji Fengtai pick up a piece of paper.

"This shouldn't be the case."

Ji Fengtai stood there in a daze, holding the note in his hand, unable to believe the message written in both Chinese and Russian.

"Tell me what it is, Ivanovich!"

Seeing that Ji Fengtai did not respond, Baranov immediately raised his tone.

Ji Fengtai finally came back to his senses. However, he changed his flattering attitude, straightened his back, and said in a low but neither humble nor arrogant tone:

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, Vladivostok has fallen."

"Lost?"

"No, it's impossible!"

Lieutenant General Baranov refused to believe the news.

In his opinion, the Chinese army had arrived for many days, but was hiding more than 100 miles south of the Songhua River and refused to move forward.

If they have such ability, why are they reluctant to attack?

Lies, they must be lies!

The Chinese always like to play these little tricks that are not presentable!

After some self-persuasion, Baranov strengthened his belief.

However, what he didn't know was that using the news of the capture of Vladivostok to win over the Russian army was only the incidental value of these notes.

These notes were actually meant for the people outside the Great Wall hiding in the mountains to read and to encourage them.

Its real purpose is to tell these people.

"The National Revolutionary Army, the Chinese army, is coming!"

Chapter 339 Military and Civilian Cooperation

"General Manager Song, General Manager Song!"

In the forest, a group of middle-aged men with weathered faces gathered in a circle. In the middle was a "bed" made of weeds and branches.

This group of people were surrounded by densely packed trees that were more than ten feet tall, clearly indicating they were located deep in the mountains.

These are a group of gold miners hiding in the wild mountains of Northeast China.

After the Russians attacked, they followed the instructions of the mine's general manager, picked up their manuscripts and shovels at night, and ran into the woods.

A few days ago, General Manager Song Xiaolian led people down the mountain to check the situation and see whether the Russians had withdrawn.

Unexpectedly, they were discovered by the Russians. While fleeing, the general manager was forced to fall off a low cliff and fell into a coma.

Fortunately, the companions did not give up. After finding the person under the cliff, they brought him back to his hiding place.

Song Xiaolian, one of the three great men of Jilin in the late Qing Dynasty, used poetry to record the customs and practices of Heilongjiang in the late Qing Dynasty. He also went deep into the Mongolian Plateau west of the Greater Khingan Range and wrote the Hulunbuir Border Affairs Investigation Report.

These records played a huge role in the Beiyang government's later management of the areas beyond the Great Wall and negotiations with Russia.

It can be said that he is a down-to-earth and practical official.

In this time and space, Song Xiaolian was first admitted to the Mineralogical School in Incheon, and was later sent to Liaoning to serve as assistant manager of the Benxi Coal Mine. During this period, he joined the Red Confucian Society.

After Yuan Shikai became the governor of the three northeastern provinces, he was sent by the organization to the Sino-Russian border to serve as the general manager of the Aihui Gold Mine in order to explore new sources of income.

The border area between China and Russia is rich in gold, most of which is located in the gold belt along the Heilongjiang River, including Mohe, Huma and Aihui.

In the 3th year of the Guangxu period, the Mohe Gold Mine Bureau alone could produce 1100 taels of gold annually, equivalent to kilograms.

Even though the mining technology was relatively backward at the end of the 19th century, if we also take into account the gold mines such as Huma, Aihui and Laozhashan opened by Yuan Shikai later.

In total, more than 2300 kilograms of gold can be produced each year.

Although this gold is only equivalent to 50 taels of silver per year, gold is still irreplaceable compared to silver.

...

Listening to Ba's anxious cries, Song Xiaolian tried hard to open his eyes, supported his head, and slowly sat up.

"Mr. Song, you're awake!" A miner with calloused hands saw Song Xiaolian wake up and hurriedly handed him a bowl of water.

"Thank...thank you so much!" Song Xiaolian felt his throat was dry and itchy.

"Gulp, gulp"

Under the gaze of the miners, he took the water and began to drink it in big gulps.

"Director Song, what exactly is happening down here?"

"Yeah, we've been hiding for several months. When can we get down the mountain?"

"Where's the imperial court? Why isn't it sending troops? Are they asking for peace again?"

This group of people had been cut off from communication for several months and were unaware that the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown. They still believed that the Manchus were in charge in Beijing.

"The imperial court can't send troops. The Russians were invited in by the Manchus themselves!"

Song Xiaolian pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and said in a low voice, "You may not know yet, but the imperial family member Yi D in the capital actually wants to use foreigners to eliminate Mr. Yuan.

The reward is the entire Heilongjiang Province!"

"what?"

"How could this happen?"

"What kind of crap is this imperial court? Damn it!"

When people heard the news, some were surprised, some were confused, and some even started cursing.

These miners were not well-educated and only knew how to work for money. After saving some money for a few years, they would return to their hometown in the interior of the country to build a mud house and get married.

However, even though they had no sense of nationalism, they still felt betrayed in their simple hearts at this moment.

"The imperial court is truly rotten to the core!" Someone angrily asked, "Where's Lord Yuan? Has Lord Yuan admitted this?"

"The capital has spoken, what can Lord Yuan do?" Someone said dejectedly, "Don't wait any longer. Get down the mountain and escape back to the interior."

"No!" Song Xiaolian clutched the note tightly and said in a high voice: "Master Yuan does not agree with this!"

"disagree?"

“Yes, I disagree!

Yuan Shikai resolutely refused to sell out the country and even led his troops into Beijing, driving the Manchus off the throne and establishing a new republic!

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard this shocking news.

"Ah? Master Yuan, is there a rebellion?"