“…… The blizzard finally subsided, and a deathly silence enveloped all around. It's all gone. Sadness, pain, sighs, whispers, hatred, indignation, everything disappeared with hundreds of thousands of souls. Thousands of corpses on Lake Baikal lay there like that until the lake thawed the following summer. It wasn't until the ice thawed that this terrible and horrific scene quietly disappeared from people's vision and sank deep to the bottom of the lake......"

After Marshall finished writing, he closed the thick notebook, and he got up and looked out the window, unable to calm down for a long time.

As a beautiful man who went on an expedition to Lake Baikal, the sights he saw and heard the stories there were unforgettable for his whole life.

At this time, Marshall did not know the real whereabouts of the gold that he thought had disappeared.

And the real situation of the "battle for gold" is different.

At the beginning of dawn, Zhong Liwei, who had not closed his eyes all night, stood on a position under a mountain pass, walking back and forth.

On the night before, there had been a heavy rainfall, and the cold wind of the Siberian plains was bitterly chilling. The mountain was high and the road was steep, and when the officers and men who were carrying out the task of "seizing gold" entered the ambush position in the dark, almost everyone fell into a fight, and many of them were as muddled as mud monkeys. Zhong Liwei heard that many people were complaining about the ghost weather in Russia, but he smiled rarely, and said to the ** beside him: "When the war starts, this steep mountain and slippery road will kill the Japanese."

Nestled on the top of a large mountain, this pass connects the mountain peaks to the south, and the terrain is dangerous, and it can be said that it is a secret mén household from Europe into the Siberian Plain and Northeast China. Here, Zhongli Wei found the remains of the ancient Siberian Khanate's city walls, and picked up a lot of ancient arrowheads and broken ancient weapons here.

Thinking that it was here that the Russian Cossacks invaded the Siberian Khanate, Zhong Liwei couldn't help but sigh.

On September 1o, 1581, the Cossack Yermak gang 84o, supported by the Russian Stroganov family, went out to attack the Siberian Khanate. Kuchum Khan of the Siberian Khanate issued a general mobilization order to the whole country. The troops coming from all over the place set up cards and defended them, and they were ready to fight. Although Kuchum Khan had the determination to resist and did his best to unite the forces of the entire khanate, he did not improve the military of the Siberian Khanate, not only was his weapons outdated, but also there was no standing army, and he was a temporary "militia group". Such an army is demoralized when it wins, and when it is defeated, it collapses. However, the Yermak bandits are almost all professional soldiers, and they ask for money and do not want their lives, and they can still persist in fighting in difficult situations. The comparison between the two is the gap between the modernized army and the medieval army, not only in terms of weapons, but also in terms of organization. With "guns and bows trembling", "Tatars were bleeding like rivers and corpses were strewn all over the field", under the almost frantic attack of the Cossacks, the barrier of northern China, the ancient Siberian Khanate, fell into the claws of Russia. China, on the other hand, lost the opportunity to control the Siberian Plain due to various historical reasons, and was repeatedly invaded by Russia in modern times, losing a large area of territory.

And now, history has finally given the Chinese an unprecedented opportunity.

On this day, a squadron of ** will fight a secret ambush against the army of another country as barbaric and powerful as Russia on the positions of the Siberians against the Russian Cossack bandits.

At this time, the squadron had three main divisions and a brigade of the American Volunteer Army (belonging to MacArthur's "Rainbow Division") already deployed on the surrounding line to fight with the Japanese army, so the rumbling guns and cannons resounded everywhere around the pass. It was under the cover of this atmosphere of battle that a squadron of ** unconsciously entered the position under the pass and set up an ambush circle on the hills on both sides of the road that the Japanese army had to pass. At this time, all the guns and vehicles were camouflaged, even the requisitioned mules and horses were also put on bridles, and tens of thousands of Chinese officers and soldiers lay motionless on their positions, their gray cloth uniforms completely integrated with the faces of rocks and plants.

The sky was brightening little by little, and Zhong Liwei looked at the watch on his wrist, and the hour hand on the watch had pointed to five o'clock in the morning. He raised his binoculars again, anxiously inspecting the narrow dirt road below the pass, which was gradually becoming more apparent, and the movement of the enemy in the castle in the distance. ,

The arrow is on the string, but it is not. Although the battle-hardened commanders of the Chinese army were silent on the surface, their hearts clearly felt an invisible squeeze of strong pressure.

Because they didn't know what their purpose was this time.

At this time, MacArthur, who was standing on the top of another mountain, was rapidly planning in his head, and constantly cheering himself up.

Because he didn't quite understand why he had secretly come here to fight a confused battle with an equally mysterious Japanese army.

In the face of the imminent Japanese army, the Chinese army did not have an absolute advantage in strength. According to the available information, this group of about 5,000 people in the 2nd Division of the Japanese Kwantung Army is mostly logistics baggage troops, while the Chinese Army is more than 8ooo members of the Jīng Rui Brigade of the "Rainbow Division", as well as more than 2ooo members of a special force and auxiliary force with the "Dragon" name.

According to MacArthur's deployment, the battle began, and the Chinese army would launch a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Japanese army with heavy firepower. First cut off the enemy's retreat, tie the pockets tightly, and then beat the enemy's formation, cut through the encirclement, and end the battle cleanly and neatly. By the time enemy reinforcements arrived (if the Japanese had any), the Chinese had already moved quickly.

Perhaps influenced by the traditional military science of the Chinese, MacArthur valued surprise victory the most. He believes that as long as we can accurately grasp the fighters, we can win more with less, more from the weak, and more from the small, not to mention that the arrogant Japanese have committed the great taboo of dispersing their forces and being alone, while the Chinese army has many advantages in terms of time, place, and people

For MacArthur, this was another rare opportunity to make a name for himself

Time passed minute by minute in a suffocating silence and waiting. When a round of the morning sun rose in the eastern sky, the scout ran back out of breath and reported: "The enemy has appeared"

The commander of the 11th Cavalry Wing of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army, Yanagawa Heisuke Daisa, slowly raised the binoculars. Yanagawa Heisuke is not tall, his muscles are very strong, his chin is bare, he has no beard, and his face always has an arrogant expression that is easily impulsive and aggressive, which is characteristic of the Japanese. The 2nd Division was also a "local division", which was established during the Russo-Japanese War, and its officers and men were recruited from Yanagawa Heisuke's hometown. At that time, most Japanese divisions were organized in different regions, such as the Fukuoka Division, the Kumamoto Division, the Kyushu Division, the Tokyo Division, and so on.

It was a morning in late September 1921, in the mountains on the border between China and Russia, and this menacing Japanese army was advancing quickly and unstoppably with their sun flags held high. At this time, in front of the Japanese army stood a tall mountain that stretched for hundreds of miles to obstruct the view, and the mountainous area here was rocky and woodless, so that you could see the intermittent ancient walls and fortresses undulating between the desolate mountains without a telescope.

According to the scout's report, the terrain ahead is a high slope on both sides, and the dirt road passes through the bottom of the ditch, and the terrain is very dangerous. At this time, if Yanagawa Heisuke had learned more about the military history of the Siberian region, he would have realized that his position was exactly the ancient battlefield where the people of the Siberian Khanate swore to defend their homeland and defend their country.

The cavalry wing commander lowered his binoculars with satisfaction, he did not make any other moves, and the ravine was only a lot of black stones and sparse bushes. As the mist was gradually lifting, a red sun was coming out of the sky, and the blue sky was shining, and a vulture was sticking to the sky motionless like a paper-cut, and he saw the shining bayonets of his squad of spearheads marching on the mountain road. “…… The terrain ahead is dangerous, do you want to suspend the advance, and ask for instructions to send planes to reconnoiter or send alert troops to the hills on both flanks? A staff officer suggested.

The commander of the cavalry coalition pondered for several minutes with blazing eyes.

Since the 2nd Division entered the Siberian battlefield, it has been used as a reserve division, and has not encountered major battles, and has previously received reconnaissance reports from aircraft: the main forces of the center are concentrated on the outer line for defense, and it is unlikely to encounter a large-scale attack here. It is also unlikely that the Russian army will appear here.

Yanagawa Heisuke was quite contemptuous of the Russians, and he believed that the Soviet Russian army, with its poor weapons, was not worthy of fighting the Japanese Imperial Army, but the squadron, which had become unprecedentedly powerful with the support of the United States, was a very dangerous enemy, so he kept asking his commanders to drive straight people and advance quickly, without the slightest hesitation. ,

"Our army must arrive and occupy the city of Kubhai before dark tonight, and the day after tomorrow the receiving troops will arrive." Yanagawa Heisuke categorically rejected the staff officer's suggestion, "...... Time was pressing, so he ordered his troops to pass through in battle formation quickly, and resolutely destroy them when they were blocked by the enemy. ”

On his orders, the convoy of baggage, escorted by the infantry brigade and the field artillery brigade, began to pass through the dirt road under the pass. As a precaution, the Japanese marching line was changed: the infantry entered the valley in battle formation, while the baggage convoys carrying gold were in the center, and the rearguard troops, headquarters, and field artillery brigades followed the march.

At about 5 a.m., the squad passed through the valley without encountering any resistance. At 5:20 p.m., the headquarters and the field artillery brigade also entered the road at the bottom of the ditch one after another. At this time, Yanagawa Heisuke rode on a tall horse, raised his binoculars again, and carefully observed the surrounding hills and suspicious places that might be ambushing the enemy for at least a quarter of an hour.

The commander of the "open road" brigade waved his hand and resolutely gave the order to advance. In fact, if the Japanese had been a little more cautious, they could have sent search spears from both flanks to avoid being ambushed, for any lone man and a lone venture would have violated the military taboo. The problem is that now he does not have much time to send out search troops.

For the gold loaded in the car, he has taken too many risks, and many successes have made him have a bit of luck, and this time it should be the same as usual, there will be no accidents.

No army that is lucky enough to leave it to chance can afford not to pay the price for this mentality.

At about 5:30 p.m., the Japanese baggage convoy entered the narrowest part of the road, because it had rained the night before, the road was muddy, and the roadbed collapsed in some steep places, and many soldiers gathered around the roadside to help push the cart. The trucks were loaded with heavy loads of ammunition and munitions (as well as gold), and their wheels occasionally slipped in mud puddles, making the convoy move as slow as a snail's crawl.

Yanagawa Heisuke looked up at the sky, the sun had risen red, and he felt that if he continued at this level, he would not be able to reach his destination before dark tonight. He seemed a little restless, and he didn't want to waste his precious time on the road, so he grunted and ordered the baggage convoy, the headquarters, and the field artillery brigade to keep up with the combat troops.

This order immediately created a new húnluàn.

At this time, the narrow part of the earthen road was crowded with people shouting and neighing, and the advancing and slippery teams crowded each other. An artillery truck unfortunately crushed the roadbed and overturned into a ditch, killing and wounding several people on the spot, so many brave Japanese officers and soldiers jumped into the ditch to rescue the artillery and comrades.

Yanagawa Heisuke, who was riding on the horse, was very annoyed when he saw this, and he glared at his subordinates and shouted, "All open the way...... The cars that stood in the way overturned into the ditch, and the gun wagons and baggage wagons passed at once, and they were not allowed to stop."

But before the order could be executed, a violent cannonball explosion suddenly sounded like thunder, and the echo in the valley was so great that even the well-trained Oriental war horse he stepped over was so startled that he almost threw Yanagawa Heisuke into the ditch.

The situation is very obvious, the Japanese army was ambushed.

At this time, on the hidden position on the hill on the south side, MacArthur, wearing a thick leather coat, was observing the battle situation. Thanks to his good visibility, he could clearly see even without a telescope that the winding road at the bottom of the valley was crowded with enemy cars that were slowly wriggling like lice. The big war was imminent, and people were nervously watching the movements of the commander of the "Rainbow Division".

"Sir, Colonel Lewis has sent for instructions, he has spared the enemy's infantry wing, and it is time to give the order to the commander, it is time to tie the mouth of the pocket." A staff officer reported.

MacArthur nodded, indicating that he already knew.

“…… Colonel Zhong Liwei reported that a small group of Japanese troops pursued the White Russian rout to the front of our army's ambush of the enemy position, please ask whether to block it? The chief of staff asked.

The reports followed, and the military intelligence was urgent, and MacArthur's slightly pale face became more and more lifeless. He mechanically chewed a piece of candy in his mouth, but his eyes were unblinking, staring at the unsuspecting Japanese convoy gathered in the valley below.

According to intelligence, this is a logistical baggage force of the enemy. The arrogant Japanese did not even send two wings of guard troops, so they swaggered into their pockets as if they were in a no-man's land, and MacArthur, who had a high regard for himself, was greatly annoyed by the arrogant attitude of the enemy. ,

MacArthur swallowed the candy in his mouth, beckoned to the chief of staff and deputy division commander, and gave the order to attack succinctly.

The 5o6th regiment, which was tasked with the task of "plucking the pocket", was the first to open fire.

The Chinese officers and soldiers who had been ambushed in the ravine all night had long been holding back their strength, and machine gun bullets and all kinds of light and heavy artillery shells condescended to the Japanese army. The first round of the artillery company accurately blew up the car at the rear of the Japanese army, and the truck that caught fire overturned on the road, blocking the retreat of the Japanese army, so that the Japanese baggage unit that had been driving straight into the army was completely pocketed.

A fierce battle was fought between the two sides in this narrow valley.

Despite the unfavorable terrain and heavy casualties, the Japanese quickly overcame their panic and organized resistance on the spot. Yanagawa Heisuke determined that the enemy's strength was about one regular division, and he frequently reported to the division commander for help, and on the other hand, he ordered the troops to be gathered and prepared to organize a breakthrough. After the battle began, these Japanese soldiers showed their good military qualities and individual combat ability after different training, and they all fell down in the vicinity, or used the rocks and cars on the road as barriers to calmly attack, or seized the nearby hills and favorable terrain, waiting for an opportunity to organize a counterattack.

MacArthur soon noticed that the Japanese soldiers seemed to be a little different from the Japanese officers and soldiers he had come into contact with before.

These Japanese were very cunning, and they did not shout "onboard" after being besieged, as he often saw in the past, shouting "onboard" and rushing forward desperately with bayonets in their hands, as he had often seen in the past. They hid behind cars or shelters and calmly attacked the Chinese army. The Japanese gunners also set up artillery in the valley and shelled the hill fiercely to counter the attack of the Chinese army.

At this time, MacArthur had to admit that the Japanese infantry did have a great advantage in the individual attack technique, and the bullets they fired seemed to have eyes, causing many undue casualties to some reckless American volunteer officers and men who were planning to settle the battle quickly. Although the commandos of Company E of the 5O6th Regiment shouted with submachine guns in an attempt to cut off the Japanese troops, many of them were shot before they could make contact with the enemy, and the company commander, Captain Scott, was killed on the spot, leaving the corpses of many American soldiers in Chinese uniforms on the hillside.

MacArthur witnessed this thrilling and magnificent scene through his binoculars, and he couldn't help but be secretly frightened, and he somewhat understood why this seemingly chaotic Japanese baggage force dared to be alone. So he ordered his troops to change their tactics, divide and surround the enemy, and concentrate their firepower to destroy them.