The weather in Mobei, even in the summer season, is surprisingly cold in the morning and evening. The soldiers of the Ming army who came from the south all wore sheepskin gowns under their tweed uniforms, so that they could resist the cold current in the north in the morning and evening.

The three divisions of the 1st Mounted Infantry Corps of the Steppe Corps commanded by Shi Dakai are now splitting into three routes and are tasked with searching the northern part of the Gobi Desert. This was not an easy task, Shi Dakai's department needed to control the front for three hundred miles, and he did not dare to break the army too much, lest it be broken by an unknown number of Russian Tatar coalition forces - although the report sent by the corps headquarters claimed that the number of this Russian Tatar mixed cavalry was about 5,000, and the combat effectiveness was not strong. However, Shi Dakai still acted with a careful calculation, marching in divisional columns, and then using a large number of reconnaissance cavalry to search for the gaps between the divisional columns. Although this worked hard for the reconnaissance cavalry, it ensured the safety of the main force. With the strength of one division, even if it encounters 10,000 Russian Tatar cavalry, there is no need to be afraid.

In addition to the 37,800 officers and soldiers of the 1st Mounted Infantry Corps, there were about 6,000 Mongolian horsemen accompanying the army. They were all equipped with weapons (mostly cold weapons), driving cattle and sheep, camels, horses and pack horse carts, following behind the marching team of the Ming army, and the cattle, sheep and horses they drove were the guarantee for the grassland army to implement "no logistics operations".

An army of more than 40,000 men marched in three directions and had been walking in the boundless steppe desert for seven or eight days. So it was very friendly. Shi Dakai ordered his army to camp or pass away from them. At the same time, the Mongol nobles who accompanied the army were sent to buy cattle, sheep and horses with silver dollars.

Whenever the night. It was Shi Dakai's most nervous and headache time, this grassland desert was too vast. Fortunately during the day, you can use cavalry reconnaissance to blockade, and if you can't do it, you can raise a hot air balloon to observe. But at night, he was really worried that the Russian Tatar cavalry would pass between the two divisional columns, which would be troublesome.

From a distance, he saw the top of a watchtower on the opposite slope, and Saigo Takayong, who was riding a horse beside Shi Dakai, pointed there with a smile and said, "Dare to be a brother, that is the camp of railway workers." The sun and moon are still there, and it seems to be safe and sound. ”

Saigo's current status is not low, he is the "Jindai" of Tokugawa Ieyuki, and he can theoretically command all the samurai mercenaries of the Prairie Legion. But this is just a theory, and his actual job now is to act as Shi Dakai's chief of staff. To tell the truth, his research on Western military science probably surpassed that of any Chinese general in the Ming army, and he has spent most of the past few years engaged in military teaching and research, and the knowledge he has mastered is sufficient to bear this responsibility.

As for the purpose of this Russian Tatar cavalry that infiltrated the Mongolian steppe, Saigo's judgment is also closest to the truth. He believed that the target of the Russian-Tatar coalition was the Mongolian railway, which was being built. Because this railway is the key to the Ming army's seizure of Eastern Siberia, if the Ming army builds the railway to Lake Baikal. The Russians did not have to fight in Eastern Siberia.

Shi Dakai looked at the banner on the tall tower in the distance and smiled: "Xixiang-kun, you can rest assured now...... Lao Maozi didn't attack this railway, it seems that their commander is not as powerful as you think. ”

Saigo Takanaga smiled: "It seems that I am overly worried, but the commander of the hairy bear is still good, if His Majesty the Emperor does not equip the grassland army in advance, it will be very troublesome now." ”

While the two were talking and laughing, they saw more than a dozen cavalry flying horses rushing over, and looking at the military uniforms on their bodies, they should be the Ming cavalry guarding the railway construction site.

The cavalrymen galloped in front of Shi Dakai, reined in their horses, and saluted on their horses. Shi Dakai also returned a military salute: "How is the situation?" Has the construction site ever been harassed by Russian Tatar cavalry? The first cavalryman was a major, and he said loudly: "The construction site is safe, but the construction progress is a little slow, and Supervisor Hu is very anxious, standing on the watchtower every day and looking around, now that you are here, he can rest assured." ”

"Is there any news of the Russian Tatar cavalry?" Saigo Takayong asked.

"There are reports from the walled cities to the west, and the Russian Tartar scout cavalry has been wandering around several walled cities, and their area of activity is constantly moving south."

Saigo and Shi Dakai looked at each other, and they both showed puzzled looks, what are the Russian Tatar cavalry doing? Do you want to attack a walled city? Those are simple versions of the fortresses, where are they so easy to occupy?

……

"Report to the sir, we have reconnoitred three Ming fortresses within a radius of 150 versts, and there is no sign of a railway construction nearby!"

At about the same time, Rosovsky was sitting on his horse depressed and listening to the commander of a Cossack company under his command report on the results of reconnaissance. Because he suspected that there was a problem with the vision of the Eight Banners, he simply sent the Cossacks and the Eight Banners to reconnoiter together in the past two days, but the result was no different - the legendary Mongolian railway was still nowhere to be found!

These days, this Russian Tatar cavalry searched and advanced south along the "fortress line" of the Ming army, while robbing the Mongol tribes encountered along the way to replenish supplies; While searching for the railway line, he was preparing to become a railway guerrilla. But the problem is that these railway guerrillas have been searching for more than half a month in the Mongolian steppe, but they have not found where the railway is.

"Fu, are you sure you saw the rails when you attacked that Guleyan?" Rosovsky looked at Fu Fang, who looked anxious beside him.

"This ...... I have seen some straight thick iron bars, each three zhang long, perhaps four zhang long, tied with hemp rope on top of a four-wheeled cart. There were also many wooden stakes, all of which were boxy and tired together, and were five or six feet long. ”

"That's right, rails and sleepers." Rosovsky muttered. There were already railways in Russia at this time, and Rosovsky had seen what rails and sleepers looked like. Since there are rails and sleepers, it must be laying the railway, but where is the railway?

"Did you catch your tongue?" Rosovsky then asked.

"I caught a Ming cavalryman and interrogated him, but the other party hadn't even heard of a railway."

Rosovsky shook his head and waved his hand to let the Cossack company commander go down and rest.

"Fu, it seems that we made a mistake, the Ming army's railway line was not built along the castle line." Rosovsky pressed his forehead and frowned deeply, "There is only one explanation, the Chinese railway does not pass through these castles, but their logistics are obviously transported along these castles...... How can the railway lines not be together? What the hell is going on? ”

Fu Fang also shook his head, of course he couldn't guess that the Ming army's castle line connected Suiyuan and Tengger City, and the railway line they were looking for was to connect Zhangjiakou and Tengger City. The two converge at the city of Darkhan to form a herringbone line. That's why they encountered a convoy transporting rails and sleepers near Darkhan City - in order to speed up the construction of the railway, Hu Linyi wanted to adopt the method of two-way simultaneous construction and open another construction site in Darkhan City.

However, Rosovsky and Fu Fang took it for granted that the railway line and the castle line must coincide, so they marched along the castle line all the way south. It wasn't until I almost passed through the entire Gobi Desert and was about to enter the Monan Grassland that I realized that something was not quite right.

"So what are we going to do? Your Excellency, do you want to search east for Minggouzi's railway? Fu Fang also frowned, he had been in the army for many years, and now he could smell danger with his nose. Along the way, they not only fought a battle with the Ming army near Flying Wolf Castle, but also robbed the Mongolian tribes, and the scouts they sent to Lu also competed with the Ming army's scouts more than once, not only caught the Ming cavalry, but also captured the Ming army, so their whereabouts have long been exposed. Now there must be a large number of Ming troops rushing from all directions.

Rossovsky shook his head: "You can't go east, you can only go west through the blockade of the Ming army's castle." ”

Fu Fang breathed a sigh of relief, but Rosovsky's next words made his heart that he had just put down rise to his throat again: "This time I will pass through the edge of the Ming army's castle during the day!" (To be continued......)