"Damn! Come, arrest all the family members of that traitor in Vladimir, I will hang them and let them know the fate of the traitor. The families of all the generals who surrendered could not be spared. Tsar Nicholas II said viciously, his face looked a little hideous because he was so angry.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Even though General Vladimir and others have failed His Majesty's expectations, they will not be able to bring disaster to their families! Please forgive those innocent people, Your Majesty. War Minister Sukhhomlinov hurriedly pleaded. His choice of Admiral Vladimir is understandable. After all, the 200,000 Russian troops surrounded under the city of Kulen were already certain to die, and even they regarded them as outcasts. At this time, Admiral Vladimir chose to surrender, undoubtedly to save the lives of most people as much as possible! Such a choice, of course, will cause a certain blow to the Russian Empire. But that's what ordinary soldiers want to see.

"Humph! No, they are traitors, betrayed the Russian Empire, and they must not be spared. Tsar Nicholas II yelled angrily. The Russian army was defeated by the Northern Army, and he has always held a fire in his heart. Now, Admiral Vladimir actually led his army to surrender to the Northern Army, didn't that just hit the muzzle of his gun?

Sukhhomlinov had no choice but to look at the other ministers for help. After the surrender, Admiral Vladimir sent him a telegram hoping that he would find a way to save the families of the surrendered generals and officers. Although they have now surrendered to the Northern Army, it is helpless. When they return to Russia in the future, these generals and officers will still be able to serve the Russian Empire.

The Tsar, in a fit of rage, may not have realized this. However, Sukhhomlinov served as Minister of War. But I had to think about it all thoroughly. Russia was very poor and backward, and ordinary soldiers were made up of serfs who could not read a single word. But the officers were born into aristocratic or wealthy families, which allowed the combat effectiveness of the Russian army to be guaranteed to a certain extent. The loss of these officers would be a heavy blow to the Russian Army. The loss of an ordinary army is a good supplement, and it can be recruited from the vast number of serfs. But. The replenishment of officers is not so easy. It takes years to train an officer.

"Your Majesty, General Vladimir and others have betrayed the empire and should indeed be severely punished. However, their families are innocent, please let their families go. Prime Minister Kokovetsev also stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger." Foreign Minister Izvorsky, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sergei. Witte, Minister of the Interior Vyacheslav. Previ. The head of the General Administration of Orthodox Affairs, Pobedonoszev, and others all stood up to intercede for the surrendered generals.

In such a situation, although Nicholas II was very angry, in the end he could only suppress the anger in his heart.

"Well, since you all intercede for those traitors, for God's sake, I will forgive them first. Wait until after the end of the war, though. I will not spare them. "Nicholas II found himself a step down.

The ministers nodded their heads in support. They knew that Nicholas II said this only to make his face look better. Really wait until after the war is over. Perhaps Nicholas II had forgotten about this.

The surrender of 200,000 Russian troops still had a lot of adverse effects on Russia. In order to destroy these Russian troops, the Northern Army gathered a large number of troops in Kulen. Now, these troops can be drawn up and used to launch an offensive against Russia. The Eastern Siberian Governorate, which was already empty. The situation will be even more dangerous. This also caused the Russian governor of Eastern Siberia, Anuchin, to send telegrams to St. Petersburg asking for more reinforcements to be sent to Eastern Siberia. Otherwise, the fall of Eastern Siberia is a foregone conclusion.

For this reason, Russia had to send reinforcements to Eastern Siberia as much as possible. Hopefully they can hold this place before they fight back. If the Viceroyalty of Eastern Siberia fell, this would have serious consequences for Russia's counterattack plans.

It's just that the Northern Army has long been prepared for this. When the Northern Army encircled and annihilated the Russian army, only eight cavalry brigades were used. The other four cavalry brigades had already marched towards Eastern Siberia. They marched long distances, crossed the Mongolian steppes, entered Russian territory, and then pounced on Irkutsk. Prepare to take Irkutsk while the Russian army is empty. At the same time, as much as possible, the railway west of Irkutsk was destroyed. In this case, the Russians would not be able to transport troops to Irkutsk by rail.

As the highest latitude railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway originally traveled through the mountains. Especially after entering the Governorate of Eastern Siberia, the mountainous terrain here necessitated the construction of many bridges for the railway. Therefore, as long as these railway bridges are blown up, the Russian army will not have a year or two, and it will not even think about rebuilding the railway. And the Northern Army can also use this time to digest these occupied territories.

Of course, Wu Haoxuan also knew that it was impossible to swallow the entire Far Eastern Governorate and the Eastern Siberian Governorate in one bite. Originally, during the mediation between Britain and France, he was willing for Yang Du to propose to return the lands east and south of Chita to China. In this way, it can be regarded as giving Lao Maozi face. But alas, Lao Maozi did not agree to such conditions at all. So, the war has to go on. If the Northern Army can blow up the Trans-Siberian Railway and capture Irkutsk and other places, it will be equivalent to occupying the Governorate of Eastern Siberia. Even if you bargain and make some concessions during negotiations in the future, you will be able to keep at least half of East Siberia. Wu Haoxuan's bottom line now has become to occupy both the south and east of Lake Baikal. In this way, the border between the two sides will be restored to the point before the signing of the Treaty of Nebuchu. As for the territories in the western region that were encroached upon by Lao Maozi, they could only come step by step.

Kulen, the surrender of 200,000 Russian troops, the battle here has come to an end. The Northern Army set up a huge prisoner of war camp outside the city, where all captured Russian troops were held. However, there was a separation between officers and generals and ordinary soldiers. Officers and generals can be treated well, but ordinary soldiers cannot. Soon, they'll be down to work.

"200,000 old Maozi, in addition to those officers and generals, there should still be 190,000 people. With the addition of this workforce, our railroad construction will be much faster. Perhaps, by next spring, the railway will be able to reach Cullen. After the railway is built to Kulun, it can be extended to the east and west. It extends to Manchuria in the east and to Kobdo in the west. By the way, to the north, you have to build all the way to the trading city. If possible, after Lao Maozi agreed to our conditions and returned to us the territories east and south of Lake Baikal, the railway will be built to Ulan-Ude. In this way, we will be able to strengthen our control over these areas. Wu Haoxuan had a smile on his face, he looked at the Russian soldiers in the prisoner of war camp outside the city, as if he was looking at slaves one by one.

The Russians were tall and strong, and these serfs were hard-working, so they were undoubtedly excellent coolies. With these more than 100,000 people joining, the infrastructure construction of the Northern Army will once again be raised to a higher level.

The biggest constraint for China to expand westward is transportation. As long as this problem is solved, the pressure on the troops' logistical supply support will be greatly reduced. In this way, the army can also expand westward with confidence.

"Well, these old hairmen are indeed a good labor force, I believe that Director Zhan will definitely be ecstatic." Lieutenant General Zhao Xifu also said.

Zhan Tianyou, director of the Department of Communications, has made great efforts to speed up the construction of transportation in the north. They want to build more railways and roads, but at the same time they need to consider whether they can afford it. Now, with so much free labor, the construction cost of railways and highways will definitely be able to drop significantly. This is very beneficial to the northern government to develop transportation.

"However, these old hairy men are prisoners of war after all. When the railroad was being built, it was necessary to send troops to guard it so as not to have accidents. If there is an accident, the army will immediately suppress it, and it doesn't matter how many people are killed. Wu Haoxuan advised.

"Yes, young marshal!" Lieutenant General Zhao Xifu nodded.

"How are we doing to the attacked troops? Has Irkutsk already been taken? Wu Haoxuan asked. The troops of the Northern Army attacking to the north currently have only four cavalry brigades. The rest of the infantry, having finished the Kulen operation, had been put into a state of rest. However, in order to ensure the capture of the entire Governorate of Eastern Siberia, it was necessary to send several infantry divisions to Irkutsk and other places.

"Young Marshal, the 5th Cavalry Brigade is not far from Irkutsk. The other three cavalry brigades, about the same, believe that they will soon be able to take Irkutsk. Lieutenant General Zhao Xifu said.

On August 22, 1908, four cavalry brigades of the Northern Army stormed Irkutsk. At this moment, there were only a few thousand hastily organized troops in Irkutsk, and they were not at all the target of the Northern Army. Just one day later, Irkutsk fell.

After the capture of Irkutsk, the Northern Army began to advance westward, destroying the Trans-Siberian Railway. This makes it delusional for the Russian army to want to send troops to Eastern Siberia. As a result, the war between Russia and the northern government entered a stalemate. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thank you for the reward from Liu Lijin, Dongshan Village, Ningxiang County! Thank you for the book friend Time and Space Proof, Kunhai, Sister, Earthly Wandering Heart, Da Qingshu, Ghost Dream, Taihu Lake Fishman, Take Off the Confusion, and Renqing Dorje 2 for the monthly pass!