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Irkutsk is the capital of the Russian Far Eastern Governorate and is currently the largest Russian city in the Far East. Irkutsk is located west of Lake Baikal, on the banks of the Angara River. The population of Irkutsk as a whole is more than 200,000, and the total population will double with the number of Russians living in the surrounding towns. It's just that after Tsar Nicholas I's order to prepare for war was issued, all the Russians around Irkutsk had taken refuge in Irkutsk. This led to an explosion in the population of the entire city.

The commander of the defense of Irkutsk was Major General Nevelskoy, who was also appointed commander of the 1st Army in the Russian Far East. In the battle of Zhangjiakou, he was lucky, and successfully escaped from the encirclement of the imperial cavalry and the Mongolian cavalry, and hid in the deep mountains and old forests. After evading the pursuit of the Imperial cavalry, Major General Nevelskoy crossed the Mongolian steppes with great difficulty and fled back to Irkutsk. Along the way, he was almost caught by the Mongols several times. Originally, there were hundreds of Cossack cavalry who escaped from the encirclement with him, but only a dozen of them returned to Irkutsk in the end.

The Governor of the Far East, Muravyov, had died in battle, and the generals under his command had also died on the battlefield, and now in the entire Far East, Major General Nevelskoy had become the highest-ranking man. In addition, he fought against the Chinese * army several times and knows the Chinese * army better, therefore. He deservedly became the commander of the defense of Irkutsk. However, this was for Major General Nevelskoy to hold Irkutsk before the arrival of the Russian expeditionary force. It is undoubtedly very difficult. Of the 100,000 men in his hands alone, only 50,000 were equipped with breech-loading rifles, and the other 50,000 were only equipped with breech-loading guns. How useful can such a unit be in the face of the elite Chinese* army?

"General, an urgent telegram from St. Petersburg!" A communications officer handed the telegram to Major General Nevelskoy.

After Major General Nevelskoy took the telegram and read it, his face suddenly became gloomy. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Duke Gorchakov, ordered him. In any case, it is necessary to hold Irkutsk before the arrival of the Russian expeditionary force. If he can hold on, then he will be promoted to lieutenant general. His future will be bright, and he will not be guilty of the mistakes he made in the previous war against the Chinese Empire. However, if it fails. Then he won't have to go back to Russia. Because even if it's going back. The estimates that awaited him were also the trial of the military tribunal and the gallows that had been erected high.

"Damn, there's no going back now. Someone, go and get General Boriv here, hurry. Major General Nevelskoy ordered. Borif was the commander of the 2nd Army in the Far East with the rank of brigadier general.

"Yes, General!" The guards answered and ran out as fast as they could. Everybody knows. Now the love affair of Major General Nevelskoy does not seem to be very good.

In less than ten minutes, Brigadier General Borif arrived at the office of Major General Nevelskoy.

"Your Excellency, General. What happened? Did those Chinese call? Brigadier General Borif asked as soon as he entered the door. The news that the Chinese cavalry was marching towards Irkutsk after the capture of Ulan-Ude had already made people panic.

"No, General Boriv. The Chinese are on their way to Irkutsk. They expect it to be another week or so before they arrive. However, we are running out of time. Major General Nevelskoy said with a stern face, and what was now in front of them was undoubtedly a great difficulty. Although Irkutsk has an army of 100,000 troops, these are only recruits with no military training. Although during this time, Major General Nevelskoy had tried his best to train these recruits, it was simply impossible to get them into the army in a short time. Now, all he could do was sharpen his gun.

Brigadier General Borev nodded, he also knew that the current situation was very unfavorable for them. The advance of the Chinese * army is too fast. In particular, after the Mongols fell to the Chinese Empire, they easily built up a powerful cavalry force, a cavalry force that was not inferior to the Russian Cossack cavalry. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to resist the attack of the Chinese* army.

"General Borif, St. Petersburg has issued an order that we must hold Irkutsk until the expeditionary force arrives, otherwise I will have no choice but to die. Still, I'm sure that even if I were to be sent to the gallows, you would have died before me. Major General Nevelskoy said. There was a strong sense of threat in his words, and he hoped that Brigadier General Borif would be able to join forces with him at such a critical moment. Otherwise, there is really no hope at all.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, I will completely obey your orders." Brigadier General Boriv hurriedly said. Major General Nevelskoy held a higher rank than him, and at the same time commanded the 1st Army in the Far East. Although both armies in Irkutsk were recruits, both rabble. But the 1st Army in the Far East was undoubtedly stronger than the 2nd Army in the Far East. After all, the 1st Army of the Far East was armed with advanced breech guns, as well as a small number of artillery pieces. These are the stocks of the former Far Eastern Governor's Palace. The 2nd Army of the Far East, on the other hand, was armed with breech guns and did not have any artillery. The comparison of strength is also clear at a glance.

"Well, General Borif, if you can think like that, it would be the best. I believe that although our enemy is strong, we will be able to successfully hold Irkutsk. As long as we can hold out until reinforcements arrive, our future will be bright! Major General Nevelskoy said. Beat a stick and give a sweet date, which can make Brigadier General Borif die.

"Yes, General!" Brigadier General Boriv nodded. However, in his opinion, these were simply Nevelskoy's words of consolation. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese* troops are approaching menacingly, and the Russian expeditionary force is still at least 2,000 kilometers away, and it may take two months or even longer to hold out until reinforcements arrive. And by this time, the Chinese * army must have captured Irkutsk long ago. Their corpses, I'm afraid, have already decomposed.

"General Borif, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force, and at the same time the new Governor-General of the Far East, Ivan. His Excellency Marshal Paskovich, the 10th and 12th Cossack Cavalry Corps have been sent to our aid. In half a month, they will arrive in Irkutsk. In other words, we only need to hold on for half a month. If we can get through it, we're done. Major General Nevelskoy continued.

"Half a month?" Brigadier General Boriv's eyes lit up, and this was good news. If you are lucky, with 100,000 recruits in Irkutsk, you may really be able to hold out for half a month. After all, what they are mainly facing now is also the cavalry of the Chinese, and the infantry of the Chinese is also thousands of miles away, and it will definitely not be able to reach Irkutsk within half a month.

"Your Excellency, what are we going to do? I'll listen to you! Brigadier General Boriv said immediately.

"Good! First of all, we need to prepare for the defense of the city. Barricades and other fortifications were to be built on the streets of the city, large and small, in preparation for enemy attacks. Also, I am ready to blow up the Irkutsk bridge. In this way, those Chinese will not be able to cross the Angara. This can buy us more time. Major General Nevelskoy said.

The Irkutsk Bridge is a bridge across the Angara River, the bridge is made of iron, almost three hundred meters long, and is an important passage connecting Irkutsk to the south of the Angara River. If the bridge is blown up, then the Chinese* army will have to take a detour if it wants to attack Irkutsk. It is now the end of April, and the Angara River has begun to thaw, and the Chinese* army will not be able to cross the river from the ice at all.

"Your Excellency, in this case, will St. Petersburg agree? The Irkutsk Bridge was built with great difficulty. Brigadier General Boriv said with some concern.

"We can't do that much now, our priority is to keep Irkutsk, and the rest is no longer on our radar." Major General Nevelskoy said. This was the only way he could think of, and only in this way could he hold Irkutsk before reinforcements arrived, and he would have a chance to live. Otherwise, he really didn't know how to use a rabble of 100,000 against 70,000 elite Chinese cavalry.

"Well, Your Excellency, I support your opinion!" Brigadier General Boriv said. He also knew that this was the last resort. If you want to live, you have to do this.

"Hmmm! Well, let's split up! Whether or not you can hold Irkutsk and complete the tasks assigned by St. Petersburg depends on these days. Major General Nevelskoy said.

The next day, Russian* troops stationed in Irkutsk blew up the Irkutsk bridge with explosives. After the bridge was blown up, the only way to get to the Guò Angara River was to take a detour downstream to Angarsk. It is more than 50 kilometers from Irkutsk, and it takes at least two or three days to make a detour of 100 kilometers back and forth.

Major General Nevelskoy did not dare to blow up the bridge in Angarsk as well, in that case, there would be no way to cross the river after the arrival of Russian reinforcements, so he had to leave a way back for his own people!

Taking advantage of these days, the Russian troops stationed in Irkutsk have entered a frenzied preparation for war in order to survive. (To be continued......)