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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 451: Control of Lake Baikal

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    A large number of troops and strategic materials were transported from the European region of Russia to Irkutsk via the Trans-Siberian Railway, constantly strengthening Irkutsk's military strength.  During this period, the Chinese Army only had the Fourth Army, attacking from Baikalsk to Irkutsk, and the intensity of the attack was not large.  The other two group armies and the cavalry corps are all resting and reorganizing.  Of course, these troops also began to gather in the direction of Irkutsk.  Perhaps, this is the tranquility before the war!

    Grand Duke Nicholas, who is in charge of the Russian army in Eastern Siberia, has become aware of China's intentions.  China wants to have a decisive battle with the Russian army in Irkutsk to determine the outcome of the war between China and Russia.  In this regard, Grand Duke Nicholas was also inclined to do the same.  Although, if given the choice, he would prefer to retreat to the west to shorten the supply line.  But Tsar Nicholas II was obviously unwilling to do this.  This left Grand Duke Nicholas to have a decisive battle with the Chinese Army in Irkutsk.  At the same time, he also knew the importance of this battle to Russia.  Once defeated, Russia would never have any chance again.  In Ulan-Ude, Grand Duke Nicholas had fully appreciated the power of the Chinese Army.  In order to win, he could only desperately strengthen Irkutsk's military strength.

    The Trans-Siberian Railway is very busy, with trains transporting a large number of Russian soldiers and supplies here.  Even, in order to speed up, many soldiers gathered towards Irkutsk on foot.  In this regard, China has adopted a tacit attitude.  Otherwise, the Chinese troops near Lake Balkhash could easily cut off the Trans-Siberian Railway by heading north.  Grand Duke Nicholas was also aware of this danger. Therefore, while strengthening the military strength in Irkutsk, he did not forget to strengthen the Russian military strength in Central Asia.  It is hoped that the 5th Army and the 1st Cavalry Army of the Chinese Army can be defeated or held back to protect the rear of Irkutsk.

    China is also trying its best to transport supplies to the front line. Carloads of weapons and ammunition are transported to the trading city by train.  Then it is transported to the coast of Lake Baikal by cars, horse-drawn carriages and cargo ships.  In particular, hundreds of small cargo ships have played a very important role.  These cargo ships departed from the city of Merchants, entered Lake Baikal via the Selenga River, and were transported to Baikalsk and other places.  Although the voyage is thousands of kilometers, it can basically complete a round trip in four days, and can transport more than 3,000 tons of various combat materials to the front line.  Effectively ensured frontline supply.

    By the end of May, the Russian army had assembled 500,000 troops in Irkutsk, and the material preparations for the Chinese Army were almost completed.  The war in Irkutsk is about to break out.

    At the same time, the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia had left the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Arabian Sea.  According to the plan, by the end of June, after the combined fleet has completed its rest and replenishment in India, it will enter the Strait of Malacca, arrive in the South China Sea, and engage in a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy.  The end of this war will officially come.  Among them, the decisive battle between China and Russia on the land battlefield in Irkutsk will take place first.  A cloud of war hangs over the entire eastern Siberia.

    And before the decisive battle began, a little episode broke out.  The Russian army discovered that the Chinese army was transporting supplies to Baikalsk via cargo ship.  Grand Duke Nicholas immediately discovered the Russian ships and launched an attack on the Chinese cargo ships, hoping to cut off the Chinese Army's logistics supply line, weaken the Chinese Army's combat effectiveness, and increase the Russian army's chances of winning.  However, in Lake Baikal, the Russian army does not have a regular navy.  They just modified these cargo ships and installed heavy machine guns and some small-caliber artillery.

    At the beginning, China was unprepared and lost several cargo ships.  But then, China adopted a confrontational strategy, deploying many heavy machine guns and mortars on cargo ships, and started a water battle with the Russian army on Lake Baikal.  However, this would affect the transportation of materials to the front line.  This forced the battle against Irkutsk to be postponed.  Finally, Wang Yuze also found out about it.

    "Your Majesty, the Russians are too cunning. Although they don't have many armed cargo ships, they don't have to transport supplies. Often dozens of armed cargo ships gather to besiege our cargo ships. In this case, on the one hand, we suffer a lot of losses, and on the other hand, we lose a lot of money.  It has also had a great impact on the supply of materials on the front line. Now it seems that before the battle of Irkutsk begins, we must first control Lake Baikal!" said Xiong Wu, Chief of General Staff.

    Lake Baikal is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, Russia. It is long and narrow, like a crescent moon embedded in the southern edge of Eastern Siberia. It is the deepest freshwater lake with the largest water storage in the world.  The lake shape is long, narrow and curved, like a crescent moon, so it is also known as the "Moon Lake".  It is 636 kilometers long, with an average width of 48 kilometers and a maximum width of 79.4 kilometers. It covers an area of ??31,500 square kilometers, has an average depth of 744 meters, the deepest point is 1,680 meters, and the lake elevation is 456 meters.  The water of Lake Baikal is crystal clear, stable and transparent (transparency.?40.8 meters), ranking second in the world.  Its total water storage capacity is 23.6 trillion cubic meters, and it is surrounded by cliffs of 1,000 to 2,000 meters on both sides.  Around Lake Baikal, there are a total of 336 rivers of different sizes flowing into the lake, the largest being the Selenga River, while the only one flowing out of the lake is the Angara River, with an average annual flow of only 1,870 cubic meters/second.  Where the lake flows into the Angara River, it is more than 1,000 meters wide, with white waves billowing into the sky.  The Baikal tectonic crevice is surrounded by mountains that reach a height of more than 2,500 meters.  The lake's bottom sediments are more than 8 kilometers thick.  This is why the actual depth of the Baikal crevice is 10-11 kilometers.  This depth is comparable to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world's oceans.

    The earliest residents living by the lake were the ancestors of the Sushen tribe 7,000 years ago. Later generations learned about their lifestyle from the murals and other objects they left behind.  Carved on the cliffs of Saganzhaba on the lakeshore are pictures of sea turtles, swans, deer, hunting platforms, dancing shamans, etc. These pictures were discovered in 1881.  In addition, there are many stone altars built along the roadside on the shore of the lake.  These pictures and altars may be testimony to the lives of early inhabitants.

    From the 6th to the 5th century BC, the Turkic Kurekan people migrated from the east to Lake Baikal, where they met the indigenous Evenki people (called Ewenki in China).  The Evenki people make a living by fishing, gathering wild fruits and raising deer.

    During the Western Han Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was within the control of the Xiongnu and was called "Beihai". Su Wu was exiled to "Beihai" by the Xiongnu king Chanyu to herd sheep.  Su Wu struggled for 19 years on the coast of Beihai and finally returned to Chang'an, the capital of Han Dynasty.

    During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms and the Western Jin Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was within the control of Xianbei and was also called "Beihai"; during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was renamed "Yusini Dashui"; in the Southern and Northern Dynasties  During the Sui Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was first controlled by Rouran and then by the Turks, and its name was still called "Yusini Dashui"; during the Sui Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was controlled by the Eastern Turks and was renamed "Beihai";  In the early Tang Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" became part of the territory of the Tang Dynasty and fell under the control of Guannai Dao Guligan. "Lake Baikal" was also renamed "Xiaohai"; after the East Turks (historically known as the Later Turks) recovered, "Lake Baikal"  "Returned to the Turks, and later returned to the jurisdiction of the Uighurs, still called "Little Sea"; in the Song Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was controlled by the Mongolian Bala (sound l¨¤) tribe; in the 13th century, the Buryat people of Mongolian descent also came to Lake Baikal  area.  Neither the Turks nor the Buryats were able to change the Evenki way of life.  During the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was included in the territory of the Mongolian Empire and belonged to the "Lingbei Province"; during the Ming Dynasty, "Lake Baikal" was controlled by the Olabligati tribe.

    In the thirty-sixth year of Kangxi¡¯s reign (1697) and in 1757, the twenty-second year of Emperor Qianlong¡¯s reign, Khalkha Mongolia and Junggar Mongolia were successively controlled or conquered by the Qing army.  However, in the Treaty of Nerchinsk between the Qing Dynasty and Russia, the area east of Lake Baikal belonging to Buryat Mongolia was assigned to the Russian Empire by Emperor Kangxi.  After the signing of the "Treaty of Qi" and "Treaty of Kyaktu", it marked the final complete isolation of the Central Plains Dynasty from Lake Baikal.

    Since ancient times, Lake Baikal has been China¡¯s territory, but it was only occupied by the Russians during the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Now, if the empire wants to restore its former glory, it must regain these lost territories.  Russia, which has occupied the most territory in China, will naturally bear the brunt.

    "So, does the General Staff have any countermeasures? Controlling Lake Baikal is very important to ensure the battle on the front line." Wang Yuze asked.

    "We plan to deploy some small patrol boats in Lake Baikal. The displacement of these patrol boats is about thirty tons. The speed can reach up to 25 knots. With rapid-fire guns and heavy machine guns, as long as twenty boats are enough to control the waters of Lake Baikal.  Got it!" Xiong Wu said.  Although there are many Russian armed cargo ships, they are at least cargo ships after all.  Once you encounter a professional patrol boat, you will not be an opponent at all.

    "Well! This method works! Control Lake Baikal as soon as possible to ensure the smooth progress of the Irkutsk war!" Wang Yuze said.

    "These patrol boats have been shipped from Tianjin this afternoon and will arrive at the Buying and Selling City tomorrow. Then they will pass through the Selenga River and enter Lake Baikal. In a week at most, we will be able to control Lake Baikal and will not do any damage to the lake.  This time the Irkutsk battle has had too great an impact!" said Xiong Wu, Chief of General Staff.  In one week, the Russian army can transport at most 50,000 more troops to Irkutsk.  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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