Black Flag Army

Chapter 164 Lake Balkhash

Wu Chunlei, Liu Zhendong and other generals, surrounded by dozens of guards, walked into the magnificent palace of the Xila Kingdom. The hall had been cleaned. Wu Chunlei glanced at the high throne and sat down on an ordinary chair.

The old king, Bukhara, with white hair and wrinkles on his face, walked slowly into the hall, escorted by two tall and mighty soldiers in full armor. His steps seemed a little unsteady, as if he was carrying a heavy burden.

When someone told Bukhara Wu Chunlei's true identity, his face turned pale as paper, his eyes filled with fear and despair. Then, he knelt on his knees without hesitation and crawled to Wu Chunlei as fast as he could.

Bukhara faced Wu Chunlei, lowered his head, and said in Russian with a trembling voice: "Commander-in-Chief, I... I didn't know you were coming. Please forgive my previous rudeness!" His body was trembling slightly, and it was obvious that he was very scared.

Wu Chunlei smiled gently and said softly, "You are the ruler of a country. How can you pay such a great tribute to me? Please stand up quickly!" There was a hint of surprise in his voice, as if he found it unbelievable what was happening before his eyes. At the same time, he quickly stretched out his hands and tried to help the other person up.

The King of Bukhara spoke a lot of Russian in a gibberish, and the speed of his speech was as fast as machine gun fire, which made people dizzy. Wu Chunlei's eyes widened, and a blank expression appeared on his face. He had no idea what the king was talking about.

Fortunately, there was a temporary translator nearby, Halimu, who leaned close to Wu Chunlei's ear and whispered, "He said that he was actually just an ordinary old vegetable seller who had been living a peaceful life. Who knew that the guy named Sangkun forced him to become the so-called king? In fact, he had no real power at all and was just a puppet. The real culprit who dared to resist our Heavenly Army was Sangkun! So, please, Commander-in-Chief, show some mercy and let him go."

After hearing these words, Wu Chunlei thought to himself: So that's how it is, the King of Bukhara is also a pitiful man.

Liu Zhendong showed a disdainful smile on his face and said: "Huh, this so-called Shila country is so casual! An old man selling vegetables can actually become king? Could it be that all the ministers under him are fishermen and shrimp sellers?" As soon as these words came out, everyone present burst into laughter, but the young man standing behind the King of Bukhara did not laugh.

The young man looked at Liu Zhendong and the others with a gloomy face, and then suddenly responded in standard and fluent Chinese: "As the saying goes, 'The winner is the king, and the loser is the enemy'! Now that you are the victors, you are naturally qualified to ridicule and humiliate us at will. But what if you become the losers? I'm afraid your ending will be the same as Sang Kun's, and you can only turn into a cold corpse!"

His words pierced people's hearts like a sharp sword, and the people who were originally immersed in joy suddenly fell silent. King Hashira obviously didn't understand and looked at the young man in confusion. Faced with such a fierce counterattack, Liu Zhendong couldn't help but feel a little alert in his heart - this seemingly insignificant young man in front of him might be the one who really needs to be handled with caution...

The young man had a white turban on his head, a high nose and blue eyes, and was wearing a traditional Islamic robe. He was obviously not a Han Chinese, but he spoke Chinese fluently. Wu Chunlei noticed the scars on his face, which were probably caused by resistance and beating when he was captured. His hands were tied, and two soldiers with guns stood behind him.

Wu Chunlei stared at him and asked, "What's your name? Why do you know Chinese?"

"My name is Habu, and I'm the son of the king of Bukhara. I've been trained by a Chinese teacher. We, the White Hat Army, will never stop resisting." The young man held his head high and looked directly at Wu Chunlei.

"You are quite courageous." Wu Chunlei smiled, "But courage alone is useless. If you lose, you have to accept defeat. Where is Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jekar now?"

After Sangkun's death, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jekar became the number one man the Black Flag Army wanted to hunt down. His prestige in the White Hat Army even exceeded that of the villain Sangkun, but he has not been found until now, either alive or dead.

Hassan kept silent, with a gleam of determination in his eyes.

Wu Chunlei saw this, but he was not angry. He turned to Bukhara and said, "Old King, it seems that you are such a failure as a king that you can't even control your son."

After hearing what the translator said, Bukhara nodded and bowed quickly, indicating that he would definitely let Habu speak.

He turned around and started to curse at Habu, but Habu didn't respond at all.

"Don't waste your breath." Wu Chunlei waved his hand, "Take him away and interrogate him thoroughly. I don't believe that we can't pry open his mouth."

The soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged Habu out.

Wu Chunlei looked at Liu Zhendong and said, "Send someone to keep an eye on Bukhara. He should still be useful. Also, the search for Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jekar cannot be stopped. If any trace of him is found, arrest him immediately!"

Zhang Shusheng, the chief of staff in charge of logistics, reported to Wu Chunlei that a large number of Tsarist Russian gold and silver coins worth 1.5 million silver dollars, as well as about 100,000 tons of grain and fodder, were seized in the White Hat Army warehouse. The army's food and wages no longer needed to be supplied from the rear for the time being.

At noon the next day, the Black Flag Army learned through interrogation of prisoners that Jekar had escaped from Kulchu City and joined the 50,000 White Hat Army in the Ala Lake area. The 50,000 White Hat Army headquarters was located in Makanchi by the Ala Lake, and the commander was Yeseni. At this time, the cities of Alek and Zaisan had been captured by the Black Flag Army, and Wu Chunlei was ready to fight against the counterattack of the 50,000 White Hat Army.

However, what was unexpected was that when the 50,000-strong White Hat Army on the shore of Lake Ala heard a series of bad news, such as the fall of the capital, the death of the commander-in-chief, and the king's unfortunate capture, the entire army collapsed instantly! Faced with such a situation, Commanders Yeseni and Dekar were helpless and completely lost control of the situation. As a result, this huge army began to fall apart: some of the White Hat soldiers chose to surrender directly to their hostile forces, the Black Hat Army; some other cavalry traveled a long distance to the distant Kazakh steppe and joined the White Guard led by Denikin; and the remaining White Hat soldiers, because they missed their families who stayed in the capital too much, finally gave up resistance and fled back to the capital, Kurchu, and surrendered to the Black Flag Army there.

After the threat of 50,000 White Hats was eliminated, Wu Chunlei set his sights on the Lake Balkhash area, which belonged to Denikin's territory. It had a total area of ​​600,000 square kilometers and a garrison of 100,000 troops. Originally, there were only 40,000 troops. After learning that Kurchu had fallen, Denikin urgently dispatched 50,000 cavalry to Balkhash Castle. Balkhash Castle was the largest castle in the Lake Balkhash area. Together with the more than 10,000 White Hats who defected there, the number of garrisons reached 100,000.

The Palace of King Shira in the city of Kurchu became the temporary headquarters of the Black Flag Army. The headquarters meeting room was filled with officers above the rank of division commander from the three army groups.

Wu Chunlei pointed to the map on the wall and said, "Lake Balkhash, known as Yibohai in ancient China, is a large lake located in the southeast of the Kazakh steppe. The lake surface is more than 300 meters above sea level, more than 600 kilometers long from east to west, more than 9 to 70 kilometers wide, with an area of ​​18,000 square kilometers and an average water depth of six meters. It actually consists of two lakes, one is a saltwater lake and the other is a freshwater lake. In the early Qing Dynasty, it was a boundary lake between the Qing Dynasty and its neighboring countries. After the Qing Dynasty was defeated in 1864, it was forced to sign a traitorous treaty and ceded it."

Wu Chunlei took a sip of tea and continued, "Balkhash Castle is built on the north bank of Lake Balkhash, and the north bank is a famous copper mining belt. Balkhash Castle is an important copper smelting center, and the main lake ports are Bru Port and Burliu Port. Balkhash Castle is the tallest castle in the northwest. The walls are all built with copper ore, which is extremely strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The White Guard Command in the Balkhash Lake area is stationed in Balkhash Castle. To capture the Balkhash Lake area, you must capture Balkhash Castle."

Liu Ruming, deputy commander of the Second Army, said confidently: "The last time we attacked Kurchu City, it was the First Army that fought bloody battles the whole time, and the battle was very tragic! Although our Second Army also came to the front line, we have never had the opportunity to participate in the battle and can only watch our friendly forces fight desperately. This is simply a shame for us! Now, Balkhash Castle has become an important stronghold of the enemy. If we don't take it down as soon as possible, it will inevitably have an adverse impact on the entire battle situation. Therefore, I decided to lead the Second Army to take the initiative and take on the important task of attacking Balkhash Castle this time!"

His words revealed firmness and determination, as if he had seen the dawn of victory. After hearing this, his division commanders expressed their support, believing that this was a good opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the Second Army. Everyone believed that as long as they worked together and moved forward courageously, they would be able to capture the solid fortress of Balkhash.

At this moment, Subuda, deputy commander of the Third Army, stood up and said in a loud voice: "Commander Liu! Look, we are really unlucky in this battle! You have no battle to fight, so our Third Army has no chance to join the war either! Commander-in-Chief Wu, please be fair! The commander of our Third Army is concurrently served by Commander-in-Chief Di himself! Just because he couldn't be here today, are you going to bully a Mongolian like me? Commander-in-Chief Di once made it clear that Mongolians and Han people should be treated equally. If our Third Army is not allowed to fight in this battle, then when I return to Beitang City, I will definitely complain to Commander-in-Chief Di!" His tone was firm and powerful, and he seemed to be confident in what he said.

Since Princess Xian Yuji of Xuelian vigorously promoted Chinese in Outer Mongolia, Subuda, who has always admired her, has studied Chinese most diligently. Now he can not only communicate with people in fluent and standard Chinese, but also write beautiful Chinese characters in an elegant and freehand style.

In his daily life, Subuda always wears exquisite and gorgeous Hanfu, and his every move shows his elegant temperament. Not only that, he also pays great attention to his son's education, and often forces him to study Chinese seriously. And his eldest son Su Jinhe did not disappoint his father's expectations. When he graduated from Zhengqing School, he successfully ranked among the top five with excellent test scores.

Liu Ruming smiled and said, "Commander Subuda! Most of your men are cavalry, and they are not as convenient as infantry in attacking cities! So leave this opportunity to me! Your cavalry can be used to attack the reinforcements. When Balkhash Castle is about to be breached, it will definitely ask for help from Denkin. Denkin will send cavalry from the western Kazakh steppes to reinforce. You can just take advantage of your rest and fight a beautiful ambush!"

Subuda was furious, his eyes widened, and he questioned in an angry tone: "It's so easy for you to say it! What if Denikin refuses to send reinforcements? Wouldn't it be a waste of our time waiting? Moreover, when attacking a city nowadays, how many people would use the ancient method of attack such as ladders? Everyone knows that the most effective tactic is to use heavy artillery to blast a gap and then quickly launch a charge. The charge speed of our cavalry is much faster than that of the infantry. If we can seize the opportunity to rush into the city, we will definitely gain a huge advantage. Even if we need to engage in street fighting in the end, we cavalry can dismount and fight on foot!" He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice became louder and louder.

Wu Chunlei raised his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, and he said softly: "Two commanders, please stop arguing! Looking back, I was indeed inconsiderate during the last Battle of Kurchu, and only mobilized the First Army to participate in the battle. Here, I would like to express my sincere apologies to both of you. As for the attack on Balkhash Castle this time, the army led by the two of you will be responsible for carrying out the task. The specific arrangement is that one side will launch an offensive from the east, and the other side will advance from the west to form a pincer attack. As for the First Army, it has two important missions: first, to block the reinforcements that the enemy may send; second, to be on standby as a reserve to deal with emergencies on the battlefield. What do you think of this deployment?"

When he said this, Liu Ruming and Subuda were very happy and convinced, and expressed their full agreement with this decision; however, the division commanders of the First Army became dissatisfied after hearing this, and they all clamored to participate in the attack on Balkhash Castle.

Faced with this situation, Wu Chunlei's eyes widened with anger, and he shouted sternly: "What are you yelling about! Have you thrown all military discipline and regulations behind your back? The first rule of military law is to obey orders and follow commands! As the leaders of a division, do you need me to remind you of this most basic rule? Or do you think you no longer need to review those rules and regulations?" His words exploded in the tent like thunder, leaving the division commanders speechless for a moment.