Oh! From ancient times to the present, there probably hasn't been anything faster than the recent events in the Three Eastern Provinces that have ignited wars and led to territorial losses!
Firstly, around June 11th and 12th, several thousand Russian soldiers arrived at Hailanpao, wanting to transit through Aihun to reach Qiqihar and then Harbin, claiming they were there to protect the railway. The Russian general Gobinov politely refused a letter to the Heilongjiang general Shoushuai, stating, "We can protect the railway in our province ourselves. If you insist on sending troops over, then I will have to resist with force!" Then they received a reply from the Russian general, "We really don't trust that you can protect the railway well. However, China and Russia have maintained a friendly relationship for over two hundred years and have never easily provoked border conflicts. Now, if you insist on using force against us, General, it shows your exceptional bravery and talent, a rare talent in China. We can only listen to you. However, you will have to deal with it yourself!"
On the 15th, Shoushuai sent a telegram to the deputy commander Fengxiang in Aihun, ordering him to prepare and saying, "If Russian troops cross the border, strike them head-on and don't let them pass!" But Fengxiang knew that the Aihun forces were weak and the strength gap was too great; they stood no chance. So he sent a telegram to advise Shoushuai not to provoke conflict, but Shoushuai completely ignored him.
On the morning of the 17th, five Russian warships towed thirteen barges carrying over a thousand Russian soldiers down the Heilongjiang River. Fengxiang quickly sent a telegram to inform the military commander. That evening, they received a strong reply from Shoushuai, who strongly advocated for war. As a result, the Jingbian army trained in Aihun immediately set off, taking position in various ravines along the river, prepared for battle.
On the morning of the 18th, another Russian warship arrived, transporting arms downstream. Escorting this ship was a Russian border official named Kolya Smirnov, with the rank of Komsar. When the ship reached a place twenty miles upstream of Aihun, at Sandaogou, our Commander Heng led troops out to stop them, saying, "By order of the military commander, Russian warships are not allowed to pass on the river!" Kolya Smirnov got off the ship and debated with Commander Heng. Commander Heng stood his ground and refused to let them through. Kolya Smirnov was furious, returned to the ship, ordered his men to fire a warning shot before preparing to open fire. As a result, our side also opened fire, killing two Russian officers. Kolya Smirnov was also hit and quickly bandaged his wound, then fled back to Khabarovsk in a small boat.
Afterwards, Deputy Commander Feng reported the situation of the skirmish to General Shou. General Shou immediately sent a telegram to Russian General Gorbunov, condemning him for recklessly starting a war and provoking this incident, stating that the blame lay squarely on Russia. This telegram was delivered by Deputy Commander Feng to Kolya Smirnov. By then, Kolya Smirnov was already seriously injured, barely clinging to life, but still managed to tell Wu Bing that they must wipe out the Chinese forces along the Heilongjiang River before he would rest!
After the war broke out on the 18th, the Chongtong leader of Heihe shelled Khabarovsk for several days, and Russian troops retaliated with their own artillery fire.
On the 19th, the telegraph office in Heihe was destroyed by artillery fire. On the 20th and 21st, the Russians sent several cavalry units to the east of Aihui City, herding the residents of Ershibatun into a large building, where many were burned alive; fewer than half of those who managed to escape got out. About six thousand Chinese merchants were conducting business in Hailanpao, who were driven to the riverbank by Russian soldiers on the 19th, who claimed they would send boats to take them back home. Upon hearing this, the merchants stood by the riverbank, hungry and cold, for a full day and night. On the afternoon of the 20th, suddenly, thirty Russian cavalrymen armed with rifles and twenty with axes charged at the merchants, attacking them without warning. The merchants were caught completely off guard, terrified and scattering in all directions; many fell into the Heilongjiang River and drowned, with only about a hundred managing to swim to safety. It was a truly horrific scene!
On the 22nd, Vice Governor Feng saw the Russians rampaging and burning on the eastern bank of the river and could no longer stand by, so he sent Commander Wang Zhongliang and Officer Zhang, leading three hundred cavalry across the river to drive back the Russian soldiers and protect the settlers crossing over. They soon encountered the Russian troops, and a skirmish broke out. We lost thirty officers and soldiers, with over fifty injured, and the front line was running low on ammunition, and morale was plummeting. Commander Wang and Officer Zhang were the first to flee. Fortunately, the rear troops bravely charged forward, ultimately turning the tide against the Russians. The Russians suffered over a hundred casualties and fled toward the riverbank, just as a Russian steamboat passed by, taking away the defeated soldiers and the wounded.
On the 23rd, the front command reported to Deputy Lang He, worried that our isolated forces could easily be defeated by the enemy. Moreover, the earlier crossing of the river by three hundred cavalry was not his idea at all; it was Vice Commander Feng's idea, which made Deputy Lang He resent him. He seized this opportunity to quickly order the troops that had crossed the river to be withdrawn. When the Russian army noticed our weakened position, they began to set their sights on Aihun, and on the 24th, they bombarded us with cannons by the river. The fall of Aihun began here. Everyone claims that Deputy Lang He acted out of self-interest, leading to disaster by withdrawing the defensive line and losing the strategic advantage, making him the main culprit.
On the 25th, fifty Russian soldiers crossed the river from Wudao Gou, where we had only two guard posts, and we drove the Russian soldiers back to Jiangdong. On the 26th, six thousand Russian infantry and cavalry secretly crossed the Heilong River from the Wudao River upstream of the Heilong River. At that time, Chong Tongling was in the camp and saw them, but because they were dressed similarly to the Mohe Gold Mine Protection Team, Chong Tongling thought they were miners who had encountered trouble and fled back, so he hesitated to open fire. By the time they reached the shore, it was too late. Chong Tongling's troops quickly scattered and retreated to Aihun, and Chong Tongling was killed in battle. On the 27th, the Russian army marched directly from Xishan to Aihun. At this point, Vice Commander Feng had received a telegram from the general instructing him to go to the front line to oversee the battle. He led the Jingbian army stationed in various gullies to retreat to Dougouzi, and no one was willing to confront the Russian army. On the 29th, the Russian army captured Aihun City. The above outlines the events leading to the fall of Aihun.
After the Russian army entered Aihun, our troops retreated to Dougouzi, located over seventy miles from Aihun. The Russian army immediately launched an attack on July 4th, using powerful explosive shells to carry out long-range bombardments. Deputy Commander Feng adopted a strategy of defense and managed to hold out for several days. However, Dougouzi's terrain is flat; while there are a few small hills, they are inadequate for defense. Moreover, our guns and cannons are heavily rusted and barely functional, significantly inferior to the Russian army regarding accuracy and range. They were also using copper shells, which are considerably more powerful than ours. Consequently, our troops lost numerous battles, incurring heavy casualties. Additionally, the soldiers in Heilongjiang lacked tents during the campaign, fighting while hungry and exhausted during the day, and having to sleep outdoors at night, which led to widespread complaints and a demoralized army.
Deputy Commander Feng realized it would be challenging to withstand the assault and feared a mutiny among the soldiers, so he promptly informed General Shou about the challenging defensive situation in Dougouzi. On the tenth day, they gradually pulled back the troops. On the twelfth, they arrived at Beidaling, which is one hundred sixty miles away from Dougouzi. This location serves as the rear route to Aihun and the gateway to Qiqihar, making it extremely important geographically. However, for the past two hundred years, those in charge of border defense have never constructed a single artillery platform or established a stronghold there, so depending on last-minute efforts will not be enough to stop the enemy's advance.
At this time, the Russian army saw our troops retreating and relentlessly pursued them. On the 16th, the entire Russian army moved onto Beidaling. Deputy Commander Feng quickly led his troops to confront them, fighting for almost an hour. Our army had rifles from foreign countries but lacked short blades, while the Russian army had both types of weapons, and their combat strength far surpassed ours. Therefore, those at the front of our forces either fell in battle or fled, and the rear units were nearly affected as well. Seeing the situation was critical, Deputy Commander Feng feared a complete rout and quickly ordered all units to retreat temporarily and reassess their strategy.
On the morning of the 17th, the Russian army positioned numerous cannons at the foot of the mountain and launched a fierce assault on us. Deputy Commander Feng commanded the entire army to engage and declared, “Anyone who retreats will be executed!” The two armies clashed, with Deputy Commander Feng personally leading the charge and commanding the fight. The troops under Commander Tong momentarily fell back, and Deputy Commander Feng immediately ordered their execution as an example. Commander Tong was terrified and quickly rallied his troops and charged forward, with the rear troops following suit, which instantly lifted our spirits and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Russian army. The Russian army suffered heavy casualties. On our side, Commander Heng was wounded in the arm by cannon fire, Officer Rui was killed in action, and many artillery students from the military academy were also severely injured, with quite a few soldiers killed.
To oversee the battle, Deputy Commander Feng personally fired more than four hundred rounds from dawn till dusk, exhausting himself completely. His left leg and right arm were wounded by gunfire, and he fell off his horse three times, and was eventually helped back to camp by his comrades. That night, he coughed up several liters of blood before succumbing to his injuries. The morale of the troops was at an all-time low.
After Vice Commander Feng died, General Shou's seventh son took over the command of the troops. That night, the news of Vice Commander Feng's heroic death was quickly telegraphed to General Shou. Upon hearing the news, General Shou cried out, "Oh God, why did you take away my right-hand and left-hand man!" He immediately telegraphed his seventh son to handle Vice Commander Feng's funeral arrangements like he would for his own father. He personally went to the North Gate to set up a memorial and mourn, planning to hand over the general's seal to Vice Commander Sa Bao to take care of, while he himself went to the front lines to supervise the battle. Vice Commander Sa disagreed and appointed Cheng Xuelou as the interim president, ordering him to go to Beidaling to join the fight.
After Cheng Xuelou led his troops there, he contacted the Russian commander to request a ceasefire negotiation and personally went to the Russian camp to explain the situation.
The Russian general hosted a lavish banquet for him, as was customary, and agreed to Cheng Xuelou's request for a ceasefire and peace talks, promising that civilians would be safe. As long as there was a white flag hanging outside, there wouldn't be any problems. Cheng Xuelou then led the way for the Russian troops, with merchants and civilians living in peace and praising Cheng Xuelou for his accomplishments. When passing through the towns of Morgan and Bairdo, both towns were decorated with white flags to greet them. Each had a vice commander who had fled early. Some claimed they had surrendered to the enemy, but the details were unclear.
At that time, half of the army in Bukui City was engaged in battle at Beidaling, while the other half had been transferred to Harbin, which left the city with a depleted force struggling to manage emergencies. General Shou was usually quite brave in his work, and everyone admired him, but during that time, the military situation changed too rapidly, with alarms ringing one after another. He became flustered, had no time to train the soldiers and only drilled over a hundred members of the Boxer movement daily as the city's guardians. He even ordered the military and civilians in the city not to light fires or cook on the seventh and fifteenth days of the month, which left everyone very dissatisfied. One of his subordinates, named Wang Fuchen, an old friend of General Shou, had previously written to advise him against hastily going to war; upon hearing this, General Shou became furious and executed Wang Fuchen along with Zhang Yingguan, who had fled from battle, on the twenty-second. This caused everyone to scatter, and morale fell sharply.
On the twenty-eighth, rumors spread in the city that the Russian army in Harbin had crossed Dongdaling and was about to attack Bukui. Hearing this, the general quickly ordered the city gates to be opened for two days to let the civilians escape.
On August 2nd, Governor Cheng arrived in Bukui and immediately went to see General Shou to discuss negotiating a ceasefire with the Russian army. He also mentioned that a Russian officer had brought troops and insisted on meeting the general face-to-face. General Shou realized he couldn't personally negotiate with the Russian general and did not want the civilians in the city to suffer unnecessarily. After reflecting on the benefits he had received from the country over the years, he decided to sacrifice himself for his country right at his doorstep to repay the people of Heilongjiang. Thus, he first ordered his wife and children to take their own lives; he even tossed his youngest daughter into a water tank, nearly drowning her, but thankfully, she was rescued and survived. The general himself also tried to drink poison to end his life but was saved by others and survived.
On the third day, the vanguard of the Russian army arrived in Bukui City one after another. Cheng, the magistrate, went outside the city to greet them, and the preparations were quite thorough. The Russian army camped outside the city, and the people in the city were completely unaware of the enemy's arrival. In the afternoon, suddenly the sound of gunfire echoed through the air, and the general quickly ordered the city gates to be closed, sending Cheng to go out and see what was happening. It was later revealed that the Shuntian Renzi Army had arrived in Bukui and encountered the Russian army, and both sides started shooting at each other. The Russian army also fought back, resulting in over two hundred soldiers dead, with the remainder fleeing.
On the morning of the fourth day of the new year, the reinforcements of the Russian army also arrived, and the Russian generals insisted on entering the city to meet the general. Upon hearing this, the general immediately wrote a letter to the Russian general, requesting not to harm the people. After finishing the letter, he instructed his men to bring in a coffin, dressed in court attire and wearing a court cap, calmly lying in the coffin, and then swallowing some gold objects.
Unexpectedly, he did not die right away, so he ordered his son to shoot him. His son, trembling, couldn't bring himself to do it, so he accidentally shot the general in the left rib, not killing him. The general then ordered his aide to shoot, and the aide's shot hit his abdomen, still not killing him. The general's cries grew louder. The aide, witnessing the general's suffering, remarked, "You might as well die quickly to spare yourself the pain." So he fired another shot, piercing the general's chest, and the general finally died.
By this time, the Russian army had already entered the city. The general’s family hurriedly placed the coffin over his body, and with two hundred guards, they fled the city in a hurry. Along the way, they were stopped several times by the Russian army, and they managed to fight their way out only through the desperate resistance of the guards. The Russian general suspected that the general was still alive, and at that time, the deputy commander Sabo had already surrendered to Russia. The Russian general specially sent him to lead the pursuit, hoping to retrieve the general's body, but in the end, they did not catch up.
On that day, the Russian army occupied the city of Qiqihar. This is the account of the fall of Qiqihar, and now the entire province of Heilongjiang is under the control of Russia.
We've long known that the Russians are eyeing our three eastern provinces! People who have returned from those provinces all say that the land there is fertile, suitable for grazing, with food production more than twice that of the inland regions, and there are many gold mines, even more than Russia's own gold mines. But Russia is located in the northwest, with most of its land being barren. Wanting to expand eastward, competing with European countries, and seizing China's interests is like the saying goes, "a long whip can't reach the horse's belly." Their geographical location and situation are not advantageous. So they've had their sights set on the three eastern provinces for a while; even children can see that this is not something that just started today.
This year, taking advantage of the chaos caused by bandits in the northern province, they sent a large army into the mainland under the guise of protecting the railway. If we agree to them, it would mean allowing a formidable enemy to take over our territory, which will lead to greater trouble in the future; if we do not agree, they will have an excuse to start a war, and trouble will come immediately. General Shou has the responsibility to defend the border; how can he allow others to sleep soundly on his own territory? He firmly rejected Russia's demands and eventually resorted to military force. This was all a result of the circumstances, and the general shouldn't be blamed.
General Shou has not been in office for long; the military strength is weak, not enough to resist the enemy, and we understand this. However, he mistakenly believed in the bandits, relying on them. He was loyal, but lacked the wisdom needed. In the end, he lost his land and died for his country. Wise people will feel sorry for him! Overall, his misfortune was largely due to Jinchang's instigation. When the allied forces attacked Beijing, the court instructed the generals and governors of each province to defend their territories. The court did not give remote commands, only warning everyone not to have any compromising thoughts. After receiving the order, General Shou knew that Heilongjiang's military funds were tight and not enough to resist Russia, so he telegraphed Fengtian to discuss strategies for combat and defense.
At that time, Jin Chang was the Vice Governor of Fengtian and was frequently at odds with General Zeng Qi. He immediately sent a telegram to General Shou, urging him to go to war, and agreed to launch an attack on June 13, simultaneously with the Russian troops, with weapons, ammunition, and food provided by Fengtian. As a result, General Shou felt there was nothing to fear and bravely resolved to fight. However, the situation was urgent, but the Fengtian reinforcements were delayed. It wasn't until the Russian army was at the city gates that the Renzi Army finally showed up, resulting in a defeat, and thus the overall situation was sealed.
