Black Flag Army

After the two brigades of the Mongolian Army led by Uge set out to support Orkhon, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the air forces of both sides first exchanged fire in the sky not far from Orkhon, with sixteen planes of the Black Hawk Squadron against twenty planes of the Mongolian Air Force. After continuous improvements by the Japanese side, their planes were also made of aluminum, and their attack power was now not much worse than that of Di Xiong's side. On the contrary, the flying unit of the Justice Army underestimated the enemy, and two fighter planes were shot down as soon as they came into contact, and one was injured and forced to land. The one who did it was a Japanese pilot. Their flight captain was Saburo Ishii. The seven fighter planes operated by the Japanese had been ambushed behind a high cliff in advance, and suddenly rushed out, catching the Justice Army planes off guard. Fortunately, the Justice Army pilots were also veterans of long-term training. Under the command of Captain Gu Yuan, they quickly stabilized the situation and shot down two Japanese planes in a chaotic situation. Then the two sides formed a firepower confrontation, and the smaller number of Japanese planes fell into a disadvantage. At this time, Saburo Ishii's plane suddenly fired a flare, and just when the Justice Army was puzzled, the Mongolian planes behind them The planes suddenly crashed towards the Justice Army. In just a blink of an eye, six Mongolian planes and three Justice Army planes perished together. Two of the Mongolian planes crashed into each other, and one Mongolian plane crashed into the mountain wall. Under Gu Yuan's command, the remaining planes of the Black Hawk Squadron climbed high and dived down to shoot. The Japanese and Mongolian pilots were dazzled by the sun's rays and could not see the other planes at all. The planes they were driving were hit and crashed one after another. In the end, only three Japanese planes escaped, including the plane driven by Saburo Ishii.

On the ground, the two brigades led by Uge of the Mongolian Army were in a panic because they were ambushed by the enemy at the foot of Motianling in the east before they entered Orkhon. On the mountain, dozens of infantry guns and mortars fired at the same time. On the yellow sand, pocket mines exploded one after another. Three bombers roared in the air, making shrill and strange noises. This bomber was installed with an attachment on the wing by Feng Ru at the request of Di Xiong. There were many small holes in the attachment. When it dived and encountered wind, it would make a ghostly howling sound, so this bomber was called a ghost bomber.

At noon on May 1, 1915, the Mongolian division commander Haishan led three brigades under his command, plus the Songmuyan Independent Brigade, totaling more than 12,000 cavalry, to the outskirts of Darkhan County and engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Flag Army Security Brigade. Prince Utai wanted to take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Black Flag Army was fighting with the Uge Army in Orkhon, and let Haishan lead his troops to bypass the battlefield and attack Erdenet. Although Di Xiong renamed Erdenet Beitang City, the Kulun government did not recognize it.

But after the war broke out, not only were there intelligence agents in Darkhan City, but there were also scouts outside the city and reconnaissance planes in the sky. Prince Wutai's wishful thinking did not work at all. The Haishan troops were discovered when they were still 150 kilometers away from Darkhan. After receiving the report from the plane, Di Xiong, the commander of the Black Flag Army in Beitang City, calmly mobilized Liu Chengliang's guard brigade and Subuda's security brigade to fight. Subuda was responsible for luring the enemy to the east of the upper reaches of the Darkhan River, and Liu Chengliang was responsible for ambushing on the west bank of the Darkhan River. Although the two brigades had only more than 6,000 infantry and cavalry, Di Xiong and his staff believed that it was enough to deal with the more than 10,000 cavalry of the Mongolian army.

A vanguard cavalry battalion of the Haishan Division rushed too fast and was ten kilometers away from the main force. They were surrounded by the Black Flag Army Security Brigade that suddenly rushed out of the woods. When the main force of Haishan arrived, the battalion was basically wiped out, and only a dozen cavalry escaped. Seeing that the purpose of luring the enemy had been achieved, Subuda ordered a rapid retreat, because the cavalry was almost entirely composed of Mongolians, who were skilled in horsemanship and retreated very quickly.

Division Commander Haishan became furious when he saw more than 300 corpses of a battalion lying there, and ordered a pursuit.

Song Muyan advised: "Commander! Be careful of the enemy's ambush! Their leader Di Congmo likes to use tricks the most."

Haishan said: "Their main forces are fighting against the two brigades of Wuge in Orhun City. Even if there is an ambush here, it is only a small force with a small number of people. We have more than 10,000 cavalry. Are we afraid of them? Just chase them!"

Matsukihiko had no choice but to obey.

At this time, the commander of the security brigade, Liu Chengliang, had already commanded his artillery battalion to set up infantry guns and mortars and bury explosives. After the security brigade crossed the river, he destroyed the pontoon bridge and waited for the Mongolian army to cross the river.

Haishan ordered the scouts to go out and test the depth of the Erhan River. Ten minutes later, they found that the water in the red willow forest was shallow. Haishan ordered Song Muyan's brigade to cross the river from the red willow forest first and launch an attack. Although Song Muyan's brigade was temporarily under Haishan's command, it was not a direct force, so it became the cannon fodder that took the lead. Song Muyan was very angry, but he did not dare to disobey. He had to let his three regiments form a skirmish line and slowly cross the river. He ordered the three regiment commanders to withdraw immediately if they found the enemy opening fire. However, the officers and soldiers of the guard brigade did not fire a single shot under Liu Chengliang's order, and watched the Mongolian cavalry wading across the river until most of the cavalry reached the river and dozens of cavalry had already landed. Liu Chengliang ordered to open fire, and suddenly there was a loud sound of gunfire. In the dense rain of bullets, dozens of cavalry who had landed were all shot and fell off their horses. No one survived, and some were even hit by dozens of bullets. Song Muyan saw that most of his men had reached the center of the river, crowded together in a mess, and retreated very slowly. They were treated as live targets by the enemy, and were shot into the water one after another, dyeing the river red. He was so heartbroken that he almost bled, but there was nothing he could do. The twelve infantry guns and twenty-four mortars of the artillery battalion of the guard brigade fired at the same time, and the shells blasted up columns of water in the river, accompanied by the remains of people and horses, which was shocking. The explosives buried on the east bank also exploded, and the Mongolian soldiers were thrown off their horses.

Division Commander Haishan hurriedly ordered the division artillery regiment to set up dozens of mountain guns and infantry guns on the east coast, preparing to bombard the Black Flag Army. At that time, three bombers of the Black Flag Army arrived, swooped down with piercing screams, first strafing with machine guns, and then dropping bombs, turning the Haishan Division's artillery positions into a sea of ​​fire. The ammunition boxes exploded, blowing several artillerymen into the air. When the three bombers returned after dropping their bombs, three more arrived. The Black Flag Army dispatched a total of three batches of nine planes to bomb in turns. After the bombing, the artillery positions were in ruins. Haishan was extremely sad and cursed: "Hang Dado, Wutai, Danbijian, you incompetent bastards! Where is our air force? Where is the air force?"

The Mongolian army had no artillery, but the artillery shells of the Black Flag Army crossed the Darkhan River and exploded on the east bank, causing heavy casualties to the Mongolian army. Haishan ordered a retreat, but because of the Darkhan River, the Black Flag Army's guard brigade and security brigade had no way to pursue them and could only watch them go.

Liu Chengliang said: "What a pity! Haishan only sent one brigade across the river. If they sent all of them, we could at least keep half of them."

Subuda smiled and said, "Brigade Commander Liu, don't be too greedy. We have already eaten up one of their brigades and an artillery regiment, annihilating about 4,000 people. This is a very big victory."

The battle at Motianling, east of Orkhon City, was over. As Uge's army was facing the most elite First Brigade of the Black Flag Army, they were defeated even more miserably. In less than half an hour of fighting, more than a thousand people were killed and wounded. Even the commander-in-chief Uge was killed by the enemy's sniper. Wu Guozhu personally led a battalion to block the retreat of the Mongolian army. The Mongolian army rushed madly to escape, and more than half of the battalion was killed and wounded. After the two brigade commanders were killed while escaping, most of the remaining Mongolian troops laid down their arms and announced their surrender. The Kulun government had long coveted Erdenet's wealth. The plan of Hangdado and others to solve the financial crisis by looting Erdenet was shattered. After the news of the defeat spread to Kulun and other cities, not only Kulun City, but also cities such as Saynshand and Wuduerhan, broke out in riots demanding the resignation of Hangdado, Danbijian, Utai and others. The Kulun officials had no choice but to reopen negotiations with the Beiyang government.

Xiangyue learned from Ishii Saburo that only three planes returned and the rest were all shot down, and she knew that the Mongolian army was going to fail again. Because the Mongolian army's combat effectiveness was not as good as the Black Flag Army, without the air force advantage, it became a lamb to be slaughtered. She stopped blocking the Mongolian government's negotiations with the Beiyang government.

Team leader Xiangyue convened a meeting of the intelligence team members at the Japanese trading company. Naoto Matsushima and Saburo Ishii were both members of the intelligence team and attended the meeting. Xiangyue said: "According to the latest intelligence, the two attacks of the Mongolian army have failed. Darkhan's four brigades lost more than 4,000 people, and the Matsukihiko Brigade was almost completely wiped out. An artillery regiment was completely destroyed. The two brigades of Wuge suffered even worse losses. The entire army was destroyed, even Wuge himself died, and only a few reconnaissance cavalry returned. These Mongolian troops can be said to be a hopeless case. The combat effectiveness of the Black Flag Army is also stronger than we imagined. It is meaningless for us to continue staying in Kulun."

Naoto Matsushima said: "To defeat the Black Flag Army's air force, we must mobilize all the aircraft of our Great Japanese Empire's garrison in South Manchuria, Kwantung and Tianjin. If they are piloted by pilots of the Great Japanese Empire, they can be defeated. This time we were able to shoot down six of their aircraft, which is proof of that."

Ishii Saburo said: "If we leave, what will we do with the three planes? It would be a waste to leave them to the Mongols. My two companions and I want to fly them back to Tianjin."

Team leader Xiang Yue said: "Don't anger the Mongols. Although we are gone, the Japanese trading company is still there, and the brothels, casinos, and opium dens are still creating wealth for the Great Japanese Empire. And I don't think Di Congmo will let go of these three planes. He will soon send bombers to blow up the airport and the planes. These are old planes that were discarded by the Great Japanese Empire. There is no pity in giving them up."

Matsushima Naoto said: "Team Leader! After leaving Kulun, where are we going next? Back to Tianjin?"

Team leader Xiang Yue said: "You are the aircraft talents of the Empire of Japan, so you should naturally return to Tianjin. The other members and I will go to Erdenet to continue the last assassination mission."

Naoto Matsushima said, "After the failed assassination attempt last time, you have been blacklisted by the Justice Party. They are investigating you very strictly. If you go to their lair again, wouldn't that be courting death?"

Team leader Xiang Yue sighed and said, "There is no way. They assassinated the Japanese ambassador to China. The Japanese Empire cannot tolerate such an insult and must retaliate. I am the only one who escaped from Erdenet. I know the place better than others. The Tianjin Garrison Command has given me a death order to kill at least one of Di Congmo, Leng Hanbing, Liu Zhendong and Li Fei. Otherwise, all members of the intelligence team will commit suicide or be executed. The Garrison Command and the Black Dragon Society have offered a huge reward. If the assassination is successful, the Beiyang government's reward can also be collected. The eight people in our intelligence team who accepted the appointment have written suicide notes and sent them to their families."

Naoto Matsushima, Saburo Ishii and others looked at Team Leader Kokoshi in surprise.

Team leader Xiang Yue added, "Of course! We won't be stupid enough to fall into their trap. We will go to the county town below Erdenet to hide. There are already more than 200,000 refugees in Erdenet, most of whom are in the county town and towns. There are many refugees there, and the management is chaotic. The possibility of being caught by the Justice Party agents is small. Those four guys can't stay in the city all the time, they will go out of the city eventually. As long as they go out of the city, we will have a chance."

At the same time, after receiving the report from the front, Di Xiong also convened a meeting of the Justice Party's top leaders to report the battle situation. Di Xiong said: "From the situation of this air battle, our opponents are getting stronger and stronger. Five planes were shot down and one was forced to land due to damage, accounting for more than one-third. According to the confession of the captured Mongolian pilot, seven Japanese participated in the air battle. They only came this time. What if more come next time? The number of Japanese aircraft and their manufacturing capabilities far exceed ours. We must not get complacent just because we defeated the Mongols this time. You must know that our real opponents are the Tsarist Russians and the Japanese."

Zhang Zhenyang said: "From the battlefield situation of this battle, the role of the air force is too great. I suggest that the finances should be tilted towards aircraft manufacturing, and other expenses should be cut as much as possible, even if it means reducing the manufacturing of guns and artillery. Only with more aircraft can we resist the Japanese for a longer time."

Wu Zhong, who had been in charge of finance, sighed and said, "There are already more than 200,000 refugees in Beitang City, plus the refugees in Mulun and Dalanza, there are already more than 300,000. The daily expenses are very huge, and the finances are already in deficit. Now we have to invest huge sums of money to produce expensive aircraft. I am not against increasing the number of aircraft production, but where will the money come from? Boss Di and everyone else must come up with a solution today, otherwise I will have to resign."

On June 7, 1915, the Mongol pseudo-emperor Ezhen Khan announced the cancellation of the Mongolian imperial title and changed his name to Boktu Khan, recognizing the Beiyang government as the central government. The Beiyang government immediately sent the Outer Mongolian envoy Chen Yi (unfortunately, he had the same name as Chen Shuai, so he had to use the homophony of Chen Shuai) to lead a transport team to deliver 200,000 silver dollars and 100,000 bags of flour to solve the economic crisis of Outer Mongolia. At the same time, Chen Yi negotiated with Hang Daduo on the conditions for re-submission.