When Disaster Strikes, Each Bird Flies Its Own Way
The Guards Army had been wiped out, and the Kazan Military District had suffered the same fate. The Orenburg Military District, the Huasha Military District, and the Vilna Military District had all lost more than half their forces.
Although those three military districts still had half their troops left,
after General Vladimir Kosel, commander of the Orenburg Military District, was captured, the district's remaining troops returned to their posts and had no intention of continuing to take part in the war.
Those generals and officers were no fools. With defeat staring them in the face, how could they possibly keep following the same road into darkness?
As for the Huasha Military District and the Vilna Military District, although they still had half their troops left,
those forces could no longer be redeployed at will.
Once those troops were withdrawn, Poland and the Baltic coastal regions would inevitably be left with too few soldiers, and the Tsarist Russian Empire's rule over those regions might ultimately be affected.
That would be a tremendous blow to the Tsarist Russian Empire.
Although Grand Duke Nicholas badly wanted to stake everything on one throw, he was unwilling to be nailed to history's pillar of shame.
If he did that, he would inevitably become a sinner in the eyes of the entire Tsarist Russian Empire.
"What do we do now, then? Are we supposed to surrender to Mikhail, the chief culprit behind His Majesty the Tsar's murder?" Grand Duke Nicholas was overwhelmed with grief and indignation.
"His Majesty the Tsar wasn't necessarily assassinated by Mikhail. Didn't the Ministry of Internal Affairs say that the Bolshevik Party was the chief culprit behind His Majesty's assassination?" Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich suddenly offered a different opinion.
Both Grand Duke Nicholas and General Nikolai Obruchev were taken aback.
Neither of them was a fool. Both realized that, in the current unfavorable situation, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich had begun to think differently.
It was hardly surprising. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich obviously had to consider his own interests first.
If the government army could defeat Grand Duke Mikhail's Caucasus Military District, he would certainly declare without hesitation that Grand Duke Mikhail was the murderer of Tsar Nicholas II.
But now, Grand Duke Mikhail was on the verge of winning the civil war.
The victor would not be blamed.
Only the loser should bear all the charges and infamy.
"We haven't lost yet. We still have more than a hundred thousand elite troops. As long as we can defeat Mikhail at Moscow, we still have a chance to turn things around!" Grand Duke Nicholas said through clenched teeth.
Even at this point, Grand Duke Nicholas refused to admit defeat and still wanted to put up a desperate last stand.
He knew full well that once he admitted defeat, he would truly be utterly defeated, with nothing left.
Seeing this, General Nikolai Obruchev and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich said nothing more.
On May 29, the main forces of the Caucasus Military District were already closing in on Moscow.
It was not just the army led by Mikhail; the troops led by General Brusilov had also reached Moscow.
The final decisive battle was about to erupt.
Everyone in the Tsarist Russian Empire, from top to bottom, was watching the decisive battle.
Everyone knew that this war would determine the Tsarist Russian Empire's future course. It would even have a tremendous impact on the political landscape of Europe and the entire world.
For now, however, Grand Duke Mikhail had already gained an absolute advantage in the civil war.
Barring any surprises, he would be its ultimate victor.
On May 31, Mikhail ordered his troops to begin their assault on Moscow.
Although this was the Tsarist Russian Empire's secondary capital, and the future capital Mikhail had chosen,
if a major battle broke out here, the entire city could very well be destroyed in an instant, even reduced to ruins.
But Mikhail could not give up using heavy firepower and the like simply to protect the city.
Wouldn't that mean giving up his own advantage?
If he wanted to win the war, wouldn't that force his soldiers to risk their lives?
It was easy to imagine how many casualties that would cause.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
More than a thousand 76.2 mm field guns and mountain guns, 122 mm howitzers, and 152 mm heavy howitzers began firing furiously.
Shells pounded Moscow like raindrops.
Under the bombardment, the ancient city began to turn to rubble, bit by bit.
At the same time, the troops of the Petersburg Military District and the Mosk Military District defending Moscow began to take casualties.
Of course, the artillery of the Petersburg Military District and the Mosk Military District also returned fire.
But they were utterly outmatched in the number, caliber, and performance of their guns.
As a result, they were completely suppressed in the artillery duel.
Artillery positions were destroyed one after another, guns were blasted into scrap metal, and the artillerymen suffered heavy losses.
The defenders' morale also took a severe blow.
Inside Moscow, at the Mosk Military District headquarters.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, commander of the Mosk Military District, was secretly giving instructions to a trusted subordinate.
"Ivan, once you leave the city, you must be careful. You absolutely must not let anyone from the Petersburg Military District discover you. Otherwise, everything will be ruined," Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich cautioned.
"Don't worry, Your Grace. I'll be careful," Ivan replied.
He was the captain of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich's guard and an absolutely trusted confidant.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich nodded, his feelings somewhat complicated.
He had sent Ivan secretly out of the city to contact Grand Duke Mikhail and discuss surrendering to his side.
With no chance of victory left in sight, he naturally did not want to wait for death, sitting still to be killed.
With tens of thousands of elite troops still in his hands, perhaps he could fetch a good price.
As for whether doing so would wrong Grand Duke Nicholas, that was not his concern.
As the saying went, "Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes, each flies away"!
Besides, Grand Duke Nicholas was only his nephew.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich would naturally not throw away his own life for Grand Duke Nicholas.
Besides, wasn't Grand Duke Mikhail his nephew too?
Grand Duke Mikhail was on the verge of winning the civil war. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich would naturally stand on the victor's side.
He did not want to be among those called to account after Grand Duke Mikhail won the civil war.
Of course, there was another reason: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich did not want to be driven out of the Tsarist Russian Empire's highest circle of power just like that.
If he could turn his weapons against his own side at the last moment of the civil war, perhaps he could earn Mikhail's trust.
Though such a move was a little despicable,
what politician would care about that?
Compared with saving face, tangible benefits were what mattered most!