Shi Ming was mentally prepared for the upcoming attack of the Soviet army, so he was not surprised.

Looking at Shi Ming's calm demeanor, as well as the few company commanders under his command who were eager to try and were looking forward to the upcoming battle, Han Guangdi was very emotional.

As far as he knew, in the Northeast Army, only Liang Zhongjia and his 15th Mixed Brigade were very confident in fighting the Soviet army. His time in the Seventeenth Brigade was too short, and if he had come a year earlier, perhaps he would have had the confidence to hold Zarainor. But now, without Shi Ming and the Fourth Route Army behind him, he would not have any confidence in this border dispute, and he thought that the Northeast Army would have no hope of winning against the old empire of the Soviet Union, even when it was at its weakest. Not to mention holding Manchuria and Zhalainor and defeating the Soviet army, as long as the defeat is not very bad, it is good. Even he was ready to die for his country.

In addition to Liang Zhongjia, from Zhang Xueliang to the Northeast Army, the general soldiers were afraid of the enemy, and like him, they did not have much hope of winning this war. And the reason why Liang Zhongjia is so confident is related to the fact that he has been commanding his 15th Brigade for a long time. The 15th Brigade is the old unit he has brought for more than ten years, and Liang Zhongjia, who graduated from the Baoding Military Academy in 1909, is very successful in governing the army, and won the appreciation of Wu Junsheng, the overseer of Heilongjiang in his early years, and was appointed as the deputy of the regiment by Wu Junsheng in the 3rd year of the Republic of China.

Han Guangdi believes that if Liang Zhongjia was not from Wu Junsheng's faction, or if he had not been suppressed by Wan Fulin, who also belonged to Wu Junsheng's faction, with Liang Zhongjia's merits, he would not have returned to the position of brigade commander long ago.

Especially in early July, after Liang Zhongjia fought several battles with the Soviet army in Zhagainuoer, although the losses were not small, they were actually small victories, which greatly increased their confidence.

However, Han Guangdi felt that those battles, although they were also very fierce, and the Soviet army had nearly 10,000 troops at the most, but it was not a general attack decided by the Soviet army, but only an attack by the Soviet army on the Western Front, and the Soviet army did not show real strength. What's more, the Soviet army has significantly increased its forces since then.

In Han Guangdi's opinion, Liang Zhongjia was a little underestimated. He once reminded Liang Zhongjia vaguely when he handed over the defense of Zha Lai Nuoer with Liang Zhongjia. Because Liang Zhongjia has belonged to Wan Fulin, deputy commander of the Northeast Frontier Army and chairman of the Heilongjiang Provincial Political Axe, since Wu Junsheng and Zhang Zuolin were killed together in Huanggutun, he is not easy to say and be straightforward.

Although Liang Zhongjia promised to make active preparations for the war against the Soviet Union at that time, Han Guangdi knew that Liang Zhongjia did not take his words to heart. For example, as soon as Han Guangdi arrived in Zhalainor, he centralized all Soviet civilians in Zarainuoer, and now there are still many Soviets in Manchuria who can move freely; Also, Liang Zhongjia's weapons and ammunition were not very well prepared, and in Han Guangdi's opinion, Wan Fulin was not very concerned about the war on the Western Front.

Even Han Guangdi heard from his fellow villagers that Wan Fulin had executed Liu Fengchi, a member of the National Assembly who had been elected by the mass organizations in Harbin and went to Shenyang to ask for reinforcements in Manchuria. This incident also made Han Guangdi very sad and disappointed. Wan Fulin and Liang Zhongjia have long heard of him not getting along, but the war is imminent, and he is still thinking about personal grievances, which makes him very disdainful of Wan Fulin's character. Or Song Zhewu said it well, this is a national war. Just by saying this, Song Zhewu is a big grade higher than Wan Fulin and Zhang Xueliang.

Once the Soviet Army launched a general offensive, the Northeast Army basically had no hope of holding Manchuria and Zhalainor by itself. Without the support of the Fourth Route Army, the best outcome for the Northeast Army would be to rely on relatively complete fortifications, inflict huge casualties on the Soviet army, and gradually retreat and resist step by step. The Soviet army, which was supplied by the long Trans-Siberian Railway, could not fight for a long time, and as long as the war dragged on, it could negotiate.

However, Han Guangdi is now very confident, with Shi Ming's battalion, which is larger than one of his regiments, he believes that at least his Zha Lai Nuoer can be defended. His confidence came not only from Shi Ming and his men, but also from their supreme commander, Song Zhewu.

Although he still didn't know why Song Zhewu only sent two battalions to Manchuria and Zhalainor, he knew that Song Zhewu would never watch his two elite battalions fall into a desperate situation. Since Song Zhewu ordered him to hold on to Zha Lai Nuoer for more than two days, it means that the main force of the Fourth Route Army can arrive in about two days. Not to mention that there are 100,000 troops, even if there are tens of thousands of such troops, it is entirely possible to win this battle.

However, Han Guangdi still reminded Shi Ming: "Brother Shi, our fight against the Soviet army this time is definitely different from the previous civil war, so we must be careful." ”

Shi Ming understood what Han Guangdi was worried about, pointed to several company commanders and said with a smile: "General Han, please rest assured, none of them have lost a battle, not only them, but also other troops of the Fourth Route Army. Therefore, it is inevitable that they have a high sense of war. They still do not understand the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army, and it is natural for them to despise the Soviet army a little. However, the combat effectiveness of this army is indeed very high, although I joined the Fourth Route Army not long ago, but because I have stayed in the Northeast Army, Tang Shengzhi, and Bai Chongxi's troops, and fought against both the Central Army and the Northwest Army, I think that the comprehensive combat effectiveness of the Fourth Route Army is stronger than that of the vast majority of troops in China, and it is absolutely first-class in China. Just take advantage of this battle with the Soviet army to train the troops well. ”

Afraid that Brother Han Guangdi would not be at ease, Shi Ming smiled and said, "General Han, please rest assured, at least there is still me, a person who will never despise the Soviet army, and I will deal with it carefully." ”

Because in the upcoming battle, the connection between Zhalainor and the highlands was likely to be cut off, and after Han Guangdi and Shi Ming agreed on the contact methods between the two places, including the response measures for emergencies, Han Guangdi rushed back to Zhainuoer to organize defense.

After Han Guangdi left, Shi Ming immediately called a meeting of several company commanders to arrange combat missions.

A company was responsible for defending the trenches around the heights. The first company was to withstand the Soviet attack for as long as possible there, and in the event of a last resort, withdrew to the three core fortifications; The second, third, and fourth companies were responsible for the defense of the three core fortifications; The reconnaissance company did not participate in the defense at the top of the mountain, its task was to fortify in the woods on the ridge leading to the heights, mainly to prevent the Soviet troops from sneaking up on the ridge to sneak up on the attack; The machine gun batteries were deployed in three core fortifications, and the firepower was dominated by fortifications at both ends. At the same time, the mortars of each company were handed over to the machine gun company for unified command, which was convenient for concentrating firepower to maximize the damage to the Soviet troops; The baggage company remained in the core fortifications as a battalion reserve.

The baggage unit is responsible for the transportation and management of weapons, ammunition and various military supplies, and generally does not participate in battles. However, in the Fourth Route Army, however, the regular training of the baggage units of the Fourth Route Army was almost the same as that of combat units, and the quality of these individual soldiers was no worse than that of other units. The baggage company differs from the other companies only in terms of firepower, that is, they do not have a machine gun platoon, but the firepower of the rest of the platoon is the same as that of the combat unit.

Since it is likely that a big war will break out tomorrow, it is difficult to say whether we will be able to eat on time once the battle starts. Therefore, Shi Ming told the cooking teams of each company to cook all the meat, so as not to waste time cooking meat when the war starts tomorrow. For dinner, Shi Ming personally instructed each cooking class, and made the famous Northeast dish pork stewed vermicelli, a dish with a very characteristic flavor of the Northeast. After it is done, in the big basin full of pork, the strong fragrance is overflowing, not only the pork is directly oily, even the wide flour is also hung with a layer of red oil, and the crystal white rice in the northeast, the soldiers are all full of oil and sweating.

After the meal, Shi Ming wanted to boil water in the cauldron of the cooking class, so that the soldiers who had been tired for a few days could soak their feet, and then, Shi Ming strictly ordered the company commanders to personally supervise, and the soldiers who did not have a warning task should rest early, recuperate enough physical strength, and prepare for tomorrow's battle.

Just after the early morning of the next day, gunshots were heard northeast of Zalainuoer, and soon after, gunfire was also heard in the direction of the railway in the north and in the south of the Ganggang, and there were even 60mm mortars in the direction of the Gang. Except for Saogang, the gunfire in the rest of the places was not very intense, and it was intermittent. Shi Ming knew that this was the Soviet army coming, and it was waging a campaign against Zalainuoer. However, the real battle will have to wait until dawn.

Shi Ming was in the shelter of the company commander at the front, holding a telescope and trying to observe the situation at the bottom of the mountain. At this moment, the lights in the city of Zalainorr have been controlled, and looking around from the high ground, it is dark everywhere, and nothing can be seen.

Several company commanders also ran to the headquarters of the first company with excitement on their faces, and Shi Ming was so angry that they all scolded him. Shi Ming was still not at ease, chased outside the headquarters, and shouted at the backs of a few company commanders who were still happily muttering: "Give me a sleep right away when I go back, there is no order, if anyone runs out again, half a month's military salary will be deducted." Also, tell the cooking class that the meal must be served before 6 o'clock in the morning. ”

Seeing that Shi Ming was a little anxious, several company commanders dispersed in a hurry and hurriedly ran back to their respective positions.

Shi Ming, as the supreme commander of this unit, naturally couldn't sleep anymore, and told the herald to go back and inform the deputy battalion commander to sit in the battalion headquarters, while he himself returned to the headquarters of the first company, leaned back on his chair and took a nap.

Before dawn, Han Guangdi sent a communications staff officer to inform Shi Ming of the enemy situation.

The Soviets approached Zarainuoer from the northeast in the early morning, and they had already occupied Sagagang, encircled Zhainuoer from the north, east, and south, and cut off communication with Hailar and Manchuria. According to preliminary information, the Soviet army had the 35th Infantry Division, the 36th Infantry Division, and the Readbriat-Mongol Cavalry Division, a total of three divisions, participating in the attack on Zalainor

(To be continued)