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Snow clouds overhead, cold winds howling.

The inhospitable Siberian wilderness has been completely covered with snow, the sky is devoid of birds, the lake is frozen and no living creatures can be found through the glass windows. The harsh winter has already begun, and the recovery will not be gradual until April next year. So it's a tough season for anyone, and even in heavily armored trains, steam pipes have to be spread all over the carriages to keep them warm. The ship's high-pressure boiler, salvaged from the sea off Qingdao, came into play, and the reciprocating steam engine roared, propelling the hundred-ton steel behemoth slowly forward at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. The snow shovel mounted on the front of the locomotive clings to the rails, pushing the snow to both sides so that the five troop carriers that follow behind can pass safely.

Exposed, the four 76-mm naval guns, which were also salvaged and reused, had been covered with thick gun suits, the machine guns and rapid-fire gun firing holes were all closed, the artillerymen sat next to the hot steam pipes and chatted, and even Jiang Tai and Hu Laosan found chess to pass the time. Next to him, Kong Qinggui, who graduated from the artillery department of the National Defense University the year before last, looked at it with relish, this lieutenant who had served as a temporary secretary to Yang Qiu for a few days during the Xinyang War, but was trained for a while, and is now the commander of the No. 7 car of the Railway Brigade, which is equivalent to the company commander of a reinforced artillery company according to his rank. Although it is not as good as Major Yan Youbing, who graduated from the same subject and is now well-known in Europe, the Sino-Japanese War and the European War made their batch of cadets grow up rapidly and become the backbone of the artillery unit. But only the southerners are afraid of the cold, but they can't get rid of it, even if the temperature in the carriage is above freezing. He still has a kettle warmer in his hand.

The troops on the Western Front will certainly not be able to return, and the five divisions on the Eastern Front also have tasks, and although there are still more than a dozen main divisions in the country, Japan and the DPRK have always made the Wehrmacht dare not take it lightly. Therefore, in order to deal with the north, the General Staff specially transferred back the 16th Independent Plateau Brigade, which had been stationed in Xikang and Tibet for a long time. Unlike the later units, the 16th Independent Brigade is one of the oldest units of the Defense Force, and it is also the earliest unit to follow Yang Qiu. In order to ensure Tibet's security, it has been defending its borders all year round. With the addition of many non-commissioned officers in recent years, and after carrying out anti-bandit operations on the plateau for several consecutive years, it was not only changed to the establishment of four regiments and brigades. In accordance with Yang Qiu's outline, he gradually explored a set of plateau combat experience, and together with the 17 Tropical Jungle Brigade, the 18 Mountain Brigade, and the Marine Amphibious Marine Corps, they became four specialized units of the National Defense Forces that undertook special terrain combat missions.

Hu Laosan squinted his eyes at Kong Qinggui. He is now also a colonel. So seeing the latter holding the thermos and curling into a ball, he smiled and said: "Kong boy, in my opinion, it is better to apply for transfer to our 16th Brigade, I promise that I will definitely let you go to this problem of fear of cold in less than half a year." Kong Qinggui hadn't replied yet, Jiang Tai saw that it was "not pleasing to the eye", and said with a smile after eating his horse fiercely: "I said the third child, if you want someone, go to the chief of the general staff, don't come to me to look for food." ”

Don't look at Jiang Tai's unkindness, but he doesn't dare to underestimate Hu Laosan in his heart. In addition to his personal relationship with Yang Qiu, he also brought out a good army because of his years of guarding the plateau. Even Yang Qiu said after reviewing that the 16th Brigade had a group of soldiers who could fight. From this comment, we can see the status of the 16th Brigade in the General Staff Department, and if it were not for the fact that the target geographical location was in the cold zone this time, they would not have traveled thousands of miles to transfer them back. So after the two of them killed each other's chess pieces back and forth, he asked, "Third brother, what should you do when you come down to Tibet this time?" ”

"Liu Yutang's fourth division and a brigade have gone up." Hu Laosan stretched. Looking at the snow outside, he said: "Since we sent troops to Europe, the British have stopped a lot on the Tibetan side, and they have taken the initiative to evacuate many people. Now there is only one Gurkha on the Indian side. ”

"What about the toast? I heard that they have a high prestige in the local area. ”

"Tall fart!" Hu Laosan spat, and when he talked about it, he was proud, and said: "When Lao Tzu first went, those guys killed a few of my soldiers with the support of the British!" Of course, Lao Tzu is not polite. Let them see what the Central Army is! A cannon machine gun in the past, now it's very peaceful! When Lao Tzu came out this time, they also made a special trip to hold a farewell meeting. Damn, I thought Lao Tzu didn't know, this was to send Lao Tzu's troops as a plague god. ”

Kong Qinggui was young, and his eyes lit up after hearing about the great achievements of the 16 th Brigade in "suppressing bandits" in Tibet over the years. But Jiang Tai knew very well that this Hu Laosan, like Shi Xiaolou, was Yang Qiu's die-hard faction, otherwise how would he put them in a region with a complex ethnic group. It is said that it is to suppress bandits, but since artillery and machine guns are used, how can the scale be small? Maybe this guy has tens of thousands of lives on his hands, no wonder the General Staff always says that the 16th Brigade has rich combat experience, and his feelings are tempered in this way! However, bandits are bandits in the end, and they can't be compared with the regular army, so he still reminded: "Third brother, the opponent this time is different, don't be careless." ”

"Don't worry, the commander-in-chief and the chief of staff took care of it when they came out. As long as I am allowed in, Lao Tzu guarantees that there will be no one left. When Hu Laosan slapped his chest, the train under his feet suddenly shook a few times, and then began to slow down slowly. The three of them understood that their destination had arrived, so Jiang Tai immediately got up and asked, "Are everything ready?" ”

Kong Qinggui smiled and took out an aluminum wine jug from his pocket, shook it deliberately and said: "Don't worry, general, the best Northeast burning knife is the most suitable for comrades and friendship." ”

"Stinky boy!"

"Be smart, keep my eyes open tonight, no matter how cold it is! If you find out that the Russian army is moving, suppress it immediately! Otherwise, Lao Tzu came back and put the pot in the boiler to roast the fire. Jiang Tai smiled and kicked and cursed, and the soldier had already opened the car door. As soon as the car door opened, the cold wind like a knife suddenly hit his face, Kong Qinggui was afraid of the cold, so he couldn't help but shrink his neck and simply go to the upper sealed rapid-fire turret to keep warm, but Hu Laosan, who had long been accustomed to life in the cold area of the plateau, felt as if he had returned to the border of Tibet.

This is, of course, not Tibet, but Irkutsk.

The pearl on the shores of Lake Belga, the largest transit and coaling station of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, and the third largest fortress city in the main artery after Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg. Since he was built, he has become a heavy hammer hanging over the waist of the Mongolian steppe. After the outbreak of the war in Europe, like all the border cities in Russia, the garrison was greatly withdrawn, especially after the conclusion of the "Sino-Russian Good Treaty", there were only less than 3,000 old and weak soldiers stationed, and even the fortress guns on the batteries were dismantled by the Russian army in urgent need of firepower to support the front line. At present, there are more than 50,000 people living in this fortress city and the surrounding area, of which more than 10,000 are Chinese workers from the Republic of China, who are mainly responsible for cutting timber and mining, and the rest are either Russian miners or refugees stranded here, or gold diggers who come here with the dream of making a fortune.

The commander of the Russian fortress who came to greet the two was called Dimitry Leonidevich Sharif, he was the nephew of the white-haired general Horvat, who was in his forties and had the rank of lieutenant general, and looked like the kind of aristocratic officer who came up by nepotism. In addition to him, there is also An Baozhen, the reserve commander of the National Guard Battalion who is stationed here at the same time and cooperates with the Russian army to clear the railway, a twenty-five or sixteen-year-old Shandong man with a tall and big standard. Although Hu Laosan came here for the first time, Jiang Taizuo was very familiar with the two people who came to greet him because he had been incorporated into the Eastern Front Expeditionary Force and had gone back and forth between the Eastern Front and China several times.

"General Sharif, you look very good." Jiang Tai hugged Sharif warmly, if he didn't know that he was one of the main officers in charge of the operation, Hu Laosan really thought that the two were good friends. In order to entertain guests from afar, Sharif also made a special trip to invite the two to the living room of the fortress to rest. At this time, the first troop carrier dragged behind also slowly drove into the station, and two hours later, all five troop carriers carrying 6,000 soldiers of the 16th Brigade arrived at the station.

Irkutsk is an important hub station on the main Siberian artery, and it is also the halfway rest area of the Chinese Eastern Front Expeditionary Force stipulated in the "Plum Blossom Entente", so long before the troops were dispatched, the officers and Chinese workers who arrived in advance built a large number of simple barracks in the fortress city. The soldiers who came from afar crowded out of the car, stared at the exotic fortress city with wide eyes and curiosity, and stayed in the barracks for a temporary rest under the greeting of their comrades in the National Guard and the liaison officers of the Russian army. Sharif didn't care about this kind of thing, because it had happened many, many times, but there was one thing that he was very strange: "General, are you going to continue on the Eastern Front?" ”

What happened in St. Petersburg had already spread through the Russian Far East along the telegraph line by rail, and even all the Russian military officers, including him, began to worry about the future and future, but at this juncture, China still had to send troops west of the Urals, and it was no wonder that he had this question. Jiang Tai shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment: "Yes." Although I was also worried, we were allies, so we were ordered to continue westward. ”

"That's great!" Sharif, apparently disliking Lenin and the poor party, pouted and said: "Maybe when you arrive, they won't dare to mess around again." ”

"Who knows." Jiang Tai deliberately pretended not to discuss this issue, turned his head and made a gesture to the guards, and a moment later, a whole box of burning knives was moved into the living room. Seeing these spirits, Sharif's eyes were about to fall, you must know that after the start of the war, due to the shortage of food, vodka and other spirits have long become a luxury, even if he is the nephew of the white-haired general, he can only use soft wine to relieve his fatigue, so when a whole box of high-purity spirits is placed in front of him, he can't wait to enjoy it immediately, so he immediately regards the two as lifelong confidants.

"General, for the sake of Sino-Russian friendship, let's have a toast." After Hu Laosan made an enticing suggestion, he exchanged glances with Jiang Tai and smiled slightly...... (Your support on this site is my biggest motivation.) )