On January 26, 1944, before the coldest weather in Siberia came, the Siberian Front of the Chinese National Defense Forces, after full preparations, under the command of General Huo Weiguo, commander-in-chief of the Siberian Front, nearly one million Wehrmacht launched a comprehensive general offensive against more than 500,000 Soviet troops in the encirclement.

As soon as the general offensive began, the encircled Soviet troops in the vicinity of Beihai and Ulan-Ude were fiercely attacked.

After a short period of intense preparations, the Wehrmacht Siberian Front concentrated more than 10,000 artillery pieces, more than 2,000 aircraft, and more than 1,000 tanks as the lead to launch the most fierce attack on the hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops in the encirclement.

At the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht armored forces quickly divided the Soviet army into several small parts, and in the face of the cluster armored charge, the Soviet army, which had lost almost all its anti-tank weapons, was completely unable to organize any effective defense.

The small number of Soviet troops who used explosive packs and cluster bundle grenades to launch a suicide attack were of little use in the face of this torrent of steel.

Just as in the early stage of the Soviet-German war, a large number of Soviet troops were surrounded by German troops, after being strongly surrounded by the Chinese Wehrmacht, these Soviet troops also chose to surrender.

The general offensive went very smoothly, and in the end, after tens of thousands of Soviet troops were wiped out, about 500,000 surrendered to the Wehrmacht.

Ulan-Ude, originally the second line of defense set up by the Soviet army in Siberia, is now a temporary prisoner of war camp in this former military town.

In the plains to the east of the city were a series of makeshift prisoner-of-war camps, filled with Soviet prisoners who had just been captured from the battlefield near Lake Belga.

"Other battalion commanders are really hypocritical, and they are unwilling to do this thing of capturing and restraining prisoners of war." In the No. 11 prisoner of war camp division, He An had just taken out a cigarette, and Zhang Dafu, the guard squad leader next to him, hurriedly lit it and said with a smile:

"Battalion commander, leave them alone, I think this matter of capturing prisoners of war is very interesting, look, as soon as we raise our guns, those Soviet devils will tremble, and if anyone dares to make trouble, they will be shot with fists and feet."

Zhang Dafu moved his Chinese automatic rifle behind his back, crossed his waist, and stood there, like an upstart, looking at the several captive dragons who could not see the end at a glance, and every Soviet prisoner, regardless of rank or position, was hanging his head at this time, lost his soul, and no one dared to speak, for fear that any abnormal movement or abnormal noise would provoke the muzzle of the Chinese.

After these captives were surrounded by the squadron, the logistical supply was basically cut off, and although hundreds of thousands of people could boil water and drink from a few handfuls of snow, they could not change what they ate from the snow.

Not far ahead is the prisoner of war camp, every Soviet soldier is hungry, tightly wrapped in his coat, while secretly looking at the fierce Chinese soldiers next to him, while smelling the fragrance of steamed buns wafting from the prisoner of war camp in the distance.

This is the promise of the Chinese when they lay down their arms and surrender, as long as they surrender, they will provide bread and steamed buns every day.

You know, even before the Chinese came over, when they were stationed near Ulan-Ude, because the number of troops far exceeded the supply share, many people could only rely on hard and unpalatable black bread to feed themselves.

Hunger and cold, the decadence of defeat, have long worn down the fighting spirit of these Red Army soldiers, and everyone is speculating whether these Chinese, like the Germans, will massacre prisoners or send them to gas chambers.

"Battalion commander, it's good to win this war, don't look at how fierce they used to be, now they have to raise their hands as grandsons, let them fight and scold, and if they are half full, they have to get up and go to the rear to build the railway."

Zhang Dafu said loudly.

"Yes, that's the privilege of the victors, it's good to build the railroad, at least we don't slaughter them. Other battalions don't like to do this kind of thing, but I do. What is there to clean up with those broken copper and rotten iron, one by one they are scrambling to go. ”

Because of his military exploits, He An's position as deputy battalion commander has long been regularized and he has become the battalion commander of the second battalion.

Although He An said this, he did not impose his own opinions on the soldiers, but only selected a company in the battalion to join the work of capturing and escorting prisoners of war, and the others, he asked them to clean up the battlefield.

After all, not everyone is not rare loot, although there is no way to be greedy for ink, but what is collected, it can be exchanged for points after handing in, although this kind of points does not increase much, but it is better to accumulate a lot.

Thinking of the points, He An's heart moved.

In his opinion, this battle merit point is indeed a major thing done by his brother-in-law, and it is fully considered by the majority of officers and soldiers. After all, not everyone is like him, who has a lot of money and goes to the battlefield only for their dreams. Other officers and soldiers still need to support their families, in case they are disabled or even killed, who does the family count on?

He An stared at the Soviet prisoners advancing in a queue, watching them vigilantly, while climbing on the roof of the armored car on guard next to him, Zhang Dafu also climbed up, the armored car is the second battalion, used for mobile deployment of troops, and is now used to patrol and guard prisoners of war.

"That is, who is the battalion commander? The last time I went to the regiment headquarters to eat barbecue and drink wine, Captain Ye and Captain Jiang poured wine for you. Other battalion commanders, how can they compare with you, if you didn't leave back then, now you are at least a regiment commander. ”

After Zhang Dafu climbed into the armored car, he sighed while smoking.

He is not a flattering person, he is telling the truth, when He An came to the field army, he was a soldier under He An, who was the deputy battalion commander at the time, and now a few years have passed, He An has become a regular, and Zhang Dafu is still a little aggrieved for him.

"Eh, battalion commander, we have also made meritorious contributions in Kyakhta, although Ulan-Ude did not make great contributions this time, but it has ushered in a great victory, how many points do you say will this battle merit have?"

As soon as he mentioned the most popular combat merit points in the army recently, Zhang Dafu began to count them on his fingers. What exactly is going on with this battle merit point, he still listened to the propaganda of the battalion political commissar, fortunately, he has the first Chinese, and it is easy to think of a very attractive prospect.

"We have made a lot of contributions in Kyakhta, and we also received a commendation issued by the Ministry of Defense at that time, and I estimate that that arrest alone is enough for you kid to redeem a maximum land number."

Zhang Dafu's family is relatively poor, he is from Qinghai, and as far as he knows, even in today's rapid economic and social development, it is very backward, but fortunately, the work of the political axe is relatively well done, so that the poor will not be unable to afford to eat, wear clothes, or go to school. However, on the whole, Zhang Dafu's family is definitely the poorest part of the country.

A few years ago, in the field troops, to this day, only this Zhang Dafu is still working as a guard in the original second battalion, and now although he is a guard squad leader, the subsidy is still a little reluctant at home.

For no other reason, this kid has seven or eight sisters in his family.

Because of this, when he was in Kyakhta, He An took the opportunity of the commander-in-chief Huo Weiguo to entertain him with a dinner and sent a telegram to his family. In addition to reporting safety, he also asked his mother-in-law, who was obedient, to send some money to Zhang Dafu's family.

"The maximum share of land? Isn't that 100 acres?? ”

Zhang Dafu's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, 100 acres of land, that was something he never dreamed of, the land in his hometown has poor soil quality, low yield, and even smaller area.

He had already looked at the land here, and he had also checked the soil, and found that the soil quality here was much better than that of his hometown, but the planting pattern of the Soviets was very problematic.

"100 acres, battalion commander, I, if I have 100 acres of land, I, I ......" Zhang Dafu was there for a long time, and finally thought of a purpose, "I bring our whole clan here, they must be willing." We don't have 100 acres of land. Battalion commander, let me tell you, if there are 100 acres of land, I, Zhang Dafu, will make a lot of money even if I block the gun hole. ”

Looking at Zhang Dafu's excited appearance, He An didn't think there was anything funny, but was very happy for him, but he still asked, "You have taken it all to exchange for land, don't you want to lease it back to the state and wait for dividends?" Or buy a war fund, I heard that the war fund is also good. ”

"No, no, no, you don't understand, battalion commander, this land is worth more than anything to us rural people, I don't understand the war fund, this land is leased to the state, and someone has to plant it? It's better to grow your own. Zhang Dafu shook his head and disagreed.

"Damn, there is no way to buy and sell this land, if it can be bought and sold, when the war is over, Lao Tzu will buy you thousands of eight hundred acres, so that you can exceed your dream and bring the whole village over." He An laughed.

"Battalion commander, you, I didn't say you, you don't spend money indiscriminately. You think the money is enough, what about your son? As for your wife, you have to think about them, just give your brothers some cigarettes, and now they are no better than before. Zhang Dafu said with emotion.

He An shook his head, what did he say, could it be that the chairman of the committee was his brother-in-law, and Xinhe Industry used to belong to his family, but now it has been merged into Shusheng Company, but he can still get two dividends? Said that his He family used to be the second richest man in the southwest?

Everyone's pursuit is different, some people are rich and safe, and some people are rich and do not feel comfortable, he is the latter.

"Okay, you kid, don't say anything, after the battle, Lao Tzu will give you my share of the battle points, so it's all right. In my life, I am the most lazy to eat, farming is not good, and I have no patience to wait for dividends, so you can help me plant and build a farm by the way. When the time comes, I, an idle man, will come to you for a few months, go fishing in the North Sea, hunt in the forests of Siberia, and have a place to stay. ”

He An is not a bad person, he sincerely regards this guard squad leader as a brother. Zhang Dafu's posture of wanting to block bullets for himself every time he goes to the battlefield moves him very much.

"Okay, whatever you want, when the war is over, we'll make a good total." Zhang Dafu grinned.

The ranks of prisoners of war continued to advance slowly, with groups of soldiers running past from time to time.

"Battalion commander, squad leader."

Two soldiers came running from a distance, it was the two little soldiers of the guard class, Xiao Zhang and Xiao Wang, both of whom had just joined the army after graduating from junior high school, and they looked very immature.

"Well, do you have any new instructions from the regimental commander?"

He An asked, these two little legs are fast, and occasionally part-time signal soldier tasks.

"The regiment commander said, let the battalion commander pay attention to his temper, don't shoot all these Soviet devils with a single shot." Xiao Zhang said quickly, and the two also took the cigarette handed over by Zhang Dafu, and the cigarette was taken from He An's cigarette box.

"I'm not an executioner." He An said nonchalantly, and then said, "Look at this winning battle, just after the battle, I was busy cleaning up the battlefield and chasing the remnants." This seems to be not busy, but there are hundreds of thousands of prisoners to deal with, no wonder Bai Qi will kill so many people, maybe it is troublesome to deal with prisoners of war. ”

"Haha......" everyone couldn't help laughing, and then, the topic inevitably turned to the battle merit points. Two creeps were chattering about a bright future.

He An sighed secretly, and said in his heart that he still had to better shoulder the responsibilities belonging to the battalion commander and bring the soldiers to the end of the war as safely as possible, otherwise, only their relatives would enjoy these battle points.

The disposal of prisoners of war has been proceeding at a rapid pace, and hundreds of thousands of prisoners, after only a two-day pause, have been transferred en masse to the rear.

Many fighter pilots who flew to the front line could see a long herringbone dragon on the ground from high altitude.

According to the tacit understanding of the pilots, when they often fly above the prisoner of war camp, one squadron after another, and even the aviation group, will concentrate on reducing the altitude and diving at an ultra-low altitude to give these prisoners of war a great deterrent.

Although the Soviet prisoners of war ate and regained their strength slightly, in the face of the provocation of the Chinese, they could only bow their heads and hurry, although they did not know what was waiting for them in front, but where would anyone dare to escape.

When these captives finally arrived in the rear, hundreds of thousands of people, except for the old, weak, sick and disabled, were devoted to the construction of the Simon Railway.

The Great Railway was built in several sections at the same time, from Kulen-Kyakhta and then from Kyakhta-Ulan-Ude, in an effort to quickly build a railway capable of supporting the long-term operations of the Siberian Front in Siberia.

According to the most optimistic estimates, it will take less than 10 months, that is, when the Siberian offensive will be more fierce in the coming year, and the Simon Railway, which has been built with a large number of forces, will be opened to traffic.

At this point, the Siberian Front of the Chinese Defense Forces, under the command of General Huo Weiguo, completed the occupation of the entire 'North Sea' region.

At the time of the first occupation, the Chinese [***] team set up a defensive line north of the North Sea and stopped advancing.

The role of the million-strong Wehrmacht changed at once, and together with a large number of political workers, began a unified screening of Soviets in an area of nearly one million square kilometers, first of all, to eliminate partisans and agitators with ulterior motives.

Subsequently, new identification cards were issued to these people, and large Soviet villages were broken up. Every small Soviet village is adjacent to a Chinese village. Although they do not live with Chinese, they have to attend Chinese language schools. Both adults and children are required to attend Chinese lessons.

Considering that the Soviets were accustomed to the farm model, the Chinese government specially hired these Soviets with agricultural household registration as employees of the new Chinese farms, and registered them in the name of employees who were different from party members, and became "non-social-social-social-volunteer-hired workers".

What is very surprising is that at first, the Soviets were very resistant to Chinese language schools, but there was no resistance to becoming hired workers in Chinese farms. In their opinion, hasn't life always been like this, it has always been a collective life, and now life is not worse than before, but eats better and is freer, isn't it?

And according to the order of the newly established North Sea Administration, these Soviets, except for the old and weak, women and children, will devote themselves to new work.

Isn't the Grand Immigration Program going to start right away? What to do if the Chinese do not have housing!!

So, under the influence of both guns and propaganda, the Soviets went into the forest, cut wood, burned paper bricks and tiles, and began to build almost new villages one after another. At the instigation of the guns and bread and the 'Soviet annihilators', they did not resist, but worked actively, because, the same collective labor, working for the Chinese, although there was some taste of betrayal, the taste and quality of the bread provided by the Chinese were a hundred times better than that of the Bolsheviks.

As a result, new villages began to emerge in the North Sea.

Isn't the Grand Immigration Program about to begin? Didn't the war just finish partially, and the ground was devastated?

So, under the order of unified action, the Soviets went into the fields again, began to take care of the wheat that originally belonged to the Bolsheviks, and repaired the water conservancy that had dried up in the winter for the next year.

As a result, millions of Soviets in the vast North Sea region became hired hands on the upcoming Chinese farms, and when the first Chinese immigrants arrived in Siberia, they were surprised to find that the 'industrious' Soviet people there had already built new villages, renovated water conservancy, and leveled the land, and only needed the arrival of the Chinese immigrants to actually produce them.

On February 1, 1944, China's political axe officially announced the recovery of Beihai, the establishment of Beihai Province, the establishment of the Great Beihai Special Zone, and the capital of Ulan-Ude. At the same time, China announced the first phase of the large-scale immigration plan, and the number was so large that half of the Chinese and foreign reporters present at the scene were shocked that their pens fell to the ground.

“…… Dear journalists, I am honored to announce to you the good news that in order to alleviate the population pressure in several regions of our country, we will be sending 10 million people to the newly established Beihai Province, which is planned to resettle 10 million people in the first phase......"

"I'm Josephine, the resident correspondent of the Washington newspaper in China, dear Mr. Su, is China's political axe going to be completely Soviet?" A foreign journalist was the first to ask, because in their opinion, it is very rare for such a large-scale permanent occupation of territory to exist in the current war.

"First of all, I want to correct a misconception of you. The North Sea, what the Soviets called the Lake Berga region, is in fact the old territory of our country. ”

"The old territory, is there any evidence?" Josephine continued to ask, holding on.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Su Zhaoming smiled and said, "My ancestors used to herd sheep there!" ”

Josephine was completely confused by this answer, but the Chinese reporter next to him applauded in unison, and the applause even suppressed his idea of continuing to ask questions.

It wasn't until the end of the press conference that Josephine went to her Chinese counterpart, ready to ask what the spokesperson meant, and it naturally dawned on her.

The next day, a Washington newspaper published a short story headlined: The Chinese Return to the North Sea, where Su Wu once herded sheep.

(To be continued)