Tang Qiuli, commander of the independent division, said that on the deployment of the armored troops of Battell, Yang Ketian's Dongzhi troops, and the three mechanized brigades of the directly subordinate corps to block the Soviet troops on the front line of Checherleg, was based on the fact that the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union, General Kulygin, was a veteran of the battlefield and had rich experience, and it was very likely that he would send some troops to carry out a tentative offensive.

Since it is necessary to lure the enemy into the depths and let the main force of the Soviet army rest assured that it will boldly attack Kulen, it is necessary to put on the appearance of a frontal blockade, and from the geographical conditions, although Checherleg is not as good as the Sezhige River, it is a natural barrier, and it is also the only terrain that can be used to block the main force of the Soviet army to the south here, which is conventional.

Therefore, fortifications, trenches, anti-artillery holes, shelters and other defensive facilities are indispensable at all, Yang Ketian, the chief of staff of the east, scratched his head and said with a smile after listening to the words of the division commander: "Division commander, is it just putting on a show, you don't need to work so hard, right?" Maybe a few hours after the start of the battle, it will turn to a counteroffensive, and the troops will forcibly march for several days without rest, and with this effort, it is better to let the soldiers sleep well! ”

Tang Qiuli glared at Yang Ketian, and said sternly: "Ketian, think about the problem simply, if Kurygin sees the flaw, the main force of the Soviet army is hovering on the south bank of the Sejingge River and does not dare to go deeper, our ambush war will become a frontal counteroffensive war, you are the chief of staff of the division commander, and now you are the chief of staff of the corps-level troops, you should know that the difference between an ambush and a frontal assault cannot be had!" ”

Yang Ketian stuck out his tongue and hurriedly said: "Commander, can't I listen to you, to be honest, your face is flat, I panicked in my heart!" And then. The staff officer who came in and accompanied him gave a few orders, focusing on the problem of the troops building fortifications, and Tang Qiuli's face eased down.

When Tang Qiuli and Yang Ketian were talking, Battle never interjected, seeing that the two of them had finished talking about the main issue, Battle looked at Tang Qiuli with a blank look, hesitated for a while, and said, "Brother! ”

Tang Qiuli was stunned. This is on the battlefield, according to Battle's plain zhì, there should be no private title, although this "brother," called his heart warm. But it doesn't match the atmosphere and environment, Battle, what's wrong?

Seeing Tang Qiuli looking at himself in surprise. Battle was embarrassed and continued, "Brother." Do you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten a full meal in a day! At this moment, Battle was no longer a major general officer who had studied in Germany and had combat experience in the European theater, nor was he the commander of the armored forces of an independent division, the commander of nearly 2,000 tanks, in front of his brother. A little child's expression alive,.

Yang Ketian on the side, when he talked to the division commander just now, he didn't feel anything. Hearing Battle say this, he immediately felt that he was hungry, so hungry that he was so hungry that he hurriedly said: "That's right, division commander, Commander Batel and I, we haven't slept well or eaten well in the past few days, and I finally see you, and my mood is relaxed, and I feel like I'm about to starve to death!" ”

Tang Qiuli's heart ached, and he secretly blamed himself, Battle and Yang Ketian, who were forced to grow wings and fly to the destination by their own telegrams a few times a day, finally arrived at themselves, but patronized the task, perhaps, in their subconscious, the younger brother who had experienced the baptism of war was not a child, in fact, the younger brother was not yet twenty-two years old.

Tang Qiuli blamed himself while patting his head and said, "Hey! How do you say this, the emperor is not short of hungry soldiers, the two major generals are hungry in me, as if I can't afford a meal, Chief of Staff Wang, hurry up and inform the cooking class, what hurry up and prepare something! There must be lamb! ”

Tang Qiu never forgot that his younger brother preferred to eat mutton, which is a national habit, and he followed himself when he was young, and ate smoothly, after listening to the words of the teacher, everyone laughed loudly, and there was a happy atmosphere in the house.

Battle smiled childishly, revealing a mouth full of white teeth, his eyes were full of warmth, Yang Ketian couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, and said: "It's a blessing, even the marching dry food that I have been gnawing for a few days, no matter how delicious it is, there are enough times, not to mention, the division commander mentioned mutton, I feel like the bird is about to fade out of my mouth!" ”

Wang Jun couldn't help but laugh, and just about to leave, Mei Xue pushed the door in, followed by three cooking soldiers, straightening up the steaming meal, big black eyes, swept around, and said with a smile: "As soon as my brother and Chief of Staff Yang came, I guessed that the two of them must not have eaten, so I let the cooking class prepare first, Nuo, grab the mutton!" ”

Tang Qiuli laughed and quipped: "I said Director Mei, it's a condescension to let you be the director of the Information Department, I think, it is quite appropriate to be the director of the logistics department, Yuhe, think about my construction!" ”

Mei Xue glanced at her husband, pursed her lips and smiled, and asked the cook to put the food on the kang table, Battle hurriedly stood up and said kindly: "Second sister-in-law, thank you for your hard work!" Mei Xue nodded and smiled, her eyes full of doting.

Yang Ketian didn't have Battle's casualness, and shouted respectfully: "Director Mei! ”

Tang Qiuli waved his hand and said: "You're welcome, hurry up and eat, and then rush back to the troops immediately, you go first, the division headquarters will also set off in a few hours, say it in advance, don't make my headquarters too far from the front line!" ”

At about 3 o'clock in the morning of 27 September, dozens of armored command vehicles, radio cars, military jeeps, and trucks, with bright headlights, stopped at the gate of the headquarters of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Guards.

Tang Qiuli came out of the house, took a deep breath of the clear air of the late autumn night in Outer Mongolia, stretched his arms comfortably, and made a few chest expansion movements, his mind was clear, and his whole body was full of passion to go to the battlefield again.

Mei Xue chased out of the house, took a military windbreaker, dressed him carefully, and reluctantly advised: "Pay attention to your body, eat on time, the weather is cold in the morning and evening, wear more, and don't lose your temper when you encounter something!" ”

Actually, Mei Xue herself knows that these words are redundant, her husband has never seen any kind of wind and waves, and there are mountain tigers around her, but she still has to say it, as if she doesn't say these words, her heart is empty.

Mei Xue said a word, Tang Qiuli nodded in agreement, he felt the warmth from the heart, his wife's childlike attitude, in his eyes, warm in his heart, Mei Xue finished nagging, Tang Qiuli saw that in the dark night before dawn, his wife's eyes were shining like morning stars, he hugged his wife tightly, and then, turned around and strode away.

The long queue of convoys, passing through the silent streets of Kulun, the lights were like bars, a sharp sword, piercing the darkness of the night sky, driving directly to the north, Mei Xue stood in the yard like this, not moving for a long time, until the sound of the motor of the car disappeared so that it could no longer be heard, and his heart, with the emptiness, sighed slightly, and walked slowly back to the house.

On this night, the land of northern Outer Mongolia was surging with torrents, and it was not quiet, and more than 200,000 men and horses of the independent division, in accordance with the orders of the division headquarters, formed a big net in the dark night, in the vast steppe north of Kulun, and in the area from Hagen Gaole to Baiyin Chagan.

The dawn of September 27 in Outer Mongolia is quietly coming, the eastern sky, a touch of fish belly white, the two sides of the river are stunned, the cold air is wrapped in water vapor, covering the earth with a layer of mist, every qiē is so quiet, the slight whistling sound of the river, more and more clear.

General Kulygin rubbed his swollen temples, his mind was dizzy, and he slept very badly at night, and yesterday's offensive failure and the loss of the air force were constantly entangled in his mind, and with the current state of the troops, it was not suitable to continue the offensive, in other words, General Kulygin felt that the donkey skills were exhausted, the tricks and methods that should be used were almost exhausted, and the positions of the independent divisions on the opposite bank were still impenetrable fortresses.

The safest thing to do was to wait for reinforcements from the Far Eastern Front to arrive, concentrate all your forces and firepower, and force a breakthrough again, however, a telegram from the General Staff, forced itself to abandon this idea.

The Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Petroshilov, did not say too much in the telegram, nor did he mention the responsibility for the defeat in the air battle, and his tone was as light as boiled water, but there was one sentence that made General Kulygin restless, "Comrade Kulygin, Comrade Stalin is in Moscow, waiting for the news of the victory at the front, and when the leader summoned me, he said, trouble the comrades of the General Staff, send Comrade Kulygin a calendar that I am using!" ”

Comrade Stalin's words are more powerful than scolding yourself, why give yourself a calendar, that is to remind yourself that at the end of September, the order to conquer Kulen cannot be changed or shaken, and there are still three days left for you, you can do it yourself!

Senior General Kulygin could even imagine that when Comrade Stalin said this, he spoke in such a cold tone, and he was in awe of this iron-fisted leader, General Kulygin, and said that he was a commander of a military district, that is, those marshals with outstanding merits, and that he was not shot in the name of a "traitor and traitor"; if he could not take Kulen at the end of September, Comrade Stalin would not even need to charge himself with a crime, and he would be able to make himself disappear lightly.

Just because the battle is not good, he can kill himself, and he walked out of the tent aimlessly, and the cold air outside did not make General Kulykin, who was full of worries and frowns, have a clearer mind, and when he looked at the mist in front of him, his heart was even more panicked.

The Chief of Staff of the Military District, Lieutenant General Zirenenko, appeared ghostly beside General Kurygin and said: "Comrade Commander, the telegram from the General Staff tells us a message that cannot be ignored, Comrade Stalin is very dissatisfied with the progress of the war, what should we do?" ”

(To be continued)(To be continued......