Major General Zhao Yuhe, chief of staff of the independent division and chief of staff of the Corps directly under him, arrived at the assembly site of Kulen on time according to the stipulated time, which was a good thing, because Zhao Yuhe's arrival meant that Liu Hongzhang's division of the first brigade of the directly subordinate corps and Ouyang Yishan of the second brigade, which were the first to enter the Outer Mongolia region, had already reached the line of the Sejingge River.

Sun Zhenbang's Outer Mongolia Frontier Army, not with weak troops and equipment, in the face of seven divisions of the Soviet Army, fierce attack, a very difficult blocking battle, if time permits, division commander Tang Qiu can mobilize the Outer Mongolia Border Army, scattered in various places stationed other troops, in order to strengthen the thickness of the blocking force, but what he lacks the most is time, Zhao Yuhe and the arrival of the two main field brigades, can greatly relieve Sun Zhenbang's pressure.

Zhao Yuhe was dusty, his face was tired, his military uniform was splashed with muddy water, Tang Qiuli greeted affectionately: "Yuhe, you are really timely rain, the first brigade and the second brigade have already been deployed on the front line of the Sejingge River, right?" Let's talk about the speed of the other troops! ”

Hearing this, Zhao Yuhe put down the milk tea bowl he had just taken a sip of, and said with an ugly face: "I'm sorry division commander, I didn't complete the task, the first and second brigades that were originally scheduled to enter the Outer Mongolia region first and go to the front line of the Sejingge River were not able to reach the designated area on time. ”

"What" Tang Qiuli was taken aback, a cold sweat broke out on his body, the news brought by Zhao Yuhe was too big a blow to himself, it would take two days to reach the first line of the Sesagoge River from Kulun at the earliest, plus the time to Kulun, which meant that the first brigade and the second brigade. Three days later, on 21 September, the first two brigades to enter the Outer Mongolia region were still advancing at such a speed, and the arrival time of the other units of the directly subordinate corps behind them to the designated area was conceivably delayed!

This means that Sun Zhenbang's troops of four infantry brigades, two cavalry brigades, and two artillery brigades still have to bear the extreme pressure of seven divisions of Soviet troops. "Bang!" Tang Qiuli put the milk tea bowl in his hand heavily on the kang table, and walked back and forth a few times in a small room, stopping suddenly. looked at Zhao Yuhe angrily.

Tang Qiuli's tone was cold, and he asked in a cold voice, "Chief of Staff Zhao." I need to know. Is it because my order was sent late, or did you not take the urgency of the military situation seriously when you arranged for the troops to march, or did you not understand the content of my order? ”

Zhao Yuhe's face became more and more pale. Lowering his head, he said heavily: "Division commander, it's not, when I received your order." All the troops directly under the corps have already reached the steppe in the Chahar area, and I have given the brigades an order to march urgently, and according to the marching speed of the troops, they can reach the designated area on time! ”

Tang Qiuli roared angrily: "Then why? The 1st Brigade and the 2nd Brigade are still marching slowly north of the Saiyin Mountain Belt, do you know Yuhe, just because you did not arrive at the designated position on time, Sun Zhenbang's troops will be under great pressure, and they will be blood-stained on the south bank of the Gege River! ”

Zhao Yuhe didn't dare to look at the angry gaze of the division commander, and explained in a low voice: "Division commander, the situation is like this, after entering the middle of September, in the southern part of Outer Mongolia and the northern part ......of Chahar, torrential rains have fallen, and all rivers have been flooded, from Jining, Erenhot to Saiyin Shanda, the roads have been washed away by floods, the bridges have been broken, and the marching speed of the troops has been greatly affected.

Tang Qiuli was still angry, and roared angrily: "This is not a reason why you can't arrive at the designated assembly area on time, each brigade has boat bridges and engineer units, and Zhou Yushan, deputy director of the division's logistics department, isn't it also for the directly subordinate corps to go to the Outer Mongolia region to provide logistical support, what does Zhou Yushan eat?" In Indochina, is the equipment for the troops a pile of scrap metal? Or are the soldiers of the directly subordinate corps all spoiled by you, and they have become young master soldiers who can't endure hardships, and they can't walk without the wheels of the car? ”

Zhao Yuhe lowered his head and was silent, outside Tang Qiuli's temporary office, dozens of staff officers and correspondents were silent, and they didn't dare to come out, and Shanhu, Mei Xue, and Colonel Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, who rushed over when they heard the voice, stood outside the door, helpless and helpless, and in the entire courtyard, only Tang Qiuli's roar was heard.

It is extremely rare for Tang Qiuli to be so angry, especially for his chief of staff, when he was in the Indochina Peninsula, even the former chief of staff, Major General Chang Feng, in the face of the riots, the attitude and approach he adopted made Tang Qiuli very disappointed, he did not lose his temper with Chang Feng, loudly reprimanded, Sun Zhenbang presided over the overall military and political situation in Outer Mongolia, and did not deal effectively with the forces of the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance", so that today's Outer Mongolia region, great hidden dangers, Tang Qiuli also did not reprimand sharply.

In this case, no one dares to go in to persuade him, even if he is as close as Mei Xue and a mountain tiger, he can't do anything, Colonel Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Outer Mongolian Border Guards, does not dare to interject and speak, and the two bigwigs of the independent division who lose their temper and are being trained, both of which are higher than their own positions and qualifications, Wang Jun feels that his weight is not enough.

In the room, Zhao Yuhe's low voice came, "Division commander, I didn't complete your order, please punish me, I don't have any opinion, but you can't blame the soldiers of the troops, since receiving the order from the division commander, the troops have been forcibly marching for three days and three nights in a row, along the way, fighting with floods, fighting with broken bridges, the soldiers' daily rest time, less than five hours, supplies can't be delivered, the area destroyed by the water is too large, the equipment is not enough, Minister Zhou has tried his best to ensure the speed of the troops' march as much as possible, They all did their best, Commander! ”

Tang Qiuli was speechless for a long time, and suddenly sighed, his tone was indescribably tired, "Yuhe, it's not that I'm losing my temper, but the current situation in Outer Mongolia is very critical, the seven divisions of the Soviet army have nearly more than 100,000 troops, and in the hands of Sun Zhenbang, there are less than 60,000 troops, but they have to block the southward attack of the Soviet army on the long line of the Sejingge River." ”

"Yuhe, this is a disparity in strength, the Outer Mongolian border troops, is bound to pay a huge price, if the Sesagoge River blocking line is broken, the Soviet army can go straight to Kulun, by that time, there will be no strong troops around Kulen to defend, and the separatist forces in Kulen City, and then take the opportunity to riot, internal and external attack, inside and outside, we can't hold Kulun, Yuhe, we will have to abandon Kulen, to the direction of the country to retreat."

"Tens of thousands of soldiers paid for their lives, tens of thousands of soldiers spilled blood, and the victory of recovering Outer Mongolia will be handed over to the Soviets, I'm sorry for them, even if we fight back in the future, we can still expel the Soviet army and regain Outer Mongolia, but, several years of construction, hard work, and achievements will be ruined, Yuhe, the battle of Outer Mongolia, we can't afford to lose!"

Zhao Yuhe's eyes moistened, Huo Ran got up, solemnly saluted the army, and said in an excited tone: "Division commander, don't say it, I understand everything, I will immediately rush back to the troops, organize an advance force, before nine o'clock tomorrow morning, even if I am exhausted, I will rush to the front line of the Sejingge River, block the road for the Soviet army to go south, and buy enough time for the troops!" ”

Tang Qiuli shook his head, pressed Zhao Yuhe back into the chair, and said: "Yuhe, since this is already the case, there is no need for this, all my anxieties are based on Stalin's idea of eagerly attacking the Outer Mongolia region, and made a judgment. ”

Even Zhao Yuhe, who was full of self-blame in his heart, heard that the words of the division commander were a little insincere, mostly for the purpose of comforting himself, since the Soviets were moving in the Baikal area, they would never give up the opportunity to reoccupy the Outer Mongolia region, and the situation was still critical!

Tang Qiuli looked at Zhao Yuhe, whose eyes were bloodshot, and said in a gentle tone: "Yuhe, it's been a long journey, it's been hard all the way, hurry up and eat some food, hurry up and rest!" Don't have any mental burden, I just had some love out of control! ”

Zhao Yuhe saluted and walked out wordlessly, Mei Xue, Shanhu and Wang Jun, who were waiting outside, wanted to say something and comfort him, but they didn't know how to speak, so they could only silently look at Zhao Yuhe's tired figure and disappear into the night.

Tang Qiuli looked out of the door and shouted loudly: "Chief of Staff Wang, come in, what's new?" ”

Wang Jun pushed the door in, first observed the division commander's situation, and said: "Division commander, there is nothing new, the second cavalry brigade has safely crossed the Sejingge River, and it is expected that at noon the day after tomorrow, it can reach Kulun, in addition, the commander of the Northern Flight Group Liu Cuigang has called and has led his troops to enter airports in various parts of Outer Mongolia. ”

After looking at his watch, it was already more than eight o'clock in the evening of September 18, Tang Qiuli said to Wang Jun: "Order the Tong Batu Brigade to speed up the march and reach Kulun ahead of schedule, and order Liu Cuigang to send a large number of reconnaissance planes early tomorrow morning to go deep into the Baikal line, especially in the area of Balnaor and Chita, to conduct careful reconnaissance, I always have a hunch that the Soviet army is brewing a large-scale military operation, and the target should be in the direction of Kulen!" ”

Wang Jun was taken aback, and couldn't help but say: "Division commander, in this way, isn't it very dangerous for Commander Sun's troops on the front line of the Sesagoge River?" ”

Tang Qiuli sighed slightly, and seemed to say to himself: "This is also where I am most anxious. ”

(To be continued) (To be continued.) For mobile phone users, please go to read. )