General Brusilov, who had taken the risk of taking a plane back to the headquarters of the Southwestern Front in Lviv due to the German offensive, did not even have time to go to Vinnitsa to trouble Ye Yanbing.

The first line of defense of the 7th Army had already been broken through in three sectors, and the troops were bogged down in bitter battles. It was initially determined that the German troops attacking from the direction of Krakow were divided into two arrows, one pointed to Kielce, and the other German army was forcibly crossing the Vistula River in the direction of Tarnów, threatening the rear of the 11th Army.

It's November 24, and the battle has been going on for two days.

The build-up of German troops in the Krakow direction did not completely hide from the Russian troops. Since mid-November, information has been constantly received on the movement of German troops, and telegrams have also been sent from the General Staff of the Russian Army, asking the Southwestern Front to take necessary preventive measures. After the 8th Army was transferred to Romania, the forces in this direction were really thin. At that time, Brusilov was still directing the war in Bucharest, and there was no better way to deal with the situation and instructions transferred from the Front Command. Speaking of which, it is still a question of strength, and the base camp has been allocated to four Cossack cavalry divisions of the South-Western Front. Those troops are already on their way to the front. Brusilov considered the four divisions insignificant, that the cavalry had proven to be outdated, and that even when attacking, the Cossack cavalry, which had once crisscrossed Europe, had long since lost its prowess in the face of machine guns and artillery, let alone positional defense. He preferred to get a well-equipped Chinese army.

He gave constant orders to General Ye Yanbing, who had won a great victory in Romania and aroused the great interest of His Majesty the Tsar, in addition to asking Ye Yanbing to immediately assemble the two armies in Vinnitsa to the designated area. There was also an urgent desire for the movement of troops located in Zhytomyr towards Lviv. The Romanian campaign proved the value of the Chinese army, and Brusilov would have been much more relieved if the troops under the general, who was said to have a special relationship with the supreme leader of China, quickly resided the front.

But Ye Yanbing refused to carry out this order! The reason given was that the two armies that had taken part in the Romanian campaign needed to be replenished because of heavy casualties, and that the newly arrived troops were unable to move because of the extreme lack of transport. Ye Yanbing's reply to him listed a lot of problems, accusing the Russian army of failing to fulfill the agreement and the inability of the troops to quickly restore their combat effectiveness.

This is open disobedience! But Brusilov, who had an extremely high atmosphere, was helpless against Ye Yanbing's disobedience. The war in Romania had proved that the Chinese general was not so easy to deal with, and after the victory in Romania, he had the capital to disobey.

At this time, Brusilov received a notice that the command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Second Army had all arrived at the rear of the Southwestern Theater of Operations and assembled on the Vinnitsa line. Brusilov suppressed the anger in his heart. Electricity to Petersburg. They are required to order the Chinese Expeditionary Force at a higher level to unconditionally accept the military orders of the Southwest Theater of Operations to avoid adverse consequences arising from the problem of coordination between the two armies.

The Chief of the General Staff, General Alekschov, quickly telegraphed back to Brusilov that the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, General Wang Mingyuan, had gone to Petersburg at the request of His Majesty the Emperor, and that the headquarters would discuss with him the question of the command system of the Expeditionary Force. The supply of the Chinese army should be met by the Southwest Theater of Operations.

Apparently. Ye Yanbing has already filed a complaint with Petersburg.

General Brusilov felt his breath hold. It is true that he did not fulfill the agreement in full. It was not that he deliberately withheld supplies to the Chinese army. Rather, it is believed that there is no zài problem with the supply of the Chinese army. According to the investigation of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Alekseev, there were no problems with the logistical supply of the Chinese army, and the ammunition was taken according to the agreement by the Chinese army itself. The Russian army only supplies food, but there is no shortage of food carried by the Chinese army itself!

This article was caught by Ye Yanbing and became a reason for him to disobey the order.

If it were not for the reversal of the situation in Bulgaria, Brusilov would have gone to Vinnitsa to effectively solve the problem of coordination with the Chinese army. But the tense situation at that time tied him down.

The attack on Bulgaria was the Tsar's Tiyì. The Romanian war bewildered the victorious-hungry Emperor Xià, who was obsessed with the consequences of the capture of Bulgaria. And there was identified by the General Staff as a shortcut that could quickly turn the tide of the war and lead to victory.

If Bulgaria is forced to withdraw from the war, which in turn threatens the position of Turkey. The German-Austrian Eastern Front would have completely collapsed, and Russia would receive naval support from the Anglo-French allies. Moreover, Serbia, ravaged by the Germans, would be liberated. Russia has always attached great importance to the Balkan direction, which is the best direction for the expansion of the Russian Empire.

The Russian Empire never missed any opportunity to expand. This great war, which cost Russia dearly, was caused by Serbia, which had the right to show its existence in Southeastern Europe.

Brusilov was not averse to attacking and occupying Bulgaria. On the contrary, he was an active supporter of the new strategy of His Majesty the Emperor. Brusilov was inspired by the exploits of building comparable to Suvorov, and the victory in the summer campaign carried him away. The turnaround of the war in Romania seemed to him to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why not seize it?

Brusilov then transferred the 8th Army to Bulgaria. Since the Chinese are not willing to do it, then it is up to them to do it. In fact, he was not willing to let the Chinese do it, and if the great cause of defeating Bulgaria and Turkey was done by the Chinese, it would be detrimental to the long-term strategy of the empire. He did not disregard the security of the main front of the Front after the transfer of the 8th Army, and the 7th, 11th and the troops directly under the Front Army (including the reinforced 4 cavalry divisions) totaled 34 divisions, and the total strength of the German-Austrian army was 35 divisions. This contrast strengthened Brusilov's confidence in launching the Bulgarian campaign, not to mention the fact that he also had a powerful Chinese expeditionary force in his hands.

Here, Brusilov ignores four questions. The first is that the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is not at all inferior to that of the German army. The two years of war have amply demonstrated this, the Germans have been outnumbered on the Eastern Front, but the Germans have won more than they lost. The second is that after the summer offensive campaign, the troops of the Southwestern Front have not been fully replenished, and there is a serious shortage of troops, not to mention an extreme shortage of weapons. The third is that there are war-weary and anti-war forces within the Russian army, and the danger of this article exceeds the first two. The most terrible thing is the fourth, that is, the Chinese expeditionary force is not here to save Russia. They have a strong independence in the chain of command. The Chinese Expeditionary Force, which he saw as a reserve, did not necessarily act according to his intentions.

Brusilov may have been a good military strategist, but he was certainly not a qualified political strategist.

If it were not for the Chinese who simply defeated the Germans in Romania, Brusilov would not have taken his own problems lightly. But that's often the way it is, and some good military leaders, in the case of victory, inevitably exaggerate their own strength and ignore the enemy's strength.

Brusilov believed that the Germans would never sit idly by and watch Bulgaria fall. Therefore, Germany would throw itself into Bulgaria even if it sent reinforcements to the Eastern Front. So, his main front in the southwest is safe. As it turned out, the Germans did send more troops to Bulgaria, and the 8th Army was faced with German troops transferred from the Western Front.

Now the Russian army has suffered a defeat in Bulgaria. The troops were forced to withdraw to Romania. He needed time to consolidate the southern Romanian defense. to put the broken Romanian army in order. And the Germans made a move on their own main front.

Rushing back to Lviv, Brusilov was faced with a mess of shapes. A lot of the information collected is contradictory, how many troops does the enemy have? Whether their attack was a tactical counterattack or a strategic attack was not clear to him, he could not even tell where the German advance had advanced, and even the commander of the 7th Army, General Kostenko, could not tell the exact situation.

The biggest problem is that they urgently lack strategic reserves. If the defense line of the 7th Army is broken through. The German assaults to the east, south and west were smooth. Because there were no strong second-line troops in the rear of the 7th Army.

This is, of course, the worst-case scenario. Kostenko's 7th Army was still resisting, and if he could hold off the Germans with a second line of defense, the situation would not be serious. But the Chinese must come up. Hearing that the liaison group of the Chinese army had arrived in Lviv, General Brusilov immediately received Zhongshi.

"Mr. General," Zhong Shi asked, after listening to Brusilov's request for the expeditionary force to move quickly south, "General Ye is very concerned about the situation on the southwestern front, and the vanguard of our 21st Army has already advanced in the direction of Lviv. Can you tell me more about the battle? How many troops does the enemy have? Where are they? It's important to us. ”

"The important thing is that your army must be dispatched immediately! Not the vanguard, but the main force! Do you understand? All the main forces must be transferred! It should be assembled as quickly as possible in the direction west of Lublin! All the motor transport should be concentrated, and one army should be transported first. ”

"Lublin?" Zhong Shi roughly calculated, at least 400 kilometers away from Zhytomyr, with the equipment of the 21st Army and the 3rd Army, the fastest speed will be ten days later, of course, it is much faster to take car transportation, but that is not in line with military norms, "I can report to Commander Ye." But I had to know the truth of the war. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel, only God knows the real situation. My troops are fighting, and for the sake of our common interests, please act now. If our army suffers a defeat, your army will face the imposing German army on the Polish plain! How long have you been on the front line? Why did you keep huddle in Vinnitsa? ”

"The place and time of rest of our troops after the Romanian campaign were agreed by both sides, and our army did not violate the agreement."

"But the Germans are not my chief of staff!" Brusilov roared, "They have secretly brought in a large number of new troops. I warn you, and ask you to convey to your commanders that in the event of an unfortunate incident, the responsibility will lie entirely with your army. ”

"Commander Ye's disagreement with the launch of the Bulgarian campaign is based on this!" Zhong Shi didn't care about Brusilov's outrage, "It's a pity that you don't want to listen to Commander Ye's advice. The unfavorable situation today should not be borne by our army. ”

"Get him out of here at once! Abominable Chinese, abominable yellow-skinned monkeys! To hell with them all! Brusilov was furious.

Bell Stone was driven out of the command by a furious Brusilov. The current situation confirmed Commander Ye's judgment, and his admiration for the commander swelled in his heart. Due to the nature of his work, he was able to learn part of the strategic plan, and the headquarters of the expeditionary force was convinced that the Germans would move in Poland, which was now fully confirmed.

Zhong Shi returned to his residence and sent a secret telegram to Vinnitsa under the watchful eye of the Russians, ignoring the demands of the Russian major who followed him for the contents of the telegram. The Russians didn't dare to do anything to him, and now he began to worry about Chen Hao, who went to the front, so he sent a telegram to Chen Hao. Let him be safe.

At this moment, Chen Hao is already in Lublin. This is the third country he has visited in Europe. This makes him proud. Although there is still a considerable distance from the front line, the atmosphere on the ground is already tense. Rumors began to appear, the most terrifying of which was that the Germans had already captured Starova Walla, which was not far from Lublin. But this news could not be confirmed.

After receiving Zhong Shi's telegram, Chen Hao replied with a simple telegram, informing him that Zhong Shi was already in Lublin and was about to go to see the commander of the local garrison, and that the relevant situation would be informed after verification.

With the certificate issued by the Southwest Front, Chen Hao was received by the commander of the city defense of Lublin, but he wanted to know about the progress of the battle situation that Chen Hao wanted to know. Whether Starova Walla, north of Krakow, has fallen. The lame colonel couldn't tell. But it is certain that Starova Walla is not heavily garrisoned by Russian troops. So, Chen Hao decided to continue to march south. It was still his truck, and there was an extra captain of the Lublin garrison in it.

After the Romanian campaign, he proposed to Ye Yanbing to lead troops below. Ye Yanbing did not agree. It's probably not easy to arrange him. The main thing is that there are no suitable positions. The troops had won a great victory in Romania, and not a single regiment commander could be replaced. There is a position for the head of the regiment, and Chen Hao, who was already the head of the regiment before going abroad, is demoted and Ye Yanbing is unwilling.

When he was resting in Vinnytsia, he had the opportunity to touch Ye Yanbing. Chen Hao is the deputy director of the Operations Division of the 1st Episode. The Operations Department has always been the department that commanders rely on the most during wartime, and according to the rules set by Long Qian, commanders must live with the Operations Department during wartime. And Kong Dongyuan, the former deputy chief of staff, heard about the relationship between Commander Ye and Chen Hao somewhere, and handed over the general request report to Chen Hao, and sure enough, nothing was allowed. In a word, during Vinnytsia's days, Chen Hao almost became Ye Yanbing's adjutant.

At the Vinnitsa Headquarters, Ye Yanbing had a new understanding of this child who used to call him his second brother-in-law -- Ye Yanbing's impression that Chen Hao was always the dirty boy who lived in Chen Chao's outer courtyard and stabbed two tubes of snot, and was deeply satisfied with him, not only not afraid of death in battle, but also had his own thinking about strategic issues. What makes Ye Yanbing even more satisfied is Chen Hao's temperament, calm and atmospheric, never confides in his relationship with himself, and speaks and acts in a very measured manner, which makes Ye Yanbing love talents.

Because of this, Ye Yanbing did not hide the overall strategy of the expeditionary force from Chen Hao. Ye Yanbing held the troops still, in order to let the German army give the Russian army another heavy blow, and it was best to inflict heavy damage on the main force of Brusilov's Southwestern Front, and the security of Poland was not in Ye Yanbing's consideration. When the Germans were exhausted, the expeditionary force would play a turnaround role. And this will be a crucial step in realizing the president's Russian strategy.

"I might have to carry the black cauldron, it's nothing. Big deal to remove me from my job. The collapse of the Russian army is not a bad thing for us, it is cruel and not authentic, but it is in our interests. Ye Yanbing said this in a separate conversation with Chen Hao.

When he learned that Commander Ye was going to send someone to the Russian front to understand the situation, Chen Hao fought for this task, Ye Yanbing disagreed at first, and finally agreed, "It's okay." You need some qualifications, I need a real situation, especially with the front-line units of the Russian army. I still can't trust other people, because you know what I need. When this battle is over, I will send you down the troops. ”

Now, Chen Hao and his detachment are heading south along the Lublin-Starova Walla road, and it is already dark, Chen Hao decides to rush overnight, and he estimates that he will know the true situation of the Russian army after arriving at Starova Walla.

There was a large barrel of gasoline on board, which was a must, and there was no guarantee of getting fuel from the Russians. He is also going to return to Ukraine, he is only here to reconnoiter the situation and not to fight, with the two telegraph operators, a staff officer and five guards he brings, what can he do in such a big war?

At 3 o'clock in the morning, the car passed Krašnik, and the road was lively, and the horse-drawn carriages of the Russian army transporting wounded soldiers appeared, and occasionally encountered a few trucks heading north. Faintly, there was a dull thunder from the south, and Chen Hao knew that it was not the sound of winter thunder, but the sound of cannons!

"Lieutenant Colonel, it seems that the enemy is closing in on Starlova Vola, shall we move forward?" Lieutenant staff officer Zhou Zhenfa asked.

"It's just nonsense. What is our mission? Chen Hao glanced at Zhou Zhenfa, who was sitting between himself and the driver Xiao Miao, dissatisfied, "Starova Walla is a point that must be defended, we must take a look at the deployment of the Russians, if they can't hold Starlova Walla, Lublin will be in danger...... Small seedlings, speed up. (To be continued......)