On the 29th of the month, on the huge map before the fourth day of the counteroffensive of the Russian army on the entire front of the Ural Front, the long red snake representing the Chinese army was twisting its body and fighting fiercely with the blue arrows representing the Russian army shot from multiple directions.

The head of the snake, that is, the Alyeysk side, the second and fifth set of advancing troops that were cut off by the superior forces of the Russian army and surrounded by regiments and regiments, are under the unified command of Lieutenant General Xiao Bin, and the ring defense is being launched with the city of Aleisk as the center.

On the side of Rubzosk, General Lu Kaiping is leading the second set of troops to break through to the north, intending to break the Alesk encirclement with a resolute and powerful mobile assault and rescue the advancing troops, while General Qian Lan's fifth set team is holding on to Rubzosk to ensure the rear of Lu Kaiping's department.

On the Semipalatinsk side, General Yan Canglong's Irtysh group is engaged in a fierce battle with the superior forces of the Russian 53rd Army, and due to the rapid fall of the outpost stronghold west of the enemy armored forces west of the city, the Russian army has approached 70 km of Novka northwest of Secheng.

Behind Liang Tianhe, the intelligence staff officer was reporting the latest enemy situation.

“…… It has now been determined that the enemy around Aleksk has at least six corps-level formations, with 12 to 15 infantry divisions and 3 to 5 cavalry divisions, equipped with a large number of heavy artillery and aircraft, and has also mobilized a certain number of armored vehicles and armored trains, thus constituting an absolute superiority over our advancing troops in terms of strength and weapons......

"The enemy in the Semenovka direction should have two corps, five to six infantry divisions, three cavalry divisions, two composite armored brigades, and very effective air support, while our Irtysh group is weak in strength and lacks anti-tank means. It is difficult to withstand the onslaught of enemy tank groups. ”

Without waiting for the staff officer to close the folder, Liang Tianhe waved his hand and motioned for him to go out.

The thick wooden door with exposed scorch marks creaked shut, and the chief of staff, Yan Canglong, said with hesitation: "Advance troops...... Don't break through yet? ”

"To break through, but not all." Liang Tianhe turned around and returned to the table to look for his cigarette.

Yan Canglong glanced at the newly arrived telegram on the table: "Do you really want to carry out this kind of order?" ”

"We knew this would be the case, but now is the time to break the illusion."

Liang Tianhe lit a cigarette, and his buttocks sank deep into a bearskin sofa next to the table that was still stained with some blood, and his already wrinkled face suddenly aged a lot.

"It's an impossible task." Yan Canglong reminded.

"Probably not. It's up to us to decide, you think I don't have the slightest affection for the troops I have formed? I value these troops more than my own son! But in the eyes of the base camp, there is no such thing as an unsacrificeable pawn! You remember, we are fighting for the liberation of the whole empire, for the whole of Asia, and not for our private feelings! Liang Tianhe's voice became louder and louder, and in his excitement, he inadvertently poked the cigarette butt on the sofa, burning a scorching smell of leather.

Waving his hand to brush away the burnt smell in front of his nose, Yan Canglong wanted to speak and stopped. He knew that Liang Tianhe had made up his mind. He also knew that Liang Tianhe's mood was as heavy as his.

After being silent for half a cigarette, Liang Tianhe extinguished the half-smoked cigarette in the crystal ashtray: "You come to draw up orders." ”

A few hours later, in a sturdy stone warehouse in the town of Aleysk, Lieutenant General Xiao Bin, who had read the telegram, lowered his head, put his hands behind his back, and paced around the base of the wall three times, before ordering the staff officers to find the commanders of the various departments and brigades.

When all the officials arrived, Xiao Bin conveyed the order in a calm tone.

"In response to the military order of the front - first, the temporary establishment of the second set of advance troops and the fifth set of forward troops will be abolished with immediate effect. The headquarters were organized into the advance troops of the Front Army, which were still under the command of Xiao Bin. Second, the heavy tank battalions of the 13th and 16th armored brigades [U. team. The rest and the 8th and 15th cavalry were temporarily organized into a transfer detachment, which was commanded by Lin Yi, commander of the 16th Brigade. Thirdly, the second set of the main team is advancing towards Aleysk. It is scheduled to launch a general assault before August 2, when the transferred detachment will be taken over by the second set of the main team to highlight the encirclement, after that, I, Xiao Bin——"

Xiao Bin, who was tall, dark and sturdy, paused here for a moment, looked around the crowd, and saw that everyone was holding their breath, as if they were waiting for the final verdict.

"I, Xiao Bin, will stay here and live and die with my brothers!"

The crowd was silent for a while, and suddenly, the commotion spread out in circles like the ripples of stones hitting a pond.

"Why? Why should someone leave and someone stay and die? ”

"Isn't it clear that most of the people in the second set are gone, but all the people in the fifth set are going to stay? The second set only saves their own people! ”

"To stay is to die, or to die in vain! How can 50,000 or 60,000 people stop an army of 300,000? ”

"Leave us in this wilderness, where will the ammunition come from?"

"This is not a reinforced concrete fortress that has been built for decades, how can you defend it?"

"The commander fed us to the wolves so that we could live comfortably in the fortress."

"Commander Xiao, we are not convinced, you say something, what kind of bullshit order is this?"

……

"Shut up!"

Xiao Bin's thunderous roar temporarily calmed the chaotic crowd, and he took the opportunity to clear his throat and walked in front of Lieutenant General Du Beiwei, the commander of the original five-episode advance unit and commander of the 8th Army.

"Commander Du, what is your opinion?"

Du Beiwei, who was of medium height, thin body, thick eyebrows and short beard, just shook his head and looked resolute: "I have no opinion, resolutely obey orders." ”

The two looked at each other for a long time before Xiao Bin nodded, patted Du Beiwei's shoulder, and turned back to the podium just now, a large stone slab.

"Now, I announce the fourth order, after the detachment breaks through, the advancing troops continue to hold on to Areysk in order to attract the main forces of the enemy, create an opportunity for the main forces of the front to redeploy and encircle and annihilate the main forces of the enemy, and during the preparation of the counteroffensive, the advancing troops must actively cooperate with the army aviation units in order to receive air support and supplies in the most efficient way."

After speaking, Xiao Bin slowly folded the newspaper in his hand and looked left and right: "Who has any opinions?" Stand up and come to me. ”

There was silence, only half a minute, and a sturdy-looking cavalry colonel suddenly came out of the crowd and shouted with his fist: "Fifty or sixty thousand people, twenty or thirty thousand horses, can you eat by plane?" Fight with hundreds of thousands of enemies in all directions, and can rely on planes to deliver ammunition? It's! ”

The Prussian mustache on Xiao Bin's mouth trembled involuntarily, and the other party walked very close, and he quickly recognized that this was Zhang Xinyu, the commander of the 29th Cavalry Brigade of the Wuji Advance Army.

Xiao Bin nodded at Zhang Xinyu expressionlessly, and coldly spit out a few words: "Come on, tie up Brigade Commander Zhang." ”