The fatal ringing of the telephone interrupted Tokarev's pretense of mystery.

Baleyev picked up the earpiece uneasily, and without listening to a few words, his face suddenly turned blue.

"You say it again...... No, no, it can't be, I want you to confirm it with your own eyes! What the? Rushing towards you? Hey, hey, talk to me! You ......"

The phone was disconnected.

"What's going on?" Tokarev got up and asked.

Pareyev turned his head dumbfounded: "Tanks, enemy tanks appeared in Shelikhov. ”

"Shelikhov? So fast? Tokarev was startled, and his face suddenly turned to ashes.

Shelikhov is located 120 miles east of Arshan, 20 km southwest of Irkutsk, on the south bank of the Irkut River. The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the village, and 80 kilometers to the south is Slyudyanka, a front-line stronghold at the tip of Lake Baikal.

What does it mean for the Chinese tanks to drive to Shelikhov?

This means that a Chinese armored unit has made a large circle behind the Irkut defense line, separating the main forces of the Russian field forces - a total of 6 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry divisions - from the Irkutsk fortress, which was still besieging the river crossing troops of the 4th regiment of the Chinese army yesterday.

Despair drowned Baleyev and Tokarev.

On the evening of June 24, opposite Shelikhov.

Look closely at the small village on the other side of the river with puffs of smoke.

In 12 hours, he galloped 120 miles, swept several military stations along the way, intercepted a convoy of wagons carrying supplies, and grabbed more than a dozen ferries - relying on these ferries, he crossed the Alkut River first, and was storming Shelikhov, the most important communication node of the eastern section of the defensive line.

This is not enough. No, it's just the beginning.

Xing Xiaoqiang stepped on the chariot fender and jumped to the ground, and collided head-on with a short, thin and slender brigadier general in his prime of life.

"Report to the army commander, the 10th Brigade is ready to go at any time!"

Xing Xiaoqiang patted him on the shoulder: "Wang Jian, the most rearly 40 kilometers will be handed over to you."

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" It was the 10th Brigade that responded with such a neutral spirit

"Are there any difficulties?" Xing Xiaoqiang asked with concern.

"Nope." Wang Jian was crisp.

"Really? How many tanks do you have left in your brigade to run? ”

"Part 67."

This means that after a total of continuous marches from Klyon to Archand, and from Archan to Shelikhov, more than 10 tanks of the 3 brigades have either broken down or been abandoned or lost their autonomy.

Xing Xiaoqiang nodded: "Enough, you guys rushed overnight." Tomorrow by noon, it is necessary to seize the small pier of Baikal to meet the barge fleet coming from the lake. ”

"Yes!"

Xing Xiaoqiang paused, wiped the crescent-shaped scar left by the Russian-American War on his forehead, and emphasized the sentence in an accentuated tone: "Capturing the dock is one of them, and the interception line from the dock to Shelikhov for 40 miles can only be the responsibility of your department for the time being, and the enemy must not be allowed to break through easily." Relying on the supply line on the lake, we should engage in more mobile defense, launch a counter-attack if necessary, and give full play to the power of the chariot as much as possible. Hold back the enemy, weaken the enemy. Waiting for reinforcements to arrive to pick up the defense. Remember, the highest advantage of a tank is maneuverability! ”

Wang Jianyi straightened his chest - although no matter how strong he was, he couldn't reach Xing Xiaoqiang's neck, and said arrogantly: "Understand, we are armored cavalry in the new era, crushing the enemy with a high-speed charge!" Please rest assured, as long as the flag of the 10th Brigade does not fall, not a single hairy man will be allowed to get back alive

Xing Xiaoqiang nodded: "Go ahead." ”

Seeing Wang Jian leave, Xing Xiaoqiang returned to the cabin and sat down next to the electromechanical officer.

"Send a report to Commander Xu."

Lighting a cigarette, Xing Xiaoqiang's face was solemn.

"First. The 12th Brigade attacking Shelikhov has taken control of the station and is driving out the remnants of the enemy. ”

"Second, the 10 brigade has made a sortie to Baikal."

"Thirdly, the combat vehicles of each brigade lost more than 30% of their vehicles on the way. Fuel consumption exceeded expectations, and it was temporarily unable to roll south, so it was planned to choose to guard the traffic nodes. Waiting for backup. ”

"Fourth, the Forbidden Cavalry failed to follow up in time, the interception line is 160 miles long, and our army's strength is too thin, so I hope to urge reinforcements to follow up and defend as soon as possible, so as to prevent the enemy from dispersing and breaking ......through at night."

After dictating the telegram, Xing Xiaoqiang walked out of the cabin and watched from a distance like a bloody sunset, hanging over the woods to the west like a newly beheaded human head, indicating something, or warning something......

Baikalsk, command of the Northern Front.

The dinner of the headquarters on this day was braised chicken, stewed pork vermicelli, pork knuckle in sauce, fried three shreds with white rice, Wang Zhi had a great appetite and swallowed three bowls of rice in a row.

"I'll have Chinese food tomorrow, do you have any opinions?"

Naturally, no one objected - even eating Western food for three days was suffocated.

"Let's eat dumplings tomorrow." Propose to Blue.

Wang Zhi snapped his fingers: "According to the chief of staff, dumplings, get some cold dishes, what you want is the Northeast flavor - speaking of dumplings, the two big dumplings we wrapped with tracks and tires are almost close to the mouth, just waiting for the pot to cook." ”

"That's a long way off." Xiang Lan had no intention of sweeping the king directly, but just told the truth as always.

"It's not much worse, Shangguan Staff Officer, you can talk about it." Wang straightened his chin to Lieutenant Huaiyuan, the youngest staff officer in the headquarters, who looked quite handsome.

Shangguan Huaiyuan stood up awkwardly: "Report to the commander...... commander"

Wang Zhi kindly pressed his hands on the laying on of his hands: "Sit, sit and speak." ”

"Commander Xie, sir."

Not forgetting to wipe his mouth with a napkin, Shangguan Huaiyuan sat upright, pressed his hands on his knees, and stated with a slightly nervous expression.

The 1st Panzer Corps entered Angarsk at noon on the same day, cutting off rail and water communications from Irkutsk to Krasnoyarsk in one fell swoop, and before that, the vanguard of the 106th Light Infantry Division, which was the vanguard of the Bellu Movement on the Lake, successfully landed on the western shore of Lake Baikal, about 200 miles north of Irkutsk, on barges towed by river boats.

"Look, the dumpling skin on this side is still more than 200 kilometers away from closing." Xiang Lan said.

Shangguan Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment, and under the encouragement of Wang Zhi's concerned gaze, he took the courage to explain: "It looks like this on the map, but it's ...... As long as Angarsk is in the hands of our troops, the enemy in Irkutsk will not be able to retreat by easy rail and waterway, and the mountain passes between Tutai and Angarsk are sparsely populated and cannot support the long march of troops lacking motor vehicles. ”

"Then you can't conclude that it is impossible for the enemy to break through such a big gap, right?" Xiang Lan narrowed his eyes and glanced meaningfully at the bold young staff officer on the other end of the long table.