According to the campaign arrangements, the air defense brigade of the corps directly under the independent division, the Kulen air defense brigade of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, the Saiyinshanda antiaircraft artillery regiment, and other ground air defense units deployed a tight air defense fire network over the battlefield from Hagen Gaole to Baiyin Chagan to ensure the safety of the attacking troops.

More than an hour after the campaign was launched, the air defense units entered a state of combat alert, because the sky was already bright, and the Soviet bomber group could clearly see the target, and if it were not for the fear that the Soviet army would throw in a large amount of air power, the fighters of Le Yiqin's Southern Flying Group and Northern Flying Group would have been fully competent for this task.

However, division commander Tang Qiuli thought more far-reachingly, once Le Yiqin's air force fought with a large number of Soviet fighter groups, the air battle could not end quickly, and it fell into a state of stalemate, even if he knew that the Soviet bomber group was coming, he was also lacking in skills, so the ground air defense fire became the key to defending against the air raids of the Soviet bombers, and the air defense units that had almost no chance to catch up with the fighting, after receiving the order from the division commander, they were gearing up and waiting for the Soviet bomber group to come, so that they could let go of their hands and feet to have a good time.

Until it was close to nine o'clock in the morning, the Soviet planes were still nowhere to be seen, and they did not wait for the Soviet combat planes, but for Le Yiqin's phone call.

"Division commander, all the fighter units of our southern and northern flight groups are ready to take to the air at any time, but, according to the reports of radar stations in various places, there has not been any movement at the Soviet field airfields in the direction of Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, and Barnao, and I suspect that there is a conspiracy among them. Punch out the intentions of the Soviet army? Le Yiqin said.

Tang Qiuli said lightly: "What's the matter, you can't sit on the bench?" If the enemy does not move, I will not move, what is the hurry, Stalin is even more anxious than us, more than 200,000 troops are in the net, the Soviets are trying to find a way, and the aviation units do not have to tighten the strings too tightly, leaving a part of the fighter regiment on combat duty, and the rest. It's time to take a break! You sent a few fighter regiments out of the building, not adopted! ”

Le Yiqin swallowed a mouthful of saliva and replied unwillingly: "Yes, division commander, carry out your orders!" ”

And then. Unhappy, he put down the phone and said grumblingly: "The division commander refers to the battle." It's getting more and more conservative. How can there be a reason to wait for Lao Maozi's fighter to hit the door, but he doesn't take the initiative to attack? It's weird, what the hell is this old man doing? ”

Colonel He Zhijun, chief of staff of the Southern Flight Group, and Colonel Dong Ningxuan, chief of staff of the Northern Flight Group, couldn't help but laugh on the side, Le Yiqin glared at the two of them, and said as if warning: "What I said just now. It's not allowed to spread it, especially not to the ears of the division commander! ”

Le Yiqin's doubts were also Tang Qiu's incomprehension, and he thought for a while. He did not come up with an answer, but he was sure that Stalin would never give up the more than 200,000 people in the Transcaucasian Military District, and the key was what kind of way the Soviet army adopted to rescue them, except for the air force, there should be no other fastest way.

Tang Qiuli asked Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe: "Yuhe, are there any abnormal movements of the Soviet troops in the encirclement?" ”

Zhao Yuhe shook his head and replied: "No, after being compressed by our army, the Soviet army is taking advantage of the opportunity for us to stop the offensive and hurry up the construction of temporary fortifications. ”

Tang Qiuli asked again: "In the Baikal area, how many reserve troops does the Soviet army have?" ”

"According to the intelligence department, after the main force of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union moved south, the strength of a reinforced regiment was left in Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Barnaor and other places, on the one hand, it was responsible for the security of the city, and the main task was to protect its logistics and supply base.

"However, most of the Soviet troops left behind are baggage and logistics troops, their combat effectiveness is very weak, and they don't have many heavy weapons, division commander, are you worried that this part of the Soviet troops is going south, and the three mechanized brigades under the command of Chief of Staff Yang Ketian have not yet reached the south bank of the Seshuge River, and come to the rescue of Kulygin's troops?"

Tang Qiuli shook his head and said: "In this regard, I am not worried, for the battlefield where more than 500,000 people of the two armies are fighting, a logistics unit composed of more than 20,000 infantry divisions of more than 20,000 people, how much effect can it play, Stalin is not stupid enough to do this, I am worried, if the two cavalry brigades of Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude are attacked for a long time, if they fight hard and fight in the streets of the city, Liu Chun and Tong Batu will not be able to take advantage." ”

"Yuhe, immediately inform Liu Chun and Tong Batu of the situation of the Soviet troops in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, order them to be cautious, order all the reconnaissance troops, expand the reconnaissance area, and immediately contact Deputy Division Commander Liu! The four infantry corps of the Soviet Far Eastern Front were the operational targets of the Eastern Front. ”

Zhao Yuhe asked again: "Division commander, do we take some actions, for example, in certain sections, to surprise the temporary positions of the Soviet army?" Give the encirclement of Soviet troops, with the right pressure! ”

Tang Qiuli shook his head and said: "Continue to monitor the movements of the Soviet army, tighten the encirclement, wait and see what happens, and soon, Stalin's intentions will come out!" ”

At about 9 o'clock in the morning of September 28, in the office of Stalin, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a tense military meeting was taking place, and the only topic of the meeting was the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District, surrounded by independent divisions.

The meeting was attended by mainly members of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, as well as Beria, NKVD of the Soviet Union and chairman of the All-Soviet Committee for the Suppression of Counter-Terrorism, and Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Stalin, who had just fallen asleep, was woken up by Marshal Petroshilov, the chief of the General Staff, who had a habit of going to bed late and getting up late, and was disturbed from sleeping, so naturally he was very annoyed, put on his pajamas, and came to the living room with a gloomy face.

Marshal Petroshilov, not taking into account the leader's face, said nervously: "Comrade Stalin, Kulygin's troops, something is wrong!" This marshal in the Soviet Red Army, who was highly respected and battle-hardened, had an irrepressible panic in his expression and tone at the moment.

Stalin was shocked in his heart and said dissatisfiedly: "Comrade Petroshilov, what are you panicking, be specific!" ”

Marshal Petroshilov took a deep breath and said: "Comrade Stalin, at about six o'clock this morning, the General Staff suddenly received an urgent telegram from Comrade Kulygin, commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, in which Senior General Kulygin claimed that they were ambushed and surrounded on three sides by Tang Qiuli's main force corps, more than 200,000 troops, and that the independent division used a large number of artillery and dispatched more than 1,000 tanks to storm Kulygin's troops, and the situation was very critical! ”

Stalin's face turned pale all of a sudden, his heart beat wildly, his chest was so tight that he could barely breathe, all the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District fell into Tang Qiuli's encirclement, that is more than 280,000 soldiers, how did Kulygin command?

Tang Qiuli set such a big trap in the northern region of Kulen, and Kurejin didn't have the slightest awareness?

Marshal Petroshilov, seeing that the leader's face was as ugly as a dead fish, hurriedly shouted: "Comrade Stalin! Comrade Stalin! ”

Stalin came to his senses, sat down on the sofa dejectedly, frowned, in the living room, there was a deathly silence, Marshal Petroshilov was anxious, Kurygin's troops were under fierce attack by independent divisions, and one more minute of delay would be more dangerous, but the leader was silent there, without any instructions, he was really anxious, but he did not dare to urge, he could only wait with an anxious face.

Suddenly, Stalin raised his head, his eyes flashed, he seemed to have grasped the crux of the problem, yes, that is, what Petroshilov said, surrounded on three sides, "Comrade Petroshilov, Tang Qiuli's troops, in which directions to attack Kurygin's troops?" ”

Marshal Petroshilov replied: "In the south, east and west, no units of separate divisions were found in the north. ”

Suddenly, he seemed to understand why Comrade Stalin asked this, and continued: "That means that from the Hagengauler and Baiyin Chagan areas to the south bank of the Sejingge River, it is a mouth, but, Comrade Stalin, why did Tang Qiuli do this?" ”

Instead of answering his question, Stalin asked: "What measures did Kurygin take in response?" ”

Marshal Petroshilov replied: "According to the telegram, after being attacked by a separate division, Kurygin immediately ordered the troops to build fortifications in their place and stand by for reinforcements!" ”

Stalin gritted his teeth and said ruthlessly: "Kulykin, this stupid man, his approach will bury the entire army, stubbornly waiting for reinforcements, wishful thinking and unrealistic ideas, Zhukov's reinforcements will not be able to reach the battlefield until a week later at the earliest, can Tang Qiuli give Kurygin such a long time?" Taking advantage of the encirclement of the troops of the independent division, there was no chance of completely closing it, he should immediately order the troops to break through and retreat to the north bank of the Sesagoge River! ”

Marshal Petroshilov hesitated for a moment and explained: "In the telegram, Kurykin also explained the reason for holding on to the reinforcements, and he suspected that Tang Qiuli was in the northern direction, with heavy troops in ambush, and launched a surprise attack on the way to the retreat of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District. ”

"He also made a special note that Tang Qiuli is scheming and good at using stratagems, in the ancient Chinese art of war, there is such a plan, called encircling three and missing one, and Kurejin was worried about this, so he made the decision to stick to and wait for help!"

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