In short, the situation in western Outer Mongolia does not allow for optimism.

Liu Yun was not delayed by too much hesitation.

"Since the whip is out of reach for a while, don't worry about it...... On the one hand, the main forces were used to defend the mountain passes, outposts, towns, and fortresses to block the enemy's troops layer by layer, and on the other hand, guerrilla groups formed by militia groups familiar with the local situation repeatedly attacked the enemy's supply lines. After the battle on the Ulan-Ude side is over, and the front line of the Sesoge River is pacified, it will not be too late to regain the lost territory with the main force of the Mongol Front to aid western Mongolia. As for the eastern part of Outer Mongolia, the main force of the Mongolian Front should be assembled as soon as possible to defend Kulun, and after the threat of the Russian army to Kulen is lifted, it should be turned to assist the Western Front in launching the Ulan-Ude campaign! ”

"It's not good to leave it alone at all...... Once the western part of Outer Mongolia is lost, it may cause a backlash from public opinion......"

Yang Zhengjin was a little worried. The people will only stare at what is in front of them, and everyone will naturally applaud and congratulate the victories on the front line, but if the news of the invasion of a large part of their country's territory is suddenly inserted in the middle, I am afraid that it will cause an uproar, and the sound of tart attacks may be endless.

"In that case, tell me about your plans."

"In the near future, the militia groups of the Inner Mongolia Banner League can be fully mobilized, weapons, ammunition and salaries can be distributed and sent to Kulun for reinforcements. In the medium term, several newly established independent cavalry regiments that had already been assembled in Zhili could be sent to Kulun. The Kulun side can divide troops to the western part of Outer Mongolia as soon as possible to help. ”

Liu Yun groaned slightly, nodded and said, "Yes, after going back, carefully formulate a plan and report to the base camp the day after tomorrow." ”

"Yes!"

Liu Yun did not have great hopes for those loose militia groups, but something was better than nothing, anyway, he had already made up his mind that the western part of Outer Mongolia would be lost for a period of time, and if the Russians were not too troublesome, they would go to the backpack.

The topic of the meeting turned to the Northwest Front, which was guarding Xinjiang.

Chief of Operations Hook first reported on the operational sequence and strength of the Northwest Front.

The sequence of operations of the Northwest Front up to 29 March was as follows:

*1st Army Corps (Ili side):

8th Infantry Division,

7th Cavalry Brigade,

Reserve 110th Separate Infantry Brigade,

Reserve 112th Separate Infantry Brigade,

The 20th Artillery Group was provisionally formed.

61,000 in all.

*Second Army Corps (Kashgar side)

Prepare the 1st * Division,

Reserve 10th * Cavalry Infantry Brigade,

Reserve 4th * Brigade,

Ninety-first Separate Infantry Brigade,

Provisional 21st Artillery Group.

59,600 in all.

* Reserve Corps (stationed in Zadihua)

Reserve 32nd Infantry Division,

Reserve 9th Cavalry Brigade,

The 22nd Artillery Group was provisionally formed.

42,700 in all.

*Other:

Dihua Garrison: 88th Independent Infantry Brigade. A total of 9,000 people.

Altay Garrison Detachment: Independent First Garrison Group. 4,800 in all.

Tacheng Alert Area Garrison: Independent Second Garrison Group. 5,600 in all.

Northern Xinjiang Special Service Team (stationed in Kuitun): Independent 99th Infantry Brigade. A total of 9,000 people.

Southern Xinjiang Special Service Team (stationed in Aksu): Eighth Cavalry Brigade. 6,500 in all.

"In terms of logistics and transportation, the Landi (Lanzhou-Dihua) railway has only been laid to Yumen, and the main road mileage from Yumen to Dihua is more than 1,200 kilometers, the main road mileage from Dihua to Ili is 670 kilometers, and the main road mileage from Dihua to Kashgar is 1,300 kilometers. The train from Lanzhou to Yumen can run up to seven times a day, but because of the long distance, the terrain and weather conditions along the way, and the lack of enough horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts, a large number of materials are often piled up in Yumen and cannot be shipped. For the same reason, the materials concentrated in Dihua could not be sent to the border military stations in time. Dihua has a small arsenal, but due to the lack of relevant industrial support, it can only produce small quantities of light weapons, ammunition and grenades, and the ordnance repair plant of the Xinjiang Military Sub-district in Dihua can repair all kinds of light weapons and light artillery......"

“…… As of 25 March, the Xinjiang Military Sub-district and the General Arms Depot of the Northwest Front Army in Dihua had 150,000 rounds of artillery shells of various kinds and 30 million rounds of ammunition for rifle machine guns. The Ili munitions depot was stockpiled with 100,000 rounds of various artillery shells and 15 million rounds of ammunition for rifle machine guns. Kashgar's arms depot has 50,000 rounds of various artillery shells and 10 million rounds of ammunition for rifle and machine guns...... Since southern Xinjiang was hit by hailstorms last year, and then snowstorms in southern and northern Xinjiang were generally hit by snowstorms, and farmers and herdsmen suffered heavy losses, it is estimated that they will not be able to supply food to the army throughout this year...... At present, the general warehouse of the front army still has 60 days of grain and grass for the whole army, 60 days of grain and grass for each army corps to maintain on its own, and 60 to 120 days of grain and grass for all garrisons and special forces......"

This is the report of the Chief of Logistics.

Liu Yun furrowed his brows.

The report of the director of the equipment department did not make Liu Yun happy.

“…… With the exception of the Eighth Infantry Division and the Seventh Cavalry Brigade, which were formed in full accordance with the standards of the Wehrmacht, the rest of the troops of the Northwest Front were mainly composed of locals, and the level of equipment was generally low; generally each infantry cavalry battalion was equipped with one or two machine guns, each regiment was equipped with three 80 mortars, the artillery was mainly the old mountain artillery of 57 and 75 calibers, the cavalry brigade was equipped with six to nine artillery pieces, the infantry brigade was equipped with 12 to 18 artillery pieces, and the divisional artillery of the 1st * Division was also only one battalion with a total of 18 90 rapid-fire howitzers. Due to the inconvenience of supplies and the excessively harsh geographical conditions, the Northwest Front has not been equipped with an air floating unit for the time being, and plans have been made to transfer an aerial reconnaissance squadron consisting of 10 planes to the Northwest Front after the beginning of May......

Gu Yingyang, the head of the intelligence department, then reported on the threat assessment of the Russian army.

The information about Xinjiang's attack on the Russian army is mainly obtained by spies who have infiltrated the Central Asian region of the Russian Empire, and these spies are recruited from the Uyghur, Kazakh, Tajik, Russian and other ethnic minorities in China. Embassy and consulate staff) to pass on information on their behalf.

“…… On the Kazakh side, the total strength of the Russian army should include four infantry divisions and four cavalry divisions, as well as a number of local troops, with a total strength of about 120,000. On the Kokand side, the Russian army assembled two infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions, plus a number of local troops, for a total strength of 70,000 to 80,000 troops. Since the railway from Saratov on the Volga to Almaty in Kazakhstan was completed at the end of last year, the logistical situation of the Russian army on the Kazakh side is superior to that of the 1st Army Corps on the Ili side of our army. The branch line branched off from the Saratov-Almaty railway was also laid near the city of Kokand, and the Russian troops on the Kokand side had a far advantage over the Second Army Corps on the Kashgar side of our army in terms of logistics and transportation. According to preliminary estimates, the enemy's Kazakh front is likely to advance along the Ili River valley with the main force, and with part of its forces, it will break through from the Alashankou area and make a detour to the rear of our Ili First Army. The enemy's Kokand Front is likely to advance along the Kashgar River valley with its main force, from Kashgar to Aksu and Korla, and from the south to the north to occupy the entire territory of southern Xinjiang......"

The situation in Xinjiang is also not optimistic, mainly because the railway construction has not kept up, which has caused the disadvantage of supplies and reinforcements, but the northwest region is too vast, the geographical conditions are harsh, the predictable operating profits are not high, and it is not attractive to private capital, so it can only be built by the state at a huge cost. However, the funds that the state can use to build railways are limited after all, and in order to fight against Russia and recover the lost territory in Northeast China, the focus of the government-run railways is again on the northeast region, and the funds allocated by the Landi Railway are very limited, which has caused today's situation.

Liu Yun knows this very well, but he does not regret it.

He needs to look at the problem from the perspective of the strategy of the entire world, and the gains and losses of one city and one place are just trivial matters, and the dismissal of one or two generals is even more trivial and not worth mentioning.

The western part of Outer Mongolia has fallen, and most of Xinjiang has been lost, even if it is so miserable, it can still be recovered, these battlefields are just secondary aspects, the main battlefield is in Chita, in Ulan-Ude, in the east and west of Lake Baikal, the most important target is the Russian Far Eastern Army, as long as the enemy's heavy army group is eliminated, the whole of Siberia will not be left to our rampage? At that time, it is necessary not only to recover the lost territory, but also to knock the Russians down firmly.

Moreover, things are not irreparable.

It is possible to increase troops to Outer Mongolia and, of course, to Xinjiang.

Liu Yun turned to Hu Ke, the chief of operations: "In addition to the troops gathered in Xinjiang, the Northwest Military Region should still have reserve troops in other provinces, right?" ”

Hu Ke subconsciously nodded the stubble on his chin, bowed his head and said, "Yes, there is a Northwest No. 1 Mixed Brigade in Lanzhou, which is reserved to deal with bandits in Gansu and Ningxia provinces. ”

"The bandits were dealt with by the militia group, and the mixed brigade in Lanzhou immediately added people and wagons, carried enough grain, grass and ammunition to Xinjiang, and was included in the Northwest Front Army."

"Yes!"

"We can only do this, the task of the Northwest Front has not changed, that is, to defend Xinjiang, to defend the homeland and the country, and not to ask them to attack abroad, and we will thank them if we can keep the Xinjiang country." I believe Zhang Yaoqian can do it. ”

Zhang Yaoqian was the commander of the Northwest Front Army, an army general, and a member of Liu Yun's family, if he heard this, he didn't know what to be proud of.

Note: The original Kokand Khanate has been annexed by Russia, but the Kokand Khanate is still delineated separately on the map of the world released by the Chinese Empire, and the map of another time and space is roughly the area around Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.