Back in Moscow, at the Alexander Military Academy, before the battle began, Yazov still fantasized about seeing the cadets firing a salvo with precision and ferocity, and then the Bolshevik rebels and the wheat swept by a sickle kept falling. Yazov, with the same self-confidence as Karekin, believed that the cadets of the Russian military academy would be able to beat the cobbled together rabble of the Bolsheviks.

But this is not the case.

Kulikov's soldiers were firing desperately, their rate of fire was quite impressive, their enthusiasm was indisputable, but their aim was terrible. Not a single bullet could hit the approaching Bolshevik rebels, but the bullets that the Bolsheviks returned knocked out at least twenty of their brothers.

At this time, Yazov suddenly realized that the non-commissioned officers and cadets under his command were not much better than the Bolshevik rabble, and they lacked actual combat experience as a group of beautiful greenhouse flowers. When they really go to the battlefield, when the sound of gunfire and artillery stimulates their fragile nerves, when they see bloodshed and death, their combat skills cannot be played in 12/12.

The short, only a few minutes of firefighting cost Kulikov nearly thirty soldiers, while the Bolsheviks' losses were negligible, and if those who unfortunately sprained their ankles were counted in the casualties, then the Bolsheviks did suffer casualties.

Of course, the Bolshevik workers' Red Guards were just as bad at archery as the cadets, but they had the advantage of firepower, the PK machine guns that followed the attacking troops and the artillery support in the rear, which allowed them to suppress the fire of the White Army. Specifically, it almost made the White Army unable to raise its head.

However, after advancing to within 100 meters. The workers' Red Guards, however, halted their advance. Just stay where you are and fire at the White soldiers. Instead of continuing to shorten the distance and let the battle enter the white-knuckle phase.

This disappointed Kulikov, who lacked weapons and ammunition and was ready to solve the problem with white-knuckle warfare, and he found that all his plans had failed. Their enemies had no interest in hand-to-hand combat, but simply wanted to sweep through his defenses with powerful firepower from afar.

Under the fire, the debilitated White soldiers quickly abandoned their posts, at first a few soldiers, then a dozen, then dozens, and the last officers joined the ranks. Everyone began to retreat to the Alexandria Military Academy...... A more accurate, and completely uncompromising statement, is that a swarm of bees fleeing in embarrassment.

Nearly two hundred surviving and mobile White soldiers poured into the academy's buildings. Behind him were the Bolsheviks, who hastily disbanded their formation and pursued them. Either side looks like a mess. There is no organization, no command, only chaos.

It seems that soon, it will not take a few minutes for Yazov's defense line to collapse completely. Of course, if the Major is able to regroup his troops and set up a new defensive line using the various buildings of the Academy. Then he can continue to stall for time...... Only, because not every "if" can become a reality.

However, Yazov decided to give it a try, and he found the retreating Kulikov and shouted at him: "We must rebuild the defensive line." Matvey, otherwise we would all have turned into Bolshevik prisoners. ”

"I know it! Major! Kulikov replied. But what should we do? ”

"As you said before, let all your soldiers enter the building and engage the Bolsheviks, the walls and furniture should give them some cover. We have to fight a vigorous street fight! ”

Kulikov was about to say something, but Yazov interrupted impatiently: "If we don't do this, in a few minutes the Bolsheviks will be able to occupy the entire academy." He waved his arms angrily, which made him look very hideous: "We must defend the Alexandria Military Academy, even if we can't, we must create time for the masters of the National Salvation Revolutionary Committee to retreat." If they fall into the hands of the Bolsheviks, then all of Moscow will fall, and then we will be all finished! ”

Kulikov did not like Yazov's statement at all, as if their major intended to buy time for a group of self-righteous officers to flee for their lives at the expense of him and the lives of his soldiers. This made Kulikov quite unhappy!

"Major, maybe we shouldn't have supported those damned bureaucrats in the first place! Maybe we shouldn't have gotten involved in this battle in the first place! Kulikov roared angrily.

"There's no bullshit maybe. If the government falls, if the Bolshevik heretics come to power, our property, our land will be robbed by them! I will never allow that to happen! Yazov cried out, "I will never give the land that my ancestors left to me to those heretics with my hands!" ”

Yazov's hysteria left Kulikov without any choice, and as an officer of petty aristocratic landlord turn, he had to defend his land. So he could only take Yazov's orders and take a risk for those damned bureaucrats.

Kulikov turned his head to the back and shouted at the messy cadets under his command: "Gentlemen, you have heard me! We fought to preserve hope, and immediately entered the building next to the street, which was our new position. ”

"I don't think it's a good idea, second lieutenant." One of the non-commissioned officers muttered, but immediately his collar was grabbed by Kulikov, "Warrant officer, you listen to me, now go to the house on the left, and hold there until the battle is over." Or I'll shoot you right away! ”

The cadet was so frightened that he had to accept the order, and then Kulikov gave more orders.

"Warrant Officer Maxim, find me some people to control the building on the right."

"Warrant Officer Nikolai, lead your classmates into the Great Hall."

"I need fifty people to control every building around me, is there anyone who volunteers to go to ......?"

A minute later, the cadets who could still hear the order and were willing to carry it out began to rush to the buildings that Kulikov had asked them to control, piling everything that could be moved in the house next to the windows as fast as they could, leaning there and firing at the rushing Bolshevik rebels.

Albeit compared to before. The shooting skills of the White soldiers were not improved. But for the first time. The Bolsheviks felt the hindrance to their offensive. Once again, they stopped advancing and quickly dispersed, exchanging bullets in the streets with their opponents on the roofs of their houses. After a period of rout and confusion, Kulikov seemed to regain his footing and stabilize the front.

"The enemy took control of many buildings and used them as cover. Hold back our troops. The comrades had to clean each house one by one......"

Soon, Mikoyan got the news, and his eyebrows were twisted together. He didn't want to fight a hard and protracted street fight, he didn't have that much time. I don't plan to make such a big sacrifice.

Just when Mikoyan was nervously thinking about how to solve this problem, Li Xiaofeng spoke nonchalantly: "Let the infantry withdraw from the battle." ”

Mikoyan looked confused: "Comrade Andrei? ”

"Let the infantry withdraw from the battle. We have to save time and at the same time reduce human losses. Li Xiaofeng explained, repeating his order again, "Let the infantry withdraw from the battle." After destroying the enemy-occupied buildings with artillery fire, get the sappers and flamethrowers ready to fight, sweep the ruins, and destroy all the enemies! ”

Mikoyan was stunned, he completely understood what Li Xiaofeng meant, someone didn't intend to entangle with the enemy at all. Where there is resistance, destroy it! Even listen to him. There was no intention of receiving prisoners at all, and they were ready to clean and thoroughly sweep away all the White Army, leaving no one behind!

This gave Mikoyan a more intuitive impression of someone's decisiveness, and he couldn't help but think that if a few hours ago, instead of agreeing to someone's conditions, he had chosen the path of confrontation, maybe at this moment, someone's hideous fangs would not be aimed at the poor white army, but at him.

Although Mikoyan was not afraid of someone's fangs, he did not dare to say that he could easily deal with someone's provocations, and he was afraid that at that time he would have to devote more energy to fighting someone, and he would probably miss the opportunity to get more credit in Moscow. When he thought of this, he was relieved that he had made a wise decision to take the lead.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, tense armistice negotiations are underway, much to Rudnev's embarrassment. In the course of the negotiations, he was constantly harassed by bad news, and first the National Salvation Revolutionary Committee sent him a sternly worded letter of questioning, strongly condemning his disrespectful attitude towards the Mensheviks and the Cadet allies, and demanding that he immediately make a sincere apology for the matter in order to gain the understanding of the allies.

Rudnev doesn't particularly care about this kind of bullshit question letter, as long as he can solve the problem with negotiations, then none of this is a problem. But to his headache, the bad news doesn't stop there.

It was not long before Major Vershinin called for reinforcements, and his army was not able to get close to the General Directorate of Posts, Telecommunications and Telephones, having suffered a terrible price in front of them.

Thinking that there were only a hundred and ten Bolsheviks guarding the Main Directorate of Posts, Telecommunications and Telephones, Rudnev wanted to slap Vershinin in the face, a thousand people could not even beat a hundred, what use could such idiots have?

Of course, in the midst of the piles of bad news, it was not without "good news", Bunakov relayed the news about Karekin - Karekin's troops encountered a strong resistance from the Bolsheviks in the direction of Serpukhov and Stupino, a hundred and ten kilometers from Moscow. I'm afraid it won't be possible to get to Moscow at the agreed time. In a telegram, Karekin expressed his deep apologies and said that he would do his best to break through the Bolshevik blockade as quickly as possible.

In this regard, Rudnev misunderstood what Bunnakov meant, and did not expect that this was a modified and processed bad news. On the contrary, he did not think it was bad news at all, and he gloated, and he was eager to know what the Cadets and Mensheviks would look like when they learned of it. The biggest reliance of those fools has failed, and he, Ludnev, will have more time, with which he will surely achieve greater results at the negotiating table!

Confident, Rudnev was ready to make a big move, ready to rip off Zinoviev's and the Bolsheviks' pants with sharp words. But he had no idea that the only "good news" was actually bad news.

"Comrade Andrey, Comrade Mikoyan, great news!"

Li Xiaofeng, who was talking to Mikoyan, raised his head. He saw the messenger hurrying in. Asked: "Could it be that we have already occupied the Alexander Military Academy." Destroyed the enemy's command core? ”

"Not really." The correspondent happily handed the telegram to Li Xiaofeng and said with a smile: "Comrade Frunze has sent a telegram that he has repelled Karekin's bandit army and seriously injured this invincible guy!" ”

"Impossible." Mikoyan's first reaction was that this was ridiculous news, "Karekin's troops are very strong, and relying on Comrade Frunze's forces alone, I'm afraid it will not be enough to repel the enemy, right?" ”

Also questioning this news are the old men of the National Salvation Revolutionary Committee. When they learned the news, their glasses shattered.

"The Bolsheviks were not so combative! They're just a rabble! The representative of the Cadets was outraged and vehemently retorted the nonsense on the telegram, "It is impossible for them to stop General Karekin's advance!" This must have been a rumor concocted by the Bolsheviks......"

"Please calm down, sir." The representative of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party interjected just rightly, "Regarding the situation of General Karekin, we can send him another telegram asking for the facts." ”

"It must be a rumor." The representative of the Cadet Party still insisted on his view.

"I also hope it's a rumor." The representative of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party took a more conservative approach, then he turned to the telegraph operator and asked: "Go on." Sir, what's one more bad news? ”

The telegraph operator sighed. He replied: "Major Yazov asked me to inform the committee that their line of defense was in jeopardy, and he asked the committee to move immediately. ”

"What?"

Compared with the news of Karekin's defeat just now, all the deputies in the National Salvation Revolutionary Committee, whether Cadets or Socialist-Revolutionaries, gasped in unison. They instinctively felt the tension and danger, and immediately panicked!

Yes, Karekin is not alive or dead, and he is not particularly close to them, and for them, even if Karekin does not come, they will not be in immediate danger for the time being, but if Yazov does not hold the line, then they will be directly exposed to the guns of the Bolsheviks.

The meeting room immediately exploded, and the delegates, who were greedy for life and feared death, sprayed saliva frantically, condemning the Bolsheviks, but more of them were attacking Yazov's life:

"Yazov, this idiot, how did he command!"

"Remove this idiot from his post and let someone really capable command our soldiers!"

"We should retreat at once! Let Yazov immediately arrange manpower to protect our safe evacuation! ”

It was not only the Revolutionary Committee for National Salvation that also began to panic, Smirlov's face became extremely ugly after answering a phone call, and his secretary relayed the bad news from Mulalov!

"Damn it!" Smirlov hung up the phone heavily, his face contorted.

Lomov (to correct it, the front was careless, not Molov, it was Lomov) was alarmed by his movements, looked up at him, and was taken aback - Smirlov's face was so bad, dark clouds were full of lightning and thunder, and he seemed to be in a state of great indignation.

Lomov immediately became worried, I am afraid that the matter is very serious to be able to make this old friend's face as ugly as it is now!

Without waiting for Lomov to ask, Smirlov said with a pale face: "Muralov called just now, our plan failed, and he failed to trap Andrei. Petrovich. ”

"What!" Lomov was so surprised that he almost bounced out of his chair and screamed: "You're not kidding, didn't he pat his chest earlier and say that everything is fine?" He's not saying that Andrey has been solved. Petrovich this little trouble? ”

"That idiot made a mistake!" Smirlov's face was so gloomy that he could drip water, "His idiot secretary Alkirov was very brain-dead and mistook Yezhov for Andrei. Petrovich ......"

He stopped, but Lomov knew what he meant, and there was no need to say the rest of the words, and there was nothing to say, a trivial mistake, but it buried all their efforts.

"What are we going to do now?" Lomov lowered his voice and asked, "Do you want to inform Grigory and Usievich......"

"No!" Smirlov directly interrupted him, "It makes no sense to inform him of this news now." We should not disturb the work of Comrade Gregory! Let him continue to complete the negotiations! ”

"What's the point of negotiations? As long as Andrey. Petrovich is here, and we can't really stop fighting. That bastard will use the commissioner, and he will use the name of the central government to force us to continue fighting! He's not reasonable at all! Lomov roared hysterically, "Even that stinky boy will beat us as counter-revolutionaries, he will ......"

"Calm down, Comrade Lomov! I know all of what you're saying! Smirlov scolded, "I mean, we should not know that there is such a thing as a negotiation. As if the negotiations were entirely concocted by Grigory and Usievich. ”

Lomov immediately understood, "You mean, let them take responsibility!" ”

"That's right! Whether or not the negotiations are successful, we don't know anything! Smirlov said categorically.

Lomov pondered for a moment, then nodded slowly, "This is the only way, just do what you say!" (To be continued......)