Major General Tong Batu, commander of the Second Cavalry Brigade of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, jumped up in surprise after listening to Colonel Hexigetu, chief of staff of the brigade, and relayed the telegram from Wang Jun, chief of staff of the border defense army, and hurriedly asked: "Old man, don't you want to scare people, is that what the division commander really said?" ”

He Xigetu didn't speak, took out another telegram from Wen Jiàn's folder, handed it to Tong Batu, and said: "Take a closer look, this is the original text, Chief of Staff Wang also said, let you Brigade Commander Tong, understand the telegram of the division commander well." ”

After reading the two telegrams, Tong Batu wiped the sweat on his head, and said with palpitations: "Old man, when I attacked the Lao Maozi Armored Brigade at night, I didn't tremble, but the division commander's telegram made me break out in a cold sweat, if I was really taken to the side by the division commander, I would be a guard staff officer for a year and a half, and these old fellows of the border guards would not laugh at us, and the second brigade would also have a dull face, and in the future, I would not dare to do this!" ”

Kulun, the headquarters of the Outer Mongolia Frontier Army, Tang Qiuli said to Wang Jun, chief of staff of the border defense army, who came back after sending the telegram: "The telegram to Tong Batu, sent it?" My warnings have also been passed on? ”

Wang Jun was overjoyed and replied: "Division Commander, they have all been sent over, and I will convey your words in the name of a private person as they are, it is estimated that at this moment, Brigade Commander Tong is in a panic!" ”

Tang Qiuli laughed and said: "Okay, just let the aggressive Tong Batu have a longer memory and learn more about the demeanor of a general, Liu Hongzhang, Le Yiqin and Liu Cuigang have stayed by my side for a few months, has they made great progress and changes, by the way, Li Changjiang's Fourth Brigade has no similar situation of cutting first and then playing, right?" ”

Wang Jun hurriedly said: "Division commander, absolutely not, according to Brigade Commander Li's telegram. The 4th Brigade retreated to Shunlì, and did not find the pursuing Soviet troops, it was already close to the Sejingge River, and it was expected that tomorrow morning, it would be able to cross the river and join Commander Sun's troops! ”

Tang Qiuli thought for a moment and said, "Convey my order, the Li Changjiang Division of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade will stay in the area on the south bank of the Sesagoge River and be under the command of Sun Zhenbang. As a reserve for the campaign, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade Tong Batu Division returned to Kulen according to the original plan, and at the same time, ordered Sun Zhenbang. Be prepared to block the Soviet army. ”

Wang Jun's eyes flickered, he didn't understand. Why did the division commander let the 2nd Cavalry Brigade. Withdraw to Cullen alone, but he did not raise his own questions, the division commander arranged it this way, he had his own intentions, as a subordinate, it was enough to carry out the order.

Tang Qiuli naturally saw the question on Wang Jun's face. But there was no explanation, and the Tong Batu brigade was ordered to withdraw to Kulen alone, for only one reason. The Second Cavalry Brigade is the unit with the least infiltration by the forces of the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance", the composition of the soldiers is not complicated, and the soldiers who have not been recruited in the Outer Mongolia region are all veterans who have fought all the way from the country, and the cohesion and centripetal force are extremely strong.

In the near future, there will be a storm in the Outer Mongolia region, the second brigade as the backbone force, plays an extremely important role in the stability of Kulun and the surrounding areas, before the troops directly under the corps did not arrive in the Outer Mongolia region, Tong Batu's second cavalry brigade stationed in Kulun, the forces of the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance", itself is a deterrent force, if turmoil breaks out in Kulun, the second cavalry brigade, will also be a suppressive force.

Tang Qiuli was not too worried about the internal situation in Outer Mongolia within the controllable range, what he was worried about was whether the four infantry brigades and two artillery brigades commanded by Sun Zhenbang, plus Li Changjiang's Fourth Cavalry Brigade, and Zeng Shiqiang's Third Cavalry Brigade, which had been reinforced, would be able to block the Soviet troops from breaking through the Seruga River before they reached the designated positions in the area on the south bank of the Serge River.

After all, the Outer Mongolian border guard troops, whether in terms of weapons and equipment or the combat effectiveness of the troops, can not be compared with several field corps, it will be a disparity in strength of the resistance war, if Stalin decided to wave his army south, break through the defense line of the Segeshuang River, from Kulen to the north, there are really no troops to defend, if it is not good, will abandon Kulen, if at this time, the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance" forces, take the opportunity to riot, the consequences are unimaginable.

According to a telegram sent by Zhao Yuhe three hours ago, the troops that were able to reach the Sejingge River on time on 18 September could only reach the 1st and 2nd Brigades that were originally scheduled to assemble Kulun, and the other troops could all reach the designated assembly area on 20 and 21 September at the earliest.

This does not include Battle's four tank brigades and three artillery brigades, and if all the troops reach the first line of the Sejinga River, they will have to do so around 25 September at the earliest, and today is the 16th, that is to say, if they want to launch a large-scale counterattack on the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Army on the front line of the Sejinga River, they will not be able to carry out it until at least 26 September.

It depends on Stalin's determination, if he insists on attacking Outer Mongolia in the south, then Sun Zhenbang's Outer Mongolian border guards will have to bear tremendous pressure and losses in nearly a week, and if Stalin hesitates, it will be extremely beneficial for him to deploy his troops.

Unexpectedly, it was originally a relaxed and inspecting trip to Outer Mongolia, but it was necessary to fight an unprepared battle, and the rhythm of the battle was controlled by Stalin, Tang Qiuli couldn't help but sigh a little, passive!

Since the ground troops could not reach the front line of the Sejingge River at the fastest speed, the only way to do so was to dispatch aviation to provide maximum air fire support for Sun Zhenbang's blocking troops. ”

The door of the office opened, the communication staff officer did not come in, a faint fragrant breeze wafted in, and it was his wife Mei Xue who came in, holding a food box in her hand, Mei Xue said: "The staff officers are very hard, they haven't closed their eyes for a day and a night, I let them rest, leaving only a few people on duty, who is like you, it's a workaholic, come on, get you some supper, eat while it's hot, what's the matter, explain it to me!" ”

Tang Qiuli took the food box, put it on the kang table, hugged his wife's slender waist affectionately with his right hand, and said, "When you say that, I'm really hungry!" ”

After picking up the chopsticks and eating two bites, he said: "Xue, record the message, Liu Cuigang, commander of the Northern Flight Group of the Air Force, immediately led four fighter regiments and two bomber regiments to station at various field airfields in Outer Mongolia to command all air forces in Outer Mongolia in a unified manner, and this order was immediately executed!" ”

After Mei Xue recorded the order, she hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Qiuli, is the war in Outer Mongolia very dangerous?" ”

Tang Qiuli was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Dangerous? In that case, don't worry about it, I'm prepared, since Liu Cui just wants to fight, and he's about to go crazy, then find him a chance to find a Sovietist pilot to practice his hands! ”

Mei Xue smiled, worried about everything, she believed her husband's words, and had an almost blind confidence in her husband's ability, Tang Qiuli quickly finished eating supper, Mei Xue packed up the food box, refilled a bowl of hot milk tea for him, and left, Tang Qiu looked at his wife's slender figure far away, his eyes were full of tenderness.

Late at night on 16 September, the office of the Supreme Leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, in Moscow and the Kremlin, was still brightly lit, and the senior leaders of the Soviet party, government, military, intelligence, and security systems gathered in Stalin's office to attend a meeting at the highest level.

The meeting of all members of the Political Bureau of the CPSU had only one content, that is, starting in the early morning of the day before yesterday, the Transcaucasian Military District made a judgment on the results of its offensive against Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude on Lake Baikal.

Accompanied by Beria, Stalin slowly walked into the office, and after accepting the greetings from the bigwigs, Stalin's face was calm, he first took a puff of pipe, spewed out light blue smoke, turned his gaze to Marshal Petroshilov, chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, and asked in a flat tone: "Comrade Petroshilov, you first tell me about the offensive of our Soviet Red Army in the salient of the border line of Outer Mongolia and the Baikal region!"

Marshal Petroshilov opened the text folder and said: "Comrade Stalin, according to the report of the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, General Kulygin, starting from the morning of 14 September, the Transcaucasian Military District dispatched seven infantry divisions, including three mechanized infantry divisions, two artillery divisions, four tank brigades, and one armored brigade, to launch an offensive from the two directions of Barnaor and Chita to Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, which are under the control of the Chinese army. ”

"As of six o'clock this evening, we have occupied all the above two places, and have begun to purge the remnants of the Chinese army, General Kulykin, two hours ago, called the General Staff to ask for instructions on the next course of action, he means, we should continue to advance south, and go straight to Kulen!"

"Oh!" Stalin pulled his pipe from his mouth, his eyes became focused, and asked: "So, the troops of our Transcaucasian Military District have fulfilled the intended purpose of the campaign and occupied Irkutsk and Ulanwood, so what is the situation of the battle?" How many Tang Qiuli's troops were annihilated, and what were the losses of our troops? ”

Marshal Petroshilov paused for a moment and replied: "Comrade Stalin, I am very sorry that the troops of the separate division were not annihilated, according to the report of the Transcaucasian Military District, when our troops occupied Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, the troops of the independent division, having already abandoned the two places in advance, did not go through any battles, and there were no losses. ”

"However, the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, General Kurygin, forwarded the report of the commander of the Third Army of the Military District, Major General Sergeyev, and mentioned another situation."

(To be continued) (To be continued.) For mobile phone users, please read it on m.biquge.info. )