Yu Deshui and Shen Jun, after receiving the order from the division commander Tang Qiuli, immediately understood what was going on.

Because before that, Yu Deshui and Shen Jun, after each receiving reports from their subordinate departments, exchanged views with Sun Zhenbang, chairman of the Outer Mongolia Regional Military and Political Commission and commander of the border defense army, on the relevant situation, and with their many years of experience in intelligence and counter-espionage, they should rely on their instinctive intuition to nip the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance" in the bud, otherwise, it will become a problem in the future.

However, at that time, Sun Zhenbang's opinion was to insist that the Outer Mongolia Military and Political Commission handle it by itself, and there was no need to alarm too many people, especially the division commander Tang Qiuli, and the two of them did not insist anymore.

If it is not an exaggeration to say that they are derelict in their duties, if the two men had insisted on their own opinions and reported the situation in Outer Mongolia to the division commander, there would not have been such a dangerous situation as today, and the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance" would not have become a climate at all.

Therefore, after the transport plane landed at Kulun Airport, Yu Deshui and Shen Jun did not have time to taste the autumn climate of Outer Mongolia, and after arranging their respective subordinates, they hurriedly rushed to Kulun City by car to meet the division commander Tang Qiuli.

When they arrived at the headquarters of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Guards and saw the division commander Tang Qiuli, the two of them did not see the slightest nervousness and uneasiness on the face of the division commander.

Without waiting for the two of them to speak, Tang Qiuli greeted him first and said, "Yes, it's quite punctual, this time I will transfer the two of you generals over." I guess you already know what the reason is, tell me, how many people did you bring? ”

Yu Deshui, who was older, reported first: "Division commander, this time I came to Outer Mongolia and brought with me all the personnel from various departments who did not have tasks in the headquarters of the Intelligence Department, a total of 438 people, all of whom are experienced veterans. ”

Shen Jun then reported: "The personnel of our investigation department are mainly personnel from the Special Operations Section and the Security Section. Together with the personnel transferred from other departments, there are a total of 675 people, all of whom are elite soldiers and strong generals, waiting for the order of the division commander at any time! ”

Tang Qiuli nodded and said, "Not bad." To be aware of the current dangerous situation in Outer Mongolia and to mobilize so many people. It won't affect work in other regions, right? ”

Yu Deshui and Shen Jun. Glancing at each other, Yu Deshui replied: "No, division commander, we have already arranged it, and Director Shen and I will make a deep review of the division commander, as a functional department." Failure to do a good job of precaution is our dereliction of duty, please punish the division commander! ”

Tang Qiuli waved his hand and stopped Shen Jun, who was about to continue speaking. said: "Two directors, now is not the time to review, the most important work at present is that you immediately put into the monitoring of the backbone elements of the Outer Mongolia Independence League, if you have anything to say, stay after solving the crisis, I will not leave you to eat, your subordinates Qi Shuanghe and He Junjie are waiting for you outside, the specific situation, listen to their reports, and the arrangements for the operation will also be conveyed by them!" ”

Yu Deshui and Shen Jun realized that the situation in Outer Mongolia was more severe than they expected, and the division commander didn't even have time to entertain his subordinates who came from afar, so the two saluted and said goodbye, feeling heavy in their hearts.

As soon as Yu Deshui and Shen Jun went out, Colonel Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, hurriedly came in with a telegram and reported: "Report to the division commander, I have received an urgent telegram from the commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade stationed in Irkutsk, Tong Batu, that this afternoon, about two divisions of the Soviet Army are moving towards the periphery of Irkutsk to join up with the Soviet troops of a mechanized infantry division that was previously there. ”

"The Soviet army has formed a trend of encirclement of Irkutsk, and Brigade Commander Tong Batu judged that the Soviet army has the intention of moving in the direction of Irkutsk, and called for instructions, the next move of the troops!"

Tang Qiuli frowned tightly and asked Wang Jun: "Zeng Shiqiang, the Third Cavalry Brigade that reinforced the Tong Batu Brigade, where is it now?" ”

Wang Jun replied: "We have just crossed the Selenga River, and we are still ten hours away from Irkutsk, and this is without taking into account the halfway rest of the cavalry troops, if we take a short rest halfway, it will take more than eleven hours. ”

Tang Qiuli's heart became nervous, he did not expect that he would transfer the backbone elements of the "Outer Mongolia Independent League" in the border guards to Kulen for intensive training, and this plan did not prevent the Soviets from doing it, and it can also be seen from this that Stalin's determination to take action against Outer Mongolia.

Irkutsk, which was taken from the Soviet army during the first Outer Mongolian War, is located at a strategic point on the left bank of Lake Baikal, and there are no strong city fortifications, plus Tong Batu's second cavalry brigade, is not good at fighting urban defense battles, and there are no heavy weapons, and the terrain conditions of the city are not conducive to defense, and the total strength of the three divisions of Soviet troops should exceed 40,000 people, almost more than twice the strength of Tong Batu.

In particular, which mechanized division, in the flat Irkutsk area, is the nemesis of the cavalry unit, it can be judged in this way, in front of the Soviet army, which has an advantage in strength and weaponry, the Tong Batu brigade defended Irkutsk, and could not withstand three days, and the final result was the annihilation of the whole army, even if Zeng Shiqiang's third brigade was reinforced, it could not fight against the Soviet mechanized troops, or the end of the entire army.

The battle between the two cavalry brigades must not be fought, Tang Qiuli asked: "Chief of Staff Wang, what is the opinion of Brigade Commander Tong Batu?" Also, has the encirclement of Irkutsk by the Soviet army been completed? ”

Wang Jun replied: "According to Brigade Commander Tong's telegram, the Soviet army is moving to the two flanks of Irkutsk, and it is expected that there will be more than six hours to encircle the place, Brigade Commander Tong's opinion is to hold Irkutsk and wait for reinforcements to arrive, Brigade Commander Tong also said that all the more than 5,000 soldiers of the Second Brigade are determined to fight to the death with Lao Maozi, and play the prestige of our cavalry troops of the independent division, even if the whole army is annihilated, it will not hesitate, Mongolian men, in front of the enemy, there is no habit of retreating!" ”

Tang Qiuli did not speak, Tong Batu's determination to seek battle and the spirit of treating death as if he were at home were commendable, and he also believed that all the officers and men of the Second Cavalry Brigade could do this, but the enemy was outnumbered and knew that it was impossible to win the battle, and such determination could only cause the troops to suffer heavy losses.

Seeing that Tang Qiuli did not speak, Wang Jun said: "Division commander, according to my judgment, the Soviet army did not rush to attack, but moved to the two flanks of Irkutsk, and its intention is nothing more than the following, to cut the Baikal region from our entire defense line, and encircle and annihilate our garrison troops, because judging from the situation of the Soviet-Mongolian border, the Baikal region belongs to the salient, and it is convenient for the movement and deployment of the Soviet army's mechanized troops. ”

Tang Qiuli was shocked, he didn't see this, because he didn't understand the terrain of Outer Mongolia, or he was messed up, in addition, he underestimated Stalin's determination to act so resolutely in Outer Mongolia, from the very beginning, he fell behind, the new tsar of the Soviet Union was a madman, the Japanese Kwantung Army was eyeing the Far East of the Soviet Union, and the trouble had not been solved, so he dared to start another war.

Tang Qiuli admitted that his thinking this time did not keep up with Stalin's head, and when Wang Jun was still waiting for the division commander's order, Major General Sun Zhenbang, commander of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, hurriedly came in again and said: "Division commander, I received an urgent telegram from Li Changjiang, commander of the Fifth Cavalry Brigade stationed in Ulan-Ude, and the cavalry reconnaissance team of the department reported that from the direction of Chita in the Soviet Union, a large number of Soviet troops were found approaching Ulan-Ude. ”

"The strength is about four divisions, including two mechanized divisions, Lao Maozi is really going to do it, fuck, forget the lesson of a few years ago, division commander, I led six brigades of troops, and quickly reinforced Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk, I have to fight with Lao Maozi, there is a situation in Ulan-Ude, and there will be no stop there, as long as Tong Batu and Zeng Shiqiang hold on to the spot for two days, I can arrive!"

Tang Qiuli looked coldly at the indignant Sun Zhenbang and said: "Just now, Chief of Staff Wang sent a telegram from Tong Batu, in the direction of Irkutsk, there were three divisions of Soviet troops, Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, only separated by Lake Baikal, mechanized or cavalry troops marched, and it took less than eight hours to arrive, but seven infantry divisions of the Soviet army, more than 90,000 troops. ”

"Sun Zhenbang, you have six cavalry brigades, plus the original two brigades, but more than 40,000 troops, and there are no armored troops and heavy weapons, let me ask you, the enemy is strong and I am weak, the equipment is at a disadvantage, and the cavalry is fighting against the mechanized troops, how to fight this battle? Do you want the fighters to die? Stay put? What are the terrain conditions in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, are there fortifications? What do you let the warriors rely on? They are cavalry! ”

In the last few words, Tang Qiuli's tone turned stronger, and his voice became louder, he was very dissatisfied with Sun Zhenbang's expression, and he was soft-hearted to the forces of the "Outer Mongolia Independent Alliance", so that the hidden dangers left today can be exposed, after all, there are extenuating circumstances, for the sake of the stability of the Outer Mongolia region, or the underestimation of the danger of this organization, or in other words, even if there is a riot, it will not be able to cause fundamental damage to the Outer Mongolian border defense troops.

But now it is a battle involving a huge disparity in strength, involving the life and death of more than 10,000 soldiers, Sun Zhenbang still lacks such consideration, and even does not analyze the comparison of forces between the enemy and us, does not consider how to get the troops out of danger, and ignores the actual situation, but is hot-headed, and has to take the troops to reinforcements and make unnecessary sacrifices.

As the head of the military and government guarding the town, such an uncalm expression was due to a lack of consideration in the urgency, or was he overestimating his ability, Tang Qiuli asked himself secretly.

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