Since the Zhanggufeng conflict broke out, Sverdlov has not had a good sleep. He has been spending the night in his office these days, guarding against sudden bad news. He is not worried about the unfavorable war. He knows the strength of the Far East Red Flag Front Army, which is enough to settle Japan, which is trapped in the quagmire of China. Li Xiaofeng, who is really worried about, is really worried about this little friend's bad temper.

Since 1917, Sverdlov has known what kind of temper Li Xiaofeng is. He is really vengeful and is very good at tossing. Especially someone is very brave. He will definitely use the most intense means to eradicate those who he doesn't like or offend others.

What worries Sverdlov is that from what he knows, Apanashenko has definitely offended someone. Judging from someone's usual style, it is only a matter of time before the outbreak begins.

Sverdlov's only hope is that someone will not break out at this moment. Now it is not the time to turn against Stalin. If he really wants to have a strife with Stalin, he will only be able to get a discount on Trotsky.

Sverdlov hopes that someone can be patient, preferably until the time of the 1940 election. If it really doesn't work, it will have to endure until 1939. Anyway, he has to set some time to prepare.

Anyway, as a materialist, Sverdlov kept praying these days, hoping that the false God could help. Of course, he was more regretful and should not let someone go to the Far East during this period, or he should not let someone deal with the Apanashenko problem. However, he was the most cursing the Japanese and hating these damn Eastern dwarfs to the core.

Just as Sverdlov was praying silently, the door of his office was suddenly knocked open. Luzutak, who looked haggard and even put on his shoes, rushed in hurriedly. He drove away Sverdlov's confidential secretary without saying a word and closed the door fiercely.

"What a big deal!"

Sverdlov's mind buzzed. What he was most worried about happened. He stared at Luzutak, who kept gushing about the latest news to him:

"Andre called, and he had executed Apanishenko and Mehlis for espionage and treason!"

Sverdlov chewed at all, and he was really afraid of anything. What surprised him was that someone did so amazingly. He actually killed him first and then made a move. This was simply: "Nonsense!"

Sverdlov slapped the table hard, then began to circle around the office, complaining as he walked: "He can't control himself, tell him ten thousand times, and now he should put the overall situation first. Don't he know what the overall situation is?"

Luzutak was also shocked, but unlike Sverdlov, he did not complain much, but asked: "Now is not the time to say this. Things have happened. What we have to do is to minimize the impact!"

"How to reduce it?" Sverdlov smiled bitterly. "You don't know Stalin's attitude. You have spoken to Apanashenko several times. Obviously, he attaches great importance to that idiot. How can this be good..."

Sverdlov was in a bad mood and was even more annoyed by Li Xiaofeng. His attitude made Lu Zutak a little dissatisfied. Even if Li Xiaofeng did too much this time, he was too anxious. But someone was his own person, and no matter how wrong someone was, he could not turn his elbow out.

"Comrade Andre's approach is indeed questionable," Luzutak said sincerely, "but I don't think that if it weren't for the fact that there was no way, he would never ignore your instructions and do whatever he wanted... I think some kind of accident might have happened at that time, which led to Comrade Andre having to kill him."

Sverdlov frowned, not sure if the reason given by Ruzutak was valid because of someone's temper... He sighed and asked, "How do you think we should deal with this crisis?"

Luzutak took a deep breath: "In my opinion, since things have happened, we can only accept reality. You understand Comrade Stalin's temper. Even if you can give great sincerity to resolve this conflict, he will never give up easily. Moreover, in the long run, the conflict between us is inevitable. Since this is the case, it is better to do whatever we should do instead of trying to explain and make up for it!"

Sverdlov's heart skipped a beat. He understood what Luzutak meant. He wanted him to turn against Stalin directly, but he was really hard to make up his mind...

"Comrade Yakov, time is tight! Comrade Andre has not reported this to the Military Commission yet. Now the only ones who receive the news are you and me. At the latest, you must make up your mind at 6 am tomorrow!"

Sverdlov raised his head and looked at Luzutak in confusion, and asked, "Do you want to contact Stalin..."

"How can this work!" Luzutak interrupted him without hesitation and said decisively: "Then the news will be leaked immediately, which will lead to Comrade Andre's entire passiveness. Even if he has no mistakes, he will be wrong!"

Sverdlov wiped his face. Obviously, he was not satisfied with his performance just now. He really could not contact Stalin at this time. This news can only be digested internally. The news can only be made public after making the final decision.

"Give me an hour, I'll think about it!" Sverdlov replied solemnly.

Ruzutak glanced at Sverdlov, and he was anxious. In his opinion, there was only one choice at this time. But Sverdlov was still hesitating and making up his mind. Isn't this so anxious!

However, Ruzutak could not refuse Sverdlov's request. He could only say: "Then think carefully, time is precious, and you can't delay it!"

Sverdlov just nodded silently, but said nothing.

When he walked out of Sverdlov's office, Luzutak couldn't help but remember the conversation he had about Sverdlov when he was chatting with Li Xiaofeng. At that time, Li Xiaofeng said to him: "Comrade Yakov is good in everything, but hesitates a little. He is a little bit undecisive and hesitant at critical moments. He is more suitable to be a assistant to Comrade Lenin rather than being alone."

At that time, Luzutak did not agree with this because in his eyes, Sverdlov was a powerful cadre who was capable and never dragged on the slut. Compared with Lenin, he believed that Sir's biggest problem was that he was too young and lacked authority.

But after working together over the years, especially after this conversation tonight, Luzutak overturned his previous view. Sverdlov did lack decisiveness. The ability he showed before was more because there was a strong decisive ability on it, and Lenin was in charge of making the final decision, and Sverdlov was only responsible for the execution. If Lenin had not carried the burden on it, what if Sverdlov could handle the actual work?

Looking at the office behind him, Lu Zutak sighed. At this time, he really missed Lenin. If he had encountered the same situation, he would definitely not think behind closed doors. He would make a decision quickly and seize the precious time to fire the first shot at the enemy.

Even Ruzutak understood why Lenin chose to hand over to Trotsky before, instead of choosing to hand over to Sverdlov and Stalin, who was a little soft. Stalin was too tough, but Trotsky could reasonably grasp the position.

Luzutak thought about it for a long time without thinking until he was invited into his office by Sverdlov's confidential secretary.

"Tell me, what should I do?"

This sentence finally made the stone in Luzutak's heart fall to the ground. Even though Xiao Siduo spent more than an hour, it was better to have a decision than not to make a decision. Luzutak suddenly became excited...

It was a sleepless night between Ruzutak and Sverdlov, and why was Li Xiaofeng the same? After dealing with Aparathonko and Meheris, he urgently notified Ruzutak through secret channels. Next, he would be unable to control Sverdlov's decision. If Xiao Si really sold him, he would have no choice. Of course, he believed that this possibility was very low.

On this night, he was thinking more about how to fight the next battle. The battle plan given by Szgern could not satisfy him. To be honest, the current situation is indeed a mess. Apaneseko launched three large-scale attacks regardless of the consequences, but the situation on the battlefield deteriorated sharply. The 32nd Infantry Division and the 40th Infantry Division suffered heavy losses, and they were entangled with the Japanese army, so they could not advance or retreat. No one could change the passive situation immediately.

In particular, this series of fierce attacks caused a large number of casualties, and the casualties report in front of Li Xiaofeng was unbearable to look at. After three days of attack, a total of 717 people were killed, 75 were missing, and 3,270 were injured, with a total of 4,071 casualties. Another 17 tanks were destroyed and 76 were injured.

Some comrades may say that the casualties are not large, and there are no more than 1,000 people killed in battle. What is the major casualties? In this regard, Li Xiaofeng can only say that there are more than 4,000 casualties in three days, which means that the average casualties are more than 1,000 casualties per day. Such a battle is already very tragic. Especially, among the 717 people killed in battle, there are 152 officers and 178 non-commissioned officers, and the commanders on the battlefield account for almost half of the casualties. This proportion is quite amazing!

What's more, the main responsible for the attack were the 32nd, 40th Infantry Divisions and the Second Mechanized Brigade. According to the peacetime organization of the Soviet Red Army, except for the 2nd Mechanized Brigade being fully organized, the 32nd and 40th Infantry Divisions were actually in a reduced state. At that time, the two infantry divisions had only more than 8,000 people. The two infantry divisions plus one mechanized brigade, and the full battle was less than 20,000. One fifth of these 20,000 people were injured or killed. Do you think this casualties are serious?

What's even more unfortunate is that among the four thousand casualties, the proportion of misattacks and insufficient preparations for the attack was very high. For example, due to insufficient combat preparations and poor logistical support, the Red Army soldiers on the front line could not get safe drinking water, which resulted in rampant diseases. In addition, misattacks, which led to a large number of fearless casualties.

Especially the latter, because the Japanese army's night attack ability was beyond imagination, the Red Army soldiers on the front line had serious fear of the night, and when they were nervous, the mistakes made were normal. For example, the Lieutenant Vineje, who killed Matsumoto, caused the Zhang Gufeng conflict to break out, was killed by the sentry during the night patrol because the sentry remembered the wrong command.

In short, what is now in front of Li Xiaofeng is an absolute mess. If you don't find a way to change the current unfavorable situation, even if Sverdlov helps him cover up the shooting of Apaneseko and Mechlis. After that, Stalin, who was angry and embarrassed, would still use the reasons for the unfavorable battle to attack him.

So for Li Xiaofeng, solving Aparathonko and Meheris is just the beginning. If he wants to get out of it successfully, he must have a completely different result from Aparathonko.

Li Xiaofeng held a military meeting overnight: "Tell me, what are your opinions and suggestions on the recovery of Zhang Gufeng?"

Shirn spoke first: "We can't do anything recklessly like before, and we can't let our soldiers line up for shooting. I suggest cross-border operations and avoid narrow roads."

The husband had just arrived at the command center, and he was shocked by the news that Apanashenko and Meheris had been shot, so he naturally couldn't make any decent suggestions: "I think the front-line troops should be rested first. The young men are too tired."

As for Rechagov, his advice was: "It makes no sense to continue the previous carpet bombing. We should destroy the enemy's positions accurately, rather than blowing up the air."

Well, these suggestions are not very valuable to Li Xiaofeng. It is obvious that these generals are helpless about the situation in front of them. Of course, it may also be because of the deaths of Apaneseko and Meheris that they were shocked. They were afraid that they would come up with bad ideas and be settled by Li Xiaofeng.

In desperation, Li Xiaofeng could only say his opinion first: "It is completely meaningless to continue the previous attack of desperate attacks. The enemy opposite us is very strong, and the terrain is extremely unfavorable to us. I suggest that the main forces of the 32nd, 40th and 2nd Mechanized Brigades be withdrawn from rest first. Let the 26th and 39th Infantry Divisions temporarily replace them."

After a pause, Li Xiaofeng looked at the face of the senior commander of the Far East Red Flag Front. Seeing that no one objected, he continued: "Today organize a capable reconnaissance force to conduct reconnaissance on the Black Mountain Highlands, be sure to find out the Japanese troops and firepower configuration of the highlands. Tomorrow morning, the 39th Infantry Division will conduct a feint attack on the south slope of Zhanggufeng and Shacaofeng according to today's attack plan. There is no need to invest too much or go too deep. It only needs to attract the enemy's attention."

As he said that, Li Xiaofeng focused on the Black Mountain Heights: "Tomorrow afternoon, the focus of our attack is the Black Mountain Heights, with the 26th Infantry Division being responsible for the main attack. Please pay attention to the comrades of the Air Force and Artillery Units. Tomorrow, firepower will be used to suppress the enemy's reinforcements to the Black Mountain Heights, especially the Shadao direction. The 2nd Mechanized Brigade and the 40th Tank Battalion cooperate with the 59th Border Defense Corps to cut off the connection between Zhang Gufeng and the Black Mountain Heights. It is important that the enemy cannot reinforce the Black Mountain Heights from Zhang Gufeng Shacao Peak!"

The generals of the Far East Red Flag Front Army immediately understood Li Xiaofeng's combat intentions. The Black Mountain Highland was close to the Tumen River behind Zhanggufeng. Most of the Japanese reinforcements used the cover of the highland to cross the Tumen River. Capturing the Black Mountain Highland was equivalent to inserting a nail between the enemy of Zhanggufeng and the follow-up troops of the 19th Division and the command center. This nail could directly monitor the situation on the Tumen River and the other side, and cut off the enemy's reinforcements and logistics replenishment channels.

Some comrades may ask, since this Montenegro is very important, why did Apanashenko turn a blind eye to it before and just use feint attacks to suppress it without conquering it? The reason is very simple. This Montenegro belongs to China. If you want to capture the Montenegro, you must cross the border. Apanashenko regarded the instructions of the Military Commission as an imperial edict and dared not step beyond the line. He foolishly ordered the troops to advance along the rugged and narrow paths under the attack of the Japanese defenders of the Montenegro and Shacaofeng. How could this be unbeaten?

In fact, at this moment, some people were very concerned about the instructions of the Military Commission. Deputy Commander Fu reminded: "The Military Commission ordered us not to take the initiative to cross the Sino-Soviet border to fight."

Li Xiaofeng gave him a blank look: "We are not taking the initiative to cross the border, but the enemy's Black Mountain Highland troops suddenly crossed the border to attack our army. Our army is fighting back in self-defense!"

The corners of his mouth twitched. Everyone knew that someone was nonsense. Although the Japanese army was very tenacious, their troops were limited and they were suppressed by the Red Army's superior firepower. If you walk out of the position, you are really looking for death. It is impossible for someone to actively cross the border to attack. This is an excuse for capturing the Black Mountain Highlands.

But Husband would not be stupid enough to put it bluntly. Someone dared to kill Apanashenko, and shooting him would not be like playing. What's more, Husband was speechless about the order from the Military Commission. He started to fight and even drew so many rules and regulations to restrain the person. This is not to seek abuse. He actually appreciated someone's ability to exert subjective initiative to create reasonable and legal excuses. The leader is not to be more flexible. They are all timid and timid to their superiors like Apanashenko, and any orders are unconditionally executed. So how can they fight?

However, Li Xiaofeng not only wants to take down the Black Mountain Highland, but more importantly, he wants to restore the connection between Zhang Gufeng's defenders and the main force. He soon ordered: "A hour later, the First Brigade of the Gruutes War will be responsible for transporting a group of soldiers to Zhang Gufeng. I ask the artillery troops to suppress the known enemy positions and cover our army troops to complete the mission."

Li Xiaofeng always felt that Apanashenko was too dull. He had his own defenders on Zhanggufeng, so he should make a fuss from the defenders. But in the past three days, the Red Army on Zhanggufeng, in addition to carrying out cover and restraint tasks, was also being bombed by his own air force and artillery in vain. They could shoulder more and more critical missions! (To be continued...)

ps: Bow to thank zsuzm, yzg20042004, panzervi, Mask Angel 555, Glorious Charter, agz00025 and instant killing comrade Potato!

115 Changes:

...
Chapter completed!