Beiyang 1917

1918年7月14ri12：00别拉亚河上游彼得罗巴甫洛夫卡村附近

The galloping Belaya River rushes out of the mountains in the east and goes westward, blocking the rest of the First Army of the Soviet Russian Eastern Front. One person and two horses drove for half a day, but was blocked by the Belaya River in front of him.

"Comrade Commander, I asked a few fellow villagers that if you want to cross the river, you must go westward and downstream. Only large troops can cross the river at the Meleuz Ferry north of Kumertau. This section is the upper reaches of the Belaya River. , along the way, there are rushing mountains and rivers, no matter how good the water quality is, we can't cross it, let alone we have so many horses and cavalry!"

Leading the vanguard battalion to stand in front of the army was Fumanov, the acting commander of the cavalry division. The skinny man was holding a piece of black bread given by the cavalry and stuffing it into his mouth desperately. Obviously, this place is also short of food, and the people are very hungry.

"Old man, eat slowly and don't choke. What's your name, where is this place, how many people are there, and is there a place to cross the river?" Tukhachevsky jumped off his horse and took it from the guard beside him. A sheepskin water bag was handed to the old man in front of him, and he asked with a pleasant face.

The two old men found by the vanguard camp are obviously local Bashkir people. The Bashkir people (Russian: Бaw?opttap) are a Turkic people who mainly live in the Ural Mountains. On the southern slope and the nearby plains, their language is a Bashkir language based on Kipchak, which is very close to Tatar. Many Bashkir also speak Tatar, and most of the Bashkir Shkir people speak Russian.

Some Bashkirs were engaged in agriculture, raising cattle and beekeeping. The nomadic Bashkirs raised cattle in the mountains and grasslands. In Wang Geng’s previous life, Soviet Russia later established Bashkir with Ufa as its capital. In the Republic of Kortostan, the main population is about 25% each of Russians, Tatars, and Bashkirs, and the rest is a large number of ethnic minorities. The proportion of Tarts and Bashkirs is significantly higher than that of Russians.

Fortunately, the Bashkir fellow who looked like an old shepherd understood Tukhachevsky's question. After eating black bread, the slightly taller shepherd man obviously regained some energy and strength, and said in a muffled voice,

"Returning to your words, people in the village call me the sheep-herding old Hamichi. Not far ahead is the village of Petropavlovka. There used to be more than 100 families in the village, but there are food shortages everywhere. , zhengfu came to ask for people again, and came to collect food again. Most of the young people in the village ran to the east of the Ural Mountains, leaving a dozen old people who couldn't walk, and waited to die in the village. If it wasn’t for the fact that you gave me a piece of black bread today, idiot Joe and I would probably starve to death.”

Old Ha Michi was obviously not timid, but the short old man named Fool Joe was skinny and very timid. He just hid behind Ha Michi and gnawed on the stone-like black bread in his hand. His eyes were choking on bread crumbs, and he was beating his chest right now.

Old Ha Michi turned around and patted Fool Joe on the back to comfort him, while feeding his old buddy water, after tossing for a long time, he finally calmed down.

"Old man, are there any ferries and boats here? What do you usually do if you want to cross the river?" Xia Boyang, who was demoted to become a police officer, bent down and stuffed his lunch, half a piece of black bread, into Lao Ha. In Mi Chi's hand, he asked kindly.

"Ahem, thank you, sir. To answer your question, the people in the village have to cross the river... that's a long way to go... If you go upriver and cross mountains and ridges... it takes a day and a half to walk, don't worry. There is an iron lock bridge in the upper reaches of the upper reaches of the Laya River, but it can only pass people, you can’t cross it with horses.” Old Ha Michi turned around and bowed to thank Xia Boyang, tightly holding the black bread in his hand , as if afraid of being snatched away, while answering.

Xia Boyang, the former commander of the cavalry division, was still wearing a black leather hunting suit and a Cossack leather hat in July weather, so he looked more like a senior general of the Red Army in terms of military appearance, while Tukhachevs This fellow Ji only wore a gray cloth uniform of Red Army soldiers and a pointed red army cap. If he didn't say anything, he wouldn't be able to tell that he was the supreme commander of this team.

When old Ha Michi said this, the hearts of the Soviet Red Army officers and soldiers present sank. Tukhachevsky, Xia Boyang, and Fumanov looked at each other, and then asked, "Can't horses cross the chain bridge?" ? Is it okay to lead and walk over?”

"No, that iron chain bridge is actually just two iron chains across the two banks, one back and one back, with a hook and a pulley on it. People who want to cross the river tie themselves to the hooks with canvas straps, and just follow the drop. Sliding across the river, your horse is so heavy, how can it hang on, the iron chain is about to break, my old Ha Michi is so thin, I used to hold a sheep in my arms at most at a time, although your horse is also skinny Yes, but such a whole horse definitely won't work!"

The old shepherd shook his head. When he was young, this old Ha Michi also left the village and traveled all over the country to see the market. He could understand Russian and speak it fluently, but the local accent was relatively strong.

"Old man, where is the nearest ferry to the downstream of the Belaya River? Is there a bridge? Can people and horses be crossed?" Fumanov asked pleasantly, while eating the leftovers in his hand Half a loaf of black bread was also given to the short old fool Joe who was hiding behind old Ha Michi.

"There is no bridge downstream, but there is a ferry, but after the Belaya River crosses the valley in the southwest and turns north to enter the plains, there is a ferry and boats at the town of Meleuz, and it is a day of turmoil. During the war, the people in our village haven’t been to the downstream for a long time! There is really no ready-made ferry in the upper reaches of the river before Meleuz.” Old Ha Michi thought for a while.

The surrounding Soviet Red Army officers and soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay. Obviously, no one wanted to go upstream. It was obviously not the best policy for cavalry to take this kind of mountain road with an uncertain future. In contrast, everyone was more willing to go to the plains. In order to avoid the reconnaissance of the coalition forces as much as possible, away from the Belaya River in the west, the cavalry who had already walked along the foot of the western foot of the Ural Mountains were miserable, and the horseshoes of many horses were severely worn out by stepping on the rocks.

Tukhachevsky frowned when he heard the words, and then asked, "Old man, how far is it from here to the Meleuz in the lower reaches of the Belaya River you mentioned?"

Old Ha Michi frowned and thought hard for a long time, then stretched out his fingers and said, "The mountain road is winding and winding. If I used to drive the sheep, it would take a day's journey anyway. I don't know how many versts. Now, you are riding horses, maybe you will hurry up, and you will take half a day?"

Tukhachevsky turned around to discuss with Fumanov and Xia Boyang in a low voice, and Fumanov said in a low voice, "Comrade commander, we are cavalry, it is obviously not the best policy to walk up the chain bridge upstream and throw away our horses." , I still have to go downriver and cross the river from Mereuz!"

"Comrade Commander, if the coalition forces have left defenders in Meleuz, we may not be able to rush through! One battalion on the other side in the town of Sterlitamak has prevented the impact of an infantry division and a cavalry brigade of our army. Now The opponent has the natural danger of the Belaya River, even if the opponent has only one battalion to defend the opposite bank, the probability of us rushing over is very small!"

Xia Boyang obviously thought further ahead. He was deeply impressed by the combat effectiveness of the coalition battalion in Sterlitamak. At this moment, retreating and staying away from the enemy is the top priority. "Comrade Commander, I suggest Our cavalry should avoid attacking coalition positions under any circumstances except in field combat."

As a cavalry general, Xia Boyang's Ufa battle has ended in a disastrous one-sided ending, which made him come to the same conclusion as Comrade Budyonny who retreated far to the west.

At this moment, there were a few crisp gunshots from the other side of the river ahead, and then the gunshots continued all the way westward on the other side of the river, and the gunshots seemed to be transmitted as they gradually moved away. All the Soviet Red Army present were shocked!

Soon, Yukov, the commander of the avant-garde battalion who was in charge of vigilance in the village by the river, came galloping on his horse, got off the saddle and reported, panting heavily,

"Comrade Commander, Comrade Division Commander, Comrade Xia Boyang, the vanguard battalion found the police guard post of the coalition forces on the other side of the river. The enemy has long been prepared! What shall we do now!"

The news brought by Battalion Commander Yukov obviously made everyone's hearts sink. Fumanov slapped his thigh fiercely and said, "This coalition army is simply haunted. We have traveled so far to stick to it." Coming here at the foot of the Ural Mountains, they couldn’t escape the other party’s sight. You said that there is no ferry here, and they have set up police guards on the opposite bank. I really don’t know what the commander of the coalition army thinks!”

"Calm down! Don't forget that you are the commanders of the Red Army, and the soldiers are all looking at you!" Tukhachevsky said calmly despite the shock in his heart.

"Commander, anyway, it has been discovered by the coalition forces. I guess the reason why they set up the police guard post for the river defense so far away is obviously a shortage of troops, so they set their hands so wide, so that there is enough time for warning and dispatching. Gather your troops! Let's head west and go downriver, across the river from Meleuz!"

Xia Boyang was very lucky at the moment, and vaguely guessed the reason why the coalition forces on the other side had placed such an exaggerated police guard post. Instead, he suggested that the whole army simply go to Meleuz and cross the Belaya River from the lower reaches!