Chapter 20: Deafness (2)

However, after being excited, the three of them became very busy after calming down.

The people from the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains from the west of the town to Fukang line must be mobilized and transferred, and the deployment of troops must be readjusted. The troops of the Seventh Column and other units secretly drove into the base in Zhuledus Mountain to standby on standby; the Fourth Column from the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains to the Luntai line must be prepared to advance to the northern border when mobilizing and counterattacking Hami, so as to shorten the time required to pull as much as possible.

There seem to be only a few things, but each of them involves tens of thousands of people, which is absolutely not easy. The military orders are prohibited, and there is no big problem in the transfer of personnel and materials except for the tight time. However, it is not easy for the people in Suili, Hutubi, Changji, Fukang, Qitai, Mulehe and other places to transfer in time.

Although Xinjiang has a vast land and sparse population, each county has a large area of ​​about 20,000 people and only a few thousand people are few, but the total number of people to be transferred is about 100,000. In particular, many people are unable to give up their wealth, and they just refuse to leave if the staff of the People's Military Government persuades them. The People's Army did not force the total number of more than 30,000 people who are determined not to leave.

Among these people who stayed, there were some landlord bullies who were touched by the People's Army and hoped that the Jin Shuren administration would take over the decision after the return of the People's Army, there were some ethnic and religious fanatics. If such people stayed, they would not only reduce the burden on the People's Army, but also allow the "saviors" they hoped for to educate them with facts.

The People's Army only executes those who have blood debts to landlords and bullies, and confiscates their property while not implicating their families. Although this approach has a progressive side, it is difficult for the families left by those landlords and bullies to have a good impression of the People's Army in the short term, and there are even a few who are full of hatred. However, before their evil deeds are revealed, the People's Army cannot punish them arbitrarily. This time, the Jin Shuren administration will use the government to teach these people a lesson and let them wake up.

Zhang Mingrui and others knew very well what army were gathered around Jin Shuren. The discipline of the Su and Mongolian troops might be better. Although Ningma and Qingma were a little worse, they would not be too much. However, Ma Zhongying's troops were killed and full of blood. They even massacred cities several times in Xinjiang. With teams like Ma Zhongying's troops, they would definitely give those who were looking forward to "king troops" and stayed to be the "leader's party".

With the orders issued by Zhang Mingrui and others according to the combat plan, nearly 90,000 troops of the entire Xijin Group were mobilized, and all preparations and adjustments were made in accordance with the deployment of the command center.

Just when the Xijin Group was busy, Zou Degui also led the logistics department staff to Hami on November 6 and rushed to the command center established by Xijin Group in Turpan later that day.

"Shopkeeper Zou, it's time to be busy now. If you are not in charge of transporting food and grass, why are you here in person?" Du Yishan was a little surprised when he saw Zou Degui.

"As the saying goes, 'Before the troops and horses move on,' I have to come here to supervise the transportation of logistics supplies. I have to come here. Understand the specific situation on your side, and the Logistics Department will make corresponding arrangements early." Zou Degui explained, and added, "I will take the lead. In two days, not only will I come to an observation team, but they will also come here to meet you here first, and coordinate the cooperation of the two major groups when counterattacks. I am going to set up the Battle Support Command of the Logistics Department in Hami to solve the problem nearby."

Although the North Jin Group is still in the process of being established, the group will assume the important task of assault north in the subsequent battles, and Northern Xinjiang is one of the mission directions. In addition, the war on the West Jin Group is about to break out, so it is natural that Zou Degui set up the Battle Support Command of the Logistics Department in Hami to solve the military supply requirements of the two major groups at the same time.

"This is a good thing," Chen Zhiyuan smiled, "I am worried that the counterattack troops have been hiding in the mountains for a long time and there is not enough military supplies. Now that you, Manager Zou, are here, I don't need to have a headache."

According to the deployment of the command center of the Westward Advance Group, Chen Zhiyuan will lead 18,000 troops drawn from the Seventh Column in the near future, plus two 105 heavy artillery battalions, two rocket artillery battalions, one automobile transport regiment, and two anti-aircraft artillery battalions, a total of more than 25,000 people will hide to the base in Zhuledus Mountain. According to Zhao Zhenzhong's plan, this hidden force will stay in the mountain until the end of January before launching a counterattack with the mountain outside team. In other words, Chen Zhiyuan's troops will hide in the mountain for more than two months. And more than 20,000 people will hide for two months. The food and heating alone are a big problem. The materials originally stored in the base are obviously not enough.

"We will find a way to provide materials together. However, if you bring so many people to hide, have the disguise problem, road entry and exit problems been solved? Don't have any accidents in the middle." Zou Degui reminded.

"This mountain base was opened from Yanqi, Baluntai, in the valley of the upper reaches of the Zhuledus River. Material replenishment also requires transit through Yanqi. There was no exit in the north, but after more than half a year of hard work, vehicles could be allowed to pass to the upper reaches of the Manas River. After the weather was colder for more than a month, the Manas River would form a thick layer of ice. When the counterattack was made, we could go down the river from the ice surface, and there would be no problem of rushing and fighting after coming out of the mountain." Chen Zhiyuan explained.

Zou Degui understood, but then asked again: "Since the supplies and forces are going to be transferred from Yanqi, it is difficult to find them in the north, so there seems to be no need to put so many troops into the base too early, right? Staying in there for more than two months is a waste of troops and materials."

"But there is nothing we can do about it." Chen Zhiyuan smiled bitterly, "Now the enemy's attention is on Suilei to Dihua. But once our army resists as planned and gradually retreats, with the opponent following up, its aerial reconnaissance force will be expanded to Turpan and Barontai. In this way, it will be difficult for our army to hide the technical equipment into the mountain base. In addition, Xinjiang is much colder at night than during the day, and even if the combatants operate at night, they may lose their personnel due to the severe cold."

Xijin Group once reported that Xinjiang's winter cold was cold, and the People's Army also measured minus 39 degrees Celsius in the mountainous areas of Dongjiang last year. However, Zou Degui had no personal experience of these situations before. Now seeing Chen Zhiyuan's face of embarrassment, he understood why Zhao Zhenzhong had to transfer the Fourth Column to undertake combat tasks in the direction of northern Xinjiang. After spending two winters in Xinjiang, the understanding and resistance to Xinjiang's severe cold is something that other troops of the People's Army do not have.

"Since that's the case, the logistics department will solve the problem of material transportation. However, I will borrow the two automobile transportation groups assigned to Xijin Group, and at least until early January." Zou Degui agreed to the material problems at once.

"It's okay to use the two auto transport regiments first by the Logistics Department. However, Manager Zou must build them in early January. This is related to the subsequent counterattack." Zhang Mingrui, who came from the war room, responded.

"There are materials now, but the transportation capacity is tight, and the logistics department is not in sufficient staff. Mingrui, can you please draw some people to maintain the transportation channels from Hami to Turpan to Dihua, and from Turpan to Luntai on the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains? It is snowy and the road is long. The bulldozers used by the logistics department to remove snow are definitely not enough." Seeing Zhang Mingrui, Zou Degui was not polite and made another request.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Mingrui said, "Aren't the Fourth Column ready to gather in Hami? I think some personnel were transferred from the Fourth Column to be responsible for the Hami-Turpan-Luntai line, the Seventh Column is responsible for the Turpan-Dihua section, and the road from Yanqi to the hidden base is subject to Zhiyuan and others."

After thinking about it, Zou Degui thought that Zhang Mingrui's method was good, so he stopped mentioning transportation matters, but then asked: "I just heard Zhiyuan mention the hidden troops, and he drew so many troops to hide. The Fourth Column has another task. Can the remaining troops last for a counterattack?"

The Fourth Column was transferred to the Northbound Group, and the Ninth Column was being formed again. The nearly 50,000 troops that the Westbound Group had originally available in the early stage were transferred to half of the hidden areas. The remaining less than 25,000 troops were left until the end of January. It was really difficult. Even if the Ninth Column could enter the Xinjiang battlefield in mid-December, the Ninth Column was still responsible for the combat mission in southern Xinjiang and could not give Dihua too much help.

Although the People's Army is not clear about the number of troops entering Xinjiang by the Su and Mongolian Army, it is roughly judging from the number of aircraft, it will never be less than 10,000. In addition, the nearly 40,000 troops originally gathered around Jin Shuren and after being supplemented, the People's Army in the Northern Xinjiang will face at least 50,000 enemies in the early stage of the battle. The comparison of troops is roughly 1:2. The situation is obvious. In order to mobilize more materials and personnel entering Xinjiang to fight, the People's Army cannot initiate the battle too early, and it has to divide its troops to defend, so the situation is really not optimistic.

"In the early stage of the battle, the troops were somewhat insufficient, and the division of troops was indeed unfavorable. However, as our army organized the shrinking of its troops, the situation will gradually improve. In addition, the strong winds in Xinjiang will have a significant impact on enemy aircraft. We can also be equipped with a large number of landmines in defense operations, which will help us persevere until the counterattack."

Zhang Mingrui didn't talk much about the specific details, but from his few words, Zou Degui could understand the pressure on Xijin Group. Especially in the early stage, he had to "tempt the enemy to go deeper". In order not to alert the enemy, many firepower advantages could not be exerted, which made Xijin Group's task of persisting until the end of January even more arduous.

The reason why Zhao Zhenzhong chose to launch a counterattack at the end of January was mainly because of the climate in Xinjiang.

Due to the wide range of regions, the start and end times and coldness of winter in various parts of Xinjiang vary greatly. Most of them enter winter in mid-to-late November and last until mid-to-late February of the following year. However, the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains is bounded by Dihua, and the winter in the western plains is from mid-November to mid-March of March of the following year, which lasts for 4 months; the winter in the east of Dihua to Qitai is from early November to mid-to-late March of the following year, which lasts for nearly 5 months. The Altay area and Tacheng Basin in the northern Xinjiang have winter from early November to early April of the following year, which lasts for 5 months.

Judging from the decades of records in the Altay region of the northern Xinjiang in later generations, under the global warming, the average annual temperature in January was also more than minus 16 degrees Celsius. In this era, the northern Xinjiang region will definitely be even colder in January.

The counterattack was launched at the end of January. In terms of the solar term, the 49th century was over and the Great Cold was about to end, and the coldest period in Xinjiang was basically over. This was conducive to the counterattack of various departments of the People's Army. According to requirements, the People's Army will end the Battle of Xinmeng at the end of February and build fortifications on the spot and turn into a defensive state. However, at the end of February, the cold winter in the areas east of Hang Aishan in the Soviet Union and Mongolia still remained unabated. This not only increased the difficulty of mobilizing the Soviet and Mongolian troops, but also gained longer preparation time for the People's Army.

Knowing the difficulty of Xixing Group, Zou Degui said: "If there are any difficulties that need to be solved by the Logistics Department, please just ask, and I will try my best to satisfy them."

"It is best to supplement some ammunition, especially what is needed for new equipment. After the counterattack, we have to bear pressure from the Soviet Union, and it will not work without them. If you can, try to prepare as much as possible for food and clothing and medicine. Not only does it need to go westward, but it also needs to help the people in Xinjiang after the war, which is also conducive to the situation as soon as possible." Zhang Mingrui made several requirements thoughtfully.

Jian Qianming, who followed Zou Degui, hurriedly took out paper and pen to write down the request.

"Can a batch of charcoal or anthracite be provided on the hidden base for heating? There is little smoke, which can also reduce the possibility of the enemy's discovery." Chen Zhiyuan added.

More than 20,000 people are hidden in the mountain base, and they cannot do without fuel when cooking and heating every day. If they use inferior coal or firewood, the smoke that emits into the sky every day will be enough to cause the target to be exposed. However, if they use high-quality charcoal or high-quality anthracite, this problem can be solved well.

In the areas controlled by the People's Army, there are now anthracite production in northern Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. Even the Sandaoling open-pit coal mine west of Hami, Xinjiang now produces a large amount of high-quality anthracite. However, if you want to transport those high-quality coal to hidden bases, you will be too busy to rely on Xijin Group to do so.

"Okay, this will be solved by the Logistics Department." Zou Degui nodded and agreed.

After learning about the situation of Xijin Group, Zou Degui rushed back to Hami the next day. On the same day, Yang Tianming also arrived in Hami.

"You're here quite quickly. How is the Ninth Column formed the Eighth Column and the Ninth Column now?"

"Sun Yaoming and others are in charge of the two columns. I will go to Subei and Dongjiang to learn about the situation first." Yang Tianming said, "The logistics department can help solve the material transportation, but the two columns have more than 70,000 troops, but the garrison station must be selected. The Hami Army Station of the Logistics Department has been established for a while, and you know the situation here. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Zou Degui thought about it carefully, then pulled Yang Tianming to the front of the map hanging on the wall, and pointed and said, "The southern foot of the eastern Tianshan Mountain to the Mazong Mountain area in Subei can be used as the base of the Northbound Group. I won't say much about the others, I will only talk about two worthy of attention. One is the Mingshui Fortress built in the Han Dynasty in the northwest corner of Gansu; the other is another fortress built by Yang Zengxin more than 20 kilometers west of the Mingshui River. Although these two fortresses are now abandoned, their location is very important. You can reach Juyanhai to the east, Ulyasutai to the north, Ulyasutai to the north, Anxi to the south, and Hami to the west. Perhaps it will be beneficial to your future combat."

The Mingshui Fortress was built during the battle with the Huns in the Han Dynasty, and it has been more than two thousand years since then; while the fortress built by Yang Zengxin was to prevent the entry of the Black Lama and Mongolian army into Xinjiang. Before the People's Army controlled the western end of the Hexi Corridor and the eastern border of the Hexi Corridor, these two fortresses had been abandoned for many years. As the People's Army established a new defense line in the eastern section of Mazong Mountain and Tianshan, the two fortresses were still abandoned because they had no major effect.

Looking at the two places marked on the map, Yang Tianming was moved and asked again: "How many troops can these two fortresses be stationed?"

"I went to see it when building the Hami Army Station. It would be fine to repair the newly built fortress of Yang Zeng. The Mingshui Fortress was abandoned for too long and could not be repaired in a short period of time. However, it should be fine to enter a battalion."

"That's enough." Yang Tianming said with satisfaction, "There are Anxi and Hami to serve as rear barracks, Mazongshan, Mingshui and Yang Zengxin Fortress to serve as front-end points, which will increase a lot of convenience when sending troops in the future."

According to Yang Tianming's idea, the fourth column of the North Advance Group was gathered in the Hami area, and the eighth column was gathered in Anxi. During the counterattack, the group's troops were placed in the Nanshankou north of Hami, Mingshui and Yang Zengxin Fortress, and Mazong Mountain everywhere. Before the counterattack, only a small amount of troops were placed in each front out point to alert and confuse the enemy, and then mobilized the army to enter when the counterattack approached.

After listening to Yang Tianming's explanation, Zou Degui thought about it and thought that the idea was good, so he smiled and said, "This should be feasible. The logistics department will solve the problem of material transportation, but your group will also draw personnel to assist. Just relying on the logistics department's manpower to ensure the supply of the two major groups, it's winter again, so I can't be busy."

"This is no problem." Yang Tianming agreed very happily.

The eighth column was formed and rushed to the Anxi area, and it was almost early December to dispatch the troops. Only the fourth column could be dispatched to Hami's troops.

After being drawn by the Xijin Group and the Logistics Department several times, Cui Yi, the chief of staff of the Fourth Column, received Yang Tianming's order and smiled bitterly: "From Luntai to Turpan, we must leave the garrison troops to wait for the Ninth Column, from Hami to Turpan, we need to maintain the road from Luntai. Now there are more tasks from Anxi to Hami. If we draw, we will be completely dispersed."

"The Eighth Column and the Ninth Column did not arrive, and the Seventh Column is responsible for the early combat tasks. We should work harder. It will be better to wait until we are busy for this period of time." Hu Zhicheng, who is now in charge of the Fourth Column, said, "The more at this time, the more we can reflect the style and combat effectiveness of a unit. Tell the various units of the column that we should treat the current tasks as combat tasks, and we must not be slackened at all."

...

Time flies very quickly, and it is late November. Just as the People's Army departments are stepping up preparations, the Jin Shuren authorities in the Wusu area have begun to prepare for action.

However, the weather did not go as expected. Just when Soviet commander Dalbut was preparing to order the troops to launch an attack on time on November 28, affected by the cold air from Siberia, starting from the afternoon of the 26th, a blizzard swept across most areas north of the Tianshan Mountains from west to east, from north to south.

Compared with previous years, the snow was not too heavy, and it was only half a foot thick on the ground, but the strong wind blew for 7 days and did not stop until December 3. Due to the weather, Dalbut's combat operations against the People's Army had to be postponed until December 5.

Although this bad weather also had a negative impact on the troops stationed in Fukang, Changji, Dihua, Hutubi, Suili and other places, due to the Tianshan Mountains, the transportation of materials between the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains and Hami was not interrupted. Moreover, Zhang Mingrui also ordered the People's Army between Fukang and Suili to take advantage of the heavy snow to bury landmines into the snow on the roads, rivers, and plains.

Build mines in the thick snow that had just fallen. Once the sun comes out, the snow on the surface melts and is blown by the cold wind, a hard shell will form. This hard shell can not only prevent the wind from blowing away the snow below, but also prevent the snow below from melting, keeping it loose. The mines buried in it are similar to those buried in the soil, and the explosion is also powerful.

On December 5, Dalbut organized troops to launch an attack on the People's Army. Before he had contacted the People's Army's defense line, he was blown up by the mines everywhere. Two tanks were even blown up by the mines.

Dalbut was really angry and embarrassed when he was dispatched for the first time and suffered such a great loss before he even took up the battle. However, facing the vast white snow on the plain west of Suilei, when he thought of the mines hidden in it, he gritted his teeth and felt a sense of frustration...

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