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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 423 People¡¯s Support

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    Yegorov's Ninth Army, which had been marching continuously for a night, crossed the Buzuluk River and burned down the pontoon bridge with fire. It put itself in a position where it could only advance but not retreat. To the west was Samara.  The main force of the coalition ground forces is likely to have laid a trap waiting for them in Samara.

    To go east, we need to turn back and cross the Buzuluk River again. And even if we cross the river and go south along the original route, not to mention walking an extra 100 kilometers, we are likely to be trapped by the enemy reinforcements from Orenburg and Sorochinsk.  The division commanders and political commissars of the Ninth Army knew that Commander Yegorov had burned the grass this time. The Ninth Army had no way out and had to kill the 35-year-old Army Commander Yegorov from Buzuluk, his hometown.  Make a bloody road to break through and go south.

    When Alexander Ilyich Yegorov left his hometown to join the army, he never thought that he would come back with his team today as the commander of the Ninth Army of the Soviet Red Army. The town of Buzuluk has a long history.  Lundborg Oblast is a small but well-known transportation hub. The Samara River, the Buzuluk River and the Domashka River meet here, making it an important land and water hub in the Samara River Basin.

    "Comrade Yegorov! We almost understand the situation. We found a few fellow villagers and learned that the enemy stationed in the town is a cavalry brigade with about 5,000 people. Basically, the local people have not suffered much yet.  The biggest crime is that although the enemy is a White Guard Cossack cavalry unit, it is directly affiliated with the Allied forces east of the Ural Mountains. The discipline is not bad. When they first arrived, they distributed food to the people."

    Semyon Budyonny is just a cavalry division commander at the moment. In fact, Yegorov's position has always been above Budyonny, but the relationship between the two is very good. In Wang Geng's previous life, there was a very famous movie in Soviet Russia.  The movie "First Cavalry Army" is about the battle between Budyonny and his cavalry army against the White Guards in the direction of Tsaritsyn. In that movie, Egorov is still Budyonny's direct boss and the commander of the group army.  Work.

    "Comrade political commissar, pass my order. The entire infantry division should be evacuated and hidden. Take the time to cook and rest. I will give you all three hours. If you must eat something, you must let me sleep!" Yegoro!  The husband turned around and ordered, and political commissar Knyagnitsky agreed to give the order.

    Yegorov then turned around, shook hands with Budyonny, and asked with concern,

    "Comrade Budyonny, the comrades of the cavalry division have worked hard, can they still bear it? How are the losses in the encounter just now!" The bodies of the Red Army soldiers who died before and after the small highland battlefield had not had time to be cleaned up.  Yegorov felt a little heavy.

    "Reporting to Comrade Commander, the Special Cavalry Division is a particularly capable force. The cavalry are always ready to sacrifice their lives to defend the country. My artillery company and heavy machine gun battalion are already setting up positions. As long as you give the order, we will launch an attack on the enemy.  Attack on Zuluk Town! I promise to take it down so that the brothers don¡¯t have to sleep on the ground again tonight!¡±

    Budyonny saluted and reported loudly, then stepped forward and whispered, "More than half of the vanguard cavalry battalion was lost, and the opponent's cavalry company had 4 machine guns and 6 mortars. The firepower was quite fierce and commanding.  It¡¯s not bad, let¡¯s think about how to fight back. Fortunately, the cannons of the two artillery companies of the cavalry division have not been thrown away, but there are not many shells left, and there are also a few bullets for the heavy machine guns!¡±

    "Uh Is the other party the Russian cavalry division in the coalition? Invite those two fellows over and I'll ask myself!" Yegorov came with Budyonny on his horse, surrounded by soldiers from the guard cavalry company.  Arriving in front of a tent set up behind a small hill, a ragged old man with a white beard hugged a small child and trembled together. He was chewing the baked potatoes that Budyonny's cavalry handed to the young and old.  .

    Seeing the commander of the group army coming over accompanied by the division commander, the surrounding soldiers stood at attention and saluted, their boots clattering against each other. This movement frightened the young and old man who were busy eating potatoes and trembled. The potatoes in their hands almost dropped to the ground.  The old man with a white beard had a thin face and sunken eyes. His clothes were in tatters and looked like they would fall over in the wind. The child in his arms was probably only seven or eight years old. He had a big head and a small body. He was obviously malnourished due to long-term hunger.

    "Old man, don't be afraid. We are the Soviet Red Army, a team of the working class, poor peasants and laborers! What is your name? Are you from here?" Yegorov dismounted and smiled from the side.  One of the guards took a bowl of vegetable soup in his hand, brought it to the old man, and said kindly.

    "The Red ArmyI knowall the food in the village was robbed by your work teamif it hadn't been forthe army from the east of the Ural Mountains cameboth of us would have suffered.  Just like the child's parents" The white-bearded old man took a step back, but instead moved his hand to protect his little grandson.  YegoroThe husband's eyes were full of wariness and distrust.

    "You old guy, what are you talking about? The Red Army needs food to fight the White Guards and protect you ignorant people. How can you speak for the enemy? What is your family like? Landlords or rich peasants?" The order was conveyed at the back.  Knyagnitsky, the political commissar of the group army who had just followed, heard this and was furious. He rushed up and waved his riding crop and shouted at the old man with a white beard.

    Yegorov really didn't expect that an old man with a white beard in his hometown would be so hostile to the Soviet Red Army and the surplus grain collection system. Of course, due to the food shortage in Russia, if you want to consolidate the Soviet power, you must have food to feed Moscow and Peter.  Only the working class and citizens of big cities like Grad can support the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Red Army, but these principles cannot be compared with an old man from the countryside.

    "Comrade political commissar, please be careful, it's almost enough. As for a country old man, why do you go online to check the third generation and origin?" Yegorov's face darkened, and he vented his unhappiness on his own political commissar. Although the political commissar has veto power,  , but the Soviet Red Army implemented a one-chief system, that is, the head of the army controlled the overall situation and military action plans. The actual duty of the political commissar was to monitor the military chief and mobilize the masses. Of course, leading the charge into battle was also the primary responsibility of the political commissar of the Soviet Red Army.

    Therefore, in the early Soviet Red Army, the proportion of casualties among political commissars at all levels was the largest, and they were also the most disliked group. Especially when the military chiefs were from the Tsarist Russian army and had relatively little experience in the Bolshevik Party.  Political commissars are often thankless roles.

    Budyonny listened to the words of the old man with a white beard in the countryside, but his heart was in turmoil. It was obvious that the countryside and farmers were drifting away from the Soviets and the Red Army under the whip of the surplus grain collection system. This made Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny  Ni, a 35-year-old former Tsarist Russian company commander who was born into a poor peasant family and is now the commander of a special cavalry division of the Soviet Red Army, had a kind of boredom in his heart that he couldn't get rid of. The man held the riding whip in his hand and made a rattling sound, but did not speak for a while.

    Most of the surrounding Soviet Red Army soldiers looked at the old and the young in silence. The child was probably very hungry. He was so preoccupied with chewing the baked potato that he accidentally choked and coughed desperately. Ye Ge  Luofu stepped forward and handed over the vegetable soup again. The old man with the white beard did not refuse this time. He put the potatoes in his arms, took the bowl of vegetable soup, and patted his grandson on the back while giving it to him.  Feeding him hot vegetable soup finally washed away the potatoes in the child's throat.

    The old man drank the remaining bowl of vegetable soup in his hand, put the bowl gently on the ground, turned to Yegorov, Budyonny and Krayagnitsky and said,

    "I'm just an old country man from a village near Buzuluk town. Our ancestors have been farmers in Buzuluk. The landowners and rich farmers in the village were all arrested when your work team came to collect grain six months ago.  They got up and shot them, on the charge of hiding grain and refusing to hand it over to the public to oppose the Soviets. The surviving landlords, rich peasants, and middle peasants all followed the exodus to the east of the Ural Mountains.

    My little grandson¡¯s parents had not caught up, and they would have starved to death, and my little grandson and I couldn¡¯t walk.  .  .  I had to beg for food all day long!  If the troops from the east of the Ural Mountains hadn't arrived in the town and opened warehouses to stockpile grain, we would have starved to death.  .  .  What I tell is the truth. If you don¡¯t believe it, you can shoot me. If you die early, you will be freed early. Living in these days is the only way to suffer. I have pity on my grandson.  .  .  I'm so hungry!  "

    The old man with the white beard sat on the ground and talked for a long time. The little grandson in his arms had potatoes and vegetable soup in his stomach. His face softened and he looked at the group of the Ninth Army of the Soviet Red Army in front of him with wide eyes.  Senior generals.

    "Old man, the army in this town is the army from the east of the Ural Mountains you mentioned. How many people do they have and how many days have they been here? How are their weapons and equipment?" Yegorov sat at the side of the orderly.  The pony that came over tied up and asked the old man with the white beard in front of him kindly.

    "There are quite a lot of people. They have been here for three or four days, but not all of them have stayed. Thousands of people have gone to Neftegorsk in the west. It's hard to say how many people are still in the town.  There are always four to five thousand troops, but their military uniforms are much neater, and your weapons and equipment are much better." The white-bearded old man muttered.

    "Oh? Old man, how many cannons and machine guns do they have? Do you know this?" Yegorov did not get angry, but continued to ask kindly.

    "I'm not very sure about this. Anyway, there are a lot of people and a lot of weapons, including cannons. They imposed martial law on the day they entered the town. After that, residents in the town can only go in but not come out. My grandson and I don't live in the town.  That is to say, I went to their position every day to order food. They put out food on the first day, but later on they seemed to be a little short on food, so they didn't put out food on a large scale. However, my wife and IMy wife goes to the checkpoint every day and asks for a few bites of food, and the other party can still give it to her.  .  .  Although they look quite fierce, they really don't beat or scold the common people!  It¡¯s just that under martial law, no one is allowed to enter or leave the town or checkpoints without permission.¡±

    "This old guy has been talking for a long time to no avail. He only talks nice about the other party and has no sense of right and wrong. Hey! Old guy, the Allies in this town are here to invade our enemies. Why can't you tell the difference between good guys and bad guys? Who are you?  Who will leave with you if you give me food? Are you an enemy spy?" Army Commissar Knyagnitsky couldn't help shouting!
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