As soon as they returned to the headquarters, the director of the reconnaissance department came over and reported to Sokov: "Comrade commander, something urgent has happened, and I need to report to you!"

Sokov frowned: "What's the emergency?"

"That's right, according to your instructions, we sent a large number of reconnaissance teams to the Kwantung Army's defense area." The director of the reconnaissance department said: "They include Captain Feng and his men from the 88th International Brigade."

"Yes, I remember this." Sokov nodded and asked, "Is there any problem?"

“Captain Feng sent a telegram half an hour ago, saying that they were surrounded by Kwantung Army troops.”

"What?!" When he learned that the reconnaissance team led by Captain Feng was actually surrounded by Japs, Sokov's heart sank. What he was worried about happened, and he asked repeatedly: "Where are they? The enemies who surrounded them how many?"

The director of the reconnaissance department brought Sokov to the map, pointed to a location and told him: "Here, Comrade Commander, it's right here. According to Captain Feng's report, the enemy besieging them probably had a squadron carrying heavy weapons. Machine guns and grenade launchers, they only carry a few rifles, so it would be difficult to stand out.”

Sokov stared at the map for a long time, and then said: "The location where they were besieged was very close to the location where they were bombarded on the day I took office. It allowed them to break out toward the mountain pass. Then I asked the artillery to use it against the enemy. Artillery interception..."

Unexpectedly, before Sokov had finished speaking, Gorokhov intervened and said: "Comrade Commander, we haven't started a war with the Kwantung Army yet, so we have rashly opened fire on their defense area. Isn't this inappropriate?"

"Is there anything inappropriate?" Sokov said with a sneer: "On the day I took office, didn't I launch artillery bombardment on the Japanese mountain pass position? If we don't fire artillery today, Captain Feng and his men may be attacked. The Japanese will eat them, I can’t just watch them being wiped out.”

"Misha, be careful." Yakov also reminded Sokov: "Now that the war is imminent, if you rashly bombard the Kwantung Army's defense area, it may have serious consequences."

"Are we just going to watch Captain Feng and his troops annihilated?" Sokov slapped his hand on the table and made a decisive decision: "If the superiors want to hold people accountable, I will bear everything. . Director of the Communications Corps, get me to the artillery headquarters immediately. I want to speak to General Tsarev."

The call was quickly connected, and Sokov neatly gave Tsarev the order to fire. I originally thought that Tsarev would be like Gorokhov Yakov, reminding himself that there was no official war with the Kwantung Army and he could not fire casually. But unexpectedly, the other party agreed simply: "Okay, Comrade Commander, when our comrades begin to retreat, I will command the artillery to fire and intercept the enemies who are pursuing them."

 After Sokov put down the phone, he used the walkie-talkie to contact Captain Feng. Because the situation was urgent, he didn't care what code words he used, but directly shouted in plain language: "Captain Feng, Captain Feng, I am Sokov!"

Captain Feng on the other side was stunned when he heard Sokov revealed his identity, because in the past Sokov used the identity of Major Matevosyan to the outside world, but today he directly used his true identity.

Seeing that the other party didn't reply for a long time, Sokov thought that the line was not good, so he raised his voice and said: "Captain Feng, this is Sokov. If you hear me, please answer me. If you hear me, please answer me!"

 “I am Captain Feng, I am Captain Feng.”

 “How are you doing now?”

“The situation is very bad. We are surrounded by imps. Three soldiers have died in the battle and four others have been injured.”

 Learning that more than half of the eleven-man reconnaissance team had suffered casualties, Sokov couldn't help but frowned: "Are you capable of breaking out now?"

"It's very difficult," Captain Feng replied with a wry smile: "We are still about ten kilometers away from our army's defense area. It is very difficult to successfully break through and get rid of the enemy."

“Do you still remember the area that the army’s artillery bombarded on the day I took office?”

"Remember!"

"Very good." In order to prevent the Japs from eavesdropping, Sokov deliberately did not mention the specific location. In this way, the Japs would intercept his call, and it would also take a certain amount of time to figure out which location had been shelled. Sokov continued: "After you successfully break through, move in that direction. I will order the artillery to fire and intercept the enemies chasing you to ensure that you can safely return to your respective defense zones."

"I understand, I understand." Captain Feng felt as if he had survived a desperate situation after hearing Sokov's words. He quickly replied: "We will move in the direction you specified as soon as possible."

“Remember, you have to move quickly, our army’s artillery fire will arrive soon, so as not to be accidentally injured by your own artillery fire.”

"Understood." Captain Feng said excitedly: "I will immediately organize the troops to break out in the direction you specified."

 After Sokov ended the call with Captain Feng, he turned to Yakov and said, "Yasha, which army is stationed at that position?"

“It is the 233rd Division under the 57th Infantry Corps.”

“You immediately call the commander of the division and ask him to send troops out of the Kwantung Army’s front line to assist our reconnaissance team in breaking out.”

When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but became a little anxious: "Misha, this is not appropriate. You order artillery to bombard the Kwantung Army's defense area. You can argue with the opponent about this kind of thing to gain precious time. But if the troops are sent out before The Kwantung Army’s front line, I’m worried they will open fire directly.”

"If they dare to fire, that would be great." Sokov said with a sneer: "I can justifiably order the artillery to fire at their defensive positions, and let the troops performing the response task take advantage of their forward positions to occupy them. "

"Crazy, Misha, you are really crazy." Yakov shook his head and said, "Misha, have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this?" "Don't worry, Yasha." Sokov knows the character of the Japs very well. They only obey opponents who are stronger than themselves. If he involuntarily orders people to bombard their positions, or even sends people to occupy positions that have been bombarded, they will not dare to fight back at all, or even I can only suffer the loss of being dumb.

 Everyone, including Captain Feng, originally thought that they would have little chance of surviving after being trapped in a tight siege. However, after receiving Sokov's call, the remaining soldiers of the reconnaissance team suddenly became as excited as chicken blood. Everyone knew very well that as long as they could get artillery support, they could successfully return to their own defense zone after breaking out of the encirclement.

The little devils who surrounded Captain Feng and others never dreamed that these remnants of the resistance alliance, who were about to be wiped out, actually launched a counterattack, broke out of the encirclement from their weak defense, and retreated towards the north. The little devils were not willing to let them go, so they immediately chased after them, preparing to eliminate them all before the small team reached the Soviet defense area.

 In the past, all the Japanese soldiers of the Kwantung Army were well-trained. Even if they shot while running, the probability of hitting a moving target was very high. But now the officers and soldiers of the army are all second- and third-rate troops who were added later, and their combat effectiveness is naturally different. Although they kept firing during the pursuit, they never missed the target, but they were just wasting bullets.

Just as they were chasing after them vigorously, the screams of artillery shells piercing the air suddenly came from the air. Before the little devils could recover, overwhelming artillery shells fell from the sky, and the explosions caused orange-red fireballs and billowing black smoke. , shrouding all the little devils in it.

The small team that was moving in front heard the sound of artillery coming from the rear, and they couldn't help but stop and look behind. They saw that the enemies chasing them had been covered by artillery fire, and they were secretly relieved. Under such a violent bombardment, even if someone could survive, they probably wouldn't have the energy to chase after his group.

Captain Feng stood there and watched for a while, then urged his men: "Comrades, although the artillery helped us stop the pursuers, it does not mean that we are out of danger. Hurry up and continue on your way, and strive to return to our defense area as soon as possible. .”

 When the detachment retreated to a place not far from the Yamaguchi position, it was intercepted by the Japs again. A crooked gun was set up on the hillside and fired at them wildly. The bullets hit them like water, causing a cloud of dust and smoke to fly up from the rocks where they were hiding. Perhaps because he saw that it was difficult to pose a threat to the squad with crooked weapons, the little devil's grenade began to fire again. Several rounds of grenades landed on the rocks and exploded, and the gravel fell like raindrops. It hit the squad soldiers.

However, the soldiers of the small team did not panic. Instead, they relied on the favorable terrain and used their assault rifles to fight back at the enemy. Several little Japs who were about to charge were hit by bullets flying in the direction as soon as they stood up and rolled down the hillside.

“Comrade Captain,” a soldier said loudly to Captain Feng: “The enemy has blocked our road. What should we do next?”

Captain Feng carefully examined the surrounding terrain. The enemy's machine guns and grenade launchers deployed on the hillside not only blocked the team's path forward, but even if they chose to retreat at this moment, they would probably suffer heavy casualties from grenades falling from the sky.

"Don't be anxious." Captain Feng knew very well that Sokov would never give up his reconnaissance team, otherwise he would not have just ordered the artillery to fire to intercept the Japs chasing him. He said to the soldier: "I immediately contacted the headquarters and asked for support from my superiors."

Captain Feng quickly contacted Sokov through the telegraph operator. He reported to Sokov truthfully: "Comrade Commander, we were blocked by the Japs' machine guns and grenade launchers as we approached the mountain pass. Not only is the way forward blocked, but even the way back is within the blockade of enemy fire."

“Captain Feng, don’t be anxious.” Knowing that Captain Feng and the others were once again blocked by imps, Sokov comforted him and said, “I will immediately order artillery to support you.”

"Comrade Commander, we are in a position where even artillery fire can't hit us." Captain Feng said, "Don't worry, we will fight to the last man and shoot out the last bullet. We will never be prisoners of the Japs." .”

Knowing that the enemy firepower that intercepted Captain Feng and his companions was in the blind spot of the artillery fire, Sokov became irritated: "Captain Feng, you all stay where you are and don't move. I will send troops to reinforce as soon as possible. Don't worry, I will definitely find a way to get you all back to the defense zone alive."

After putting down the headphones and microphone, Sokov came to the table, grabbed the receiver of the phone, and asked Yakov: "Yasha, what is the name of the commander of the 233rd Infantry Division?"

 “Faqiushen, Colonel Faqiushen.”

After calling the headquarters of the 233rd Infantry Division, Sokov said straight to the point: "I am General Sokov, commander of the group army. Let Colonel Fatyushin answer the phone."

“Hello, Comrade Commander.” Faqiushen asked respectfully on the phone: “What instructions do you have?”

"An hour ago, General Yakov, the chief of staff of the group army, gave you an order." Sokov asked briefly: "You are asked to rescue the reconnaissance team trapped behind the enemy's rear. Are you ready? ?"

"We are ready." Faqiushen replied: "The two companies I have arranged have arrived near the front line of the Kwantung Army at this moment. They only need to wait for your order to attack them."

Sokov almost blurted out the instruction to order the attack, but he soon realized that if he really ordered this force to attack, it would probably bring many unexpected consequences, so he changed his mind and prepared to use another method. Come to rescue Captain Feng and his friends who are trapped behind enemy lines.

"Comrade Colonel, you must have seen the shelling just now." Sokov said to Fatyushin: "That was our artillery conducting shooting training, but because the artillery observer provided wrong data, the impact point of the artillery shell was There has been a deviation…”

As soon as these self-deceptive words came out, Sokov suddenly found a sense: "You personally lead a battalion to the Kwantung Army's defense area and negotiate with their commander. Just say that one of our teams that is performing an exercise mission has disappeared. We suspect that we are in their defense area at this moment, please open the channel for you to go in and carry out the search mission."

Faqiushen on the other end of the phone was stunned when he heard what Sokov said. Although the round of shelling just now was five or six kilometers away from his defense zone, he could still tell that it was at least thirty 152mm guns. The heavy artillery was firing. It was too far-fetched to say that it was an accidental shooting. Also, asking yourself to lead a battalion into the Kwantung Army's defense area to search for the missing team is simply treating the enemy as a fool. It's strange that others can agree.

“Comrade Commander,” Faqiushen asked cautiously, “What should we do if they don’t allow us to enter their defense area?”

"When you go, take an infantry battalion and a tank company." Sokov said with a sneer: "If they don't want you to enter their defense area and search for our missing team, then don't be polite and just go ahead. Use force to occupy their positions."

He was worried that Faqiushen was afraid of taking responsibility and deliberately shirks it. He also emphasized: "Don't worry, comrade colonel. Since this is an order I gave, if any adverse consequences occur and the superiors want to hold people accountable, all responsibilities will be held." It’s on me.”

Since Sokov had already said this, Faqiushen dared to say no and quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will immediately lead the troops to negotiate with the Kwantung Army."