"Battalion commander, I asked. The Iranians said that they were German technicians from the Sutanatabad Arsenal just now, and that several of the officers were also German military attachés who had come here from Turkey for vacation. I heard that Iran had purchased our 31 tanks and came to visit on vacation. Two hours later, Ran Nanxuan came back with a message from the Iraqi Army General Staff, and several officers who had gathered breathed a sigh of relief after hearing it, but Li Jin was still not at ease with Bai Chongxi's letter.

Although it is impossible for Bai Chongxi to directly say in the letter that the Soviet-German alliance may be formed, after all, this is still a top secret, and it has not yet been announced to the world. However, as a colonel-level officer who went on a mission overseas, he had heard of several German planes spotted on the front line in Afghanistan, and although there was no actual exchange of fire, the fact that the Soviet Union was equipped with a large number of German weapons had been confirmed by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Since Germany can provide a large amount of weapons and equipment to the Soviet Union, will there be cooperation in intelligence? Thinking of this, he was a little worried, because it was no secret that the Soviet Union was dissatisfied with Sino-Iranian oil cooperation, and diplomatic notes alone had been sent several times. With the three domestic convoys sent to Saudi Arabia, the activities of Iranian GC International have become increasingly rampant, and the Iranian police have arrested several people a few days ago. If these speculations are true, then the possibility of Soviet spies in the visiting procession just now cannot be ruled out!

There are 133 officers and men of the training battalion, dozens of air force instructors on the Ahvaz side, plus embassy staff, and the number of overseas Chinese stationed in Iraq exceeds 700, and ensuring their safety is one of the tasks of the training battalion. So after thinking about it a few times, he asked, "Nanxuan, what did you mean by what they just said?" Since there is a relationship with the Iranian General Staff, why do you need to go and see them one by one? Even if you want to spy on intelligence, you don't need to climb in every car to take a look, right? ”

Li Jin's words reminded Ran Nanxuan of the strange behavior of the Germans just now, smoking a cigarette and nodding: "It's a little weird, it stands to reason that a few German ** officials can just go in and have a look, and even the factory technicians get in." Could it be that explosives were planted to cause sabotage? ”

"How can there be such a thing? After they left, I checked every car and saw no traces of hands and feet, except for a handprint on the shell rack of car No. 17. If there's a bomb, you can't hide it from me. ”

"Wait!" Without waiting for the leader of the mechanic squad next to him to finish speaking, Li Jin interrupted abruptly: "What did you just say?" It's a mudra or something. ”

"There is a handprint on the ammunition rack of No. 17, which should have been accidentally stained by them when they were inspecting it." The squad leader was startled and hurriedly asked, "Battalion commander, don't scare me." I've counted all the ammunition, no problem. ”

Li Jin didn't hear the words at all, and grabbed the beret on the table and kneaded it into dried pickles: "I know!" They are definitely counting the ammunition reserves of each vehicle! Saying this, Ran Nanxuan also reacted. Although the training battalion was highly valued by Reza Khan, it was a foreign unit after all. It is also stationed in Tehran, so the ammunition replenishment of the training battalion is managed by the Iranian military. There are numbers for how much is needed and how much is replenished each time, and it is not full every day, unless it is prepared in advance for full load and high-intensity training, there are only ten armor-piercing shells and five high-explosive rounds at most, which are used for daily shooting training.

Since the training battalion has been conducting artillery training these days. Therefore, the ammunition is consumed quickly, and according to the training plan, the Iranian military will send new ammunition the day after tomorrow. So the mechanic squad leader was anxious when he heard it: "Battalion commander, this is terrible." Now there are only five shells left in each car, which is probably not enough. ”

"Don't worry. I'm guessing too. Li Jin clenched his beret hard, trying to calm himself down. Seeing this, Ran Nanxuan's eyes rolled: "Battalion commander, I have a way to test them." ”

"Say it quickly."

Ran Nanxuan has a flexible brain, and he is nicknamed Xiao Zhuge by everyone in the camp. Hearing him say that there was a way to test, everyone's eyes flocked to him. He didn't dare to slack off: "It's very simple. When I called the Iranian General Staff, they said that we were going to conduct a temporary night training in the hope of replenishing ammunition, and if there was any collusion between Iranians and them, they would definitely find a way to prevent us from supplying. ”

"Good way! You go and call now and ask for ammunition supplies according to the normal procedures. Squad Leader He, in the name of maintenance, the people who will take you will concentrate all the remaining shells on the 12 vehicles, and then prepare the trucks for use. Translator Chen, you take a few people to the embassy, tell the ambassador and the Marines about what happened here, and then don't come back there yet, in case something happens, you must stay until we arrive! Everyone else will go back, and from tonight onwards our people will not be allowed to undress when they sleep, and no one will be allowed to leave their guns! ”

"Battalion commander, do you want to send a telegram to Commander Bai?" Ran Nanxuan was not at ease. There are only more than 100 people on their side, and they don't even have half a battalion according to the domestic establishment. Even if they escape, it is more than 600 kilometers from Tehran to the seaside, and if there is no aircraft escort, if Iran really colludes with the Soviet Union and Germany to carry out a coup d'état, the more than 100 "white-shouldered eagles" stationed in Tehran can kill them.

After Li Jin nodded, Ran Nanxuan didn't say a word, first sent a telegram to Saudi Arabia, and then found the liaison officer stationed at the Iranian base according to the procedure, took out the daytime live-fire report and put it on the table, pretending to be very dissatisfied with the training progress of the trainees, hoping to conduct a high-intensity assault training. This liaison officer was a confidant of Reza Khan, and of course knew the importance of the training camp, so he immediately called the staff and contacted the palace for instructions.

A few minutes later, Reza Khan agreed to conduct assault training. However, the order was conveyed to the Iraqi army's general staff, and although Lieutenant General Assad, who was in charge of logistics, said that he would supply them as soon as possible, he was vague about the specific timing. After Ran Nanxuan came back to report, Li Jin completely dispelled his doubts, and the last suspense was, was it Germany or the Soviet Union that did it?

．

It was getting dark, and while the training camp was getting ready, Varnok, dressed in civilian clothes, walked into the Soviet embassy in Tehran. This well-known German wool dealer in Tehran was actually a Soviet-German double agent, who not only had good relations with the Gestapo chiefs in Persia, such as Gamota and Meyer, but also dealt with the Soviet People's Internal Affairs Army. Although there was a lot of confrontation and dissatisfaction between the Soviet Union and Germany, the current interests were still the same, so he, a double agent, was also very popular, and he had nothing in and out of the Soviet-German embassy.

Upon entering the room, he saw several other people sitting next to the Soviet ambassador to Iraq. One of them is Muhammad Mossadegh, who enjoys great popularity in Iran and once opposed Reza Khan as king, another is Mohsin, the largest opposition guerrilla in northern Iran and the head of Iran's GC International, and the third is dressed in Imam sect attire. Tehran's well-known sectarian leader, Ayatollah Abdul Yazdi.

After Reza Khan came to power, he promoted secularized education, abolished a large number of religious laws, and beat the leaders of the imams in order to go on. While these moves have made Iran the most open country in the Arab world and set the country on the path of a modern state, they have offended sectarian forces, so sects and governments have always been at odds with each other.

Mossadegh is a republican, Muhsin is a shameless GC Internationalist, plus a sectarian leader. While political views vary, one thing is common. They were all staunch Reza Khan oppositionists. Suddenly there was a gathering of Soviet ambassadors, and idiots knew what it meant. So when the Soviet ambassador who was talking to them saw Varnock, he immediately asked: "Comrade Varnok, did the Chinese react?" ”

"Nope."

During a morning tour of the camp site, Warnock took advantage of his German connections to get involved. So the tour was introduced: "All the tanks had only five or six shells, seven were under repair and could not be combated, and six were at the training ground and did not return. But before I arrived, I got the news that they had asked King Reza Khan for training and ammunition. ”

The Soviet ambassador and Mossadegh and the other three were shocked, could it be that they were discovered?! Varnok waved his hand, secretly despising the meanness of the Soviet ambassador. Without even pouring a cup of tea, he continued: "Rest assured, General Assad has already made an excuse to delay until tomorrow afternoon. ”

This sentence made all four of them breathe a sigh of relief, and there were only a few hours left before the plan. If they were discovered at this time, Reza Khan would surely mobilize troops loyal to him to tear them apart. Mossadegh pulled out his pocket watch, thinking secretly. Although he opposed the dictatorship of Reza Khan, he was even more opposed to Reza Khan's secularization of the country. The decision to crack down on religion, but also had to admit that Reza Khan's policy guaranteed the independence and integrity of Iran. So he was worried that the USSR would not fulfill the agreement. Under the cover of his pocket watch, he asked, "Mr. Ambassador, where are your troops?" ”

The Soviet ambassador knew what these Iranians were worried about, and hurriedly put on a smiling face: "The three of you can rest assured that after dark, General Novikov's troops will cross the Arras River to attack Maku and Hoy, and the pilots of our Soviet Red Army will bomb the independent forces stationed in Tabriz as soon as possible." The Caspian flotilla has also departed and will land at the port of Nzeri, Rasht and Qazvin at the same time. In addition, General Zhukov's motorized forces in Herat, Afghanistan, will also move south from Mashhad to attack Khorasan Province and take control of the Strait of Hormuz. As long as you control the strait, neither China nor Britain can send troops here, and you will have plenty of time to form a new government. ”

Although the Soviets kept saying that the only way to send troops was to help Iran overthrow the authoritarian Reza Khan government, Mossadegh asked the last question: "Mr. Ambassador, is His Excellency Stalin really willing to abide by the agreement?" ”

These words made Muhsin, who is a GC International, and Yazdi, the leader of the sect, move their bodies and quietly prick up their ears. The Soviet ambassador immediately reassured: "Of course! We, the Soviets, are the countries that most abide by the agreement, otherwise how could we have signed a non-aggression pact with your country at the very beginning of our statehood? If it were not for King Reza Khan, who violated the 1921 agreement and allowed China to enter your country for development and use it to infiltrate into our Caucasus, the Red Army would not have entered your territory this time, only to deal with the infiltration of the Chinese and relieve the security of our Caucasus region. So rest assured, the Soviet government will not covet Iranian land, as long as the Chinese are expelled, and when the new government is established and stable, we will withdraw our troops. ”

Mossadegh didn't speak, he didn't know whether the Soviet ambassador's words were true or not, but he knew one thing, the Soviet Union had 500,000 troops in the Caucasus, 200,000 in Turkmenistan east of the Caspian Sea, plus 150,000 in Herat, Afghanistan, and they would not be needed to help if there was a real invasion. And Reza Khan did violate the Soviet-Iranian agreement of 1921. In the 1921 peace agreement, the Soviet Union not only returned the property and land that had been seized from Iran during the Tsarist period, but also specifically stated that the Soviet Union would automatically send troops into Iran if Iranian territory was used for hostile actions against the Soviets, and if Iran could not defend its independence by relying on its own strength.

This time it was Reza Khan who violated the agreement first, and the Soviet army did not enter directly but looked for them first, which was already considered a lot of face. Therefore, in order to ensure Iran's future independence, it is no wonder that these people are ruthless. After thinking about this, Mossadegh no longer hesitated, and immediately went with the other two to prepare for the coup.

After they left, a telegram with far-reaching implications that stirred up the entire Arab world was sent from the Soviet embassy in Tehran