At the same time as the battle for the Alexander Military Academy began, Serpukhov, more than 100 kilometers away from Moscow, Karekin's troops rushing to Moscow ran headlong into Frunze's blocking troops, and the battle was about to break out!

"All of Russia is watching us!" Kalykin proudly and proudly made a declaration, "We will prove to the world that the Bolshevik rebellion is just a joke!" ”

The lieutenant general's chest was covered with medals of various colors, and it looked like he had come not to fight, but to a celebration party. He stood at the forefront of the position, boosting the morale of the gray cattle who were about to enter the battle.

"All of Russia expects us to win." Karekin said to his chief of staff with great feelings, "I also firmly believe that this victory will be ours!" ”

It seems that Karekin was convinced of the vulnerability of the Bolsheviks and that he would be victorious easily, and the proud general's confidence was already on the table. He feared that the defeat of the weak Bolshevik rebels by his elite division was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Even if part of the garrison was already attached to the Bolsheviks, even if the Bolsheviks caused him a lot of minor problems along the way. But now, Kalygin is convinced that he will defeat them, and then win the honor.

Karekin deliberately ignored Petrograd and Kerensky, as if the success of the Bolshevik uprising in Petrograd and Kerensky's capture did not exist. Of course, as a fact, it did exist and caused him great stress.

For this, yesterday Karekin was furious, but upon hearing from Moscow, the lieutenant general immediately decided that the defeat in Petrograd was of no value at the military level. The Bolsheviks could take advantage of Kerensky's negligence to achieve some "insignificant" victories and advantages. However, his army can make up for any omissions. As long as he can get to Moscow. No matter what tricks the Bolsheviks intended to use. None of them had any chances.

Karekin made a bold prediction, and in the next second his chief of staff enhanced the likelihood of this prediction: "The Cossack cavalry on reconnaissance missions reported that they did not find the Bolsheviks with heavy weapons, neither artillery nor Makqin. ”

That's good news, Karekin laughed: "It looks like we can have dinner in the best restaurant in Moscow." He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at its hands: "It's only five o'clock in the morning." Enough for us to get to Moscow before dusk. ”

"I'm afraid it's going to be a hard march, and the citizens of Moscow, where we're celebrating victory, will block us on the way to the restaurant." The chief of staff complimented, but he wasn't like his general. Completely immersed in fantasy.

The chief of staff was also quite vigilant, and he smelled a hint of conspiracy in the Cossack report - a ragtag army without heavy weapons was unlikely to cause much trouble to the regular army. If the Bolsheviks on the other side were clever enough, they should have retreated at the first opportunity, instead of digging trenches, building fortifications, and pulling out as if they were ready to do a big job, as they are now, which is illogical and unscientific.

Karekin's chief of staff made a judgment: the Bolsheviks should have a secret trump card. The only possibility is that they hid it.

"General. I think we should be a little more cautious," the chief of staff cautioned. "Perhaps the Bolshevik rebels were deliberately showing weakness."

"I don't rule out that possibility." Karekin said very easily, "I know them too well, the Bolshevik rebels are a bunch of out-and-out conspirators and vile villains, and they are the best at doing this kind of petty maneuver." But ......"

"But their tricks don't make any sense." Kalygin confidently said, "Don't care about the trickery of the Bolsheviks, even if they really set any traps, it will be meaningless to us, who have absolute superiority." I will tell them with practical actions that in the face of absolute strength, any conspiracy is meaningless! ”

Karekin was convinced that his army had absolute superiority in firepower, and the 107-mm field guns were going to crush the Bolsheviks. Then his boys could easily storm the Bolshevik positions and crush the Bolshevik rabble with clean and beautiful white-knuckle combat.

"We don't have to waste time and energy on a trivial nuisance." He summed it up bliantly.

But the chief of staff was not reassured: perhaps the Bolsheviks really had secret weapons, and perhaps they were preparing to use them at the most critical moment of the battle. History has shown that the vast majority of armies will collapse quickly in the event of an unexpected and sudden blow. As a result, the tide of the battle was completely reversed, turning the side that should have won into the losing side...... No army is immune to this problem.

In fact, the Russian army is more likely to have such a problem, and the chief of staff instinctively resists his crazy idea, but he has to admit that most of the Russian soldiers have not received rigorous training and have no military qualities at all, and the vast majority of the soldiers are a group of mud-legged people who are forced to join the army, and it is almost a delusion of extravagant hope to expect such a rabble to fight to the end in an extremely unfavorable state.

Moreover, the Russian soldiers did not have any good feelings towards their commanders, but only passively obeyed them, and were full of hatred for the officers because of the strict control. This is quite worrying, because if the troops are defeated and the organization collapses completely, the officers at the grassroots level will have absolutely no ability to reorganize the soldiers. So, as long as they suffer a setback, they may lose the battle.

The situation was so dangerous that the chief of staff, believing that he was obliged to make up for Karekin's omissions, suggested: "We should alert the troops to the Bolsheviks, they may ......"

"Didn't you hear me, Colonel?" Karekin angrily interrupted him, "We don't need to waste time and energy for a trivial trouble. ”

"I hear you, General." The Chief of Staff could only answer like this.

"Now convey my order," Karekin continued, "a full assault." ”

"Yes, General." The chief of staff hesitated. Cautiously asked, "Isn't it necessary to keep the reserves?" ”

"To hell with the reserves!" Kalegin snorted contemptuously. Turning his head to the chief of staff, he roared loudly, almost spitting in his face: "Our opponent is just a rabble improvised armed by unemployed workers and mud-legged men, and we have more than 10,000 well-trained Russian warriors, do you think a rabble can defeat the elite Russian warriors?" ”

"No, General." The chief of staff replied, but his voice was no weaker than the buzzing of a mosquito.

Karekin didn't need an answer from him, he didn't care at all about the opinion of a little colonel: "We only need one assault to end this damned battle!" It is only necessary for our soldiers to rush to the positions of the Bolsheviks! He slapped his face and said excitedly, "We will crush the enemy like a sheep." And then rub their ass and rush all the way into Moscow! ”

The lieutenant general roared: "And you are still worried that the Bolsheviks have a secret weapon that is not well known, and that they want to keep an inexplicable reserve." Mr. Colonel, are you less daring than a rabbit? ”

The chief of staff's voice was a little louder: "Not like that, General. ”

It's just that Karekin still doesn't need to answer, "Assault of the whole army!" "My order is to assault the whole army." Mr. Colonel. Either you deliver the order yourself, or I'll find someone else to deliver the order on your behalf, and at the same time let you go back to your hometown. ”

The chief of staff, although he was tempted to stick to his principles, could not stand up to a lieutenant general. And he didn't want to go back to his hometown, which meant that he had to retire from the army early. It also means that his future life will be very problematic. He knows nothing but fighting, and has no other skills to make a living. In this chaotic era, he was forced to retire from the army and could only starve to death on the side of the road.

So the chief of staff's body trembled and replied loudly: "I will convey your order at once, general." Then he ran away in a panic.

"Poor fool." Looking at the rabbit-like figure, Karekin smiled contemptuously, regained his original solemnity and turned his gaze back to the intended battlefield.

According to the battle plan drawn up by him himself, after ten minutes, an entire infantry division, supported by artillery, would enter the attack position and rush closely, neatly, and calmly towards the Bolshevik front. And the Cossack cavalry was sent to outflank the Bolsheviks in a roundabout way, and Karekin was sure that the Cossack detour was important, after the Bolsheviks were routed from the front. The Cossacks were soon able to rush up from the flanks. As he just said, he chased after the ass of the Bolshevik rebels until the liberation of Moscow.

At the thought that he would create a brilliant victory, Karekin smiled proudly again. The same smile appeared on Frunze's face, but it was a mocking one: Karekin had foolishly rallied his troops into a frontal and narrow battlefield, and he would soon taste the bad consequences of such an arrangement. The stupid Karekin apparently did not perceive the PK machine guns that he had arranged in the fortifications, as well as the heavy mortars that were hidden.

Thanks to Lenin and Li Xiaofeng, Frunze was strengthened by the Pyotrpavlov regiment, an elite unit that was able to inflict on Kornilov's army in Lugar, and inevitably on Karekin at Serpukhov.

"We're going to win very quickly." Frunze said happily, "In a few hours, after the defeat of the Kalegin bandits, we will be able to return to Moscow to celebrate the victory." ”

"Of course." Voroshilov replied, he was obviously a little absent-minded, this smug was fantasizing about a wonderful scene, Lenin presented him with a medal in the Winter Palace, and Stalin next to him happily congratulated him: "Comrade Voroshilov, you are really the most warlike Bolshevik!" I'm so proud of you! ”

Both commanders have some personal ideas, but as most of the time, there will always be surprises that get in the way of the big guys' ideas.

"Comrade Frunze, our heavy mortars are not yet combat-ready."

Frunze straightened his face: "Tell the artillery comrades that if they can't complete the combat readiness within five minutes, I will hold them politically responsible!" ”

"Yes, Comrade Frunze. However, I believe that the artillery comrades have done their best, and the problem is all in the damned land, it is too muddy to build a position......"

"I know it." Frunze sighed.

Although heavy mortars are very powerful, and they are very light compared to field guns or cannons of the same caliber. But for traffic it's a mess. And for Russia, which lacks means of transport. These "big babies" are both fighting and marching. It's all too cumbersome. The general reaction of the troops was that they preferred a light PK machine gun, and for a more powerful gun, regardless of its caliber, it was not welcome.

But Frunze did not want to, and could not give up those relatively heavy heavy mortars, as the weaker side, he needed heavy firepower to counteract Karekin's advantage. With heavy artillery, he has the capital to argue with the other side. So the artillery must be ready for battle!

"But I'll only give them ten minutes." Frunze repeated in an emphatic tone, "Comrade Voroshilov, you personally go and urge them to carry out this order!" ”

Voroshilov had no choice but to carry out this resolute task, but when he arrived at the hidden artillery position, he was surprised to find that the artillery seemed to be arguing about something.

"Comrades, you all saw that the idiot on the other side stood there without moving. You all recognize his rank, and I'm willing to bet with you on my mother's honor. That's definitely Karekin...... He was standing there, within range of our artillery, like a target, and we had every chance of blowing him off. ”

"You're right, Vasily, but neither you nor I can guarantee that he will be there as a target after the battle begins...... Comrade Frunze asked us to pay more attention to the enemy's artillery, I can't risk exposing our positions, otherwise we will be the first to be bombarded! ”

"My comrade brother, there are times when we have to take risks. And I can bet that Karekin fool will never leave that position...... He just wanted everyone to see him. My comrade, we have a chance to end the fighting. ”

"Absolutely not. We must obey orders! ”

"Think about it, you will be praised by Comrade Frunze, and even Comrade Lenin will be rewarded by you!"

"No, I can't. An order is an order! ”

"But ......"

The argument continued, and Voroshilov, who had come to deliver the order, listened with great interest, this big man may have average military ability, but he was very eager for honor, especially for easy success.

It was a good opportunity for him to fight for honor, and he didn't care what would become of the battle if he lost, and whether the artillery, on which Frunze had pinned great hopes, would suffer a relentless counterattack from enemy artillery, and he was not interested in caring about the trivial matters. He only had military exploits in his eyes, and he longed for those honors. And now, with a small command, he can easily get a chance to make meritorious contributions, in that case, why not do it?

"All artillery aimed at the figure suspected of Karekin on the opposite side, come with a rapid fire! Fire now! Fight to kill him! ”

A few hours later, Moscow ......

Socialist-Revolutionaries Duma Ilya. Bunakov hurriedly broke into the office of Dumanapov in Moscow and sat down in a chair opposite him. His face was unusually ugly, because he had just received rather bad news - their long-awaited Karekin and his reinforcements had turned into a moon in the mirror. The poor general was met head-on by the Bolsheviks, was crushed, and worse, he himself was seriously wounded.

Napokov, who was sitting across from him, had apparently noticed Bunakov's bad face, and it was probably bad news for the old friend to be so worried.

"Karekin suffered a crushing defeat, he was already routed by the Bolsheviks." Bunakov confirmed Napokov's suspicion that "Karekin's troops suffered heavy losses...... A large number of soldiers died and were captured, among whom Karekin ......"

"What's wrong with Karekin? He was also captured! Napokov bounced up from his chair.

"He wasn't captured, but the outcome was pretty much the same." Bunakov's tone was quite heavy, "But he is seriously injured, unconscious, and it is said that the situation is quite dangerous, I don't know if he can survive today!" ”

"So who's commanding his troops? When will they arrive in Moscow? Napokov didn't care about Karekin's life or death, he just wanted to know when the reinforcements would arrive in Moscow.

"I don't know what to do." Bunakov sighed

Napokov was stunned: "I don't know what the road means?" ”

Bunakov smiled bitterly: "I don't know if it means that we don't expect reinforcements for the time being......"

"Damn it!" Napokov cursed, "If there are no reinforcements, then what are we going to do?" Even, as soon as this news leaks out, Moscow will immediately be in chaos, and our counterinsurgency work will suffer a heavy blow! ”

"I've ordered a strict blackout of news." Bunakov said, "Just told the National Salvation Revolutionary Committee that Karekin was in a little trouble......

He stopped, but Napokov knew what he meant, and the only way to do it was to stabilize people's hearts first, and then slowly figure out a way.

"News always leaks out." Napokov worriedly reminded, "The Bolsheviks will make a big deal of propaganda about this victory, and how will we explain it then?" ”

"I know it." Bunakov replied, "I know it's impossible to completely block the news, but it's always good to have a little more time!" ”

"I don't think it's enough, there's no point in just buying time." Napokov stood up from behind his desk and walked back and forth in front of Bunakov.

After a long time, he seemed to have made up his mind, "Isn't Rudnev negotiating with the Bolsheviks?" Inform him of the news of Karekin's setback, uh...... But don't be too specific, don't let him lose confidence...... So that he can give up some unrealistic requirements appropriately and reach an agreement as soon as possible! (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for your support!