At a time when Romania was in a state of panic due to the flu, Christo and his party finally arrived by boat at their next destination, Tsaritsyn.
However, they did not dock at Tsaritsyn, but at a riverside town called Yulas upstream.
After several days of sailing, the group of people were a little exhausted physically and mentally. This was not because everyone was tired from the boat ride, but because the journey was uneven. During the few days of sailing, they encountered several small groups of armed forces one after another.
There is the Soviet Red Army, there is the White Army, and there are also armed forces with other names.
For this reason, they even exchanged fire with two of them across the river, but because they had boats and strong firepower, these armed forces were helpless.
After experiencing some minor twists and turns, they finally arrived at their first destination. Christo took everyone ashore, and the response staff here had prepared food and shelter for them.
Christo took a sip of the steaming mushroom soup and sighed: "I have never thought that mushroom fish soup tastes so delicious."
Johnny, the main person in charge standing aside to answer them, disguised as a local businessman codenamed Elk, said: "The main reason is that the deputy director has not had a good meal in many days, so everything he eats is delicious."
Facing Johnny, who was well dressed and wearing a wig, who looked more like a poet than a businessman, Christo smiled and said: "Your flattery problem is getting worse, so pretending to be a businessman is just right."
Faced with Christo's teasing, Johnny replied without shame: "That's not the case, boss, you know how to make good use of people."
After Christo took another sip of fish soup to warm his stomach, he asked about the questions he was concerned about. Although he had already learned about it through telegrams, it was best to ask in person to get more specific information.
"How is the situation here now?"
Faced with the deputy director's inquiry, Johnny also answered seriously: "At present, Tsaritsyn has fallen into the hands of a provisional government force led by Denikin. According to the intelligence, he has obtained a lot of weapons and equipment, relying on the convenience here.
The traffic was gathering troops for training in a big way, and it seems that they want to cooperate with the main force of the Provisional Government Army in Kochark."
Of course Christo knew the man who had served as Kornilov’s chief of staff and was currently succeeding him as the commander of the Don River and Caucasus provisional government forces. And he also knew where this man’s weapons and ammunition came from, including Romania.
It took a lot of effort.
However, this time the gold shipment had to be concealed from General Denikin. He did not want to go through all the hard work in vain to benefit this Russian general who had strong patriotic sentiments.
"So are there any other armed forces around here?"
"Yes, there is a small armed group about 30 kilometers north of us. There are about 600 people. The leader is a former Russian major named Rodysky. There is another force 40 kilometers southwest of us.
, was organized by a local Cossack leader named Fisk, who numbered more than 400 people. In addition, there was a Cossack armed force on the Don River, 25 kilometers north of the next connection point, Viriks.
, there are about 500 people, and the leader is a former cavalry officer named Sarlev. As for the dozen or so people who cannot pose a threat to the convoy, I won’t say anything about it.”
Christo knew what Johnny meant. These dozen or so people were basically wandering rebels or robbers. These people basically did not pose a threat to transportation, and it was difficult to count them. Maybe if you investigate today, he will go there tomorrow.
Another place.
"It seems that this section of the road is our most dangerous trip."
Christo said to himself, and then asked: "So how many vehicles and manpower can you use now?"
"I have prepared eight trucks here, five of which are heavy-duty trucks with a load of five tons. I have 34 people on hand, excluding the driver."
At this point, Johnny complained: "Originally, I prepared thirteen vehicles, but many of them were robbed by the armed gangs entrenched nearby. In order to prevent unexpected situations, I did not dare to make any extra arrangements."
"You did the right thing."
After praising him, Christo pointed to the boat parked by the river and said: "We brought seven vehicles from Kazan, but they are all old-fashioned one-ton trucks."
At this point, Christo couldn't help but complain: "Don't these Russians know the benefits of five-ton trucks at all? It makes us afraid to use a large number of five-ton trucks to ensure safety."
Christo's complaint was an injustice to the previous Tsarist Russian government. They purchased a lot of five-ton trucks. However, due to war damage and the vast territory, five-ton trucks became rare vehicles everywhere. In fact, even the one-ton old-fashioned
Most of Dongfeng trucks are currently recruited into the armies of both parties.
Hearing his boss's complaints, of course, as a subordinate, he needs to come up with a solution, and Johnny is certainly a qualified subordinate. "Boss, I'm afraid there are not enough vehicles, so I have prepared hundreds of horses and twenty carriages.
"
Faced with Johnny's words, Christo said directly: "There is no need to consider the carriage. This thing cannot keep up with the speed of the truck. On the contrary, it will make the transportation target larger and bear greater risks in terms of safety."
Christo thought for a moment and turned around and called his followers: "Let Captain Vasily come over."
"Okay, boss."
Within a few minutes, the sturdy Vasily appeared in front of him: "Boss, what's the matter?"
Looking at the burly man in front of him, Christo asked directly: "Is there no problem with your people riding horses?"
Vasily, who thought it was a big deal, replied directly: "There is no problem at all, my people can ride horses."
"Okay, let your people have a good rest today, and tomorrow you will be responsible for escorting the goods to a small town called Virix on the Don River. I will send Silka and you to accompany them to meet with the response staff there, and
Johnny will send someone to act as a guide, and he will also scout out nearby movements for you."
Christo's words made Vasily smile indicatively at Johnny standing next to him, which also received a response from the disguised businessman.
Then he looked at the map spread out in front of him, and at this time Johnny was responsible for explaining the surrounding situation again.
After listening to the explanation, Vasily's forehead wrinkled and he said: "The weapons on this road are not weak. We need to be fully armed to protect them."
Christo knew the definition of fully armed in Vasily's words. As the person in charge of the entire action plan, he also attached great importance to escorting escorts. On the short road of more than 100 kilometers from Yuras to Fisk, he occupied
The deterioration of the situation in Russia can be seen by looking at the three armed groups.
The equipment of Vasily and others is also very sophisticated. They have more than ten Mosingana rifles equipped with quadruple telescopic sights to facilitate their movements. In addition, in order to give them suppressive firepower, they are equipped with 13 machine guns.
, three of them are Maxim heavy machine guns, and the rest are Madsen light machine guns used by one person.
In addition, the company is also equipped with two 81mm caliber lightweight mortars newly developed by the company arsenal. This mortar weighing only 61 kilograms is very suitable for the operations of elite troops like them behind enemy lines. It only requires two people.
Or a horse can carry it everywhere.
So facing hundreds of armed men, Vasily felt that it was best to be fully equipped just to be on the safe side.
"Okay then, go get ready and set off tomorrow."
After seeing Christo agree to his request, Vasily saluted him with a military salute and left.
Looking at Vasily leaving, Christo turned to Johnny and said, "Now tell me about the nearby terrain and traffic conditions. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
