"What!"

Volkuta, Baron Peter Nikolayevich Flanger was woken up early in the morning. When he secretly complained that the people below didn't know that they would come to him later, didn't he know that disturbing people's dreams was a very immoral thing? But when he heard the news from the adjutant who was rushing to come, the Baron, who had just fallen asleep, suddenly widened his eyes and jumped up in disbelief.

"You say it again!"

"Your Excellency! Something happened to Serov. Nearly a thousand tons of supplies that had just arrived yesterday were burned a few hours ago, and a large amount of ammunition was detonated, causing a large explosion of three kilometers within the freight warehouse and station, with countless casualties and injuries. Now the fire has spread through the building to all parts of the city, and almost half of Serov is burning."

"Serov! It's Serov again!" Baron Peter Nikolayevich Flanger stepped on the thick carpet with barefoot, and his hands kept waving in the air: "Damn Serov! Damn underground party! Damn garrison! They all should go to hell! Go to hell!"

No wonder the Baron is so angry. In the past two months, all major events have happened from Serov. I don’t know what the commanders there are doing to eat. They are succeeded by these cunning underground parties again and again. Now, 1,000 tons of supplies have been completely burned down and half of the city has been ignited. Are they all pigs? No! Even pigs are smarter than them, at least they will not suffer a second loss in the same place after suffering one loss.

"Please come here." After cursing, the Baron ordered the adjutant and turned around and walked back to the bedroom to wash and change clothes. Half an hour later, when he returned to the office with his straight military uniform, General Stanislavsky also arrived.

"Stanislavsky, my friend. Do you know? Serov has a problem again." After entering the door, the Baron saw that General Stanislavsky was about to stand up and salute him, and waved his hand to him with some fatigue to signal him to sit, then walked to the position beside the general and sat down, and said with great distress.

"Yes, my Excellency, I received the news from there half an hour ago." General Stanislavsky nodded solemnly. He said: "When I came to see you, I had issued a command of martial law to the city defense forces across the city. Now is a sensitive moment. Once the news about Serov spreads, our Volkuta area is likely to be..."

"Thank you, my friend, you did the right thing!" The Baron nodded and praised. With such a good-quality deputy by his side, his shoulders were much easier, and compared with the three regions. Volkuta has the best public security since the occupation, although some underground parties with ulterior motives are hidden among the people, but under strict surveillance and defense, nothing major happened. Sometimes, the Baron even felt that if Serov's commander was held by General Stanislavsky, perhaps both the initial Serov tragedy, the later Christmas events and the horrific situation that just happened this morning would have been strangled into the seedlings, and the situation would not have become so bad.

"My friend. I came to you mainly because I was worried that the Serov incident would affect our Volkuta. Since you have made arrangements in the shortest time, I will feel much more at ease."

"This is what I should do, Your Excellency." General Stanislavsky replied modestly, showing a look of wanting to speak but stopping.

"What? My friend, do you have anything to say?" asked the Baron.

"Yes, Your Excellency." General Stanislavsky hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, it is unusual for Serov to have an accident today. I suggest that we should prepare early."

"Oh, what exactly means..." the Baron asked thoughtfully.

General Stanislavsky said frankly: "A large proportion of the materials destroyed in Serov are food supplies from local garrisons and people. Now the snowstorm in Siberia has interrupted the railway line. In a short period of time, the rear cannot transport such a quantity of supplies to Serov again. So it won't take long to make the entire Serov region fall into trouble. Just imagine, if everyone, including our soldiers, have no food, what will happen?"

"So... what do you think?" The barons that General Stanislavsky said understood, and the answer was easy to calculate, but how to solve this problem is not simple.

"Retreat! Withdraw troops immediately!" General Stanislavsky said firmly: "Before the snowstorm completely blocked the road, let Serov's troops withdraw as soon as possible. Once the ammunition and food are exhausted, our troops will destroy themselves without the enemy's attack."

"Retreat? Where to retreat? Not to mention the strategic plan of the General Staff, Serov is an important part of the westward advance. The Far East will never allow us to discard it without authorization. Even if we want to withdraw, the Siberian railway has been suspended. How can we withdraw back by relying on the highway alone? I am afraid that when we walk halfway, all the troops short of clothing and food will freeze to death or starve to death!"

"Of course it is impossible to cross the Siberian plains, but withdrawing troops is not just a way to retreat." General Stanislavsky quickly explained: "Give up Serov, the troops can withdraw troops south or north, and the south is Tyumen. Tyumen will reach a few hundred kilometers south of it is General Denikin's territory. The troops can be merged with Tyumen's garrison and even General Denikin's troops. On the one hand, they can ensure material replenishment, and on the other hand, they can strengthen our army's strength in the south."

"This is not possible!" As soon as this suggestion was made, the Baron's head turned into a rattle: "The central government has long had an opinion on the Dunnikin's ministry, and he is now on the post of the supreme commander of the army. Once the troops retreated south, Dunnikin's personal strength will gather and expand, which will be a big problem for the balance of rights of our Russian Empire in the future."

"Then, we can only move northward." General Stanislavsky said his last suggestion: "Go north and let them retreat to our Volkuta area. Compared with Serov, Volkuta has much better geographical location and security. Moreover, our north is a port, and there is a lot of room for maneuver. If there is any change in the future, it will be flexible and mobile."

"This..." The Baron was immediately moved by his words. Volkuta, Serov and even Tyumen had the greatest advantage. Moreover, Serov's garrison retreated to Volkuta, also enhanced his strength. Although it was impossible to completely achieve the strategic deployment of the General Staff's reservation, it was an explanation.

"So, you immediately send a newspaper to the Far East in my name, requesting to mobilize Serov's friendly troops to head north." After thinking for a while, the baron finally made up his mind.
Chapter completed!