"We were all deceived by Xu Rui," Manstein said.
A colonel asked: "How come we were deceived?"
Manstein said: "The Soviet reinforcements did not arrive. Xu Rui was just bluffing to support the attacking troops back to the city."
"Then let's pursue it now," said the colonel.
"It's too late." Manstein sighed.
"Is it too late?" The colonel looked at Manstein with some understanding.
Manstein said: "Xu Rui has brought the main force of the Soviet army back to Tver City. I guess they must have formed a defense line. If we attack at this time, we are just repeating the same mistakes. And at this time, based on time, the Soviet Union The main force of the army should be arriving soon, we can only retreat now."
"Oh, what a pity we missed such a good opportunity." The colonel sighed.
Manstein nodded and said, "Yes, Xu Rui is so cunning, even I fell into his trap."
The colonel said: "There is an old Chinese saying that a wise man will make a mistake after thinking a lot. Although Xu Rui is powerful, he is still no match for you, otherwise he would not have fallen into the trap. The main force of the three regiments was almost wiped out."
Manstein's eyes were a little confused and he said: "This is what puzzles me. With Xu Rui's ability, he shouldn't have made such a big mistake. Maybe, it's really a wise man who thinks a lot, and there will be one." Lose it."
"General, what should we do now?" the colonel asked.
Manstein smiled bitterly and said: "What else can be done? The main force of the Soviet army has arrived. The strength of the Northern Army Group is the smallest among the three army groups. It is simply not enough to launch an attack on the main force of the Soviet army and maintain the current front. It’s already rare. Next, we must defend Bologoye and maintain the front line at Bologoye.”
"Army Group Center is now unable to attack, and our Army Group North is also unable to attack, so wouldn't we have lost the ability to attack in this war?" the colonel said.
"No, although Army Group Center and Army Group North have temporarily lost their offensive capabilities, Army Group South has a good momentum. General Rommel's troops have occupied the oil fields in the Caucasus and the Crimean Island in the south, occupying the Soviet Union Although it cannot go northward for a while, as long as the resources of these occupied areas are digested, Germany's strength will inevitably increase greatly and it will have an overwhelming advantage over the Soviet Union."
"Then the development of the future war situation..."
Manstein said: "In the next few months, our army will be unable to attack, and the Soviet army will be unable to counterattack. I am afraid that it will fall into a lasting stalemate. Now Germany and the Soviet Union are like two injured tigers. They are all licking their wounds. Whoever can catch their breath first will gain an overwhelming advantage. I hope the Third Reich will become the final winner."
"Hey, it's a pity that the good situation under Moscow has turned into this." The colonel also sighed and lowered his head.
Manstein's guess was correct. Not long after the German troops withdrew, the leading troops of the Soviet army entered Tver. At this point, the defense of Tver ended with the victory of the Soviet Union.
At this moment, Xu Rui received a telegram from Zhukov. In the telegram, Zhukov admitted that his command errors had put Tver in a dangerous situation. He implored Xu Rui to stay in Tver and be responsible for actually commanding future wars on the front line in Tver. .
Xu Rui thought for a while. In the future, there should be no major wars on the Tver frontline. If he stayed, nothing would happen to him. During this period of time, he was really too tired. In the past two months, the Soviet Union fought countless battles, worked hard, and never had a good rest. Now, it can finally live in peace for a while. Thinking of this, Xu Rui happily accepted Zhukov's order.
In view of Xu Rui's special status, Kuznetsov served as the city defense commander of Tver, but in fact, Xu Rui exercised his main powers as chief of staff.
Although the Battle of Tver ended with the victory of the Soviet army, the German Army Group North was not damaged and its strength remained. It gradually returned to the north of Tver to confront the Soviet army. The Soviet army was unable to launch a new attack for a while. Both sides were recharging their strength, always vigilant about the other's actions, and capturing opportunities that could be lost in a blink of an eye.
The two sides were in a state of cold war in Tver for a while. In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed, and neither side has made any move.
Tver, Xu Rui and Kuznetsov stood in front of the map. Xu Rui said: "The German army has been very honest these days. We need to beat them and stretch their muscles."
Kuznetsov said: "Comrade Xu Rui, do you have any new ideas?"
Xu Rui said: "I decided to start a cold-blooded campaign to make the German troops outside the city unable to eat and sleep soundly. Over time, the morale of the German troops will inevitably drop greatly."
Kuznetsov said: "This is a good idea. We have a lot of snipers in our army, so we can practice with the Germans."
Xu Rui said: "Comrade Kuznetsov, when it comes to cold shots, this is the strength of our Langya."
"Comrade Xu Rui, your wolf fangs are powerful, but the snipers of the Red Army are not inferior either."
"Hey, Comrade Kuznetsov, if you are not convinced, how about we make a bet?" Xu Rui said.
Kuznetsov asked: "What are you betting on?"
Xu Rui said: "Let's bet on whether the Red Army killed more German soldiers with cold guns and artillery, or whether it killed more German soldiers with wolf fangs."
Kuznetsov said: "You wolf fangs add up to only about eighty people. We the Red Army will not take advantage of you. So, let's make it together. We will also send eighty snipers. Let's compete. In ten days Among them, whoever killed more Germans was killed."
Xu Rui said: "In this case, I will double the number of people you have, and the Red Army will send out 200 snipers to compete with us."
Kuznetsov said: "Okay, I also know that Langya is powerful, so let's take advantage of this. We will send out 200 people to compete with Langya."
Xu Rui said: "What should we bet on?"
Kuznetsov said: "I think your big wolf dog is good. If you lose, give me the big wolf dog."
Xu Rui said: "The king is a member of Langya and my friend, not a pet. I have no right to give it to you."
Kuznetsov said: "Comrade Xu Rui, I heard that you brought two bottles of Maotai liquor when you came to the Soviet Union from China. If you lose, these two bottles of Maotai liquor will belong to me."
Xu Rui nodded and said, "If you lose, give me ten bottles of vodka."
"Deal," Kuznetsov said.
Xu Rui and Kuznetsov worked together and decided to have a sniper competition, letting Langya and the Soviet Red Army compete to see who killed more Germans. Afterwards, the entire position outside Tver became lively, with gunshots and mortar explosions ringing from time to time.
Pheasant held a Mosin Nagant sniper rifle, hid behind a hidden boulder, and aimed at the German position in the distance. On that position, a German sentry was smoking a cigarette leisurely, with a relaxed look on his face.
"Snapped!"
Pheasant pulled the trigger and saw the bullet shot into the head of the German sentry, who fell to the ground with a plop.
When Pheasant saw the German troops in the distance, they suddenly became confused. Several soldiers rushed out to remove the body of the sentry. Pheasant kept pulling the trigger and shot three German soldiers to death three times in a row. Then, he never stopped. No one came to collect the bodies. The four corpses just fell to the ground. A gust of wind and snow blew and they were buried under the wind and snow.
Pheasant placed four soybean grains in the small jar with satisfaction, and then quietly came to another sniper position.
On the position, the Cold War campaign started by the Soviet Army continued. One day passed in the blink of an eye, and each unit reported the results one after another. Two hundred Soviet snipers killed more than 400 German soldiers, while Langya killed more than 400 German soldiers. With nearly 300 German soldiers, the Soviet army won a complete victory on the first day of the game.
Leng Tiefeng was extremely anxious and said: "Old Xu, this is not going to work. Aren't we destined to lose?"
Xu Rui said: "Veteran, what's the rush? The game has just begun."
Leng Tiefeng said: "There are only eighty people in Langya, but the Soviet army has 200 snipers. We are at a huge disadvantage in terms of numbers."
Xu Rui still said the same thing: "The competition has just begun. Why are you anxious? It's just the first day. There are still nine days left. It's still unclear who will win."
"Okay." Leng Tiefeng looked at Xu Rui's calm look and couldn't say anything else.
At the same time, in another room, Kuznetsov had a proud smile on his face. On the first day of the game, the Soviet sniper defeated the Wolf Fang, which made him earn a lot of face. Kuznetsov When I think that Xu Rui will be able to give him the best Maotai in a few days, I feel indescribably happy.
"Haha, it's rare for Comrade Xu Rui to make mistakes. It seems that he will win this time."
At this moment, Xu Rui walked into Kuznetsov's office.
When he saw Xu Rui coming in, Kuznetsov couldn't help but have a smile on his face, and said: "Comrade Xu Rui, the comrades fought very well today. Together they destroyed more than 700 German troops. It's really It’s a great success.”
Xu Rui said: "Yes, it seems that cold-blooded tactics are still very effective. We can completely attack them piecemeal, accumulate small victories into big victories, and destroy the effective strength of the German army."
Kuznetsov added: "Comrade Xu Rui, this bet with you is just a joke. You don't need to take it to heart."
Xu Rui chuckled and said: "Comrade Kuznetsov, one day has just passed and it is too early to say anything. When the ten days are up, we will calculate the final results."
Kuznetsov said: "Okay, Comrade Xu Rui, you must be willing to admit defeat when the time comes."
Xu Rui said: "Comrade Kuznetsov, you are the one who is willing to admit defeat."
Kuznetsov smiled and said: "Comrade Xu Rui, it's already this time and you are still so confident, okay, then we will see again in ten days..."