Chapter 39 Early Spring of 1936

  The weather at the end of winter and early spring is still so cold, especially in the Ningqiang Foping area north of Qinling Mountains, which is completely a northern climate. The frozen rivers, the land covered with silver frost, the northwest wind whistling through the mountains, ridges, and land. In the season when water drips into ice, even the evergreen pines are bent, their curved branches heavy with snow, and the sun only lazily goes through the motions before retreating to its nest around 4 or 5 pm.

  Yang Huicheng's heart was also icy cold at this moment! After Gao Quanquan's troops had miraculously digested those captives, they quickly expanded to a scale of 3,500 people in just over ten days! This expansion speed is simply terrifying! He had also seen the Communist Party's political work ability and propaganda ability before, and even for a period of time, he thought about joining the Red Army like He Long, but due to various reasons, his thoughts were fleeting like a dream in "Journey to the West".

  The Eight-One Declaration brought by Nan Han last time had stirred up a lingering ripple in his heart, which was further intensified by the arrival of Wang Feng, a higher-level Communist Party representative. Giving up the power in his hands and "falling into banditry" here, even if it was an ideal from his early years, was a very difficult choice to make after a bout of struggle in the turmoil of society. Having troops, guns, and territory was something he had practiced for many years, even betraying his former superior and his own ideals for this, but there was no room for wavering.

  But at this moment, he had to think carefully! Since Zhang Xueliang of the Northeast Army came to Shaanxi to suppress bandits, there was also Shao Lizi, sent by Old Chiang, as the provincial chairman. His own iron-clad camp was facing constant erosion, the Blue Shirt Society, and those infiltrators from the Statistics Bureau who had penetrated into the troops. He wasn't blind to them, but in order not to make Old Chiang overly suspicious, he had no choice but to turn a blind eye!

  However, he deeply felt that Shaanxi was no longer his territory! Whether it was the Zhu-Mao Red Army who fled from Jiangxi and merged with the local Xu-Liu troops in Wuqi Town, northern Shaanxi, with a force of over 10,000 men! Or Gao Guanzhong led the remnants of the 25th Red Army to rise and expand miraculously in southern Shaanxi, reaching an army of over 4,000 men! The momentum was so great that it shocked Xianyang City three times a day: "These are all the elite troops of the Communist Party! Even two elite divisions of the Northeastern Army and one brigade from Shaanxi were not defeated by them?"

  In the quiet room, the flickering cigarette smoke was exposed under the small table lamp, and the clear light shone on the tightly furrowed face. The wisps of smoke dissipated into ash in the swirling blue smoke, and the rising mist seemed to envelop the entire room. Outside, cars sped by from time to time, with sharp sirens blaring. The Blue Shirt Society's agents were recklessly arresting suspected Communist Party members in the ancient city of Xi'an, thousands of miles away from old Chiang, diligently performing their "duty".

  Concerns about his own future power and status, worries about the land that was gradually falling under the iron hooves of Little Japan, anxiety about the unclear prospects for the entire nation, deeply tormented this middle-aged general's heart. "The country is broken, but the mountains and rivers remain; in the city, spring is deep, and the grass and trees are lush, but I feel sad when I see the flowers, and my heart is startled by the sound of birds!" If the country is not ruled properly, how can one bear the emotions?! After decades of serving in the military, for the country and for the people, it all ends up being nothing more than a warlord ruling over a region and exploiting the common people! "Power! Greed!" Yang Huicheng gazed at the cigarette burning slowly in his hand, savoring the dreamlike feeling, as well as the faint bitterness...

  The Battle of Tongguan not only thoroughly defeated the enemy's winter offensive, but also made Gao Quan and others see a bright future! Ningqiang and Foping County are like naked beauties stripped of their clothes, attracting Gao Quan and others' endless attention! The security team of 400-500 people is just a small dish on the table! The troops that appear and disappear without a trace in front of them are also the source of Gao Quan's confidence!

  Originally, after capturing more than 2,000 prisoners from the police's first division, the usual policy was to give them a few big buns and send them back home! However, this time it's different. The team formed by Shaanxi's Lengwa is considered a synonym for strong combat power in Gaoquan's eyes! As long as they are well indoctrinated with the party's ideology and policies, especially the party's land reform policy, Gaoquan deeply believes that these people will be transformed into an extremely powerful fighting force! Moreover, since they have just been formed and have not yet contracted the bad habits of the Nationalist Party troops, this matter is a rare and precious jade, a beautiful jade worth carving carefully!

  The meeting of bitter experience and criticism, from exposing why they were poor and persecuted, deeply implementing the spirit of the party, was joined by every company's meeting of bitter experience! With personal example, recounting their own childhood "tragic" experiences to their current "happy life", not only were these young captive soldiers deeply moved, but even those old Red Army veterans were also deeply moved! For a time, the stormy meeting hall, everyone was shouting slogans: "Down with the Nationalist Party, down with the reactionaries, down with imperialism!"

  Gao Quan was stunned for a moment, "These comrades who are closely united together, were they not the same enemies who were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat just a short while ago?" Gao Quan seemed to see the clash of bayonets, the dull thud of rifle butts hitting flesh, the cries of the dying, and the shouts of killers rising up together; he seemed to see the crowded highway where people's heads were intertwined, yet now they were united in their determination to overthrow a common enemy! This world was truly crazy!

  Old Liang, sitting among the dense crowd of people squatting on the ground, suddenly burst into tears! As a man from the Guanzhong region, it's rare to see him cry, but he was truly touched in his heart's most sorrowful place! Whether it was the young and beautiful aunt or the adorable child laughing in her arms, everything seemed as absurd and fleeting as yesterday's dream! And wasn't the mastermind behind all this the village's own Old Wang? At just 18 years old, he had to leave behind his parents and family, without even having time to burn a few sheets of paper money on his wife and child's grave...

  The long-accumulated anger and indignation finally erupted like a volcano! It is no miracle that Comrade Gao Quan was able to transform this unit, composed of new recruits, old Red Army men, guerrilla fighters, and captured soldiers, into a powerful fighting force within the short span of over ten days. This is the result of the excellent political work of the Communist Party! Comrade Gao Quan couldn't help but think of those soldiers who had just been captured during the Liberation War and immediately took up their rifles to fight against the Nationalist Party, their lives having been so miserable

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