Chapter 36: Hundredfold Forging (3)

  As the troops who are about to open up a new Soviet area, they didn't bring much gunpowder with them. Moreover, the Soviet area in Shanyang County has been repeatedly besieged by the Nationalist Party's heavy troops, and the production of gunpowder is also very low. However, Gao Quanquan had already decided to use all his strength this time to defeat this Public Security Brigade that had once been completely defeated. When heroes meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins! This Red Army, which has no way out, must use its own blood and flesh to fight out a bloody path. With blockades in front and pursuing troops behind, only those who are timid and afraid of death can be intimidated, but not the true iron-blooded warriors!

  Generally, the entire family's property was spent on burying a dozen or so hand-pulled landmines in the mountain gully. More than 1,000 soldiers, led by the deputy regimental commander, lay down on the mountain ridges on both sides of the gully, setting up simple positions and feeling an unprecedented chill.

  The light and heavy machine guns in the black hole, the dark large-caliber spouts, are like ferocious beasts lurking on the mountain ridge, waiting for the prey to arrive, then pouncing and biting its neck!

  The entire camp was in a state of solemnity and intense killing intent, for they had burned their boats and cut off all retreats. They must fight to the end! Some trembled with fear, but no one retreated! For Gao Daquan had clearly told them last night how to be a man: Advance and live, retreat and die; Die in battle and be honored, retreat and be killed! With death inevitable, why not die gloriously?

  This crucial move was indeed a gamble with the fate and future of the Red Army, so he had to be even more cautious! Looking at the freshly fallen snow covering the landmines and the simple fortifications hidden in the vast whiteness, on this winter mountain without any signs of life, Gao Quan's heart couldn't calm down for a long time! This mountain valley was indeed the place where fate would be decided! "I hope Heaven won't play tricks on me this time!"

  Gao Quan's heart was filled with anxiety at this moment, he was doing all sorts of work to stop the scenes of mountains of corpses and seas of blood that kept appearing in his mind, to stop the fear of failure, the muscles on his face twitching involuntarily.

  Actually, Gao Quan didn't want to fight desperately either, but if they didn't put up a desperate fight, the 74th Division that stayed in southern Shaanxi would have no great future at all! Even if they defeated one regiment of the 40th Army on the mountain, there was still a brigade following behind. It was obviously doomed to fail for the 74th Division, which had just experienced a big battle, to compete with the well-prepared and cautious Guard Brigade. The Red Army's plan to expand the Ningxia-Shaanxi Soviet area would also be impossible due to the enemy's heavy troops.

  For the future! Gaoduan must fight with all his might! Gaoduan must exert himself to defeat and disperse the security regiment in front of him, then defeat the battalion on the mountain and enter Ningxia. At this moment, the main force of Shaanxi Province is not because it was heavily damaged by the 25th Army and is being rebuilt, but is following the main force of the 25th Army into the Shaan-Gan region. Therefore, as long as they defeat this security regiment in Qinling, won't the 115th Regiment, which is not a local snake, be doomed?

  As long as the First Division of the Guards is eliminated, at that time the southern Shaanxi region will be a place where the enemy's strength is extremely weak! It is a place where birds fly high and fish jump freely! Rebuild Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi, surround Xi'an with heavy troops; go out of Tongguan, take Luoyang; Xiangfan and Chongqing are also under the sword of the 74th Division! In short, the revolutionary situation is extremely good!

  Gao Daquan has been eagerly anticipated for a long time, and now that he's here, everyone is excited! With so many elite Red Army soldiers, when the war of resistance comes, what's there to fear about those little Japanese? What's there to fear about not being able to make a name for ourselves in the war of resistance, saving a few more civilians from being killed and suffering?

  The Chief of Staff's feigned attack made the commander of the garrison regiment think that our army had discovered their trail and was intensifying its attack, trying to break through the Tongguan Pass and escape to Ningxia! What are we waiting for at this moment?

  The commander, who was sitting on the slide and advancing, immediately jumped down from the slide with the cooperation of the guards. The commander, who was nearly forty years old, had a big belly, and wore a gray woolen general's uniform with shiny golden epaulets. He stood beside a large stone on the side of the road, preparing to boost morale with money. As he carefully stepped onto the giant stone with the support of his soldiers, before he could even stand firmly, he felt a strong killing intent flashing around him like spider silk.

  His body suddenly turned over, and he rolled to the ground along with the giant stone. Before he could even feel the pain of the fall on a winter day, he was splashed with the blood and brains of the guard! "It's really chilling to the back of the brain!" Looking at the guard who died miserably, his face covered with blurry blood, his skull bursting, and his brains flowing out, this traveling long said quietly in his heart.

  "General Li, look ahead, that's a narrow mountain valley. Are we going to venture in like this? We can't avoid falling into the enemy commander Gao Daquan's trap! If we fall into their ambush, we'll suffer heavy losses!" General Li, who had just experienced the attack, felt uneasy about every place where the enemy could be hiding. In his opinion, someone like Gao Daquan would not miss any opportunity to strike at them, especially in a mountain valley where high-ranking officers like themselves were easy targets for stray bullets! But if Gao Daquan led his troops into the vast mountains and forests, who would be able to avenge this unjust death?

  "Haha, haha!" The middle-aged traveler, with a mixture of sarcastic and disdainful expressions, looked at himself as a timid mouse, already being belittled by the cowardly chief of staff, his beady eyes full of contempt!

  "I'm telling you, Chief of Staff Li! The Communist bandits have Guo Quan, but he only has a few thousand soldiers! Over a thousand of them are just inexperienced recruits! Do they really think they can take down my army of over 3,000?" The arrogant tone and gaze, however, made Chief of Staff Li see the grave crisis within the troops. In fact, this army had only been reorganized for three or four months, and if it weren't for other armies sending over veteran soldiers and officers, they wouldn't have been able to rebuild so quickly. If they really were compared to Guo Quan's soldiers, they would be at a disadvantage of half a catty versus eight taels!

  Chiang's arms embargo and discrimination against the Northwestern Army resulted in soldiers' weapons being mostly old and useless. There were only a few mortars, and just one heavy machine gun! With such equipment, plus the peasants who had just been recruited as soldiers, lacking training and ammunition, how could they have any confidence? Chief of Staff Li really didn't know where the division commander's confidence came from! If he weren't his superior, he would have pointed it out to his face long ago!

  "And also! Judging from the situation where we received the attack! Gao Quan is definitely afraid of us! Such despicable means, ordinary troops would not stoop to! He has done this, it shows that he has no confidence in today's battle! And look at the mountain!"

  Following the direction indicated by the travel officer, General Li clearly saw the mountain top shrouded in smoke and densely packed with charging soldiers!

  "Understood?!" Lao San said with a dark smile. "At this moment, Gao Quan is being held back by the 115th Regiment on the mountain, his hands and feet are tied up! There's no room for maneuvering, making it impossible for them to take the mountain head in a short period of time! So now is our chance!"

  "Pass the order throughout the army, speed up the advance! Kill one enemy, get one block of ocean! Five blocks for officers! Ten blocks for battalion commanders and above! Capture or kill Gao Daquan alive, 10,000 blocks!" The brigade commander was rarely generous, letting the soldiers who were usually shortchanged on their military pay and food rations cheer up in unison! They were poor and used to being bullied by men and women. Not getting paid for meals was a common occurrence, but today there was such a good opportunity to make money, everyone involuntarily put in extra effort, rushing towards the direction of Tongguan Pass with all their might!

  At this moment, the snow on both sides of the mountain slope is still so quiet! The traveler who was secretly laughing had actually dispatched more than a hundred scouts in over a dozen teams to investigate the terrain around Tongguan Pass early that morning. There were no abnormalities or ambushes on either side of the mountain slope, which is why he dared to boldly send his troops into the valley.

  But his reconnaissance team leader and dozens of soldiers under him were already high-ranking officials! Can this intelligence be true?!

  Chapter one, and also