Chapter 26: Fierce Battle at Yu Jia He River 2 (Continued from Chapter 1)

  Tonight was hilarious, in the dormitory, we were competing to see who could do the most push-ups. One guy did over 300 and exhausted himself, I managed over a hundred but couldn't continue... Over 300, what a freak!

  Due to the enemy's absolute superiority in firepower and numbers, even though Gaoquan initially seized some advantages, facing absolute power, Gaoquan was also forced to be besieged. However, relying on his inner faith in the main force, Gaoquan still made the decision to hold the high ground. A young army cannot grow in a battle that is always smooth sailing; without the tempering of a bitter and arduous struggle, it is difficult to become a true iron-blooded elite.

  The special agent battalion's training was rigorous, making the hard-nut-cracking Gaoquan feel like his teeth were about to be shattered. The whistling mortar shells continuously suppressed the machine gun fire of Gaoquan's company, and as soon as a light machine gun fired two clips at one location, it would face three or four accurate artillery shots. Fortunately, the enemy did not have time to set up an artillery position, and the simple firing mortar shells would sink deep into the mud after firing three or four rounds, making it difficult to adjust direction.

  However, this was just to suppress the crazy machine gun fire, and the real firepower pillar was those two "rattling" Maxim water-cooled heavy machine guns, with a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute, forming a dense bullet net that tightly suppressed the firepower of the guard company. The sweeping rain of bullets hit the scattered rocks on the mountain ridge, making them fly everywhere. Listening to the continuous sound of bullets flying over his head, the scorching hot bullets flew rapidly over his head, and the kind of chill that made him feel infinitely close to death gave Gao Daquan a spiritual coolness.

  Intense and dense gunfire, quickly attracted Qu Xianbai's attention. This Kuomintang general had suffered at the hands of the Northwestern Army in the Central Plains War, so he was particularly attentive to the concentrated fire from the hidden artillery. "Has the reconnaissance battalion figured out what troops are fighting ahead?" Abandoning his horse, Qu Xianbai rushed straight up the mountain with many guards surrounding him, panting and asking his division chief of staff.

  The general's uniform, paired with the Belgian Browning pistol, still exuded an air of elegance despite being stained with yellow mud. The wide military coat had long been discarded in the hands of the guards, and his calm and composed face reflected his confidence in his own army of over 10,000 men. He did not think that any troops could challenge the dignity of the Central Army at this Shaanxi-Henan border, not even the once invincible Northwestern Army on the Chinese mainland!

  "Commander, the Northwestern Army is currently engaging a portion of the Communist bandits! However, this unit of the Northwestern Army appears to be extremely powerful, and has actually pinned down the Communist bandits' elite troops, who were occupying the mountain top! But it seems that the Northwestern Army's heavy machine gun ammunition is insufficient, and they've even started using single-shot fire against the Communists. Not even their mortars are firing anymore! Both sides are in a state of extreme tension! Moreover, for some reason, the Communist reinforcements have yet to arrive, and despite their intense firepower, the Northwestern Army's attacks from all directions have left them with no room to maneuver!"

  Watching the report of a young lieutenant from the reconnaissance battalion sliding down the muddy slope, Qu Shou Nian listened to the dense explosion of hand grenades without any artillery fire, and smiled at him: "Very detailed, good job!" Then, surrounded by many guards and a group of staff officers, he continued to move forward up the mountain slope. In the eyes of that excited and stunned young lieutenant, the commander's figure vaguely transformed into a giant telescope, commanding thousands of horses and soldiers to attack the enemy!

  Because of the deep-seated grudges between the Central Army and the Northwestern Army (actually, the entire Central Army had a profound hatred for the Northwestern Army! Even Zhang Zhizhong's original Central Training Regiment was once severely wounded by the Northwestern Army's Big Sword Corps, with many casualties among his comrades-in-arms who were also fellow graduates of the Huangpu Military Academy, not to mention other units of the Central Army), it was only natural that they would turn a blind eye and let them die.

  The entire battlefield was clearly visible to Qu Zuoyin, especially the Red Army's light machine guns constantly shifting positions. At least three machine guns firmly suppressed the enemy's main attack direction, earning Qu Zuoyin's praise: "Who is this Communist commander? His machine gun firepower tactics are almost as good as those taught by the Germans! It seems that this Communist unit also has hidden dragons and crouching tigers! When we launch our attack later, we must have the artillery units firmly suppress the enemy's machine gun fire. Meanwhile, when the infantry attacks, the mortars will continuously cover the enemy's positions!"

  A remark by District Governor Nian made the Chief of Staff nod in agreement: "It seems that the Whampoa Military Academy has truly grasped the essence of Soviet artillery supremacy! The fact that Chen Jiongming, Wu Peifu, Sun Chuanfang, and even Zhang Zuolin had to avoid its edge is not without reason!" If it weren't for the fact that Principal Jiang Baili hadn't yet had a chance to enter the Central Army, Huang Shenyuan of the Baoding Military Academy's 7th Infantry Regiment whispered to himself, his face still maintaining its usual respectful expression.

  "What an encounter with the enemy's elite troops! And there are thousands of them!" The news caused the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Provincial Committee members who were in a meeting to be shocked and lose their color! Even the military commanders who had experienced many battles were shocked and lost their color! After all, the high-quality company was very powerful in terms of firepower and personnel configuration, and its combat effectiveness was extremely strong. They were usually used as a sharp knife to break through the enemy's "thick armor"! The enemy that surrounded them had only over a thousand people, so the enemy's combat effectiveness was not to be underestimated!

  The 223rd and 224th regiments led by Regimental Commander Cheng Jun and Deputy Regimental Commander Xu respectively went to reinforce! Although history was slightly altered due to Gao Quan's actions, the massive inertia still drove them to continue on their original path. The over-10,000-strong force led by Ou Shou Nian seemed to be about to inflict heavy casualties on the Red 25th Army...

  To guard against the enemy's surprise attack, the two advancing regiments also sent out a large number of reconnaissance and search teams to the slopes on both sides. The battle became more intense with the arrival of the Red Army reinforcements, although the Red Army had not yet caught up with its heavy firepower and was unable to suppress the special regiment's firepower, but the enemy who was trying to encircle from the two wings was quickly dispersed! These Deng Peiyuan were instead in a precarious situation of being surrounded!

  "Captain, shouldn't we retreat? The enemy is almost surrounding us! And because of the terrain, our grenades can't even reach the enemy's position! This distance of over 200 meters makes it impossible for our rifle bullets to hit the enemy's head! Our troops are suitable for close combat and charging, but extremely unsuitable for this kind of attack! Especially when facing the enemy's powerful machine gun fire! We simply cannot break through the enemy's firepower!"

  Watching soldier after soldier fall! The deputy regimental commander, extremely painful and tearfully, persuaded the stubborn regimental commander: "Regimental Commander, our Special Operations Third Regiment was personally established by Director Feng! We can't let the seeds of our Northwestern Army be destroyed at the hands of these Communist bandits!" In fact, the current Red Army is also suffering heavy losses. Even the elite Guard Company has lost a third of its men. As for other ordinary troops, it's the same. If Deng Pei-yuan continues to fight recklessly with the 25th Red Army, even if they are completely defeated, the 25th Red Army won't have many people left either...

  "Cough! We retreat! But we still have to launch a swift counterattack in one round! Don't let the enemy see our retreat, or we'll be doomed if we fall into their trap! Deng Peiyuan glared at the mountain ridge with dense gunfire and kicked the big tree beside him fiercely, making a "cracking" sound that startled everyone around!"

  "Sir, the Northwestern Army has suffered heavy casualties! Shouldn't we just go up?" asked the chief of staff respectfully. "Oh? Is that so? I think it would be better to let the Communist bandits enter Shaanxi instead? Don't you think their combat strength is still quite strong? They've already defeated the Northwestern Army's pistol regiment in one fell swoop! If we let them go and cause trouble in Shaanxi, just imagine how good Yang Hucheng's expression will look? Won't he have to ask our Central Army to enter Shaanxi?" Qu Shouyuan's sudden idea made the chief of staff jump in fright.

  "Borrowing a knife to kill, driving out the tiger and swallowing the wolf, raising a thief to bring disaster upon oneself..." A series of phrases flashed through his mind, but he remained expressionless, nodding respectfully. However, in his heart, countless thoughts were swirling as he gazed at Qu Shou Nian standing on the mountain ridge, laughing loudly, his face suddenly twisted into an extremely terrifying visage!

  "Master, if we let the enemy grow stronger! I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with in the future!" asked Huang Shen Garden, the chief of staff, cautiously. "In the past, in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, weren't their tens of thousands of troops defeated by us, leaving only a few thousand people, who fled here in disarray? In this barren Shaanxi, I don't believe they can produce any more monsters! Even if they do, don't we have several million Central Army soldiers? Eliminating Yang Huicheng is the top priority! This is what the schoolmaster means!"

  Qu Shou Nian's unintentional revelation made Huang Shen Yuan suddenly break out in a cold sweat...