Chapter 29: The Undying Bird Faces the Sky
The oppressive atmosphere before the battle also ignited the hot blood in Gao Quan's heart. Looking at those young soldiers who were holding their breath, tightly gripping their steel guns, Gao Quan gently patted them on the shoulder one by one, using his calm and gentle smile to bring a strange warmth and care to the soldiers, and their tense state also improved slightly.
"Wait until the enemy gets closer and we'll hit them! They're also human, born to parents! Not some mountain spirit or water monster that can't be hurt by swords and guns!" Gaoquan smiled as he walked, making a playful face at the tense soldiers. The originally unfamiliar soldiers immediately felt a sense of closeness to their commander, as if they shared a bond of flesh and blood!
It must be said that the Kuomintang really went on a rampage in the Soviet area, to the point of being unscrupulous. They didn't understand the principle of "things will inevitably change when they reach an extreme" and thought that after the main force of the Red Army left, their hundreds-strong troops could freely burn, kill, and loot in the Soviet area, gaining some wealth stained with blood (this is a very bad point about China since ancient times! Always robbing and killing civilians in occupied areas, madly slaughtering and massacring cities, without considering them as their own compatriots! It seems that only the Party's army has not done such things since modern times).
The swaggering soldiers, carrying guns and riding on stolen mules, wearing a motley assortment of clothes, laughed and chatted as they marched. This carefree life made them look like a band of robbers returning with their spoils, without the slightest hint of preparation for battle. Perhaps in their eyes, the local Red Guards and guerrilla forces, with their tattered equipment and low morale, should be avoided rather than engaged in fierce battles hidden within the villages.
Moreover, they also obtained ultra-secret intelligence, giving the still resting enemy a surprise attack! These more than 500 people, if they can't even take down 100 people, then they can all go home and farm.
The troops marched proudly, quickly advancing in the Soviet area where even guerrilla teams were scarce. The team of over 500 people was surprisingly carefree and stretched out for nearly 200 meters. Zhang Lianzhang from the Northwestern Army and Wan Tuanzong from Xixian County rode on two horses, discussing last night's conquests with lewd and obscene language. Their occasional sighs of admiration elicited a chorus of bawdy cheers and laughter from the surrounding soldiers.
A man in grey clothes, with a dark face and disheveled hair, suddenly ran out from the right side of the mountain slope on the main road. The sudden surprise caused the militiamen to hastily remove their guns from their shoulders, aiming at this extremely agile person from a distance. However, when they saw the blue booklet of the Blue Shirt Society pulled out from his pocket, they unexpectedly made way for him, clearing a path.
The local government of those bandits moved a large number of bandit civilians to the mountainous areas, but for some reason, the famous warlord Gao Quanquan led more than 100 bandit soldiers and stubbornly defended the village. Because they set up sentry posts around the village, I couldn't get close to them to find out what they were doing," said the Blue Shirt Society spy, who then turned and left. If it weren't for the urgency of this military situation, fearing that the Nationalist troops would suffer too much loss, he wouldn't have come out to expose his identity. Who knows if there are any Communist spies lurking in these Northwestern Army local militias? As for how they make decisions, that's even more none of my business.
"Is that Gaoquan? The one who led over a hundred men to attack the special agent camp of over 800 people? If it's him, we're in trouble." Familiar with the situation of the Northwestern Army, he knew that his most elite soldiers had all been defeated by the Communist bandits, especially the defeat of the Special Agent Camp in their first battle, which had a significant impact on the morale of the Northwestern Army. The famous handgun special agent camp was defeated, and Zhang Lianzhang thought that with these newly assembled troops, plus the local militia's mob, he felt very insecure.
"Zhang Lianchang, is that tall and robust one the one whose head was bought by Chairman Chiang for 10,000 silver dollars?" His face was flushed with excitement, and his double chin made him look even more lecherous. His oily complexion glistened in the rare warm winter sun, shining brightly! Seeing Zhang Lianchang's stunned expression, Wan Tuan thought he was stunned by the prospect of receiving 10,000 silver dollars, so he quickly shook him out of his reverie and exclaimed: "Zhang Lianchang, this is a great deal! 10,000 silver dollars, even if we brothers split it evenly, with the cheap land prices in southern Shaanxi, plus all those old bandits killed by the Communists, we can get over 1,000 mu of land! This deal will make us rich! We can marry ten or more concubines and become a big household in southern Shaanxi!" His shining eyes showed that he thought Chiang's money tactics had won again, but he didn't know that getting something out of the fire also required some skill. Without skill, you might end up getting burned instead!
Zhang Lianchang saw that there was such a greedy guy, and he was naturally eager to take advantage of it. Anyway, when the time came, as long as he sent out machine guns to cover him, he could sit on the wall and watch, and if he succeeded, he would share the spoils, but if he failed, he would not be hurt at all. At that time, he would trap the enemy and then gather his troops to surround and annihilate them, and his own merits would not be small either. With a smile on his face, he said to Wan Tuanzong: "Wan Tuanzong, you also know that most of my soldiers are newly recruited from local areas, with insufficient training and weak combat effectiveness. But I am not someone who likes to take advantage of cheap things. My main force will be waiting outside the boundary, but our company has just been equipped with two machine guns, including machine gunners and all ammunition, which will be under your command. How about it?" After some calculation, Wan Tuanzong found that he was not at a disadvantage either, so he also pretended to be generous and agreed.
Personally going into a village that is obviously heavily guarded and fortified, isn't something people with status and position like Wan Tuanzhang and Zhang Lianchang can do. Several dozen of the team's elite, dressed in black and carrying rifles, formed a scattered formation and cautiously approached the eerily quiet village. Although there was an inexplicable strangeness about this quiet village, the brave and numerous team members still walked towards it with their backs to each other, carrying their rifles. Years of experience as bandits had made them unafraid of anything.
As soon as they thought of the reward announced by Wan Duan, whoever caught Gao Daquan or cut off his head would be rewarded with 100 taels of silver. These old bandits felt that before them was a vast expanse of white silver.
As they got closer to the village, everyone became more and more anxious, with a hint of anticipation. After all, it was 100 taels of silver! And there was also the possibility of promotion - what more could one ask for in life? Especially if they could get recognition from the current emperor, Chiang Kai-shek, that would be a blessing accumulated over eight lifetimes. If Chiang Kai-shek was pleased, who knows, he might even grant them a position as a regiment commander or something. Although everyone had high hopes for a bright future, they still didn't take their lives lightly and proceeded cautiously towards the village.
The village entrance was a mess of footprints, and the seasoned bandits naturally knew that the people inside the village were running around in a panic. As they slowly approached the village entrance, they instinctively tightened their grip on their steel guns due to the thick killing intent in the air, their sharp eyes scanning everything suspicious, even the newly applied yellow mud on the wall of the village entrance was clearly visible.
The crumbling yellow mud suddenly fell from the newly plastered wall, and before they could react, the black cannon barrel that had just poked out its head made a loud "bang" sound, enveloping them in thick smoke. More cannon barrels emerged one after another, with continuous gunfire covering the small squad of sixty or seventy people. The smell of gunpowder wafted through the air, the cries of grief filled the ground, and the flowing blood was just like what had happened not long ago in many villages. This is probably what it means for humans to act and heaven to watch.
Looking at the troops that were defeated in an instant, and the iron-green face of Wan Tuanzhang after eating a loss, Zhang Lianchang secretly felt lucky for his own decision. In the Guanzhong area where there are guns and people are kings, and bandits roam, the soldiers and horses under his command are his capital to make a living. If he loses his capital to make a living, even if he becomes rich and honorable, it will be for others to wear!
The utterly humiliated Wan Tuanzong, although not driven to bleeding by Zhang Lian's hypocritical and insincere persuasion, had a face full of discontent. The angry and embarrassed expression in Zhang Lian's eyes was like that of a wild boar who, after failing, was eager to regain its dignity - weak and ferocious, but just a brainless martial artist!
This time, Wan Tuan's general had gone all out and even brought out the bronze cannons that fired explosive shells during the Qing dynasty! The equipment of Gan's army back then was now being used by the black muzzles of the guns, aimed at the parents and relatives of the people who used to use them! After a loud "boom", the cannonballs whizzing out destroyed the row of village walls at the entrance in an instant, and the hastily built walls collapsed rapidly after withstanding several rounds of cannon fire.
Hiding in the village, Gaoquan listened to the sound of artillery and the whistling of shells in the air, and couldn't help but sigh: "How can this place be so leisurely, bringing out such a treasure! It seems that today's affairs are not going well!" Taking a deep breath, he gradually drifted towards the village, savoring the smell of sulfur smoke. With a refreshed expression, Gaoquan climbed down from the rooftop ladder with an unusual smile and entered the largest house in the village, belonging to Wang, the wealthy landlord.
