Chapter One: The Long March

  The enemy pillbox under the night sky looked so ferocious in the dim light, with the cold glint of bayonets flashing around it from time to time. The Central Army of the Kuomintang was still on duty in such cold weather, which was indeed beyond Wu Huanxian's expectations. However, after all, the distance between the pillboxes of the Kuomintang had reached 500 meters, and it was at night. Turning his head to look at the soldiers behind him who were holding their breath in the biting wind, a strange spark burst out in Wu Huanxian's eyes, a kind of confidence and pride!

  The tight blockade of the Nationalist Party caused great difficulties for the base and the Red Army, to the point where even a high-ranking military and political commissar like him was wearing a cotton-padded jacket made from an old autumn coat with a layer of thin padding and scarce cotton batting. However, his wife's whispered words and careful reminders before she left had kept his heart warm for a long time. "Even Dog Wa Zi can crawl on the ground now!"

  Wu Huan gave the order, and countless Red Army soldiers crouched down and quickly passed through the enemy's blockade line. The cut barbed wire and the numerous footprints left behind might give the Nationalist Party a big surprise tomorrow! Gao Quan thought with great interest that if the enemy came to inspect this place carefully, they would find out how many Red Army soldiers had passed through. Suddenly, Gao Quan whispered something in the ear of the political commissar, and as a result, the engineering corps left behind a few precious gifts for the enemy. However, from the perspective of the engineering corps, leaving those iron things for the enemy to eat was not bad either, since they were about to embark on a long march, and these things could be dug up anywhere along the enemy's blockade line!

  Although the troops were advancing in the direction of Luoshan along the Yuemu Mountains, they still encountered enemy forces such as the Homecoming Regiment and local armed forces from time to time. For these local armed forces that adopted a hit-and-run tactic, the Red Army encountered unprecedented embarrassment for the first time - wanting to fight the enemy but not with us, wanting to chase but unable to catch up, and the enemy relying on their familiarity with the terrain would occasionally launch surprise attacks on the high-ranking officials of the Red Army who were holding binoculars and riding horses. This forced Gao Guangzhou to be extremely vigilant in protecting his leaders, after all, a team without its mainstay and spiritual pillar would quickly disintegrate even if it had strong combat effectiveness before.

  The passionate blood of the young troops was comforted by the experienced political commissar time and again, the proud crowd pressed down their own murderous intent to see blood with the enemy's bayonet time and again, hastening their pace on the road. Because the rear guard had already clashed with the enemy's pursuing troops several times, the Nationalist Party indeed attached great importance to the Red 25 Army that emerged from the Dabie Mountains and could fight tough battles. Our army of only three thousand people was pursued by an enemy force of over nine thousand people in two brigades, crazily chasing on the winding mountain road.

  Looking at the political commissar who held the intelligence with a disdainful face, Gao Daquan understood that the enemies behind could not threaten this small Red Army at this moment. They were probably just like the white dogs in the past, being dragged by a small group of Red Army, wandering around the mountains and fields, getting fatter and thinner to death!

  The actual situation of the troops was not as good as imagined, and the constant attacks by the enemy's local forces and bandits along the way led to a continuous reduction in the number of troops. The troops could not get good rest either. Compared with the Nationalist Party's troops who had guides from the local gentry, they did not have any advantages. It was just that those Nationalist Party troops were only local enemy forces, and their combat effectiveness and training level were far lower than that of the Central Army. The places where they had an advantage might be limited to persecution and exploitation of the local population along the way.

  Along with the 25th Red Army, they continuously posted notices to reassure the people, wrote slogans in response everywhere, drew cartoons to publicize the party's program to the masses, and publicized resistance against Japan. They bought things at fair prices; at that time, whenever the Red Army used something belonging to the masses, they would pay for it at a fair price. If the masses were not present, the Red Army would leave the money in their homes. The masses who had fled saw this and returned home one after another to help the Red Army carry water, guide them on the road, and introduce them to local conditions.

  In contrast, the KMT local troops were brutally exploiting and oppressing the people to an extent that even the landlords' own militia couldn't bear to watch. After all, they were all fellow villagers who shared a strong sense of community and hometown loyalty. The landlords' militia would only issue warnings to those who had some connection with the Red Army, but these KMT local troops were nothing more than bandit groups recruited by the KMT under the guise of independent regiments or brigades. In the midst of warlordism and corruption, where military pay was being withheld, these opium-smoking thugs would stop at nothing for money!

  Skinning and extortion, setting off firecrackers, pulling out the strong and capable... The women were almost at the point of heavenly wrath and human resentment! Wherever they passed, a layer of soil was rolled away! To the extent that those wealthy old men who had been hostile to the Communist Red Army for seasons, holding their canes and constantly tapping on the ground tiles, angrily said: "What Nationalist Party? Even more bandit-like than the Communist bandits!"

  For many days, the forced march in the mountains had caused countless children who were still in their parents' arms to have blisters on their feet, and even Gaoquan was no exception. The meticulous political commissar naturally noticed that this little guy walked strangely, and as a poor man himself, he knew that it was because of the blisters on his soles. Looking at Gaoquan's strange gait, which was normally robust and agile, the commissar first thought of those young children, and for this reason, he specially instructed the military to send ten or more soldiers in plain clothes to buy a dozen jars of white wine from the small town at the foot of the mountain.

  Under the whistling north wind, a dozen or so warriors were scattered throughout the village, either holding rifles with bayonets attached, shivering on duty, or hiding themselves in bundles of newly harvested rice straw, warm and fragrant, struggling to keep their eyelids from constantly fighting, carefully observing the movements in the dark surroundings. To prevent the enemy from wiping out the 25th Red Army, a force of over 2,600 people was scattered among three villages, each led by a political commissar, army commander, and deputy commander.

  The crackling fire reflected the completely red face of Gaoquan, as well as his feet which had been frozen to a purple color after removing his grass shoes, with several large blisters on them. However, at this moment, his gaze was not focused on his own feet, but rather staring fearfully at the metal chopsticks that had been heated to a bright red, used for eating and weaving grass shoes in daily life, which now seemed more dangerous than the enemy's machine guns spitting out flames!

  Although he tried his best to turn his head away, he didn't dare look at the guy who had been burned bright red. However, the crumpled clothes corner tightly grasped in both hands exposed the fear in this young man's heart. In the political commissar's smile, Gao Daquan clearly heard the sound of the awl being dipped into the white wine! When his feet caught sight of the awl that was constantly getting closer in the corner of his eye, they started shaking uncontrollably!

  "Come on, kid! Don't be afraid! It won't hurt that much! It'll be over in no time!" Listening to the commissar's words, Gao Quan's stiff face managed a weak smile. Then, without warning, his foot was clamped down by a strong and powerful hand, unable to move. A dull ache slowly spread from his foot, which had been cleaned with cold winter water and was now extremely sensitive after being roasted over the fire. Every detail of this indescribable pain was recorded, along with the commissar's paternal gaze that was both focused and concerned.

  Only when his feet were soaked in a basin full of strong liquor did Gaoquan feel what it was like to be in pain! The intense pain made him want to struggle out of the basin, but with the iron hands of the political commissar holding him down, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't budge. As he watched Gaoquan, who loved to bully children, shed tears, the political commissar couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. However, that night Gaoquan slept exceptionally well, not only without the disturbance of the bandits, but also with a warm fire.

  When the morning sunlight filled the earth, dispersing the thick fog and chill, the young soldiers also stretched their waists, starting to eat the breakfast that had been prepared by the cooking team. The remaining embers of last night's bonfire were still emitting wisps of smoke, and Gao Quan looked at the pair of cloth shoes sewn tightly at his feet, which fit perfectly. Gao Quan subconsciously thought of that young and kind sister-in-law, with tears welling up in his eyes. At this moment, he was not a strong Red Army soldier, nor the one who walked proudly at the front of the team with his gun slung over his shoulder, nor the guard who had killed countless enemies with his agile movements and accurate marksmanship to protect the political commissar. He was just a child who had once again felt the warmth of family, and couldn't help but want to cry.

  After eating a breakfast of cornmeal mush, with a half-hungry and half-full stomach, he sat on the big green flower horse of the political commissar, slowly advancing with the troops in the midst of the clip-clop sound. When the landlord's homecoming team saw that the person on the horse was still a child who hadn't grown tall yet, they couldn't help but curiously ask Li Sanpang, the third son of the Li family, "Li young master, why is there a little kid on the horse? Is he the son of some big official?"

  Looking at the guy in front of him, who looked like a Pomeranian dog, Li San Gongzi, a Japanese-educated mama's boy, said with a nasal tone and a raised pinky finger: "Isn't he just a little brat? He must be a communist spy trying to trick us into revealing our position!" As he spoke, he pointed at the figure moving in the bushes not far away, and proudly said: "Let's go! If we don't want to get caught off guard, let's hurry up! I didn't expect that among these country bumpkins, there would be someone who could compare to me, a graduate of the Japanese Military Academy!" Then, under the admiring gaze of the surrounding militia members, he slowly walked down the mountain along the hidden path, carrying his large box-shaped cannon.

  Two updates in one day, a record!