Chapter 7: The Army Collapses Like a Mountain
Those three stout and big-eared high-ranking officers of the Nationalist 115th Division, after their small and exquisite handguns were taken away by Gaoquanli, finally came to their senses and realized that these few seemingly clever young men were actually Communist bandits! Looking at the three stout pigs who had lost their color, Gaoquanli smiled triumphantly and said: "I am the Red Army! How could you not have expected it?" In fact, in secret, Gaoquanli's hands holding the gun were already full of sweat. Who is not afraid of death? Who does not have a moment of panic? If these three idiots had shouted, they would have gone to the Western Heaven, and he himself would also have been unable to retreat wholeheartedly.
"Although we have already captured the three main officers of the Kuomintang, if time drags on and the hundreds of Kuomintang guards outside react, we will be in a precarious situation!" Gao Quan thought anxiously, his eyes flashing with worry. However, he soon came up with an ingenious plan.
In just a few minutes, the commander of the 115th Brigade began to loudly call out to the young deputy officer and staff beside him. Gao Quan had his hands tightly gripping the detonator on the grenade, while secretly hiding two small handguns in his sleeves with both hands, ready to respond to any sudden situation at any time. The two young soldiers were hiding behind a screen, holding pistols against the waist of the commander and deputy commander, and also tied several grenades with open safety pins to their waists, preparing to respond to any sudden situation, even if it meant they would die, they had to send these high-ranking Nationalist officers to heaven. Their faces were resolute and determined.
The grand arrangement, and the cold face with a smile on the right side of the chair, made the three Kuomintang members feel a chill. They had originally thought that they could take advantage of the three young men's naivety and lack of social experience to do something, but the sudden appearance of this event would leave them no time to react, and they would have the upper hand. However, the cold face with a smile clearly saw through their thoughts, warning them not to make any rash moves, and to obediently listen to him, or else they would lose their lives in an unexpected event, which was simply terrifying! After painful hesitation, in order to save his own life, the over-50-year-old brigade commander decided to fully cooperate with the actions of this unassuming young communist.
A crisp knock at the door, after a stout fellow with big ears had shouted several times, was immediately answered.
"Come in." The tone of the voice inside was extremely unpleasant, making the young staff officers outside feel deeply uneasy about today's battle situation. According to what several soldiers from the guard company said, it seemed that this time the second regiment had almost been completely annihilated.
Two young officers walked in, looking at the somewhat dispirited travel leader sitting in a chair, as well as the pale-faced deputy travel leader and travel staff officer. They knew that this matter was obviously very serious. However, the young soldier standing behind them, with a face full of gunpowder, looked terrified, which made them raise their eyebrows in surprise after a moment, and their foreheads were covered with a layer of frost. The travel leader's cloudy but rainless face made them feel an unprecedented pressure, and the originally warm room with a fireplace also became chilling to the bone.
"Colonel Xiao." The cold tone of the brigade commander made Xiao Jinhuang, who had been holding his breath, immediately stand at attention with a loud "crack", not daring to relax in the slightest, lest he become the object of the brigade commander's ire.
"Arrived!" Xiao Jin'ao respectfully looked at his superior, but his bright and spirited eyes caught a hint of helplessness in the corner of the brigade commander's eye. Because at this moment, Gao Quan, who was standing in the right corner, had a cold smile on his face as he stared at the brigade commander, with a hand grenade visible under his clothes.
"I order you to immediately dispatch all the garrison troops in the city, including two and a half platoons from the guard company, and half of the other garrison troops, district security teams, police teams, and militia teams, to go to Wangzhuangtai, five miles outside the west gate, to meet Commander Li. The brothers of the Second Regiment must not make any mistakes! Advisor Wang will be your deputy, this is a written order! Anyone who disobeys will be shot on the spot!"
The appreciation and trust from the leader was beyond Xiao Jinhuang's expectations, he thought it might be because of the small favor he did for the leader last time: "This woman, it seems she really has a sense of justice, it wasn't in vain that I spent 500 taels of silver to get her to comb my hair!" Having gained the leader's extreme trust, Xiao Jinhuang didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Overwhelmed with unexpected surprise and joy, he respectfully took the order from the leader's hand and said with a smile: "Thank you for your guidance, Leader. This time, I, Xiao Jinhuang, will risk my own life to rescue Li Tuanzhang and the brothers of the Second Regiment from the Communist bandits!"
However, Wang Xunzhi next to him was not so easily fooled, especially the brigade commander's shocking move, which disregarded the safety of the brigade and went to rescue his subordinates. This was completely out of character for a brigade commander who was usually very cautious and conservative, and afraid of death. If it weren't for the fact that the brigade commander's every move and expression were almost identical to usual, he would not have believed this was the brigade commander's order. And this time, it wasn't even the guard company commander Hu Hai who was called upon to do it, which was simply unthinkable!
"Commander, with this arrangement, the guard troops in our department will be reduced to just over 20 people! And why not let Hu Hailian take charge? He has rich experience in suppressing bandits and is brave and good at fighting. His command of the troops is much better than ours, who are staff officers without any military achievements or prestige!" Wang Xunzi tried his best to advise his commander in a gentle tone, fearing that the commander would make another mistake due to consecutive defeats, and also fearing that Xiao Jinhui, this Zhao Kuo-like general, would lead the entire army into an irretrievable situation! After all, a temporarily assembled unit needs someone with high prestige and good fighting skills to lead it, otherwise, it may collapse at the slightest conflict.
However, the travel chief who was usually only greedy for money and women, hooking up with each other, flattering his superiors, and being mediocre, was very unhappy at this moment. He glared at Wang Xunzhi with a fierce expression, as if he would drag him out and shoot him immediately if they disagreed on one word. Even Xiao Jinhui, who usually got along well with him, looked at him with resentment and anger. Obviously, they were extremely dissatisfied with this kind of person who didn't help his friends but helped outsiders and was extremely unrighteous. Xiao Jinhui, who was good at observing words and expressions, still decided to save his friend in the last moment.
"Let Wang Canmou, who is also worried about the safety of the Traveling Seat and the Travel Department, make amends for his crime since he is truly dedicated to serving the party and country!" Xiao Jinhong's words moved the Traveling General, whose expression softened, then waved his hand, signaling them to leave and carry out their mission immediately.
When the crisp sound of military boots trampling on stone slabs gradually faded away, Gao Quan walked to the side of Wan Lü Zhang with a smile all over his face, slowly lifted his face with an icy pistol, and said sarcastically: "Wan Lü Zhang cooperated with our actions so well, we will definitely not kill you, but it's just unknown what the Nanjing government will do after knowing this thing! Hahaha!" The arrogant laughter lingered in people's ears like a devilish sound. And this fourteen-year-old kid was no longer an underage little rascal, but a devil-like figure, and Wan Lü Zhang and his subordinates were all filled with deep fear in their eyes.
After being mobilized by Gaoduan, the command center originally set up on the Zhonggulou was simply idle. After the two sturdy and tall guards at the entrance of the war friend's door were killed, there were two more corpses behind the screen in the living room of the travel department. However, it was unexpected that the two Kuomintang colonels and a lieutenant colonel, as well as two soldiers, were bound and gagged, then had their throats cut open, watching themselves slowly bleed to death, yet could only die in struggling fear! The two war friends couldn't bear to see this and didn't understand.
Gao Daquan only said two sentences: "Think about the civilians and Red Army soldiers in our Soviet district who were brutally killed. If we hadn't killed them, could our action tonight have succeeded with just a few of us? Do you like watching your comrades die meaninglessly under the enemy's machine gun fire and dense bullet rain?" Although from then on Gao Daquan was nicknamed "Little Devil", he proved in battle after battle that being lenient to the enemy is cruel to oneself.
The entire three-story wooden building, except for the house downstairs where there were some guards, was filled with busy telegraph operators and staff officers making battle plans. Gaoquan decided to reward them with a few hand grenades when the company commander launched an attack, but they had just received them and were still "powdery". Two comrades dressed in guard uniforms outside the door repeatedly blocked others from requesting to see the brigade commander, although the brigade commander's earlier scolding also made them think that the brigade commander and deputy brigade commanders were discussing important matters and could not be disturbed. In the quiet house, only Wan Traveling, with his hands tied behind his back, Gaoquan with a playful smile, and his icy face, with fresh blood dripping onto the ground just a short distance away, quietly and terrifyingly!
The sudden and intense gunfire outside made Gao Quan's whole body tense, and he quickly picked up the nearly 200-pound fat pig. In the disbelieving eyes of his comrades at the door, they launched a pincer attack on the remaining twenty or so guards. What surprised them even more was Gao Quan's accurate marksmanship, and incredibly, he was holding a shotgun with tremendous recoil, taking out several Nationalist soldiers hiding behind the house with one shot! It was simply incredible bravery!
Apart from leaving a small number of people to clean up the battlefield and guard the prisoners, there were also those unarmed staff officers and radio operators. The others formed a unit to rush to the aid of Nan Zhai Gate which was in fierce combat. The development of the battle was beyond everyone's expectations, the small village of over 100 people, under the pincer attack from the front and rear by the Iron-Blooded Red Army, was easily liberated. The several leaders of the Military Department who were still in a meeting received with shock the news that Dushu Town had been liberated! The crowd stared at the communications officer in front of them, his face sincere, their mouths agape in surprise, big enough to fit a large watermelon!
