Chapter Twenty-Two: Peril
In the mountains, they were being hunted by the KMT like cats and mice. Generally, they were chased for three days, making the troops extremely exhausted. Moreover, at night, they couldn't even light a fire to warm themselves, resulting in many soldiers contracting typhoid fever. In this mountainous area with limited medical resources, especially during the cold winter weather, it was extremely deadly! Wearing tattered clothes, with a face full of fatigue and dust, he leaned against a small tree in the mountain valley, looking down at his soldiers who were struggling to move, eating raw python that he had just caught from a cave, his face filled with bitterness.
With a face full of expectation, he carefully touched the dry ration belt with his hands, but still returned in disappointment, just like last night. He turned over the dry ration belt like a sieve, and it was hard to find a few grains of millet. The sleepless nights had taken away the usual radiance from his already pale face, and even his eyes had lost their sparkle. When the endless fatigue and drowsiness came, Gaoquan always helplessly refused nature's warnings time and again. It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, but the troops were in an extremely difficult situation! If they couldn't think of a solution, then their entire army would be annihilated! These elite soldiers were a precious treasure for the Red Twenty-Fifth Army, which had less than 3,000 men.
But Li Zifa's army of over 10,000 men was right behind them, relentlessly pursuing! Like an old cat playing with a mouse before eating it, they wanted to toy with Gao Quan and his men like little mice before killing them. However, Gao Quan didn't have the slightest bit of strength left to counterattack, and in the face of absolute power, his wisdom was apparently unable to play a significant role!
The only four party members of the whole regiment sat tightly around Gaoquan, who had become both father and mother to them since their leader was killed two days ago. The small unit's daily life was now managed by him alone: "Now we hold a party small group meeting! I suppose comrades have understood the extremely urgent situation we are in? Among more than 80 soldiers, there are still over 20 wounded! We can't escape anymore! The enemy's elite squadrons take turns to fight and harass us. Even if we exhaust ourselves, it's hard to break through the enemy's three-sided encirclement. So my suggestion is that we stay in this very hidden small valley, wait for the enemy to pass by, then come out and march quickly along the original route to Luan River, and reunite with the main force!"
Looking at the crowd with their heads down and not speaking, Gao Quan also sighed with a bitter face: "How can we get the tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? If we are discovered by the enemy, I will die with my brothers! We must die together!" The intermittent tone expressed unspeakable desolation and helplessness.
After carefully erasing all traces of their presence, the high-ranking officials and several pairs of tattered straw sandals left subtle hints for the Nationalist Party in other locations. Every soldier and officer had their faces and bodies camouflaged with dry grass and vines, and their faces and hands were also smeared with grayish-brown mud. Hidden among the bushes, they were almost impossible to detect even at a distance of less than five meters.
The night grew darker, and the crowd that had eaten their fill crouched in the bushes, feeling extremely uncomfortable. First, they waited for the enemy to pass by their side, this long wait was a very dull and unbearable thing, every possible sleeper who might snore was given a mask beforehand, and those who were tightly attached to them were generally very vigilant warriors. The hardest part of the battlefield is not the casualties or injuries, but the long wait, waiting for the fire clouds on the horizon to slowly disappear into the sky, waiting for the last bit of twilight on the mountain top to slowly fade away in the darkness...
But pinning one's hopes on the enemy having a low level of vigilance and observation is indeed a desperate move for everyone! It's a heart-pounding feeling!
Today, Li Zifeng saw from the reports of his subordinates that Gaoquan and others had reached a desperate situation. The ruthless plan that had been brewing in his heart for a long time finally burst out after many days of restraint! He personally led the three thousand elite soldiers of the central pursuit army to launch an unprecedented large-scale search along the dense forest, lined up in a single line! He wanted to drive out the prey like hunting in ancient times! And the crack troops who had been lurking ahead would suddenly rush out like wild dogs and tear apart these small bandits!
"Ha! You just wait to be torched by me! I'll first chop you into human jerky, soak you in salt water, and then let you experience the thrill of being torched! Let you watch as the fierce flames continuously roast the sizzling human oil from your own body!" A thread of ruthless venom seeped out from the corners of his mouth, revealed without reserve in a faint smile. The aide who had originally come to deliver documents was startled by the appearance of his commander and took a big fright! It seems that sometimes hatred is indeed one of the hardest things for people to forget!
The dense torches in the woods really scared Gao Daquan! The rows of torches not only illuminated the dark forest at night, but also gave Gao Daquan a good view of the Nationalist soldiers, who were using bayonets and big knives to constantly chop and hack at things in the bushes! Not letting go of anything that was worth noticing in their eyes! After all, the temptation of 500 taels of silver is something that can't be resisted by decades of military salary!
The enemy was getting closer and closer, and Gaoquan's heart was almost jumping out! With the bright torches, Gaoquan inadvertently saw the terror on Jiuze's face, and under the dim light, that slightly distorted face was covered with beads of sweat, shining with an eerie glow! Gaoquan's heart suddenly knotted together, "In this place where you can't escape even if you want to, if you're discovered, I'm afraid everyone else will be finished except for yourself!" Gaoquan thought sadly, but his heart still couldn't let go of that glimmer of hope.
Suddenly, a thread of icy killing intent spread from the left side of his brain, and the cold blade swept past the edge of his head! The camouflage grass hat on his head was rolled away by the flying knife edge! Gao Quan's heart instantly turned ice-cold! One hand pressed on the large-caliber rifle, and four flying knives were clamped between the fingers of the other hand. If the enemy discovered anything unusual, he could only kill his way out with a bloody road! However, his own soldiers would definitely be discovered and eliminated without exception! Countless thoughts flashed through Gao Quan's mind... But his ears were tightly listening to the enemy's movements.
But no one expected that a small soldier of the Nationalist Party would actually open his pants and pull out a small bird gun on top of Gaoquan's head... He was so comfortable, even humming a folk song from Henan! The surrounding Red Army soldiers were gritting their teeth in anger at the enjoyment on the face of this Nationalist Party soldier. In their hearts, Gaoquan was a towering figure, almost invincible and infallible, like a little Zhuge Liang!
The tightly clenched fists were making a cracking sound, and those pairs of dark, yet infinitely murderous eyes! If looks could kill, this Nationalist soldier would have died a thousand times already! The Nationalist soldier, who had been trembling all over, felt extremely relieved as he tightened his belt, adjusted the rifle slung over his shoulder, and continued on his way with the large knife inserted in the mud. Danger was just so close to Gaoquan and others, yet they brushed past each other like this!
When Gaoquan brought the old soldiers who had survived a hundred battles to Luan River after crossing mountains and rivers, they finally met Wu Zhengwei and others who had been waiting anxiously for three days. Unfortunately, the 120 people who were originally fully equipped now only had two-thirds left, and nearly half of them still had large and small wounds on their bodies! However, not a single person relaxed and fell to the ground to rest, because Li Zifa and his elite soldiers had taught them in these few short days that "as soldiers, we must never relax our vigilance at any time!"
Excited tears swirled in his eyes for a long time, unwilling to fall easily. With deep feelings, he looked at the benevolent Political Commissar and thought for a long time without knowing what to say. Suddenly, Gaoduan walked slowly forward and gave a standard military salute to the delighted leaders: "Commander and Political Commissar! I want troops!" There was no glorious completion of the mission, no excited handshakes or welcoming praise; Gaoduan straightforwardly expressed his most sincere opinion to the leader!
The young and tender face had never been so solemn, nor so emotional! The complex and chaotic scenes kept stirring in his mind, sometimes it was the soldier who died in agony, sometimes it was the warrior who hugged the grenade and perished with the enemy, leaving behind a bitter smile. Many years later, Gaoquan might forget the names of these young lives, but he could never forget those comrades who had lived and died with him from the very beginning! Forget those young and simple Red Army soldiers!
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