Chapter 43: High and All-Inclusive?

  Near the end of the year, winning a few battles made people like Gao Quan and others extremely happy. Wei Lao took advantage of the great victory to lead a team into the countryside of two counties to carry out land reform and movements such as "strike down local tyrants and divide up land". Meanwhile, Gao Quan was comfortably staying in the division headquarters, carefully stroking the twelve brand-new Shanghai-made 75mm mountain guns.

  Perhaps Gao Quan was still a child who had not yet grown up. At the age of eighteen, he played with cannons as if they were exquisite toys. He stroked the heavy, dark cannon barrel; peered carefully into the black muzzle; opened the breech to try loading shells; cleaned the gun's chamber with a brush; used the gunner's quadrant to aim and adjust his observations; adjusted the elevation of the cannon. A series of professional movements left the nearby Nationalist Party artillerymen staring in amazement, and in their eyes, Gao Quan seemed like an expert artilleryman!

  Watching Gaoquan play with the big guns, several division-level officers couldn't help but feel itchy hands, thinking of coming up to try their hand. After all, Gaoquan was able to get started right away, so they should be about the same, right? When he saw those dirty hands fiddling with his beloved big guns, Gaoquan's heart was furious! He calmly slapped away a few big hands and stared at the places where the big guns had been touched, saying: "Don't break them, these big guns are precious! If anyone really likes it, I can let him be a gunner?" Gaoquan's intimidation made everyone involuntarily retreat. The current situation is obviously not suitable for playing with the big guns or firing a few shots!

  When the deafening gunfire gradually moved away from life, it was approaching Chinese New Year. The people of Ningxia Pingfang area were all happy and preparing for a good year because of the Red Army's land reform. In the rich families, they looked forward to a bumper harvest in the coming year and specially bought some fine meat from the market to worship their ancestors. Those slightly less well-off families also had enough pig's feet and white steamed buns to eat. On the streets, children were laughing and running around, while women at home were busy cooking a big pot of white cabbage dumplings. The elderly men began to busily paste Spring Festival couplets and willow branch paintings on the doors.

  With a smile on his face, Gaoquan walked down the street with many single officers from the headquarters, taking in the sights and sounds of this rare occasion in a time of war. This was especially poignant for Gaoquan, as it was his first New Year's celebration away from home. As he thought about others gathering together to eat reunion dinner and make dumplings, while he himself had lost his family and couldn't return home, a deep sadness welled up inside him, and misty tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.

  They hadn't walked out of the headquarters for a few steps when they were surrounded by a large crowd holding bowls and dumplings. Although they didn't have the ability to invite everyone back home to eat dumplings together, a bowl of dumplings representing full emotions was their true intention! The simple and yearning eyes made Gaoquan and others want to hide but couldn't escape...

  "Officer, if you hadn't come this year, who knows if we would even have cornmeal mush to eat. These 'ingots' may not be much, but they're a token of our goodwill! My aunt's white cabbage dumplings are delicious! You officers just try some! Aren't you always saying that the Red Army and the common people are one family? What's wrong with us being one family eating dumplings together? And this year's leftover food is especially plentiful compared to previous years! All of this is thanks to your Red Army!"

  As the chairman of Ningxian County Soviet, Li Lao Shi was a simple and honest farmer. In the past, he would stutter when speaking to the village head, but now he spoke fluently, which was beyond people's expectations. However, most people focused their attention on Gao Quan, who broke the crowd's discipline with his eager eyes, starting to work enthusiastically. The team leaders tried to follow suit, but they couldn't keep up with Gao Quan's speed in finishing the task within two or three minutes. Patting his round belly, Gao Quan felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. However, his gluttonous appearance became a legendary topic among the people of Ningxian County.

  In the city of Mizhi, Yan'an, northern Shaanxi, the Central Red Army and the local 15th Red Army Corps, who had just arrived in northern Shaanxi, were also preparing to spend a happy New Year. What made them happy was not only the relatively abundant food and supplies, but also the wonderful news that delighted them!

  "The bandit army of Gao Daquan has won several cities in southern Shaanxi today. Due to the incompetence and poor leadership of some generals, our army has suffered consecutive defeats, allowing the Communist bandits to expand their influence in southern Shaanxi! Today, Gao Daquan personally led more than 4,000 troops to launch a large-scale attack on cities and towns in southern Shaanxi, causing local banditry to be rampant. This is indeed a great shame for our party and country!"

  The newspaper brought back from Xi'an was being passed around among the central leadership, with everyone's face filled with joyful smiles, washing away the sadness and worry that had been weighing on them since the Central Red Army arrived in Shaanbei due to heavy losses. "Comrade Xu Haidong, you're a great all-around comrade, not old but very capable! You've made it so that Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng can't even have a good year in Xi'an!" A thick Hunan accent made it difficult for everyone to understand, but the joy in his words was palpable to all.

  As they spoke, he pulled out a top-secret document from behind his back and said with a smile: "Look at this, Comrade Gaoquan is now richer than us! With an army of 5,600 people spanning four counties, and even twelve mountain cannons! Isn't that a remarkable achievement? It's comparable to our own Commander Xiao Ke!" The vivid gestures and thick Hunan accent made the crowd around the stove roasting peanuts laugh even harder.

  Although the Central Red Army and the Fifteenth Corps were busy preparing for the Eastern Expedition to attack Yan Xishan, the sudden appearance of Gao Quanzhong, a big chess piece beyond expectation, made Chairman Mao rethink the new chess game that was about to be played. Whether it could accommodate the current pieces or not, Gao Quanzhong's nearly 5,000 troops would be a good move if used well, and it would be a winning move that could bring even greater victories and gains!

  However, Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang had no intention of considering anything else at this moment. After the last failure and Chiang Kai-shek's severe reprimand, they had decided to vow to eliminate the communist remnants that were entrenched in the mountains of southern Shaanxi and could threaten Xi'an at any time! From the 49th Division stationed in Hanzhong to the 40th Army and 44th Division stationed in Ankang, or Hu Zongnan's independent brigade, the Second Guard Brigade of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, and Yang Hucheng's elite special operations team, if you add up the local security teams, there were as many as 15-16 regiments, with a total strength of over 40,000 men! Such a large-scale operation was just to learn from Chiang Kai-shek's story of the fifth encirclement campaign against the Central Red Army in the Central Soviet Area. As for where the remnants would escape to, whether it be Sichuan or Henan, that was no longer their concern!

  Moreover, according to the opinion of the German advisor sent by Old Chiang, Zhang and Yang also specially formulated a strict battle plan. From strictly sealing off to advancing in unison, after coordinating with local militia, they were prepared to combine pursuit methods, using heavy troops to press in from all sides, forcing Gao Quanquan to abandon everything for a bloody battle of mutual destruction. Of course, Zhang and others knew that this was Old Chiang's method of consuming his own troops, and those division commanders also knew that if they fought Gao Quanquan to the death, they might not be able to keep their lives either. If it wasn't worth it, then it would all be in vain! And it would also implicate their family members, including their delicate concubines and beloved children.

  Because they were intimidated by Gaoquan's previous annihilations of Nationalist army units at the level of regiment or two brigades, these cowardly division and brigade commanders, with their respective factions, formed three large groups, truly preparing to surround Gaoquan in a pincer movement. Of course, the gaps between troops and whether intelligence had already been leaked were not things they cared about; anyway, they already knew that Gaoquan was now definitely unable to swallow an army of over 10,000 men at once!

  However, Gaoquan had no intention of staying and fighting a hard battle with them. This was the main force of the Nationalist Party, not something that his troops, consisting of half captured soldiers and a large number of new recruits, could withstand. Even though he now had nearly 5,000 men under him, as soon as he thought about the nearly 900 newly recruited soldiers, those silly young boys.

  Due to the scarcity of firearms and ammunition, not every soldier was equipped with a rifle, let alone new recruits' shooting training. Shooting three rounds was considered completion of the shooting assessment, regardless of accuracy. It often came down to close combat within 50 meters, firing two or three rounds before resorting to bayonet and melee combat! The Northwestern Army's ammunition was not abundant either, resulting in very few bullets being seized.

  Troops of this training level, how dare Gaoduan take them to the battlefield! The captured soldiers who were supplemented into the troops had only been in the army for two or three months. If they fought hard, Gaoduan would not have any confidence in their ability to hold on. After all, they are not the backbone of the original troops, and although their numbers are barely sufficient, if we really talk about combat effectiveness, these 5,000 people are not even a match for the 3,000 soldiers of the 25th Army in its heyday.

  Since neither the heavens nor the earth were in their favor, Gaoquan had no choice but to leave behind 600 old soldiers and 900 new recruits, with Chen Xianrui, the deputy commander, leading the enemy on a wild goose chase in the mountains. Meanwhile, he would personally lead his army of over 3,000 men to break through the enemy's iron encirclement, attack the weak points in their lines, and give the enemy a crushing blow, making them anxious and fearful until they were recalled by the main force!

  According to the intelligence obtained by Gao Gang from the underground party, in order to deal with the two Red Army factions in northern and southern Shaanxi, Xi'an City had already weakened its military strength to only one division and a newly formed division!

  Gao Quan, who set out overnight, deliberately took a detour through the Taibai area to attract the enemy's attention, pretending to take the old road of the 25th Army and advance into northern Shaanxi, making a show of joining forces. Along the way, there were large characters and slogans written with lime water everywhere!

  The editor is so heartless, there will be no recommendation next week.