Chapter Forty-Four Untitled
Gao Quan's sudden move has shocked Xi'an, the Communist bandits are just a bunch of fleeing thieves, who knows if they will run amok in all directions if they can't advance northward. You should know that Xi'an's military strength is extremely weak at present, if by any chance Gao Quan's brain isn't bright and he sneaks into the city to cause some trouble, it would be a shocking event nationwide! Especially now that the Communist bandits have been beaten and are fleeing in all directions! Moreover, doesn't this also show that the Northeast Army and Northwest Army's failure to eliminate the bandits is due to their incompetence?
The war room of the bandit-suppressing headquarters, which had been quiet for a few days, was once again crowded with military officers of all sizes wearing various uniforms. Zhang Xueliang's face was heavy as he listened to the war department head's plan, his expression unyielding. He looked coldly at the war department head's performance, which was met with great respect, and suddenly said in a very abrupt tone: "Why do we always have to mend the fold after the sheep has escaped? Why can't we eliminate the Communist bandits before they become powerful? Why are the battle plans always full of loopholes? Do you have to wait until the Communist bandits reach Xi'an City before you will truly use your real abilities?"
The loss of Northeast Old Home, the defeat of Rehe's resistance war, the continuous cold treatment on the way to studying abroad, and the continuous defeat after arriving in Shaanxi. The old Chiang's fall into the well, the heart is already full of resentment! When the anger accumulated in the dark eye corners burst out one by one, everyone suddenly discovered that the former young marshal had become a middle-aged man with some white hair on his temples, and the calm face could no longer see the turmoil and luxury of his youth. The meeting was eerily quiet, and Yang Hu-cheng also deeply felt from the few words, Zhang Xueliang's rebuke for his failure to suppress bandits at that time, although it was just a veiled criticism.
Just as the Kuomintang was still discussing countermeasures against Gao Quan at the conference table, this restless bandit leader suddenly turned his gun around and captured the traffic artery of Shuangshipu, which leads to Hanzhong and Sichuan, with lightning speed. After eating and drinking enough, he began to destroy the highway in a very boring way. In the eyes of many Red Army soldiers, their iron-clad feet were not used to such wide highways, and the enemy's highways were like thorns in their eyes!
Digging up roads and highways, dismantling rails, blasting bridges; or piling up rails according to the method of "high大全", then burning wood red and pouring cold water. The red-hot rail in the "irrigation" of winter ice water, immediately burst into a burst of steam, in the "creaking" sound, a large pile of rails was bent and deformed! Not to mention those steel bridges, even auxiliary wooden bridges were reduced to a pile of white ash in the fierce fire!
The most fond of making trouble and destruction, Gaoquan also "harvested" the telephone lines and telegraph lines along the way. The impoverished Gaoquan was not stingy with the reputation of Broken King and Thief King! Anyway, whatever they had, they took it, and what they couldn't take, they destroyed directly! Incidentally, they also beat up local tyrants, mobilized the masses, and expanded the Red Army's influence. Finally, after spending five or six days in Shuangshipu, Gaoquan reluctantly fired a shot to lure over the Nationalist troops who were exhausted from climbing over mountains and crossing rivers, and then slipped through the enemy's encirclement in the Qinling Mountains.
Incidentally, they also received three large trucks of flour and two large trucks of ammunition from the Kuomintang along the way. The high squadron's rampant movement made the Kuomintang helpless, and due to the interruption of telecommunications, they had to issue a substitute mail quickly to each county: "High Squadron is leading his troops to raid various counties, and it is urgent to eliminate them quickly. Now the Northwest Bandit Suppression General Headquarters has ordered each unit to block and suppress in different directions. All county teams should be under the command of nearby high-ranking military officers, so as to take action, so that all bandits can be cleared within a limited time."
March's Qinling Mountains were still icy and cold with heavy snow, even wearing the thick cotton-padded jacket was hard to withstand the biting chill! Especially on this high mountain where oxygen is scarce, plus the guns, ammunition and thick cotton-padded jackets on their bodies, it was simply impossible to move forward! Especially after more than 3,000 people had trampled through the snow, it was as slippery as a slide! The soldiers who kept slipping could only rely on their bayonets to deeply stab into the ice and snow, and then slowly move between the ice and snow.
The hard steamed buns, heavily thrown onto the snowy ground, could even create a pit! However, these were the only rations for the crowd. With great difficulty, they swallowed the snow and the steamed buns, one mouthful at a time. Looking up, Gao Daquan still saw the snow-white and sacred mountain peaks, the cloudless clear sky, and the biting cold. As soon as he sat down to rest for a bit, the wet and chilly sweat on his body began to freeze!
The chill of the mountains made the just-emerged vitality of Gaoquan slowly fade away, and his passion and impulsiveness gradually left him. Having grown accustomed to life and death, he had seen soldiers who couldn't get up again after resting for a moment, and had heard the miserable cries of soldiers falling off cliffs. He wanted to scream in his heart, but it was a hoarse and powerless cry! The feeling of powerlessness was suffocating! There was no venting, no tears, only the occasional meowing sound from afar, the pure white world, and the scattered soldiers slowly moving their shadows, with tattered clothes, like long-distance pilgrims, carrying boundless piety.
Sparse cypress, proudly standing in the cold winter, calmly and uprightly dotting the snowy mountains with a clear and cold air. "When will spring come!" The faint words are deeply worried! The tens of thousands of troops' mountain-encircling campaign, from day-to-night pursuit to day-and-night attack, how can it not make Gao Daguang feel deep chill and worry?
The days of torture finally ended on a certain day, the bright laughter, the wind chill that was not biting at all, the feeling of being carefree and relaxed, looking down at the greenery below, in the dense pine forest, countless soldiers were laughing and scolding each other as they played in the snow. Taking deep breaths of the thick oxygen, looking at Wei Lao's coughing appearance, with a few concerned eyes: "It doesn't matter, I'm too happy, even the air is playing tricks on me!"
The spiritual energy between the mountains, let Gaoquan start skiing first, and then traverse through the forest to the left and right. Even those who were running with joy, without any fatigue, also cast envious glances, and then began to ski one after another, rolling down with the snowflakes! The soft and fluffy snowflakes are very comfortable, Gaoquan lies quietly at the foot of the mountain, feeling the rare thrill.
However, he seemed to have forgotten one thing - there were still many people behind him on the ski lift. As a result, a large pile of people were squeezed together like a tower of roosters. If Gaoquan was crushed to death in this way, it would probably be the most embarrassing death for a division commander since the founding of the Red Army!
Struggling hard, Gao Quan felt through the thick cotton-padded jacket that there seemed to be something soft and fluffy, and after hugging again, it seemed like a woman with a slender waist and a clean and tender face.
The misunderstanding happened like this, with a bright red face, after Gaoquan pulled the female warrior out of the crowd. Her hands were clasped together, and her head was almost buried in the ground, making Gaoquan scratch his shiny head, then adjust his military cap and rush into the crowd to start rescue efforts. However, due to the soft snow and thick clothing, almost no one was injured! If you had to count one, it would be that young female warrior, whose heart had been stolen by someone... As a result, her smile when she pouted, the dense eyelashes flashing out of her dark eyes like stars, all became treasures secretly collected in someone's heart. If they were accidentally caught in a glance, they would disappear into a corner with a silvery laugh and a bright red face. This led to a burst of laughter from the many soldiers around Gaoquan, who were mostly rough men with wives at home, so they naturally looked down on this kind of youthful romance, but still admired the boldness of Shaanxi women in love!
