Chapter 47: Oath of Brotherhood
He Long led a team of over 2,000 people down the mountain, causing many militia and even the main forces of the Kuomintang to retreat into the county town, not daring to take a step out, often watching in terror as the Red Army troops marched by with banners held high.
The Red Army, which swept through dozens of villages and towns with 500-600 militia, was seen as a demon-like figure in many places. Almost every place they went to was subjected to the "Three Alls Policy" (kill all, burn all, loot all). When cleaning up the battlefield, not even a single bullet shell was left for the militia, and homemade rifles, bird guns, and firecrackers were also collected.
In southern Shaanxi, Gaoquan led his troops to the Mangchuan Pass on the Hubei-Shaanxi border. More than 100 militia were guarding the pass in the biting wind, although they had a strong defense, but this was no longer an era of cold weapons warfare. The newly renovated pass could not withstand the intense artillery fire and provide much support for the militiamen.
The leader of the militia, although having a good understanding of military tactics and having defeated bandits multiple times, was not aware that the several Red Army scouts sneaking around were not the same few hundred Red Army soldiers who had been wandering around just a few months ago, but rather more than 2,000 strong and powerful Red Army troops. After a dense volley of rifle fire, through the swirling white smoke on the walls, the leader of the militia looked at the seven or eight Red Army soldiers fleeing in disarray with great disdain.
Hehe, the loud and clear voices on the wall rose and fell one after another. The arrogant leader of the militia even picked up his rifle and fired several shots at the retreating Red Army soldiers. The precise bullets kept hitting the stones beside the Red Army soldiers, splashing sparks everywhere, and the scattered gravel hit their faces, so painfully!
Looking at the precise bullets under the dim night sky, although there is a certain deficiency in the lead time at long range, it can still be called a godly shooter. Gao Quan looked at Shi Shenjie, who was running over with his mouth open, his lively and energetic appearance, his dark red skin, and his face covered with bruises from being hit by gravel, making Gao Quan feel full of concern and heartache as he helped him brush off the dust on his clothes.
Shi Shenjie looked at Gao Daquan's expression with disdain, and said with a smile: "Commander, now even the Kuomintang's main force battalion regiment level troops see us and want to avoid us, no more than two regiments dare not provoke us. These over 100 militia members actually dare to be so arrogant! Tomorrow, as long as machine gun firepower covers us, plus the suppression of howitzers, five minutes! Commander, give me a company, five minutes and I'll defeat them thoroughly, occupy this pass!"
The next day, at dawn, a force of three to four hundred men formed a line, advancing in a scattered formation, with the elite troops' unparalleled intimidation, step by step approaching the pass. The heavy machine guns advanced to within less than 300 meters of the pass during repeated short bursts of fire. A dense barrage of test shots immediately forced the militia leader, who had just poked his head out from behind the wall, to duck back down, and the long-weathered stones were instantly pockmarked with a large area of uneven depressions.
The leader of the civilian militia, with a worried look on his face, watched as the Red Army approached step by step. He immediately understood that the Red Army was about to launch an attack. However, the rifles were poorly maintained, with almost worn-out barrels and bullets that couldn't even hit their mark at a distance of 100 meters. How could the stray bullets possibly pose a threat to the enemy lined up in scattered formation? Except for the reserve team, the 70-80 man squad immediately formed up on the city wall. At this moment, a dense whistling sound came from the sky!
The leader of the militia just kept his head up, staring at those dozen or so black dots that were continuously expanding, filling his entire field of vision. Without a hint of fear or doubt, he was stunned into nothingness amidst the intense explosion, and the entire pass was blown to smithereens in a dense barrage of explosions. Thick blood dripped down the stairs along the wall of the pass, flowing and shocking the thugs who had temporarily picked up their guns.
When the temporary blood surge was gone, this unit dispersed after a slight resistance, leaving behind a group of Red Army soldiers who were still treating them as opponents with a mixture of laughter and tears. After crossing the pass wall, along the main road in the canyon, there were only abandoned guns and ammunition left by the scattered soldiers.
The troops continued to advance under the leadership of the guide, carefully searching forward, and no one knew what those bankrupt landlords would do. The whole army arrived at Caojiaping, Zhen'an County, where they encountered Song Dengxian's "Divine Team" organization with more than 200 people. Song Dengxian's "Divine Team" was a spontaneous peasant armed force organized by the local masses to resist extortion, taxation and bandits, famous far and near in the area of Chang'an, Zhen'an and Ningxia. Song Dengxian was the fourth among his brothers, and the masses also called him "Song Laosi".
Gao Quan and Song Dengxian took one look at each other and felt a deep connection, although Gao Quan couldn't tell from his clothes that he was someone of Song's stature. But there was something intuitive about him, a unique and simple quality that made Gao Quan feel deeply that this person was worth getting to know!
"We are the Red Army, who are you brothers?" In the pause of Gao Quan's speech, the team of over 2,000 people immediately dispersed and formed a circle around Song Dengxian's unit, with everyone unintentionally putting their hands on the trigger. Everyone was silently sizing each other up, the aura of bloodthirstiness cultivated from long-term battle made the soldiers of the Divine Troop feel a kind of oppression, a deep threat! Even though they were holding steel guns and big knives, their legs were shaking uncontrollably for some reason.
With a "whoosh", Gao Quan suddenly pulled out the large knife on his back, and under the scorching sun, it emitted an eerie chill. Holding the knife in both hands, Gao Quan nodded at Song Dengxian with a faint smile still on his face.
The two men, who were facing each other with knives drawn, suddenly brought the tense atmosphere to a boiling point. Their focused eyes and agile footsteps showed that they dared not be careless in the slightest. Suddenly, the first to make a move was Gaoquan, who burst forth with an aura of unparalleled power, his knife flashing as he charged towards Song Dengxian with a fierce cry.
Before Song Dengxian could raise his knife to block, Gao Quan's knife momentum shifted and stuck straight to Song Dengxian's abdomen. His face, filled with extreme terror, immediately broke out in large sweat beads, and his body suddenly retreated backward, desperately trying to avoid the sharp blade. A surge of immense force suddenly transmitted through his hand, causing the big knife to be knocked out of his hand, spinning several times in mid-air before crashing straight down to the ground.
