Chapter Seventeen

  Dawn's light soon descended upon the land, and soldiers were busily preparing defensive works. Some sat on the ground slowly wiping their black steel guns, as if caressing a lover. Zeng Qing had long since run off to who-knows-where, and I took a moment to tidy myself up - an unchangeable habit of mine. I took the towel handed over by Guard Tang and wiped my face dry.

  Hand the towel to Little Tang again, saying: "Little Tang, pass a message to Yuan Yongzhi, the artillery troops are preparing for battle. Wait for my order." I picked up the binoculars and looked at the gate of the fort in the distance.

  Xiao Tang walked over and reported: "Commander, the bandits have sent someone over. They want to see you."

  I pondered for a moment, turned around and replied to him: "Well, call the political commissar over. I want to see what these so-called Da Shun Army can do behind the scenes. If the negotiations fail later, you pass on my order to Yuan Yongzhi to fire a few more rounds. At the same time, order Zeng Qing's troops to advance 100 meters."

  Zhou Lun stood outside the tent, watching as a group of soldiers brought over a slender middle-aged scholar. Zhou Lun bowed to the man and said: "The Third Field Army of the People's Liberation Army, Commander-in-Chief Zhou Lun welcomes General Da Ming Yu Wang, please come in."

  That Wen Shi also returned the courtesy and said: "General Zhou, what are you talking about? The other day our army had a small conflict with your army, I hope General Zhou will forgive us. If it weren't for General Zhou's mercy," he said, pointing around him, "with the tiger-like soldiers under General's command, we would have been thrown into this mountain to feed the tigers."

  Zhou Lun waved his hand and smiled: "General, please sit inside the tent. We'll discuss the details again."

  He sat down without being urged and bowed his hands, saying: "I am He Zhitong, the military strategist of the Left Route Army under General Chuang Wang."

  Zhou Lun politely raised his hand and said: "I have long admired General's reputation, today I see that it is indeed not in vain."

  Then Zhou Lun said, "Today, let's not be polite. General, I'll tell you the truth, we've been slow to attack you because the prince has ordered us to unite all forces that can be united to fight against the Qing. So I hope you won't hold onto past grievances. Joining our army to resist the Qing is the right thing to do."

  He Zhitong smiled and glanced at Zhou Lun, saying: "I followed the order of our military commander to come and talk to you with this intention. However, our commander has a condition that our Dashun army cannot be changed and can only serve as a special unit for your attack. Moreover, all the military expenses we need must be provided by you."

  "General, you're a sensible man. I think even after your army occupied Beijing, you didn't do anything good for the common people. Otherwise, how could the Qing army have entered the pass? Moreover, your troops are only about 4,000 to 5,000 men. If you want to act independently, I think you'll be finished sooner or later. One of our regiments is twice as many as yours. So, our king's intention is that your troops must be reorganized into our army, and your troops also need to be checked for traitors. We still adhere to the principle of voluntariness. If someone wants to leave, we can provide travel expenses and let him find his own way."

  "General, you don't know the situation. Our army absolutely cannot accept your command in this way. You're putting me in a difficult position."

  Zhou Lun smiled politely, stood up and said: "If you don't agree, we won't force it. Then let's meet on the battlefield. My Ming army will never allow an enemy to appear behind our backs. Guards, send him off!"

  Zhou Lun watched as He Zhi Tong walked out of the military camp, turned his head to look at me who had already arrived, and said: "A Xiao, this battle is going to be tough to fight. If we attack too heavily, I'm afraid it will be difficult to reorganize later on. If we attack too lightly, I'm afraid they won't surrender. What do you think we should do?"

  I sneered and said in a low voice, "What's difficult about this? Order Yuan Yongzhi's artillery to prepare. At the same time, order Zeng Qing's troops to advance 100 meters and try to spread the word that we want them to surrender rather than actually fighting them. Tell them our principle is to only strike at the Manchu army, not Han people. I think within two hours these mobs will surrender."

  Zhou Lun nodded in agreement, interrupting to say: "A Xiao, I think this matter won't be so simple. You should know that it's been a long time since Da Shun was destroyed, and these people are still persisting with difficulty. This shows that their military spirit is not so fragile after all, and their loyalty to Li Zicheng is also extremely high. What I'm afraid of is that these bandits won't accept our kindness, and we'll end up with a hot face stuck on a cold butt."

  I listened to Zhou Lun's words, and couldn't help but furrow my brow in deep thought. I nodded and said, "En, Ah Lun, what you said makes sense too. It seems that our predictions still can't keep up with the development of things, let's play it by ear when the time comes."

  "Speaking of which, I made an analogy: "Arun, this is like playing chess. If you can see three or four moves ahead, you can defeat your opponent, but if you only see one move ahead, it's a bit difficult to win."

  "After I finished speaking, I turned around and said: 'Unless we do this, if they are an unstable factor in our troops. Then we decide not to incorporate them. If they resist strongly then...'"

  I said with a resolute tone, making a cutting motion towards Allen: "Allen, I think that's it."

  Aaron gazed at me for a long time, then nodded thoughtfully and said: "Alright, I support your decision. However, if we're going to kill these Han people, we must consider the reaction of those former Ming soldiers who surrendered to us. I think it's time for us to establish our own political party."

  I smiled at Aron and said, "As for party affairs, I think it's still necessary for you to do it. You're the political commissar, after all. This kind of thing isn't my strong suit, as you know. Hehe, those who are capable should work harder."

  Zhou Lun looked at me with a glare and said, "When have you ever done political work? When have you ever been a nanny?" He also couldn't help but laugh at himself.

  The sun at noon was still high in the sky, showing no signs of surrender. A signal flare rose from our military position. The first to speak up was still our artillery unit. Watching these advanced shells being fired, I couldn't replenish them quickly enough, and my heart ached at the thought.

  I cursed in my heart: "When will Zeng Yu Shu finally build a rotary rocket gun for me?" Meanwhile, I said to the guard Xiao Tang beside me: "Xiao Tang, tell the communication soldier to inform Old Yuan to be more economical with the cannonballs." At this time, the enemy's artillery also started firing. A huge echo reverberated in this small valley.

  Guard Xiao Tang said to me: "Commander, you'd better retreat to the back first, it's dangerous here. I'll go and pass on the order right away."

  I patted the dirt off my body and shook off Xiao Tang, who was tugging at my sleeve. "Xiao Tang, I'm not that precious. If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't have stood up to resist the Qing. As the commander, I must share life and death with the soldiers. Pass down my order: the machine gun squad of the 3rd and 2nd battalions will provide cover. The rest of the main force of the 2nd battalion will charge forward for me. Fight fiercely, spare those who surrender, but those who resist will have no way out."

  Tang Ke Feng stood at attention with his feet together and replied: "Yes."

  I turned around and said to the signal soldier: "Pass on the order to Commander Yuan, get the enemy's artillery silenced as soon as possible. Don't harm our soldiers."

  The signal soldier walked up after a while and reported: "Commander, Colonel Yuan sent back a letter. He guarantees that he will do his best to ensure the safety of the soldiers."

  Yes, what comfort can come at a time when commanders on the battlefield are not concerned about their own safety but are always thinking about the lives of their soldiers. The enemy's artillery also stopped at this moment, our soldiers were no longer wearing heavy armor on their helmets, but they had greatly improved their speed in other aspects of mobility, plus conscious training every day, carrying 10 kg and running 10 km, although the soldiers could not hold on at first, but at this moment our soldiers showed a higher level as soon as they fought.

  Zeng Qing, at this time, had already eagerly led the charge forward. He also exhorted the soldiers beside him: "Comrades, kill these bandits who killed our comrades and destroyed the beautiful rivers and mountains of our great Ming dynasty. The remnants of the rebel thieves who occupied Beijing but failed to hold it."

  The enemy's advantage in firepower is really incomparable to ours. The big troops on the wall of the fort as soon as they show their faces are immediately taken out by our warriors, and at this time the blocking troops on the left bank also played a role basically all the snipers were one shot one kill.

  In the bandit's lair, a leader-like figure was scolding the military advisor, saying: "Look at you, it's all because of your good deed. If you hadn't suspected them, how would we have brought disaster upon ourselves? Now look what's happened, I've lost my last bit of bloodline to Da Shun. How will you face General Chuang after you die?"

  The military advisor also let out a "hmm" and stood up, saying: "You little man, don't think that just because you've gone down to face the bandit king, our Great Shun army only has this tiny bit of capital left. You don't even know how to manage it well, or take advantage of opportunities, instead hiding here as a bandit. In these few years, haven't you done everything from burning and killing to plundering? Hmm. Now you've finally waited for death to arrive."

  The leader-like figure was enraged to the point of trembling, and with a quivering voice said: "Fine, fine, fine. Today I'll kill you first, then fight it out with Ming Ze until one of us dies."

  He drew his sword and struck down at the military advisor with one slash. The hand rose, the knife fell. This military advisor ended his life just like that.

  A Lüluo rushed in, knelt on the ground and stuttered: "General, general, something is terribly wrong. The enemy's shells are extremely powerful. As soon as they land, they explode everywhere. Many of our soldiers have sacrificed like this. The city gate can't be guarded for long, now the whole village is on fire. What do you think we should do?"

  The leader-like man shouted at the soldier: "Pass on my order, defend the city gate to death and do not let the enemy take half a step. Use fire arrows to shoot the surrounding mountains and forests, and let this army perish with us. Go quickly and execute it, those who disobey will be beheaded!"

  He responded with a "yes" and then ran out.

  Zeng Qing looked at the bandits on the city gate in the distance, who were getting more and more courageous, then gazed at the brothers around him who had already fallen to the ground and roared: "Comrades, those of you who are not afraid of death, follow me in a charge!"

  Round after round of impact, the small village gate was already broken open. The cannon fire from Old Yuan's rear had stopped. Looking at the bodies of the fallen Lüluo inside the village, Zeng Qing had already gone mad with killing. Holding a submachine gun and firing indiscriminately inside, another row fell down.

  The city gate has been broken through. I took a look with the telescope and nodded in satisfaction to the soldiers behind me, saying: "Sound the charge."

  The soldiers of the three troops also got up and rushed forward. The battle at this time had no meaning. It completely became a one-sided action. Watching the warriors take out a group of prisoners, the soldiers were sweeping the battlefield, clearing the guns and ammunition left by their fallen brothers.

  Zeng Qing, covered in blood, walked over and reported: "Deputy Commander Zeng Qing of the 2nd Regiment reports to the commander."

  I took a look at him and said quietly: "Nian!"

  Zeng Qing stood with his feet together and continued, "The Battle of Mu Du Shan. In our second battalion, there were 523 deaths, 142 seriously wounded soldiers, and over 400 lightly wounded soldiers. However, the lightly wounded still had combat effectiveness. We killed a total of 4738 enemy soldiers, captured 607 enemy soldiers, and took no civilians captive. We rescued over 200 women, seized five Ming-era cannons with no cannonballs, over 700 guns, over 8000 taels of gold, and over 50,000 taels of silver. We killed the enemy commander-in-chief, and as for the military advisor who negotiated with us yesterday, he had already stopped breathing by the time our army broke in."

  I looked at him and nodded, "Alright, Zeng Tuanzhang, you've finally taken it down, that's a meritorious act. Now I'm ordering: you'll be reinstated as the commander of the 2nd regiment, but the position of deputy division commander will still be held by Yi Tianxing. What are your thoughts?"

  "Yes, sir! I absolutely obey the arrangement of superiors."

  "Go back and rest well, there's something important to announce tonight."

  I looked around at the corpses and couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. Why did we suffer such heavy losses in this place with only over 5,000 people? In the past, Wu Sangui's 50,000 troops were eliminated so cleanly by us, but... yet we suffered losses here. It seems that the mentality of our soldiers still needs to be adjusted, and they must not blindly worship new weapons. Don't think that just because we have this, we can conquer the world. Also, ideology still needs to be rectified, as there are now signs of scrambling for merit in the troops, and a tendency towards warlordism, which absolutely cannot be allowed to continue spreading. It seems that the army needs to undergo some reorganization.

  At the foot of Mount Mufu, inside the commander's tent.

  I looked at these big and small military officers above the rank of lieutenant. I cleared up the thoughts in my mind and said, "This time we gathered everyone mainly to have a meeting."

  "Let me first say why this time was a heavy loss."

  He stretched out a finger and said, "Firstly, due to the insufficient understanding of each regiment, especially the Second Regiment as the main attacking regiment, they did not grasp the direction well, allowing the enemy's conspiracy to succeed."

  I looked around and saw that everyone was listening very seriously, so I stretched out two fingers and said: "Secondly, I think the reason for the defeat of various teams is due to underestimating the enemy. Everyone thought that if we could eliminate Wu Sangui's 50,000 elite soldiers, we would be invincible in the world, and our weapons would be the most powerful. But what I want to tell everyone is that being able to eliminate Wu Sangui is not entirely due to our superior weapons. An important reason is that our secrecy measures were well done, which made Wu Sangui easily deceived. Additionally, the sudden surprise attack played a crucial role."

  Looking at their contemplative appearance, I continued: "This time, Commander Zeng underestimated the enemy in the battle, which was a serious mistake. Although we won the battle, he was removed from his position as Deputy Commander. A victory in war is not just about having advanced weapons and your bravery, but also requires a clear mind and outstanding combat command. This is what we call a military strategist or tactician."

  Looking at their already understanding expressions, I habitually cleared my throat and said: "Now, based on some problems that have arisen during the war, the division headquarters has decided: battalion-level units will add one chief of staff and two operations officers, regimental-level units will add one chief of staff, one deputy chief of staff, and three operations officers. Brigade-level units are the same as regimental-level (because it's an independent brigade and not a main force), division-level units will add one chief of staff, one deputy chief of staff, and five staff officers."

  Zeng Qing couldn't help but ask: "Commander, how was this staff officer chosen?"

  I nodded, indicating for him to continue listening, and continued: "The production of staff officers at all levels belongs to the General Staff Department established by our division, which is responsible for coordinating with military commanders at all levels and formulating combat plans. The staff cadets are selected from the Army Officer Academy in Yueyang. The academy also opens a staff class."

  After finishing, I looked at them and said: "The first batch of staff members will be selected from the current officers. I declare that the original chief of staff of the division is Xiao Rang, the former battalion commander of the 1st regiment. The battalion commander will be replaced by the deputy battalion commander, and the chief of staff of the 1st regiment is Ding Desheng. The chief of staff of the 2nd regiment is Tong Zhiwei. The chief of staff of the 3rd regiment is Li Wenbiao. In addition, in order to meet the needs of future work and smooth progress, after consulting with the rescued women who are willing to stay behind, some women and soldiers from our division who have experience in performing plays will form a propaganda team under the direct leadership of the division headquarters. They will do ideological propaganda work in nearby areas. As for what kind of play they will perform, Commissar will give them instructions tomorrow. The third thing is that the 2nd regiment will find and recruit soldiers from nearby areas. The division hospital will be temporarily set up in the former mountain stronghold, where wounded soldiers will receive treatment. Xiao Rang, you send someone to ride a fast horse to Yue State tomorrow to bring over the independent brigade's 1st battalion, as well as silver and gold. Also, all graduates of the military academy should be brought over, anyway we didn't learn much about military theory after leaving."

  "One last thing that requires everyone's discussion is that the department of research has decided to carry out a major reorganization of the entire school. The original military system can no longer meet the needs of the army, so let's discuss the specific allocation today." I said, looking at their uncertain expressions.

  After a fierce discussion, the final decision is as follows: The entire division is divided into three regiments. One divisional artillery battalion, one divisional reconnaissance battalion, one blocking company (stationed and distributed to each main force regiment), one divisional machine gun battalion, one divisional cavalry battalion, one logistics battalion, and one guard battalion. The entire division has a total of 14,280 people. Each regiment has 2,940 people. In addition, this does not include the divisional hospital and propaganda team. We are not yet a full-strength division. After discussion, the commander of the first regiment will continue to be Li Lei, with Song Mian as political commissar and Ding Desheng as chief of staff. The commander of the second regiment is Zeng Qing, with He Lanxing as political commissar and Tong Zhiwei as chief of staff. The third regiment has Yi Tianxing as deputy division commander and concurrent regimental commander, Zhang Shun as political commissar, and Li Wenbiao as chief of staff.

  "I stood up and said: 'From today, we will lay a good foundation here. We will establish the Shifu Hospital well. At the same time, I hope to establish a defensive fortification to guard against it, and dispatch a defense team from Yuezhou to come here. This place will become an important base and supply station for our attack on Jiangxi, dismissed."

  I said to Xiao Ran, "Xiao Canmou Zhang, send a telegram to General Zhang and inform him of our reorganization situation here. Ask him to decide whether to reorganize the troops based on his own actual situation, but also tell him that the staff system will be implemented for a long time in the future, and hope he will still follow the model here for reorganization."

  Xiao let his legs together and said: "Yes, I'll go handle it right away."