Chapter 11
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January 1934, at the Tianshan North Slope Toutun River battlefield.
The Soviets' planes kept coming, twenty more arrived, a total of seventy large bombers taking turns to bomb.
On the eighth day, the 36th Division finally collapsed. After the defeat of the White Horse Regiment, the main force bypassed Dihua City and entered the Tianshan Mountains. The White Horse Regiment fought to the last soldier, even the last warhorse without a rider was intercepted by planes. That was a plateau on the banks of the Toutun River, in anger
The white horse did not leave the stage, standing still, its front hooves stretched towards the sky and neighing; in the midst of the explosion, the horse's neigh was full, rich, and majestic. The horse's four hooves turned into white wings as it soared upwards, vertically ascending. The sun, that ancient yet fresh sun, was finally struck by the horse's hooves, its sound resonating like a bronze bell, solemn and sacred! The ancient voice of Asia's heartland was carried to the top of the sky by this last flying horse, and the bomb could no longer find it, nor even its shadow. On the vast sky, the horse walked quietly, swishing its beautiful tail as it looked down at those ridiculous airplanes. The planes buzzed around like flies, but were more disgusting than flies, for flies sought out filth while planes created it. Even the stage was flattened by the blast.
In the bend of the river valley, six hundred corpses of Soviet assault troops were laid out, neatly arranged with a small white cloth covering their faces and a mark on their necks. It was almost unbelievable that six hundred special soldiers had not fired a single shot, nor had they even had time to draw their knives before being strangled to death. They died so peacefully, without any resistance, lying together in an orderly manner like they were sleeping. The 36th Division treated them with military courtesy and placed them far away from the artillery fire.
"Enough!" shouted the Soviet commander, and all the officers and soldiers left the dead alone. The commander yelled, "These Asians, these savages, killed them mercilessly without leaving a single one alive!"
The commander personally drove a tank towards the corpses on the snowy ground, crushing the fallen soldiers of the 36th Division under its tracks. All the tanks and armored vehicles passed over the bodies.
The wounded soldiers of the 36th Division who had lost their ability to resist were tied up on the tanks and armored vehicles, but even in their madness, they could not catch up with the 36th Division. The air force was much more fortunate.
The 36th Division marched in four columns, advancing into the rear of the gorge. The Soviet planes were blocked by the icy peaks of Tian Shan, and when they flew up again, they first strafed and bombed the 36th Division on the mountain road. The ground troops not only did not panic but instead shouted "One, two, one! One, two, one!" The pilots thought it was a provincial army and flew back. The pursuit troops were more than 100 miles away, and when the pilots received the notification, they realized that the troops advancing rapidly in front of them were indeed the 36th Division. Bombs rained down like white rain. No one dodged; if you got hit, you died! Many headless soldiers stood upright in the mountains' embrace, and the planes could only circle around, repeatedly bombing, cutting them down bit by bit, just like leveling a mountain peak, until they were gone from sight.
Several planes were specifically looking for Ma Zhongying, and a large number of bombs came roaring in. The Soviet commander saw through the telescope that Ma Zhongying and his staff had turned into a sea of fire, and sent a telegram to the Border Defense Command: The 36th Division retreated south to Xinjiang, and Division Commander Ma Zhongying was hit by artillery fire.
The war report was sent to the Soviet Consulate in Dihua at the same time, and the consul immediately informed Sheng Shicai. Sheng Shicai did not believe it. The consul said: "The plane dropped bombs for five minutes, and the machine gun raked the ground several times. Can he dig into the heart of the earth?"
"He will die and be reborn."
"Your fear psychology is too serious, relax, you have to understand that Ma Zhongying has been defeated, he's fleeing for his life, a hero who flees for his life is not scary."
Sheng Shicai ordered his armored unit to speed up and focus on the 36th Division, "For the bandit leader Ma Zhongying, we must capture him alive or bring back his corpse."
The consul-general smiled and said, "This is what the Chinese call 'digging up the roots of the grass'."
Sheng Shi told the Consul General, "We Chinese have always emphasized that as long as we have a green mountain to rely on, we are not afraid of having no firewood to burn. A gentleman takes revenge ten years later, and it's never too late. The East Mountain rises again, and the dead ashes reignite. As long as a person has three inches of breath left, they can turn the world around."
"Oh dear, what a terrible spirit of revenge, I completely understand the supervisor's mood."
The new government is no longer the mess it was when Jin Shuren was chairman, and even Yang Zengxin, the first smart and capable border defense supervisor, can't compare to the new government. The new government consists entirely of progressive young people with lively ideas, who attach more importance to propaganda and education apart from military affairs. The political workers of the new government successfully won over Ma Zhongying's allies, Gani Yiming Aji and Hu Wang Ruhu Baozhu.
The 36th Division had just entered the Tianshan Mountains when it was ambushed by the Hami army led by Rao Rusi. Under the pursuit of planes and tanks, the 36th Division fled for their lives like a wounded beast, enraged by small hunting dogs blocking its path, barking and pouncing on them, defeating the Hami army in less than an hour. From the scene of the fierce battle, Ma Zhongying was nowhere to be found, Ma Zhongying and his big grey horse were too eye-catching. Nor did they find any stretcher or signs of mourning. Sheng Shicai almost believed that Ma Zhongying had died, although the 36th Division was defeated, it still had strength, without a leader, incorporating them would be easy.
The prosperous world had just passed a peaceful day. For only one day and night, he did nothing, lying in bed and sleeping, his strings were too tight, and as soon as he relaxed, he sank to the bottom, boundless and pitch black, with his head buried downwards, like an endless pit. He was falling rapidly, but the bottom of the pit appeared, and he shouted loudly but couldn't make a sound. He was shaken awake by his wife, Qiu Yufang, who had important news that the chief of staff was waiting in the living room. Sheng Shi Cai rushed out without caring about anything else to read the telegram. The 36th Division had been fighting a bloody battle with the Hadda Khan forces at Iron Gate Pass for a day and night, both sides suffering heavy casualties. At the most critical moment of the fierce battle, Ma Zhongying and his big gray horse appeared on the battlefield, greatly boosting the morale of the 36th Division, which then launched a final attack to capture the most dangerous pass in the Tianshan Mountains, Iron Gate Pass. The Hadda Khan forces lost thousands of men and horses and retreated to the Yudu Lush grasslands. This fierce bird had once again emerged from the water. The Battle of Iron Gate Pass would spread throughout the Tianshan Mountains and all of Central Asia, just like the Battle of Tou Tun River. From ancient times to the present, only two people had broken through Iron Gate Pass: Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty and this young commander Ma Zhongying. There were two Iron Gate Passes in Central Asia, one in Xinjiang and the other in Uzbekistan. It was said that when Macedonian King Alexander the Great conquered the world, he suffered a crushing defeat at Iron Gate Pass, and the attacking waves of the Macedonian army finally subsided. Sheng Shi Cai slowly savored this excellent battle, and he could hardly bear his own brain, thinking through every problem so clearly and thoroughly. Only a military expert like him could fully appreciate the profound impact of the Battle of Iron Gate Pass. On this land that valued martial prowess, a grand battle meant everything. As Sheng Shi Cai's emotions surged, his wife and the chief of staff stood quietly beside him until he finally calmed down. "Get me on the phone with the Soviet Consulate," he said. The consul general already knew about the Battle of Iron Gate Pass. Sheng Shi Cai said, "Ma Zhongying is alive and personally commanded this battle." The consul general replied, "I also have some good news to tell you: the 36th Division has been driven out of the Tianshan Mountains by the powerful Red Army, and the flat Tarim Basin has no barriers. Airplanes and armored units will soon make their appearance, and the ancient and mysterious Tarim horses will soon become a slaughterhouse, a graveyard, what a vast graveyard!"
At the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, on the edge of Tarim Basin, lies the ancient city of Korla. Connected to the city is the famous Bositeng Lake in Central Asia, which is surrounded by vast reeds that stretch as far as the eye can see, making it easily mistaken for a sea.
The birds cannot fly over the vast waters. The officers and soldiers of the 36th Division, who have been on a long expedition, stand in the moist sea breeze, a baptism that cleanses their souls, praying silently. The Soviet armored troops, who are pursuing them, are stunned by this scene, and the roar of planes and tanks is nonexistent.
"What are they doing?"
"They are praying to Allah."
"Nobody can save them, those damned barbarians, planes and tanks will teach them a good lesson."
The conversation between the Soviet officers and soldiers was soon interrupted by the captured wounded soldiers of the 36th Division. The captives awoke from their daze, and life after awakening was calm and peaceful. "The sea surges towards us, we love the sea."
"Go ahead and worship death!" A Soviet military officer pulled out his pistol and pressed it against the prisoner's forehead. The prisoner had lost a leg, his hands were tied to the gun turret, his expression was calm and proud, he didn't even look at the officer or the gun, his eyes calmly unfolded the entire Lake Baikal, a smile appeared on his face, which suddenly enraged the officer, "You worship death!" "Death is the deepest and most ancient sea." The gun fired, the person who was shot merely tilted his head slightly, as if intentionally throwing away half of his brain, the remaining half fell asleep peacefully, ignoring this madman. The madman fired another shot, amazingly missing again, even after firing three shots, he still didn't hit. His superior timely stopped his madness, unable to show foolishness in front of Chinese people. The superior began to reveal foolishness in another way: he insisted on letting his soldiers personally teach the Chinese a lesson. Like a brave warrior, it's not just about relying on planes, tanks, and armored vehicles, Russia has plenty of young men.
The cavalry had been following behind, and now they caught up. Each cavalryman led a prisoner from the 36th Division in front of him, with his gun pressed against the prisoner's back. The cavalry formed ranks and advanced towards the 36th Division. There was no movement on the 36th Division's position. After the first row of guns fired, more than a hundred prisoners fell to the ground in a pool of blood, while another three hundred or so prisoners shouted and rushed towards the horse hooves, rushing towards the cavalrymen on horseback. The machine guns on the 36th Division's position fired fiercely, and the Qingma Brigade jumped out of the trenches, with a rain of bullets knocking down a large number of riders. The big gray horse was the first to charge forward, charging into the Soviet cavalry unit, and more riders from the 36th Division charged up, opening the curtain on a true cavalry battle, which unfolded in fierce fighting in front of the tanks and armored vehicles. In less than an hour, the entire Red Cavalry Regiment had been wiped out.
The armored vehicle was stunned for a moment, waiting for the plane. The plane came quickly. The plane stared at the big gray horse. The big gray horse ran far away quickly.
On the south bank of Bosten Lake, the Taklamakan Desert stretches out before us, with no way to escape. The Uyghurs tell everyone that this is the Sea of Death, and once you enter, you can't come out. Gao Zanling tightened his reins, as his horse was about to charge into the vast desert. Gao Zanling asked the Uyghur man how big the Taklamakan Desert was. The Uyghur man pointed to the sky and then to the ground, saying that the Sea of Death was as big as the sky and as big as the earth. Gao Zanling felt at ease, "Brothers, we've been searching for this route since we set out from Hezhou, let's go!" The 36th Division charged into the Sea of Death in battle formation.
The planes that followed circled around, and the commander in the rear shouted, "Can't you cavalry go where they can't? Charge in and fight fiercely." The plane tanks soon caught up.
The plane was indeed useful, and the cavalry could get rid of tanks and armored vehicles, but they couldn't get rid of planes. The plane flew low and freely, specifically targeting the big gray horse and the commander on its back. All the planes recognized the commander, that arrogant guy, who always managed to evade bombs and machine guns. Now the planes surrounded him from four directions, weaving a web of fire like a fishing net, covering the big gray horse, which fell to the ground. The machine gun fired a burst of blood light, followed by a bomb, and the big gray horse was blown to pieces. As the smoke slowly dissipated, the cavalryman who had lost his horse in the distance threw open his legs and ran wildly. The plane was shocked and circled around, charging forward. There were still four planes, which quickly arrived above the cavalryman's head, pouring down a rain of bullets, splashing up white smoke between his legs. This guy was as agile and nimble as a gazelle, and he escaped again. The plane dived and spun, casting a web of fire over an area of several hundred meters, filling the air with smoke. The cavalryman was climbing a sandy ridge, and the pilot could see even his insignia clearly, followed by his face - a handsome and heroic face, a beautiful man with a sword, who turned out to be a beautiful man. Sleep forever in the sea of death! The pilot pressed the button, and the bomb flew towards the golden sandy ridge like a flock of birds. The sand waves rolled and spread out, changing the appearance of the desert, like changing the sheets on a big bed - all traces were erased. Taklamakan, the real ocean, more real and mysterious than the sea. The pilot's report to his superior was concise and clear: "I personally buried Ma Zhongying!"
