Chapter 6: The Great Wall Ballad (Part 5)

  Just as they were in a state of panic, suddenly someone in the corner of the house let out a cold laugh: "Hmph! You guys don't dare say these things to his face, but behind his back you're still scolding him? Do you think Commander Huang's ears are that good, able to hear your shouts from hundreds of miles away?"

  "Who is he..." Everyone was on fire, suddenly hearing such an ambiguous sentence, immediately turned their gaze over, loudly scolding. When they saw the two stripes and three flowers on the speaker's shoulder, they immediately swallowed back the half-spoken curse, changed to a disdainful face, coldly sneering: "What's your honorable surname?"

  "You look familiar, brother? Lao Ershiliu Road, I don't think I've seen you around the military department before?"

  Someone who can replace the head of the department to meet Huang Shaohong as a liaison officer, the rank will not be too low. However, in the National Revolutionary Army, after the new military rank system was implemented last year, the standard for granting ranks has been greatly improved. Many liaison officers are division commanders but have only been granted lieutenant colonel ranks. And this guy who speaks strangely in the corner, as a regiment commander, is carrying two bars and three flowers, his background is worth considering!

  "Exempt from punishment, surname Gou!" The head of the special task force, Lao Gou, picked up the kettle that had just boiled and made a big show of brewing his own jujube leaf tea. "I was just promoted last month, so it's normal that you guys haven't seen me at the headquarters of the 26th Route Army!"

  He was originally a nouveau riche, no wonder he was so arrogant! The military officers were very disdainful in their hearts and spoke with increasing sarcasm. "Could Commander Gu have some clever strategy to teach us? It seems that Officer Sun from your department hasn't arrived yet, I don't know when he'll be able to come up. With him around, we'll at least have one more pillar to rely on!"

  The crowd's words implicated Sun Lianzhong, and the commander of the 79th Brigade, Huang Jiasong, who had just rushed to Xiapanshi under enemy bombing, immediately stood up and emphasized loudly: "Our Commander Sun is leading his brothers here at this moment. If you have anything to ask him, it's not too much to wait another night!"

  "We still have to wait for another night, will we be able to ride in the same car as Commander Huang on the way back?! They can send two deputy commanders at the same time to supervise the battle array, and the Second War Zone attaches great importance to our Niangzi Pass, ah-——!" The crowd didn't buy Huang Zong's account and continued to mock him with cold ridicule.

  "I don't know if Officer Sun has checked the location of each department beforehand, but please don't be like Commander Huang again. Let's have our 27th route rush from Longquan Pass to Gu Pass within an hour?!"

  "Yes, it's true that one can walk sixty miles of mountain roads in an hour, but unfortunately, our 27th Route Army Commander Feng won't fly!"

  "Let the 17th division go to surround Wei and rescue Zhao, but as a result, Wei was not surrounded, and Zhao was lost. This is a bad bill, and it's still unclear how to settle it afterwards. Fortunately, Director Sun is a sensible person and should know that it's not the fault of our 17th division!"

  "Hmph!" Another cold laugh burst out of Lao Gou's nostrils, interrupting everyone's complaints. "Of course our Director Sun is a wise man, but even if he is wise, can he make the Nanjing side immediately dismiss Director Huang from his post? If this battle continues to be fought in the same way as before, I'm afraid that by the time our Director Sun wants to speak up for you all, none of you will have the chance to hear it."

  When you scold others to death, it is a great taboo in the army. At that time, all the officers surrounded him together, rolled up their sleeves and said, "What do you mean, surnamed Guo?!"

  "Just because you're a colonel, don't think no one dares to hit you. If you can't explain what you said earlier to everyone today, I'll make sure you know what discipline means, even if it costs me my military uniform!"

  "What's the meaning, isn't it clear?! Old Gou picked up the just-brewed jujube leaf tea and took a light sip before putting it down with a cold smile. "You are all senior military personnel, can't you see the situation right in front of your eyes? Once the pass at GuGuan is opened, the strategic location of Niangzi Pass will be gone. The little devils have been transporting troops and machine guns day and night into the pass, once they're deployed, they'll seal off our rear with a single stroke, heh heh, by then, even if you shout your grievances to the heavens, I'm afraid only King Yanluo can make a judgment!"

  "Nonsense!" Before Lao Gou could finish speaking, the shouting and cursing erupted again.

  "There's no need for you to say this!"

  "Huang's family saw it was going badly and ran back to Taiyuan. Leaving his brothers here to wait for death!"

  "Let's just leave then! No need to suffer here!"

  Lao Gou just smiled coldly and listened, while continuing to savor his tea. As if that pot of jujube leaves was more precious than top-grade Longjing tea.

  Seeing him so calm, Li Zhenxi, the instructor of Yang Huicheng's division, suddenly thought of someone. He quickly stepped forward, bowed his head and asked: "Excuse me, are you Colonel Gou Yide, the one who led the brothers to blow up the enemy artillery position last month?"

  Not wanting to draw too much attention, he had tried to keep his voice as low as possible. But unexpectedly, after the words fell, the surrounding noise immediately subsided. Almost everyone turned their gaze over, falling straight onto the face of Special Agent Gou Yide.

  Risking death to blow up the big gun, sacrificing life to save comrades, and afterwards with a small team of eleven people, they dragged down half a battalion of Japanese devils. This was almost the only outstanding performance in the Pingjin Campaign among tens of thousands of troops, and it had been touted as an example by the central government. So almost every high-ranking general had left a deep impression on the three words "Gou Youde". Only no one expected that the hero of that day would be sitting right in front of them.

  In the military, the most powerful heroes, no matter if they are from different factions or even opposing factions, as long as you have impressive battle achievements, everyone will sincerely say "I admire you" when they meet. At this moment, the liaison officers present couldn't continue scolding and instead walked up to greet Gou Youde.

  "So you're the Ge Youde brother, I didn't expect it, really didn't expect it!"

  "With eleven brothers, you dare to ambush the little devils from behind. For this kind of courage and righteousness, I consider you a friend from now on!"

  "No wonder it looks familiar, turns out..."

  "No wonder, no wonder, this matter is big, and his temper is different from others. Just now..."

  When he saw everyone suddenly becoming very polite, Kou Yide quickly put away his playful and irreverent face, smiled and stood up, bowing to the four sides, "Thank you for your undeserved praise, everyone. The success of that day was due to Director Sun's clever command above and the brothers' desperate efforts below. Kou Mouren himself didn't have any credit at all. It was just a bit of good luck, and he got a great advantage, so he really couldn't bear such lavish praise from everyone!"

  "Brother De has been too modest!"

  "Listening to what you said, Brother Youde, it's truly worthy of being a high-ranking official under Governor Sun. If we had a few people like you in our Shaanxi army, this battle wouldn't have been so arduous!"

  "Just now I didn't know it was Brother Youde, and my words were somewhat offensive. Please don't take it to heart, Brother Youde. We're all being harmed by this scoundrel, and I've been holding in a bellyful of evil fire, but can't find a place to vent it. No need for apologies, after we've won the battle, let's go to Taiyuan City together. As your elder brother, I'll be the host, and you can order whatever delicacies you like, Brother Youde!"

  The so-called flower sedan chair, people carrying people, as long as they have virtue, are also old veterans, who know the way of doing things. Just now, I was squeezing everyone with words, but it's just that I'm too lazy to listen to everyone's depressing talk. Now that the goal has been achieved, there is no need to put on a new noble airs again. He smiled and nodded his hands to everyone, smiling and responding: "Looking at what you guys said, it seems like old Wokou is a narrow-minded person. We're arguing, aren't we all for winning this battle and giving our deceased brothers an account?! I was anxious in my heart just now, so my mouth was a bit stinky. Everyone, don't take it to heart, after the battle is over, I'll pour wine one by one to apologize to you guys!"

  "Right, right! We didn't know each other before, who would give face to whom? Weren't we all oppressed by this current situation?"

  "Yes, an army of 60,000 to 70,000 was defeated by a little over 10,000 devils. How humiliating! We've lost all face! When I met other colleagues later, they didn't even have the face to lift their heads and talk!"

  As the battle unfolded before their eyes, everyone began to sigh and lament. It was as if the sky above their heads was about to collapse, and they were in a state of panic that could not be alleviated all day. The commander of the 79th Brigade of the 27th Division, Huang Jiesong, had known Gou Yide for many years and knew he wouldn't do anything meaningless. He smiled and suddenly raised his voice: "You all don't know, this younger brother Gou of our 26th Route is most skilled at fighting in a way that seeks survival in the midst of death. Look at how calm he's sitting now, I reckon he's already prepared a big bellyful of bad water to trap those little devils!"

  "Yes, if Brother Gou has any ultimate moves, don't hide them. As long as you can give the little devils some color to see, from now on I, Li Zhenxi, will follow your lead!" Yang Hucheng's instructor Li Zhenxi also felt that Gou Yide's previous words were not like nonsense, and he echoed Huang Juesong's shout.

  As soon as these two reminded them, everyone immediately understood the flavor and opened their mouths to ask Yu Youde for guidance.

  "Yes, yes, we don't ask for a reversal of the battle situation, at least wipe out a few hundred little devils and give our brothers a chance to vent their anger!"

  "Alright, just like you guys did on the 27th Route in Fangshan, teach those little devils a lesson. Even if we retreat later, we'll leave with our heads held high, won't we?"

  If there's a chance, it's this one. When duty calls, I'll step forward and bow four times: "Brothers, seniors, in today's gathering, I shouldn't have the right to speak. But if we just sit here waiting for the little devils to attack, my heart will be suffocated. So let me take a big axe to break the rules, if what I say is wrong..."

  "Come on, come on! We're all men in the army, what's with all the beating around the bush?"

  "Right, let's get straight to the point, brothers! Don't learn from those officials!" At this moment, it wasn't just Yu Youde who had a belly full of pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent; almost all the generals hoped they could fight a fierce and satisfying battle, even if in the end they were still destined to lose, at least they would lose with some dignity.

  "Then I'll make a fool of myself!" Kou Yide took big strides, coming to the military map hanging on the wall. This map was specially used by Huang Shaohuang, the frontline commander-in-chief, and was much more detailed than the one in the hands of ordinary officers. In the past few days, with the opportunity to serve as a free bodyguard for Huang Shaohuang, Kou Yide had already studied the map countless times, almost memorizing every mountain peak and every road in his mind.

  "The little devils have more machine guns and cannons than us, and they also have planes to assist them, which is their strong point. But the little devils also have a weakest weakness, that is, they are few in number. They only have around 10,000 men, yet they think they can wrap up our 60,000 to 70,000 brothers like dumplings, their appetite is too big. I secretly calculated today, at present, the most the little devils have sent out to attack us from behind is only one regiment, about 3,000 people. And from where the main force of the devils is located to the breakout point at GuGuan, and then to the position of the devils' front line, it's almost 50 li long. If we continue to wait for them to attack us like before, our rear may not be guaranteed. But if we take the initiative to change our tactics, first surround the little devils who have already entered behind Niangzi Pass..."

  "Hiss!" Upon hearing this, the people present gasped in unison. The enemy's current troop deployment near Niangzi Pass is approximately between 10,000 to 12,000 men, with more than half of them being held back by the brothers of the 17th Division outside the pass. Only about 3,000 men have actually entered the pass and are preparing to attack our rear. If these 3,000 men can be eliminated, the enemy's troop strength will suddenly decrease by a quarter. Not only will they no longer be able to block our retreat route, but it is also uncertain whether they will be able to capture Niangzi Pass!

  "I've privately asked fellow villagers about the road to the old pass, and there are two key points inside and outside. Pointing to the map with his hand, Lao Gou continued to talk, "One is at Walnut Garden, and one is at Guan Gou. If we send people to go around from the mountain road and make a stab at these two points, the devils who have already entered the pass will become isolated troops. Even if we only block the Guan Gou point, we can cut off the old pass and those little devils inside the pass into two segments. We'll clean them up segment by segment!"

  "It's going to be like this!"

  "It's about time we fought like this!" The morale of the liaison officers was immediately boosted, and they rolled up their sleeves to actively take on tasks for their respective units. However, Old Gou himself became cautious after presenting his strategy, smiled, lowered his voice, and reminded: "Commander Huang is not here tonight, if we want to fight like this, we should at least ask for his permission. Otherwise, once the higher-ups investigate..."

  "To hell with waiting for orders!" Li Zhenxi was the first to jump up, slamming his hand on the table and shouting. "By the time HQ makes a decision, we'll have been pinned down by those little devils until we're dead. Let's just attack, our training unit still has over 400 men who can stand and walk, let's push them all up tonight!"

  "Our third army has also made its move, what's the worst that could happen? Let the one with the surname Huang go bother our commander! Who is afraid of him, he's just a turtle's son!" A general with the surname Xiao loudly declared.

  "I'll contact our Commander Zhao of the 17th Division right away, this time we're going all out!" The liaison officer sent to Guannei by the 17th Division, Colonel and Chief of Staff Li Xuesheng also drew his pistol, vowing to advance or retreat together with everyone.

  "As long as it's not a futile sacrifice, our 27th Army will never be ambiguous!" Even Wang Zhi Cheng, the liaison officer of the 27th Army who had been the least enthusiastic in the past few days, suddenly showed his commitment and spoke out in support of Lao Gou's plan.

  The 27th Division, 79th Brigade, Huang Jiasong had always been cautious. First, he listened for a while with his ears perked up, then suddenly coughed a few times and smiled as he opened his mouth: "According to reason, without the order of Director Huang, we shouldn't take action on our own initiative. But military affairs are really urgent, and he has gone to Taiyuan, so even if we want to ask for instructions, it's not certain that we can find someone. How about this? I'll go send a telegram to Director Sun later and explain the situation to him. In the future, even if Director Huang is unhappy in his heart, considering Director Sun's face, he won't make things too difficult for everyone!"

  The Sun officer in his mouth is Sun Lianzhong, the commander-in-chief of the 26th Route Army. At this moment, he and Huang Shaohuang are both deputy commanders of the Second War Zone, and it happens that they can be borrowed to support everyone. After hearing Huang Zongsu's words, everyone felt more fearless and directly discussed their respective tasks in front of the map.

  "Hold on, everyone!" Huang Jiasong thought for a moment and continued: "All of you have fought against the little devils before, while my brother and I just arrived with the 79th Brigade. Let us take care of these first two battles! After I capture He Tao Yuan and Guan Gou, we'll decide whether to dissect the little devils or divide their corpses, and then you can continue to deal with them!"

  The first two knives are definitely the most difficult to pierce. With a clear understanding of Xiao Gui's combat strength, the liaison officers from various departments nodded in admiration. Immediately, Huang Jiaosong called over several regimental commanders under his command and began to assign tasks. However, Lao Gou suddenly shook his head and called out to Huang Jiaosong, "Ke Li brother, wait a minute! Since the idea was mine, our special operations team will naturally take the first knife! Guan Gou can be given to you, but I want to secure He Tao Yuan!"

  Note 1: Two horizontal and three vertical stripes, the insignia of a senior colonel, was first introduced in the KMT's central army units in 1935. Although the 27th Division was not part of the central army, it was one of the first divisions to be reorganized, so its uniforms were relatively standardized.