Chapter 6: The Raid (Part One)

  Laiyuan is located in the depths of Taihang Mountain, east to Lai Shui, Yi County, south to Tang County, Shunping, Fuping, north to Yu County, and west to Shanxi Lingqiu.

  Tianjin is 210 kilometers away from Laiyuan. Song Zhiwu consciously took this long-distance march as a rare opportunity for long-distance training, marching 80 miles every day, passing through Baizhou, Gaobeidian, Yi County, and heading west. On the third day, after crossing the Zijingguan Pass, known as the third most magnificent pass in China, they truly left the vast North China Plain and entered the Taihang Mountains, which stretched for hundreds of miles.

  In July, the North China Plain is under the scorching sun with an average temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius. However, after entering the mountainous area, the temperature drops significantly. On both sides of the highway, there are not many tall trees on the mountains, but low shrubs cover the entire mountain, lush and dense. In the shrubbery, a cluster of unknown wildflowers blooms here and there, filling the air with their fragrance. The cool breeze carries the scent of grass and wood, refreshing the mind and spirit.

  At this time, the sun had set behind the western mountains, and the cool mountain breeze made the young soldiers who were sweating from walking feel invigorated. If they weren't on a military expedition, these young men would have burst into laughter and chatter long ago.

  Song Zhe Wu and Chu Feng Wang Xing Gang were riding horses in the middle of the team. Originally, they wanted to take care of Wang Xing Gang and let him ride a carriage for military travel, but Wang Xing Gang refused to do so and insisted on riding a horse to follow them. What Song Zhe Wu did not expect was that Wang Xing Gang's riding skills were even better than Chu Feng's, who had been in the cavalry regiment for more than a year. Both of them graduated from Yanjing University and knew each other well during their school days. Now they were in the same troop, and the two of them got along very well. Along the way, the two of them would often point out the local scenery and customs, discussing ancient and modern times, which made Song Zhe Wu feel envious.

  Song Zhe Wu was a southerner in his past life and wasn't very familiar with the scenery of the north. The two chatted, making Song Zhe Wu listen with great interest. It was also the first time that Song Zhe Wu learned from their conversation that Taixing Mountain actually had another name, Dahxing Mountain, which was an alias for Wuxing Mountain.

  All the way, Song Zhe Wu had been observing Wang Xing Gang. Seeing Wang Xing Gang's innocent and naive young heart, Song Zhe Wu was very suspicious that this Wang Xing Gang was not the same as the other Wang Xing Gang. Several times he wanted to probe him, but couldn't find a suitable topic. Song Zhe Wu saw that after rushing for a day, the young soldiers were still full of energy, and after a moment's thought, he slightly controlled the horse's speed, waiting for Wang Xing Gang and Chu Feng to catch up.

  "Xing Gang, you have been in Beiping for a long time and often see Chairman Shang, Zhang Yunyi and Bai Chongxi's troops. What do you think of our troops compared to theirs?"

  Wang Xinggang hastily caught up with Song Zhiwu's horse and rode alongside him, replying without hesitation: "In terms of morale, our troops are clearly superior to theirs. I've also seen the Northeastern Army, but they can't compare to us."

  "What do you think is the reason?" Song Zhe Wu looked at Wang Xing Gang with some interest.

  "After being in contact with the troops for a few days, at first glance, it seems that the military pay is high and there are no deductions. Another thing is that beating and scolding of soldiers is not allowed, although some phenomena still occur from time to time, but they are all kind-hearted and acceptable to the soldiers. In fact, there is another important point that can't be felt without close contact with the troops. That is, this team is very young, not only because of the short time since its establishment, but also because everyone, including you, is very young. Young people have vitality, ideals, and especially the officers below the regimental level are almost all selected from these soldiers who enlisted together, and no one has been promoted through unfair means. They are all willing to learn culture, suffer from training, and get promoted and reused through their own efforts. This makes everyone in the troops, not only soldiers but also platoon leaders, company commanders, and even battalion commanders, have a kind of upward hope, a hope that can change their living conditions and status, as well as those of their families."

  Song Zhe Wu looked at this young man who had just entered the army for a few days with some surprise, and couldn't help but admit that his eyes were venomous and his views on problems were very accurate. To be precise, it should be said that Shang Zhen's eyes were venomous.

  Wang Xinggang saw that Song Zhiwu's gaze had a hint of approval, and continued: "Actually, our troops still have great potential for improvement. A strong fighting force requires not only military might but also spiritual strength and faith - what is commonly referred to as 'esprit de corps'. Our Security Regiment has fought against Sun Chuanfang and the Northeastern Army, and we emerged victorious both times. Those were tough battles, where we were outnumbered, and yet we still managed to win. However, if our opponent's strength far surpasses ours, it's hard to say whether we can remain undefeated."

  "What you said is absolutely right." Song Zhe Wu timely interrupted Wang Xing Gang's words, he can now be 100% sure that this Wang Xing Gang is indeed the same Wang Xing Gang. If he continues to speak, his political stance will be revealed without a doubt. After all, he is still young, Song Zhe Wu thought to himself.

  Xing Gang, so I want to set up a political training department in the troops. The purpose is just that. You should grasp the compilation of the outline of political training, and the purpose is patriotic education. We can talk more about our national heroes and also talk about the history of our Chinese nation suffering from foreign oppression.

  Wang Xing said with some regret: "Traveler, but now we only have warlords fighting for power and profit, there is no foreign invasion, isn't it inappropriate to talk about these things?"

  "There is no warlord infighting now, all the warlords have been defeated by the revolutionary army, only Zhang Xueliang in the Northeast remains. From what I know, General Zhang is very patriotic, and the Northeast changing its allegiance is just a matter of time." Song Zhiwu thought for a moment, feeling that he still needed to remind him, and continued: "As for who are warlords, whether they are fighting for power and profit, these will be left for history to evaluate. You just follow what I said at the training session."

  Wang Xing nodded thoughtfully and asked somewhat reluctantly, "Can we discuss the 'Shajiqiao massacre' in Guangzhou, the 'May 5th Movement' in Shanghai, and the 'May Fourth Movement' against Yuan Shikai?"

  "Alright." Song Zhe Wu wanted to continue explaining the necessity of this. Ye Chang Gui rode his horse over: "Commander, up ahead is Yang Family Village, 50 li from Laiyuan, will we be camping here for the night?"

  "Alright, let the brothers have a good rest tonight, and tomorrow we'll head to the source with high spirits."

  Ye Changgui agreed and ran ahead again to arrange for lodging.

  Yangjiazhuang is a big village with more than 200 households, one side leaning against the mountain and the other facing the river. The highway passes through the front of the village along the river. When Song Zhe-wu and others entered the village, Ye Changgui was arranging defense with several battalion commanders.

  "First company, deploy a platoon to the left of the village entrance on high ground and assign two heavy machine guns. The rest will defend the front of the village. Second company, bring four heavy machine guns and set up defenses on the mountain behind the village. Third company is responsible for defending the riverbank and the direction from which we came. The remaining personnel from the artillery company and fourth company will defend inside the village." Ye Changgui saw Song Zhe Wu nodding his head, waved his hand: "Execute immediately" Several company commanders rushed to arrange defenses.

  Song Zhe-wu, accompanied by Chu Feng and his guards, Wang Xing-gang and Ye Chang-gui's troops, all stayed in the only landlord's house in the village. The landlord's family had to give up their main room for Song Zhe-wu and his men to stay in. After comforting them with kind words for half a day, Song Zhe-wu led Ye Chang-gui and others to settle down in the side rooms on both sides. Wang Xing-gang just silently watched, finished eating, then rushed into the room assigned to him and Chu Feng and didn't come out again.

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