Chapter 37: Zhang Lingfu Takes an Arrow

  At this moment, Chiang's command center was extremely tense. Since the dawn attack on Niuxing today, they had been in a very passive state. First, the raiding troops lost contact with them, and then Wang Yuan-yi's troops also lost contact with the command center, even facing the danger of being captured or killed. Now, the enemy's troops have infiltrated from the encirclement circle and raided their own command center.

  Jiang Fangzhen stood beside the map, shaking his head at the low and disordered crowd. Xun Shuai's subordinate, Wang Yuanyi, indeed had few people who could see them in their panic-stricken state, wondering how they could fight a battle.

  "Chief of Staff, let's retreat. The enemy also has an army of 10,000 men. Although we have 50,000 soldiers, many of them are exhausted from the long march and we've just gone through the battle to retake Nanchang. It would be unwise for us to engage in battle with them now." A division commander said cautiously.

  Jiang Fangzhen heard that the enemy was attacking from the rear mountain, so he sent troops to hold them off. After all, the enemy was climbing up from the cliff, so he didn't pay much attention to it. What he was concerned about was the front battlefield, because the front battlefield had changed from around 1,000 people and horses earlier to over 2,000 now, and these 2,000 or more people even had artillery, which was absolutely not good for him.

  I thought gathering them together was to discuss countermeasures, but these countermeasures didn't come as expected, instead they were intimidated.

  "Are you thinking the same way?" Jiang Fangzhen's mind was already made up at this moment. After all, these people were not his own soldiers, and without Wang Yuanyi himself, he couldn't control them either. At this moment, Jiang Fangzhen wasn't blaming Wang Yuanyi much. It didn't matter if you took the troops to the front line, but seeing the quality of the officers under Wang's command, Jiang also understood Wang's difficulties.

  "Chief of Staff, now that the commander-in-chief is deeply trapped in the enemy's array, his life or death is unknown. If he is captured by the enemy, we will recklessly continue to attack, which may sacrifice the commander-in-chief's life. At the same time, the quality of the opposing army, whether it is the commanding officer or the soldiers, is very excellent. In contrast, our commander's life or death is unknown, and continuing to fight is not very wise." The one who spoke this time was the division commander.

  Jiang Fangzhen smiled, looking at the division commanders and brigade commanders who were unwilling to continue fighting. He knew they feared ending up like Wang Yuanyi and didn't want their soldiers to sacrifice themselves, after all, this was their livelihood. Just from the previous skirmish, many units had lost more than 30% of their personnel.

  "Everyone, it's a bit early to talk about retreat now," said Jiang Fangzhen.

  Jiang Fangzhen's one sentence caused the command center to become chaotic, with lower-ranking officers arguing noisily. Finally, the commander of the 13th Division spoke up, "Chief of Staff, what do you mean? If you have something to say, just say it."

  "I don't have any intention, but I want to know that the enemy under the mountain is launching an attack on our headquarters with more than 2,000 people. How can we fight them while trapping this fierce tiger of the Third Division here? If we open the cage and let it rush out, I wonder how many of you will still be alive a year from now."

  Jiang Fangzhen's words were thought-provoking, "Commander, you tell us, how should we fight? It's not that we're unwilling to die for the general, but the casualties among our brothers are too great. They're all fellow countrymen, how can we bear to see them die in battle? However, since we're willing to die for the general, we've also made preparations for sacrifice."

  Jiang Fangzhen glanced at the hypocritical crowd and said to reassure them, "Although the enemy's combat strength is strong, they have a fatal weakness, that is, their numbers are insufficient. Now, suddenly appearing with a team of about 2,000 people, coming to our front, it is possible to cause great harm to our command center. However, if we can eliminate these 2,000 people, won't we be able to consume the enemy's living forces?"

  "But which troops will the commander-in-chief send? Our troops have all been sent to the front line."

  Chiang Fangzhen said, "You are all commanders and guards with a large number of troops. I just took a look, and together you have at least 500 people. Adding the ones directly under headquarters, we also have 700 or 800 people. We are defending mountainous terrain, as long as we hold our ground, we will surely win."

  "Is the general command really necessary? Didn't we arrange for a regiment from the 13th Division to be stationed here at that time? Can't they hold their ground?" Someone who heard Jiang Fangzhen's arrangement was not very pleased, these guards and personal soldiers were all trained at great expense, no one is willing to use them easily.

  Jiang Fangzhen listened to his words, although very angry, but still patiently said, "The 13th Division is mostly new soldiers and has no combat effectiveness. The equipment and weapons have not been supplemented either. You also saw the firepower of the three divisions attacking our troops at the foot of the mountain. It's definitely not enough, so let them be the reserve troops."

  Jiang Fangzhen had been deeply appreciated by Sun Chuanfang since he joined him, and now he made up his mind that even if someone opposed it, they would not speak out openly. First, the commander-in-chief would definitely find trouble for himself at some point, and secondly, they also recognized that the enemy below the mountain was a problem.

  The surprise attack team led by Guan Linzheng has greatly increased its strength since Zhang Lingfu and Wang Yaowu joined. Zhang Lingfu did not expect that what he thought of, the commander had already thought of it earlier, but the commander did not expect to win so quickly.

  "Sniper, take out their firepower points. Mortar, move forward and give me accurate shots. Everyone, don't put all your hopes on Captain Guan, a sneak attack from the rear mountain may not necessarily succeed. We just want to show them how strong our forces are. Even if we can't take down this mountain, we must make the enemy bleed profusely and create an opportunity for Captain Guan. And if we can launch a strong assault and capture the enemy's command center, that would be a great achievement."

  Zhang Lingfu commanded the troops, and there was a set of them. When he was in military school, he heard that the division commander liked to command battles on the front line. Now, for the first time commanding more than 2,000 people in battle, he found that being personally on the front line could clearly understand the situation of the soldiers and the loopholes of the enemy.

  At this moment, they have already climbed halfway up the mountain. In front of them is a flat ground guarded by the enemy. Zhang Lingfu said to the people around him that as long as we can take down this place, we can gather our soldiers together and launch an impact on the command center at the top of the mountain. Along the way, everyone has seen the quality of the enemy, they are really weak, it's time for our three armies to make a name for themselves.

  But when Zhang Lingfu led the charge, they suffered a huge blow. The enemy waited for them to approach before opening fire, and everyone was armed with two guns, all of which were Mauser pistols with red tassels, firing in a manner similar to machine guns, with tremendous firepower. In one exchange, over 200 of Zhang's men were killed or wounded.

  Zhang Lingfu gritted his teeth, "Damn it, follow me, I don't believe we can't charge up." Zhang Lingfu also knew that with more than 2,000 people, they would definitely be unlucky if they couldn't take down the command center in front of them. At this time, he didn't care about any cost, and was determined to take down Daidongshan at all costs.

  Jiang Fangzhen was directing the pistol team from behind, watching a young general being so brave, holding a rifle and constantly shouting to the people in the back to move forward, after his arm was hit by a bullet, he didn't even frown, where did the 3rd division get so many talented people.

  "Lao Geng, see that young man? Help me kill him." Lao Geng was a bodyguard sent by Sun Chuanfang to protect Jiang Fangzhen, with excellent martial arts skills and also a famous sharpshooter.

  Lao Geng nodded, and unexpectedly pulled out a Han Yang rifle. "Bang" - with one shot, Zhang Lingfu fell to the ground. At this moment, Zhang was overcome with emotion, not because he was about to die, but because on the battlefield, there were still so many brothers, and he had no way to bring them back.

  The troops were in a state of confusion for a while, as Zhang Lingfu had the highest military rank at the time and everyone agreed to let him command the troops. Now that he was shot, who would command the troops? For a while, no one knew who had the highest military rank, and all the troops scattered in disarray.

  "Boosting morale is good, but it's also risky. I've heard that the commanders of the three divisions love to be on the front lines, but I haven't heard that they like to charge with guns in hand. It seems that this kid hasn't learned a thing or two from his superiors, and judging by the way he commands, he's quite talented too. What a pity." Jiang Fangzhen said to those around him.

  "Chief of Staff, what's going on here? In war, everyone is responsible for themselves. Life and death are a matter of course." The commander of the 13th Division said.

  "It's also, tell everyone, today those who participate in the battle, each will be rewarded with five big oceans, let everyone counterattack, without a commander, the opposing troops must have been finished."

  Warlords can't fight against the wind, but they can still fight with the wind. The commander of the opposing army was shot and his troops were in a panic. They had already seen this coming. Now that the chief of staff has ordered an attack, and there's also the ocean, everyone is excited to death.

  For the first time, a warlord's troops launched a surprise attack on the Huangpu Army, and for a while this army was in a precarious situation.