Chapter Thirty-Eight: You Were Once a Noble Lady

  Unlike the excitement of others, Liu Yuan was extremely anxious at this moment, constantly walking back and forth in the command center. Liu Yuan's state affected many people, including Party Representative Nie Rongzhen and Chief of Staff Zuo Quan.

  Zuo Quan and Liu Yuan's relationship was not ordinary, they would say whatever came to mind without avoiding anything. "Fu Guo, what's wrong with you? You won the battle, but why do you look so anxious?"

  Liu Yuan nodded and said, "Now that Wang Yuanyi has been caught, can I not be anxious?" Liu Yuan took a sip of tea, his mind full of worries, and didn't know what to do in the command center.

  Liu Yuan's words made Zuo Quan feel inexplicably puzzled. "Hey, isn't it a good thing that you're worried about capturing Wang Yuan instead of why? Isn't this a good thing?" Zuo Quan looked at Liu Yuan with an expression that didn't seem to be lying.

  "You think Wang Yuanyi has gone to the battlefield, but it's definitely Sun Chuanfa who sent someone more capable than Wang Yuanyi to the front line. And look at their tactics of advancing and retreating, it's clear that a capable person is commanding the battle. But our intelligence shows that the commander-in-chief of the enemy is Wang Yuanyi, isn't this a mistake?"

  Liu Yuan said that, Nie Rongzhen also understood, nodded and said, "I know, before we confirmed that the commander-in-chief of the other side is Wang Yuanyi. We have already defeated one of their troops, according to the nature of warlords, they will definitely be less effective when facing Wang Yuanyi's orders again, at that time our pressure will be very small, and our plan to launch a surprise attack is also very likely to succeed."

  Nie Rongzhen said, Zuo Quan also understood, "So to say, we caught Wang Yuanyi, proving that there is a boss behind him, and we have made our move. If they continue to make moves, wouldn't Guan Linzheng be in great danger?"

  Liu Yuan nodded, "According to the time calculation, if they still don't return after another two hours, I will personally lead the troops to rescue them. They are all our brothers and we can't just watch them die at the hands of the enemy. Moreover, there are over a thousand people, all the elite of our three regiments, and we can't let them be wasted there."

  "You'd better not command in person now, the team is short of you." Niu Hongzhen thought for a moment and still opposed Liu Yuan's idea.

  "No way, you're fine directing troops in the command center, but if you were to actually lead them into battle against the enemy with real knives and guns, at your level, it would be a bit of a stretch." Liu Yuan's words made both people around him blush slightly, as they indeed weren't very confident in their actual ability to direct battles.

  "You bring Hu Zongnan along, that guy is still alright, and at that time there will also be someone to take care of him." Zuoyi said after a moment's thought.

  Just then, Guan Linzheng led the vanguard into a crisis while the three were discussing at the command center.

  As a force ambushing from the rear mountain, when the enemy shouted that someone was ambushing, their mission had already failed halfway. At this time, Guan Linzheng still chose to launch a strong attack, which was not a good thing, because his opponent was completely unmatched Jiang Fangzhen.

  Jiang Fangzhen did not even need to personally direct the battle, only giving some instructions to the regimental commanders of the 18th Division before leaving.

  Just as Guan Linzheng started out very bravely, even if the enemy was on the mountain ridge opening fire, there were a few sharpshooters who could still take down the opposing firepower points. However, when smoke-filled hand grenades came pouring down from above, Guan Linzheng thoroughly fell into dire straits. The people around him died one by one, and in the end, out of over 100 men, less than 80 were left before they even reached the mountain ridge.

  Later perhaps the enemy's hand grenades were used up, Guan Linzheng finally led the soldiers to rush up to Xuan Yang Ding, but before they could climb up, the enemy's machine guns suddenly fired again, and in an instant, nearly thirty lives were lost, including Guan Linzheng.

  Guan Linzheng led over a hundred people out, but now there were less than fifty people by his side. Guan Linzheng's eyes were bloodshot and he was on the verge of tears. At this moment, he had only one thought: to kill all of them.

  "Brothers, we've been discovered, but I still insist on a strong attack. Do you hate me?" Guan Linzheng asked.

  "We'd rather die on the way of fulfilling our mission than flee. It's always better than running away," said the old soldiers with red eyes.

  Guan Lin was now regretting his decision to charge forward, but he was extremely anxious and knew that if he didn't do something, everyone in the three battalions would likely die. He had been discovered and continued to fight on the cliff, hoping to attract more enemies and alleviate the pressure on the main attack force. In fact, Zhang Lingfu's troops were coordinating with him, but neither of their elite forces was doing well.

  Zhang Lingfu was shot, and Guan Linzheng had just rushed up the cliff. He saw a dense cluster of soldiers not far from the cliff, with machine guns placed behind sandbags not far away.

  "Brothers, follow me in one more charge," was Guan Linzheng's final order.

  But the reality was cruel, he had not yet taken a step forward, and under their feet, landmines were buried. He watched with his own eyes as a group of soldiers behind him were blown to death. Guan Linzheng felt like he was going crazy, he was like a wild beast, with red eyes, holding a bayonet and charging towards the enemy.

  A large net had been cast, and Guan Linzheng was tightly caught inside. He suffered the greatest humiliation of his military life: he was captured by the enemy. Guan Linzheng's first reaction was to take out the dagger from his shoe and commit suicide, but a huge rifle butt came crashing down on his head, and he was taken captive.

  Jiang Fangzhen was also shocked when he heard that the 3rd Battalion of the 18th Division had captured a senior colonel, such a young senior colonel, this should be a thorough Huangpu elite.

  The commander of the 18th Division, also ignoring Jiang Fangzhen, immediately gave Guan Linzheng a dagger. Fresh blood flowed from his thigh, and Guan Linzheng was awakened by severe pain. He had thought he was already dead, but when he saw the enemy's cruel smile, he knew his situation was worse than death.

  "General, you've been captured." Jiang Fangzhen didn't blame the commander of the 18th Division, but instead smiled and asked Guan Linzheng.

  "You, you are Mr. Jiang Fangzhen." Guan Linzheng asked, enduring intense pain.

  "Do you know me?" Jiang Fangzhen asked with wide eyes.

  "Jiang Fangzhen, principal of Baoding Military Academy, who had studied at the Japanese Army Officer School and was the first Chinese to receive an award from the Emperor of Japan. You even gave a speech in Germany, we have the manuscript of your speech, and I still have your photo in my pocket, as a young military idol, I certainly know you." Guan Linzheng said with a face full of admiration. "Mr. Jiang Fangzhen, are you going to let me go? But I won't surrender to Sun Chuanfu, I may disappoint you."

  Jiang Fangzhen's face turned red with anger as he held the two photographs that had been retrieved from Guan Linzheng's pocket. One was a photo of himself in his 40s, looking young and majestic. The other was a group photo of him and the colonel, both of whom looked youthful, but on the colonel's shoulder was a star.

  That person is already a general at such a young age, it seems that the status of that young man in this colonel's heart is as important as his own. However, he is an idol to them, but is actually helping warlords do things.

  Jiang Fangzhen didn't say a word, but that doesn't mean the other warlords didn't. One of them, a brigade commander, suddenly flew into a rage and gave Guan Linzheng a kick, "You son of a bitch, I let you off easy last time, this time I'll chop you up."

  "Wait a minute, this guy is a lieutenant colonel, we can at least get some military information out of him." The regiment commander was eager to try.

  "Everyone get back, who's in charge here?" Jiang Fangzhen burst into anger, and the surroundings immediately fell silent.

  "General, surrender! It's not just you who have been captured, but also the two thousand men under your command who are surrounded by us. If you persist, it won't be just you who dies, but also your subordinates." Jiang Fangzhen didn't want to see such an excellent military officer die.

  "You were a noble person, why did you become a thief? You became a thief, why did you tarnish me?" Guan Linzheng said and then fell silent.