Chapter 42: Before the Saddle and Behind the Horse

  For a soldier, more often than not, what he yearns for is not slaughter, but rather death itself. Only in death can one thoroughly shake off the fear of death.

  At the moment when Jiang Fangzheng fell down, he thought more of his gentle Japanese wife, who had given up her nationality to marry him.

  A makeshift army, once without a leader, its combat effectiveness will be like dregs, at the mercy of others.

  Liu Yuan never thought he could kill Jiang Fangzhen with one shot, but whether Jiang Fangzhen was dead or not, Liu Yuan wasn't clear either. That one shot only hit his chest.

  The raging flames of war once again awakened the sleeping Zhang Lingfu, who was being attacked by Wang Yaowu's troops. The guards saw that Zhang had woken up and hastily handed him a cup of water.

  "Let the troops take a rest, although Sun Chuanfang's men are not good at night battles, our soldiers are already very tired." Zhang Lingfu heard the familiar gunfire and thought his own soldiers were still fighting.

  Wang Yaowu turned his head to Zhang Lingfu and said, "Battalion commander, it's not us who are fighting, but the reinforcements have arrived. Listen, isn't that the sound of a machine gun?" Wang Yaowu hinted.

  Wang Yaowu smiled wryly, "Our three regiments will not abandon their own brothers after all. You don't need to concentrate your troops either, throw away the useless things and break through in the direction of the gunfire. Haven't you heard that the gunfire on the other side is not a lot? Our reinforcements are at most two thousand people. It's just unknown why the other side is so panicked."

  In the night raid, it showed the unparalleled penetration of the three armies. Liu Yuan met with Wang Yaowu at the fastest speed, bringing his men along.

  "Why is it just you?" Liu Yuan asked with wide eyes, Zhang Lingfu had brought people to support King Wangshan, he had guessed it early, but he never thought that only Wang Yaowu was left.

  The tiger flag beside Wang Yaowu was blowing in the wind, making a rustling sound. When Wang Yaowu saw Liu Yuan, he became excited and quickly told him what had happened.

  Zhang Lingpu was also carried over on a stretcher, his expression extremely dissatisfied. "As the commander of an army, how can you personally take risks? This is putting the entire army in danger."

  Liu Yuan shook his head and said, "Without me, the three armies will still have a staff department to command battles, but without me, I'm afraid you several won't see each other again."

  After hearing Liu Yuan's words, Zhang Lingfu was filled with tears and grasped Liu Yuan's hand tightly, saying, "Today you risked your life to save me from the jaws of death, in the future I will certainly follow you through life and death, never betraying you."

  Liu Yuan patted Zhang Lingfu's shoulder, not saying a word, and personally directed the troops to break through in all directions. However, Liu Yuan found that it was easy to fight from the outside in, but it was indeed very difficult to fight from the inside out.

  At this time, Li Er Niu shouted loudly, "You soldiers on the opposite side, you'd better retreat quickly. Your commander-in-chief is already dead. Haven't you seen that? You don't even have anyone to command your troops. What are you still fighting for?"

  Li Er Niu's move was ruthless, and upon hearing this sentence, the enemy troops immediately became chaotic. Several desperate division commanders and regimental commanders were at a loss for what to do, and could only watch as Liu Yuan led his troops in a relentless breakout.

  There were also those who did not believe in evil and wanted to resist, but the position of three or four thousand people was actually crossed in the shortest time, and there would be thousands of casualties. For a while, no one dared to fight back desperately.

  Although Sun Chuanfang sent a telegram, everyone insisted on surrounding, but aren't they running to Niu Hang? Niu Hang is within the encirclement circle, so what are they afraid of, just let them go.

  But will Liu Yuan really walk into the encirclement? Obviously not, just as he was making a breakthrough, a large number of troops had already appeared on the road he had taken, and rushing back would be no different from sending himself to death, so Liu Yuan chose to take a detour.

  On the map, they had taken a detour, but Liu Yuan discovered during the march that the enemy had clearly not expected him to lead his men on a circuitous route. Moreover, with their commander-in-chief gone, the enemy army was temporarily paralyzed.

  Under such circumstances, Liu Yuan unexpectedly encountered the 34th Regiment. The entire regiment was camping opposite and had not thought that someone would suddenly appear here. When they saw the soldiers with live ammunition, the soldiers of the 34th Regiment did not resist, and the regimental commander Ma Changkun decisively chose to surrender.

  Liu Yuan looked at Du crouching on the ground, piles of soldiers without even clothes, and then looked at his own soldiers collecting guns, a bold idea suddenly appeared in his mind.

  Why don't we take Nanjing City and jump out of the enemy's encirclement? Liu Yuan pointed at Ma Changkun and said, "Order your men to take off their clothes."

  "No, sir. We are just poor ordinary people who were forcibly conscripted from our village by the general. Many of our comrades have already died, and we are being tormented." Ma Changkun said with a mournful face.

  After listening to the words of this sly and cunning team leader, Liu Yuan also felt helpless. This Sun Chuanfang was truly desperate, initially thinking of taking advantage of the situation, but soon discovered that the Northern Expeditionary Army had defeated Wu Peifu.

  Helpless, he could only grab the strong young men to fight for him, but what combat effectiveness can a hastily assembled army have? Liu Yuan furrowed his brow and had not yet spoken.

  Wang Yaowu rushed up and gave him a kick, "Let you take off your pants, why so much nonsense."

  Ma Changkun, although he looks shifty and cunning, is not stupid. Earlier, when the opposing side asked everyone to take off their clothes, he thought they were trying to humiliate him and his subordinates. However, seeing the expression on the opposing side's face, his eyes lit up, "Sir, if you want to take Nanchang City, it would be best to bring me along, I can help you open the city gate."

  "What's the condition?" Liu Yuan saw that the team leader opposite him was actually a clever person, and didn't seem to want to say much more, directly getting to the point, after all time was very pressing.

  "The captives didn't dare mention conditions, but I hope the officer can spare these poor people." Ma Changkun looked at Liu Yuan with hopeful eyes.

  These soldiers who were forcibly recruited are indeed unsuitable for battle, if they insist on continuing, they can only serve as cannon fodder.

  Seeing Liu Yuan nod, Ma Changkun said with a smile, "Thank you, sir. I'll let them disperse and go home soon. However, I hope you can detain them for a while longer. I don't know if there are any of Sun Jun's people here."

  Zhang Lingpu looked at this despicable guy in surprise, this change was too fast, and looking at his thoughtful appearance, this son of a bitch was also a clever person.

  Liu Yuan nodded, and Ma Changkun continued, "I have observed that the troops under General's command are full of fighting spirit. Since arriving in Jiangxi, they have been unbeatable in every battle. Although I, Ma Changkun, am not a man of great talent, I hope to follow General closely."

  Liu Yuan furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, it's not bad to have such a despicable person by his side, after all, not everything can be solved by the straightforward and upright gentleman Dou.

  "Master, this guy is so despicable and look at his thieving eyes." Li Er Niu said with great dissatisfaction.

  Wang Yaowu was in a state of shock, surrounded by the enemy, and it was already good that he could survive. But he never thought that his superior would have a plan to take down Nanchang City. At this moment, Ma Changkun became very important.

  "I don't like repetitive people," said Liu Yuan.

  "Sir, why are you so lacking in confidence? Are you afraid that one day you won't be able to progress and I'll feel like following you is worthless, betraying you?" Ma Changkun said sarcastically.

  After listening to Ma Changkun's sarcastic words, Liu Yuan smiled. This guy is indeed a talent. I want you, this despicable battalion commander, but it's not enough for you to just join us. "Go ask your brothers how many are willing to join us. Although they are all new recruits, they are all robust men. Even if they can return home, it's not guaranteed that they won't be conscripted by Sun Chuanfang again tomorrow. It's better to join us and fight against the warlords."