Chapter 7 Newly Formed Independent Regiment

  Now three divisions' military flags are flying in the sky above Anren, it can be said that Anren has become a territory of the revolutionary army.

  But the soldiers still had no rest, they had to seize the time to dig trenches and repair bunkers, sweep the battlefield, gather prisoners of war and rescue the wounded.

  At this moment, the command center was brightly lit, and all officers above the regimental level of the three divisions were sitting quietly on their stools, not saying a word.

  "In this battle, our army killed over 3,000 enemy soldiers, captured more than 300 enemy soldiers, and lost over 800 of our own men. We also suffered over 200 wounded. We seized over 5,000 rifles, 28 machine guns, two mountain cannons, and countless bullets."

  ，

  Liu Yuan held a cigarette in his hand, silently staring at the map, as if thinking about something. The officers who knew Liu Yuan well understood that their superior was now in a very bad mood.

  "Guangting, which son of a gun told the commander to retreat? Such a good opportunity, just like that it's gone."

  Du Yuming glared fiercely at Guan Linzheng, and it was only then that Guan realized he had been talking out of turn.

  Nie Rongzhen spoke first, Liu Yuan's troops had CP, but they were all party representatives and so on. However, in the Third Division, there was no discrimination, as long as what you said was right, no one would refute you.

  In the past, Nie Rongzhen had a very good temper, but today he was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table. First, he pointed at several regimental commanders and scolded them, "How did you become regimental commanders? Why did you let new recruits disrupt the formation? Why didn't you attack according to military school drills? Why were snipers not in their positions? Why were machine gunners holding bayonets instead of machine guns? Why was communication interrupted? Why did your soldiers die on the battlefield for no reason, and you are still standing here?"

  Nie Rongzhen's anger grew as he spoke, and pointing at several regimental commanders, he scolded: "What are you good for? What qualifications do you have to be a regimental commander? And you party representatives, how did I usually educate you? Go write self-criticisms, write self-criticisms. If not, you will also be reprimanded." As soon as Nie Rongzhen said this, many people's faces darkened. The 3rd Division and other units were different; if they were reprimanded, it would be difficult to get promoted in the future.

  Li Er Niu gave Liu Yuan a push from the side, and only then did Liu Yuan come out of his silence. He looked at the expectant eyes of his subordinates and roughly understood what they meant.

  He walked up and patted Nie Rongzhen's shoulder, "Just consider it a lesson learned. I blame myself for this matter. Lately, I've been busy with the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Zhongshan warship, so I haven't spent enough time with you brothers. As for the casualties that occurred this time, I will take full responsibility and report to the military commander personally."

  The newly joined combat advisor of the Third Division, Wang Shihe, stood up and said, "A loss ratio of one to three is already a very good result, why must you be so worried?"

  Hu Zongnan shook his head at Wang Shihe, signaling him to go down, and said to Liu Yuan, "This matter is mainly my fault. I was in the Third Division for the longest time, but I didn't lead them well. I didn't fulfill my responsibility, and I will take responsibility."

  Wang Yaowu originally couldn't understand what was going on, but Ning Bo suddenly pushed him out and whispered in his ear, "If you want to stay in the Third Academy, go apologize yourself."

  Wang Yaowu was arrogant, but he was a clever man. As soon as Ning Bo pushed him, he immediately understood what was going on.

  "Gentlemen, officers, this time casualties were mainly caused by us. I represent our newly joined officers to request punishment."

  Liu Yuan looked at Wang Yaowu with a puzzled expression, and when he saw Ning Bo's mischievous grin, he knew what was going on. He nodded and said, "Hmm, regarding your punishment, after our discussion, we've decided to send you to the lower levels for training as privates. I don't know if you're willing or not." Liu Yuan asked.

  "I accept the punishment." Wang Yaowu heard this news, although still a bit sad, but ultimately accepted it. He also understood what Guan Linzheng meant by his words earlier. The several young officers below were somewhat dissatisfied, but did not dare to speak out of turn.

  Now that someone has come forward to take responsibility for the mistake, Liu Yuan will no longer pursue it. Liu Yuan said, "As for the series of mistakes that appeared on this battlefield, I think everyone has also recognized them, so I won't say much about it. Just one sentence: all the mistakes made by superiors on the battlefield must be borne by the lives of our brothers." After finishing speaking, he sat there again in silence, Liu Yuan's mood was not good, and he fell silent once more.

  Chief of Staff Cao Yuan pointed to the map and said, "Huangjiaopu and Loutian are not far from here. According to Tang Shengzhi's intelligence, there are approximately 25,000 people in this area. Adding the remnants brought by Xie Wenbing, they still have more than 30,000 people. So, the enemy's forces still have a significant advantage over us."

  Moreover, we have been on the march for several days in a row without receiving any news. After the fierce battle just now and after the calculation of the general staff, the physical strength of the soldiers has reached its limit and is not suitable for continuing to fight, which is also the reason why the withdrawal order was announced just now.

  After listening to Cao Yuan's words, several team leaders below nodded and understood what was going on.

  "We won't attack them, but that doesn't mean they won't attack us. So now we need to seize the time to rest and prepare for battle, while welcoming the enemy. There's also some good news: the 4th Army's Independent Regiment, led by Ye Ting, with 3,000 men and a tank squadron, will arrive before dawn tomorrow. The division commander has already made contact with them, they'll be ambushing in the nearby mountain valley, waiting for Xie Wenxiang to attack, then they'll raid from behind the enemy and we'll sandwich them."

  "What, isn't the Independent Regiment disbanded? How did another one come out?" Guan Linzheng, as a fierce man who participated in the military performance with Liu Yuan back then, had always been resentful about the incident of Liu Yuan being shot. So when he heard about the Independent Regiment, he felt deceived.

  "For this independent regiment, I do know that it is a newly established team, completely different from the original independent regiment. Many CP officers and party representatives who were expelled from the army during the rectification of party affairs have joined this new independent regiment. Some excellent graduates of the third and fourth periods have also voluntarily joined the independent regiment. Lin Biao, who has always been liked by the division commander, refused to join the Third Division and chose to join the independent regiment instead."

  "So there are cultured and passionate young officers, they have experienced combat officers, more than us. To be honest, I was originally supposed to join the independent regiment too, but your division commander begged and pleaded with Director Zhou to bring me over. However, I think now that the KMT and CPC are cooperating, we should have confidence in this army which has always been under our control."

  "We'd better prepare well, otherwise you'll be looked down upon by the Communist Party again. We'll show them that our Nationalist Party also has many good men." Hu Zongnan felt that being too close to both parties was not good, always a bit confrontational, or else it would be hard to explain to the principal.

  Liu Yuan knew what Hu Zongnan meant, but he didn't want to get too involved in this kind of thing. "Those who should rest go and rest, those who should fix things come and fix things, dismiss the meeting. Wang Yaowu, you stay behind."