Chapter Thirteen: Unwilling to be a Wedding Dress for Others

  Tingzi Bridge is the gateway to southern Hubei. Once Tingzi Bridge is opened, the Northern Expeditionary Army can continue its march into Hubei and capture the two lakes, which would be a great thing for the Northern Expeditionary Army. As the ancient saying goes, "Two lakes are ripe, and the whole country is enough", which shows the importance of the two lakes.

  But Tingxi Bridge is a famous danger on the Guangzhou-Hankou Railway, surrounded by water on three sides, with only one railway bridge to pass through.

  To the east are towering mountains and steep cliffs, easy to defend but hard to attack. Moreover, today's surging river waters have become an additional natural barrier.

  In this battle, Liu Yuan found himself unfortunately assigned to the main assault unit. However, from the start of the campaign, Liu Yuan had a faint premonition that he might end up being someone else's sacrificial pawn.

  Tianqiao Bridge is a strategic location, but it cannot accommodate too many troops. Wu Peifu once again concentrated his elite forces of over 30,000 men, led by Chief of Staff Li Jizhen. Ma Ji and Liu Zhiyuan also fought to the death here.

  Liu Yuan's three divisions were the main attacking units, while Zhang Fakui's two divisions coordinated with them; Li Zongren attacked Puqi in a pincer movement, and He Jian led two divisions of the Eighth Army to cross the river below Jiayu, cutting off their rear route. Wang Berling's one division and independent regiment were all reserve troops.

  Liu Yuan knew that no matter what they did, there was one prerequisite, and that was to master the main attack well, otherwise all their actions would be in vain.

  Zhang Fakui-led Fourth Army, nicknamed Iron Army, a nickname that proves how good the Fourth Army is at fighting.

  Not yet having fought a battle, Zhang Fakui said to Liu Yuan: "Your three divisions have suffered relatively heavy losses in continuous battles. Let's take over from here."

  Liu Yuan had a premonition since he came to Tingxi Bridge, making wedding dresses for others was also difficult to bring up at the time, so he agreed with Zhang Fakui.

  Said Zhang Fa-kui, no matter what happened later, at this moment he was indeed spirited and heroic, standing in the front of the troops, waving his pistol and shouting loudly, "Brothers, for the revolution, for the Northern Expedition, for the liberation of our nation, follow me in the charge!"

  Not talking about the tactics of war, just their will to fight is indeed very strong. Soldiers holding guns charge online, and when the brothers in front die, there are naturally younger brothers in the back row to fill up.

  Liu Yuan couldn't help but think of a poem: Beheading is no big deal, as long as the ideology is true, Xia Minghan was killed, and there will be more people to come.

  Later, many people came one after another, and although they died a bit unjustly, Zhang Fa-kui was of the same rank as himself, so he had no right to accuse anything. Even if he said something in the past, it would be more likely to cause a dispute between the First Army and the Fourth Army, so Liu Yuan could only watch from behind.

  Zhang Fa-kui was indeed a fierce man. He charged forward more than ten times, and people died in wave after wave, but he never gave up.

  Until Chen Zhuoming came to find Liu Yuan, "Liu Deputy General, we can't go on like this, Zhang Fakui is a fool, and he can't swallow his pride to come to you, but I couldn't bear the brothers dying miserably, so please send troops."

  Liu Yuan nodded, "We are all revolutionary brothers, and we should send troops. After finishing speaking, Liu Yuan waved his hand at Hu Zongnan, ordering the artillery to fire at their positions, letting our soldiers follow the artillery fire, coordinating infantry and artillery, and occupying their positions.

  The soldiers of the three divisions stepped on the artillery point and rushed to the position of the Ting River Bridge, but they only rushed up and did not expand their gains when they encountered a strong counterattack by the enemy.

  The enemy's desperate counterattack was a test for the three divisions. Liu Yuan held his binoculars and watched everything in front of him, indeed very shocking, the Straight Army was still quite capable of fighting.

  Zhang Fakui's face was shocked as he looked at everything in front of him, he really couldn't believe it, his own fierce charge had failed more than a dozen times, but the Third Division's single cannon shot, and the soldiers followed the cannon point and charged up.

  What is even more precious is that the three armies relied on the enemy's position and blocked the counter-attacking enemy on the spot.

  Zhang Fakui's face turned red with excitement, and he said to his deputy officer, "Hurry up and inform the commanders of each regiment to charge forward immediately. We have taken Dingxi Bridge."

  Liu Yuan shook his head and said, "No need, this time our three armies also failed."

  This time, it had to be admitted that the three divisions finally encountered a formidable opponent, the Straight Army's pistol team, all equipped with Mauser pistols. The old soldiers held one pistol in each hand, just like machine guns, with powerful firepower, directly forcing the soldiers of the 3rd Division who had just charged into the local position to lift their heads and suffer more and more casualties.

  At the same time, it can be seen from a distance that the other side has rebuilt its machine gun position, and the soldiers on the front line are in great danger.

  Just as Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment, the Straight Army actually launched a counter-charge against the Third Division, directly entangling with the Third Division, and casualties immediately surged.

  "Withdraw." Liu Yuan said to Cao Yun.

  "Sir, or else I'll lead the troops in a charge, during the Eastern Expedition, I often did this." Cao Yuan volunteered.

  "You are the chief of staff, not a vanguard, get Wang Yaowu over here for me." Liu Yuan said with a wave of his hand.

  "Master, you were just like that a few days ago..." Cao Yuan said with great discontent.

  "I'm your superior, I have the final say, hurry up and call him over." Liu Yuan said with a hint of displeasure.

  "Alas." Cao Yuan patted his thigh and walked out of the command center.

  In a short while, Wang Yaowu rushed in hastily, "Commander, is there any task? You can rest assured that I, Wang Yaowu, will definitely complete it for you."

  "Alright, now go and assassinate Wu Peifu for me." Liu Yuan said with a smile as he lit a cigarette for the staff officers around him.

  "Master, aren't you joking with me? Assassinating Wu Peifu, I don't have that ability either." Wang Yaowu said with a bitter face.

  "This is the end of it, no need to boast so much, having pride is good but keep it in your heart, when doing things still be careful and cautious, how many times have I told you, doesn't Captain Ye's confinement work?" Liu Yuan pointed at Wang Yaowu.

  "Master, I was wrong. Don't mention what happened with Captain Ye again. From now on, I'll definitely follow your example of being low-key in personal matters and high-profile in work." Wang Yaowu said with his head lowered.

  "Alright, don't be like a wronged wife, just remember. I'm telling you about the task you need to carry out, listen carefully."

  "Master, just say it, I'm almost anxious to death." Wang Yaowu said.

  "I heard that the independent regiment of the reserve team has already set off, but I don't know where they are going," Liu Yuan asked.

  "I was just thinking of going to Lin Biao's place for a chat, but I ended up at the Independent Regiment's camp instead. Not a single soul was there, though they say the regiment suffered heavy losses and has few people left. The principal doesn't expect them to fight any tough battles anyway, so they can go wherever they want," Wang Yaowu said nonchalantly.

  "I'm telling you, kid, don't be so muddle-headed. What kind of person is Ye Ting? Since he's disappeared, it's clear that he's found an opportunity to strike. I'm telling you, if we keep fighting in such a disorganized way, in the end we'll definitely become someone else's sacrificial pawns." Liu Yuan said with a tone of frustration.

  "Master, you're saying we've been used," Wang Yaowu said with clenched fists and gritted teeth.

  "If we continue to muddle along like this, it's the brainless ones who'll be taken advantage of. Take a look at the command center and see who looks brainless, aside from you." Liu Yuan said.

  Liu Yuan finished speaking, and the entire command center burst into laughter. Wang Yaowu also felt a bit embarrassed, "Commander, Yaowu knows his mistake, please hurry up and give us our orders."

  "If you were me, what would you order at this moment?" Liu Yuan asked.

  Wang Yaowu wasn't a pedantic person, but he used to have excellent grades and had developed an arrogant attitude. After being hit by Liu Yuan several times, he also knew that everything needs to be thought through carefully. Wang Yaowu thought for a moment before speaking up.

  "If I were you, I would order Wang Yaowu to lead a team of elite soldiers, cross mountains and rivers, bypass the enemy's front line, and directly cut off their rear."

  Liu Yuan nodded and said, "Not stupid, how many soldiers are in a squad?" Liu Yuan asked.

  "A thousand men, perhaps," Wang Yaowu thought for a moment, he was just a small military officer, saying too much, and he might not be able to bring that many himself.

  "Out of a thousand people, you think you're more capable than Ye Ting? He's an old veteran." Liu Yuan pointed out.

  "That's two thousand, our three divisions can't fight with many brothers, and more people, one is that the mountain road is not easy to walk, and secondly, my military rank is too low, I can't bring so many people." Wang Yaowu said awkwardly.

  "Knowing that my military rank is lower, I'll find Shou Shan and Yu Dong, each to bring 1,000 men, to give me a good fight, blast their butt, after the fight, I'll let you be a lieutenant colonel." Liu Yuan waved his hand, this matter was settled.

  Nie Rongzhen watched Wang Yaowu run out with a smile, his face filled with worry, "Can this kid do it? I don't think he can make the drop."

  "He can't do it, and there aren't many people who can. I can't let the officers from the first and second periods do everything. We have to give new people a chance to take charge. Otherwise, these newly graduated younger schoolmates will be dissatisfied with us older schoolmates."