Chapter 23 is over

  At half past eleven, the green and white flag of the Fourth Workers' Militia Regiment of Luchuan appeared in the sight of the sentry outside Dong Shili Village.

  A horse from the River State galloped over, and as it approached, it suddenly stopped short. A young man of medium build jumped off the horse and said, "I am Ge Hu," before the sentry could even ask a question.

  The sentry hastily saluted and fawned, saying "Tiger Camp Commander has arrived, why bring so many people?"

  "Some of them are civilian porters sent by Captain Ma to transport supplies, and the rest are from our militia. I heard that the Red Bandits have been heading south recently, so I'm worried that the command post is undermanned and not safe enough, which is why I brought people over to help you defend it."

  "Where is the commander now? I want to go see him." The Tiger Tuanzhang was a good friend and guest of the commanding officer, so the sentry didn't dare to be slow and led the Xunhua Militia into the village.

  Chen Haisong was obviously very concerned about the village's defense, and he inquired in detail about the command post, the second battalion of the Second Cavalry Brigade, the garrison locations of the four battalions, the specific number of personnel, and their equipment. He asked even more detailed questions about other troops stationed nearby, including their numbers, distances, and personnel.

  After inquiring about the specific location of the warehouse, the number of guards and their armaments, let those who are transporting supplies go directly over.

  He called several battalion commanders of the people's militia, discussed in a low voice for a while, and let four battalions that followed him leave ten people behind, and the others went to various camps to strengthen their defenses, without any mistakes.

  After sending everyone away, he followed the sentry into the command post set up in a small temple outside the village. The ten people who came with him rested and waited outside.

  Chen Haisong had just entered the temple gate when he met Ma Xiao, the commander of the vanguard brigade's guard company. Ma Xiao and Chen Haisong had clashed before, but they had also gained each other's respect. Now, seeing that Ma Yuanhai held this tiger-like commander in high esteem, Ma Xiao hastened to pay his respects, and the two men walked hand in hand to the front of a small temple hall.

  Ma Xuan went in to report, and after a moment, Ma Yuanhai walked out with a smile on his face: "Rare guest, rare guest, why did you come uninvited today?" As he spoke, he led Chen Haisong into the hall.

  Chen Haisong said respectfully: "Captain Ma wants to send a batch of supplies over, I heard that the main force of the Red Bandits is heading south, and they want to escape eastward. I'm afraid the command post doesn't have enough troops, so I brought a battalion from the Luchuan militia to help out after it had been replenished and restored. I didn't ask for permission beforehand, please instruct me, Commander."

  Ma Yuanhai was delighted to say: "Since you've come, let's get down to business. Actually, I'm transferring your troops to Zhangye for rest and reorganization, but also to borrow your strength to reinforce the city defense of Zhangye. Zhangye is crucial to us, we can't afford to lose it."

  "The Luohua Min Tuan has recovered two or more regiments, but this time I only brought one regiment with me, and the others were handed over to General Ma. The city walls of Zhangye are solid, the defensive fortifications are perfect, and there are heavy weapons, so the Red Bandits dare not approach."

  "Don't be slack, a thousand people from Ma Bu's army are guarding Du Jia Bao, fully armed with guns and cannons, all were killed by Chen Hai Song. This group of fierce bandits now have guns and cannons, may still ride horses, their whereabouts are uncertain, you should still be vigilant."

  "When I first encountered them, I felt that they were just able to fight desperately, but hadn't seen so many heavy weapons? At the time, I judged that they might have gone to join the main force of the Red Bandits, and didn't expect them to still be near Linze. The battle report said two cavalry brigades went, and it's estimated that this time they won't be able to escape."

  "I'm afraid they'll use guerrilla tactics on us, hit and run, leaving us unaware of their whereabouts. The Japanese are experts at this kind of warfare, it's the Reds' specialty."

  "I heard that the main force of the Red Bandits has been surrounded in Xidunbao, it seems that the Red Bandits are at a dead end. Fighting in the open wilderness is not their strong point after all."

  "I hope all departments can work together, don't let them scatter and be surrounded, slowly draining their blood. In this cold and snowy weather with little food and clothing, the Red Bandits' days won't be easy. I'm afraid our troops will get impatient, underestimate the enemy, and charge forward recklessly, falling into their trap."

  Just then, a staff officer rushed in and reported to the commander: "The front line has sent an urgent telegram that Ma Yulong's pistol team has entered the red bandit's position and is now engaged in fierce battle." Chen Haisong hastily asked: "Have the follow-up troops caught up?"

  "The rest of the troops are defending in place, waiting for Ma's cavalry to disrupt the enemy formation and force them to retreat before pursuing and annihilating them."

  "One team is afraid that it's not enough? There are still more than 10,000 soldiers in the Red Bandit array who can fight. If the Ma Team breaks into the hinterland and forms a siege, there will be no rescue, and it's likely to be difficult to escape."

  "The cavalry regiment is the elite of the 100th Division, all are cavalrymen, well-equipped. The Red Bandits' exhausted troops have no way to stop them." The staff officer said confidently.

  At this time, a bell sound came from the village, accompanied by a strange chanting voice, it was time to do "Zhong Li".

  Ma Yuanhai smiled at Chen Haisong: "Elder Hu, we're going to pray, you're a Han Chinese, don't go, rest here." After finishing speaking, he walked out the door, Ma Xiao handed him a copper pot for ablution before prayer. The others helped each other complete the ablution and walked out of the small temple. On an open space, dozens of people from the headquarters stood behind a military imam, facing west in devout attention. Following the imam, they recited in unison, bowed, knelt on a small woolen mat to kowtow, then sat on the mat to read scriptures.

  Perhaps they thought this was the rear, without any combat threat, and the guards had all gone to attend worship. Chen Haisheng looked around in each room of the small temple, all empty, called ten reconnaissance company soldiers into the small temple, collected the weapons from each room together, put them in the radio room, two soldiers were responsible for guarding, two people covered outside the temple, and six people inside dispersed around the empty space of the small temple.

  About half an hour later, the worship service ended, and Ma Yuanhai and Ah Ke walked in chatting, with others following behind them slowly entering the courtyard.

  Two Red Army soldiers outside returned to the front of the temple and made a gesture towards the inside. The Red Army soldiers in various parts of the temple drew their pistols and drove the command personnel who wanted to return to work back to the middle empty space from all directions.

  Ma Yuanhai found the situation unusual and looked around, staring at Chen Haisong angrily and shouted: "Gǎ hǔ, what are you doing? If you commit a crime against your superior, it will be punished by exterminating the whole family."

  Chen Haisong slowly walked up to him and said, "The Tiger had already fallen in battle outside the ancient village of Linze City, and the Longhua Upper Fourth Workers' Militia was also annihilated in that battle. The ones who have been flying the flag of the Longhua Upper Fourth Workers' Militia all along are actually the Red Ninth Army Independent Regiment, which annihilated them. I am the commander of this regiment, Chen Haisong, Political Commissar of the Red Ninth Army."

  "Are you Chen Haisong? Then Ma Buqing's troops were also destroyed by your hands?"

  Seeing the other nodding, Ma Yuanhai suddenly asked: "What about Zhangye? How is Zhangye?"

  "Zhangye is all good, still the logistics supply base of Ma's army, various materials are constantly being sent. You know, Zhu Shaoliang brought a full set of equipment for a second-class division under the order of Chairman Chiang, with 4,000 rifles, 24 mortars, and 300 light and heavy machine guns, really generous."

  I have used them to arm the Red Army soldiers captured by you, nearly 3,000 people, who are now resting and training in Zhangye City, and will soon recover.

  Your people are all good, just invite Ma Quanyi, Nian Guangyuan, Wei Shanggong, Qi Yongheng and the officials of the county party committee and the county government to drink tea and play cards at the General Army Headquarters, and ask the brothers of the 600th Regiment to sleep and rest in the East School Field.

  "It was just that group of people under Ma Buqing, they really weren't human. The whole group of us female warriors who were captured, I got angry and killed them all, because I felt they were worse than beasts, and living would be a waste of food."

  Ma Yuanhai sighed and said, "Alas, it's all over, it's all over."

  I should have thought of it earlier, how could a young man in his twenties possibly become the leader of a civilian defense corps?

  How can a battalion commander like you have such a broad and far-sighted strategic vision?

  How is it possible to grasp so many domestic and foreign materials?

  Are you speaking Linxia dialect with an outsider's accent?

  Alas, I was blinded by your military bearing and martial demeanor, giving you the order to rest in Zhangye, providing you with a voucher for supplies, allowing you to march freely under the bright sky, and making long-distance raids to seize Zhangye City.

  With just these few people, you think you can take down all of us?

  As long as you dare to fire a shot, troops from both inside and outside the village will come to rescue. As long as one person runs out, my tens of thousands of troops can besiege Zhangye City to death and take it back, making it hard for you to fly away.

  "You think that with just a few thousand defeated soldiers in your hands, you can turn the tables against an army of over a million? You underestimate us."

  As he spoke, his hands behind his back beckoned, and he suddenly pounced on Chen Haisong, who was standing in front of him with empty hands and a short stature.

  Chen Haisong knew he had a strong martial arts background, was tall and powerful, and was cunning and intelligent by nature, so he must have had an ulterior motive. He met Ma Yuanhai's fake punch with a left shift of his body, and sure enough, Ma Xiao, who was on the left, stabbed over with a short knife in his hand.

  Ma Yuanhai moved, and the others also got up. Those who could fight bravely rushed towards the Red Army soldiers around them. The staff, clerks, and logistics personnel looked for gaps to rush out wildly. Some people wanted to run out of the temple gate, but saw two shotgun muzzles coldly pointing at them, so they retreated back into the courtyard. They wanted to run back to their rooms to find weapons, but the scene was chaotic.

  Thank you for your attention, everyone. I've been quite busy with work and can barely manage two updates, please forgive me.