Chapter 18: A Busy Day 2

  Chen Haisong returned to his seat with a calm expression, fiddling with the security knife in his hand. He swept his gaze over the seated military officers, whose faces were filled with complex emotions, and asked in a low voice: "Anything else?"

  "I've said it before, we're all Chinese, no need for more bloodshed, you're brave and the Red Army are also good men."

  The Red Army has no historical hatred towards the Ma clan, and we have no prejudice against the Islam you believe in. The Hui commander of the Xunhua militia, Han, and his nearly 200 men stayed with me for four days, I respected their national beliefs and living habits, and never did anything to embarrass them.

  I also hope that our two armies can get along harmoniously, and not be blinded by rumors and prejudices, only to end up in a mutually destructive situation. What good would it do for your organization, your families, or the entire nation?

  "There are many ways to wage war, it's just that you haven't experienced them. The tactic we used to occupy Zhangye was disguise and surprise attack. Because we made a meticulous plan, made sufficient preparations, and took advantage of your carelessness and laxity, we succeeded in one move."

  Since you have failed, face reality and admit defeat. Is it useful to be disgruntled? I promised earlier that we are civilized teachers, not as brutal as you, and will not harm you without reason.

  "Just ask you all to calm down, have a good rest, stay away from the battlefield and don't disturb our reorganization."

  "I can also tell you a piece of information, I brought the Red Ninth Army Independent Regiment into Zhangye, there were over 1,200 people at that time. Now they have joined the captured Red Army, and there are already 4,000 Red Army soldiers in Zhangye City. It's better for everyone to be more obedient."

  Several battalion commanders stayed in the headquarters to play cards with Battalion Commander Ma and Deputy Director Yan, chat, and drink tea.

  "Company commanders, please proceed to the East Drill Ground immediately. Your troops are estimated to have arrived there. Please restrain your subordinates and allow them to rest freely within the designated area as long as they do not gather in crowds or cause trouble. For food and supplies, please contact the management team for collection."

  Rushed to the 600th Regiment's First Battalion headquarters, it was already noon. Due to the tight deployment, all levels of leaders were called away under the pretext of a meeting. Li Yi led the guard platoon into the battalion area, blew the whistle to assemble the first battalion and machine gun company, announced the regimental commander's order, and immediately rushed to the East Sports Ground without encountering any trouble.

  The people left the building empty, leaving behind all weapons and equipment. The second battalion of the first regiment has already entered and is reorganizing the troops, mainly with the original first regiment's second company, adding more than 180 captured comrades to form three companies. The regiment commander is the former deputy regiment commander He Dacheng.

  "Old He, how are these new warriors?"

  They were all originally from various main force units, with rich combat experience and strong willpower. However, many people's physical condition was poor, and their physical fitness was not suitable for long-distance marching and fighting. I think they need to recover for at least 3 more days.

  "There are many people who used to use big knives and long spears, but have never used guns, so shooting techniques still need to be trained."

  The battles are too frequent, the warriors are all exhausted, and the training can't keep up. With so many new recruits added, it will also bring problems to command. The independent regiment really needs a good rest for a few days, and each department can take the opportunity to sort out the command system and train individual combat skills.

  The headquarters can also carefully plan the future combat plan. Thinking of this, Chen Haisong declined He Dacheng's request for dinner and returned to the 599th Brigade's residence with his guard class.

  At this time, the garrison of the 599th Regiment was already the garrison of the directly affiliated troops of the Independent Division. The other regiments had moved to various camps in the city according to the combat deployment of the headquarters, continuing to disguise themselves as soldiers of the Luhua Militia and the 600th Regiment, taking on the task of guarding the city gates, granaries, ammunition depots, and hospitals.

  A large number of civilians are still being used, all kinds of materials are being cleared out, and the wounded have been sent to hospital for treatment.

  Zhangye City implemented military control, only allowing entry and not exit. All troops who came to receive supplies were disarmed by the Intelligence Section and Security Section comrades, who interrogated them about their unit number, personnel numbers, weapons and equipment, and place of residence, summarized the information, and then sent them to rest at Dongxiao Square.

  The guard troops dispatched troops to patrol the streets and stabilize social order.

  The reconnaissance company then controlled the county government, county party committee, police station and other office locations, sending these officials as well as Wei Shanggong, the head of Ma Bufang's 100th Division Armory Department, Qi Yongheng, the head of the Military Medical Department, and others to the 600th Regiment headquarters where they played cards and drank tea with Ma Quanyi, while lower-level personnel continued to work normally.

  The entire Zhangye City has been completely controlled by the Independent Division.

  Chen Haisong visited the female soldiers' camp, kindly comforting them and instructing Guo Chunlian to ensure everyone's material and cultural life was well arranged. He told her to talk with everyone more often, organize singing activities, dispel the concerns and war shadows in the hearts of the female soldiers, complete reorganization as soon as possible, and form initial self-defense and combat capabilities.

  From now on, female soldiers will no longer be sent to the front line for combat, mainly undertaking relatively safe tasks such as logistics guard, medical care and internal duty.

  Guo Chunlian was grateful to the young military commander from the moment she was rescued, and seeing the troops develop and grow rapidly under his leadership in occupying Zhangye, she admired him extremely.

  Now I feel the leader's care and love for the female soldiers again, ensuring that they will take good care of the troops.

  Chen Haisong happily had dinner with the female soldiers and sang a military song "Green Flowers in the Army" which made the female soldiers' eyes brim with tears, then he quickly sang another stirring and majestic "March of the Liberation Army" to stir up everyone's emotions.

  Forward forward forward

  Our team is like the sun

  Standing on the motherland's soil

  Shouldering the hopes of the nation

  We are an invincible force

  We are the children of workers and peasants

  We are the people's armed forces

  Fearless and never surrendering, bravely fighting

  Eliminate those reactionaries completely

  Chairman Mao's flag is waving high

  The wind is howling, the military horn is sounding

  How glorious is the sound of revolutionary songs

  Comrades marching in step towards the battlefield of liberation

  Comrades march in step towards the anti-Japanese front

  Forward, forward, our troops march towards the sun and the final victory

  Liberation throughout the country

  The stirring melody and powerful lyrics immediately attracted the female soldiers, who all wanted to learn it. Chen Haisong had no choice but to sing a few more times, and by the time he left, "The PLA March" was echoing in the military camp with great accuracy.

  At the command center, Zhang Zhenyu was summarizing various data with Liu Gang, Wang Chunsheng, Lü Dakui and Huang Shiying. Zhu Liangcheng, Li Kangqiang and Peng Zhenrui were summarizing the captured materials. The sound of abacus was endless, new intelligence kept coming in, and it was a scene of hustle and bustle.

  Chen Haisheng hinted at everyone to continue, and then stared at the enemy's battlefield situation map to think.

  According to the enemy's military intelligence report obtained from the 600th Regiment headquarters yesterday, and the testimony of the logistics unit captured outside the city today, the enemy's main force is currently concentrated near Nijiaoying, more than 50 miles northwest of Zhangye.

  There were more than 15,000 regular troops of the Qinghai Ma Bufang's 6th Cavalry Division with 12 regiments.

  Including 100 divisions of Korean troops, infantry 300 brigade 599 regiment

  Ma Buqing's 298th Brigade: 595 Ma Huarong Regiment, 596 Liu Chengde Regiment

  Ma Jirong's 299th Brigade Ma Debiao's 597 Regiment, Ma Yu's 598 Regiment

  Ma Pu's Cavalry Brigade's Ma Zhongyi's 2nd Regiment

  Ma Biao's Hainan Cavalry First Brigade Ma Yuanxiang's First Regiment and Ma Zhan Cheng's Second Regiment

  Ma Yuanhai's Hainan Cavalry 2nd Brigade rolled into Huaiyuan County and the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, led by Li Zengyun's 2nd Regiment

  Ma Yulung's pistol corps and Ma Guowu's artillery corps.

  Gansu Wuwei Ma Buqing's 5th Division of 3 brigades and 9 regiments with over 14,000 men.

  Including Ma Lu's Cavalry First Brigade, Wei Zhen's First Regiment, and Ma Zonglin's Second Regiment.

  Han Qi's 2nd Cavalry Brigade: Min Dehui's 1st Regiment Ma Changqing's 2nd Regiment

  Qī Míng Shān's infantry brigade Ma Rú Lín First Regiment Ma Jìn Chāng Second Regiment

  Ma Chengxiang's pistol team, Han Rongfu's artillery team and Ma Zigao's engineer team.

  In addition to the regular army of Ma Buqing and Ma Quanyi that we annihilated, there are still about 30,000 troops left. The local militia has around 80,000 to 90,000 people, totaling over 100,000. The enemy still holds an advantageous position.

  Through conversations with Ma Quanyi, it was learned that the Ma family army often fought by letting the militia repeatedly charge in front, consuming our troops' personnel and ammunition, and only sending out regular troops to fight at the last moment.

  Since entering Hexi, although our army has eliminated nearly 10,000 enemies, Ma Bufang's regular troops have not suffered greatly.

  The enemy also has a huge militia force. If we engage in a war of attrition with him, it is impossible to shake his foundation and make him retreat.

  Although there are 4,000 people here, and the grain and grass materials have been temporarily controlled, the mobility is poor, the body has not recovered, and the regimental tactics have not been trained, it is difficult to launch a mobile warfare.

  The enemy will discover the anomaly in Zhangye within 3 days, and as long as they dispatch 20,000 militia, they can surround us. Then, whether it's from Qinghai via the Flatan Pass or from Wuwei and Lanzhou, we can still be constantly supplied with reinforcements, but we will still end up being split up, consumed, and annihilated.

  If a clear and effective battle plan is not produced soon, and the enemy's important but weak link is not found, all previous efforts will be in vain.