Chapter 16: Relief of the Red 34th Division (Part 2)

  Just as Chen Shuxiang was preparing to die with the enemy, he suddenly heard a loud shout.

  "Commander, commander, good news, good news, our reinforcements have arrived, the reinforcements have arrived......" The excited voice woke up all the soldiers who were resting along the way.

  "What's the commotion. Can't you see that the warriors are resting? Look at you, what have you become?" Chen Shuxiang criticized the smiling staff officer in a weak voice.

  The young staff officer did not stop because of the instructor's criticism and excitedly said to the instructor.

  "Superiors, our reinforcements have arrived, the reinforcements have arrived, the Red Tenth Regiment has come to support us. We are saved..."

  Looking at the excited face of his chief of staff, Chen Shuxiang struggled to get up, and the chief of staff quickly supported his seriously injured division commander.

  "Superior, our reinforcements have arrived. It's the Red Tenth Regiment. They've come to support us. He is Liu Xiaogang, the leader of the reconnaissance platoon of the Red Tenth Regiment. He was just sent up to make contact."

  Chen Shuxiang saw a young warrior with a submachine gun on his back walking towards him and saluting.

  "Reporting to the commander, the reconnaissance platoon leader of the Red Tenth Regiment has been ordered to come and make contact. Our regimental commander is currently clearing a path and will arrive soon. Please order all soldiers to prepare for a breakout at any moment. Report complete."

  With a painful expression on his face, Chen Shuxiang finally cracked a smile. He waved his hand and said with difficulty:

  "Comrade Liu Xiaogang, what's going on here? We shouldn't have so many cannons, let alone cannonballs?"

  He finished speaking and looked at Liu Xiaogang with a puzzled expression.

  "Reporting to the superior, that is our captured enemy heavy artillery battalion. The regimental commander took down the enemy's heavy artillery battalion, hoping to attract the enemy's attention and draw them away, thereby opening up a passage to rescue the 34th Red Division..." Liu Xiaogang seriously told the bedridden division commander about the situation he knew.

  Chen Shizhang listened and the pain in his wound seemed to disappear. He immediately said, "Quickly, quickly tell me more, be specific."

  Liu Xiaogang told Commander Chen in detail about how he led his troops to rescue the 18th Regiment, capture the artillery position and other things.

  "Good! Good!... What a Liu Hua, with just one squad, actually annihilated so many enemies. It seems that the 34th Red Division is saved. Cough... cough..." After finishing speaking, he kept on coughing.

  "Chen Shilang, don't talk, rest well, our captain will be here soon." Liu Xiaogang said with concern as he looked at Chen Shuxiang's continuous coughing.

  "Squad leader, we've reached the enemy's position. There's a company of enemy troops ahead, preparing to have dinner." The deputy platoon leader of the scouting platoon whispered to Liu Hua.

  "Alright, continue scouting. When the enemy is having dinner, your scouting team will take out the enemy sentry, then Zhao Dahan will lead three battalions to surround them. Try not to use guns. Execute immediately," Liu Hua ordered.

  "Yes, Captain." The two of them quietly left Liu Hua.

  At this time, Chen Geming and Lao Sun scolded Chen Guangrong for being "unscrupulous".

  Chen Guangrong knew that the heavy artillery would be blown up in the end, so he fired desperately. When the enemy was far away, he used the heavy artillery to bombard them, and when they were close, he used mortars. It's worth noting that the Guangxi Army was really rich, with enough heavy artillery shells stored in the artillery position to waste a whole night, not to mention more mortar shells.

  Under Chen Guangrong's strict orders, the artillerymen loaded shells non-stop, fired, and retreated... The barrels turned red hot, and were doused with water, a painful sight for the artillerymen.

  Chen Guangrong didn't care about that much, except for leaving 12 mortars firing intermittently, all the big guns were continuously spewing out shells.

  Chen Guangrong was delighted, but Lao Sun and Chen Geming were not happy. Seeing that the front line of two or three hundred meters was almost completely covered with shells, dense shells kept falling among the crowd, every shell could stir up a bloody rain, but they still rushed forward desperately. What's the use of this?

  Under Chen Guangrong's dense artillery fire, few enemies could break through such a dense firepower network. Even if they broke through, it was not enough for Old Sun's two regiments to fill the gap.

  Some people say that the Gui Army is so stupid, yes, the Gui Army is not stupid, but Wang Zanbin gave them a death order. You know how much a person's life is worth now? As long as they win, there are weapons, and soldiers are caught in large numbers. They are afraid of not having soldiers, so they launch a charge regardless of everything.

  When the sixth battalion of the Gui Army was squatting on the ground eating dinner, they didn't know that danger had slowly descended upon them. Suddenly, countless soldiers emerged from the grass thickets around them, all holding rifles with sharp bayonets, and the shiny bayonets were all pointing at the Gui Army soldiers who were eating, shouting "Surrender your guns and we won't kill you, no one is allowed to move."

  The company commander of the Gui Army reacted quickly and immediately pulled out his pistol to resist. However, he was quick, but someone else's hand was quicker. The deputy platoon leader of the reconnaissance platoon rushed over and solved it with a single bayonet thrust.

  The remaining soldiers were quickly defeated and surrendered in the bloody lesson. Liu Hua immediately ordered the guard platoon to take the prisoners to find Chen Guangrong, letting them carry shells now. Liu Hua also learned from it, if someone has human resources but doesn't use them, that's foolish.

  Liu Hua, who had easily broken through the enemy's position, immediately met up with Liu Xiaogang, who had come to meet him. Under Liu Xiaogang's leadership, they soon found Commander Chen Shuxiang, who had been seriously injured.

  "Reporting to Commander Chen, the Red Tenth Regiment has arrived under the orders of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission to provide support. Please instruct." He then stood at attention in a standard military posture.

  Chen Shuxiang smiled and said weakly.

  "Commander Liu, you've worked hard. I...I represent the 34th Division...to thank you.....Now...I order....the entire 34th Division...all combatants...to listen to Commander Liu's command." After finishing speaking, he smiled and closed his eyes, as if his greatest wish had been fulfilled. Indeed, as the division commander, what he most wanted to do at this moment was to lead the remaining soldiers back, complete the task assigned by the Party Central Committee. Now that the task is completed, there's nothing left to cherish."

  "Liu Hua gazed quietly at the body of Chen Shu-xiang, his hands still clasped together in respect. He couldn't help but feel a silent sigh that he was unable to change the course of history for these people."

  Thinking of the gaze of his superiors before their death, Liu Hua felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier. The expectations of Commander Shen Shuqing, General Peng's expectations, the expectations of all the soldiers of the 18th Red Army, and now there is also the expectation of the 34th Division, he must muster up his spirit, and maybe there will be even more challenges waiting for him in the future. Liu Hua thought to himself quietly.

  He took a deep breath.

  "The entire Third Battalion will help the 34th Division bury the martyrs' bodies. I'm giving you only half an hour, and after half an hour, everyone gather here."

  After giving the order, he walked towards the young staff officer again and asked about the situation of the 34th Division. After Liu Hua inquired clearly, he fell silent again. All regimental and above cadres of the entire division were killed, leaving only a few company-level cadres, with less than two battalions of soldiers remaining.

  "The 34th Division has really suffered too much." Liu Hua sighed and thought about what to do next.

  Half an hour passed quickly, and looking at the hundreds of red army soldiers in front of him with tired faces, Liu Hua left tears.

  "Zhao Dahai, didn't we capture a battalion's worth of equipment? And what about the rations from that battalion? Bring them over immediately and let the soldiers replenish their ammo and energy. If it's not enough, there are also supplies captured during the rescue of the 18th Regiment down at the foot of the mountain, which can be put to good use now. Give you ten minutes to rest the soldiers, after that we set out. The first and second battalions down at the foot of the mountain are fighting desperately, we can't afford to waste any more time!"

  "Yes, Captain."

  Under the cover of night, a special team quietly infiltrated the Gui army. They were called special because there were too many wounded soldiers, with nearly 40 to 50 seriously injured ones, and many people were supporting each other. Although the pain from their wounds continued to torment them, not a single complaint or groan could be heard in the team, they were the Red 34th Division rescued by Liu Hua.

  Under the leadership of the reconnaissance platoon, Liu Hua quickly broke through the defensive positions of the Guangxi Army and met with the guard platoon that had come to meet them.

  Looking at the wounded being carried, listening to the distant continuous rumbling of artillery fire and intense gunfire, Liu Hua fell silent. If they marched with so many wounded, how could they shake off the enemy's pursuit?

  Looking at the team leader with a frown, Li Xiaolong, the captain of the guard squad, spoke up.

  "Squad leader, what's going on? Why aren't we continuing to retreat?"

  "We have so many wounded, our marching speed is too slow, the enemy will catch up soon, we must think of a way!"

  Squad leader Liu Hua sighed.

  "Squad leader, no problem, I'll help you solve it," Li Xiaolong said confidently and smiled mysteriously.

  "What's your trick! Tell me quickly..." Liu Hua asked hastily, looking at Li Xiaolong's mysterious appearance.

  "Captain, you forgot that we captured the enemy's heavy artillery battalion. Heavy artillery requires horses to pull it, don't you know? We captured over a hundred mules, and Colonel Chen left fifty horses to pull ammunition, leaving nearly a hundred remaining."

  When Liu Hua heard this, he couldn't help but laugh and praise Li Xiaolong for his progress, making Li Xiaolong feel embarrassed.

  With the help of nearly a hundred mules, under the leadership of Zhao Dahai, the commander of the third battalion, the Red 34 Regiment quickly disappeared from Liu Hua's sight.

  Liu Hua led the remaining guards and scouts to the artillery position, where they soon arrived at the artillery position. When Chen Guangrong personally opened fire, he saw a sea of flames in front of the infantry position, and very few enemies could break through the artillery attack on the 1st and 2nd battalions. Liu Hua knew that he had thought too much, with such momentum and firepower, even if the Guilin army came with more people, it would not be enough to blast them away.

  "It seems that having big guns is good, it's just a pity for these big guns." Liu Hua sighed as he looked at the cannons with red-hot barrels.

  Just then, Chen Guangrong walked over.

  "Report to the battalion commander, the artillery company is ordered to fire all heavy artillery shells, in an hour, all heavy artillery shells will be fired,"

  "How's the enemy's offensive going now?" Liu Hua asked, looking at Old Sun who came rushing over.

  "Captain, at the beginning of the attack, the enemy was very fierce, but they were all repelled by Captain Chen's artillery. Perhaps the enemy suffered too many casualties, now there are few enemies attacking, almost no infantry is needed, and the artillery alone can repel them."

  "Very well, now I order all troops to withdraw from their positions, taking away all mortar shells and one company's mortars, leaving behind the reconnaissance platoon and guard platoon..."

  Half an hour had passed. Liu Hua led the first and second battalions, escorting prisoners carrying shells, and had already left Xinwai for nearly five miles, while the direction of Xinwai was still filled with artillery fire at this time. What's going on?

  Looking at the hastily returning guard squad and reconnaissance squad, Old Sun and Chen Revolution asked curiously.

  It turned out that Liu Hua had not planned to blow up the cannons, just as Chen Guangrong said, these big guns would have basically expired even if they were not blown up. So Liu Hua did not take away the captured enemy artillerymen, of course, those who were willing to join the Red Army would still be taken away.

  After leaving the guard platoon and reconnaissance platoon behind, we told those captured artillerymen that our troops were hiding nearby, letting them continue firing. If anyone stopped, they would be shot dead on the spot. At first, there really were some who didn't care about their lives, but as soon as they stopped, they were killed by the Red Army guards hiding nearby. After a few artillerymen were killed, no one dared to try again and could only fire obediently.

  But Liu Xiaogang and Li Xiaolong slipped away quietly.

  While the Gui army was still watching the intense artillery fire, they did not dare to launch a fierce attack. After all, at the beginning of the fierce attack, they had already lost more than two regiments. They could only conduct exploratory attacks and would never have thought that their enemy, the Red Tenth Regiment, had long since withdrawn with captured ammunition.

  An hour had passed, and when the exhausted artillerymen finished firing their last rounds and sat down on the ground in exhaustion, the Guangxi Army also closed in. Looking at his own artillerymen lying all over the ground and the empty shell casings, Wang Zanbin plopped himself down on the ground, and just then even worse news arrived - the surrounded Communist troops had all disappeared without a trace.

  After hearing this series of rumors, Wang Zanbin was stunned and wondered what kind of person his opponent was. He couldn't help but sigh.