Chapter Seventeen: Reorganization on the East Coast

  "Squad leader, you said that this time we not only completed the task, but also captured so many artillery and weapons. If the regiment commander knew about it, he would definitely be overjoyed." Chen Guangrong, who was already the battalion commander of the artillery battalion, looked at the cannons on the horses and the prisoners' backs, and smiled as he spoke to Liu Hua.

  "You said you're all grown up, but you still have the same carefree and smiling face as before. What kind of state is this? If you keep going on like this, I'll have to dismiss you." Liu Hua said harshly, looking at his excited expression.

  "No, no! Captain, I've only been in office for two days......" Looking at Chen Guangrong's appearance, Liu Hua couldn't help but laugh. He didn't bother with him again and climbed up a small hill by the side of the road.

  Raising the binoculars, he saw a patch of crimson by the riverbank. It seemed that General Peng was still there, Liu Hua thought to himself. He took another look at the rear of the troops and found it pitch black. Liu Hua smiled and said to Li Xiaolong, the squad leader of the escort team following him.

  "It seems that Wang Zanbin has been intimidated by us and doesn't dare send troops to pursue us anymore, haha..."

  "Horseback orders to the troops, gather torches, speed up the march, must arrive at the river before dawn," Li Xiaolong responded and left.

  Before long, an hour had passed and Liu Xiaogang, the platoon leader of the reconnaissance platoon that had been leading the way for the troops, ran to Liu Hua's side.

  "Reporting to team leader, I heard gunshots ahead by the river. I didn't dare to startle them, and judging from the density of the shots, there should be quite a few people engaged in battle."

  After listening to Liu Xiaogang's report, Liu Hua didn't dare hesitate and immediately ordered.

  "Go and investigate the situation immediately, and report back to me after you have a clear understanding of it."

  Watching the departing figure, Liu Hua fell into deep thought. After all, the floating bridge was blown up just today, and the battle by the river was the last fight between the international brigade left on the east bank and the enemy. Could fate really be playing tricks on him, leaving him here? Thinking of this, Liu Hua felt a wave of despair.

  Looking at the wounded soldiers passing by in front of him, those were all soldiers of the 34th Division. Seeing them go through fierce battles, although they suffered heavy casualties, they still marched forward with high morale. Looking at these spirited soldiers, Liu Hua seemed to be moved as well.

  What's there to be afraid of? Now I have several thousand troops, earlier I didn't dare reorganize the army, now that we've lost contact with the Central Committee, those troops after reorganization, plus all these captured weapons, will definitely become an elite force again. With so many people, what's there to fear about not being able to carve out our own territory? At worst, we can always return to Jinggangshan and wage guerrilla warfare. Thinking of this, Liu Hua lifted his head and walked forward.

  "Comrade commander, comrade commander, it's clear now. We've caught a prisoner who says they're from the 112th Regiment of the Central Army and are attacking the remaining few hundred men of the International Division. The International Division can't hold on much longer. Behind the International Division there are still several hundred scattered Red Army soldiers, many of whom are from the Eighth Route Army... But... but..." Liu Xiaogang hung his head in despair, unable to continue speaking.

  It seems that his own expectations have become a reality, Liu Hua patted Xiaogang's shoulder and said.

  "Wasn't the pontoon bridge blown up?" Liu Hua asked coldly.

  Liu Xiaogang nodded. Looking at Xiaogang's disheartened face, Liu Hua knew he had to perk up and set an example for the soldiers.

  "Xiao Gang, do you believe me?"

  Liu Xiaogang nodded, still without a hint of expression.

  "If you believe in me, then cheer up. What's the worst that could happen? The pontoon bridge was blown up, so what? We can retreat back to our base. With so many of us and with such abundant ammunition, what is there to be afraid of? Believe me, I will definitely lead everyone out of here." Liu Hua said seriously.

  "Squad leader, I trust you. At worst, we can return to Jinggangshan and fight a guerrilla war." Xiaogang raised his head, no longer discouraged, and said steadily.

  Seeing Liu Xiaogang quickly recover from his depression, Liu Hua was delighted.

  "Alright, go and call over a few battalion commanders, we'll have a brief meeting."

  You should all know by now that we are trapped on the east coast, let's discuss what to do next. Liu Hua looked at the silent crowd and broke the silence.

  "Squad leader, you say it! We'll all listen to you,"

  "Whatever you say, Captain, go ahead," Chen Guangrong echoed after hearing Chen Geming's words.

  "Alright, I think we should rescue all the troops on the East Coast, the more people the better. That way, we'll have enough forces to break through the siege and fight our way back to base, coordinate with Central's breakout, and then find a way to contact the radio station and get in touch with Central for further instructions."

  "I agree," said Lao Sun first.

  "Agree" "Agree".....

  Soon, several people who attended the meeting agreed.

  "Alright, since everyone agrees, I order Old Sun to lead the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions to rescue the trapped International Division. Remember, you must annihilate the enemy completely, do not let them send out any information. Chen Guangrong will lead the artillery to gather all the scattered Red Army troops, we will reorganize soon. The scouting team will disperse and ride on the horses of the wounded soldiers, report immediately if you discover any enemy situation. All prisoners are handed over to the 34th Division for custody, the 34th Division should take this opportunity to rest well, after reorganization, they can go into battle. The guard platoon follows me, execute immediately."

  "Yes!" everyone shouted in unison.

  The battle of the International Brigade was quickly ignited and soon ended, thoroughly fought. After three regiments surrounded the 112th Regiment, all firepower opened fire at once, and in an instant, more than half of the 112th Regiment fell. The three regiments rushed up immediately, and soon this regiment collapsed. More than a hundred remaining people surrendered.

  As the battlefield slowly quieted down, nearly a thousand tattered Red Army soldiers stood before Liu Hua after being rounded up by the guard platoon. It was clear that the Red Army troops in front of him could be divided into three groups: those with faces covered in gunpowder were definitely from the International Division, which had just come down from the battlefield, numbering over 300; those with dull expressions, some not even carrying guns, must be the scattered soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, the largest group, with nearly 500 people. The last group, however, left Liu Hua perplexed - they were all old Red Army veterans in their thirties, numbering almost a hundred.

  Looking at the soldiers in front of him, Liu Hua said loudly, "Now I reorganize you with the identity of the Red Tenth Regiment Commander. Is there anyone who disobeys?"

  Looking at the silent warriors in front of me.

  "Now I order all cadres at or above company level or who have ever held positions at or above company level to step forward."

  Soon, several warriors stood out from the Internationalist side, all of whom were company-level cadres. The Eighth Army had even fewer, and it was estimated that all the cadres had been killed in battle. What struck Liu Hua as strange was that nearly half of the old soldiers had stood out.

  Yu Hongyi Army Corps Commander Gao Yuan, Yu Hong Sanjun Deputy Commander Wang Nanhu, Yu Hong Wu Jun Deputy Commander Chen Dazhong, Yu Hong Ba Jun Divisional Deputy Political Commissar Li Qing...

  After listening to these people's reports, Liu Hua was stunned immediately. What kind of people are they? My god!

  Watching the team leader fall into a daze again, Old Sun reminded him "Team Leader, those people were demoted due to the rectification campaign and don't know how they didn't cross the river."

  "Now, I command: Gaoyuan is the commander of the 4th Regiment of the Red Tenth Division, with Hong 34 and other remaining troops under his command. Wang Nanhu is the commander of the 5th Regiment of the Red Tenth Division, with the remaining troops of the International Brigade under his command, supplemented by 200 troops from the remnants of the Eighth Army Corps. Zhao Dahai's Third Regiment will also be supplemented by 200 troops from the remnants of the Eighth Army Corps. Chen Dazhong is appointed as the commander of the Sixth Regiment, composed of the remaining 100 troops and personnel from the Eighth Army Corps, as well as all Red Army cadres who are willing to participate. The guard platoon and reconnaissance platoon will be formed by selecting troops from each regiment, and a guard company and reconnaissance company will be established. You have half an hour to reorganize your troops, select squad leaders, and appoint deputy positions. All personnel must be equipped with sufficient ammunition from the captured weapons and ammunition. Half an hour later, assemble, and I want to see seven main regiments with high morale."

  "Yes, resolutely complete the task." All the appointed cadres shouted in unison.

  After finishing speaking, he came to Li Qing's side, "Li Zhengwei, can you take on the role of acting political commissar at the regimental headquarters? From the time I was appointed regiment commander, the Red Tenth Regiment has never had a political commissar, can it be done?" After saying this, he looked at Li Qing.

  Li Qing was originally still unhappy that Liu Hua did not arrange a high position for him, but when he saw Liu Hua personally finding him and asking him to be the political commissar of the regiment, how could he not be excited?

  "Squad leader, since you trust me so much, I will definitely cooperate with your work and be a good deputy platoon commander." Li Qing replied excitedly.

  Looking at the troops that had just been reorganized in front of him, Liu Hua was like a dream come true. This was six infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and two directly affiliated companies (short of a reconnaissance platoon). Each infantry regiment was fully manned with 500 people, and the entire division had more than 3,500 people. This was not just two main force divisions of the Red Army.

  When it comes to firepower, it's even more unimaginable. Due to the large number of captured weapons, each infantry company has a light machine gun, and the firepower battalion includes an artillery company with 12 mortars, two heavy machine gun companies with 12 guns each, and ample ammunition. There are so many shells that they can't be fired off, and each person still has 100 rounds of bullets left over... Looking at the entire Red Army, a division's firepower is not as good as Liu Hua's Red Tenth Regiment, except for heavy firepower, in terms of light firepower, it's only better than a Central Army division.

  Looking at the warriors in front of him, Liu Hua was stunned. Li Qing was also stunned, is this still a brigade?

  "Comrades, I am Liu Hua, the commander of the Red Tenth Regiment. Many of you must have heard of the Tenth Regiment! We annihilated four enemy regiments at Gulingtou, and then together with the Eleventh Regiment, we destroyed a division of the Central Army, including one regiment. Just yesterday, we annihilated two regiments of the Guangxi Army, and just now, we annihilated another regiment of the Central Army. You must find it hard to believe what I'm saying! But I tell you, it's all true. Look at the rifles and bullets in your hands... those were all captured over the past two days. I'm not boasting about our achievements, but I want to say that originally we had only a little over 1,000 men, and we lacked ammunition, yet we still won battles. Today? We have more than 3,500 men, with fine weapons and ample ammunition. What are we afraid of? Is it just being surrounded by tens of thousands of people? Is it just that we're all stuck on the east bank of the Xiang River? So what's the big deal? At worst, we can just fight our way back to our base."

  Looking at the silent warriors below, Liu Hua shouted loudly

  "Comrades, are you willing to sit here and wait for the enemy to come and capture us?"

  "Unwilling!" Looking at the warriors with different answers, Liu Hua shouted again "Answer me loudly, willing or unwilling."

  Unwilling

  "Alright, none of you are willing, comrades, do any of you have confidence in following me back to our base and rebuilding our home?"

  Exist

  .........

  Seeing the morale of the warriors being mobilized by Liu Hua's words, Li Qing was thoroughly convinced. His partner not only had a broad mind and knew how to fight, but also did ideological work so fiercely. It seemed that he needed to learn more in the future.