Chapter 61: The Battle of Cili (Part 2)

  Liu Hua told the political commissar about his thoughts before sending the telegram to General He.

  "Alright, Commissar, if that's the case, then our base of operations will have to be doubled in size. This way, when the enemy army surrounds and annihilates our base, we'll have more room to maneuver." The commissar slammed his hand on the table after hearing the commander's analysis, startling Liu Hua.

  "Commissar, calm down, take a look at this telegram from General He." As he spoke, he handed over a telegram.

  "Good! Commander of the Legion, you actually set an ambush for me," said the political commissar with a smile after reading the telegram.

  "Wait, Commissar, how dare I? Isn't this what you called me back to discuss? Hehe, Commissar, last night I've already sent out the cavalry company to scout out enemy movements around Zili. Today at dawn, the whole division set out. I had Li Qing bring up the rear with the captured supplies and ammunition. What do you think?" Liu Hua said to the commissar.

  "Well, I think it's okay, when will the Third and Second Divisions take action?" The political commissar asked, raising his head.

  "Director, where is Xue Yue now? Where is the position of the Second Division?" Liu Hua asked, spreading out a captured map.

  "Xue Yue entered Shimenqiao today, he should have known that Changde has been taken by us. Today's afternoon offensive was very fierce, the Second Division is between Shimenqiao and Changde, I don't know the specific location either?" The political commissar said, pointing at the map.

  "Leave a camp of troops on the plateau, tomorrow harass the enemy all the way, and the main force will advance directly to Cili. We will advance tomorrow morning, how about that?"

  "I agree, haha, it's been a few days since I've seen General He, and now I can finally see him again!" The political commissar burst out laughing.

  At dawn on the second day, the three divisions inside the city began to take action, replenishing ammunition and dry rations. At the same time, Liu Hua also received a telegram from the reconnaissance battalion's cavalry company.

  "According to reconnaissance, Chen Quzhen led the main force of two divisions to retreat to Shimen for rest and reorganization, with approximately 25,000 people in two divisions. There were about 3,800 garrison troops in Cili, and the garrisons in several nearby towns were each a battalion."

  After reading the telegram, Liu Hua immediately asked the telegraph operator to forward the telegram to General He who was on his way to Cili. Before long, a reply from General He arrived: "We will meet at Yanbo Ferry."

  After reading the telegram, Liu Hua hastily called over the political commissar to discuss their next route of march.

  "Commissar, General He wants to meet with us at Yanbo Ferry, haha, it seems we need to get there first. Just now I received a telegram from Commander Sun, they are only 40 li away from Cili and will arrive in just a few hours of marching. It seems we need to change our battle plan!" Liu Hua said to the commissar who had rushed over.

  "Alright! Let's do it this way, have one division send a regiment to take down Yanbai Ferry, and then dispatch another regiment to coordinate with the first one in a radial sweep, clearing out the surrounding enemy forces. Then, let another regiment keep an eye on the enemy forces at Cili." The political commissar said, looking at the map on the table.

  "Yes, I agree, Comrade Li. Send a telegram to General Sun according to the Political Commissar's intention." Liu Hua ordered after a moment of thought.

  "Let's go, Commissar, we should also set off." Liu Hua said to the soldiers who were organizing the command post.

  The two men walked out of the command post together, riding war horses and catching up with the three divisions heading towards Zili.

  "Commander, telegram from the Military Department." The communications officer handed Sun Xingbang a telegram. Sun Xingbang took a glance and looked at the unfolded map.

  "Order the First Regiment to turn towards Yungping and annihilate the enemy garrison. The Second Regiment will advance on Lungtan River, annihilating the garrison, remember to quietly eliminate the enemy garrison without letting them send out a distress signal, cut off their telephone lines first. The Third Regiment will continue to advance in the direction of Tzuli, your mission is to monitor the Tzuli garrison, report any situation to me immediately, bring a radio station with you, I'll follow the First Regiment's advance." Sun Hsing-pang finished giving orders and led the guard company and other direct units to rush towards the First Regiment.

  After an afternoon of marching, they finally arrived near Yanbo Ferry at five o'clock and met with the scouts from the Reconnaissance Battalion's cavalry company who had come to meet them.

  "Zhou Lianchang, how's the enemy situation at Yan Bo Du?" Sun Xingbang didn't bother with small talk and directly asked about the enemy situation.

  "Reporting to superiors, there is a battalion of garrison troops inside, no radio station, and only three heavy machine guns as heavy weapons." Captain Zhou hastily reported the situation he knew.

  To quietly take down an entire battalion, Sun Xingbang first thought of the reconnaissance company and guard company beside him. "Director Zhou, how many people are there in your reconnaissance battalion?" Sun Xingbang set his sights on the reconnaissance battalion.

  "Reporting to Commander Sun, there is only one row of troops here. Are there any tasks?"

  Sun Xingbang smiled when he heard the strength of a row, to know that the reconnaissance camp was the best soldier in the whole army, they should be very familiar with the terrain here, with their help, they can quietly annihilate the defending army.

  "Zhou Lianchang, can you lead our reconnaissance company and guard company to sneak up on the enemy and annihilate them quietly?" Sun Xingbang looked at Zhou Lianchang.

  "Yes, I guarantee to complete the task."

  "Alright, I order that the whole battalion, except for the reconnaissance platoon, surround the town and seal it off. From now on, only entry is allowed, no exit. The guard company, reconnaissance company, and the reconnaissance platoon of the first battalion will be led by a squad from the guard regiment to sneak into the town, striving to annihilate the enemy silently, preferably without firing a shot." As soon as Sun Xingbang finished giving the order, each unit immediately began to move.

  After two hours of preparation, it was already dark, and the surroundings were pitch black, with no sound at all. Zhou Lianchang led his own squad and the guard squad to sneak to the entrance of the town. Two sentries, carrying guns on their backs, walked back and forth, occasionally exchanging a few words. Slowly, perhaps due to fatigue, the two sentries sat down back-to-back to warm each other up.

  Zhou Lianchang and a martial artist crawled slowly forward on the ground. Slowly, they got closer and closer, and the two sentries might have been really tired, when they were still ten meters away, they suddenly started snoring, Zhou Lianchang jumped down and after confirming that the two were asleep, he quietly stood up and walked over slowly, while the warrior beside him began to approach in the same way.

  "Who's there!" A sentry suddenly felt a sound beside him, and hastily asked a sentence. Just as he was about to open his eyes to see what was going on, he couldn't shout anymore. Zhou Lianchang reached behind the sentry, suddenly covering his mouth, and a sharp dagger pierced into his heart. This way, the sentry fell to the ground with a pair of white eyes staring wide. The soldier beside him also solved the sentry in his arms, but the method was slightly different. He directly cut off the sentry's throat, and even he himself didn't know how he died.

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