Chapter 8 Beside the Xiang River (I)

  Historically, the 18th Red Division was surrounded and annihilated by the Guangxi Army at Gulingtou on December 1st. The Guangxi Army then pursued and defeated the 8th Red Army Division. As for the 34th Red Division, after breaking out of Xinhuang, they marched through the mountains for two days and finally emerged from the mountains on December 3rd, rushing to the banks of the Xiangjiang River. However, as soon as they left the mountains, they were ambushed by the Guangxi Army's 44th Division, resulting in the death of the political commissar, the director of the Political Department, and many soldiers. Although the Guangxi Army was successful in their ambush, they were also defeated by the 34th Division and did not dare to pursue them further due to unclear circumstances. When the 34th Division arrived at the Xiangjiang River, the main force of the Red Army had already left the river, and both banks were sealed off. Other enemy forces learned that the 34th Red Division was still on the east bank and swarmed in, making it impossible for the 34th Division to cross the river. They planned to return to southern Hunan to engage in guerrilla warfare, but after several battles, the troops were divided into three groups. Chen Shuxiang led over 1,000 men back up Mount Guanyin, where they were attacked by militia, and the division was gradually annihilated.

  Due to Liu Yimin's appearance, the 44th Division of the Guangxi Army's artillery battalion was blown up, and the logistics battalion was captured. The two main regiments of the 24th Division of the Guangxi Army were annihilated. The two divisions led by Xia Wei, commander of the 15th Corps of the Guangxi Army, lost two main regiments, one lost heavy firepower and ammunition logistics. The Guangxi Army failed to completely eliminate the Red 18th Regiment, but instead allowed the Red 18th Regiment to merge with the Red 34th Division. This loss and gain enabled the Red 34th Division and the 18th Regiment to receive sufficient supplies and withdraw from battle ahead of schedule. It can be said that the current Red 34th Division is the best-equipped, the only one with sufficient grain and ammunition, and the top main force with heavy firepower composed of mortars and heavy machine guns in the Central Red Army, while the 18th Regiment also gained the opportunity to reborn from the fire. The fate of these two heroic troops has been quietly rewritten by Liu Yimin.

  After a forced march of more than an hour, Liu Yimin led the vanguard regiment to the vicinity of Fenghuangzui. In the distance, they heard the sound of gunfire getting closer and closer. Liu Yimin immediately shouted: "The whole regiment will deploy in combat formation, Wang Dahou will lead a squad under the name of the 24th Division of the Guangxi Army to search ahead and see which troops are fighting against the Red Army."

  Wang Dahai responded with a loud "Yes!" and led a group of men in a sprint forward.

  Near the Fenghuangzui ferry, a small group of several hundred soldiers from the International Division were blocking the enemy. This high ground was not high at all, just a small mound, very unfavorable for defense. These soldiers of the International Division had already arrived at the ferry, and the main force of the division had crossed the Xiangjiang River. When it was their turn to cross the pontoon bridge, the defeated Red 8th Army Corps rushed over and squeezed them to one side. At this moment, enemy planes bombed the pontoon bridge, leaving them stranded on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. Discovering that the Hunan army's pursuit troops were approaching, the soldiers quickly occupied this small hill under the leadership of their battalion and company commanders. Before they could build defensive positions, the Hunan army began to launch an attack.

  They had already repelled two large-scale attacks by the Xiang Army, and many enemy corpses were scattered on the small hill. The Red Devils of the International Brigade also suffered heavy casualties, with more than 500 men now reduced to just over 300 who could still fight. The regimental commander who led the blocking action was also killed. But everyone knew that at this moment, it was impossible to retreat, as there was no way back, and behind them was the vast Xiang River.

  The heavy machine guns of the Xiang Army started firing again, and the bullets were like a gust of wind, making it impossible for the soldiers to lift their heads. A Red Army cadre shouted to the soldier next to him: "Pass it down, don't fire until the enemy is within 50 meters, conserve ammunition, aim carefully before shooting." The order was passed down from one soldier to another.

  The enemy is coming, a large group of them, it looks like another company.

  At this time, the Xiang Army soldiers all believed that the red bandits were coming to western Hunan to occupy land, rob land, and rob women. Only by eliminating the red bandits could they protect their Hubei people's Hubei. So morale was high, coupled with the victories of recent days and the stimulation of the expected big ocean, these Xiang Army soldiers had already killed the Reds. Who knew that after chasing all the way to the crossing point, they were repelled twice in a row by a group of baby soldiers? What can be tolerated and what cannot be tolerated! If even this group of baby soldiers in front of them couldn't be beaten, where was the prestige of the Xiang Army? Therefore, the Xiang Army, who had been enraged by the little red devils, charged forward with a loud shout under the leadership of lower-level military officers.

  "We're close, we're close! We'll be on top of the mountain bag soon!" The Hunan Army company commander shouted triumphantly: "The Red Bandits are done for, brothers! Whoever rushes up first will get a reward, charge!"

  At this time, a "hit" word came out of the Red Army's position, and a burst of fire poured into the Xiang Army's charging troops. The enemy company commander stumbled, his face incredulous, and fell to the ground. A soldier cried out in panic: "It's bad, the company commander is down!" The Xiang Army soldiers heard the cry and stopped in their tracks, looking around in the direction of the shout. An officer on the Red Army position saw this situation and shouted loudly, "Grenades!" He grabbed a grenade and threw it over, followed by a wave of grenades that shattered the morale of the Xiang Army soldiers, who turned and ran back to their starting position.

  The enemy commander watching from the Xiang Army's position sighed and cursed "useless".

  The chief of staff hastily came over to say: "General, don't get angry. The Red Bandits are almost out of strength, we organize our troops and exchange fire with them for a while, they will run out of bullets. It's not necessary to consume our strength for a group of children."

  The enemy commander waved his hand and said: "You go and arrange. Anyway, they can't escape, just wait a little longer, our main force will be here soon."

  The vanguard regiment arrived near the ferry terminal when the Xiang Army was exchanging fire with the Red Army. It seemed that the Red Army could no longer hold on, and the gunfire had become very sparse.

  Wang Dahou and his group returned, bringing back a Nationalist liaison officer. Wang reported to Liu Yimin that it had been clarified that the Hunan Army was pursuing the Red Army with one regiment.

  The liaison officer of the Xiang Army saluted and said that they were under the command of General Liu Jianxu of the 28th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and the main force was pursuing the Red Bandits in Jieshou. They were ordered to pursue the Communist Wa Wa Regiment, and after a fierce battle, the Red Wa Wa Regiment retreated. Their regiment pursued the rear guard of the Wa Wa Regiment to this place, and the main force was still besieging the remnants of the bandits at the Jieshou crossing, but had not yet arrived. The remnants of the Red Bandits at Fenghuangkou Crossing were heavily attacked by our air force, and the floating bridge across the river had been blown up. The remnants of the Red Bandits were hesitating on the riverbank, and their regiment was fighting with the remnants of the Wa Wa Regiment. The regiment commander requested that friendly forces immediately join the battle to attack the Red Bandits together.

  Liu Yimin thought to himself, "Damn it, rushing as fast as we can, and yet we still arrived late." The tragedy of the Red Army's rear troops being bombed and slaughtered by the enemy on the banks of the Xiang River had still occurred. The priority now was to eliminate this group of Hunanese soldiers; how many of the defeated Red Army troops could be saved would depend on the circumstances. Thinking along these lines, Liu Yimin said, "We are the 24th Division of the Fourth Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and we have come from Xinhuang. The 44th Division that was supposed to cooperate with us in battle is still besieging the main force of the Red 34th Division at Xinhuang. We have been pursuing the Communist 6th Division's 18th Regiment all along, and after several fierce battles, we have already annihilated this enemy entirely. We are the vanguard troops; the main force will arrive soon. Go back and tell your regiment commander that as soon as our main force arrives, we will launch an attack immediately."

  The liaison officer of the Xiang Army happily said: "Good, after eliminating the red bandits, our regiment will invite brothers to drink!" Then he saluted and left.

  After a while, the 101st Regiment of the 34th Division of the Guangxi Army arrived, wearing Guangxi military uniforms. Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong, Director, and Su Daqing, Regimental Commander, made a joint decision to receive the enemy in the name of the Guangxi Army, launch a surprise attack immediately, and annihilate this group of Hunan troops.

  The vanguard regiment and the 101st Regiment formed a combat formation and rushed towards the Xiang Army's position. The commander of the Xiang Army thought that the Guangxi Army had arrived, and excitedly rushed out of the temporary command post, waving his pistol and shouting: "Brothers, our reinforcements have arrived! Don't let the friendly forces look down on us, charge forward and wipe out the Red Bandits! Charge!"

  A whole battalion of Xiang Army was in action, with soldiers standing up straight and charging forward under the leadership of their officers, as if there were piles of white flowers in front of them, and if they slowed down, they would be overtaken by the Gui Army.

  The gunfire on the Red Army's position was getting weaker and weaker. It was clear that the Red Devils' bullets were running out, and they had reached the end of their strength. At this time, even a fool knew that the Red Army couldn't hold on, and with just a bit more effort, they could quickly charge up to the Red Army's position and capture their guns and take prisoners. The Xiang Army soldiers' eyes were red, and they shouted loudly as they rushed forward.

  The brothers of the Guangxi army who rushed up from behind began to fire. Unfortunately, their targets were the Xiang Army brothers who were charging forward. At such a close distance, almost no aiming was needed, and machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, and shotguns all fired wildly. The firepower was so dense and continuous that soon grenades and bayonets also joined in. Those who charged forward, those who defended in place, those who crawled on the ground pretending to be dead dogs, and so on - all Xiang Army soldiers immediately fell from the joy of impending victory into an icy abyss, experiencing a free luxury tour from heaven to hell thanks to the huge contrast and dense bullets coming from behind. Many soldiers didn't even have the chance to turn their heads before falling down, their bodies torn apart by bullets. Even the way they fell was eerily uniform, mostly face-first in the mud, as if awaiting inspection by the gods of hell.

  It was another perfect ambush. Unlike the annihilation of the 24th Division's two regiments of the Guangxi Army, this time the Hunan Army fell with their backs to the Red Army. The commander of the Hunan Army regiment did not understand until his death why the Guangxi Army had fired at them - were these Guangxi soldiers going to fight against the Central Government again?

  The sudden change also stunned the Red Army soldiers of the International Brigade who were desperately holding on to the blocking position, their rifles were almost out of bullets, and their grenades had been used up. The soldiers who had prepared for a glorious sacrifice could not have imagined that the white-clad men behind the Xiang Army's charging formation would suddenly open fire on their own people, with such intense firepower, leaving no room for escape. As they watched the Xiang Army's charging formation fall one by one, the soldiers suddenly came to their senses - it was their own Red Army troops who had arrived, and their troops were disguised as enemy forces carrying out a surprise attack. The overjoyed soldiers rushed out of the position, shouting slogans such as "Charge!" and "Capture prisoners!", and charged towards the Xiang Army on the opposite side.

  The battle ended quickly, and the Xiang Army regiment pursued all the way to Fenghuangzui Ferry, where there were only about 1,500 people left. Except for more than 300 who surrendered early, the remaining 1,200 were killed. The Red 34th Division's spearhead company and the 101st Regiment, which participated in the battle, still had zero casualties. Su Daqing, the regimental commander, was overjoyed and punched Liu Yimin several times, shouting: "Following you to fight a war is really fucking fun!"

  Liu Yimin, however, felt unwell and thought that this battle had no technical content at all, it was simply a sneak attack from behind, the Xiang Army had no chance to fight back, and could not show off the combat effectiveness of the newly replenished Red 34 Division's Iron Flow Rear Guard.

  When Chen Shuxiang and Cheng Cuilin arrived, the battle had already been cleaned up. The 100th Rear Guard Regiment quickly organized its troops to occupy the nearby blocking positions.

  Liu Yimin accompanied Chen Shuxiang and Cheng Cuilin, leading the 101st, 102nd, Red 18th Regiments, and a newly formed heavy firepower company, with carts carrying prisoners and wounded soldiers, arrived at the crossing. As far as the eye could see, the Xiangjiang River was filled with the gray bodies of the Red Army, the pontoon bridge had been blown up, and the broken bridge surface was littered with the bodies of the Red Army. Groups of scattered Red Army soldiers stood in the cold wind, not knowing what to do. Liu Yimin told Chen Shuxiang that they must immediately reorganize these scattered troops, wade across the river on foot, otherwise the enemy would soon catch up, and the consequences would be unbearable.

  Chen Shuxiang asked Liu Yimin how he knew that the Xiangjiang River could be waded. Liu Yimin, of course, couldn't say that he knew from later research that at this time the Fenghuangzui ferry section of the Xiangjiang River was wadable. In fact, during the Battle of Xiangjiang, the Jieshoutou ferry had deep water and could not be waded, while the Fenghuangzui ferry had a wide surface and could be waded. Unfortunately, at that time the Red Army did not know this, and it was also impossible to measure under enemy air raids. Liu Yimin had no choice but to reply that he had sent soldiers who knew how to swim to experiment, and they found that the water was chest-deep and could be crossed, but the river water was very cold.

  Chen Shuxiang and Cheng Cuilin consulted and immediately ordered the 101st and 102nd Regiments to change back into Red Army uniforms. The 101st Regiment led the way across the river, followed by the 102nd Regiment and the newly formed Heavy Firepower Battalion. After crossing the river, they contacted the garrison troops left behind. If contact was not made or if enemy forces were encountered, the 101st Regiment would control the key points on the left flank, while the 102nd Regiment would forcibly control the key points on the right flank. The newly formed Heavy Firepower Battalion was assigned to the command of the 102nd Regiment, with the Chief of Staff accompanying the regiment and preparing to repel any incoming enemy forces at all times, covering the entire division's crossing of the river. The Political Commissar led the division's headquarters to reorganize the scattered troops at the crossing point, interrogate the captured Xiang Army soldiers, and organize the wounded and sick personnel to cross the river. Chen Shuxiang himself followed the 100th Regiment as the rear guard for the entire division.

  Liu Yimin hastily asked himself and the vanguard regiment what their mission was. Chen Shuxiang replied that the vanguard regiment would temporarily merge with the 18th Red Division, immediately reorganize the troops, and could also select people from the remaining Red Army at the crossing point to supplement their weapons and ammunition from the captured equipment, quickly form combat effectiveness, and serve as the reserve team for the entire division. Director Cai followed the 18th Red Division into action, acting on behalf of the political commissar's duties.

  Liu Yimin thought to himself, the people of this era are really something. The soldiers of the sharp blade company were the elite of the 34th division, and under his leadership, they became the sharpest knife in the entire division in less than a day's time. Commander Chen Shuxiang didn't say a word and assigned them to the 18th regiment. It's worth noting that the 34th division belongs to the 5th Red Army Corps, and the 18th regiment belongs to the 6th division of the 3rd Red Army Corps. Liu Yimin was so moved that he almost shed tears, and he quickly saluted Commander Chen, Political Commissar, Chief of Staff, Director of the Political Department, and all the regimental commanders one by one.

  Su Daqing looked at Liu Yimin who was still saluting and said, "Alright, we're all Red Army, no need to be polite. However, you kid have created two firsts for our Red Army: one is that on the day of enlistment, you won four battles in a row, with few defeating many, and the most fruitful results, which is the first in the Red Army; another is that within one day, you were promoted three times, from new soldier to platoon leader to company commander to acting regimental commander, the fastest promotion, also the first in the Red Army, probably the first in the whole world. Do a good job and win more battles."

  Liu Yi Min gave a crisp salute: "Guaranteed to complete the task and not disappoint the leaders' expectations!"

  "Stop dawdling and take immediate action!"

  When parting, Liu Yimin told the commander of the 102nd Regiment, Lü Gongyin, to find a rope and pull up two ropes after crossing the river. If more ropes can be found, pull up two on both sides, and then pull down two, dismantle the cart carrying wounded soldiers, cover it with wooden boards, and build a simple raft. If no rope is found, let the soldiers take off their leg bindings, tie them together, pull up one rope, and have the soldiers cross the river by holding onto the rope.