Chapter Thirty-One: The Three Battles of Little Water (Three)

  In a mountain village about 40 kilometers away from Liping, a famous city in southeastern Guizhou Province, the Central Column was still camping after a night march.

  The head of the logistics department shouted "18th Regiment's great victory, 18th Regiment's great victory" and ran over, waking up many people. Everyone didn't know what had happened, and many soldiers stood up with their guns.

  Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Zhang Wentian, Wang Jiaxiang, Bo Gu and other central leaders were still resting. The voices of the head of the machine department and the guard soldiers arguing came over, and several leaders were startled. They all got up and came to the door of their own camp.

  Chief of Staff Liu Bocheng saw the head of the telegraph department holding a telegram and asked, "What's wrong with you, comrade? Why are you in such a hurry?"

  The head of the department felt too happy and hurriedly reported: "Report to the chief of staff, the 18th Red Army won a great victory, annihilating the enemy's 16th Division of Hunan."

  "What?" Liu Bocheng snatched the telegram and scanned it briefly, bursting into loud laughter.

  Zhu Laozong asked: "Bo Cheng, what's making you so happy?"

  Liu Bocheng hastily reported: "Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the 18th Regiment of the Red Army annihilated He Jian's 16th Division this morning."

  Zhu old general took over the telegram, roughly looked at it, and burst out laughing: "Bo Gu, En Lai, Luo Fu, Jian Xiang, Old Mao, you guys take a look, the 18th Regiment wiped out the 16th Division of Hunan, and even captured the enemy division commander. Wonderful, wonderful!"

  Vice-Chairman Zhou took over the telegram, glanced at it and excitedly read it out: "Central Revolutionary Military Commission:"

  My regiment left a battalion in Tongdao County to pretend to be the main force, and the whole regiment marched overnight, arriving at Tongdao Shuimu Bridge Township Xiaoshui Village on the 12th morning to occupy the ambush position. At 10:00 am, the vanguard of the enemy's 16th Division of Hunan Province, the 48th Brigade, entered the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. My regiment immediately moved forward to the ambush position. At 10:50 am, the headquarters of the enemy's 16th Division of Hunan Province led by the 47th Brigade entered the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. My regiment again moved forward to the ambush position, and at 12:20 pm, the reinforced enemy's 46th Brigade entered the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. In this battle, we ambushed three times in one day, and all three were successful. We eliminated a total of one division headquarters, three brigade headquarters, six regiments, killed 8,482 enemies, wounded 1,270 people, and captured 1,420 enemies including the commander of the 16th Division of Hunan Province. We seized four radio stations, twelve mountain guns from the artillery battalion of the 28th Army of Hunan Province, thirty-six mortars, thirty-six heavy machine guns, two hundred eighteen light machine guns, six thousand four hundred fifty rifles, four hundred seventy-two pistols, five hundred thirty-eight submachine guns, and one hundred twenty carts of ammunition. Our army had no casualties, but seventy-six people were injured.

  Two matters for your reference:

  1. How to deal with the commander of the 16th Division of Hunan Province, Zhang Liangji.

  2. The reporter of the 48th Brigade of the 16th Division of Hunan Province, Lu Wen, who was captured by our regiment, claimed to be an underground party member and had contributed to luring the headquarters of the 16th Division of Hunan Province and the 47th Brigade into the ambush. Please verify this with the General Political Department.

  Red 18th Regiment

  December 12th, 12:50

  After finishing reading the telegram, Vice Chairman Zhou was so excited that he couldn't speak for half a day.

  "After carefully reading the telegram, he said: "Great! The heroic Red 18th Regiment! A reorganized regiment dares to fight six times, winning three battles and suffering zero casualties. Since the establishment of the Red Army, there has never been such a record! Enlai, Old Chief, I suggest that we announce the battle report of the 18th Regiment to the whole army, order each military unit to speed up towards their designated targets, and defeat the Guizhou army. Call on the whole army to learn from the heroic Red 18th Regiment, not afraid of fatigue, not afraid of sacrifice, and dare to defeat all enemies. I suggest sending a telegram back to the 18th Regiment: 1. The troops should quickly hide and move, find another opportunity to fight, and avoid being surrounded by the enemy's main forces. 2. Reiterate that the 18th Regiment will make decisions on its own during battles, led by Regimental Commander Liu Yimin. 3. After education, Zhang Liangji will be released at an appropriate time, and he will be asked to convey the Red Army's purpose of going north to fight against Japan to Xiang Army Liu Jianxu, and warn the Xiang Army not to pursue our army again."

  Vice Chairman Zhou said: "Adding one more sentence, the matter of journalist Lu Wen will be further reported after investigation."

  Director Zhu solicited opinions from everyone and then told the head of the machine department: "Just issue it according to this opinion!"

  The head of the machine room repeated it once, looked at several leaders without any objection, and then ran to send a telegram.

  "Come on, comrades, we can't sleep anymore. The 18th Division has defeated the Xiang Army, now it's our turn to eliminate the Guizhou Army."

  At this time, Liu Yimin was busy reorganizing his troops.

  Just now, Liu Yimin stirred up the emotions of the Xiang Army captives, and several team leaders studied on the spot. They immediately convened a cadre meeting to announce the establishment of the 5th Regiment of the 18th Division, with the 3rd Company of the 1st Regiment and the 6th Company of the 2nd Regiment as the backbone. 150 Xiang Army soldiers were added to form the 13th, 14th, and 15th Companies. Zhao Shan, the original deputy regiment commander of the 1st Regiment, was appointed as the regiment commander of the 5th Regiment, and Wang Nanhu, the original deputy regiment commander of the 2nd Regiment, was promoted to instructor. The 6th Regiment of the 18th Division was established, with the 9th Company of the 3rd Regiment and the 12th Company of the 4th Regiment as the backbone. 150 Xiang Army soldiers were added to form the 16th, 17th, and 18th Companies. Lei Ming, the original commander of the new recruit regiment, was appointed as the commander of the 6th Regiment, and Li De Guang, the original deputy regiment commander of the 3rd Regiment, was promoted to instructor. Each of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Regiments was equipped with a radio station, and 150 Xiang Army soldiers were added to form new companies: the 3rd Company, the 6th Company, the 9th Company, and the 12th Company. All six combat regiments were equipped with machine gun companies, each with two mortars, three heavy machine guns, and twelve light machine guns. Each infantry squad was equipped with a light machine gun, and the squad leader and deputy squad leader were equipped with a submachine gun and a new semi-automatic pistol. Other soldiers were each equipped with a Type 79 rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition, and six hand grenades. At that time, the firepower configuration of the six combat regiments of the Red 18th Division was the best in China.

  Li Chang finally became the commander of the artillery regiment, leading two mountain artillery companies and two mortar companies. He was so delighted that he discussed with Wang Shan-zhu, who had also been promoted to instructor, whether they should find an opportunity to fire a few shots to practice their troops. Wang Shan-zhu told him straightforwardly that without the order of the regiment commander, not a single shell could be fired. Li Chang rubbed his hands anxiously and shouted: "I'm itching for action! I'm really itching!"

  The heavy machine gun company was also upgraded to a heavy machine gun regiment, with 3 heavy machine gun companies, each equipped with 8 heavy machine guns. The regimental leadership was promoted from the original machine gun company leadership.

  The logistics team was renamed the Logistics Battalion, with the battalion leadership changed from the original logistics team leadership, equipped with infantry weapons, responsible for the protection and transportation of captured materials.

  The 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies of the new recruits' battalion did not move, with the headquarters support cadres as the mainstay, and built the framework of the 4th to 9th companies of the new recruits' battalion. The deputy commander of the 4th battalion, Chen Dazhong, was promoted to commander of the new recruits' battalion, while Chang Huyu remained as the instructor of the new recruits' battalion.

  The effectiveness of the sniper squad was recognized by the Red Army soldiers, and under Liu Yimin's insistence, each combat team in the sniper squad was equipped with a pair of binoculars, one rifle and one new-style pistol per person.

  The team guard class was upgraded to a guard company, with each person having one rifle, one submachine gun and one shotgun. The company commander was promoted from Li Chengyi.

  The only unchanged part of the whole regiment was the reconnaissance company, because Liu Yimin required that the reconnaissance company soldiers must be old Red Army men, so it did not expand.

  The artillery battalion, heavy machine gun battalion and engineer battalion are all equipped with rifles and pistols, without setting up a separate guard force. The surplus pistols are allocated to the 1st company of the 1st battalion, the 4th company of the 2nd battalion, the 7th company of the 3rd battalion, and the 10th company of the 4th battalion. The remaining weapons are handed over to the logistics battalion for safekeeping and transportation.

  After the formation of the troops was completed, the total strength of the whole division reached 4,700 people, equivalent to two main Red Army divisions. Each regiment was converted on the spot into a battlefield training, using Liu Yimin's words, that is, brainwashing, grinding, practicing tactics, and removing impurities. Removing impurities means launching new soldiers to expose blood debts and bad habits such as gambling, smoking, and sexually transmitted diseases among the soldiers, ensuring the purity of the troops. The cadres and old Red Army soldiers of each regiment were fully mobilized according to Liu Yimin's requirements, helping new soldiers become familiar with the team, talking about their hardships, and teaching them tactical skills, so that they could quickly integrate into the 18th Regiment family.

  Look at the cadres who have all gone busy, Cai Zhong said to Liu Yimin: "Captain, I seem to hear that your words to the captives are full of incitement and temptation. This is not entirely consistent with the spirit of our army's ideological and political work."

  Liu Yimin replied: "Comrade, what you said is very right. It's not just filled with incitement and temptation, but rather naked incitement and temptation."

  Cai Zhong asked in puzzlement: "Why did you have to do it that way?"

  Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Good my political commissar, I am saving these captives. Rather than blindly sacrificing themselves for Chiang Kai-shek and He Jianzhi, it's better to join the Red Army to fight for their own freedom. If we don't agitate or entice them, can those captives immediately join the Red Army?"

  Cai Zhong asked again: "If these captives find that being a Red Army soldier is very bitter and may sacrifice at any time, won't they all desert?"

  Liu Yimin replied: "No. The Western Expedition has provided experience, I believe in the powerful force of the Red Army's political thought work, and I believe in the ability and level of our cadres."

  Cai Zhong also smiled and said: "You are pushing non-revolutionary people to make revolution. I think you're a bit like the matchmaker in an arranged marriage."

  Liu Yimin said: "Arranged marriages are not necessarily unhappy either. Can we fall in love after getting married?"

  Cai Zhongxiao burst out laughing: "Well done, Liu Yimin, well done! Getting married first and then falling in love is indeed a quick way to get a red envelope!"

  Cai Zhong stopped smiling, and Liu Yimin said seriously: "What we need to pay attention to is that we must find out those evil hooligans with blood-stained hands, those who smoke opium and have venereal diseases, and we must keep our Red Army troops pure."

  "Leave it to me," said Cai Zhong. "You just think about what to do next."

  Liu Yimin said: "I only give you two hours' time, two hours later, the troops will make departure preparations?"

  "What are you still dawdling for? Get out of my way!"

  After Cai Zhong left, Liu Yimin asked the staff to bring out the maps captured from the 16th Division of Xiang and began to ponder the problem of the 62nd Division of Xiang.

  Historically, the 62nd Division of Hunan pursued the Central Red Army from Le'an Village in Suining, passing through Xikou, Taipingtou, Kuiniukou and Zhaizibao towards Jingzhou. The vanguard Wang Yuying Brigade's two regiments crossed over to Diping Village on the 13th at 5 pm, encountering resistance from the Red Army's rear guard. The next morning, the commander of the 62nd Division, Tao Guang, led the Zhong Guangren Brigade to join the attack and ordered one regiment of Wang Yuying Brigade to encircle the Red Army positions. Seeing the enemy's main force arrive, the Red Army's rear guard completed their resistance mission and retreated voluntarily. The 62nd Division then captured Tongdao County at 8 am.

  Since the 16th Division of Xiang had pursued the Red Army one day ahead of schedule, the 62nd Division would also have to move at the same time. The problem was that after the third ambush in Xiaoshui, it was already 12:30, and the troops were reorganizing, so they needed at least three hours. Before 5 pm, there was no way to catch up with Wang Yuying's brigade of the 62nd Division, let alone set up an ambush or launch a surprise attack on Wang Yuying's brigade. Therefore, Wang Yuying's brigade would certainly quickly occupy Tongdao County.

  Radio contact also confirmed Liu Yimin's speculation. He Xinghua reported that the enemy's First Army Corps headquarters inquired about the progress of the 16th Division, and reported that Wang Yuqing's brigade of the 62nd Division had arrived at Xikou, without finding any traces of the Red Army, and had advanced towards Jingzhou.

  Liu Yimin had the intention to give up the training and led his troops to quickly advance and intercept Wang Yuying's brigade. However, considering that on the night of the 11th, the troops were too tired from marching all night for an ambush against the Xiang 16th Division, and the enemy Wang Yuying's brigade was moving in a straight line, while the 18th Regiment had to take a detour via Xiaoshui and Jingzhou, making it unlikely to catch up. Even if they did catch up with the enemy, once the enemy formed their battle lines, the 18th Regiment's exhausted troops would have no chance of winning against the enemy's fresh forces. Moreover, giving up training meant that part of the main force had to be sent to escort the 1400 Xiang Army prisoners, dispersing the troops. As for releasing the 1400 prisoners, Liu Yimin didn't even think about it. It was a joke - could he just spit out the meat that had already reached his mouth? Those were 1400 well-trained soldiers! Wounded soldiers could be released, but those who weren't wounded were not to be considered.

  Helpless, Liu Yimin had to order the three battalions and seven companies of the garrison troops who were guarding the passage to bring the prepared military uniforms and dry rations, immediately withdraw from the county seat, hide the military uniforms and dry rations, and advance to the Jinxu State line to harass and slow down the enemy army.

  Considering the huge disparity in strength between the three battalions and seven companies of the first row and the enemy, it is impossible to make unnecessary sacrifices. Liu Yimin specially emphasized in the telegram that they cannot launch a head-on attack or close-range attack, but should take advantage of the small unit's mobility, suddenly appearing in front of, behind, left, and right of the enemy's marching route, firing a shot and then withdrawing immediately, just to make the enemy suspect that there are Red Army troops lurking nearby, absolutely cannot be caught by the enemy and suffer casualties.

  Now, Liu Yimin's eyes, like a hawk, were fixed firmly on Tao Guang, the commander of the 62nd Division of Xiang Army, and the troops led by Zhong Guangren.

  Liu Yimin knew that the 62nd Division had two regiments and four battalions. Since the vanguard Wang Yu-ying Regiment was consistent with the historical route of action, then the division commander Tao Guang must be leading the Zhong Guangren Regiment and the division's direct subordinates to follow up and support. In this case, the troops led by Tao Guang should be on a certain section of road between Le'anbu, Xikou, and Zhaizibao. The reason why the enemy's First Army Corps radio station did not report the accurate location of the 62nd Division headquarters was likely that the division headquarters was on the move.

  Liu Yimin decided to march directly from Xiaoshui to Xigou, and if the enemy's 62nd Division headquarters and Zhong Regiment had not yet arrived at Xigou, they would set up an ambush near Xigou. If the enemy's 62nd Division headquarters and Zhong Regiment had already arrived at Xigou, they would surround and annihilate them at Xigou. The reorganized Red 18th Regiment just needed a battle to test its combat effectiveness. Always relying on surprise attacks was not entirely beneficial for a force preparing to be the Red Army's sharp arrow. If the 62nd Division headquarters and Zhong Regiment had already passed through Xigou, they would pursue them and attack their rear.

  After making up his mind, Liu Yimin ordered the reconnaissance platoon to immediately find a guide and reconnoiter the enemy situation in the direction of Xikou. Then, he also ordered the cavalry company to end its training ahead of schedule, follow the reconnaissance platoon, and implement combat alertness in the direction of Xikou.

  While Liu Yimin was doing these deployments, Cai Zhong's work also progressed smoothly. The cadres of the Political Department went to each camp, organized and mobilized new soldiers to search and dig out 45 soldiers with blood debts or opium addiction or syphilis, 26 people with blood debts were executed on the spot, and the other 19 people with bad habits were locked up with enemy officers. This measure eliminated hidden dangers within the troops and became a normal procedure for the 18th Regiment to deal with prisoners of war in the future.

  Look, it's been over two hours since the training ended on the battlefield. The various camps have reported back one after another. Liu Yimin didn't wait any longer and immediately ordered that the 510 seriously wounded Xiang Army soldiers who had received initial medical treatment be left in Xiaoshui Village to be taken care of by the villagers. The troops were divided into two routes: Wu Zheng led the team's guard squad, logistics battalion, carrying the fourth battalion's radio station, escorting captured enemy officers and 760 lightly wounded Xiang Army soldiers, disguised as the Xiang 16th Division, advancing along the highway towards Lin Kou; Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong led six combat battalions, sniper squads, instructor teams, artillery battalions, heavy machine gun battalions, engineer battalions, new recruit battalions, under the guidance of the reconnaissance squad, taking a shortcut to rush straight to Xikou.