Volume 1: Red Star Over China Chapter 66: The Battle of Yangping Town (5)

  Yang Jian saw Li Qing when he was preparing to lead his team out.

  Li Qing was very good-tempered and asked about Ouyang Jian's intention. When he heard that Ouyang Jian had come to discuss the release of prisoners of war, Li Qing shook his head and said it was impossible.

  Ouyang Jian said patiently: "Releasing prisoners after a battle has been the tradition since ancient times. Doesn't your Red Army have this policy too?"

  Li Qing said: "Our Red Army has a policy of releasing prisoners, but that is for ordinary soldiers. For those heinous White Bandit leaders, they will be publicly tried and executed. How did you treat our captured Red Army cadres and soldiers? What you do not wish for yourself, do not impose on others!"

  "That's the policy from above, brother, I have no power to change it!"

  Li Qing laughed: "Publicly executing captured White Army officers is also our policy from above, and I'm powerless to change it, brother!"

  Look, it's not working out, Ouyang Jian was getting a bit impatient. He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and stared straight at Li Qing: "Brother, one price for all, two division commanders, 20,000 yuan each, regiment commander, 10,000 yuan each, battalion commander, 2,000 yuan each, other company commanders and platoon commanders, 200 yuan each, soldiers, 5 yuan each."

  Having said that, he looked at Li Qing eagerly.

  Li Qing sneered, "Are you sending away beggars? Let me tell you, all those above the rank of squad leader will be shot, and tomorrow we'll hold a public trial meeting, called the 'Suppressing White Bandit Military Officers Meeting'. After the trial, we'll take them to the Wuyang River bank, line them up, and when I give the order, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, we'll shoot them one by one until their brains burst open and they fall into the Wuyang River to feed the fish."

  Li Qing said as he gestured, scaring Ouyang Jian's head to turn back and forth, shaking from side to side, as if Li Qing's gesturing hands were gun muzzles pointing at his own forehead.

  When Li Qing finished his gestures, beads of sweat also appeared on Ouyang Jian's forehead, and he hastily pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat.

  After wiping the sweat, I also have a plan in my heart. The other party's sentence "Are you sending away the beggar?" indicates that there is room for negotiation. Ouyang Jian said calmly: "Younger brother, name a price! Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it when I go back. Old brother ran around and didn't want to see their family torn apart, right? Come on, brother!"

  Li Qing is now more experienced in this job. He shook his head like a rattle drum. "No way. Whatever it takes, no way. Their family members are heartbroken. Our family members were killed by them long ago. Who can we turn to?"

  To be honest, Ou Yang Jian is also a ruthless and bloodthirsty person at heart. He just doesn't have an army in his hands, so he can only serve as an advisor to others and earn a salary. When Xue Yue assigns him tasks, he thinks about how he can profit from this deal and make up for the humble life of his wife and two concubines, making them look at him with a slightly more admiring gaze. Therefore, he is very eager to complete the transaction. As for whose family members are torn apart, whose family members are slaughtered, he doesn't care.

  Look, it's not going to work. Ouyang Jian was very anxious and said: "Younger brother, look at my age now. It's not easy to run this errand either. I won't say anything else. What do you think? I'll raise the price a bit more. Two division commanders, each 5 yuan. The prices for regimental commander, battalion commander, company commander and soldiers remain unchanged.

  ”

  Li Qing said: "A division commander is worth 50,000. You've really thought of something."

  Ouyang Jianyi listened and hurriedly said: "Younger brother, you say a number, let me take a look."

  Li Qing said: "I can give you some information, but you have to keep it a secret."

  Ouyang Jian hastily said: "Definitely, definitely."

  Li Qing said: "He Jian's two superiors were paid 100 taels of silver and other things before they left."

  Ouyang Jianyi was shocked, his eyes wide with astonishment. I asked how He Jian's superiors had returned, and it turned out to be like this. 100 yuan is a lot of money, what can't you do with that? Heaven! These Red Army people are really capable of extortion! It seems that this errand won't go smoothly after all.

  "Alright, little brother," said Ouyang Jiandong, "we can't compare to He Jian in this matter. And we don't dare let Nanjing know about it either. How about this: let me take the two division commanders back first, and I'll discuss the others with you after I get instructions from above. Name a price, but if it's too high, I won't be able to make the decision myself."

  Two people started haggling, going back and forth, just like small vendors in a vegetable market, with the goods being two division commanders of the National Army. In the end, they were sold for 1 million silver dollars each. The commander of the 4th regiment and the commander of the 5th battalion were discounted by 10 yuan, while others had to stay behind because Ou Yang Jian didn't have enough money. Finally, Li Qing gave away all the seriously wounded soldiers for free.

  After finishing talking, they started paying and picking up people. Li Qing arranged for the head of the guard battalion, Zhang Haitao, to take Ouyang Jian to pick up people.

  Ouyang Jian saw several Red Army officers coming in when he was leaving, one of whom was holding a telegram. Ouyang Jian pretended to drop his shoes and bent down to pick them up, vaguely hearing the people inside talking about the 1st, 3rd, and 5th army corps preparing to move from both wings, planning to launch an attack at dawn, asking when the guard division would arrive at the designated location, and whether they could occupy Yushan County on time. Ouyang Jian was anxious, hastily following Zhang Haitao to lead his men, seeing Han Ying and Tang Yunshan without exchanging pleasantries, and hurriedly letting them mount their horses, leading the cavalry regiment to quickly return to Xindian.

  Li Qing saw Ouyang Jian leave Yangping Town, so he quickly found Liu Yimin to report. Liu Yimin heard that only 300,000 yuan was exchanged and said only one sentence: "Xue Yue is also a poor devil!" Then he took the troops to move towards Zhenyuan County.

  Ouyang Jian returned to the new store and busily reported to Xue Yue what he had seen and heard in Yangping Town, especially detailing the situation he had overheard at the end. After listening, Xue Yue was very suspicious, worried that it was a trick of the Red Bandits, but thinking again, the troops had suffered such heavy losses and could not withstand another big battle, so it was better to be cautious, and ordered the troops to return to Yushan County City overnight and defend strictly.

  At this time, if the plane can move out at night for reconnaissance, it will see a strange scene: in the mountains at night, a team

  The torches moved westward, and many other troops carrying torches galloped eastward. The two groups of people went further and further away from each other, leaving the exposed vacuum area in the middle to the endless night.

  Chiang Kai-shek, who was in Nanjing at the time, received a telegram from Xue Yue. The telegram read: "Today at noon, the 59th and 93rd Divisions of the Army were ambushed by the main force of the Red Bandits in Qingxi Town, Zhenyuan County. After receiving the report, I ordered Wu Qizhen to lead the 90th, 92nd Divisions and the First Column to reinforce them, and also ordered the 13th Division to advance from Xindian and encircle the enemy from behind. The battle took place in three locations: Qingxi Town, Yangping Town, and the mountains behind Yangping Town. Our troops fought bravely, and after a fierce battle, the bandits retreated towards Zhenyuan and Shiqian. In this battle, more than 4,000 bandits were killed, and over 2,200 guns were seized. After interrogating the captured bandits, it was confirmed that they were the main force of the Red Bandits' First, Third, and Fifth Army Corps, who had crossed the Wujiang River from the north to intercept our troops with the intention of attacking one part of our army. After the battle, after checking, our casualties were very heavy. The commanders of the 59th and 93rd Divisions, Han Han-ying and Tang Yun-shan, fought bravely and broke through the encirclement. These two divisions lost nearly 70% of their troops, while the 90th Division suffered losses of about 20%, and the 13th Division suffered losses of about 10%. Due to long-term pursuit and battle, our troops have been greatly reduced due to illness, dropping out, desertion, etc., and there is a severe shortage of weapons and ammunition. We urgently need to supplement our troops and weapons. Currently, our army is defending the Yushan line. Tomorrow, we will order the cavalry to expand their reconnaissance and search range. If the enemy's main force retreats back to the north bank of the Wujiang River, our army will rush to Guiyang; if the enemy is still lingering in the Zhenyuan-Shiqian area, we need to order the Hunan-Guizhou troops to launch a joint attack."

  Put down the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek rubbed his temples and then picked up the glass of water on the table to take a sip. He stood up and paced around the room.

  It seems that the Red Bandits cannot be underestimated, they ambushed He Jian and Liu Jianxu in Xiao Shui and Xi Kou, and today they ambushed Xue Yue in Zhenyuan. From the telegram, it can be seen that Xue Yue's troops suffered heavy losses, otherwise they would not say that the troop strength was reduced so severely, and requested replenishment. However, fortunately, when I received the air force report at noon, I thought that the 59th Division and the 93rd Division were completely annihilated, but now it seems that the division commanders have come out, indicating that the remnants are still there. As long as they are quickly replenished, they can continue to be used.

  Thinking of this, Chiang Kai-shek pressed down the small bell on his desk, preparing to call in the Chief of the Attendant Office for new arrangements.

  That night, in the Bo Hui Zhang Gong government building of the Red Army headquarters in Zunyi City, there was also a flurry of activity. Everyone's face was filled with joy, and even the Red Army soldiers standing guard at the door stood at attention as standard.

  The battle report of the Central Guard Regiment has arrived, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Bo Gu, Zhang Wentian and Wang Jiaxiang are all gathered in the office, with smiles on everyone's face.

  Annihilated the enemy's central army elite of over 30,000 people, captured countless, it was a great victory! Even two captive division commanders were exchanged for 3 million dollars, good!

  Wang Jiaxiang finally spoke up. No one expected him to say: "I didn't expect the outcome of the war to be so great, Chiang Kai-shek was in such a hurry, maybe even a few hairs will grow on his bald head!"

  The conference room was filled with laughter immediately.

  After everyone finished laughing, Zhou Enlai said: "I think it's time to announce the great victory of Qingxi Town and Yangping Town to the whole army?"

  Several people said it should be notified immediately.

  Mao Zedong said: "I'll add that the order is for the Guard Regiment to withdraw completely to Zunyi for rest and reorganization, agree with their expansion plan. After the remaining captives and lightly wounded return to Zunyi, all will be supplemented to the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 9th Army Corps. Now we can feel at ease in expanding the Red Army troops, there are a lot of guns!"

  Zhu Laozong was beaming with joy and said repeatedly: "I'll go give orders right away."

  Liu Yimin woke up at noon on the 24th.

  Yesterday evening, the troops marched all the way to Zhenyuan County. The company left behind by the guard battalion had already received news of the main force's great victory and was arranged in the city to rest. After guiding the troops to camp, Liu Yimin instructed Liu Jianli to arrange the defense and then fell asleep, sleeping until noon the next day.

  When Liu Yimin got up, Li Chengwei reported that the political commissars were all waiting. Liu Yimin was puzzled as to why these guys always got up earlier than himself every time?

  After seeing Cai Zhong and the leaders of the school and group, Liu Yimin felt a bit embarrassed, touched his head and said: "Good morning everyone!"

  Tsai Chung smiled and said: "My master, it's not early. Look at the time now? There is a telegram from the Central Revolutionary Military Commission here, we are discussing it, you'd better take a look quickly."

  Liu Yimin took over the telegram and saw that it read: "The troops quickly withdrew to Zunyi for rest and expansion, and the 3rd Army Corps has been dispatched to Jingkou to welcome them. The floating bridge at Duankou is in good condition." Signed by Zhu De, Chairman of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.

  After reading the telegram, Liu Yimin said: "No need to discuss it, just follow the order. The whole army will set out at 6 o'clock tonight and arrive in Yuqing for camping tomorrow afternoon, and cross the river tomorrow night."

  Wu Zheng suggested that with so many supplies and captives, the marching speed is slow, can we consider camping at Shi Bing's place.

  Liu Yimin said: "The enemy's planes will not let go of any clues, once they discover our army, they will bomb."

  "Soldiers are precious and swift. I'll give you the whole afternoon to gather large carts, mules and laborers. The troops must reach Yuqing by nightfall to set up camp."

  Tsai Chung said: "There is a way to solve the prisoner problem, which is to quickly expand and incorporate the prisoners into the troops, so as to increase the speed of marching."

  Several team leaders looked at Liu Yimin with eager eyes.

  Liu Yimin thought for a moment and said, "Our troops have already captured many soldiers, and the continuous expansion of the troops is not a good thing. The original plan was to expand during the rest period in Zunyi, since the political commissar proposed expanding now, I think it's okay, but the ideological work of these new soldiers depends on the skills of each unit."

  "Report to the division commander, the artillery regiment has made preparations to accept new recruits. We resolutely do not add trouble to the division leadership, and we will take care of ideological and political work ourselves, ensuring that we do not drag down the entire regiment!" said Battalion Commander Li Chang, standing at attention with his feet together.

  He burst out laughing and pointed at Li Chang, saying: "Who told you the artillery regiment is going to expand? You've only been the regimental commander for a few days, aren't your butt getting hot yet?"

  Li Chang replied loudly: "Report to the superior, it was the superior who told me. During the Battle of Xiao Shui, the superior had said that there would be an artillery regiment and I would become the first artillery regiment commander in the history of the Red Army. As for the problem that my battalion commander's tenure is too short, there is no way, it was because at that time the superior did not capture so many guns, nor did he capture so many artillerymen, it's not that I couldn't do the job of regiment commander."

  Liu Yimin was speechless, this guy really wanted to be an artillery commander so badly he's gone crazy.

  Cai Zhong saw the smile on Liu Yimin's face getting thicker and thicker, knowing that Liu Yimin highly appreciated Li Chang's strong desire to fight and outstanding military achievements. He said: "Commander Li, how do you plan to set up your artillery regiment?"

  Li Chang saluted Cai Zhong again: "Report to the Political Commissar, I plan to establish a 75mm howitzer battalion, using all 36 guns and gunners from the Tax Police Battalion's mortar battalion. Those are medium mortars, good stuff! Then, organize the existing six mountain guns and two 60mm mortar companies into one battalion, and establish five 60mm mortar battalions."

  "This won't do for the others," said Gao Yuan, "My division needs to establish a firepower support regiment, at least 36 60mm mortars are required. You leave my artillery behind and talk about your own artillery regiment."

  Deputy Commander Zhang Hongtao immediately said: "The artillery battalion of the Second Regiment is already fully equipped with cadres and equipment, now it's just short of soldiers. The political commissars in my regiment are best at doing ideological work. Don't worry, Commander, we will educate the prisoners assigned to us into qualified artillery soldiers."

  "Third Battalion Commander Chen Dajun continued to say: "The Third Battalion does not ask for too much, as long as everything is aligned with the First and Second Battalions. Whatever the First and Second Battalions have, we must have them too. Otherwise, the soldiers will look down on me as their battalion commander."

  Hong Chaoyuan and Zhao Shan also suggested building a artillery camp or fire support camp, saying that if the vitality support department had not arrived, the main peak of Yangping Town would not have suffered such heavy losses.

  Li Chang became anxious and shouted at them, saying they were not being cooperative, and wondered if they didn't want him to be the team leader.

  Cao Shengli, the head of the logistics battalion, said: "If a artillery regiment is established, it will be the first artillery regiment of the Red Army. In battle, it will definitely belong to the Military Commission, and it's not as good as adding more equipment and personnel to the logistics battalion, managing logistics in peacetime and going into battle."

  He Mingliang saw everyone's mouths open, and he said embarrassedly: "I think the engineering corps needs to be strengthened."

  Liu Yimin was so angry that he laughed out tears, and kept saying: "Good! Good! Good! Why do I feel like everyone is dividing the spoils?"

  Li Qing also smiled and said: "I'll correct what our superior just said, we're not dividing the spoils, but sharing the fruits of victory."

  Gao Yuan said: "It was during the breakout at Xiangjiang that I felt I had truly become a revolutionary. Who would have thought that we would encounter our superiors and win such a great victory? I want to build this regiment into the best-equipped, best-trained, and most powerful fighting force in the country, and follow our leaders to triumph over all enemies. Our leader will surely grant me this wish."

  Several others also echoed him.

  Listening to the words of the cadres, Liu Yimin felt that these comrades had already established a strong sense of self-confidence and would not retreat in the face of any difficulty. This had already achieved his basic goal of training troops.

  Moreover, most of the captured soldiers were from the Central Army, which was easier to transform than those from the Hunan or Guangxi armies. So, he put on a serious face and said:

  "Orders:

  1. Based on the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment and the 6th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, add 1000 captured soldiers to form the 6th Guard Regiment, with Lei Ming as the regimental commander and Li Qing as the political commissar.

  2. Based on the 9th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment and the new recruits' battalion, add 1200 captured soldiers to form the 7th Guard Regiment, with Liu Jianliang as the regimental commander and Chang Huyu as the political commissar.

  3. The 1st and 2nd Regiments will each add 1200 captured soldiers, while the 3rd Regiment will add 1600 captured soldiers to form new battalions.

  4. The 4th and 5th Regiments will each add 1500 captured soldiers to make up for combat losses.

  5. All seven guard regiments will be equipped with mortar companies, heavy machine gun companies, engineer companies, scout platoons, sniper platoons, and guard platoons. Each mortar company will have 12 60mm mortars, each heavy machine gun company will have 12 heavy machine guns, and the original fire support companies of each battalion will be retained, with each company having 4 mortars and 9 heavy machine guns.

  6. Light machine guns will be equipped to each squad, while heavy machine guns will be equipped to each platoon.

  7. The Central Guard Division's artillery regiment will be established, consisting of three artillery battalions and one infantry battalion.

  8. The Central Guard Division's heavy machine gun regiment will be established, consisting of four heavy machine gun battalions.

  9. The Central Guard Division's engineer regiment will be established, consisting of three engineer battalions.

  10. The Central Guard Division's logistics regiment will be established, consisting of three logistics battalions."

  Ninth, the sniper company was divided into two, and the second and third platoons were upgraded to special warfare battalions, with Li Lingfeng as the battalion commander. The first platoon was upgraded to a sniper battalion, with three companies, Wang Tongsheng as the battalion commander. Externally known as the Special Operations Battalion of the Central Guard Division. The two battalions had priority in selecting cadres and soldiers from the entire division, regardless of which unit they belonged to, they must be released unconditionally.

  Tenth, a new recruit training regiment was established, with Wu Zheng concurrently serving as regiment commander and Zhang Yitong concurrently serving as political commissar. The focus is on reorganizing and training captured prisoners.

  After finishing, Liu Yimin looked at the excited cadres and continued: "The troops have expanded, which is a good thing, but also a pressure. Especially for the first, second, and third regiments, the backbone battalions are continuously withdrawn, and the ideological and political work tasks are particularly heavy. The main leaders must have a clear understanding of this, ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops does not decline, and the loyalty does not decrease. Do you have confidence?"

  "Present!"

  Liu Yimin also said: "The remaining captives will be escorted to Zunyi and supplemented by the main force troops. Commissar Cai Zhong is specifically responsible for the reorganization of the entire division, and today we will first pull people apart and strictly train them after crossing the Wujiang River."

  After Liu Yimin finished speaking, the cadres poured out one after another, and a new wave of expansion craze for the Central Guard Regiment began.