Volume 1: Red Star Shining Over China Chapter 68: By the Wujing River (Part 1)

  After a night march, the Central Guard Division arrived at the border of Yuqing County at dawn. One battalion was sent to the ferry terminal to contact the troops defending the ferry terminal of the 3rd and 5th Army Corps. The other battalions and the second echelon led by Liu Jianli entered Yuqing County to camp, preparing to cross the river after dark.

  Taking into account the enemy's reconnaissance and bombing factors, the follow-up troops of the Guard Division no longer rushed to catch up. The villages on both sides of the main road leading to the county town within the territory of Yuqing successively camped overnight.

  Look, the troops have all entered Yuqing. There are no pursuing enemies behind them either. After Liu Yimin instructed Chen Dayong, the commander of the 3rd Regiment who was in charge of the rear guard mission, to raise his vigilance and strengthen his sentry, he took Li Chengyi's guard company and went to meet with Cai Zhong. Together they rushed towards Yuqing County Town.

  After the two arrived at the county town, Zhi Gao Yuan had already dispatched a regiment to control the ferry and contact the troops on the north bank of the Wujiang River. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

  Take a short rest. Liu Yimin is about to rush to the ferry terminal to personally inspect the pontoon bridge situation.

  Gao Yuan said: "Shi Zhang, you've been rushing all night. Take a rest. Once the First Battalion and the Fifth Regiment of the Third Army make contact, someone will be sent back to report."

  "Who took the first battalion away?"

  Gao Yuan replied that Team Political Commissar Zhao Jie led the team.

  Liu Yimin said: "You stay and camp overnight. The political commissar and I will go to the ferry terminal to check on the pontoon bridge situation." After finishing speaking, he pulled Cai Zhong and left.

  After going out, Cai Zhong said: "Master, let's ride horses, we can go a bit faster."

  Liu Yimin thought so too. He didn't use the vehicle that was available to him, which seemed a bit strange and wasteful. So he called Li Chengwei to bring over his warhorse.

  Li Chengwei led a white horse over. Liu Yimin turned around and was about to mount the horse. Cai Zhong exclaimed, "Huh?" Liu Yimin hastily stopped and asked Cai Zhong what was wrong.

  Tsai Chung said: "When did the teacher change horses? How come I don't know?"

  Liu Yimin only then remembered that his war horse was a sorrel. This horse was white. He asked Li Chengyi what's going on.

  Li Chengwei said after a while: "The bay horse of the instructor was ridden away by Tang Xingyan, an officer from the logistics department. This horse was also assigned to him by the logistics department."

  Tsai Chung said: "Playing a lute in disorder. Is the war horse of our superior something that anyone can ride? Go and get it back for me."

  Liu Yimin saw Tang Xingyan's shy and timid appearance in front of him. He said "Forget it, let her ride if she likes to. Commissar, let's go."

  The two of them mounted their horses and galloped towards the ferry terminal.

  Riding a horse on the mountain road. The speed is not fast either. It's just to save some energy. When two horses walked side by side, Cai Zhong said: "Shifu, yesterday we sent a telegram to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission before we set off, but there was no reply!"

  Although he had expected this situation, Liu Yimin was still shocked when he heard it. This shows that the Central Revolutionary Military Commission is not sure about its own actions. It seems that when we arrive in Zunyi, we will have to carefully explain our report. He said: "Don't worry, there will be a telegram reply. We are almost arriving in Zunyi. Once we arrive and meet with the central leaders, everything can be clearly explained. I believe the leaders see further than us and will agree with our handling of the situation."

  Tsai Chung said, "You joined the Red Army late. You don't know how terrifying it was during the Su District's purging of counter-revolutionaries. So many comrades were killed in the hail of bullets and rain of guns. They were caught for no reason at all. What you said to Li De and others last time in the corridor, I knew about it afterwards and almost died from fright. If that had happened during the Su District era, I estimate you would have been locked up directly on that day."

  Liu Yimin said: "Wasn't I locked up? This shows one thing. Their set of methods doesn't work. People's minds are changing. Look now, Mao Zedong has actually taken control of the Red Army's command. In the future, we will take fewer detours."

  Tsai Chung said: "I reckon what you said in the corridor will be written in big characters in history books one day. I just can't figure it out. I've been with the Red Army for so long, how dare a new recruit like you say and do such things? I don't even dare to say or do them!"

  Liu Yimin thought seriously and said: "Actually, what I said is nothing new. Many Red Army cadres and soldiers have thought of it. It's just that they didn't have the opportunity to say it or were afraid to say it. This shows that the democratic atmosphere within our party is still not strong enough. Everyone has concerns about their thoughts. At the same time, it also shows that the aftermath of the anti-rightist campaign is very severe."

  Cai Zhong said, "This time you go to the Central Politburo meeting. If there's an opportunity, organize your thoughts well and try to express them, so as to play a role in the central decision-making process. You don't know how many people we sacrificed from the Soviet area to Guizhou. Just thinking about it is heart-wrenching."

  Liu Yimin said: "I joined the Red Army for too short a time. My experience is too shallow. In that situation, I guess it's just to attend and listen. However, I can exchange ideas with many leaders, tell them my thoughts, they are all smart people, I say one, I guess they won't just respond with three, but at least think of nine or ten."

  Cai Zhong also laughed: "You're such a guy. You always see through the problem so clearly. And you still have to say it out loud. Haha."

  Arrived at the ferry. Liu Yimin took a look, and the pontoon bridge was still there. He thought of walking onto the pontoon bridge to take a look at the Wu River. Just then, Li Chengwei shouted that enemy planes were coming. Liu Yimin's head snapped up, and he saw an enemy plane hovering in the air. He thought to himself, "This is bad." This must be an enemy reconnaissance plane, and it will soon bring bombers. The pontoon bridge was in danger. Sure enough, the enemy reconnaissance plane flew away quickly. Liu Yimin immediately ordered the first battalion to disperse and hide, and to prepare machine guns for anti-aircraft fire. He also took a rifle from Li Chengwei's hands, loaded a bullet into the chamber, and prepared to meet the enemy bombers.

  Half an hour later, four enemy planes flew from east to west. They began to shoot and drop bombs at the pontoon bridge. The sound of machine guns immediately rang out on the first camp's position. Bullets chased after the shadows of the enemy planes. The planes dodged left and right in mid-air.

  Look at the ground fire is more concentrated. After the enemy plane pulled up, it directly rushed to the first camp position. The smoke from the exploding bombs enveloped the first camp position.

  Liu Yimin stood still with his gun, like a mountain.

  Several guards came up to pull him away, but he scolded them all back.

  Listening to the sound of explosions all around. Liu Yimin's heart was burning with anxiety. That was his most elite troops, now stubbornly resisting under enemy bombing, and he didn't know how great the losses were.

  The opportunity has arrived. Two enemy planes finished dropping their bombs and pulled away. Then the pilot saw Liu Yimin standing by the river. The nose of the plane was pressed down, and it dived directly at him.

  Cai and Li Chengwei saw this and rushed over without hesitation, wanting to pull Liu Yimin back.

  The enemy plane's bullets hit the dark rocks on the banks of the Wujing River, spewing out strings of sparks. The guards' soldiers were anxiously shouting: "Commander, get down!"

  Look at Liu Yimin motionless. The warriors followed Cai Zhong and Li Chengyi, rushing out to protect their commanders with their own flesh and blood.

  Aircraft of that era. Speed was only around 500-600 km/h. Diving down

  It will be a bit faster. The enemy pilot looked at the big fool standing on top. Another group of red bandits ran out from the shore, sneered and pressed the machine gun switch.

  At this time, Liu Yimin's rifle fired. The bullet hit the pilot's head directly. With the naked eye, you can clearly see the blood blooming on the pilot's head. The out-of-control plane slanted and crashed into the Wujing River.

  Liu Yimin quickly ejected the shell casing. Chambered another round. Took aim at another enemy aircraft.

  Another enemy plane saw its companion rush into the Wu River. Frightened, it pulled up its nose to escape. It was fast. Liu Yimin was faster. The sound of gunfire rang out. Hit the enemy's oil tank. A fireball suddenly burst in mid-air. The enemy plane exploded in a massive explosion.

  Another two planes are bombing and strafing the First Battalion's position. Two planes were shot down. Immediately stop the bombing. Prepare to pull up and escape. One plane was knocked down by the First Battalion's machine guns. Only one plane escaped, shaking and swaying.

  A cheer erupted from the shore!

  Cai Zhong rushed forward when Liu Yimin shot down the second enemy plane, and pulled Liu Yimin under his own body.

  "Liu Yimin hastily said: 'Commissar, let go quickly. The enemy plane has been shot down.'"

  Tsai Zhong looked up and saw that there were indeed no enemy planes in the sky. He turned around and shouted at Liu Yimin, "What kind of hero are you? Don't you know you're the division commander? Don't you know you're responsible for over 10,000 people in the whole division? I think you're just a rookie, not even qualified to be a division commander!"

  He's done scolding. He's shouted enough. Looking at Liu Yimin, this guy actually has a smile on his face. Not a hint of recognizing his mistake. Cai Zhong got annoyed again and scolded Li Chengyi: "I think you've become a soldier and turned stupid. You don't know your own mission. If something happened to the division commander today, even if you were shot ten times, it wouldn't make up for the loss. You shouldn't be a company commander anymore. Demote you to private and go be a groom in the logistics camp! The Central Guard doesn't need soldiers like you who don't know their own duties!"

  Li Chengwei hung his head low, tears dripping down one by one.

  Liu Yimin smiled and said: "Commissar, calm down. Don't scold me anymore. I just wanted to experience the combat characteristics and speed of the enemy's plane."

  Don't worry, I've said it before. The bullets and shells that can kill me haven't been made yet. Let's go take a look at the situation of the first battalion." He turned around and said to Li Chengwei: "Whatever you do, don't mind him. The political commissar is in a bad mood. It'll be fine once he's vented his anger. You go organize the troops to hide. Enemy planes will come again soon, and there may be more of them. Have all the soldiers hide. Leave the machine gunners behind." After saying that, he took Cai Zhong to the first battalion's position.

  Go to the first camp site and take a look. Liu Yimin immediately got angry. After a while, the whole regiment sacrificed 14 soldiers and was injured by 32. Liu Yimin called over the political commissar of the first division Zhao Jie and the commander of the first regiment Wang Dahu. He scolded them on the spot: "What are you two doing? How did you teach air defense shooting in the corridor? The casualties of our troops are so great, even greater than the losses of the entire Xiaoshui battle to annihilate an enemy division! Wang Dahu, tell me what's wrong?"

  "Reporting to the superior officer. These more than ten martyred soldiers were all new recruits from Xingmouzhou and Qingxitown who had not yet received tactical training."

  Liu Yimin said: "I don't want to hear your explanation. You also don't need to find any excuse. No matter when you joined the army, as soon as you were assigned to a company, you had to train in basic combat movements. The first company is the spearhead of the entire division. At any time and place, it must be able to complete combat tasks that other troops cannot complete. You bring the first company up to standard for me. If you can't do it, say so early on. I will select a new commander from the entire division."

  Wang Dahai choked back tears. Standing at attention, he saluted: "Reporting to the superior officer. I guarantee that I will lead the battalion well. At any time and in any place, we can charge forward and win victory!"

  Liu Yimin nodded: "Good! Tell the soldiers. Just say I said it. The first battalion must be the spearhead of the entire division. We must strengthen our training, endure hardships and sufferings, and become a sharp sword. If the first battalion's combat training is not up to par and we have another situation like today with heavy casualties, I will give the number of the first battalion to another well-trained battalion and let the first battalion be the new recruit training battalion for the entire division."

  "This is outrageous! It's enough to make Wang Da Hu's lungs burst. His eyes bulged out in anger. He bellowed loudly: 'Report to the superior officer! The First Battalion will always be a vanguard battalion, it can't possibly become a new recruit training battalion! You listen clearly!' After saying that, he turned around and left."

  Liu Yimin shouted from behind: "Leave me with the light machine gunner and deputy shooter. You take the soldiers to hide."

  Cai Zhong nodded his head in agreement, Liu Yimin was indeed a born agitator. Every sentence he spoke could stir up the cadres and soldiers to shout loudly. When he spoke, no matter whether it was to coax or deceive, he managed to incite so many Xiang Army prisoners of war to collectively join the Red Army. It's said that on the road from Leping to Zhenyuan, he stirred up the third battalion's soldiers to feel extremely glorious and proud. Today, he used reverse psychology to provoke the first battalion. I estimate that the first battalion will soon be practicing military drills with all their might. With this kind of intense practice, wouldn't their combat effectiveness soar?

  Cai Zhongyue thought more and felt that Liu Yimin was quite formidable. He said, "If you were to become the political commissar, I reckon we old political workers would all have to take you as our teacher."

  Liu Yimin sighed: "The troops have expanded, but the combat effectiveness of one regiment has actually decreased. Mainly because two battalions were withdrawn. There are too many new prisoner-of-war soldiers. When we arrive in Zunyi, I will mention it to Chairman Mao and Vice-Chairman Zhou and Zhu De, to see if we can exchange two old Red Army regiments with the 1st, 3rd and 5th military divisions, to increase the proportion of old Red Army troops in our army."

  Tsai Chung said: "Your idea is too good. I also feel that the expansion of troops is too fast. The ideological work of soldiers needs to be strengthened. Let's make a proposal to the Central Committee. We need a batch of regimental and divisional instructors and guidance officers. Also, we need to assign deputy commanders, deputy political commissars, directors of the political department, and chiefs of staff to each regiment."

  Liu Yimin nodded and said, "After arriving in Zunyi, the troops will have a rest period. You go to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments. No matter what, we must ensure that the combat effectiveness of these three main force regiments is not discounted. This is our capital for winning battles. We absolutely cannot be careless."

  "What about the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th battalions?"

  Liu Yimin replied: "You and Liu Liqiang discuss it with the troops. Let each of them take charge of two battalions. First, strengthen ideological education. Second, practice tactical movements and shooting, throwing, and stabbing. Set a standard. Those who do not meet the standards in training will not be allowed to participate in the next battle. After I return from the meeting, I will inspect one company at a time. If more than two companies in a battalion do not meet the standards, I will swap that battalion with the main force."

  "What if they all pass?"

  Liu Yimin smiled: "If they all pass, we won't need to ask Mao..."

  The old Red Army troops are coming. You know that. Those few army corps commanders are not easy to talk to.

  Tsai Chung said: "In any case, cadres are definitely needed and the more the better."

  Liu Yimin said a word of heroism is seen in the same way. Let Cai Zhong go into hiding, and he himself went to the squad of light machine gunners who had already gathered together.

  Received reports of the Air Force losing three planes. Chiang Kai-shek was furious. It immediately became clear that the main force of the Red Bandits attempted to retreat to northern Guizhou via the Wujiang River.

  You sons of bitches. You think you can take advantage of Qingxi Town and Yangping Town, and then run away with it? Your abacus is too clever, isn't it? Since Xue Yue's troops have suffered heavy losses and are far away, they won't be able to catch up. Then let the air force wipe you out! I don't believe that the Red Bandits' firepower can withstand the planes in the sky. It's settled then. Chiang Kai-shek directly ordered the air force to launch a full-scale attack, bombing the Red Bandits into the Xiang River to feed the fish.

  After receiving the strict order from the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, eight aircraft were immediately dispatched and flew to Huidong County with a menacing air.

  Just been hit by 3 planes. So this time the National Army Air Force is extremely vigilant. The plane maintains altitude and strictly prevents ground fire.

  This way, the accuracy of the bombing was gone. Bombed for half a day. Not to mention that the pontoon bridge was not blown up, but even the shadow of the Red Bandits was not seen. Instead, the bombs blew up the waves on the Wujing River, rolling them high and high, looking very spectacular.

  Look, all the bombs have been dropped. The squadron leader is about to order a return flight. At this time, a deputy squadron leader suggested diving down and using onboard machine guns to break the floating bridge. The squadron leader thought for a moment and ordered this deputy squadron leader to take his wingman to bomb the bridge, while other planes provided cover.

  The squadron leader flew his plane in the front, with his wingman behind. As soon as he pressed the nose of the plane, it rushed towards the pontoon bridge. Just as the pontoon bridge was about to enter the range of the machine gun, the squadron leader suddenly found that dozens of flames were sprayed from below him and his wingman, weaving them into a web of fire. A thought flashed through his mind: "Damn it! I've been ambushed!"

  Watching his two planes being shot into fireballs. The team leader gave an order: "Charge down, shoot them dead with machine guns!"

  Six enemy planes roared towards the machine gun positions of the Guards Division, firing their on-board machine guns in advance. The earth splashed on the ground.

  Look, it's time to enter the firing range of our light machine guns. Liu Yimin gave an order. The machine guns concentrated their fire in front of the enemy plane. This pre-emptive strike was extremely accurate. Good. The dozens of machine gunners from the Guard Division didn't even look at the position of the enemy planes, they just followed orders and formed a tight formation to shoot at the air, creating a dense network of firepower. The enemy planes were like moths flying into flames, crashing into the net. Two enemy planes that crashed into the net were shot down and exploded in mid-air. The ones behind them saw it wasn't going well and hastily retreated, completely disorganizing their formation. Two planes even collided while trying to avoid the ground fire and fell into the rolling Wusong River.

  The leader of the fleet took a look and could no longer afford to sweep. Quickly lifted. Ordered to return to base.

  After returning to the airport, the squadron leader directly reported to the superior: "No large group of red bandits were seen on both banks of the Wujiang River. However, the ground firepower was extremely strong. Four aircraft were lost. Request to stop executing flight tasks."

  Chiang Kai-shek was furious upon receiving the air force report. The army had lost in battle, and the air force had also suffered losses. When did those Red Bandits become so powerful? He immediately summoned Dai Li of the Blue Shirts Society. After scolding him for being incompetent, he ordered him to quickly investigate where the main force of the Red Bandits was located, which unit of the Red Bandits was fighting against Xue Yue, and what kind of weapon they used to shoot down the Nationalist planes.

  "After the director finished speaking, Dai Li stepped forward: 'Report to the principal. The students have all been cleared up. The ones who fought with General Xue Yue were not the main force of the Red Bandits. They were a newly established Central Guard Regiment of the Red Bandits. This regiment was made up of remnants from the Battle of Xiangjiang and some scattered bandits. It is said that they were formed by combining the remnants of the 18th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the Red Army, which had almost been eliminated by the Guangxi army in Gulingtou, with some other scattered bandits. The leader's name was Liu Yimin. He had participated in the Battle of Xinhuang and led his men to attack the artillery battalion of the 7th Corps of the Guangxi army. Then he guided the 34th Division of the Red Army to escape from the encirclement by the Guangxi army. In Gulingtou, with 100 men per company, they disguised themselves as the Guangxi army and launched a surprise attack on the 24th Division of the Guangxi army, annihilating it completely. After crossing the Xiangjiang River, this group of Red Bandits reorganized into the 18th Regiment. They first occupied the passageway, and then the main force of the Red Bandits turned towards Guizhou. This group of Red Bandits again set up an ambush at Xiaoshuixi and annihilated three divisions led by He Jian. Before leaving, they also robbed He Jian of a lot of money and weapons. Then they marched day and night, launching a long-distance raid and ambushing our Central Army in Qingxitown, causing our 59th and 93rd Divisions to be completely defeated. Moreover, they again defeated our reinforcement troops in Yangpingtown, resulting in huge losses for General Xue Yue. It is said that both Xue Yue and Qi Wei wanted to commit suicide to apologize for their mistakes at the time, but fearing that the Red Bandits would continue to pursue and cause even greater losses, they withdrew their troops and defended themselves instead.'"

  Chiang Kai-shek asked: "How did Han Ying and Tang Yunshan come back?"

  Dai Li replied, "According to reports, it was Xue Yue and other generals who discussed and bought him back with money. It is said that Wu Qizhen took the responsibility alone at that time, saying it was for the sake of Guo's face. There was no choice but to do so. If you investigate further, he would be willing to be shot by you as punishment."

  Chiang Kai-shek listened and his anger dissipated. He asked: "Yu Nong, are these intelligence reports reliable or not?"

  Dai Li replied: "Report to the principal. Absolutely reliable. The Red Bandits regard this Liu Yimin as a legendary hero and do not avoid these situations. According to the report of Ping County magistrate who escaped, after the bandit Liu Yimin's victory at Xiaoshuigoukou, the main force of the Red Army was jubilant in Liping, shouting slogans along the street, and the bandits bought all the firecrackers in Liping, setting them off all night, shaking the sound for dozens of miles.

  Chiang Kai-shek thought for a moment and said, "It seems that the Red Bandits have greatly replenished their weapons, ammunition, personnel, and supplies after defeating He Jian's troops. Their combat effectiveness has increased. We were all wrong! This Liu Yimin is not simple. As soon as he takes action, he beats the Guangxi Army and the Hunan Army, and finally gets to our heads. I said that Bai Chongxi, who loves to compete, is hiding in one corner without even farting. It turns out that he has also suffered a great loss. Yun Nong, is there any way to deal with this Liu Yimin?

  Dai Li said: "It's very difficult at the moment. This red streak has won big all along. Morale is extremely high. And it's also unpredictable. Our people have no chance to get close."

  Chiang Kai-shek said, "Don't rush. Take your time. As long as you put in the effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle! The key is to find his weakness. Women and wealth are his weaknesses. I can give them to him. You can rest assured and go do it. Go ahead. I'm tired."

  Dai Li bowed and left. The large office was left with only the Chairman, who looked increasingly pale and gaunt.

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