Volume 1: Red Star Shining Over China Chapter 51: Sweeping Across Southeastern Guizhou (4)

  From Xiguan to Qingzhou, even if they marched quickly, it would only take about 3 hours. However, with the wounded and ammunition, their marching speed was naturally slow. Fortunately, Liu Yimin sent a cavalry regiment and a battalion to meet them, letting the soldiers carry all the weapons and ammunition, and letting the wounded ride on the horses and mules of the cavalry regiment, which made them walk a little faster. Even so, Li Qing and his men still walked for more than 5 hours, and it was already 1 o'clock in the morning when they returned to Qingzhou.

  The cooks of the regiment, battalion, and company had all been mobilized, and everything was ready. Hot tea, hot soup, and hot meals were served, and many rescued soldiers' eyes widened at the sight, eager to devour them in one bite. However, the experienced head cooks deliberately only gave each person half a bowl, not allowing them to eat their fill. One soldier got angry and asked a cook, "There's still so much food left in the pot, why can't we have some more? Don't you know we're all starving?" The cook patiently explained, "It's precisely because you're too hungry that we can't let you eat your fill. We're afraid of causing some soldiers with weaker bodies to burst from eating too much." After a short rest, the soldier reluctantly went to wash his bowl and gather with others to have their injuries checked and treated by doctors and medical personnel from the field hospital. Other slightly better-off soldiers were arranged to rest at the battalion's campsite.

  After settling all the rescued warriors, Li Qing returned to the division headquarters and only then did he find out that Wu Zheng and the others had already come back.

  It turned out that Wu Zheng's side was even smoother than Li Qing's. When they arrived at Ya Tou Bao, the Guangxi representative had already been waiting there. Not only did Liu Yimin get everything he asked for, but also received an additional 20,000 rounds of heavy machine gun ammunition, 10,000 hand grenades, 500 rounds of mountain artillery shells and 500 rounds of mortar shells. The 2,000 captured soldiers who were returned were also in relatively good physical condition.

  After listening to Wu Zheng's introduction, Li Qing scolded He Jian as a stingy old turtle. After scolding him, he blamed Liu Yimin for setting the conditions too low at first and finally patted his chest in frustration, feeling that he had no ability. He took advantage of He Jian, this sly old turtle, and completely forgot that before the arrival of the Hunan Army representative, he did not believe that the transaction would be successful.

  After Li Qing finished scolding and complaining, Liu Yimin proposed to hold a party committee meeting, which was seconded by Cai Zhong. The few people sat down to study the problem of the Red Army soldiers rescued today. In the end, it was decided:

  I. With the old Fourth Regiment of the First Division as the backbone, supplemented by 200 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army and 400 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Gui Army, the Third Division's Eighth Regiment was withdrawn to form the Guard Fourth Regiment. Hong Chao-yuan served as the regimental commander, while Hu Xue-rong, the original political instructor of the old Third Regiment, was promoted to political commissar of the Guard Fourth Regiment, and the political instructor of the old Fifth Regiment

  Two. With the 5th Regiment of Zhao Shan's 2nd Division as the backbone, supplemented by 200 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army and 400 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Gui Army, the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Division was withdrawn to form the Guard 5th Regiment. Zhao Shan served as the regimental commander, and Liu Yi, the original instructor of the old 4th Regiment, served as the political commissar.

  Third, a team of 200 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army and 400 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Gui Army were supplemented to form a new second battalion, with Zhao Jie, the original political commissar of the old first battalion, promoted to team political commissar.

  The 4th and 2nd regiments supplemented with 200 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army, who were in better physical condition, and 400 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Gui Army, to form a new 5th regiment. The original political commissar of the 2nd Regiment, Li Congmin, was promoted to team political commissar.

  The Fifth and Third Regiments were supplemented with 200 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army who were in better physical condition, and 400 Red Army soldiers rescued from the Gui Army. Another 400 new recruits from the Xiang Army prisoners of war were added to form the new Eighth and Ninth Regiments.

  Sixth, the cavalry company expanded into a cavalry battalion. The establishment is 400 people. Personnel can be selected from the entire division. The battalion leadership is taken over by the original cavalry company leadership.

  Seven, the sniper platoon was expanded to a sniper company. Four sniper platoons were established. During battles, they were attached to the command of four regiments. The company commander and instructor were held by Wang Tongsheng.

  8. The Guard Platoon was upgraded to the Guard Battalion, with a total of 450 people. Personnel were selected from the Red Army soldiers rescued by the Guangxi Army. Zhang Haitao served as the battalion commander and Zhang Yicheng concurrently served as instructor.

  7. The Reconnaissance Platoon expanded into the Reconnaissance Company. Luo Yan served as company commander and instructor.

  9. The Red Army wounded soldiers rescued from the Xiang Army were temporarily incorporated into the new soldier camp for recuperation and study. Zhao Dahai, the instructor of the new soldier camp, was transferred back to the 2nd battalion as battalion commander. Battalion Commander Chang Huyu took over as instructor. Wang Dahu, the newly appointed instructor of the 8th battalion, was transferred back to the 1st battalion as battalion commander

  After reorganization, the combat sequence of the Central Guard Division is as follows:

  The division has a staff room, a political department and a logistics department.

  Directly subordinate troops:

  Guard Battalion: Battalion Commander Zhang Haitao, Instructor

  Sniper Company: Captain Wang Tongsheng, Political Instructor

  Reconnaissance Company: Captain Luo Yan, Political Instructor

  Artillery Battalion: Battalion Commander Li Chang, Political Instructor Wang Shanzhu

  Heavy Machine Gun Battalion: Battalion Commander Wei Xiufeng. Political Instructor Li Yi

  Engineer Battalion: Battalion Commander He Mingliang, Political Instructor Ren Chao Ran

  Deputy Regiment Commander: Cao Shengli. Political Instructor

  Cavalry Regiment: Regimental Commander Hu Lao Hu, Political Instructor Bao Wen

  New Recruit Camp: Camp Commander, Instructor

  Communication team leader: Zhang Siqiao

  Radio Station: Director He Xinghua

  Guard Battalion: Battalion Commander Gao Yuan. Political Commissar Zhao Jie, Chief of Staff Lei Ming, under the jurisdiction of the 1st Company, 2nd Company, 3rd Company, and Fire Support Platoon.

  Guard Battalion 2: Commander Zhang Hongtao. Political Commissar Li Congmin, Chief of Staff Li Yimou, jurisdiction over the 4th Company, 5th Company, 6th Company and Fire Support Platoon.

  Guard Battalion 3: Commander Chen Dayong, Political Commissar Chen Dazhong, Chief of Staff Shi Ran, jurisdiction over the 7th, 8th and 9th Companies, Fire Support Company.

  Guard Fourth Regiment: Regimental Commander Hong Chaoyuan, Political Commissar Hu Xuerong, Chief of Staff Wang Nanhu, jurisdiction over the 10th Battalion, 11th Battalion, 12th Battalion and Fire Support Company.

  Guard Fifth Regiment: Regimental Commander Zhao Shan, Political Commissar Liu Yi, Chief of Staff Li De Guang, jurisdiction over the 13th Battalion, 14th Battalion, 15th Battalion and Fire Support Company.

  There are over 9,500 troops in total, with strong and powerful soldiers, sophisticated weapons, and sufficient ammunition.

  At the end of the meeting, Liu Yimin asked Cai Zhong to personally go to each regiment to announce the reorganization order and ensure that cadres and troops quickly adjusted. He required Liu Jianli and Li Qing to go to each regiment to supervise training and coordination, especially the tactical movements of new recruits, who must learn from and follow the example of the old First Regiment. He required Wu Zheng to take swift action to distribute the mules and horses surrendered by the Xiang Army and Gui Army, as well as those captured in the battles at Xiao Shui and Xi Kou, to the cavalry regiment, logistics regiment, and each regiment. He ensured that mountain guns, howitzers, and heavy machine guns were all carried by mules, and that logistics transportation would no longer use carts, but instead use pack horses. The entire division implemented a system of using pack horses. Liu Yimin was tasked with personally guiding the training of the reconnaissance company, after which Chief of Staff Zhang Yicheng would lead the reconnaissance company, accompanied by a radio station, to scout out routes to Liping, Jianhe, Zhenyuan, and Yuping, marking roads along the way. Near the main highway at the border of Yuping and Zhenyuan, they were to secretly search for suitable ambush sites. The troops would concentrate in Jingzhou for two days of training, after which they would move secretly towards Yuping, targeting the enemy's Central Army under Xue Yue.

  At the end of the meeting, Liu Yimin said to Cai Zhong: "Trouble the political commissar to draft a telegram and report in detail to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, Chairman Mao, Vice-Chairman Zhou, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu about the transactions with the Hunan Army and Guangxi Army. Remember to send my letters to He Jian and Li and Bai in full text!"

  Cai Zhong said: "You've assigned all the tasks to us few people, what are you doing?"

  Liu Yimin said: "I want to study maps." Then he went straight to sleep.

  Cai Zhong looked at Liu Yimin's back and said with a mixture of indulgence and self-mockery, "Let you be the political commissar, sooner or later you'll exhaust me to death." Upon hearing this, Liu Jianli, Li Qing, and Wu Zheng burst into loud laughter.

  That night, in a large hall in the backyard of the Suining County Government, Liu Jianxu, who had secretly rushed from Jing County, was hosting a dinner to comfort and calm down the released generals above the rank of Tao Guang and Zhang Liangji.

  The wine had gone through three rounds, but there was no atmosphere of the Hunan army generals gathering together for a wild and joyful drink. Tao Guang and others did not take the initiative to toast Commander Liu either. The scene was very cold and oppressive.

  "Come on, Si'an and Bo Yan, I'll toast you two with a cup!" Liu Jianxu stood up and brought the wine cups to Tao Guang and Zhang Liangji.

  The two men hastily stood up, raised their wine cups and drank them dry. Then Tao Guang suddenly knelt down in front of Liu Jianxu with a thud, wailing loudly, crying and shouting: "Commander, Commander, shoot me! I'm incompetent, the 62nd Division is completely defeated, and I was also captured by the Red Army. Shame! I've lived in vain for so many years! Commander, shoot me!"

  Everyone got down on their knees, the whole house was filled with loud wailing sounds, and the cries of "Military seat, commander, shoot me!" The horse servants who were serving dishes and wine outside the house ran back to the kitchen in a hurry, fearing that the military seat would take them as a vent for his anger.

  Liu Jianxu's tears also came out. Three elite divisions, nearly 30,000 troops. It was all lost like this. I really don't know how I survived these days! But now is not the time to cry, according to the result of Chairman He and my own discussion. We still have to rely on these generals to quickly reorganize the three divisions!

  Liu Jianxu wiped away his tears: "All of you, get up! I won't shoot you, and neither will Chairman He! To say it's not your fault, the Red Bandits are too cunning, you didn't even have a chance to fight back! Get up!"

  The officers then got up, washed their faces again and took their seats.

  "Now that the officers' emotions have stabilized, Liu Jianxu spoke seriously: 'Since ancient times, arrogant armies are bound to be defeated. This time, the defeat in the Xiao Shui and Creek Mouth battles was not only due to the cunning of the Red Bandits and their encirclement, but also because our army made mistakes. I think the biggest mistake is that our officers were blinded by the victory of the Xiangjiang Campaign and forgot the lessons we learned from being defeated by the Red Bandits in the past. They thought the Red Bandits were already finished and couldn't pose a threat to us. They became arrogant, self-satisfied, and thought they were invincible! What a lesson, what a lesson! Unfortunately, these lessons were bought with the blood of nearly 30,000 of our elite troops.

  "Think about it, if you had all expanded your search range, strengthened your flanking cover, and marched in combat formation, could the Red Bandits have succeeded so easily? Shame on you, 16th Division Commander Zhang Liangji, a graduate of the Baoding Military Academy's third class! Your 3rd Regiment, 6th Battalion had a large gap between them during their march. Why didn't you use cavalry to patrol and communicate? Were your cavalrymen reserved for giving birth?

  "Radio communication, radio communication, what was the result? It was just one defeat after another, and it became a toy in the hands of the Red Bandits! Why did this happen? Why did you abandon even the most basic military common sense? Wasn't it because you felt safe and didn't want to bother?

  "You, 62nd Division Commander Tao Guang, known as the famous general of our Xiang Army, sent a distress signal and abandoned your radio equipment to flee. Did you not know what consequences this would bring to our army? Why did you not send another telegram when you realized your troops were out of control? Do you know that Wang Yuying's regiment and the 63rd Division were both defeated while trying to rescue you?

  "And that dead Chen Guangzhong, he was a bandit who killed people. How could he have no vigilance at all at this time? Not even leaving someone to watch his back. They swarmed up like a beehive, is this the Xiang Army that we are proud of for being good at fighting? What shame! We have shamed Chairman Chiang, shamed Chairman He, and shamed our Xiang Army which has been known for its bravery and martial prowess. We have shamed the military academy that trained us officers!"

  At the height of his indignation, Liu Jianxu's whole body was shaking violently, his teeth chattering loudly, and the wine cup in his hand shattered with a loud crash. Fresh blood immediately began to flow down in beads and strings.

  Liu Qing sat down and took out a handkerchief to stop Liu Jianxu's bleeding.

  The officers trembled all over, shame and regret filled their hearts, not a single one dared to raise his head to look at the commander's face twisted in anger.

  Taking a deep breath, Liu Jianxu calmed down and swept his subordinates with a stern gaze, gritting his teeth as he said in a cold tone: "I hope you all remember, never underestimate any opponent!"

  The officers still lowered their heads without responding. Liu Qing coughed and said slowly, "Commander Liu's words, have you all taken note?"

  The officers finally reacted and responded loudly: "Remember the teachings of the commander-in-chief!"

  Liu Jianxu raised his wine glass and took a sip, staring at the slightly red eyes of the military officers and shouting: "If you're a man, you have to get up from where you fell. Whoever loses face must go and find it back for me! Chairman He's order:" The military officers quickly stood up and saluted.

  The 16th Division, led by Zhang Jingyao, immediately went to Changsha for reorganization and training, with one battalion drawn from each of the remaining five divisions. They were supplemented by some local militia in central Hunan and tasked with defending Changsha while undergoing retraining.

  Zhang Liangji immediately stood at attention: "I guarantee that I will not disappoint Chairman He and Commander Liu's high expectations."

  Liu Jianxu didn't even give him a glance. He turned to Tao Guang and said: "The 62nd Division, led by Tao Guang, will be recalled to Hengyang. Two companies will be drawn from each of the remaining five divisions, supplemented with 700 lightly wounded soldiers who have been released, to reinforce the local militia around Hengyang. Quickly assemble and train."

  Tao Guang also made a solemn promise: "I will not disappoint Chairman He and Commander Liu's high expectations."

  Liu Jianxu then turned to the 63rd Division Commander Li Bohao and said: "The 63rd Division's Li Bohao takes over as acting division commander, and the troops are withdrawn back to Changde. From the remaining five divisions, two companies are drawn from each, supplemented with 600 lightly wounded soldiers who have been released. They will be used to reinforce the local militia around Changde and undergo reorganization and training."

  Li Bohao did not expect to escape from death. Not only was he not subject to military law, but he was also promoted and reused. He stomped his feet excitedly: "I guarantee that I will not disappoint Chairman He and Commander Liu's expectations, and resolutely complete the task!"

  Liu Jianxu looked at him and said: "I want you to turn the 63rd Division into a truly elite force, not the original bandit style. The officers your unit needs will be selected from various levels of instructor teams and military academies, you must grasp them well."

  Li Boqiao's heels clicked together even louder, and his voice grew even more resounding: "I guarantee that I will not disappoint Chairman He and Commander Liu's cultivation, if the task is not completed, I am willing to offer my head as a sacrifice!"

  "Liu Jianxu waved his hand: "Everyone, Chairman He has already submitted the report on the troops' rotation to Nanjing. Tomorrow, each unit will take separate action, and the necessary expenses and equipment will be issued according to the original standard. The missing officers have also received orders and will report to you on time. We must complete the task of rebuilding the troops in the shortest possible time and start training. Is everyone clear?"

  As soon as they heard that the expenses, equipment, officers and soldiers were all in place, these generals immediately straightened their waists and replied in unison: "Understood!"

  The atmosphere at the wine table became lively. The teachers and travelers were busy offering toasts to Liu Jianxu and Liu Qingchu, coming and going, and it became lively.

  The night of the 17th passed in the midst of Wang Jiaxiang's frantic telegrams for help, the Central Guard Regiment of the Red Army deciding to reorganize and Liu Jianxu restructuring three regiments.

  The next day, the Changsha newspaper published on its front page a news article titled "The 16th, 62nd and 63rd Divisions of the National Army Complete their Pursuit and Annihilation Mission and Adjust their Defensive Positions". On the second, third and fourth pages, it also published in succession articles that had been prepared in advance, such as "The 16th Division's Bloody Battle at Xiaoshui", "The 62nd Division's Great Victory at Xikou", "The 63rd Division's Decisive Battle at Xikou", "Remembering the Heroic General Chen Guang", "Impressions of General Tao Guang" and "An Interview with General Zhang Liangji". These articles deceived the ordinary people of Changsha, making them feel as if the Hunan army had really won another victory.

  Occasionally, a small newspaper that didn't cooperate would publish a questioning article, and the author would be invited to the police station or the garrison command to drink tea. As a result, there was only one voice in Changsha: "Chairman He is strategizing, and the Xiang Army soldiers are brave and good at fighting."

  Wang Fugui was the captain of the Shiqing County Militia's Double Well District, with about 60 men under his command and five or six broken guns. Usually, they just did some collecting opium cultivation tax, road tolls, transaction taxes, etc. When there was nothing to do, they would go to the Miao villages to show off their power, tie up a few Miao people, rob a few Miao women, that kind of thing. It was simply no different from being a local emperor.

  Therefore, he often warned his subordinates: Whose China is it? It's Chairman Chiang's. Whose Guizhou is it? It's Chairman Wang's. Whose Double Well is it? His subordinates had to say it was Captain Wang's; if they said it wrong, they would get beaten.

  His theory was also very reasonable: of course, China belonged to Chairman Chiang, but Chairman Chiang was busy with many things, so he could only entrust Chairman Wang to manage Guizhou for him. Guizhou was a place with high mountains and far-off waters; it took a long time to walk around it, what if Chairman Wang got tired? So Chairman Wang entrusted Double Well to him to manage.

  In other words, everything he said was on behalf of Chairman Wang, the money he wanted was on behalf of Chairman Wang, the people he killed were on behalf of Chairman Wang, and the girls he slept with were also on behalf of Chairman Wang. In short, whatever Chairman Wang thought of, he did it for him.

  On the 18th, early in the morning, he brought several dozen men under his command to search for opportunities along the highway from Shiqing to Taiping.