Chapter 38: The Battle of Dongguan (4)

  Zhangmutou is a small town surrounded by mountains, the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway cuts through the front mountain and then passes through Zhangmutou Town towards Kowloon. There were no Chen Jun troops in Zhangmutou, only dozens of police officers, who ran away when they saw the Seventh Company. The people of the Seventh Company didn't have the energy to chase them, they were already exhausted like a dog panting, what they wanted to do most was find a place to rest well.

  After Zhuang Jihua led his men into the train station in the town, the people inside the train station immediately panicked and scattered. The soldiers of the Seventh Company didn't care either, each one finding a chair to lie down on, while the soldiers behind them sat casually on the ground. After resting for a while, Zhuang Jihua felt a bit more energetic, stood up and shouted: "Each squad count your numbers quickly."

  Before long, the squad leaders of various squads came to report one after another. The third squad leader Du Yuming had not arrived yet, and it was his deputy Tang Qijun who came to report. In his heart, Zhuang Jihua quietly calculated that only eighty-nine men in the whole battalion had arrived, with about thirty more on their way.

  I don't know how the situation in Changping is now. It's best if the enemy is annihilated in Changping, then I won't have to risk my life anymore. Although I'm hoping for this in my heart, I dare not put my hopes on it.

  Then Zhuang Jihua took out the map and discussed the deployment with several platoon leaders. Zhuang Jihua decided to put the main force in the town, and Hu Zongnan led a platoon to defend the mountain outside the town. Then Hu Zongnan led his men up the mountain, and Zhuang Jihua set up defensive fortifications in the town.

  The workers at the train station saw the group of soldiers with red ribbons and started to busy themselves building sandbags. One worker ran over to ask if they were the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and after receiving a positive response, he smiled and ran off. The deputy platoon leader Tang Qijun was left puzzled, but after a while, the worker brought back a young man with a slightly dark complexion, who introduced himself as the chairman of the Zhangmu Head Workers' Association and wanted to meet the highest commander of this unit.

  The young man was soon brought before Zhuang Jihua, who was directing the construction of fortifications at the town entrance with Cao Yuan. After the young man arrived, he introduced himself: "My name is Huang Mincheng, and I am the chairman of the Zhangmu Railway Workers' Union. We have already received notification from the organization that we are to join the Eastern Expedition against Chen, and we have been expecting your arrival."

  Zhuang Jihua and Cao Yuan were immediately delighted when they heard about it. Zhuang Jihua asked him, "How many people are you mobilizing now?"

  "How many people do you need?" Huang Mingcheng asked without hesitation.

  "Of course, the more the better." Zhuang Jihua also didn't mince words.

  "Comrades, our people haven't arrived yet, and the soldiers are very tired. They're also not familiar with the situation in the town." As soon as he spoke, Huang Mingcheng knew that this was a fellow party member, and his gaze towards Cao Yun became more affectionate. "You find some more people to help us with the repairs. And introduce us to the situation in the town."

  "No problem." Huang Mingcheng looked around at the busy soldiers: "Ah Shui, go find people and bring all the union farmers here, quickly."

  Ashan agreed and was about to run, but Zhuang Jihua hastily stopped him: "Also, send a few people to the south and southeast to see if there are any enemies." Ashui agreed and ran off, with Zhuang Jihua anxiously shouting after his back: "Be sure to send someone, remember, it's the south and southeast!"

  Huang Mingcheng and others shouted after Zhuang Jihua, laughing and saying: "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong." Only then did he realize that he had forgotten to introduce them.

  "Comrade Mingcheng, this is our company commander Zhuang Jihua, a member of the Nationalist Party. I am Cao Yuan, representative of the Communist Party."

  Huang Mingcheng immediately beamed with joy, extending both hands to grasp Cao Yuan's hand, and then shook hands with Zhuang Jihua, saying "Great, great." Huang Mingcheng's behavior brought a wave of bitterness to Zhuang Jihua's heart.

  The union workers hadn't arrived yet, when a soldier came running up to report that something was happening. Zhuang Jihua and Cao Yuan immediately ran towards the town entrance, and when they got there, Zhuang Jihua crouched in a corner looking outwards. In the distance, over a hundred people were rushing towards them in disarray, with the person at the front waving a strange flag - it was rectangular in shape, with a large Meng character embroidered on it. The procession stretched back a long way, and judging from their hurried pace, it seemed that they still didn't know that Zhangmu Head had been blocked off.

  Zhuang Jihua signaled to conceal themselves, then whispered: "No order, no shooting." All the soldiers lowered their bodies, and the machine gunner, Dacow, quietly pulled up the bolt. The enemy was getting closer and closer, the atmosphere was getting more and more tense, Wu Ziniu's hand grasping the gun relaxed, then tightened again. He now had some admiration for this young company commander, who didn't expect him to be so calm, still not giving the order to fire at nearly 50 meters away.

  "Don't rush, don't rush." A low voice came from beside Zhuang Jihua. When the enemy was thirty meters away, and even the eyebrows of the people opposite could be seen clearly, Wu Ziniu became a little anxious.

  "Bang", the flag-bearing soldier fell to the ground, and the gunshot was the signal. The machine gun of Da Niu burst into a loud "pa pa pa" sound, and all seven soldiers appeared. The enemy immediately fell down, and Zhuang Jihua shouted: "Blow the charge horn! Charge!" In the midst of the strong charge horn sound, Cao Yuan on the left and Song Xiliang on the right yelled as they jumped out of the fortifications and charged towards the enemy.

  "Charge!" "Kill!" The soldiers of the 7th Company followed the two and killed their way forward. The enemy was stunned by this wave of chaotic gunfire, only hearing a chorus of killing sounds, without knowing how many people were coming to kill them. They turned around and ran, with the 7th Company hot on their heels. Zhuang Jihua had learned from his previous lesson and did not follow the charge, instead climbing onto the rooftop to gaze out into the distance. He saw that as they pursued, another group of men emerged from the side, launching a fierce attack on the enemy's flank. The enemy was even more chaotic after being hit by this group, with many dropping their guns and kneeling beside the road with their hands up. This group of soldiers cut off the enemy's rear guard, and the surrounded enemy surrendered almost without a fight. However, the enemy in front had taken advantage of the situation to flee far away. Seeing this, Zhuang Jihua knew that they had already won the first battle, and it would not be advantageous to continue fighting. He then told the sentry: "Blow the horn, call them back."

  The first battle was a victory, with more than 20 enemies killed and 34 captured. Over 70 guns were seized, including one machine gun. Seeing the soldiers' excited faces, Zhuang Jihua showed no smile.

  As soon as the captive was brought back, he went to interrogate him, and the result made his heart tremble. The enemy in front of him not only had Yuan Yaoniu's troops who retreated from Shilong, but also Meng Xianxiang's troops who came to reinforce, with a total strength of over 1,200 people.

  Du Yuming, who was in the rear to gather the straggling soldiers, suddenly appeared from the flank. When he approached Zhangmu Head, he discovered the enemy and immediately hid himself. As soon as the gunfire sounded on this side, he launched a flanking attack.

  Zhuang Jihua called Cao Yuan, Song Xilian and Du Yuming to one side and told them the situation he had just obtained. However, Zhuang Jihua found that these three people were not worried at all, but very excited. Song Xilian said: "Good, I didn't run in vain this time, finally blocked them after hard work."

  Zhuang Jihua said: "The block is blocked, but we have only over 120 people, and the enemy has over 1100 people, which is ten times ours. Just now we caught the enemy off guard, next time it won't be so easy. If the main force of the regiment can't arrive on time, how long can we hold out?" Only then did the three men feel a bit tricky.

  Yuquan, let's go find Chairman Huang. There are some things I'd like to discuss with him." Zhuang Jihua pulled Cao Yuan and went to look for Huang Mingcheng.

  Huang Mingcheng had just watched a thrilling ambush and was still excited when he saw two officers approaching, so he went up to greet them, muttering to himself: "Great, great, really great." Zhuang Jihua asked him with a smile: "Do you want to feel great again?" Huang Mingcheng was taken aback, his smile somewhat stiff: "Commander Zhuang's words have a hidden meaning."

  Zhuang Jihua didn't mince words and told him the situation in detail. Huang Mingcheng asked doubtfully, "Commander Zhuang, just tell us what you want us to do, we won't decline."

  Zhuang Jihua was very confident, Cao Yuan is here, you can't refuse even if you want to.

  "We captured over 70 guns, I want to arm our workers with these guns. Of course, we won't let you participate in the battle before we die, but after we're dead, I hope you can continue to hold off the enemy here and persevere until the main force arrives."

  Cao Yuan suddenly understood what Zhuang Jihua was up to and secretly applauded him. If Chairman Huang agreed, the Seventh Company would gain two additional platoons of troops out of thin air, which could at least hold on for a while longer.

  Huang Mingcheng thought for a moment and asked: "After the battle is over, are all these guns left to us?"

  "Of course, no problem, after we're done, I can give you another hundred, if a hundred is not enough then two hundred, three hundred." Zhuang Jihua said nonchalantly; Cao Yuan couldn't help but interrupt: "Wenge, don't make rash promises, where are you going to get so many guns?"

  "Right, we don't have any, the enemy has 1,200 guns." Zhuang Jihua winked at Cao Yuan with a sly smile. Cao Yuan suddenly realized and laughed: "Cultural Revolution, you little devil are quite clever."

  Huang Mingcheng didn't care whose gun it was, as long as it was a gun. As soon as Zhuang Jihua agreed, he immediately went to gather manpower. Zhuang Jihua had Du Yuming bring two people to give the workers emergency training, with a focus on teaching them how to shoot guns and throw hand grenades.

  The enemy launched another attack soon, the enemy cautiously advanced in a scattered formation, and Zhuang Jihua did not wait for the enemy to approach, and ordered shooting when they approached within 100 meters. This time Chen Jun's army showed some tenacity, and the seventh company began to suffer casualties.