Chapter Eighteen: Heading North to Yongfeng
For Long Fei Bao's request, Hu Wei Dong did not agree. The special forces were also elite troops, but to put it bluntly, they were actually high-level kamikaze squads. How could their value be compared to that of the special warfare team? He Hu Zi didn't understand much about military affairs, but he knew that Hu Wei Dong valued Long Fei Bao and would therefore make strict demands on him. He also expressed his support. Isolated and helpless, Long Fei Bao could only pout and continue studying foreign languages, infiltration, disguise, and rhetoric...
In mid-February 1935, Hu Weidong led the troops to attack Yongfeng, and unexpectedly, it went smoothly. The simple earthwork fortifications were completely vulnerable to the flat-shooting howitzers, becoming a "tofu dregs project" that could not withstand a single blow. In less than three days, the militia regiment had occupied more than half of Yongfeng County, eliminating over 3,000 enemy soldiers, with a considerable number being killed in the fortifications without even being injured by the militia. As a result, the militia regiment's casualties were minimal, with fewer than 300 people injured, including light injuries. Moreover, they obtained a large number of troops from prisoners and local civilians, rapidly expanding their numbers to tens of thousands. The small "militia regiment" instantly upgraded to an "independent division".
"Faced with an enemy lacking in siege capabilities, hiding behind fortifications is the most cost-effective way to fight, but they didn't think that we actually have strong siege capabilities, and as a result, one by one, they all became footstools......" Hu Weidong sighed, "However, this kind of luck won't always be encountered, in the future it's not necessarily going to be so easy, better to be careful......"
Hu Weidong's concerns were not unfounded, as he learned from captured soldiers that even after a division had been transferred away, there were still many troops stationed in Yongfeng County (from this point of view, Xingguo's deployment of one brigade was actually sufficient, but if the wrong person was used, no matter how many troops there were, it would be useless). Moreover, among them were not a few elite troops. What surprised Hu Weidong the most was that the Taxation Police General Brigade Headquarters, which was renowned in later generations, was now stationed in Yongfeng County, and at present, the Central Army had not yet begun to re-equip with German arms, while the Taxation Police General Brigade's equipment was almost unanimously considered the best in the country. The Brigade Headquarters itself was unparalleled, with a high-caliber artillery battalion (six 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns), a mountain artillery battalion (12 75mm mountain guns), a special operations battalion (each soldier equipped with a Thompson submachine gun), a communications battalion, a logistics battalion (with over 100 vehicles), a medical battalion, and even a pistol company specifically responsible for guarding the Brigade Headquarters (each soldier equipped with a 20-shot pistol). The total strength was around 4,000 to 5,000 men (the Taxation Police General Brigade had 14 soldiers in each squad, six squads in each platoon, four companies in each battalion, and its troop strength was greater than that of two or three ordinary battalions...), with firepower that was more powerful than many National Army divisions, even military-level units.
In addition, there is another elite force in the city, that is, the old opponent of the Independent Division - "Biedongdui", and a captured plainclothes team leader revealed astonishing intelligence under severe interrogation. The executioner Kang Ze led his Biedongdui to Jiangxi to inspect the progress of "social reform" and arrived in Yongfeng County three days ago, coinciding with the attack of the Independent Division. At this moment, Kang Ze and his men are likely still trapped in the county seat. According to the plainclothes team leader, the headquarters has a force of nearly 2,000 people and extremely advanced equipment, including an artillery battalion equipped with 12 mountain guns. Moreover, Yongfeng County originally had a Biedongdui branch stationed there, adding up to about 2,500 people. Although hundreds of people sent to work in the lower towns were almost wiped out by the Independent Division's sweep, the main force is still intact. With the tradition of Biedongdui equipping all members with automatic weapons (including twenty rounds), the firepower in close combat can be described as terrifying...
At the same time, Yongfeng County originally had a division of local troops and a security brigade under its jurisdiction (another one stationed in Xingguo County has been eliminated by the independent division), with more than 3,000 people. However, because most of them were scattered to guard fortresses and highways, they were gradually annihilated by the superior forces of the independent division, leaving less than 2,000 people now...
Although the city wall of Yongfeng County was also dismantled by the Red Army, just those 24 mountain guns were enough to cause huge losses for the attacking side. Even if they got closer, the thousands of automatic weapons inside the city walls were still daunting. The independent regiment, although it had almost instantly gathered tens of thousands of people and temporarily intimidated the enemy inside the city, making them not dare to come out immediately, but if they really wanted to fight a battle with the elite soldiers inside the city, the independent regiment's mob would never be their match. However, Hu Weidong knew this point well, yet after deep thought, he still decided to take Yongfeng County. The reason was simple: "Kang Ze is in the city!"
The officers and men of the Independent Division had all been directly or indirectly harmed by the Biedongdui and the Huxiangtuan, and as soon as they heard that Kang Ze was the initiator and organizer of the policy of extermination, they were all outraged. In order to seize the main attack task, several regimental commanders who had not yet removed the word "deputy" almost came to blows. He Huizi and others, being cautious, saw that the military's mind was like this, even if they had dissenting words, they couldn't say them out loud, but their faces were all solemn...
He regretted Kang Ze's crimes, but in fact it was only a secondary motive for Hu Weidong to decide to attack the county seat. The more important reason was that Kang Ze was a red man in front of Old Chiang, and he was trapped in Yongfeng. If the national government sent troops to rescue him, it would not be just one regiment or brigade, but possibly an entire division or even an army. With the current strength of the independent division, if they still wanted to surround and attack, they might have broken their teeth first. Now, they could just leave with a pat on the back, but Hu Weidong was really unwilling to give up. Moreover, retreating now would be telling the enemy that they were not capable, and it was likely that they would be pursued by the elite garrison troops in the city, resulting in an equally bad outcome...
Rather than being in such a precarious situation, Hu Weidong felt that the independent regiment might as well go all out and take down Yongfeng County City in one fell swoop. At that time, they could decide whether to fight or retreat based on the number of enemy reinforcements, and the initiative would be in their own hands. As for whether they could successfully attack, it depended on the effect of the new secret weapons produced by the arsenal...
The first to achieve success were the first batch of engineer shovels produced by the arsenal. With the help of this earthwork tool, in just one day, the soldiers of the independent division dug trenches less than 200 meters from the front line of the defending army. Because the trenches dug by the Red Army were not only deep enough to hide their heads but also twisted like a snake, the light weapons of the defending army could hardly hit anyone, and even if the shells fell accurately into the trenches, they were mostly blocked by the trench walls, injuring only a few people. If they fell outside, they were useless. The artillery officers of the National Army soon didn't dare to fire again, as ten or more shells couldn't take out one "bandit" soldier, it wasn't worth it!
