Chapter Thirty-Six: General Always Victorious

  Thanks to book friend aqswdefr for the reward, here is today's fourth update, hope you all continue to support ^_^

  As Mao Zedong's work was completed, the transaction activities in Dapu County began to operate automatically under the drive of business interests. After Tan Shenglin and others went north, Hu Weidong had few people available, so he quickly called back Mao Zedong, who had made great contributions, promoted him as military counselor and still served as commander of the special operations team. Although this move also had the intention of promoting him, Hu Weidong did not think that Mao Zedong, whose military talent was not particularly outstanding, would soon turn the tide and save the Red Fifteenth Army from a crisis, making Hu Weidong realize a truth: "A person's ability is important, but whether he is put in a suitable position is even more important..."

  The transaction in Tai Po relieved the Red Fifteenth Army's urgent need, but Hu Weidong had not been happy for long when he heard some bad news. "What? The Independent Second Division was defeated by that good-for-nothing Liu Zhen? What is Tan Zhenlin eating?"

  Mao Zedong couldn't listen anymore, and immediately spoke out for justice, "General, you can't talk like that. Liu Xiang may be extremely reactionary, but he is also a general who has won many battles. The Fourth Route Army suffered greatly at his hands in the past. It's not that you scold him once and he becomes a good-for-nothing. Moreover, the enemy had an army of over 100,000, while Tan Shilong only had more than 30,000 men. Being able to preserve most of the troops and retreat south is already quite an achievement..."

  "Invincible General?", Hu Weidong only then realized that the war of resistance had not started yet, and Liu Zhen was indeed an "invincible general" without any discount. In over a decade, he had fought in hundreds of battles big and small, and never lost once. His reputation was even more renowned than Wei Lihuang's, but who else would know that since the start of the war of resistance, Liu Zhen had completely changed into a different person? Afterwards, whether fighting against the Japanese or the PLA, he surprisingly never won once, and "Invincible General" instantly became "Defeated General". In the end, he even thoroughly lost his courage and became the "Long-Legged General" who often fled first. It's really a case of heaven playing tricks on people...

  "Hmph, 'A great reputation is hard to live up to.' Liu Zhen has two fatal weaknesses. It's just that he was lucky enough not to be discovered before. Just watch how I'll avenge Old Tan," Hu Weidong sneered.

  Including Mao Zedong, all levels of commanders had concerns, but since the start of the armed uprising they had won every battle, which made them fully confident in Hu Weidong, so they all resolutely carried out Hu Weidong's orders.

  When Liu Xiang heard that the main force of the Red Army was going north to fight a decisive battle with him, he was so happy that his mouth was crooked. In his view, the most frightening thing about the Red Army was that they were too good at running, and in a face-to-face attack and defense battle, even the famous Red Fourth Front Army was not a match for the National Army. Now that the National Army had an advantage in terms of troop strength, and with him, this "victorious general", in command, Liu Xiang thought he would surely win. With this great achievement, his newly promoted rank of second-class general might even be raised another level, making him the third first-class general in the history of the National Revolutionary Army.

  "It seems that becoming a 'victorious general' is not without reason......" Seeing the shocking casualty numbers, Hu Weidong couldn't help but frown. The strength of the Red Fifteenth Army was only slightly less than that of the enemy, and Liu Zhi's troops didn't have top-notch domestic units like the 88th Division or the Tax Police Corps. However, on the first day of battle, the Red Fifteenth Army suffered over 7,000 casualties, nearly twice as many as the defending Nationalist army. This showed that Liu Zhi was quite skilled in head-on battles. If Hu Weidong's analysis of Liu Zhi was wrong, the Red Fifteenth Army would have to pay a huge price. But it was too late for regrets now. Hu Weidong decided to take a gamble. If he could defeat Liu Zhi's army, which was the strongest of the three Nationalist armies, the other two routes would be intimidated, and the Red Fifteenth Army would gain time to regroup after the battle. However, if they clashed with the other two Nationalist armies first, it would be difficult to gain an advantage, and even if they won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. By then, Liu Zhi's army of 100,000 soldiers would crush them from the north, putting the Red Fifteenth Army at risk of total annihilation...

  The next day, Hu Weidong concentrated almost all the artillery of the Red 15th Army and launched a fierce bombardment on the left flank of Liu Zhi's troops, killing and wounding many enemy soldiers. Mao Zedong took advantage of the situation to personally lead the special task force to break through, and the Nationalist army, which had performed well before, suddenly seemed unable to fight back. The special task force easily captured the left flank position of Liu Zhi's troops, and the situation on the battlefield was immediately reversed. Hu Weidong finally relaxed his grip on his heart. "Liu Zhi's first weakness is that he only knows how to defend in a single line, without any concept of depth or protection. As long as one point is breached, the entire line will collapse. Moreover, he likes to concentrate his elite troops in the middle and place the old, weak, and sick on the flanks. This approach may not be a problem when facing warlord forces with rigid tactics or the Red Fourth Front Army influenced by left-wing ideology. However, when faced with the Japanese army and the Liberation Army, which are tactically flexible and fond of encircling and outflanking, they will be finished. This problem is common among Nationalist troops in the early stages of the war. Those who can learn from their mistakes and correct them will stand out in the war, while those like Liu Zhi who cannot change will only be eliminated by history..."

  At this time, the National Army was indeed passive, but if Liu Zhi had withdrawn elite troops from the front line in time to counterattack the lost flank position, they could have held on for at least a while. However, Liu Zhi panicked and abandoned his troops, fleeing northward for hundreds of miles in one breath. At this moment, the 100,000 National Army soldiers who were still fighting fiercely against the Red Fifteenth Army were suddenly stunned...

  "Liu Zhen's second weakness is that his adaptability and psychological quality are extremely poor. Once he encounters an unexpected change, he will immediately fall into a state of panic, and the panicked emotions will amplify his fear, causing him to do stupid things that he would not normally do..."

  Hu Weidong let out a light sigh, and then ordered all troops to launch a full-scale attack. The 100,000-strong national army, which had been putting up a strong resistance, suddenly collapsed, with soldiers dropping their weapons and fleeing in all directions. Those who could not escape simply dropped their weapons and surrendered. In just one day, the Red Fifteenth Army captured several tens of thousands of prisoners and seized countless amounts of arms and ammunition...

  Just as Hu Weidong was about to pursue and expand the victory, he received a report that the National Army's 18th Corps was less than 50 miles away from the battlefield. He frowned slightly and ordered the entire army to temporarily let go of Liu Zhi's defeated troops and concentrate their forces on dealing with the National Army's trump card - the 18th Corps. This powerful force could be said to be the nemesis of the PLA throughout history, and like a cockroach, it was hard to kill until the Huaihai Campaign finally annihilated it. However, not long after its rebuilding, the 18th Corps bit the PLA fiercely in Jinmen, opening up the precedent for the PLA's annihilation...