Chapter 72: Divine Soldiers Descend from Heaven
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Originally, Hu Weidong led the main force of the 15th Army in Zhongtiao Mountain to confront the main force of the Jin-Sui Army, but it was just his trick to deceive heaven and cross the sea. Not long ago, a newly formed elite unit, the Shanxi Traveler's Brigade, with more than 8,000 soldiers, had successfully crossed the Zhongtiao Mountains under the command of Fang Yongle, the chief of staff of the army group, avoiding enemy interception on the main roads and relying on their agility and special equipment tailored by Hu Weidong. They suddenly appeared at the foot of Taiyuan City, coinciding with Xue Yue being driven away by Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi leading his troops northward, forcing Yan Xishan to send troops from Taiyuan to fill the gap, making Taiyuan more empty than ever before. What's more, Hu Weidong had sent hundreds of special operatives to infiltrate Taiyuan City months ago, who suddenly launched a surprise attack on Yan Xishan's vital point - the Taiyuan Arsenal...
During the Republic of China era, guns were not banned, and revolvers were extremely common. The special warfare team members were also scattered into Taiyuan City, so they did not attract the attention of the garrison troops. However, when they suddenly attacked and controlled the arsenal with the help of the underground party, there were only a few thousand troops and police in the city, who were unable to do anything about these plainclothes men with only handguns.
Originally, Yan Xishan was very fond of his arsenal, and the officers and soldiers of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army were afraid of accidentally damaging the machinery and equipment of the arsenal, or even detonating the ammunition or chemicals stored in the arsenal. Therefore, they basically did not dare to open fire on the enemy, and even the use of heavy machine guns was strictly restricted.
However, the special warfare team members did not have this concern. They even directly pushed out cannons from the warehouse and recklessly bombarded the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army that was attacking the arsenal. How could this battle be fought? Moreover, even if they didn't use cannons, the excellent marksmanship and agility of the special warfare team members, combined with the powerful firepower of the twenty-round guns at close range, were enough to counter ten times as many enemy troops in street fighting...
"This battle can't be fought, in just half a day, the casualties have exceeded one thousand people, and the Red Bandits are still brazenly using the artillery factory's big guns to bombard our soldiers! Please allow our artillery to join the battle!", begged Zhou Wei, the artillery commander deeply trusted by Yan Xishan.
"No way, there are so many explosives and unremoved shells and hand grenades in the arsenal. If this cannon fires, won't everything blow up?" Yan Xishan firmly refused.
"Even if it's blown up, it can't be left for the Red Bandits!", Zhou Wei said urgently.
"Old Han, I really can't bear it! These are the results of our hard work for over five years, how can we let them be destroyed by our own hands?" Yan Xishan exclaimed with a bitter face, clenching his fists and pounding his thighs.
Yan Xishan's hesitation caused the defending troops in Taiyuan to suffer even greater losses. When the Shanxi Army's 8,000 elite soldiers suddenly appeared under the city walls like heavenly warriors, Yan Xishan was unable to change his mind and destroy the arsenal even if he wanted to. He could only abandon Taiyuan City, which he had invested so much of his heart and soul in over the years, and escape to Jinxi with his life protected by his subordinates. For a time, it truly felt like "the world is vast, yet there is no place to hide."
Currently, there are large numbers of Red Army troops stationed in both northern and southern Shanxi. Shanxi's western region is also adjacent to the Red Army's main base in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia. From any perspective, this appears to be a dead-end situation. However, Yan Xishan has his own reasons for choosing this path. Going to Hebei would naturally be safer, but if he leaves Shanxi, his scattered troops and local militia will lose their backbone and quickly disperse. At that time, even if Yan Xishan can return to Shanxi with the help of the Central Army, it will be difficult for him to regain his position as a local warlord.
Although Shanxi's western region is surrounded on all sides, Yan Xishan has operated there for many years and has stored up a considerable amount of grain and ammunition. As long as he relies on the terrain and defends resolutely, the Red Army will not easily be able to defeat him. Moreover, although Chiang Kai-shek wants to eliminate local warlords, the communist takeover of Shanxi is something he does not want to see happen. Therefore, the Central Army will definitely enter Shanxi to provide relief as soon as possible, and the Red Army will eventually withdraw from major cities like Taiyuan.
At that time, Shanxi will still be Yan Xishan's domain. Of course, this assumes that Yan Xishan can hold onto Shanxi's western region and gather as many of his scattered troops and local militia as possible. With a sufficient number of soldiers, Chiang Kai-shek and Xue Yue, those two unreliable guys, will not dare to stab him in the back...
At this time, the Red 15th Army in southern Shanxi had also begun to counterattack, and in more than ten days, they successively eliminated dozens of large and small strongholds of the Jin-Sui army, killing or wounding over two thousand enemy soldiers. This speed cannot be said to be slow, but if you want to completely break through the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line, it is absolutely impossible without half a year's time, and the consumption of ammunition, especially artillery shells, is even more unbearable for the Red 15th Army. However, when the news of Taiyuan's fall spread to southern Shanxi, not only ordinary Jin-Sui army soldiers but also their commander Yang Aiyuan lost the will to continue defending. Hu Weidong seized this opportunity and launched an unprecedented fierce attack. After several days of intense fighting, the Red 15th Army's one hundred thousand elite troops successfully broke through the solid Zhongtiao Mountain defense line and entered the fertile and rich Yuncheng Basin. The seven or eight hundred thousand Jin-Sui army retreated to western Shanxi to join forces with Yan Xishan under Yang Aiyuan's efforts, but due to battle losses and desertions along the way, when the two armies merged, Yang Aiyuan's troops had fewer than thirty thousand men. This was still a result of Hu Weidong letting him off easy, without thoroughly defeating the defeated enemy...
Hu Weidong did this because he believed that even if the Red Army's strength increased greatly due to its own appearance, it would still be unable to hold onto major cities like Taiyuan. It was necessary for them to first establish a foothold in the mountainous regions. With Yan Xishan, the local warlord, present, the Central Army would find it difficult to control Shanxi even if they entered the province. This balance of power among multiple forces was more beneficial to the current Red Army and also facilitated the formation of an anti-Japanese national united front as soon as possible. Moreover, since Taiyuan City would eventually have to be abandoned anyway, the top priority was to quickly relocate the factories' equipment and financial resources within the city. Hu Weidong naturally did not want to waste too much time capturing a few more prisoners.
Although Yan Xishan was not a good person, it is undeniable that his achievements in the industrialization process of China during the Republic of China period were among the best, especially in heavy industry. The Taiyuan Arsenal was the largest arsenal in the country (with the most product varieties, the most complete supporting industries, and the lowest dependence on foreign countries). In addition, the wealth of Shanxi merchants was famous throughout the country, so it can be imagined how great the harvest was after the Red Fifteenth Army captured Taiyuan this time. What pleased Hu Weidong even more was that although Shanxi's industry and mining were relatively developed, they were basically all bureaucratic capital, while the main business of Shanxi merchants was usury and pawnbroking, which is now considered to be harmful to China and was defined by the Communist Party as a landlord economy (those who opened pawnshops and banks were classified as landlords, and big landlords at that...). The Red Eighth Army Corps could directly confiscate them without worrying about violating discipline.
