Chapter 15

Facing the pistol pressed against his head, Captain Du of the Hunan Army, who was responsible for the prison guard, undoubtedly felt bewildered. Why would someone press a gun to his head like this? Moreover, the hammer of the gun was already cocked, and with just a slight pull of the trigger, his head would surely be blown open.

Realizing that something was amiss, Captain Du tried to appease the situation, saying, "Brother Sun, I'm getting old and can't take much fright. Can we talk without the gun? Otherwise, if the gun goes off, my life will be over."

In response to Captain Du's attempt to appease him, He Zhengdao smiled lightly and said, "It seems you still haven't come to your senses. Let me tell you the truth: from now on, if you follow my orders, this trigger will never be pulled. If you don't follow my orders, I guarantee that next year's today will be your memorial day.

"Oh! I forgot to mention, I'm not surnamed Sun, but He Zhengdao, the commander of the Red Army's Independent Rear Guard Battalion. In fact, my rank is one level higher than yours. Now, Captain Du, do you still think I'm joking with you?"

The more he feared, the more it came true!

When He Zhengdao pressed the gun to his head, the other officers who entered were also controlled by He Zhengdao's men. Captain Du had thought that these people were definitely not from the Hunan Army. If they weren't from the Hunan Army, it made no sense for the Guangxi Army or the Nationalist Army to play such a big joke on him. After all, robbing a prison full of Red Army captives was no small matter!

Moreover, the prison in Dao County held as many as 600 Red Army captives. If these captives were lost or rescued, their Hunan Army commander, He, would surely be furious!

As He Zhengdao spoke, the nearby Red Army captives were overjoyed and exclaimed, "Commander He, you've finally come! Is the main force attacking Dao County now? Does it mean the main force has returned, and we can go back to the Soviet area?"

After leaving the Soviet area, many Red Army soldiers hadn't expected that they would walk for thousands of miles. They had never imagined that their strong and well-equipped army would lose two-thirds of its core strength by the time they reached Shaanbei. One could say that the Long March was dyed red by countless martyrs.

Facing this middle-aged Red Army officer who seemed to have held a certain position, He Zhengdao didn't want to tell them the truth directly and said, "The main force attacking Dao County is the rear guard battalion I lead. Due to the urgency of time, we'll talk more later. Now, please help me open all the cell doors.

"Currently, there is a company of the Hunan Army guarding outside the prison. I must eliminate them all to safely rescue everyone. So, while I go out to deal with these guards, everyone should form a temporary officer system based on their previous units, electing squad leaders and platoon leaders.

"If everything goes well, we need to leave before dawn. Otherwise, if the main force of the Hunan Army catches up, we'll be in trouble."

Without further discussion with the bewildered middle-aged Red Army officer, He Zhengdao quickly had the guard platoon collect the weapons from the captured officers and hand them to this middle-aged man, instructing him to distribute them to the Red Army officers among the captives. As for He Zhengdao, he took a few guard platoon members and escorted the dejected officers out of the prison.

When the Hunan Army soldiers outside saw their company officers, who had just been calling them "brother," now being pointed at, they were undoubtedly stunned. However, they still aimed their guns at He Zhengdao and his men.

But because He Zhengdao and his men had pushed the officers in front of them, they didn't dare to fire, unless the Hunan Army soldiers were willing to face the charge of shooting their superiors!

Pressing the pistol against the back of Captain Du's head, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Captain Du, I don't think you want to see a bloodbath, do you? I just want to take the people inside; I have no interest in your lives.

"If you insist on a fight to the death, I can only tell you that you will be the first to die, and I guarantee it will be a gruesome death with a bullet through your forehead. How about it? Will you make your men surrender and lay down their weapons?

"You should know that we, the Red Army, treat prisoners well. If you delay any longer, and my main force arrives, you might not have the chance to surrender and save your lives."

As Captain Du was still considering, a soldier outside screamed, "It's bad, it's bad! The Red Army is bringing artillery. They have artillery! They have artillery!"

This statement completely shattered Captain Du's hopes, and he laughed bitterly, "Commander He, at least we've met. Can you guarantee that if my men lay down their weapons, you will spare their lives?"

He Zhengdao smiled and replied, "I believe, Captain Du, you understand our Red Army's prisoner policy better than I do, don't you?"

Just as Captain Du was about to request more conditions for the prisoners, a 'thud' was heard outside the prison, and soon a mortar shell landed not far from them. Two Hunan Army soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were hit by shrapnel and fell to the ground, dead or alive.

Realizing that there was no time to negotiate further, Captain Du quickly said, "Brothers, lay down your weapons and surrender. We have lost. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices! I ask Commander He to order your men to stop firing. Otherwise, my men will die in vain!"

Nodding to a guard platoon member, he quickly rushed out. As the guard platoon member walked out, a group of Red Army soldiers soon rushed into the prison and collected the weapons and ammunition from the Hunan Army company.

Handing over the task of clearing the battlefield to the supporting Fourth Company commander, Ma Xiaojun, He Zhengdao returned to the prison with the guard platoon members. He opened the prison gates and arranged for the Red Army captives to quickly leave the prison, picking up the weapons and ammunition already piled outside and forming a rapid armed assembly.

Looking at the dense crowd of Red Army soldiers on the parade ground, He Zhengdao quickly said, "Comrades, I am Commander He Zhengdao of the Independent Rear Guard Battalion of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. It's normal that you haven't heard of this unit. That's because all 500 officers and soldiers in the battalion were once captives, just like you.

"As for me, I was a company commander of the Political Security Brigade left behind to recuperate at a villager's home. Our independent battalion grew from an initial six people to its current size. Because we couldn't contact headquarters, we temporarily organized ourselves as an independent battalion to gather and reorganize the scattered and wounded comrades, working together to catch up with the main force.

"As the saying goes, one person's strength is short, but three people's strength is long. I hope everyone can put aside the burden of being captured and work together to catch up with the main force. Regarding the question Political Commissar Yao asked me, I want to tell you that the Eighth Red Army was almost annihilated at the Xiang River. We started with over 80,000 people, but lost most of them at the Xiang River.

"Fortunately, our Central Committee successfully broke through the enemy's encirclement. As long as we believe in victory, we have a chance to catch up with the main force. However, according to the information we have from the enemy, the main force has already reached the border of Guizhou Province.

"This means that catching up with the main force will not be a matter of a day or two. Therefore, forming an independent battalion and naming it the rear guard is to tell the reactionary enemies that they can never erase our revolutionary beliefs. Even if we are separated from the main force, we can still defeat them.

"Didn't I take a whole county with just one battalion? As long as we have weapons and food, do we need to fear the enemy's encirclement?

"What we need to do is to be an unbreakable and indomitable iron rear guard, to relieve pressure on the main force, and to eventually break through the enemy's encirclement and reunite with the main force. Comrades, do you have confidence?"

For the first time since being captured, the captives learned about the main force and the successful conclusion of the Xiang River campaign. The news of the heavy casualties and the near annihilation of the Eighth Red Army was particularly hard for the Eighth Red Army soldiers to accept.

However, thinking about how He Zhengdao had built this battalion from six people, they understood that without his rescue, their fate might have been sealed in this county. When they heard He Zhengdao shout about being the iron rear guard for the main force, these soldiers, who felt ashamed of being captured, shouted in unison, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Seeing these soldiers, who had been encouraged and reinvigorated, He Zhengdao quickly said, "Time is tight, and we have many wounded who need to be moved. We don't have much time to talk. Based on the temporary company structure organized by Political Commissar Yao,

"Everyone should follow the independent battalion soldiers to choose suitable weapons and ammunition. We'll discuss other matters after we leave Dao County. In short, I hope everyone can follow me and fight our way out. If a Buddha blocks our path, we will kill the Buddha; if a god blocks our path, we will slay the god. Kill! Kill! Kill!"

As He Zhengdao shouted the three 'kills' with all his might, it thoroughly ignited the Red Army soldiers' passion, and they followed with three loud 'kills.' The people of Dao County and the Hunan Army soldiers undoubtedly felt a chill run down their spines!