Chapter 16

Looking at the four reinforced companies of the temporary formation, apart from the warriors with weapons in their hands who temporarily stayed to clean up the battlefield, the rest, who were just freed from the cages and were unarmed, quickly went to the arsenal captured by the Third Company to arm themselves. In this war-torn era, every warrior understood that guns, in a certain sense, represented a guarantee of life.

Compared to these warriors, seeing He Zhengdao dressed in the uniform of the Hunan Army felt a bit awkward. The Red Army warriors guarding the warehouse undoubtedly made them feel as if they were seeing their own family. However, accustomed to following orders, they suppressed their excitement and, following the instructions of the Third Company Commander Jiang Shan, entered the warehouse in platoons to collect weapons.

Looking at the boxes of guns and ammunition inside the warehouse, the Red Army warriors, who had never before had the luxury of choosing their weapons, were undoubtedly dazzled. If not for the platoon leaders urging them to quickly pick suitable weapons, as there were comrades waiting to enter, they would have taken their time to choose.

Each platoon could take three light machine guns from the warehouse, and the rest could choose new rifles. According to He Zhengdao's orders to the Independent Battalion, each soldier could take up to fifty rounds of ammunition.

For the Red Army warriors who had never experienced such luxury, as they stuffed bullets into their pockets, they also lamented that if they had had such ample ammunition in previous battles, perhaps they would not have ended up as captives!

Regardless of what these Red Army warriors felt, after all the platoons had chosen their weapons, the warriors who had just looked like a group of newly freed prisoners were now a formidable fighting force ready to go into battle.

Seeing that these warriors, who had returned to the parade ground, were somewhat ragged, He Zhengdao instructed them to quickly go to the military supplies warehouse in Dao County to select a set of uniforms and a spare set.

Do not think that wearing a Hunan Army uniform is bad; quickly go and pick a new uniform to change into. Change out of these dirty and tattered uniforms. As long as their hearts are red, does it matter what color the uniform is?

Looking at these Red Army warriors, who, under the orders of their company and platoon leaders, finally changed out of their dirty and tattered uniforms, their spirits undoubtedly improved. While these captives were changing, He Zhengdao had already received the list of seized items from Wang Tianlin.

There were still thousands of pounds of grain in Dao County's warehouse, which they could not take with them. He Zhengdao ultimately decided to have these Red Army warriors find some small bags, each filled with a few pounds of rice, which ordinary people rarely got to eat, and distribute them to the doorsteps or courtyards of the poor in Dao County. This was a small compensation for the shock they had caused by attacking the city that night. It was also a way to win the hearts of the people using the Hunan Army's grain before they left.

Some civilians, awakened by the gunfire, were startled by the sound of footsteps at their doors. When they heard something being thrown into their courtyards, they dared not look around casually.

Only after the footsteps outside the door had gone did they cautiously open the door and see the bag of grain. The poor in Dao County undoubtedly felt as if they had struck it rich that night, receiving a precious bag of grain.

After the injured Red Army warriors were carried away on stretchers and quickly left with the group, He Zhengdao, who had already decided to find a place to rest and regroup for two days after attacking Dao County, gave the order.

These Red Army warriors had been imprisoned for a long time, and their physical and mental strength had undoubtedly been greatly depleted. Therefore, they urgently needed rest, and He Zhengdao also needed time to reorganize the expanded force!

He found Yao Shengjun, who had served as the political commissar of a main regiment in the Red Fifth Army, and together with Wang Tianlin, who had already discussed the matter, the three temporary officers felt that this force, which was now close to the size of a main regiment, urgently needed to rest and reorganize the officer corps.

Without a well-organized officer system, they did not know what they would face next. A complete officer system was necessary to ensure that in the next battle, soldiers would not be unable to find their officers, and officers would not be unable to find their soldiers.

Moreover, capturing three cities in a row would undoubtedly cause a stir among the Hunan and Guangxi armies. Temporarily avoiding the limelight was a wise move.

When this large Red Army force, moving quietly in the dark, arrived at the resting place, Xianzi Ridge, which He Zhengdao had chosen based on the seized maps, the sky was beginning to show the first light of dawn.

After instructing the trucks loaded with a large amount of supplies to find a relatively hidden place on the road to hide, He Zhengdao left a platoon to guard and alert. The contents of the trucks were all transferred to this mountain spanning western Guangxi and southern Hunan.

This was to prevent the guns, ammunition, and grain on the trucks from being seized by the pursuing forces if the trucks were discovered.

After hiding the trucks, He Zhengdao did not want to easily abandon this valuable means of transportation. He personally led a team to handle the tire tracks on the road leading to the mountain.

Therefore, unless they were extremely unlucky, it was unlikely that anyone would discover that their convoy had entered this mountain valley.

After everything was handled, He Zhengdao, accompanied by the guard platoon, returned to the mountain. He saw that Wang Tianlin, who had arrived earlier, had already set up sentries. The Red Army warriors rescued from Dao County the previous night were lying down in this valley, covered by trees, and sleeping with their guns.

Seeing how quickly these warriors had fallen asleep, He Zhengdao understood that it was very necessary to come here to rest.

Seeing that Yao Shengjun had not yet rested and was covering some sleeping soldiers with clothes, worried that they would catch a cold in the cool weather, He Zhengdao felt satisfied.

In this era, the practice of letting soldiers rest while officers worked until the last possible moment was probably one of the reasons the Red Army could maintain unity. Although corporal punishment was common in the military, it was prohibited in the Red Army.

Of course, during training, officers would occasionally curse and kick, which was also common. But privately, these Red Army officers treated the ordinary soldiers like family.

Seeing that these Red Army warriors were accustomed to sleeping on the ground, He Zhengdao understood that for those who were used to hardship, a good night's sleep was perhaps the greatest happiness. After being freed from captivity and the threat of death, walking all the way here had undoubtedly pushed them to their physical and mental limits.

After helping Yao Shengjun cover some soldiers who had not put on clothes to sleep, He Zhengdao looked at the soldiers, most of whom had covered themselves with a uniform, and said to Yao Shengjun, "Commissar Yao, do you have time? I want to talk to you about something."

Yao Shengjun did not refuse and followed He Zhengdao to a hilltop overlooking the distant mountains, roads, and villages. After a moment of silence, Yao Shengjun spoke first, "Captain He, do you really not remember me?"

Eh! Hearing this, He Zhengdao was somewhat surprised and said, "Commissar Yao, what do you mean? Have we met before?"

Regarding He Zhengdao's words, Yao Shengjun smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that what Captain Wang said is true. You don't even remember me! Do you know that when you were in the Soviet area, you were the bodyguard of a certain leader?"

He Zhengdao smiled bitterly and said, "Commissar Yao, since you already know about my memory loss, just say what you want to say. I really can't remember anything from the past, except for the document that proves my identity and the throwing knives I can use very skillfully. I really don't know anything else about my past.

However, I heard from Xiaoshanzi that when I was in the Soviet area, I was the bodyguard of Comrade Mao. But I didn't know you knew me."

Seeing that He Zhengdao was not hiding anything, Yao Shengjun smiled and said, "That's right. When you were in the Soviet area, you were indeed the bodyguard of Comrade Mao. When your master handed you over to Comrade Mao, I was there.

So, when I saw you in the prison wearing a Hunan Army uniform, I thought Comrade Mao had brought the main force back! But you didn't recognize me. When I was curious if I had mistaken someone, I asked Captain Wang just now and learned that you had amnesia.

At first, I thought it was a joke, but now it seems you really don't remember anything from the past! If Comrade Mao knew, he would be worried about you again.

You see, when your master handed you over to Comrade Mao, he said that only by staying by his side could you possibly turn misfortune into good fortune and survive. Otherwise, you wouldn't have lived past eighteen. Because of your master's instructions, Comrade Mao took very good care of you.

However, your throwing knife skills are so good that even General Zhu said they are more reliable than a pistol. I never thought we would meet again under such circumstances. It's truly the will of heaven!"

Hearing Yao Shengjun's words, He Zhengdao confirmed one thing: this regimental commissar knew him and knew how he became Comrade Mao's bodyguard.

However, what was this master? And what did it mean that he could only turn misfortune into good fortune by staying by Comrade Mao's side? Did the original owner of this body have a special background?