Chapter 40

Regarding the reorganization and management of the prisoners, after He Zhengdao, who played the role of the "bad cop," had intimidated and frightened them, Yao Shengjun, as the political commissar, soon arrived with the officers responsible for logistics, carrying steaming hot meals to the camp where the prisoners were held.

Seeing that there was even fragrant meat in the pot, many of the Nationalist Army prisoners felt that the Red Army's rations were surprisingly good. In the Nationalist Army, it was not easy to eat meat regularly.

Seeming to notice the prisoners' greedy looks at the meat in the pot, Yao Shengjun smiled and said, "This is the meat of the horses that were killed in today's battle. It's not easy for us to have such a meal even when we are on the march and in battle."

After Yao Shengjun's explanation, the Nationalist Army prisoners truly believed that the Red Army company commander, who had arranged their meals, had not violated He Zhengdao's orders and had provided them with the same rations as the Red Army.

This equal treatment in rations made many of the Nationalist Army prisoners feel that the Red Army might not be as terrible and fearsome as they had imagined. If they had been captured by the Nationalist Army, being able to drink a mouthful of water would have been a luxury.

As the prisoners began to eat, He Zhengdao, who had also returned to the temporary base, looked at He Xiaoshan, who was carrying the food, and smiled, "Have you eaten?"

"Eaten! It's been a long time since I've had meat. The horse meat stew tonight is very fragrant. Brother, you should eat more too!"

In the presence of others, He Xiaoshan would call He Zhengdao "Commander." But now, with only the two of them, He Xiaoshan called He Zhengdao "Brother." He Zhengdao felt very comfortable with this form of address.

Even though they had no blood relation, since He Zhengdao had recognized He Xiaoshan as his brother, he genuinely treated him as a real brother. If possible, He Zhengdao would keep him by his side.

While He Zhengdao was eating, far away in western Hunan, at the headquarters of the Second Red Army Corps, Commander He found the information provided by the Jingzhou guerrillas today quite unbelievable.

Looking at the equally incredulous political commissar, Commander He asked, "Commissar, do you think this information is credible?"

"Although it's hard to believe, I still trust Comrade Xu Sicheng's report. According to the information he provided, it matches our previous suspicions about major issues in the Jingzhou area."

If someone else had reported this information, Ren Bishi might have found it less credible. But today, the intelligence was reported by Xu Sicheng, a Red Army backbone member dispatched by the military region to the Jingzhou area to establish guerrilla zones.

Ren Bishi had separately questioned the Red Army soldiers who returned to headquarters with Xu Sicheng. The conclusion was that a regiment entirely composed of scattered and captured Red Army soldiers had looted the city of Jingzhou.

"So, do you think we should send a telegram to headquarters to inquire? At least the political commissar and commander of this regiment should be known to someone at headquarters. If it's true, it would be truly remarkable!"

"Alright, let's send a telegram to inquire. But what I'm more concerned about is how to retrieve that batch of supplies. Over three thousand rifles, a batch of machine gun ammunition, and food are extremely important to us."

Ren Bishi, who had already largely believed the report from the guerrilla captain, also placed great importance on the supplies hidden in the mountains of Jingzhou. With these supplies, the Second Red Army Corps could expand by at least one main regiment.

Most importantly, the food and ammunition hidden there were exactly what the Second Red Army Corps urgently needed. However, the area around Jingzhou was still heavily fortified by the Hunan Army, making it very difficult to retrieve the supplies smoothly.

Hearing this, Commander He smiled and said, "Don't worry. As long as this regiment really exists, I believe we will find an opportunity to get around to Jingzhou. Moreover, He Jian won't stay there forever."

As the commander of the Second Red Army Corps, Commander He naturally knew the importance of these supplies to them. If the information was confirmed, he felt that it was necessary to engage in some strategic maneuvering with the Hunan Army to retrieve the supplies smoothly.

Meanwhile, far away in Zunyi, the main force of the Red Army had just held a very significant meeting. At this meeting, Mao Zedong, who had been excluded from command and decision-making, finally regained control of the army.

Many Red Army commanders and fighters, upon receiving the resolution documents sent to their units after the meeting, felt that this should have happened long ago. Throughout the campaign, many commanders knew that there had been significant problems with the higher command.

According to the decisions made at the Zunyi Conference, the Red Army decided to establish a new Soviet base area in the southwest or northwest of Chengdu. However, the current situation was still very unfavorable for the main force of the Red Army.

Although the Red Army had won several consecutive battles after advancing into Guizhou, Mao Zedong and others knew that with the entry of the main forces of the Nationalist Army, the various Nationalist Army units following them would likely implement new encirclement and suppression strategies. Staying in Zunyi would also be dangerous.

As Mao Zedong and Zhu De began to discuss the next steps, Zhou Enlai, who was responsible for managing the headquarters' confidential telegrams, also found it hard to believe the telegram from the Second Red Army Corps. Even though it was late at night, he still put on a coat and went to the operations command room, where the map was being studied.

Seeing Mao Zedong and others discussing the next combat plan, Zhou Enlai smiled and said, "Old Mao, take a look at this telegram."

"What telegram? Is it worth you sending it over so late? Good news?"

"Something like that. You'll see. If the information is true, you'll be very happy!"

"Oh!"

Mao Zedong, after reading the telegram from the Second Red Army Corps, also found it hard to believe and said, "Is this true?"

Seeing Mao Zedong's surprised expression, Zhu De asked with interest, "Old Mao, what's true or not?"

After Zhu De read the telegram, he was also surprised and said, "He Zhengdao, this kid, has such skills? It seems we made the right decision to leave him with the locals back then."

"Yes! If this information is true, it's really great news. A regiment of over two thousand people, I can't imagine how this kid managed to do it. These are over two thousand lives!"

Thinking about the Red Army soldiers who had been scattered or captured during the Long March, Mao Zedong felt very distressed. Even though he knew that war inevitably involved casualties, the number of Red Army commanders and fighters who had died was truly too many. Every time he thought about it, he felt very upset. Now, hearing that He Zhengdao had rescued over two thousand captured Red Army soldiers, he was indeed very happy.

At this moment, Zhou Enlai also smiled and said, "I've already checked the archives. The political commissar of this regiment is indeed the political commissar of the First Red Army Corps' Second Division, First Regiment, who was scattered during the Xiangjiang Campaign. Their division commander was very distressed about it for a long time!"

Based on the list of regimental officers provided by the Second Red Army Corps, Zhou Enlai had conducted an investigation and found that these people were all real. However, each of them had been listed as killed or missing in action during the Long March.

In such a hurried situation, some errors in the headcount were quite normal. Although the regiment only had over two thousand people, they were extremely valuable to the Red Army.

"Enlai, send a telegram to Commander He to inform him that the people in this regiment are all real. Also, contact the regiment as soon as possible to find out their current position. If possible, we should establish contact with the regiment as soon as possible. They might play a significant role in our next combat plan. I think the Nationalist Army hasn't discovered the existence of this regiment yet."

"Alright, I'll send the telegram now. It seems that making this kid a company commander was a bit of a waste. It's hard to believe how he managed to rescue so many people. However, their current situation is probably very dangerous!"

Thinking about the large number of troops gathered around Guizhou and Hunan, a regiment of only over two thousand people would be in great danger if their location was exposed. Zhou Enlai was also very worried.

When the Second Red Army Corps received Zhou Enlai's reply, they began to contact the regiment based on the radio signals provided by Xu Sicheng.

However, the radio operator reported somewhat dejectedly, "Commander, there's no response to the call. Their radio is probably in silent mode. What should we do? Should we continue calling?"

Hearing this, Commander He thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. I guess their radio is not convenient to turn on at this time. Call again at 7:00 AM tomorrow and see if there's a response."

"Understood!"

Understanding that it was indeed too late and that the regiment, hidden behind enemy lines, might be on the move, it was normal for the radio to be off.

In fact, Commander He had no idea that this was a deliberate move by He Zhengdao. The reason was that although he remembered the time of the Zunyi Conference, he was still somewhat worried that history might change.

Therefore, delaying contact with the main force by a day or two might mean that Comrade Mao would have returned to his position as a military commander. At that time, He Zhengdao wouldn't have to worry about being misguided by leaders who didn't understand military affairs.

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