Chapter 45

From the start of the offensive to the end of the battle, He Zhengdao took less than an hour to capture the main force of the Nationalist Army's blocking position, which was set up in front of his defensive position. Such a battle seemed too easy.

However, He Zhengdao was very clear that this was due to the advantages of artillery bombardment and feigned reinforcement. If it were a direct assault, unless the enemy retreated on their own, it would not be easy to capture their blocking position so easily.

Looking at the captured Nationalist Army regimental commander, who had a stunned expression, He Zhengdao quickly ordered, "Command the troops to quickly clean up the battlefield. Return to our blocking position and send a telegram to the division headquarters, reporting that the 714th Regiment has been defeated by the Red Army."

After sending this telegram, He Zhengdao soon received a reply from the division headquarters, sternly ordering the 704th Regiment, which he was impersonating, to hold the enemy for three hours at the blocking position. This was because the main force of the division would arrive in three hours.

Smiling at the telegram from the Nationalist Army division headquarters, He Zhengdao said, "Three hours, I didn't expect our reinforcements to move so quickly! Reply to the division headquarters that our regiment will hold the position for three hours and wait for the main force to arrive. Also, report our situation to the headquarters. By now, the deputy regimental commander and the others should have joined up with the main force. We will have to wait a bit longer."

While discussing these matters with the political commissar Yao Shengjun, the main force of the Red Army, which was fiercely attacking the Nationalist Army's blocking position, sent a small elite unit that successfully joined up with Wang Tianlin. Seeing the cars and the Red Army soldiers who had come to meet them, the Red Army soldiers were still in disbelief.

"Regimental Commander! It's me, Tianlin!"

Seeing the leading officer who appeared very cautious, Wang Tianlin, dressed in a Nationalist Army lieutenant colonel's uniform, could not contain his excitement and jumped out of the car. The cry of "Regimental Commander" startled the commander of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Division, Chen Yue, who had been ordered to come and meet them.

On the contrary, the soldiers beside him quickly rejoiced, "Ah! It's the 1st Battalion Commander! Regimental Commander, it's the 1st Battalion Commander!"

At this moment, the Red Army soldiers responsible for escorting the supplies also quickly got off the vehicles. Many soldiers from the 1st Red Army Corps were gradually recognized by the soldiers who had come to meet them.

If someone were to see the Nationalist Army soldiers in uniform hugging and crying with the Red Army soldiers in uniform, they would probably think they were seeing ghosts in broad daylight! How could these two armies be so friendly with each other?

Chen Yue, who had tightly embraced Wang Tianlin, said with some excitement, "You little guy, I thought you were dead! I didn't expect you to still be alive! Damn, when I heard that your battalion had been scattered, I was sad for several days!"

On the contrary, Wang Tianlin, whose mood had gradually calmed down, said appropriately, "Regimental Commander, we shouldn't stay here for long. We should quickly send the supplies to the rear. The front line is still in combat, and the sooner we transfer the supplies, the fewer casualties we can reduce."

"Good! Let's get on the road quickly! If the division commander knows you're still alive, he'll be very happy!"

With the Red Army soldiers leading the way and Wang Tianlin leading the logistics battalion following behind, the two completely different-looking units quickly advanced towards the main force of the Red Army's rear headquarters.

When Wang Tianlin and his group arrived at the location of the main force, Mao Zedong and others, who had heard the news, also quickly came over. Zhou Enlai, who had arrived earlier, said happily, "Old Mao, we've made a small fortune this time!"

Seeing the dozen or so cars and carts, Mao Zedong and Zhu De were very curious, "How is it? Have you counted the supplies? Did Zhengdao tell the truth?"

"No! In addition to weapons and ammunition, there are also a large number of medicines we urgently need. Oh! This is the deputy regimental commander of the Independent Regiment, Wang Tianlin, who previously served as the 1st Battalion Commander of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Division of the 1st Red Army Corps."

Wang Tianlin, who was chatting with the division commander and the political commissar, was called over at the right time. Seeing Mao Zedong and Zhu De, Wang Tianlin was also very excited. Being able to return alive and see these leaders was a cause for great excitement!

After saluting and greeting them, Mao Zedong also smiled and said, "Welcome back to the team! By the way, where is the main force of your Independent Regiment? Why didn't they come together? We are about to start the transfer."

"Report to Comrade Mao, when the regimental commander ordered me to bring the supplies, he also gave me a letter to deliver to you. During this period, we have been protecting these supplies, which has slowed our march. Now that the supplies are safely delivered, the regimental commander's intention is to lead the Independent Regiment to cover the main force. While the reactionary forces don't know our identity, the regimental commander believes we can have a few good battles and make the pursuers less aggressive!"

"That kid, he's just being reckless! You've managed to return alive, and you should quickly join the main force. If the Nationalist Army discovers you are imposters, your situation will be very dangerous!"

After scolding, Mao Zedong soon saw Zhou Enlai take a telegram, "Old Mao, the Independent Regiment has just sent a telegram. The 71st Regiment in front of us has been defeated by them. Additionally, two divisions of the Nationalist Army are only three hours away. That kid has sent a telegram asking if we want to set an ambush and fight these two divisions of the Nationalist Army."

"Map!"

After reading the telegram, Mao Zedong quickly began on-site work, considering whether to fight the pursuing Nationalist Army during the transfer. He also knew that if the enemy pursued too closely, it would be very disadvantageous for the Red Army's transfer.

At this moment, Zhu De walked over and said with a smile, "Old Mao, the division commanders are getting restless! How do you think we should allocate these weapons and ammunition? I just saw that there are quite a few mortars!"

In response to Zhu De's question, Mao Zedong directly said, "All the mortars should be left to the direct command corps. The rest of the weapons and ammunition should be distributed to each division according to our previous arrangements, with weapons concentrated for use."

With Mao Zedong's words, Zhu De began to allocate the weapons and ammunition that He Zhengdao had worked hard to bring. Seeing the new weapons and equipment, the Red Army commanders and soldiers who received the new weapons were all very happy.

Similarly, Ye Jianying, the commander of the direct command corps, looking at the twenty mortars being unloaded from the vehicles, also smiled, "It seems our direct command corps is really getting an upgrade! Good grief, they're all brand new!"

Standing beside him, Wang Tianlin also smiled, "Commander Ye, our Independent Regiment actually has an artillery battalion. If those mountain guns were brought over, you would be even happier. However, those mountain guns might not be preserved!"

"What? Your regiment actually has a mountain gun battalion? That's amazing! Tell me, why can't they be preserved?"

Hearing this, Ye Jianying and Zhu De, who were standing beside him, were also very curious. After all, a complete mountain gun battalion was very precious to the Red Army. How could it not be preserved?

Wang Tianlin quickly said, "The regimental commander said that after entering Guizhou, the supply of shells for these mountain guns might not keep up. Additionally, carrying these mountain guns would slow down our march. Therefore, he plans to use them all up here!"

Although this sounded like nonsense to Ye Jianying and the division commanders, they all knew that during the Long March, they had also abandoned many mountain guns that they had carried with great effort.

Without shells, the mountain guns were useless. But giving them up made them feel painful. As division-level commanders, they knew that if they had mountain guns to support them in battle, it would be much easier.

On the contrary, Mao Zedong, who had walked over, also asked with concern when he heard that the Independent Regiment had a mountain gun battalion, "How much ammunition do you have left? Is it enough for another major battle?"

"Report to Comrade Mao, it should be enough! When we transported the supplies, the artillery battalion should have bombarded the 714th Regiment. But the bombardment only lasted for about ten minutes, so there should still be plenty of shells. When we came, the regimental commander also said that as long as the main force cooperates well, the Independent Regiment is fully capable of dealing with a main force division of the Nationalist Army. Our Independent Regiment's firepower is fully equipped."

"Oh! Then tell me, what is the current weapon configuration of your Independent Regiment's battalions and companies?"

Although they thought the phrase "fully equipped" was somewhat exaggerated, everyone was still very interested in hearing about the Independent Regiment, which had overcome numerous difficulties and finally caught up with the main force, and what gave them the confidence to claim they could deal with a main force division of the Nationalist Army.

When they heard that the Independent Regiment's four main battalions each had a battalion-level mortar platoon and machine guns were equipped at the company level, they thought it was indeed luxurious!

However, they all knew that arming a captured unit to this extent behind enemy lines was no easy task. Moreover, according to the Independent Regiment's report, they had also left some supplies for the 2nd Red Army Corps!

If they hadn't seen the weapons and supplies that were brought, many Red Army commanders would have thought Wang Tianlin was exaggerating. But after hearing Wang Tianlin's account of the Independent Regiment's growth, these division commanders all felt that Comrade Mao's guard company commander was indeed a rare talent. His combat skills were truly exceptional!