Chapter 56

When the Central Army took over the military and political power in Guizhou, the one who was undoubtedly the most unhappy was the former 'King of Guizhou,' Wang Jiale. During the Red Army's second crossing of the Chishui River, Wang Jiale's main forces near Zunyi were almost completely defeated.

Previously, those who had conflicts with Wang Jiale, such as Hou Zhidan, were instead promoted and heavily relied upon by the Central Army. Although they were now under stricter control, Hou Zhidan and his ilk were still delighted, feeling that they would now be considered the main forces of the Central Army in Guizhou.

To encourage these Guizhou warlords and support the Central Army's rule in Guizhou, as well as to assist in the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army, the Central Army not only provided funds but also allocated weapons and ammunition to re-equip these Guizhou forces.

With money and guns, they naturally needed to serve the Central Army. Even Hou Zhidan's main forces sent a division to the north bank of the Chishui River to participate in the battle against the Red Army. However, he still retained a division in Renhuai.

However, He Zhengdao was unaware that the Guizhou division currently stationed in Renhuai was actually already under the control of the Central Army. Due to his defeat in the previous battle against the Red Army, Hou Zhidan had been detained by the Central Army.

After entering Maotai, upon learning this situation, He Zhengdao immediately felt a glimmer of hope and ordered, "Command the First Battalion to bring the captured Guizhou battalion commander to the command post. I want to interrogate him personally."

As the saying goes, 'plans are not as good as changes.' Upon learning this, He Zhengdao ordered the battalions preparing to attack to pause. He felt that perhaps he could use this information to incite internal strife between the Central Army and the Guizhou forces.

When the battalion commander was brought to Maotai, He Zhengdao looked at this seemingly dignified commander and asked, "How did you come to know this information? You are just a battalion commander, after all."

In response to He Zhengdao's inquiry, the Guizhou battalion commander quickly replied, "When you attacked, I happened to be on leave visiting my family. In fact, I am a battalion commander in the newly formed 103th Division, and my division commander is General He.

Previously, when our Chairman Wang was defeated in Zunyi by your main forces, the Central Army bribed Generals He and Bai. Our 25th Army's remnants have now been reorganized into two Central Army divisions. The news of Hou Zhidan's detention is not a secret."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Generals He and Bai you mentioned are the two division commanders under your Chairman Wang, right?"

"Yes!"

Upon learning this, He Zhengdao also felt that Wang Jiale was quite unfortunate. Not only was his base occupied, but even his close confidants were subverted by the Central Army. The Chairman, who had personally gone to Guiyang, was quite skilled at this game of bribery!

"Which division is currently stationed in Renhuai?"

Upon hearing He Zhengdao's question, the Guizhou battalion commander was taken aback and asked in surprise, "You are planning to attack Renhuai?"

"Answer my question! If you want to live, I advise you to tell me everything you know."

Feeling that this Guizhou battalion commander had a decent demeanor, He Zhengdao thought he might be somewhat educated. However, in the current situation, he was not worth recruiting. After all, he had not yet proven himself.

In response to He Zhengdao's serious inquiry, the Guizhou battalion commander replied with a grim face, "Currently, there is only one main battalion of the Guizhou forces in Renhuai. The rest of the main forces are currently resting in Guiyang and Qianxi."

This information made Yao Shengjun and Wang Tianlin, who were accompanying the interrogation, feel a glimmer of hope. Although they could not yet verify the accuracy of this information, they knew that if Renhuai had only one main battalion of the Guizhou forces, it would be much easier to deal with.

To quickly verify this information, He Zhengdao directly ordered, "Communicator! Command the reconnaissance battalion to enter Renhuai and conduct a reconnaissance. Find out how many troops are currently stationed in Renhuai."

"Yes!"

The communicator quickly relayed He Zhengdao's orders to the reconnaissance battalion. Upon learning that Renhuai had only one main battalion of the Guizhou forces, the four battalion commanders waiting for orders also felt this was an excellent opportunity.

Knowing that it would take some time to confirm the information, He Zhengdao stared at the Guizhou battalion commander and said, "What is your name? And please provide your background. This will determine whether I give you a chance to live."

In response to He Zhengdao's inquiry, the young-looking Guizhou battalion commander quickly replied, "My name is Wu Zhefeng, a graduate of the second term of the Infantry Corps of the Yunnan Military Academy.

Because I am from Renhuai and my father has some wealth, after completing my studies, I joined the 25th Army and served under General He. During the recent reorganization, I was promoted to battalion commander due to my background from the Yunnan Military Academy."

The Yunnan Military Academy, which Wu Zhefeng mentioned, was actually founded by the current 'King of Yunnan,' Long Yun. Its predecessor was the Yunnan Military Academy, one of the three major military academies of the Republic of China.

According to the information He Zhengdao knew from his past life, the Yunnan Military Academy's Infantry Corps only held three terms. Later, to meet the needs of the Anti-Japanese War, the Yunnan Military Academy became the Fifth Branch of the Central Army, with its principal appointed by Chairman Chiang.

Upon hearing this, He Zhengdao seemed somewhat surprised and said, "I didn't expect you to be a graduate of the Yunnan Military Academy! In that case, you are an alumnus of our Commander Zhu and Commander Ye."

In response to He Zhengdao's words, Wu Zhefeng smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, you flatter me! I respect your Commander Zhu and Commander Ye, but since I chose to join the Guizhou forces, I sometimes have to follow orders.

I know that your Red Army is very hostile towards us Nationalist Army officers. I only hope that you will not overly persecute my family. If possible, I would rather be a merchant.

My father sent me to the Yunnan Military Academy hoping I would protect our country. But now, fighting this civil war, I truly detest it. However, once I put on this uniform, I often have no choice."

He Zhengdao naturally agreed with these words but remained calm and said, "If the grassroots officers of the Nationalist Army all had your thoughts, the Japanese would not have been able to occupy our Northeast provinces.

Our attitude towards the Nationalist Army officers is not one of outright execution. We will not persecute your family. This is the Republic of China, and our Red Army does not engage in such practices.

However, if you want to live, the first thing is that your hands must not be stained with the blood of the Red Army. If you have the blood of our Red Army soldiers on your hands, I can only say that you are our enemy."

Wu Zhefeng laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Actually, since your Red Army entered Guizhou, I realized that the poorly trained and equipped Guizhou forces were no match for you. The current situation has confirmed my suspicions.

Although I accompanied my unit to the Zunyi area to fight against you, unfortunately, we were caught off guard by your main forces. If I had not been with the division headquarters, I would have been captured by you long ago.

So, my hands are not stained with the blood of your Red Army. If possible, I do not wish to kill any of my fellow countrymen. I hope that the knowledge I have can be used to protect our country, not in civil war!"

Although this needed time to verify, He Zhengdao felt that if this man was telling the truth, he might be a valuable asset to the Independent Regiment. He also detested civil war, but he had no choice but to fight now.

Thinking about this, He Zhengdao said, "Let's do this! I need time to verify the information you provided. If what you say is true, I can give you a chance to live.

However, I do not want to let someone with your talents go back. I feel that staying in a force like the Guizhou forces would be a waste of talent. So, for now, you will stay with my Independent Regiment.

Regarding your dislike of civil war, we feel the same. If possible, I would be willing to join hands with the other party to fight against the Japanese who are eyeing our country. But the Chairman does not give us such an opportunity.

To preserve our strength and achieve our goals and ideals, we can only fight them to the end. As for you, I will give you some time to consider your options.

For whom and for what you fight, I believe you will understand after spending some time with our Independent Regiment. For now, you will stay in our logistics battalion and follow the arrangements of our political commissar.

Additionally, you probably won't be able to return home for a while. If there is anything you need to tell your family, you can write a letter. However, I suggest you tell your family not to publicize this matter too much."

"Thank you, sir! I know the gravity of the situation! Everything I have said can be verified!"

Upon hearing that He Zhengdao did not intend to kill him, Wu Zhefeng seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. However, he knew that his remaining choices were limited. He could not return to his unit, see his family, and had to follow the Red Army.

This meant he was now under the control of the Red Army. If the Independent Regiment encountered a battle, the Nationalist Army forces encircling the Red Army would not give him much of a chance to explain. So, joining the Red Army, was it the right choice?