Chapter 72

Looking at the hard-pressed army that had rushed back to Guiyang and the current movements of the main Red Army forces, Chiang Kai-shek, who had personally come to Guiyang to oversee the battle, felt extremely angry. This time, it seemed he had once again watched helplessly as the Red Army slipped away.

Though the crisis in Guiyang had been resolved, the artillery bombardment of the city by the Independent Division had made Chiang Kai-shek hate this newly emerged Red Army Independent Division. What infuriated him even more was that the origins of the Independent Division made him lose face.

According to the investigation of the Independent Division, the Central Army had already learned that this was a force primarily composed of Red Army soldiers who had been captured by them. Even more embarrassing for many of the generals leading the encirclement and suppression forces was that the chaos along the Hunan-Guangxi border was all caused by this division.

A Red Army force of only two to three thousand men had hidden under their noses, causing the Hunan and Guangxi armies to be at each other's throats. It had even involved the Central Army, and a group of warlord leaders had been played around like puppets!

Given this situation, Chiang Kai-shek, who was planning to leave Guizhou, personally summoned Xue Yue, who had been appointed as the front-line commander, and said, "Bo Ling, I will return to Nanjing this afternoon, where there are still matters waiting for me. I will leave the affairs here to you.

This time, you have made great contributions to the party and the state by pursuing the Red Army and successfully securing the military and political power in Guizhou. However, this time, letting the Red Army lead you by the nose and besiege Guiyang, you have also shown some negligence!"

'I failed in my command, allowing the Red Army to slip away. Please punish me, Mr. Chairman!'

Xue Yue knew that in such matters, it was better to admit guilt honestly. At least from Chiang Kai-shek's previous words, he could still hear the trust Chiang had in him. Mentioning the merits before the faults was a common tactic in managing subordinates.

Looking at the honest Xue Yue, Chiang Kai-shek smiled and said, "Bo Ling, occasional failures are inevitable. After all, the Red Army is too cunning, as many people know. Don't take it too much to heart; just continue to work hard.

Next, you and Long Yun must cooperate well and must not let the Red Army escape again. However, for the main Red Army forces, you can temporarily slow down your pursuit and let them create chaos in Yunnan.

At the appropriate time, you can send Zhou Hunyuan and others into Yunnan to cooperate with Long Yun in clearing out the Red Army forces that have entered Yunnan. As for how to do it, I believe you understand my meaning. The central government must centralize power, do you understand?"

'Yes, Mr. Chairman, I understand!'

In Xue Yue's view, Chiang Kai-shek, who had successfully secured control over the military and political power in Guizhou, was now setting his sights on Long Yun. However, in his opinion, the Yunnan Army led by Long Yun was much stronger than the Guizhou Army.

Compared to Wang Jiale, who was powerless to refuse the entry of the Central Army into Guizhou, Long Yun, commanding the Yunnan Army, would not easily allow the Central Army to enter Yunnan. As the commander of the second route of the encirclement and suppression forces, Long Yun's role in this campaign against the Red Army was much heavier than Wang Jiale's.

But at this moment, facing Chiang Kai-shek's instructions, Xue Yue readily agreed. While he understood, he still felt somewhat uncertain about whether he could truly accomplish the task.

At this point, Chiang Kai-shek, with a serious expression, said, "For the upcoming battle, I have only one requirement for you: do your utmost to annihilate this Red Army Independent Division within Guizhou.

From now on, all the troops in Guizhou will be under your command, including the air force I left in Guiyang. No matter what the cost, this Independent Division, which has disgraced the party and the state, must be completely annihilated. Can you do it?"

'Please rest assured, Mr. Chairman. I will do my utmost to prevent them from joining the main Red Army forces and will use every means to annihilate this Independent Division within Guizhou.'

Xue Yue clearly understood that Chiang Kai-shek was truly angry this time. The Independent Division had besieged Guiyang, causing panic in the city, and then played a trick on them, fleeing in the night and defeating a main force division of Sun Du's.

What Chiang Kai-shek felt was more of a personal embarrassment. He had gone to great lengths to come to Guiyang to oversee the battle, and almost been captured by the Red Army. This was undoubtedly a source of intense anger for him.

Now, learning that the Independent Division was still operating alone, far from the main Red Army forces, Chiang Kai-shek, with his forces gathered again, felt it necessary to use this bold and audacious Independent Division as a sacrifice.

Thus, as Chiang Kai-shek left Guiyang by a special plane, He Zhengdao, who had arrived in Anshun, noticed that the Central Army reconnaissance planes seemed to be increasing in number.

Furthermore, based on the intercepted Central Army telegrams, He Zhengdao said with a self-deprecating smile, "Commissar, Chief of Staff, it seems that Old Chiang is really angry. From the looks of it, he is determined to wipe out our Independent Division!"

Facing He Zhengdao's words, Wang Tianlin said regretfully, "Sigh, if we had known, we should have attacked Guiyang City. Now that we have withdrawn, they are becoming arrogant and overconfident again."

Looking at the route of the main force, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "From now on, we probably won't be able to use the main roads. The Central Army's main forces have likely left Guiyang and are pursuing us along the main roads.

According to the intelligence gathered by the reconnaissance battalion, the Central Army has also mobilized nearby garrison forces in the Anshun area to set up a defensive network along the Yunnan-Guizhou highway. If we force our way through, even if we can break through, it will be time-consuming and costly.

Moreover, we are marching at night, and our speed is not fast. Therefore, we must change our marching method and combine day and night travel to quickly break through."

"Commander, won't this expose our movements?" Wang Tianlin asked.

Facing Wang Tianlin's question, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Although we travel at night and rest during the day, as long as the enemy commander is not foolish, he can deduce our destination, which is to join the main forces.

By calculating our marching speed, they can roughly guess our current position. From the defensive lines set up by the Anshun garrison, it is clear they have calculated that we will take this route.

My suggestion is that starting tomorrow morning, we avoid the Yunnan-Guizhou highway and take a detour to catch up with the main forces. Although this will add some time to our journey, the Central Army pursuing us will also have to pursue us on foot.

Based on the intercepted telegrams, I make a bold prediction. The Central Army's main forces withdrawing from Zunyi are likely targeting us, and the main forces will not be in danger until they enter Yunnan."

Listening to He Zhengdao's judgment, Yao Shengjun thought for a moment and said, "Commander, you mean that Old Chiang hopes that after our main forces enter Yunnan, the encirclement and suppression forces following them will use the strategy of 'borrowing a path to attack a neighbor' against Long Yun?"

"I think it's very likely! From Old Chiang's emphasis on centralizing power and his吞并贵州的行动，可以看出他肯定有这种打算。至于为什么盯上我们，恐怕是因为我们折了他的面子，让他非常恼火吧！"

想到当初独立师沿途喊出的口号，还有在贵阳城外所做的事情，姚胜军和王天林都感到非常自豪。毕竟，他们是红军成立以来，第一支如此近距离攻打老蒋的部队吧！

得到两人的同意，何正道立刻召开独立师的营团长会议，部署接下来的作战任务。虽然有不少营团长觉得修改行军路线增加了他们的行军路程。

但他们同样知道，前有围堵，后有追兵的他们，如果不修改行军路线，真的有可能走不出贵州。而何正道的计划，只是多走的路，相对却安全许多。

会议结束后，何正道又给了各团团长一个显得有些奇怪的命令。从各团抽调优秀的轻重机枪手，临时编入侦察连进行集中使用和训练。

等到各团选送的机枪手抵达侦察连，看到何正道出现，众人都显得有些好奇。但何正道指着头顶不时出现的飞机说：“看到它们在头顶乱飞，讨厌吗？”

一句话，让很多不解的机枪手立刻意识到，他们被特意调来的原因。看来，何正道是想集中一批机枪手，对可能出现的中央军飞机进行反击。

但机枪真的能打中飞机吗？

面对这些机枪手的疑问，何正道笑着说：“其实我们转战至今，被打下的飞机也不止一架。只要我们提前做好防御，你们就会知道，飞机其实没那么可怕。

甚至等你们经过特训，下次这些讨厌的家伙，就会像活靶子一样被你们打下来。只不过，想要打下这些讨厌的飞机，我们还需要进行一些突击训练。

只有解决了这些在头顶嗡嗡叫的飞机，我们接下来的行军才能显得更安全。因此，我希望接下来，你们都要听清楚，我跟你们讲的每句话，明白吗？”

“是，师长！”

对于很多红军指战员来说，他们对中央军的憎恨不言而喻。可惜，红军一直没有得力的防空武器。面对这种大杀器，往往都显得有心杀敌却无力回天。

如果真能找到行之有效的办法，相信每个红军机枪手都会拼命学习。只要有了对付飞机的办法，下次他们面对飞机的肆虐，再也不用恐慌和付出惨重代价了！

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For many Red Army commanders and fighters, their hatred for the Central Army was evident. Unfortunately, the Red Army had never had effective anti-aircraft weapons. Facing such a formidable weapon, they often felt powerless.

If a truly effective method could be found, every Red Army machine gunner would be willing to learn it with all their might. With a way to deal with planes, the next time they faced aerial attacks, they would no longer need to panic or suffer heavy casualties!