Chapter 75

Compared to the Red Army headquarters and the Independent Division, they were jubilant over this great victory. Xue Yue, who was originally waiting for the air force to return to inform the Independent Division of the heavy losses, never expected to receive news that two air force squadrons were almost completely wiped out.

Twenty-one planes were shot down by the Red Army, a piece of news that Xue Yue found hard to believe. Even the Central Army pilots who had remained at the airfield clearly had some doubts. But the facts told them that it was true.

From the three planes that returned safely to Guiyang Airport, the bullet-riddled scars were evident. It was incredibly fortunate that these three planes managed to escape back to Guiyang. If those bullets had hit vital parts of the planes, the outcome would have been obvious.

Confirming that it was no joke, Xue Yue, despite knowing that Chairman Chiang would be furious again, had no choice but to send this telegram back to Nanjing. After all, the loss was not just one or two planes, but almost two squadrons!

At present, the entire Guiyang Airport only had three air force squadrons. With two squadrons lost, Xue Yue, even if he was favored, would not dare to send the air force to bomb the Independent Division again.

When Chairman Chiang in Nanjing received this telegram, he was completely stunned. He asked in disbelief, "Is the information confirmed?"

"Report to the Chairman, the information has been confirmed. In the Shuangbao area of Anshun, we indeed lost twenty-one planes. The remaining three planes that survived were only able to return because they were not hit in vital parts. Otherwise..."

The adjutant did not finish his sentence, but Chairman Chiang knew. If they had been hit in vital parts, those three planes would not have been able to return. The two air force squadrons would have been completely wiped out.

"Damn! What kind of battle is this? When did our air force become so incompetent?"

Seeing Chairman Chiang's rage, the adjutant could only harden his resolve and say, "Report to the Chairman, according to General Xue's telegram, the Independent Division used machine guns and smoke to set up an ambush. It might also be because our air force pilots were too careless. To accurately bomb, they descended to a very low altitude. They didn't expect the Independent Division to organize such a large number of machine guns to fire at them."

According to the three surviving pilots, the number of machine guns that ambushed them was at least three to four hundred. In such a situation, the ambush of our air force was also due to the commander's carelessness.

"Twenty-one planes, exactly twenty-one planes, and those pilots. Such a loss cannot be blamed on carelessness alone. Damn, why is it always this Independent Division? Send a telegram to Zhou Hunyuan and ask where he is now. Send a telegram to Xue Yue, ordering him to do everything possible to rescue our pilots. And he must annihilate this Independent Division, or I will punish him!"

For the first time since the establishment of the air force, such a heavy loss, Chairman Chiang naturally felt a deep pain. Not to mention the cost of a single plane, the loss of pilots alone was enough to make him grieve for a long time.

At this moment, looking at the air force pilots captured by the Red Army soldiers, He Zhengdao arranged for the accompanying military doctors to provide emergency treatment to the injured pilots.

As for the pilots who had already been killed, He Zhengdao also ordered the soldiers to collect their remains. No matter what, these pilots were the founders of the Chinese air force and deserved some special treatment.

Even for the captured pilots, He Zhengdao gave them some special treatment. He instructed the soldiers guarding them not to insult or abuse them in any way.

In this era, anyone who could become a pilot could be described as a "talent." As for how to deal with these pilots next, He Zhengdao thought it best to bring them along with the troops for now.

Just as the Independent Division was about to continue marching, He Zhengdao heard a report from his guard. Outside the town, there was a man claiming to be a Miao tribal leader who wanted to meet He Zhengdao. And there were many young Miao people with him.

Hearing this, He Zhengdao quickly went to the town entrance to meet this local Miao tribal leader. He was somewhat surprised by his intentions and even thought it might be an opportunity.

He Zhengdao said sincerely, "Leader Awa, I am very sorry for the trouble our army has caused your village. But you should know that we did not want this to happen. Considering the damage caused to your village, I have decided to give you a hundred rifles and three thousand bullets as a gift. I have a small request, and I hope you will consider it."

A hundred rifles and three thousand bullets. For Leader Awa, who understood the value of guns, this was indeed surprising. In fact, he came to thank He Zhengdao, not to blame him.

The reason for his gratitude was that during the previous air battle, the Red Army soldiers on alert nearby saved his son who was watching the spectacle outside the town. If the Red Army soldiers had not pulled him down in time, the falling plane would have killed his son.

As for the trouble caused to the local Miao village, it was because a crashed plane fell into a Miao village with a significant population. At the time, it caused a lot of panic among the Miao villagers. Fortunately, no Miao people were injured.

Originally, he had brought gifts to express his gratitude, but instead, he received a gift from He Zhengdao. Leader Awa found this unbelievable. This Han commander seemed different from the ones he had encountered before.

So he quickly said, "General He, this is not necessary, right?"

But He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Leader Awa, this is what we should do. If it weren't for our Independent Division's presence in Shuangbao, your village would not have suffered such an unexpected disaster. As for my soldiers saving your son, it was our duty.

I believe you know that our Red Army is very poor and fights for the poor. We don't have money, but we do have a good stock of weapons and ammunition. If you believe that our Red Army is the people's army, I hope you will allow us to recruit some young people from your village who can speak Chinese. After all, in the battles to come, we will definitely interact with the Miao people.

If my troops have some people who understand Miao customs, it will avoid many unnecessary troubles. Of course, if your young people are not interested in joining our army, we will not force them."

Knowing that the Miao people are a large ethnic group in southwestern China, He Zhengdao believed that recruiting a batch of Miao soldiers who could speak Chinese in the Independent Division would play a significant role when passing through Miao areas.

Not every Miao person would be as cooperative as Leader Awa. In He Zhengdao's view, if it weren't for his soldiers saving his son's life, Leader Awa probably wouldn't have come to talk to him.

In many areas of southwestern China, the government's control over the Miao people is still very cautious. The Miao people are also very wary of strangers, especially passing armies.

After listening to He Zhengdao, Leader Awa thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, I will accept the general's gift. I will select twenty young people from my village who can speak Chinese to follow your command. I only hope that the general will treat these twenty villagers well. Although I hate war, I know that the world is in chaos. I also hope that they can achieve something with the general."

"Thank you, Leader Awa! Please rest assured, I will take good care of them. I believe that in the near future, they may return here to thank you for the opportunity you gave them."

He Zhengdao then asked Yao Shengjun to prepare twenty more rifles and two thousand more bullets. Leader Awa also selected twenty young men from the group he brought to join the Independent Division.

He Zhengdao also took the addition of these twenty Miao young men very seriously. Even when bidding farewell to Leader Awa, he asked him to take good care of the families of these twenty young men. The extra guns and ammunition were also a sign of the Independent Division's sincerity.

Leader Awa also felt that He Zhengdao was a very good general. In this era, a gun is not cheap, let alone the bullets. If converted to money, it would be a significant amount!

What surprised He Zhengdao and Yao Shengjun even more was that upon hearing this, Leader Awa directly offered to select eighty more young men from his village. Although some of them were not very good at speaking Chinese, simple communication was not a problem.

After all, there were not many Miao people living in Shuangbao, and they often interacted with the Han people in town. But in this era, the Han people lived a hard life, and the Miao people were not much better off.

If one person could get a gun and a hundred bullets, in Leader Awa's view, it was a very good deal. With these weapons and ammunition, they could protect the village's safety and allow the village hunters to catch more game to sell.

And in He Zhengdao's view, this deal was not a loss. With Leader Awa's order, these Miao young men who joined the Independent Division would not dare to defy the arrangement.

Moreover, these Miao young men who usually stayed in the village were also eager to see the world outside. Now that they had this opportunity, they wanted to follow the Independent Division and experience what the outside world was like!