Chapter 88

Zhou Hunyuan, who had rushed ahead of the Third Regiment to occupy the important town of Doujing, felt somewhat helpless in the face of the two-pronged attack launched by the Independent Regiment. However, he could not ignore the order from Xue Yue to hold the position firmly.

After arranging heavy troops to guard the important intersections of the town, Zhou Hunyuan anxiously awaited the arrival of the reorganized division of the Guizhou Army from Liupan. If this division could arrive, he would have many more troops at his disposal.

At least in Zhou Hunyuan's view, he wouldn't have to feel so frustrated, only defending without attacking. However, when the reorganized division of the Guizhou Army arrived smoothly in Doujing, Zhou Hunyuan felt an urge to curse.

The reinforcements numbered over 6,000, but most of them only carried weapons and a small amount of ammunition. As for the food supplies Zhou Hunyuan had hoped for, there was none. This meant he now had 6,000 more mouths to feed.

Looking at the division commander, who appeared to be in a state of great hardship, Zhou Hunyuan suppressed his anger and asked, "Commander Hu, did you only carry these supplies when you left Liupan?"

"Report to the general! When we left, we did carry a lot of ammunition and food. However, upon receiving General Xue's telegram, to arrive as quickly as possible to join forces with you, we left the supply units behind and advanced with the main force lightly equipped."

The meaning was clear: they didn't bring the food and ammunition Zhou Hunyuan had expected, but this was to execute Xue Yue's order to come to Doujing as quickly as possible. In reality, Commander Hu knew that his supply units were probably finished.

Looking at the loyal-looking division commander, Zhou Hunyuan, despite wanting to shoot him, still held his temper and said, "Commander Hu, you've worked hard! Rest your troops in the town first, and wait for my orders."

"General, the men have been on the road for so long. Can we arrange for them to have a meal and some hot soup?"

Faced with Commander Hu's very 'reasonable' request, Zhou Hunyuan could only grit his teeth and say, "Alright, I'll order the logistics unit to prepare food for you. You can go rest now!"

After Commander Hu left the temporary command post, Zhou Hunyuan couldn't help but curse, "These cowards! They knew I was short of food and supplies, yet they didn't bring their own when they came to reinforce!"

At this moment, the intelligence officer smiled bitterly and said, "General, it's not that they didn't want to bring the supplies, but they couldn't. The Second Regiment of the Independent Regiment sent small units to pursue them, and their supply units suffered heavy losses. I think they were afraid of being surrounded by the Red Army, so they rushed to join us. The situation is very unfavorable for us. The Red Army's three main regiments have already formed a包围 around Doujing!"

"Where is the 86th Division?"

"They just passed Langdai. If they want to come here, it will take at least three days! The mountain roads are not suitable for large armies. The reinforcements from Puan will take even longer to arrive."

"Does that mean we have to hold out in Doujing for three days?"

"Yes! But our food supplies will only last one day. With 6,000 more mouths to feed, the pressure on our food supplies is even greater! General, should we send troops to requisition food from the nearby villages?"

There were many ethnic minorities living around Doujing, and their villages had some food reserves. However, requisitioning food from them would have unpredictable consequences.

These days, everyone knows how precious food is. To seize the food from these ethnic minority villages, one must be prepared for a fierce fight. After all, everyone knows how fierce these people are!

Even though he was aware of the consequences, Zhou Hunyuan still said, "Let's wait and see! We'll see how much supplies the air force can deliver to us tomorrow. If it's not necessary, I don't want to stir up this hornet's nest. These people are very difficult to deal with."

Seeing that Zhou Hunyuan didn't want to forcibly requisition food, the intelligence officer didn't push further. In fact, unless it was absolutely necessary, he also didn't recommend doing so.

At this moment, the reconnaissance battalion of the Independent Regiment returned successfully. Seeing Li Xiangdong return safely, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Xiangdong, you've worked hard! With what you've done, Zhou Hunyuan won't be able to get supplies to Doujing for at least ten to fifteen days."

"No problem! Commander, do we have any new tasks for the reconnaissance battalion?"

"Have a meal and rest quickly! We'll act together at dawn tomorrow!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Hearing that He Zhengdao would lead them into action again the next day, Li Xiangdong was very pleased. A night's rest was also very important for the reconnaissance battalion soldiers who had just returned.

As Zhou Hunyuan's troops began to feel the time dragging on, the mountain artillery battalion behind the First Regiment's position was ready for the artillery barrage, waiting for Wang Tianlin's order.

Seeing everything was ready, Wang Tianlin looked at the Central Army's defensive position and said, "Start the artillery barrage!"

"Yes, Chief of Staff!"

Even though these artillerymen were not as skilled as Zhu Dingyi and his men, the soldiers temporarily assigned to the artillery battalion knew this was a live-fire training opportunity for them. Such opportunities were rare for them!

As the mountain guns roared, and the sound of the artillery barrage echoed from the front, the Central Army defending the position immediately panicked, "Take cover, artillery attack! Quickly take cover, the Red Army is firing!"

Zhou Hunyuan, who was monitoring the battle from the command post, hearing the intense artillery fire from the front, was somewhat surprised, "What's going on? Is the Independent Regiment starting the main attack?"

"I don't know! I've sent people to check the situation! From the sound of the artillery, it seems our mountain artillery battalion has fallen into the hands of the Independent Regiment. Damn! The 761st Regiment didn't even destroy those mountain guns!"

The chief of staff accompanying Zhou Hunyuan, hearing the rumbling artillery fire, guessed it was the firepower of a mountain artillery battalion. The Independent Regiment didn't have such powerful firepower, so it was most likely that their mountain artillery battalion had been captured.

It was too late to request air support now. Besides, the air force was already wary of the Independent Regiment. The bombers didn't dare to come to the battlefield to support the operation again.

If the Independent Regiment shot down a few more planes, even Chiang Kai-shek would be furious. These days, the Central Army's planes were becoming fewer and fewer, and it was difficult to replenish them!

Seeing the enemy position engulfed in artillery fire, the First Regiment's commander, Zhang Cheng, said, "Chief of Staff, should we let the First Battalion charge and take that position?"

"No need! Today is not the main attack! If the First Battalion takes that hill, Zhou Hunyuan will definitely fight to the death to retake it. It's not worth it to engage in a fierce battle with them. The real main attack will start tomorrow!"

He had already received a telegram from He Zhengdao, stating that tonight, including the Third Regiment, all three main regiments would rest and prepare for the main attack tomorrow. The timing of the main attack would depend on the results of He Zhengdao's actions.

When the communication soldier sent to the front to inquire about the situation returned and reported that a battalion on the front line had suffered more than half casualties in the artillery barrage, Zhou Hunyuan felt that this kind of attrition was painful.

The chief of staff then suggested, "Commander, should we have Commander Hu send a regiment to replace them?"

"Let's wait until tomorrow! Relying on them won't be useful! Send a main battalion from the First Regiment to replace them. We must ensure that position remains in our hands."

He clearly understood that the chief of staff's suggestion was to preserve the strength of the Central Army. However, Zhou Hunyuan felt that the Guizhou Army was unreliable. If they were sent up, and the Independent Regiment launched a night attack, they might not hold.

While they were calculating the Guizhou Army reinforcements, the Guizhou Army soldiers, who had rushed to Doujing, found that the Central Army had prepared only some rice porridge for dinner. Many soldiers felt that this porridge couldn't fill their stomachs.

Many regiment commanders immediately complained to Commander Hu, "Commander, the Central Army is too bullying! We came to support them, and our men have been on the road for so long. How can they eat this?"

Commander Hu, feeling helpless, said, "Alright! Tell the men to bear with it! Who are we to complain? They are the Central Army! And their supplies are probably not sufficient. Hope the air force can drop more food tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll all starve to death before the reinforcements arrive. Tell the men to complain less, eat quickly, and go to sleep! If they can't sleep, they can go to the front to fight the Red Army."

The mention of "fighting the Red Army" immediately deflated the morale of the regiment commanders. If the Red Army were so easy to fight, they wouldn't have lost their supplies and fled here in such a狼狈 manner.

For many ordinary Guizhou Army soldiers, after a long journey, they had hoped to have a good meal. But instead of a hearty meal, they only got some thin porridge. How could this fill their stomachs?

Compared to the complaints of the Guizhou Army soldiers, the main force of the Third Regiment of the Independent Regiment had a hearty meal and began to rest. Even without specific combat orders, many soldiers, seeing meat for dinner, knew a tough battle was coming.

If the main attack wasn't launched tonight, it would definitely be launched tomorrow. A good meal tonight would help them build up strength for the battle tomorrow, allowing them to fight bravely on the battlefield!