Chapter 91

With the capture of Zhou Hunyuan, the battle in Dujing came to an end. Along with the successful entry of the First Regiment of the Independent Division into the town, many of the trapped Qian Army soldiers, with no way to escape, chose to surrender their weapons.

As for the other subordinates of Zhou Hunyuan, seeing him being pushed to the front by the Red Army and the Red Army forming a pincer attack, even though Zhou Hunyuan said nothing, these people wisely chose to surrender.

The main force of the Third Regiment, which successfully converged, began to gather the prisoners and clean up the battlefield. As for the injured Zhou Hunyuan, He Zhengdao still had the medical staff bandage him. However, He Zhengdao felt that he probably wouldn't live much longer.

After the doctor's examination, the gunshot wound did not cause any fatal injuries to Zhou Hunyuan. Instead, the shrapnel in his abdomen, given the current medical level of the Independent Division, could not be surgically removed.

Looking at the pale-faced Zhou Hunyuan, He Zhengdao frankly said, "General Zhou, I am very sorry! With your current injuries, unless you can be sent to Guiyang City in time, otherwise, with your current injuries, I'm afraid you won't last long."

Hearing He Zhengdao's words, Zhou Hunyuan said indifferently, "No problem! A pot is bound to break at the well, and a general is bound to die on the battlefield. Dying on the battlefield, I can say I died a worthy death. You are very different from the Red Army commanders I know!"

Although Zhou Hunyuan knew that Red Army commanders liked to command from the front lines, a division commander daring to charge into the enemy camp alone during battle was indeed surprising to him. However, it had to be said that He Zhengdao had made the right bet.

Capturing him, who had lost the ability to resist, successfully persuaded those still brave Central Army soldiers to surrender. If Zhou Hunyuan had really died, it would be very difficult to capture so many elite Central Army soldiers like this!

The Central Army that had been defending Dujing alongside Zhou Hunyuan was his direct subordinate. If he had really been blown up, the Central Army would have resisted to the end.

In that case, the Independent Division would have to pay a price to end the battle so quickly!

As an opponent, Zhou Hunyuan, in He Zhengdao's view, was an opponent who must be eliminated but deserved respect. As many Red Army soldiers thought, his hands were stained with the blood of the Red Army.

But on the Central Army side, he was a distinguished commander. In battles against the Red Army, he was known for his toughness. Knowing that his time was limited, He Zhengdao did not want to further humiliate him.

"Very different? I don't think I'm special. If it weren't for your encirclement and pursuit this time, I might just be an ordinary Red Army soldier. To be honest, I don't like today's victory."

"Why? At least I know that many Red Army commanders hope I die soon!"

Zhou Hunyuan, somewhat puzzled by He Zhengdao's words, clearly knew that any Red Army commander would be very happy with such a victory. After all, Zhou Hunyuan considered himself a formidable opponent!

In response to Zhou Hunyuan's question, He Zhengdao shook his head and said, "As an opponent, I do hope to defeat you. Because only by defeating you can my troops successfully break through and continue toward our goal.

But as a soldier, I think your death is meaningless. Perhaps you believe you are fulfilling your duty as a soldier. But is it really without any guilt to fight this civil war?

Now that the Northeast has fallen, your Chairman Chiang still adheres to the so-called 'pacify the interior before expelling the foreigner' policy, ruthlessly eliminating opponents, doing things that please the enemy and pain the allies. And you, a capable commander, have become an executioner.

I believe that when news of your death spreads, Chairman Chiang will certainly give you high posthumous honors. But for the entire country, it will lose a commander who could have fought the Japanese on the anti-Japanese battlefield.

You might think my words are insincere. But facing a man about to die, I have no reason to deceive you. If you have studied my combat style, you would know I prefer surprise attacks over direct confrontations.

Using such combat methods is to protect my subordinates. But more importantly, to avoid large-scale casualties. No matter who dies, the ultimate loss is our national defense strength."

Regarding He Zhengdao's words, Zhou Hunyuan smiled and said, "It seems you are really different! Despite your young age, you have such a broad-minded attitude, which is rare. But I am a soldier, and obeying orders is my duty.

I know that you Red Army are now fighting under the banner of marching north to resist the Japanese, hoping to end such battles. But I must say that a country should have only one leader, and everyone should follow the leader's orders.

Only by uniting the entire country can we possibly defeat the Japanese. If everyone holds different political views, I am sure that in the near future, we will see the same warlord division and conflict as in the early Republic of China."

Clearly, as a high-ranking commander, Zhou Hunyuan had his own principles. In matters of principle, a few words would not persuade him. Therefore, He Zhengdao did not want to argue with him too much!

Shaking his head, he said, "Soldiers indeed should obey orders. But in my view, soldiers should at least know right from wrong and understand the greater good of the nation. Centralized power, within your own ranks, is probably hard to achieve, right?

The Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Northwest, and Northeast armies, just these people, make it impossible for your Chairman Chiang to centralize power. In the end, you just think we are the biggest threat. The reason is clear to you.

On this matter, I fear we will continue to argue without reaching a conclusion. I am about to lead my troops to withdraw. Do you have any last wishes? Don't worry, I will leave some people here to protect you."

"Nothing! I am about to die, and being able to die on the battlefield is already very satisfying."

Leaving the room where Zhou Hunyuan was held, He Zhengdao looked at the chief of staff, Wang Tianlin, and quickly said, "Is the First Regiment ready?"

"Report, Commander, they are ready!"

"Good, then let's put on a show!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Shortly after He Zhengdao's order, many of the captured Central Army and Qian Army soldiers felt very surprised. Because outside the town, it seemed that the sound of gunfire had started again. What was happening?

Many prisoners even said, "Is it our reinforcements? We are saved!"

Only Zhou Hunyuan, lying in the room, hearing the sporadic gunfire, said with a bitter face, "Just making a show!"

Not long after, many prisoners heard the sky over the town filled with low-flying planes. The cleared area in the town was also filled with several piles of smoke.

When many prisoners thought their air force had come to their aid, some Central Army soldiers guessed that the gunfire was not from their reinforcements. Instead, the Red Army was pretending to be them, putting on a show for the air force!

The purpose was simple: to receive the supplies the air force would drop!

This guess soon became reality. The planes transporting supplies from Guiyang quickly dropped boxes of supplies toward the smoky area. Soon, these supplies landed around the open area.

Seeing these supplies, the Independent Division soldiers in Central Army uniforms could not help but laugh, "If the Central Army knew their supplies were all taken by us, they would probably be furious!"

When this large air force transport unit had dropped all their supplies, seeing the 'Central Army' waving and cheering below, they were also very happy, thinking their mission was finally complete.

But soon after they left, the gunfire outside the town subsided. With the supplies already dropped, they no longer needed to put on a show. After all, such a show also wasted ammunition!

Looking at the pile of collected supplies, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Chief of Staff, did you see? Our Commander Xue is a good person! Knowing we had no supplies, he even sent the air force to drop supplies for us!"

Hearing this, Wang Tianlin also smiled and said, "Commander, if Xue Yue knew we had surrounded and annihilated Zhou Hunyuan's division and taken their supplies, he would probably be furious!"

The two laughed, and He Zhengdao, looking at the sky, immediately said, "Order the troops to start escorting the prisoners and supplies back to Shuicheng. As for Dujing, arrange for the injured Central Army soldiers who cannot be moved to stay and protect Zhou Hunyuan.

Remember, give them enough supplies to last until nearby reinforcements arrive. Although he is our Red Army's enemy, as you saw earlier, he probably won't live more than a day or two."

"You are the only one who is so merciful. If it were someone else, they would have shot him long ago!"

"Enough, why argue with a dying man! If he hadn't cooperated earlier, it would have been hard for us to end the battle so quickly! Pass my orders, and escort the prisoners back!"

Following He Zhengdao's orders, nearly ten thousand prisoners were escorted back to Shuicheng. As for Dujing, only some injured soldiers remained. Whether they would be rescued in time depended on their luck!