In a mountain village about 40 kilometers away from Liping, a famous city in southeastern Guizhou, the central column was still camping after a night's march.

The chief of the confidential section shouted "18th Regiment Great Victory, 18th Regiment Great Victory" and ran over, waking up many people, everyone did not know what was happening, and many soldiers stood up with guns.

*, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Zhang Wentian, Wang Jiaxiang, Bogu and other central leaders are still resting. The sound of the chief of the confidential section arguing with the guard soldiers came, and several leaders were alarmed. They all got up and came to the door of their camping yard

Liu Bocheng, chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, saw the chief of the confidential section holding a telegram in his hand and asked: "You comrade, what is the matter, so anxious?" ”

The chief of the confidential section felt that he was too happy, and hurriedly reported: "Report to the chief of staff, the 18th Red Regiment has won a great victory, and the 16th Hunan Division of the enemy has been completely annihilated. ”

"What?" Liu Bocheng snatched the telegram and skimmed it while laughing.

Mr. Zhu asked, "Bo Cheng, why are you so happy?" ”

Liu Bocheng hurriedly said: "Report to the commander-in-chief, the Red Eighteenth Regiment eliminated He Jian's sixteenth division this morning. ”

Mr. Zhu took the telegram, looked at it roughly, and laughed: "Bogu, Enlai, Luofu, Jiaxiang, Lao Mao, take a look, the 18th Regiment killed the 16th Hunan Division and captured the enemy division commander." Happy, happy! ”

Vice Chairman Zhou took the telegram, glanced at it, and read it out excitedly: "Central Revolutionary Military Commission:

Our regiment left a platoon to camouflage the main force in the county town of Tongdao, and after a night of rapid marching, the whole regiment rushed to Xiaoshui Village, Shanmuqiao Township, Tongdao on the morning of 12 to occupy an ambush position, and at 10 o'clock in the morning, the 48th Brigade of the 16th Advance Guard of the enemy's Hunan Division ran into the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. Our regiment then moved forward to the ambush position. At 10:50, the headquarters of the enemy's 16th Hunan Division led the 47th Brigade to run into the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. Our regiment moved forward again to the ambush position, and at 12:20, the reinforced enemy 46th Brigade entered the ambush circle and was completely annihilated. This battle is said to be three dogs, and all three dogs are successful. A total of one division, three brigade headquarters, and six regiments of the enemy's 16th Hunan Division were destroyed, 8,482 enemy personnel were killed, 1,270 people were wounded, and 1,420 people below the commander of the enemy's 16th Hunan Division were captured. Four radio stations, a mountain artillery battalion of the 28th Hunan Army with a total of 12 mountain guns, 36 mortars, 36 heavy machine guns, 218 light machine guns, 6,450 rifles, 472 pistols, 538 submachine guns, and 120 ammunition trucks were seized. None of our troops were killed, 76 wounded. Another: Please ask for two things: 1. How to deal with Zhang Liangji, commander of the 16th Hunan Division. 2. Lu Wen, a telegraph operator of the 48th Brigade of the 16th Hunan Division who was captured by our regiment, claimed to be an underground party member who had made meritorious contributions in luring the enemy's 16th Hunan Division and the 47th Brigade into an ambush. Red Eighteen Regiment. 12:50 p.m. on December 12. ”

After reading the telegram, Vice Chairman Zhou was speechless for a long time.

* After reading the telegram carefully, he said: "Amazing, heroic Red Eighteen Regiment! With a reorganized regiment, he dared to defeat six enemies with one enemy, three battles and three victories, and there were zero casualties. Since the establishment of the Red Army, there has never been such a record! Enlai, boss, I suggest that the battle report of the 18th Regiment be notified to the whole army, and order all regiments to attack the predetermined target at full speed to defeat the Guizhou army. He called on the whole army to learn from the heroic Red Eighteen Regiment, not afraid of fatigue and sacrifice, and dare to defeat all enemies. It is suggested that the 18th Regiment should be telegraphed back: 1. The troops should move quickly and covertly, find other fighters, and avoid being surrounded by the enemy's heavy army group. 2. Reiterate that the operation of the 18th Regiment will be decided by regiment commander Liu Yimin on the spot. 3. Zhang Liangji was released at an appropriate time after his education, and asked him to convey to Liu Jianxu of the Hunan army the purpose of the Red Army's northward resistance, and to warn the Hunan army not to pursue our army again. ”

Vice Chairman Zhou said: "To add, the matter of Lu Wen, the newspaper operator, will be reported separately after it is investigated. ”

After soliciting everyone's opinions, Mr. Zhu said to the confidential section chief: "Just send it according to this opinion!" ”

The chief of the confidential section repeated it, and when he saw that several chiefs had no objections, he ran to send a report.

* said: "Let's go, guys, we can't sleep anymore, the Eighteenth Regiment has hurt the Hunan army, it's time for us to destroy the Guizhou army." ”

At this time, Liu Yimin was busy training the troops.

Just now, after Liu Yimin stirred up the emotions of the Hunan army captives, the leaders of several regiments studied on the spot, and immediately held a cadre meeting to announce the establishment of the 18th Regiment and the 5th Battalion, with the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion and the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion as the backbone, supplemented by 150 Hunan soldiers, organized into 13th, 14th, and 15th companies, the former deputy commander of the 1st Battalion Zhao Shan was promoted to the commander of the 5th Battalion, and Wang Nanhu, the deputy commander of the 2nd Battalion, was promoted to instructor; The 6th Battalion of the 18th Regiment was established, with the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion and the 12th Company of the 4th Battalion as the backbone, supplemented by 150 Hunan soldiers, and organized into 3 companies of the 16th, 17th and 18th. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th battalions were each equipped with a radio station, and each battalion was supplemented with 150 Hunan soldiers, and new 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th companies were formed respectively. All six combat battalions were equipped with two mortars, three heavy machine guns and 12 light machine guns. The infantry squad has a light machine gun per squad, the squad leader and deputy squad leader are equipped with a submachine gun, a new type of shell gun that can fire continuously, and the other soldiers each have a Type 79 rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition, and 6 grenades. Looking at the whole of China at that time, the firepower of the six combat battalions of the Red 18th Regiment was the first.

Li Chang finally became the commander of the artillery battalion, leading two mountain artillery companies and two mortar companies, and he was so happy that he discussed with Wang Shanzhu, an instructor who was also promoted, whether to find an opportunity to shoot a few artillery exercises and train soldiers. Wang Shanzhu told him directly that without the order of the regiment commander, not a single shell could be moved. Li Chang rubbed his hands helplessly and shouted: "Itchy, Lao Tzu is so fucking itchy!" ”

The heavy machine gun company was also upgraded to a heavy machine gun battalion, with three heavy machine gun companies, each equipped with eight heavy machine guns, and the battalion leader was promoted from the original machine gun company leader.

The baggage brigade was renamed the baggage battalion, and the battalion leader was reappointed from the original leader of the baggage brigade, equipped with infantry weapons, and was responsible for the protection and transportation of captured materials.

The cadres of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies of the recruit battalion did not move, mainly the support cadres of the headquarters, and the cadres of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th companies of the new battalion were built, and Chen Dazhong, deputy commander of the 4th battalion, was promoted to the commander of the recruit battalion, and Chang Huayu was still the instructor of the new battalion.

The role of the sniper platoon was recognized by the Red Army soldiers, and at Liu Yimin's insistence, each combat group of the sniper platoon was equipped with a telescope, a rifle, and a new-type shell gun.

The regimental guard squad was upgraded to a guard platoon, with one rifle, one submachine gun, and one shell gun per person, and the platoon commander was promoted by Li Chengyi.

The only thing that did not change in the whole regiment was the reconnaissance platoon, because Liu Yimin required that the soldiers of the reconnaissance platoon must be old Red Army, so it was not expanded.

The artillery battalions, heavy machine gun battalions, and engineer battalions are all equipped with rifles and pistols, and there are no separate guard units. The surplus pistols were equipped with an average of 1 company of the 1st battalion, 4 companies of the 2nd battalion, 7 companies of the 3rd battalion, and 10 companies of the 4th battalion. The remaining weapons were handed over to the baggage battalion for safekeeping and transportation.

After the completion of the formation of the troops, the strength of the whole regiment reached 4,700 people, which was equivalent to two main regiments of the Red Army. In Liu Yimin's words, the battalions were transferred to the battlefield for rectification and training, which means brainwashing, running-in, tactical training, and removing impurities. Removing impurities is to mobilize new soldiers to expose the tyrants and soldiers who have blood debts and bad habits such as gambling, smoking, and surname diseases, so as to ensure the purity of the team. In accordance with Liu Yimin's request, the cadres of all battalions and veteran Red Army soldiers mobilized to help the new soldiers get acquainted with the ranks, talk about their grievances, and teach them the essentials of tactics, so that they could integrate into the big family of the 18th Regiment as soon as possible.

Seeing that the cadres were busy, Cai Zhong said to Liu Yimin: "Commander, how can I listen to what you just said to the captives full of incitement and temptation. This is not entirely in line with the spirit of our army's ideological and political work. ”

Liu Yimin replied: "Political commissar, what you said is very right, it is not full of incitement and temptation, but naked incitement and temptation." ”

Cai Zhong asked puzzledly, "Why did you do that?" ”

Liu Yimin said with a smile: "Okay, my political commissar, I'm saving these prisoners, instead of working hard for Jiang Guangtou, He Jianzhi and others, it's better to join the Red Army to fight for your freedom." If there was no incitement and no temptation, would those prisoners be able to join the Red Army on the spot? ”

Cai Zhong asked again: "If these prisoners find out that being in the Red Army is very hard, and they may die at any time, why don't they all desert?" ”

Liu Yimin replied: "No." I believe in the great power of the Red Army's political and ideological work and in the ability and level of the cadres. ”

Cai Zhong also smiled and said: "You are pushing people who are not revolutionaries to revolutionize." I think you're a bit like a matchmaker in an arranged marriage. ”

Liu Yimin said: "Arranged marriages are not entirely unhappy. Can you get married first and then fall in love? ”

Cai Zhong smiled and coughed: "Okay, you're Liu Yimin, it's a good one to get married first and then fall in love, it's really a quick way to expand your popularity." ”

Seeing that Cai Zhong was no longer smiling, Liu Yimin said solemnly: "What we need to pay attention to is that we must find out those scoundrels with blood on their hands and the scum of soldiers who smoke big cigarettes and have sick surnames, and we must maintain the purity of our Red Army ranks." ”

Cai Zhong said: "Leave it to me, you just think about the next step." ”

Liu Yimin said: "I'll only give you two hours, and after two hours, the troops will be ready to go?" ”

Cai Zhong glared and said, "Then what are you going to grind for me?" Move! ”

After Cai Zhong left, Liu Yimin asked the staff office to take out the map captured from the 16th Hunan Division and began to ponder the problem of the 62nd Hunan Division.

Historically, when the Hunan 62nd Division pursued the Central Red Army, it set off from Le'anbu in Suining, and went to Jingwuzhou through Xikou, Taipingtou, Guniukou, and Zhaitoubao. The two regiments of Wang Yuying's brigade, the vanguard of the brigade, crossed Jingwuzhou at 5 p.m. on the 13th and arrived at Diping Village, but were blocked by the rear guard troops of the 1st Red Army. The next morning, Tao Guang, commander of the 62nd Division, led Zhong Guangren's brigade to join the attack, and ordered a regiment of Wang Yuying's brigade to detour to the Red Army position. Seeing that the main force of the enemy had arrived, the rearguard troops of the 1st Red Army completed the task of blocking and took the initiative to retreat. The 62nd Division then captured the county seat at 8 a.m.

Since the Hunan 16th Division pursued the Red Army one day earlier than in history, the Hunan 62nd Division would definitely be dispatched at the same time. The problem is that it is already half past twelve after the third ambush of the Xiaoshui battle is over, and the troops are training again, and it will take at least three hours, and before 5 o'clock in the afternoon, it will not be able to catch up with the 62nd Division's Wang Yuying Brigade in any case, so there is no preset position to block or ambush, or surprise attack on Wang Yuying's brigade. In this way, Wang Yuying's brigade will definitely quickly capture the county seat.

Radio contact also confirmed Liu Yimin's speculation. He Xinghua reported that the headquarters of the enemy's First Corps inquired about the progress of the 16th Division and informed that the Wang Yuying Brigade of the 62nd Division had arrived at Xikou, found no trace of the Red Army, and had advanced in the direction of Jingwuzhou.

Liu Yimin had the heart to give up the whole training, and led the troops to march quickly to intercept Wang Yuying's brigade. However, considering that on the night of the 11th, the troops marched overnight in order to ambush the 16th Hunan Division, and they were too tired, while the enemy Wang Yuying's brigade walked in a straight line, and the 18th regiment took the big road from Xiaoshui to Jingwuzhou in an arc shape. The order is to catch up with the enemy's Wang Yuying brigade, once the enemy starts a battle formation, with the 18th regiment of the tired division to fight against the enemy's new forces, there is no chance of victory. In addition, the abandonment of the whole training means that it is necessary to send a part of the main force to escort 1,400 captured soldiers of the Hunan army, resulting in the dispersion of troops. As for releasing the 1,400 captives, Liu Yimin didn't even want to think about it. Joke, can you spit out the fat that reaches your mouth? That's 1,400 well-trained fighters! Wounded soldiers can be let go, and those who are not injured don't even think about it.

In desperation, Liu Yimin had no choice but to telegraph and order the third battalion, the seventh company and one platoon of the third battalion who stayed in the passage, to bring the prepared military uniforms and dry rations, immediately evacuate the county seat, conceal the military uniforms and dry rations, and advance to the front line of Jingwuzhou to harass and delay the enemy army.

In view of the fact that the strength of the third battalion, seven companies, and one platoon was too great to be sacrificed in vain, Liu Yimin particularly stressed in his telegram that it was necessary not to block the attack head-on or attack at close range, and that it was necessary to give full play to the superiority of the small troops, and to retreat after firing a single shot on the enemy's marching route.

Now, Liu Yimin's eagle-like eyes are firmly fixed on Tao Guang, the commander of the 62nd Hunan Division, and the Zhong Guangren Brigade led by him.

Liu Yimin knew that the 62nd Division was composed of two brigades and four regiments, and since the avant-garde Wang Yuying Brigade had the same line of action as in history, then division commander Tao Guang must have led Zhong Guangren's brigade and the troops directly under the division to respond in the rear. In this case, the troops led by Tao Guang should be on a certain section of the road between the three key points of Le'anbu, Xikou, and Zhaitoubao. The reason why the radio station of the enemy's 1st Corps did not report the exact location of the headquarters of the 62nd Division was that it was estimated that the headquarters of the 62nd Division was on the march.

Liu Yimin was determined to plunge from Xiaoshui directly into Xikou, and if the enemy's 62nd Division headquarters and Zhong Brigade had not yet reached Xikou, he would set up an ambush near Xikou; If the enemy's 62nd Division headquarters and the Zhong Brigade rushed to Xikou and encircled and annihilated the enemy at Xikou, the reorganized Red 18th Regiment just needed a battle to test the combat effectiveness of the troops. If the headquarters of the 62nd Division and the Zhong Brigade had passed through Xikou, they would pursue it and hit it in the back.

After making up his mind, Liu Yimin ordered the reconnaissance platoon to immediately find a guide and reconnoiter the enemy situation in the direction of Xikou. Then, the cavalry company was ordered to end the training ahead of schedule, follow the reconnaissance platoon, and carry out combat alert in the direction of Xikou.

While Liu Yimin was making these deployments, Cai Zhong's work was also progressing smoothly. The cadres of the Political Department went to the battalions separately to organize and mobilize new recruits to conduct investigations, and found 45 scumbags with blood debts, smoking large cigarettes, or having syphilis, 26 people with blood debts were executed on the spot, and the other 19 people with bad habits were locked up with enemy officers. This measure eliminated the hidden dangers of the troops, and it also became a natural procedure for the 18th Regiment to deal with prisoners later.

Looking at the time, more than 2 hours have passed, and the battalions have also reported the end of the battlefield training, Liu Yimin no longer waited, and immediately ordered the 510 seriously wounded of the Hunan army after the initial medical treatment to be left in Xiaoshui Village to be cared for by the villagers, and the troops were divided into two routes, Wu Zheng led the regiment to guard the platoon and the baggage battalion, carrying the radio of the four battalions, escorting the captured materials and captured enemy officers and 760 lightly wounded of the Hunan army, disguised as the 16th Hunan Division, and advanced along the highway to Linkou; Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong led six combat battalions, a sniper platoon, a teaching team, an artillery battalion, a heavy machine gun battalion, an engineer battalion, and a recruit battalion.