The town is located in Huaihua, Tongren and the southeast of Hunan and Guizhou provinces, and the intersection of five counties in the southeast of Guizhou. King Qin Zhao set up a county in the thirtieth year, and Song Shaoding changed its name to Zhenyuan Prefecture in the first year.

Zhenyuan is the political, economic and cultural center of Qiandong. There are the ancient Great Wall of Miaoling on the mountain outside the city, there are eight halls such as "Two Lakes", "Jiangxi", "Sichuan", "Qin and Jin" built in the heyday of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and 12 theaters such as "Wanshou Palace West Building", "Dongyue Temple Theater", "Fire God Temple Theater", "Arctic Palace Theater", etc., Wu Jingzi, a great novelist of the Ming Dynasty, called Zhenyuan "song and dance place". On the Taiji diagram of the unity of heaven and man of "nine mountains hugging one water, one water and two cities" outlined by the "S" shaped Wuyang River, the "crooked doors and evil roads" hook up the courtyard houses of the Jiangnan water towns made of stone slabs and bricks and tiles and the wooden stilted buildings that stand in the air, setting off the ancient city more and more serene and simple.

Zhenyuan's commerce is very developed, and it can be called the material distribution center of Hunan and Guizhou provinces, with rich businessmen and magnates gathered, and mansions and courtyards are dense. The common people's spread of "Zhenyuan Street, crowded with people, those who pick up kilns and cans are broken, and those who carry tung oil can't squeeze out of the city" has made a footnote to the prosperity of Zhenyuan.

Zhenyuan is also the birthplace of China's modern heavy industry, the rise of the "Westernization Movement" in the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang built China's first steel mill Qingxi Iron Works in Zhenyuan, and the production of "Tianzi No. 1" steel ingots was stored in Zhenyuan.

Zhenyuan is also from Hunan to Guizhou, Yunnan traffic and military strategic point, the land route directly leads to Guizhou and Yunnan, the water route goes directly to Dongting under the Wuyang River, known as "the key to Yunnan and Chu", "the throat of Hunan and Guizhou", "the important town of eastern Qian". The ancients had many expositions of "if you want to get through Yungui, you must first guard the town" and "if you want to base Yunnan and Chu, you must occupy the town". At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan army and the Song army attacked here for many years, and Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, also took Yunnan as the main point. So far, the four official halls of the county town are still dedicated to Bai Qi, Wang Qian, Lian Po, and Li Mu, which proves the history of Zhenyuan's business and city because of the army.

Historically, Zhenyuan is the place where Jingchu abandoned the ship and landed on the shore, and it is also a shortcut and necessary place for exchanges between the capital and the southwest border, as well as Annam, Burma, Siam, India and other countries, and has the reputation of "Southern Silk Road". Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru once went to Zhenyuan Qinglong Cave to preach and study when he was a teenager, leaving a very good impression.

At noon on the 22nd, Liu Yimin led the Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army into Zhenyuan.

At this time, the weather is cold, and the ancient town is far covered in silver, looking like a fairy tale world, which is extremely enchanting.

As soon as he walked into the temporary division headquarters organized by Liu Jianjian, Liu Jianli reported that the radio had been set up and contacted the Central Revolutionary Military Commission. According to the report of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the Red Third Army Corps has crossed the Wujiang River and controls the Wujiang line; The 6th Regiment of the 2nd Red Division successfully attacked Zunyi, and the main force of the Hou Zhidan Department was completely annihilated by the 2nd Red Division and the 5th Red Army. The 1st and 15th Red Divisions captured Renhuai, and the Red Ninth Army captured Meitan and was developing towards Suiyang.

Liu Yimin remembered that in history, the Red Army attacked and occupied Zunyi, and gave each Guizhou army prisoner three oceans, so that the prisoners could cooperate with the Red Army to win the city gate, and it was estimated that this time it was about the same, Liu Bocheng, who was known as the "Sun Wu of the world", made good use of strange tactics, and he was the commander of the former enemy, and took a small Zunyi, which was naturally not a problem. Thinking of Marshal Liu Bocheng's commanding demeanor in history, the corners of Liu Yimin's mouth unconsciously smiled.

Cai Zhong saw Liu Yimin with a smile on his face but didn't speak, so he knew that this guy was too vain if he didn't fugue again. asked Liu Jianjian: "Is there any information from Xue Yue's department?" ”

Liu Jianli said: "The Central Revolutionary Military Commission has deciphered the code of Xue Yuebu's radio station and has notified He Xinghua. At present, the 93rd and 54th Divisions of the vanguard of Xue Yue's department are staying in Yuping County due to heavy snowfall, and the main force is still in Xinhuang. ”

At this time, Liu Yimin heard it, raised his head and said to Liu Jianjian: "Order the troops to seize the time to rest, arrange personnel to purchase or organize the masses to sew cotton boots, and it is best to see if there are leather boots." Contact Hu Laohu and ask him to pay attention to the safety of the march. The reconnaissance company was ordered to focus on reconnoitring the terrain of Qingxi. The troops set off in the evening. ”

Liu Jianli said: "Looking at the current weather and road conditions, Xue Yuebu should wait for the road conditions to improve before taking action!" Isn't it possible to consider letting the troops spend the night here? ”

Cai Zhong, Li Qing, Wu Zheng, and the regiment commanders and political commissars also looked at Liu Yimin with blank eyes.

Liu Yimin stared at Liu Jianjian: "Don't treat Xue Yue as Wang Jialie, and don't see the Central Army as the Guizhou Army, not all [***] generals and troops are soft persimmons and cowards, if that's the case, the Red Army doesn't need to come from Jiangxi to Guizhou." ”

Seeing that Liu Jianli was blushing and his neck was thick, he couldn't get off the stage. Liu Yimin also said: "The chief of staff has considered it well, and everyone may think the same way, after all, the troops are really tired after traveling hundreds of miles. However, if you think about it, the main force of our Red Army occupies Zunyi, which is the second largest city in Guizhou, and you can go north to Yucheng, and if you go west, you can enter southern Sichuan, and you can even rely on the Wujiang River and the Loushan Mountain in northern Qianbei to divide the territory. Wang Jialie was fooled, Chiang Kai-shek was also fooled, and the princes of Sichuan looked forward to the Red Army's movement to Yunnan and Guizhou. Everyone said, can Chiang Kai-shek sit still? Can Xue Yue sit still? Can Liu Xiang sit still? Can Wang Jialie sit still? ”

The cadres were silent.

After a pause, Liu Yimin said: "Some comrades may believe that since the Xiangjiang Campaign, we have inflicted heavy losses on the Hunan army at Xiaoshui and Xikou, the Gui army has also retreated, and the Guizhou army is vulnerable. This statement makes sense, and in the short term, our situation is indeed much better. However, the passive situation of the Red Army in a state of encirclement has not been completely changed, and it is still in danger, and Chiang Kai-shek is mobilizing a large army to press on Guizhou. If we relax a little and don't talk about others, even the Hunan army and the Gui army that we have taught will pounce on us from behind. Of course, they can't do the same as the Xiangjiang Campaign, but if we want to turn around and return east, will they let us go? ”

The more Liu Yimin spoke, the more anxious he became: "After our Red Army left the Soviet area, there was no base area, and the supply of food and ammunition came from capture, and the replenishment of soldiers mainly relied on prisoners and recruits who expanded the Red Army. And what about the enemy? With sufficient supplies and the cooperation of local authorities and reactionary militias, there was a steady supply of soldiers. You may not know that the three divisions of the Hunan Army that we wiped out have now been rebuilt, and it will not take long to pull them to the battlefield. In Sichuan, which is adjacent to Zunyi, Liu Xiang and several warlords said that although the regular army was only 200,000 or 300,000, they could build more troops on the basis of the backbone troops in a very short time. Because he has a militia regiment, a strong man, an officer training team, food, and weapons. And we, only these tens of thousands of the main forces of the Red Army, sacrifice one less one, we can't afford to sacrifice, we can't afford to lose! ”

Seeing that the cadres were pondering and savoring their words, Liu Yimin felt that it had already been effective, and changed his words and said: "Only by eliminating Xue Yue's first department, or severely damaging most of it, can the arrogance of the Central Army be defeated, so as to deter the Sichuan Army, the Dian Army and other local warlords who want to pounce on us when we are unlucky, make them afraid of the Red Army, and make way for us to go north to resist and make way." Therefore, our army must surprise the troops, attack quickly, and end the battle when Xue Yue can't react, so that his troops will not have time to deploy, the planes will not be able to find the bombing target, and the artillery will not be able to find the target of the shelling. Only in this way can we defeat more with less, defeat the strong with the weak, destroy the enemy, and strengthen the Red Army. ”

Seeing that Liu Yimin was about to finish speaking, Cai Zhong interjected: "Everyone should seriously understand what the division commander said, I ponder, the division commander has basically explained the current situation of our Red Army, the enemy's strategic deployment, and the principles of our battle this time, and each regiment must convey it to cadres above the platoon level. Director Li, please sort out the speech of the division commander, and also sort out the speech of the division commander in the passage area, and print and distribute it to the cadres and soldiers for study. Today's speech, entitled Comrade Liu Yimin, commander of the Central Guard Division, talked with cadres at and above the regimental level, and was copied and reported to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and leaders of Mao, Zhou, Zhang, Bo, Zhu, and Wang for their review. ”

After listening to Cai Zhong's words, the cadres all nodded. No one questioned Cai Zhong's wrong ranking of the central leadership positions, because at the time of the passage, the content of the conversation between Liu Yimin and Stone had already spread far and wide in the ranks of the Red Army. At the inaugural meeting of the Central Guard Division, Liu Yimin made the task of the Central Guard Division very clear, to defend the Party Central Committee, defend [***], and defeat all enemies. Therefore, from Cai Zhong and below, the cadres and soldiers of the guard division have long regarded [***] as the commander of the Red Army.

Liu Yimin's emotions eased up, and he said with a smile: "Political commissar, you are too serious, doesn't this make me unable to speak in the future." ”

Cai Zhong said seriously: "No, I have already sorted out several of your speeches, including the speeches of the coach's tactical actions and the mobilization of prisoners, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that you are right, and there is a brand-new military thinking in it." This kind of thinking is not taught at the Whampoa Military Academy, and it is rarely taught at the Red Army University, and it is particularly applicable to the current Red Army operations. We should sort it out, let the cadres and fighters learn, and lead everyone to improve. ”

Liu Yimin smiled again, this time smiling brightly, which made the cadres feel that the mood of the division commander had really improved.

After laughing, Liu Yimin said: "After everyone goes back, immediately arrange for the troops to rest, prepare more cold-proof items, prepare more white cloth and other camouflage items." The engineer battalion should raise more explosives in the far reaches of the town, where the industrial base is good, and more mines and explosives packages can be made. The field aid station rushed to collect medicines and first-aid supplies. Do you understand? ”

The cadres replied in unison: "Understood! ”

Liu Yimin waved his hand: "The leaders of the engineer battalion and the artillery battalion stayed, and the others carried out separately." ”

After the regiment commander and political commissars left, Liu Yimin called Zeng Zhao again and told Zeng Zhao and Lei Ming how to make a "conscienceless cannon," how to calculate the dosage of the "unconscionable cannon," how to calculate the firing distance of the "unconscionable cannon," and how to find direction, aim, and prevent bombardment. When the two of them heard this, they were amazed. Zeng Zhao, in particular, has been asking Liu Yimin how he came up with this method. Liu Yimin said that he was inspired by the experience of firing artillery at home when he was a child, and that he had been thinking about how to make up for the lack of firepower of the Red Army these days, so he wanted to try it like this. There are no conditions in the passage county and Jingwu Prefecture, and after arriving at the town, I saw that the transportation was busy and there was a certain industrial base, so I wanted to try, and I couldn't see the ability of Zeng Zhao.

Zeng Zhao didn't say a word, pulled Li Chang and ran away.

When the two left, Liu Yimin asked He Mingliang if he would build mines. He Mingliang replied that he would, but now there are no factories and workshops, so he can't build it. Liu Yimin said that it can be built without a factory. He Mingliang didn't understand how to make without factories, tools, and raw materials. Liu Yimin said, there must be a lot of explosives here, you collect the folk clay pots and porcelain altars, put explosives in them, put some iron nails in them, and install the trigger device, isn't it enough?

He Mingliang scratched his head and said regretfully, "Why am I so stupid? If I had thought of this method earlier, when the white dog besieged the Soviet area, how many enemies could be blown up if I buried it on the road? ”

After finishing speaking, he was about to leave, but Liu Yimin called him again and asked him if he would pick up the explosive bag from a distance. He Mingliang said that it would be yes, but there was no explosive package. Liu Yimin told him that there are many mines in Zhenyuan, there must be explosives bags and wires, so hurry up and collect them, and get as many as possible. Ask Zeng Zhao if he doesn't understand, and he will definitely do it. However, you told Zeng Zhao that the engineers and skilled workers you found, no matter what they did, all wanted to mobilize to join the Red Army. You can promise them some financial compensation, such as settling-in allowance.

He Mingliang is gone. Liu Yimin turned around and saw that Cai Zhong and several division-level cadres were waiting for him in the house, so he asked why he didn't go to sleep and set off at night.

Li Qing said: "I'm pondering the question of how many divisions Xue Yue can lose this time. ”

Liu Yimin said with a smile: "It depends on whether Xue Yue cooperates or not, it may be a regiment, it may be a division, or it may be two divisions." If there is more, it is estimated that Xue Yue will be reluctant. In my opinion, if he doesn't stop the pursuit, it is estimated that it will be a little difficult for the eight divisions he brought to go back. As long as the main force of the Red Army can rest and recuperate in Zunyi for a period of time, [***] will be much more courageous than me, and that will be a real big deal! ”

Several people laughed at him. Liu Yimin suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked about the seizure in Zhenyuan, so he asked Liu Jianli how the seizure was. Liu Jianli said that he didn't have time to capture anything, and the Red Ninth Army did not stop in Zhenyuan County, but the vanguard troops attacked and left. Therefore, the county magistrate, the commander of the militia regiment, the chief of the police, and the director of the tax bureau did not flee far, and when they saw that the Red Army was gone, they all returned. Everyone was caught, the radio and the phone were controlled, but there was no time to interrogate.

Liu Yimin immediately said: "This can be done, and it must be interrogated immediately." It's much richer than the channel, and the oil and water must be bigger. In this way, Lao Wu stayed, and the third company with the baggage battalion dug up floating wealth here and mobilized the masses to expand popularity. ”

Wu Zheng immediately said: "Report to the division commander, in the last battle at Xikou, I obeyed the order to escort the prisoners and baggage, and as a result, the cadres and soldiers of the baggage battalion had very opinions. I'm going to go to the front this time. I won't stay, and the baggage company will also go to the front. ”

Liu Yimin said: "Political commissar, you can arrange it." ”

Cai Zhong looked at the faces of Liu Jianli and Li Qing. Without waiting for him to speak, Liu Jianli said: "I am the chief of staff, and I must go to the front line, so you don't need to look at me." ”

Li Qing said: "It's okay to fight other troops, but I must go to fight Xue Yue's Central Army, and I will also lead the troops to charge directly." ”

Cai Zhong had no choice but to say to Liu Yimin: "It's all stated, you decide." ”

Liu Yimin said: "Since we are all going to go, we have to lock up those guys and their families first, and leave a force to guard them." The chief of staff informed Qi Fengnian of the 7th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment to lead a company to stay behind, and the task was to interrogate prisoners, dig up floating wealth, mobilize the masses, and search for talents. ”

Cai Zhong said: "Stay in the new barracks, pray for the harvest of the year company is the main force, and good steel is used on the blade." ”

Liu Yimin said: "Qi Fengnian did a good job last time he stayed in the channel. But the commissar was right. In this way, the guard battalion left a company behind to strengthen the firepower. The new battalion had to go to the front, and months of training were not worth a real combat test. The chief of staff will arrange it. Let's take a break and disperse. ”

A few people went to sleep separately.

Wang Jialie only learned about the loss of Wujiang and Zunyi after receiving Wan Shijiong's report.

On the morning of the 21st, after a battalion of the Wanshijiong Division was annihilated by the 34th Division of the Red Fifth Army, the battalion commander escaped. That guy was also clever, he didn't dare to take the big road, he crossed the mountains and returned to Meitan, and just after reporting to Wan Shijiong about the total annihilation of the troops, the vanguard of the Red Ninth Army arrived at the south gate of Meitan County.

Wan Shijiong knew that it was the Red Army that broke through the Wujiang River and came to the door, but he didn't have time to hold the unlucky battalion commander accountable, nor did he have time to report to Wang Jialie, so he hurriedly withdrew with the team. Originally, they withdrew to Zunyi, and wanted to stick to Zunyi together with Hou Zhidan, but when they arrived in Zunyi, they found that the Red Army was advancing towards Zunyi in several ways. Wan Shijiong knew that he couldn't hold Zunyi with the burden of waiting, and if he entered Zunyi, it would be a sheep in the mouth of a tiger, so he quickly turned to Suiyang and retreated. Halfway through, I learned the news that Zunyi had fallen and that all the main forces of Hou Zhitan had been annihilated.

Finally, on the morning of the 22nd, he ran to the territory of Suiyang County, and found that the main force of the Red Ninth Army came up again, and he had no choice but to turn to Tongzi. It wasn't until 10 o'clock in the evening that Wan Shijiong felt that he had temporarily escaped the pursuit of the Red Army, so he hurriedly reported to his uncle Wang Jialie, who was far away in Guiyang, the news of the loss of Wujiang, the loss of Zunyi, and the loss of Loushan Pass.

Wang Jialie's first feeling after receiving the report was that it was impossible, the main forces of the First and Third Army Corps of the Red Army were still in Fuquan and Kaiyang two days ago, how could they arrive in Zunyi all at once? It's just nonsense. The second feeling is that they have been fooled, and the cunning Red Army has put on a posture of the main force moving west to Guiyang, so that he can mobilize the militia and transfer the main force back to defense, and he is very busy. As a result, he was fine, wiped the table and didn't eat, and while he was busy here, he turned around and went north and took Zunyi. Needless to say, Qianbei is all over. Shame, shame, shame, shame for my mother, now the whole of China knows that my old king was played by [***], Chairman Jiang estimates that when he sees me again, he will not take a look at me again. The third feeling is that the burden of waiting is completely finished this time, and it can be regarded as achieving his goal of eliminating dissidents through the hands of the Red Army, and when the Red Army is gone, he will take back Qianbei again. Thinking of this, Wang Jialie felt that it was worth it to be busy, and it was finally a bit rewarding.

Next, Wang Jialie was worried again. Do you want to report to Nanjing immediately? If this is reported now, it is estimated that the chairman of the committee will not be able to sleep immediately, and in a fit of rage, no one can say what will happen. If this is reported a little later, I am afraid that in the future, the chairman of the NPC National Committee will be left with an excuse for not reporting the information and delaying the fighter plane. After thinking about it, I felt that it was better to discuss it with my wife.

Mrs. Wan was very decisive and directly asked Wang Jialie to report immediately. As for whether the central army will affect Wang Jialie's rule after entering Guizhou, Mrs. Wan said that she can't take care of it now, southeast Guizhou has been swept around by the Red Army, and the Guizhou army has long been driven out, and northern Guizhou is about to be lost again. No one can stop the Central Army's entry into Guizhou, so let's fight the red bandits first. The Central Army is coming, and it's a big deal not to let you be the commander of the army or the provincial chairman, just change to an idle position. If the red bandits occupy Guizhou, I'm afraid it won't be as simple as not letting them do it.

Madame's words reminded Wang Jialie, after all, Chairman Jiang still has a little friendship with him, and he is usually more obedient. Red bandits are different, they cost their own lives. Therefore, Wang Jialie ordered to send a report to Nanjing immediately to report the loss of Zunyi. Of course, we must report that our army fought hard in Wujiang and Zunyi, severely damaged the main force of the red bandits, killed more than 6,000 red bandits, and surrendered more than 2,000 guns.

When he received Wang Jialie's report, Chiang Kai-shek was reading Wang Yangming's "Biography". This is a compulsory course for him, and he reads a paragraph before going to bed, and then memorizes it. Basically, I stick to this when I have free time.

Madame had already gone to bed to rest, finished reading the book, and was about to write a note, when Yan Daogang, the director of the chamberlain, reported that there was an urgent military situation.

When Chiang Kai-shek took the telegram and read it, he was furious and scolded: "Niang Xipi, Wang Jialie, these wastes, are bent on fighting for territory and eliminating dissidents, and regard the orders of the central government as child's play. The central government repeatedly ordered them to strictly defend the Wujiang River, but the result was good, Wang Jialie withdrew his troops to Guiyang, and the burden of waiting for him to stay unmoved, so that [***] could get it. Niang Xipi, they should all be shot! Zunyi was lost, and there was a face that reported killing 6,000 red bandits! Niang Xipi, how many people are there in total of the red bandits, and he can kill 6000? Niang Xipi! ”

Seeing that Chairman Jiang was angry, Yan Dao asked cautiously just now: "What are the instructions of the commission?" ”

Chiang Kai-shek sat on the chair, rested his head on the back of the chair, and calmed down for a while before saying: "Order Xue Yue to immediately dispatch and go straight to Guiyang, and urge Wang Jialie to lead his army north and attack Zunyi." Ordered Liu Xiang to urge his subordinates to quickly leave northern Guizhou and attack Zunyi. The Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hunan sides were ordered to speed up according to the last telegram. Ordered the troops from Jiangxi to quickly move south to support Xue Yue. ”

Yan Dao had just gone out to send the report, and Chiang Kai-shek cursed again, "Niang Xipi, wretched", and then went upstairs to rest.

At this time, on the main road from the town to Qingxi Town, the soldiers of the Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army were rushing to Qingxi Town with torches and snow.

(To be continued)