Qingxi Town is located in the east of Zhenyuan County, less than 100 miles away from Zhenyuan County, because it is Xiangqian Avenue, it is relatively easy to walk, so at more than 6 o'clock in the morning, Liu Yimin led the Central Guard Division to arrive here.

Zhang Yicheng and Luo Yan had already taken control of the town with a platoon of scouts from the reconnaissance company, and when they saw the main force coming up, they hurriedly reported the situation to Liu Yimin.

Zhang Yicheng said that Qingxi Town is back to the east and west, in front of the town is Xiangqian Avenue, and the Wuyang River flows to the northeast next to the highway. 20 miles east of the town is Yangping Town, connected with Xinhuang County of Hunan Province, connected to Sansui County to the south, adjacent to Cengong County to the north, is an important town on the Xiangqian Avenue from Yunnan and Guizhou to Hunan, it has been called "the gateway of Qiandong" since ancient times, and is the main passage area of the east exit of Guizhou. Xue Yue's entry into Guizhou is the only way to go.

There is a main street in the town and there are many shops. There is a wharf, and cargo ships can go up to Zhenyuan and Hunan Province. There is also a steel plant called Qingxi Iron Works, which is in normal production. The population of the town is mainly merchants and workers, and the Miao villages and towns are all on the hill behind Qingxi Town.

Under the guidance of Zhang Yicheng, Liu Yimin led the leaders of various regiments, battalions, and directly subordinate units to the top of the mountain behind Qingxi Town to check the terrain.

It was 7 a.m., the snow had long since stopped, and the sky was beginning to clear.

Liu Yimin stood on the top of the mountain and looked, in the middle of the confrontation between the two mountains, the Wuyang River in winter is like a white horse, quietly spreading out from west to east, you can imagine that when spring comes, the clouds on the river are reflected, the white sails are dotted, the eagle flies and swallows dance, the fishing song sings and the scenery is so beautiful. Xiangqian Avenue is like the lover of the Wuyang River, coming from east to west, and in the valley with the Wuyang River, tightly entwined.

On the other side of the river, it should be the remaining veins of Wuling Mountain, the continuous peaks are full of cedar trees, pine trees, red oaks, white oaks and dense bamboo forests, the snow is pressed on the canopy and bamboo tops, but it can not stop the green tenacious spread outward of the pine and green bamboo.

Look at the topography of your own direction, it should be the remaining veins of Miaoling, the mountain situation stops abruptly by the Wuyang River, along the river from east to west, the not very high peaks are like soldiers one by one, arranged neatly, as if they are reporting to the Wuyang River, waiting for the roll call review. The slopes of the hill are not very steep, overgrown with trees and bamboo forests, and the cold wind blows and the snowflakes fall straight down, revealing green bamboo leaves and pine branches, giving infinite hope to the cold winter sky.

If you look closely, this is really a natural ambush field! The Wuyang River is a natural barrier, and the enemy's way to the west is completely sealed off on the right side, and once the battle starts, the enemy can only rush forward, retreat, or rush to the left side of the hill where he is located. If the retreat is blocked and the path of advance is blocked, then the enemy has only one choice, which is to rush to the hillside where he is. And the hillside is densely wooded and bamboo, which can hide the main force, you can imagine how cool it feels when the enemy rushes to the hillside in panic and seize the commanding heights, and rows of guns stick out of the woods!

Walking down the mountain, Liu Yimin led the cadres to ride horses along the highway for more than ten miles, and carried out real-distance measurements on the slopes of each key point to see that they would reach Yangping Town if they went any further, and then they hit the horses and returned.

Back in Xikou Town, Liu Jianli, Zhang Yicheng and Liu Lizhi and several other operational staff officers were busy drawing, Liu Yimin and Cai Zhong briefly discussed, and then notified the cadres above the company level to gather and hold an operational meeting.

He Xinghua reported that after deciphering the enemy's telegram, Xue Yue's main force set off from the junction of Xinhuang and Yuping at 6 a.m. this morning, and was expected to arrive at Yuping County at 11 p.m. in five hours. Xue Yue ordered the 59th and 93rd Divisions in Yuping to send search troops, and the main force set out from Yuping County at 9 o'clock and advanced along the Xiangqian Avenue to Zhenyuan, and the two divisions should not march more than two miles apart, so as to support each other.

Starting at 9 o'clock, Yuping County is only more than 50 miles away from Qingxi Town, that is, if the enemy is fast enough, he can get to Qingxi Town at about 2 o'clock at noon, and there is not much time left for his own arrangement.

Calculate again, 9 o'clock, 11 o'clock, that is to say, the first two divisions and the main force are two hours apart, if the first is ambushed, the main force marches in a hurry, it can reach the battlefield in more than an hour, and the cavalry speed will be faster, that is the main division of the 6 Central Army. It seems that Chiang Kai-shek is really angry, and Xue Yue is going to play with his life.

Liu Yimin repeatedly calculated that one plan was to concentrate forces to annihilate the enemy's first division, strive to defeat the enemy's other advanced division, and then retreat. The advantage of this plan is that the pressure on the troops is not great, and the disadvantage is that the troops that serve as a division to block the enemy will suffer heavy losses, and the blow to the enemy will be limited, and it is easy to be bitten by the enemy's main force. Another plan was to put the enemy's two vanguard divisions together to fight, and then wave the division to block Xue Yue's main force, and strive to defeat one division, prompting Xue Yue to retreat to Yuping County to hold on. The advantage of this plan is that it will strike at the enemy hard, which is equivalent to severely inflicting a blow on Xue Yue's department. The disadvantage is that the enemy hedgehogs are grouped together, and they are afraid that they will not be able to eat and hold on. The third plan was that since the enemy was relatively concentrated and difficult to fight, he would give up the ambush, turn around and march quickly to break away from the enemy, cross the Wujiang River, and join the main force.

Calculating the comparison of the strength of the enemy and us, his own guard division has more than 9,000 people, five main regiments, excellent weapons, sufficient ammunition, high morale, and the advantages of time, place, and people; The enemy's 59th and 93rd vanguard divisions are both three-regimental units, and they may both have a supplementary regiment, and after deducting the attrition since the pursuit of Jiangxi, they are about 7,000 to 8,000 divisions, which together are about 15,000 people. Compared to the guard division, it is about a one-to-two ratio. Preparing for the unprepared, the chances of victory are basically in hand, and in the worst case, there is absolutely no problem in defeating the enemy.

After pondering and pondering, Liu Yimin decided to adopt the second plan, which was to inflict heavy damage on Xue Yue's department and strive for a relatively good environment for the Red Army's actions in the future.

Li Chengyi reported that all the cadres above the company level had been assembled and were waiting for the division commander to issue a battle order.

Liu Yimin walked to the courtyard, saw that the cadres were all sitting neatly, and asked Zhang Yicheng where he got so many stools. Zhang Yicheng said that the scale of the steel plant here is not small, and this courtyard is where they work, and there are many stools and chairs.

Liu Yimin walked up to the cadres and stood still, and before he could speak, the cadres began to applaud. Liu Yimin knew that this was the trust of the comrades and the desire for victory. With a press of his hands, he stopped the applause and said loudly: "Comrades, we set out from Jingwu Prefecture, braved the wind and snow, slept in the open air, and drove hundreds of miles to do here, what are we here for?" ”

The cadres shouted in unison: "Fight the Central Army!" ”

Liu Yimin continued: "Why did our Central Red Army leave the Soviet zone? There are many reasons, and one of the most important reasons is that we are about to fight this central army with Xue Yue as the commander. For more than a year, Xue Yue's troops have been encircling and intercepting the Red Army, killing many of our comrades-in-arms and harming our relatives, forcing the Red Army to fight all the way and wound all the way. Do you say, "Shall we take revenge?" ”

The cadres shouted in unison: "Revenge!" Avenge! Ask the Central Army for blood debt! ”

When the cadres stopped shouting, Liu Yimin said: "Now the opportunity for revenge has come, and the enemy has sent it to the door." After the main force of our Red Army occupied Zunyi, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Xue Yue to lead 100,000 people from eight divisions of the Central Army into Guizhou to suppress the bandits, which was to fight our Red Army. According to intelligence, at 5 o'clock this morning, Xue Yue led the main force of six divisions to leave Xinhuang County and advance towards Yuping, and it is estimated that he will arrive at about 11 o'clock. The 59th and 93rd Divisions of the enemy's vanguard will set out from Yuping County and advance along the Xiangqian Avenue to Zhenyuan, and Qingxi Town, where we are located, is the only way for them to pass. Now there are three plans for everyone to consider, one is that we give up the ambush, turn around and go west, cross the Wujiang River to join the main force; the second is to ambush the enemy's leading division, defeat the other division, and then withdraw from the battle so as not to be caught up by the enemy's main force; The third is to destroy the enemy's two vanguard divisions, then wave the division to the east, defeat Xue Yue's main force, and then withdraw from the battlefield after the enemy retreats, cross the Wujiang River and join the main force. I'll give you 5 minutes to think about it and choose one of them. ”

The cadres immediately began to discuss, and the time was short, and the regiment commander Gao Yuan stood up and said: "Report to the division commander, our regiment chooses the third plan, completely hurts Xue Yue, and avenges his relatives and comrades-in-arms!" As for the sacrifices that the third option may bring, we are not afraid, our relatives have basically been killed by the Central Army, and we have long wanted to fight with them! Please give an order from the division commander, and the guard regiment will fight wherever it is, and ensure that all tasks assigned by the division commander are completed! ”

Zhang Hongtao, the commander of the second regiment, stood up and shouted: "To fight the Central Army, the second regiment resolutely asks to be the main attack, please ask the division commander to give an order, and the second regiment of the guard will sacrifice the flag with the blood of the enemy!" ”

Chen Dayong, the commander of the third regiment, jumped up and shouted: "Your second regiment is the main attacker, what are my third regiments doing?" Please give the division commander an order, the sword mountain and the sea of fire, the three regiments will move forward! ”

Hong Chaoyuan, the fourth head of the regiment, stood up and said, "What are you two arguing about?" The division commander said that it was for the discussion which combat plan to choose, not for the determination of determination. ”

Zhang Hongtao and Chen Dayong immediately stopped talking. Hong Chaoyuan continued: "Division Commander, the old fourth battalion has never disgraced you!" My parents, wife and children have been killed by them a long time ago, do you think my eyes will not be red when I see them? I didn't say it, you have to give me the most difficult job, if anyone fights with me, I will be in a hurry with whom? ”

Zhao Shan, the fifth head of the regiment, followed and stood up: "Commander Hong, look at these regiment leaders, whose family still has relatives alive?" We're all the same! Fight the white dog, and no one will let anyone in the five regiments! Please give the division commander an order, even if I die here, I will also take five regiments to defeat the enemy! Please give the division commander the order! ”

Liu Yimin was deeply infected by the cadres' war-seeking mood, thinking about the era in which he used to live, mentioning [***], it was just a noun, not to mention any love and hate. When I saw an American reporter during the Anti-Japanese War who met the [***] Tang Enbo stationed in Henan and exclaimed, "I finally encountered a unit worse than the army," I was still skeptical. After crossing over, I learned that the [***] at that time, except for the better discipline of individual troops, was not much worse than the [***] shown in later movies and television. When it comes to the Red Army, although I am familiar with their stories and even the basic situation of each battle, it is only at the level of knowledge. Apart from admiring them as revolutionary martyrs and having infinite reverence for their spirit and great achievements, there is no personal feeling at all. Since joining the Red Army, I have realized that every old Red Army member is burdened with a blood debt owed by the Kuomintang reactionaries, which is the result of the lives of their relatives! Liu Yimin also finally understood why the Red Army was invincible in the world, why the Red Army was able to develop and grow at every opportunity, and why the old Red Army soldiers would rather freeze to death and starve to death in the snowy mountains and meadows than surrender to the Kuomintang. Blood debt and blood feud, the heart is stronger than iron!

Liu Yimin's eyes shot a hint of sharpness, and with a wave of his right hand, the cadres immediately did a good job. Liu Yimin said: "According to the enemy situation in my hands, I am determined to completely annihilate the 59th and 93rd divisions of the vanguard of the enemy's Central Army's Xue Yue Division in Qingxi Town, and then wave my division to the east to meet the main force of the Xue Yue Division of the enemy's Central Army near Yangping Town, resolutely defeat it, and force the enemy to retreat and hold on. I command:

The first company of the division's engineer battalion used the ships of Qingxi Town to quickly build two pontoon bridges to the west of the town for the use of the artillery battalion and the heavy machine gun battalion; The 2nd Company of the Engineer Battalion was densely mined on the hillside near the road 500 to 3,000 meters east of Qingxi Town, and paid attention to leaving a good passage for the troops to charge; He Mingming, the commander of the engineer battalion, led the third company of engineers to the east end of Yangping Town, planted explosives on the road, and hid them on the roadside hillside.

2. Liu Jianli, chief of staff of the division, led the regiment's artillery battalion and heavy machine gun battalion to conceal themselves on the west bank of the Wuyang River, and the mountain artillery, mortar, and heavy machine guns had to mark the firing boundaries in advance to ensure that the first wave of firepower would inflict heavy damage on the enemy's two vanguard divisions. The chief of staff is tasked with observing the enemy's situation. When the artillery and heavy machine guns opened fire, when the blocking troops started and the enemy's 93rd Division ran to reinforce them, it was necessary to grasp the timing well, concentrate the firepower, and hit the enemy's gathering place. With the charge as the signal, after our troops launched a charge, they stopped shooting to avoid accidental injury. After the battle, they quickly advanced east along the west bank, rushed to the opposite bank of Yangping Town to establish a position, and provided fire support for our army to meet the enemy's main force of Xue Yue. After defeating Xue Yue, he withdrew first and advanced towards Zhenyuan.

The 3rd and 2nd regiments took up the task of blocking the head and set up a concealed blocking position along the hillside and highway at the eastern end of Qingxi Town. It is necessary to release the enemy's vanguard company into the town and capture it alive, so as not to cause a major battle. When the enemy's main force comes up, it must pay attention to the fact that when the attack begins, it is not possible to open artillery or use heavy machine guns, and it is necessary to give the enemy the illusion that our army is short of firepower and that it is a small force, and heavy weapons can only be used after the artillery battalion and heavy machine gun battalion have opened fire.

The 4th and 3rd Regiments led the 1st and 2nd Companies of the Engineer Battalion to take up the task of intercepting the tail, laid an ambush 15 miles away from Qingxi Town, and after the rear guard of the enemy's 93rd Division passed, they immediately blocked the retreat route and pursued the enemy fiercely along the road. After the battle, the third regiment should quickly turn around, seize the commanding heights at the eastern end of Yangping Town, and take the lead in meeting Xue Yue's main force.

The 3rd Company of the 5th and 1st Regiment, the 4th Regiment, the 5th Regiment, the Guard Battalion, the Recruit Battalion, and the Baggage Battalion were concealed on the hillside on the east side of the highway and were tasked with attacking the enemy and preventing the enemy from seizing the commanding heights. The specific position is as follows: I led the first regiment and the guard battalion to be in charge of the center, the political commissar led the third regiment and the recruit battalion to the west of the first regiment, and Li Qing, director of the political department, led the fifth regiment and the three companies and one regiment of the baggage battalion to the east. Li Qing was in charge of dividing the three regiments into defensive sections, leaving no gaps. After the battle, Wu Zheng led the three companies of the recruit battalion and the baggage battalion to take up the task of cleaning up the battlefield and managing prisoners, and the fourth and fifth regiments quickly seized the commanding heights at the eastern end of Yangping Town, and supported the third regiment to take on the task of blocking the enemy, and the third, fourth, and fifth regiments were under the command of Li Qing, director of the Political Department. The 1st and 2nd regiments followed us to assault the enemy's main force. After the enemy broke and fled, the first and second regiments pursued them, but the pursuit should not exceed five miles, and they were not allowed to fight.

6. The first platoon of the sniper company was led by the company commander Wang Tongsheng, who chose its own position and fought on its own. The second and third platoons were led by instructor Li Lingfeng and concealed on the front line of the mountaintop, and their task was to kill out a small group of enemy search troops.

7. The reconnaissance company immediately sent people out 20 miles to set up a forward observation post and sent people in disguise to reconnoiter in the direction of Yuping.

8. The communications platoon immediately set up telephone calls between me and the forward observation post, the West Bank artillery, the heavy machine gun battalion, and the regiments. Telephone lines should be concealed and should not be discovered by enemy search and reconnaissance units. My command position was on a hillside 3,000 meters east of Qingxi Town.

9. The field ambulance station is set up in Qingxi Town, and migrant workers are organized to carry stretchers and rescue the wounded in a timely manner. All health soldiers were to be discharged from the unit to carry out battlefield ambulance.

10. The command order of the whole division is as follows: division commander, political commissar, chief of staff, director of the political department, chief of logistics, commander of the first regiment, commander of the second regiment, commander of the third regiment, commander of the fourth regiment, and commander of the fifth regiment. If I die or am seriously injured and fall into a coma, the commissar takes over the command, and so on. Do you understand the tasks of the troops? ”

The cadres replied in unison: "Guarantee to complete the task!" ”

Liu Yimin waved his hand: "Execute it immediately!" ”

As soon as the cadres left, Hu Laohu and Cao Shengli arrived. After the salute, it was asked to assign combat missions. Liu Yimin looked at Cao Shengli's red eyes, and swallowed back the words that he wanted to criticize. Directly ordered two people to take the troops to rest for four hours, and after four hours they were assigned the task of the reserve of the whole division.

Cao Shengli was reluctant and asked the troops to go into battle immediately after resting and not to be a reserve. Liu Yimin's face was blank: "The war reserve is the most critical, and the reason why the combat mission was assigned just now and did not leave the reserve is because it is considered that you may rush back." Carry out the order and immediately take the fighters to rest. After resting, you can go to battle, as tired as you are now, can you still pursue the enemy? I know how you're feeling, go ahead! ”

Cao Shengli saluted and left.

Just when Liu Yimin issued the battle order, Xue Yue, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy of the pursuit army, led the troops into Yuping County and was advancing along the Xiangqian Avenue towards Yuping County.

Because of the snow, the car couldn't run, and it was left in a new way, so Xue Yue had to march on horseback. Looking at the teams and the tired faces of the soldiers marching on the snow and mud on the main road, Xue Yue felt the nameless fire in his heart jump straight up.

On the night of the 20th, Xue Yue led his troops from Zhijiang into Xinhuang County, and after a day's rest, on the 22nd, Xue Yue ordered the 59th and 93rd Divisions that served as the vanguard to enter Yuping County, and the rest of the troops were stationed at the junction of Xinhuang and Yuping. The plan was to wait for news of the battle between the Red Army and Wang Jialie while marching. Unexpectedly, on the night of the 22nd, that is, last night, I suddenly received a telegram from Wang Jialie asking for help, and then I received a telegram from the commission, saying that the main force of the Red Army had captured Zunyi, an important town in northern Qianbei. What kind of is this? Wang Jialie's telegram a few days ago kept saying that the Red Army had occupied Jianhe and Huangping, and the main force of the 1st and 3rd Army Corps had captured Fuquan and Kaiyang, and was going to besiege Guiyang, so why did they suddenly capture Zunyi?

Xue Yue was the main formulator of the Fifth Encirclement and Suppression of the Iron Bucket Plan in the Soviet Area, and he had many battles with the Red Army, and he had a very clear understanding of the situation of various units of the Red Army, and the Red First Army Corps and the Red Third Army Corps were the backbone units on which the Red Army depended for its survival. These two troops were still in Fuquan and Kaiyang on the afternoon of the 20th, why did they suddenly lose Zunyi? Could it be that [***] has come up with another trick to hide from the world?

It seems that the speed of the Red Army's actions is one thing, and the incompetence of the Guizhou Army is another. I have long heard that the Qianjun army is a double-spear soldier and its combat effectiveness is very poor, but I didn't expect it to be so bad, and guarding the Wujiang River can still defeat the Red Army that has been disabled. It seems that the combat effectiveness of Wong Ka Yeol's troops will have to be reassessed.

Originally, he planned to wait for the Red Army and Wang Jialie's troops to fight to the death under Guiyang City, and then he led an army of 100,000 troops to suddenly come to the city, which not only defeated the Red Army and achieved great achievements, but also drove Wang Jialie down when he lost his troops. Look at it now, this plan can't be implemented, no one is to blame, it's to blame the Red Army for not cooperating, don't want to be a good Guiyang, Wang Jialie's main force doesn't fight, what is going to fight Zunyi, what's the point of Hou Zhidan's double spearmen fighting!

It's still wise, and the leader's vision is far away. did not allow himself to cross the Wujiang River to pursue the Red Army, but ordered to set off immediately, along the south bank of the Wujiang River to Guiyang, and urged Wang Jialie to go north to suppress the bandits. Wonderful! It's really wonderful! Didn't Wang Jialie withdraw the main force to Guiyang? Didn't he want to use the hand of the Red Army to exclude dissidents? This time, I'll let him have enough fun, and dare to fight with the commissioner, it's just fucking impatient! Don't look at the fate of those who fight with the commission, stupid!

As long as your army arrives in Guiyang, I'm sorry, Wang Jialie, you obediently lead my army to northern Qianbei to suppress bandits, right? The Red Army is the henchman of the commission, what about you warlords who have divided one side? I don't think it's much better than the Red Army, and it will be swept away by the Central Army. If you dare to disobey the order, hehe, is it easy to provoke the 100,000 troops who did not really join the battle and recuperate in the Xiangjiang Campaign? Let's weigh it up!

When the time comes, I will occupy Guiyang, and the south will threaten Wang Jialie and Long Yun to go north to attack Zunyi, and the north will be entrusted to urge the Sichuan army to attack Zunyi in the south, and my own army will sweep for them, where do I see the Red Army fleeing? The best and most ideal is that the Red Army does not run, and the Sichuan army, the Guizhou army, and the Yunnan army will break the net, and when the time comes, hehe, go down to Yunnan and Sichuan, and implement the government and military orders of the commission to every place in China, which can be regarded as repaying the kindness of the committee and Chief Chen.

Looking at the watch, it was almost time for the 59th Division and the 93rd Division to set off, Xue Yue was no longer thinking nonsense, and said to the chief of staff beside him: "Send another telegram to the 59th and 93rd Divisions, emphasizing that the speed should be fast and the search should be detailed, the distance between the two divisions should not exceed 3 miles, and after entering Qingxi Town and Jiaoxi Town, which are far away from the town, they must report in time, and leave the troops to stick to ensure that the road is unblocked." ”

The chief of staff said: "The general seat is too careful, the main force of the red bandits is far away in Zunyi?" ”

Xue Yue said, "Be careful, there is no big mistake", and urged the horse forward.

The chief of staff of the enemy looked at the mud splashed on his body and had no choice but to send a report.

(To be continued)