From Jianhe River to Zhenyuan, the mountain road is through the Miaoling Mountains, crossing the river and crossing the stream, climbing the top and downhill, and the suffering is not something that modern urbanites can imagine.

Two hours later, Liu Yimin and the guard battalion finally caught up with the 3rd and 5th regiments led by Li Qing.

The basic force of the Third Regiment is the 7th Battalion, which was renamed from the old 3rd Battalion when it was reorganized along the Xiangjiang River, and the basic force is the cadres and soldiers of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Red Army Corps stranded on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. These cadres and fighters are all the elite of the Red Army who fought from the Central Soviet Region to the Xiangjiang River. Therefore, after the reorganization of the Xiangjiang River, it can quickly form combat effectiveness. In the words of the old Red Army soldiers, they have already died once by the Xiangjiang River, so what are the dangers of being afraid of? In addition, after the tests of the western extension and training, the occupation of the passage, the battles of Xiaoshui, and Xikou, the cohesion, fighting will, and tactical level of the troops have all risen to a new level. If the six combat battalions of the original 18th Regiment were the backbone of this unit from regiment to division, to regiment to the million-strong army of the later Liberation War, then the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, and the 7th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the Guard Division, which are later known as the old 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions, are the backbone of the backbone. When these three battalions were reorganized along the Xiangjiang River, every soldier was not a cadre at or above the regimental level as long as they survived to the founding of New China. Therefore, when the military history of later generations talked about these three battalions, they were all called together with the backbone units of the Red First Regiment and the Red Fourth Regiment of the Central Red Army, and they were called the seed troops of our army.

The 13th Battalion, the basic force of the Fifth Regiment, is the Fifth Battalion formed after the Battle of Xiaoshui, that is, the old Fifth Battalion, which is often said in later military history, although it was formed a little later than the old 1st Battalion, the 2nd Battalion, the 3rd Battalion, and the 4th Battalion, but the foundation is the old Red Army company, and the new soldiers who joined are also the elite of the Hunan Army, well-trained. Although it has now been renamed the 13th Battalion, the cadres and fighters are accustomed to calling themselves the old 5th Battalion.

When Liu Yimin caught up with the Third Regiment and the Fifth Regiment, he saw that the troops were marching in an orderly manner, and that the connection between the top soldiers, the two wings, and the company was very well arranged, and they could be put into battle at any time, and he felt that the hard work of the 20 days since the crossing had not been in vain. Under his influence and leadership, this army has been reborn, and it is no longer exhausted from being pursued by the enemy on the Xiangjiang River, but has become a fierce tiger down the mountain with an open mouth, ready to fight, fight, and devour the enemy's life.

Seeing the division commander leading the guard battalion up, the soldiers spontaneously moved out of the way and let Liu Yimin and them pass first.

When they came to the front of the march of the 7th Battalion, Chen Dayong, the commander of the 3rd Regiment and the commander of the 7th Battalion, gave an order, and the whole battalion immediately stopped advancing.

Liu Yimin, who watched it, was in a trance for a while, and seemed to have returned to the scene of the National Day military parade on TV in later generations.

Looking at the eager eyes of the soldiers of the Seventh Battalion, Liu Yimin stopped his steps, came to the front of the queue of the Seventh Battalion, reorganized the military uniform of every soldier in the first row from the head of the platoon to the end of the platoon, and then stood in the middle of the team and said loudly: "Comrades: The eight divisions of Xue Yue of the Central Army participated in the encirclement and suppression of the Central Soviet Region, and pursued and suppressed the main force of the Red Army all the way. Now that they have chased them to Guizhou again, our chance for revenge has also come! I'm going to lead you to give him a head-on blow, and see if it's the fast blade of our Central Guard Division of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, or the hard fists of the Central Army, which is known as the elite of [***]. Do you have faith? ”

The warriors shouted in unison: "Yes! ”

Chen Dayong immediately raised his arms and shouted: "Defeat the Central Army and avenge the villagers in the Soviet area!" ”

The soldiers immediately shouted in unison: "Defeat the Central Army and avenge the villagers in the Soviet area!" ”

When the fighters' shouting stopped, Liu Yimin shouted again: "The Seventh Battalion is a glorious army, the main force in the main force of the whole division. Fighting Xiaoshui and fighting Xikou, mentioning the old third battalion, the Hunan army was terrified. Which of the comrades-in-arms does not praise and which one does not praise? We must continue to carry forward the fighting spirit of the old Red Army, which is not afraid of hardship and death, carry forward the tradition of the old third battalion, dare to charge into battle in the rain of bullets and bullets, take the first rank of the enemy's general among the millions of troops, treat one as ten and one enemy as a hundred, and trample under our feet all the enemies who dare to block our advance. Answer me, can you do it? ”

The emotions of the warriors had been stirred up to the point of white-hot heat, and they shouted in unison: "Yes! ”

Liu Yimin waved his hand: "Goal: to defeat the Xue Yue Department of the enemy's Central Army." Let's go! ”

A few years later, Chen Dayong, who was the founding general of the Republic, wrote a reminiscence article entitled "Liu Shuai Took Me to Battle", which gave a very real and wonderful description of Liu Yimin's impromptu agitation speech on the march. At the end of the article, it was as follows: "Comrades Liu Shuai and Liu Yimin left with the guard battalion, and the cadres and soldiers of the whole regiment stared at his tall and straight back for a long time and could not calm down. Yes, Liu Shuai is right, Xue Yue's Central Army attacked the Soviet area and chased the Red Army, and owed a lot of blood debts, and now it is time for us to settle accounts with them. The soldiers unconsciously clenched the guns in their hands, read the names of the sacrificed comrades-in-arms and relatives in their mouths, and burst into tears, eager to pounce on them and fight now. I know that the hearts of the warriors are full of anger and fighting spirit. In the face of such a force, there is only one end for any enemy, and that is to be destroyed! ”

Liu Yimin led the guard battalion to advance quickly with torches, and behind him was the marching ranks of the third and fifth regiments of the guard, the torches meandered on the mountain road in the night, looking from afar, it was like a galloping and tumbling fire dragon, which was very beautiful.

It was snowing, and the cold wind was dancing and fluttering in the air. Soon the mountains were covered with snow.

Liu Yimin said in his heart, this snow is too inopportune, it increases the difficulty of the march, and the soldiers work harder.

Sure enough, at the foot of a hillside, I met a few soldiers who had fallen behind. Liu Yimin asked the guard battalion commander Zhang Haitao to ask what was going on, Zhang Haitao came back and reported that a female soldier couldn't walk and was resting, and the other few were protecting her Liu Yimin felt very strange, there were a total of five female soldiers in the division, two were nurses rescued in Xinwei, and one was Wu Zheng's wife, they were all in the field ambulance, and there should be mules and horses. The other two are the wife and daughter of Zeng Zhao, the director of the gun repair station, and they are given priority to mules and horses. How can you not walk?

When I walked over and asked, I realized that I was too bureaucratic. It turned out that when Hu Laohu and Wang Tongsheng went to the passage for the second time to install binoculars on the rifle, they not only brought back the engineer Zeng Zhao's family, but also brought back a girl named Tang Xingying. She was reluctant to go to the field aid station and was temporarily assigned to the logistics department. Because it was an ordinary warrior, it was not equipped with mules and horses.

Seeing that the division commander was alarmed, Tang Xingying, a female soldier of the Red Army, was embarrassed and struggled to get up and continue walking. After just a few steps, he had to stop to catch his breath, and the few soldiers next to him who were protecting him were so anxious that they were at a loss. After all, she is a woman, although the comrades-in-arms of the Red Army are as close as brothers and sisters, but the male soldier carries the female soldier, that will only happen if the female soldier is injured.

Liu Yimin asked Li Chengyi to bring his jujube red horse over, stepped forward to pick up Tang Xingying and put it on the horse, so ashamed that Tang Xingying's tears were about to come out, and he lowered his head and said nothing.

Liu Yimin told Li Chengyi to take care of Tang Xingying, and the guard battalion took the soldiers who protected Tang Xingying and continued to march.

Riding on a horse, no, to be precise, Tang Xingying sitting on a horse, how to say it? Say that the heart is like a deer, some readers will say that the people of Yuxi Mountain are talking nonsense, the sky is dark and snowy, and they are frozen to death, so there are other moods. Say that I feel very ashamed, the people of Yuxi Mountain themselves feel that it makes no sense, during the Long March era, the environment was cruel, and if you fall behind, the outcome can be imagined. What's wrong with riding the chief's war horse, as long as you can keep up with the team, you can live, and there is no shame or shame. In short, Tang Xingying, who was sitting on the horse, was in a very complicated mood.

Tang Xingying was born in a scholarly family in Guilin, Guangxi, and her father was quite famous in the local area. Therefore, Tang Xingying has received a good education since she was a child. Especially after the Republic of China, the atmosphere changed greatly, and Tang Xingying's father was not as conservative as ordinary scholars in the past, and only let the children learn the "Four Books and Five Classics", but sent her to a new-style school to study and accept the edification of new ideas. Therefore, Tang Xingying, who has reached the age of 16, is not only slim and elegant, with a beautiful appearance, but also progressive thinking, good at dealing with people, and a beautiful demeanor.

In that era, girls were married early, and Tang Xingying, who was so outstanding, was naturally the object of many people's pursuit. Eventually, his parents decided to marry her to the son of a high-ranking military officer. If it were someone else, Tang Xingying might have agreed, girls always have to get married, and their parents must have carefully selected and thought about themselves wholeheartedly. But this person can't do it, Tang Xingying knows him too well, he looks like a humble gentleman on the outside, but he is extremely vicious on the inside, Tang Xingying once saw him kill a maid in the family. The vicious eyes, the posture of punching and slamming, and the miserable cry of the little maid when she was dying had made Tang Xingying wake up from her sleep many times. Therefore, seeing that his parents didn't believe it, and the wedding date was getting closer and closer, in a fit of anger, Tang Xingying wrapped her clothes and ran away from home.

Tang Xingying originally wanted to go to Changsha, but as a result, he fought everywhere, and he was hiding in the east of the province, so he arrived at the passage, met Hu Laohu's cavalry, and then came to be the Red Army.

In the past few days of joining the army, Tang Xingying feels that everything is very fresh, compared with the Gui Army who lives at the door of her house, not to mention anything else, just not bullying recruits and women, which makes Tang Xingying feel that she is the right person to be a Red Army. Therefore, the positive surname is very high, and every day he trains and works as much as the male fighters. Wu Zheng, the director of logistics, praised him almost once a day, and the dimples on Le's little girl's face were full of smiles every day. Who knew about this long march and knew that when the Red Army suffered so much, wouldn't it be even more bitter and tiring if it started to fight? The more I think about it, the more scared I become, the more I am afraid that my legs will be weaker, and I won't be able to walk when I walk.

As a result, she naturally fell behind, and the soldiers had no choice but to leave a few people to protect her. Fortunately, I met the division commander and rode his war horse, so now I don't have to run away, and I can keep up with the team.

Looking at the Red Army soldiers next to him, they were all braving the wind and snow to advance, and no one complained about being tired at all, Tang Xingying felt that he was still not fighting and dragging down the troops. If I had endured a little more hardship since I was a child, it would not be a big deal to walk such a long way. It seems that to be a Red Army and make a revolution is not just a matter of talking about it, shouting slogans, and marching in the streets, but it requires hardship, bloodshed, and sacrifice. I need to hone and go through the test of war in order to become a qualified Red Army soldier.

I figured it out, and my legs weren't weak, but I couldn't help but want to look at the division commander with my eyes.

Tang Xingying saw Liu Yimin for the second time. The first time was at the inaugural meeting of the Jingwu Prefecture Guard Division, when the cadres wore red flowers to all the recruits, Tang Xingying observed the miraculous division commander who was passed on by the soldiers from a very close distance. It's good, handsome and straight, and there is an indescribable charm in his eyes. But looking at the age, he is only a little over 20, not like a general who charges into battle and wins thousands of miles, but like a foreign student who has returned from studying abroad! Although this meeting was zero-distance contact, when Liu Yimin hugged her on the horse, she was so ashamed that her eyes were closed, and she only felt that the heat on Liu Yimin's body blew on her face, which was warm, numb, and comfortable. Now on a horse, his legs and feet are idle, but his mind is busy, and he always wants to catch a glimpse of the tall figure walking in front of the group.

He was so energetic, he hugged him lightly just now, and he sent himself to the horse. If he didn't have a war horse, would he have put himself on his shoulders and carried him on the march? Will I fall asleep on his back?

I don't know where he is from, and his family has not married him. I don't know whose daughter will have such a good fortune to make him take a fancy to him.

Thinking about it, Tang Xingying felt that her heart was beating wildly, and her face was also a little feverish, and she glanced around, but fortunately, everyone was marching, and no one paid attention to herself.

Tang Xingying scolded the stupid girl in her heart, what do you think? I started to concentrate on horseback riding. After walking for a while, I felt a little cold, as if snowflakes were burrowing into my neck. Looking up at the front again, the person was still at the front of the line, his steps were still so powerful, and he couldn't help muttering: "Dead man, I don't know if I'm cold." After muttering, he immediately closed his eyes again in shame.

On this snowy night, on the mountain road of Miaoling in southeast Guizhou, none of the Red Army soldiers who marched on a snowy night thought that their new comrade-in-arms, Tang Xingying, a female Red Army soldier who was so beautiful that she was almost a fairy, would let her heart fly and could never take it back.

At this moment, Liu Yimin felt the seriousness of the problem the more he walked: not to mention the cold, the key is that the snow is getting heavier and heavier, burying the road, and the front is white. But they didn't dare to let the team stop, once they stopped, such a big wind and snow, the soldiers would definitely be frozen, and even those with poor physical fitness might be frozen to death. There was no way, so he had to walk in front by himself, constantly breaking some branches and inserting them on both sides of the road to guide the follow-up troops.

I don't know what happened to the troops in front, but hopefully the troops who set off first have already walked out of this damn mountain road.

As if to answer his question, he walked about ten miles away, and in a canyon, he met the troops directly under the division led by Cai Zhong.

Cai Zhong told him that three mules had fallen and died, and two other warriors had also died.

Liu Yimin thought that it was not possible to walk hard like this, so he ordered to rest on the spot, take the platoon as a unit, light a bonfire, and burn snow water for the soldiers to drink and recover their strength.

Soon, the fourth and fifth regiments also caught up, and the canyon suddenly became lively, and the soldiers gathered around the fire, boiling water and eating dry food. If any of the fighters fell asleep, the cadres would wake him up by pulling their ears for fear of freezing.

Tang Xingying finally got off the horse, her little face flushed, and she looked particularly beautiful under the light of the fire and snow.

Wu Zheng felt that the soldiers were too tired and needed to lift their spirits and boost their morale, so he said: "Xiao Tang, you can sing a local opera of Guilin, Guangxi, to everyone." ”

Tang Xingying's little face turned even redder, and she whispered, "Director, I don't know how to sing." ”

Wu Zheng said: "It's a pity, what a good opportunity, let the soldiers have fun and refresh themselves." Hey, the division commander sang very well, but unfortunately no one dared to let him sing. ”

Tang Xingying's eyes flashed: "The division commander can still sing?" ”

Wu Zheng said: "It's not that you can sing, you can sing, and you sing very well." I've grown so big, and I've never seen anything better than the teacher's singing. He taught us "Three Major Disciplines, Eight Points of Attention" and "Ten Gifts to the Red Army." ”

Tang Xingying said: "If the soldiers can sing, then we will command the soldiers to sing in platoons, right?" ”

Wu Zheng said: "Okay, let's start from our logistics department, and I will command." ”

Soon, the cadres and soldiers of the logistics department gathered together and sang "Ten to the Red Army" with Wu Zheng's gesture.

After the logistics office finished singing, the other companies began to sing, one by one, and the song flew out of the canyon and spread far and wide in the silent winter night.

Tang Xingying burst into tears when she heard this, this is her comrade-in-arms, she can still sing and sing on such a snowy day, who can be the enemy in the world with such a force? In the future, this army will be their own home, and they will share life and death together, and they will never abandon them.

The snow is light, and I have been resting for more than 1 hour. Liu Yimin ordered to continue to advance, and asked Li Lingfeng, the instructor of the sniper company, to take Zhao Zhiyu, Wang Laohu, He Feng, and Li Hongjun, four squads and platoon commanders, holding wooden sticks, to explore the road in front and guide the troops forward.

Li Lingfeng, a native of Harbin in northeastern China, joined the party organization when he was a student at Qing University, was betrayed by traitors, arrested and imprisoned, and after being rescued, he joined the Red Army in the Jiangxi Soviet District. During the Battle of Xiangjiang, he was shot in the leg and fell behind. When Liu Yimin Xiangjiang was reorganized, he was assigned to the third battalion as a soldier. Later, he had a serious conversation with Liu Yimin in Jingwu Prefecture, and Liu Yimin found that he was not only an intellectual, an old party member, and thoughtful, but also had a martial arts that cultivated both inside and outside, especially good at hand-to-hand combat and light body techniques. Liu Yimin was overjoyed, and immediately pointed out his martial arts, which made Li Lingfeng admire the five-body throw to the ground.

Liu Yimin felt that Li Lingfeng was the chief officer of the special forces he wanted to establish, and asked him to be an instructor in the sniper company, find out the cadres and soldiers of the unit who are good at martial arts, good marksmanship, and have special skills, and form two platoons separately. Then he worked hard for another night, wrote a dozen pages of simple tutorials on special operations, and asked Li Lingfeng to organize training.

This organization has really found a lot of talents. Zhao Zhiyu, Wang Laohu, He Feng, Li Hongjun, and others were all dug out, and the two platoons were quickly formed. During his few days in Jingwuzhou, Liu Yimin spent time in the sniper company to guide training. The new tactics have opened the eyes of these old Red Army with unique skills, studying and training day and night, although they are not qualified special forces, but during the Long March, this is already a super soldier.

With them leading the way, the troops will naturally move quickly. The soldiers didn't believe their eyes, they all said that the Red Army was iron-footed, and they were already very capable of walking, but they didn't expect that these people were much more powerful than themselves, and they were simply running when they walked, and it didn't seem to be difficult. Awesome!

Tang Xingying consciously rode the division commander's jujube red horse again.

Later, Li Chengyi felt that the division commander's horse had simply become Tang Xingying's mount, and when he marched to the army, this girl consciously stood in front of him, waiting to get on the horse, as if the commander of the first company of the guard battalion was her guard. If you can't be angry, find Wu Zheng and let him take charge of this girl in the logistics department, and don't go to occupy the division commander's horse. Although the division commander doesn't ride, it is the division commander's war horse after all, except for that girl, who in the whole division dares to move? Besides, what if something is delayed?

Wu Zheng thought about it for a long time, and told him slowly, let her ride if the girl loves to ride, the female comrades are weak, and she is a beautiful girl, she has never suffered since she was a child, and it is easy to drag the troops back when she is marching. With the jujube red horse, won't this problem be solved? As for the issue of the division commander's mount, why don't you just give you another horse, and both horses are under your control, so it's okay, right? The angry Li Chengyi turned his head and left.

At dawn, the troops finally encountered several relatively large villages.

The first regiment and the second and fourth regiments led by Liu Jianli had already rested in the village for two hours, and when the division commander and political commissar led the troops arrived, Liu Jianli and several regiment commanders and political commissars all came out, and the village also boiled hot water and prepared meals.

Liu Yimin ordered the troops to go into the village to rest and eat, and when he turned around, he asked Liu Jianli if there was any news of the reconnaissance company, whether there were any enemy troops in Zhenyuan County, and where Xue Yue's troops had arrived.

Liu Jianli reported that the reconnaissance company had sent back a telegram and that they had arrived at the junction of Zhenyuan and Yuping, Zhenyuan and Shiqian in four ways to reconnoitre, and had not yet found the enemy. There was no enemy in Zhenyuan County, and according to the villagers, the Ninth Army Corps of our Red Army that captured Zhenyuan County had already crossed the Wujiang River.

Liu Yimin thought for a while and said: "Our army is too tired from the long-distance march, and we must find a place to rest and restore our combat effectiveness." The 1st, 2nd, and 4th regiments immediately set out to occupy Zhenyuan County, and sent small troops to control the villages and towns around the county town to control them. During the march, it is forbidden to display red flags, shout slogans, or put up slogans. The other troops rested for an hour and set off to Zhenyuan County to rest and recuperate. With such a heavy snowfall, Xue Yuebu didn't know if it would march overnight. After arriving at the county seat, the radio station was immediately turned on to decipher and listen to the signal of the Central Army radio station as much as possible. ”

Liu Jianjian, several regiment commanders, and political commissars immediately led the troops to set off after accepting the task. Liu Yimin, Cai Zhong and Li Qing went to the village for dinner, and the troops began to rest briefly in several villages.

At this time, the cavalry battalion led by Hu Laohu escorted the two companies of the baggage battalion to finally arrive in Huangping County, and connected with the two battalions of the Red Second Division who came to greet them.

The troops of the 2nd Division have already arrived in Huangping and have been waiting here for a long time. Therefore, as soon as Hu Laohu and the others arrived, ready-made hot tea, hot rice, and even forage for livestock were ready. Hu Laohu was so moved that he pulled the two battalion commanders of the Second Division and said thank you. As a result, the cadres of the 2nd Division were reluctant, and a battalion commander said that the people of the guard division looked down on the Red 2nd Division, so polite. Another battalion commander said, when will we also be transferred to the guard division, fight a few more victories, and when we meet the guys of the first and second divisions, we will not say anything, just say thank you. In a panic, Hu Laohu hurriedly took out two bottles of wine from his horse, poured four bowls, and drank them all together with Cao Shengli and the two battalion commanders of the Second Division.

When the troops have eaten well and the handover is completed, the troops of the Second Division will leave, and they will go to chase the main force to cross the Wujiang River.

At this time, there was a problem with the baggage battalion, and the cadres and soldiers all asked to return to the unit with the cavalry battalion. Hu Laohu looked for Cao Shengli and said: "Old Cao, the division commander's order is very clear, you cross the river with the second division, and we will go straight to Zhenyuan." Do you want to disobey the command? ”

Cao Shengli said: "I can't help it, the whole division has to fight a big battle, and the baggage battalion belongs to the guard division sequence, so naturally it has to participate in the war." I can't go against the determination of the warriors to fight. ”

Hu Laohu said patiently: "The troops of the Second Division are combat units, and they are not good at taking care of mules and horses. Besides, you have worked too hard along the way, and the soldiers need to rest, so let's carry out the order and go with the troops of the 2nd Division. There are many opportunities to fight. When I arrived in Zunyi to meet the leaders, don't forget to say hello to our old Hu. ”

Cao Shengli said resolutely: "Don't stand and talk without back pain, your cavalry company originally only had a few dozen people, and after the battle at Xikou, the regiment commander gave you hundreds of people at once, and they were basically rescued Red Army soldiers." The horses are yours to choose, and the weapons are yours to choose. Naturally, you don't understand the pain of my baggage camp. After the battle of Xiaoshui, let's escort the prisoners and baggage to Linkou, and the battle of Xikou didn't even take a look. If I can't catch up with the Central Army this time, I and my baggage battalion will become the horsemen of the Central Guard Division in the future, and in the mind of the division commander, I am afraid that we will be on the same level as the communications platoon and the field ambulance station. You say, what would you do if it was you and your cavalry battalion? ”

Hu Laohu understood the feelings of Cao Shengli and the cadres and soldiers of the baggage battalion, and in the battle sequence of the Central Guard Division, it was really about the merits of the battle, which unit fought well, and the equipment and cadres were promoted. In particular, the division commander's heart is a battalion and a company, not to mention that each person has a spear and a shell gun that can fire continuously, and even the tactical movements are taught by the division commander by hand. There is no way, who let the company always walk in the front no matter whether it is fighting or marching?

Since he couldn't convince Cao Shengli, Hu Laohu had no choice but to say goodbye to the two battalion commanders of the Second Division. The two armies parted at the gate of Huangping City, and the troops of the 2nd Division advanced to the Wujiang River, with Hu Laohu, Bao Wen and Cao Shengli leading the cavalry battalion and the baggage battalion along the Xiangqian Avenue to Zhenyuan.

(To be continued)