Li Jiansheng handed the telegram to Yun Tian and a few others to read, and immediately reorganized the army and retreated. On the way, Li Jiansheng's train of thought also came alive, and he knew that the Central Red Army would have a difficult future if it went like this, and it was necessary for his troops to follow and help. On both sides, if their units do not leave the base area, it is estimated that the supreme authority, Chairman Chiang, will make great efforts to encircle and annihilate his troops, and at that time, he will have to be exterminated alive. Well, thirty-six plans, go for the upper plan, fortunately, my department is well prepared, and I should not be afraid.

Therefore, the idea was certain, and on the way, he sent a telegram to the various departments, exchanged opinions for a while, and then demanded that the Red Seventeenth Army Corps led by Zeng Zhongsheng continue to drag the Gui enemy in the northeast of Guizhou and the southwest of Hunan, so as to facilitate his own Red Eighteenth Army to attack from the southeast of Jiangxi to the northeast of Guangxi, and rush to the central Red Army with a rapid march; The other divisions immediately withdrew from the battle and assembled at Yizhang, and then prepared for a strategic shift. After thinking about it for a while, Li Jiansheng asked Huang Su to command the Red Sixteenth Army Corps and the other Guards Division and the Second Artillery Brigade, and after a short rest in Yizhang, prepare a large amount of dry food, to ensure that all the men and horses of the Red 17th and Red 18th Army Corps had dry food for ten days. Of course, because the Red Eighteenth Army had another task, the Huangsu Department could first join up with Zeng Zhongsheng's Department, which was holding back the Gui enemy, and could send a large amount of grain and grass to Zeng Zhongsheng's Department in advance, and then the two troops would march together to Guanyang, Xinwei, Jieshou, Jiaoshanpu and other places. He himself personally led the Red Eighteenth Army, used the Red Seventeenth Army to drag the main force of the encirclement and suppression of the Gui Army, and went to these places first. Why this place, Huang Su was a little puzzled, but did not ask. Li Jiansheng still gave a slight explanation in the telegram, because he "reasoned" that the enemy might take advantage of the natural advantages of the Xiangjiang River in this area and deploy heavy troops to block the footsteps of the Central Red Army's westward expedition, so he led his troops to go. Huang Su thought silently in his heart, and estimated that the commander-in-chief was right, so he agreed.

After explaining to Huang Su, Li Jiansheng specially instructed the troops remaining in Yizhang to immediately launch a mobilization order, and make all preparations, including materials, ammunition, and especially food, and once the political commissar led the main force to come, they would immediately rendezvous, and then set off as a whole. Among them, the Red Seventeenth Army Corps was the leading force; The Guards Division is the Chinese Army, guarding field hospitals, clothing factories, weapons research institutes, and military and political schools, and Li Jiansheng specially instructed Liu Limin to ensure the safety of these doctors, weapons researchers, and female soldiers; The Red XVI Army was broken.

After the various units received the order and went to prepare separately, Li Jiansheng immediately led his troops to take the southern part of Hunan and went straight to Guanyang, Guangxi.

On the way, Li Jiansheng asked cadres at all levels to go down to the front line to do the work of those prisoners. Fortunately, Li Jiansheng's department was all veterans, and he was very familiar with this work, and by the third day, the remaining 6,000 of the more than 10,000 prisoners had also been incorporated into Li Jiansheng's department. So far, less than 40,000 people have come out to fight under Li Jiansheng's department, and after more than 6,000 casualties, there have been more than 4,000 more. As for the more than 6,000 casualties, except for the more than 2,000 who have died and the more than 1,000 who have been seriously injured, the remaining more than 2,000 people have all been rescued in time. At this time, the effect of Li Jian's teaching and training in his life came out, and everyone could save themselves in time. It also helped the doctors a lot in the next in-depth treatment.

After burying the more than 2,000 commanders and fighters who had died on the spot, and properly handing over more than 1,000 wounded to the local government and a part of the masses for resettlement, Li Jiansheng led a large army to continue to move forward. All the lightly wounded also moved with the army. On the evening of November 21, Li Jiansheng received a telegram from Huang Su that he knew that the 16th Army Corps of the Red Army and all units directly under the Front Army had assembled and completed all the preparations, and it was expected that after a day's rest, all units would launch an expedition in the direction of Guanyang at noon on November 23. Previously, the troops left behind in Yizhang had already transported some of the grain, grass and ammunition to the Red 17th Army in advance, and it was estimated that they could be delivered to the Red 17th Army within three days. Li Jiansheng telegraphed back to express his understanding, and sent another telegram to Zeng Zhongsheng, asking his subordinates to immediately withdraw from the battle, rest on the spot, collect grain on the spot, collect quilts and clothing, and ensure that the soldiers have at least ten days of dry food and equipment for the winter. Later, after meeting with the Huang Su Department, they came together in the direction of Guanyang.

Although Zeng Zhongsheng over there didn't understand and didn't know how the commander-in-chief made such a hard request, he still resolutely obeyed the order. That night, all units of the Red Seventeenth Army withdrew from the battle, taking advantage of the familiar geographical assessment to choose a place to rest and recuperate. Logistics and baggage troops immediately procured large quantities of grain and quilts on the spot. Fortunately, the Red Seventeenth Army has money, and Li Jiansheng's department has always had a good reputation in this base area, and in the past few years, the wind and rain have been smooth, and the people have some surplus food. Therefore, in just over two days, the troops collected a large amount of food, quilts, cotton clothes, and so on. Zeng Zhongsheng issued all the instructions to the soldiers.

On November 23, when Li Jiansheng's unit was breaking through the enemy's newly established second blockade line, he received a telegram from Huang Su saying that all troops had been dispatched and an expedition had begun. On November 24, Zeng Zhongsheng called and said that he had joined Wang Hanying's department, who had stayed in Yizhang and was now transporting grain and grass, and had joined forces in one place. After Li Jiansheng received the telegram, he thought about it for a while, and called Zeng Zhongsheng back: The Red Seventeenth Army can choose an opportunity to annihilate the enemy's Gui Army and create conditions for the later expedition of the large army; The battle requires a quick battle and a quick decision, and not to be entangled with the enemy; In order to avoid marching alone, it is recommended to join up with the Huangsu Department and then act in unison. Zeng Zhongsheng soon called, agreeing with the commander-in-chief's opinion, and indicated that after the battle with the Gui army, it was just the time to meet with the headquarters of the political commissar of Huang Su.

On November 27, Zeng Zhongsheng's headquarters set up an ambush near Jianghua County, and with the strength of one corps, completely annihilated two entire regiments of the Gui army that had invaded the base area. It's a great victory. On the morning of the next day, Zeng Zhongsheng and Wang Hanying's department met with Huang Su's department. In the afternoon, the two took a short break. In the early morning of November 29, the whole army began its expedition.

When they received the telegram from Huang Su, Zeng Zhongsheng and others informing them of their whereabouts, the Red Eighteenth Army Corps under Li Jiansheng had already entered Guangxi and was rushing towards Guanyang with all its might. It's just that the road is constantly met with enemies, and every time it is blocked. Although with the strength of his troops, he annihilated all these enemies along the way, but he did delay time. Seeing that the time is getting closer and closer, Li Jiansheng is really a little anxious!

After receiving the telegram from Huang Su and others, Li Jiansheng was in a slightly better mood. Discussed with Yun Tian that night, and asked Yun Tian to lead the main force of the Red Eighteenth Army to march in turn, and he led the special service brigade and guard regiment first. Yun Tian first disagreed, and then he couldn't resist the commander-in-chief, so he had to agree. That night, after a little rest with the large army, Li Jiansheng led the most elite special service brigade and guard regiment of the Red Third Front Army to advance overnight, and soon disappeared into the night!

Li Jiansheng didn't know that his expedition, which was in a hurry to save people and moved in batches, could bring some trouble to the historians of the world. Later historians, when studying the timing of the Red Army's Long March, which was first called the Western Expedition and later called the Long March, considered the Red Army to be the most difficult to determine. This is because a corps under Li Jiansheng, the commander-in-chief of the front army, immediately changed direction and launched an expedition after receiving a telegram from the Central Red Army on November 17; The main force of the front army, led by political commissar Huang Su, launched an expedition on November 23; As for the expedition after the rendezvous of the large forces, it was on November 29. Therefore, there is no definite number on which time to use. Fortunately, no matter what, what is recognized by the majority of the people is that in November 1934, the Red Third Front Army began the Great Long March!

(End of Volume 1)