The rapid expansion and expansion of the Jiujiang Independent Column was unpredictable to the enemy, and it should be said that it was not expected at all. At present, the war in the Central Plains is ignited, and the battle of millions of people is about to be staged, and Lao Chiang is temporarily unable to attack the Red Army in Jiangxi. In view of this situation, the Nanking Military Committee ordered the troops stationed in Jiangxi to hold the city without mistake. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek ordered He Jianbu, who was stationed in Changsha, to quickly defeat the Gui army, and at the same time ordered He Yingqin, who was guarding Wuhan, to dispatch troops to prevent ** from attacking Wuhan.

In the headquarters of the Yunshui County Column, Ouyang Jian looked around at everyone: "Everyone, the curtain of the Central Plains War is about to open, and the great time for us to move has come." I have ordered Su Yu, the deputy commander of the column, to concentrate his troops in Xingzi County and stand by. At present, Zhang Shiying's troops have joined up with Su Yu and Xiao Ke, and the first part of the Red Fourth Army has occupied Wuzhou, and its main force has put on a posture of attacking Nanchang. This move greatly attracted the attention of the enemy army in Nanchang, so that the enemy in Nanchang could not send troops to the north. The strong support of the Red Fourth Army created conditions for us to eat the 15th Brigade of the Jiangxi Army in Yongxiu County. ”

"Comrades, you see that the 51st Brigade of the Central Army, located in Jing'an County, is most likely to send reinforcements to the north. However, Nanchang City was threatened, and its 51st Brigade would never dare to send troops north without authorization. Now I order the logistics regiment and the engineer battalion to guard Yunshui County. The second detachment, the fourth detachment, and the artillery brigade secretly sent troops, targeting Yongxiu County. In addition, the dark arrow was notified, and the new formation of the 15th Brigade of the Jiangxi Army was asked to choose the battlefield to revolt. We must take Yongxiu County as quickly as possible, eat the 15th Brigade of the Jiangxi Army cleanly and thoroughly, and fight the first battle at the beginning. That night, Ouyang Jian led his troops to set off.

In Yongxiu County, the newly formed 42nd Regiment Headquarters, the regiment commander Zhao Liang seemed to be anxious. An operational staff officer hurriedly walked in and said, "Regiment commander, I just got the news that Ouyang Jian asked to meet in the northwest town of Hecheng to study the steps of the uprising. Zhao Liang looked at his subordinates and said decisively: "Brothers, since we have chosen to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, we have no hesitation. Deputy head of the regiment, you are in charge, I will immediately go to Aicheng Town to meet Ouyang Jian. Then Zhao Liang disguised himself and led several entourages to Aicheng Town. Aicheng Town is located in the north of the county, less than 10 miles away from the county seat.

After Zhao Liang was defeated and released by Ouyang Jian, he was stationed in Yongxiu County with the 15th Brigade. Brigade commander Chen Huanzhang re-established the 42 Regiment in accordance with Wang Jun's order, but due to the shyness of the pockets and limited funds, the new 42 Regiment not only could not reach the strength of the troops, but also had a great shortage of weapons and ammunition. In addition, Chen Huanzhang lost trust in Zhao Liang, which caused Zhao Liang's new life to be dissatisfied. A few months ago, his new 2nd Battalion took part in the attack, but most of it was wiped out and has not recovered. Chen Huanzhang used the extreme lack of funds as an excuse to marginalize Zhao Liang's department.

The newly formed 42nd Regiment is called a regiment, but in fact there are only more than 600 soldiers, and one-third of the soldiers are unarmed. wants to fight and work hard without paying attention to it, so Zhao Liang is discouraged. There is an underground party undercover agent who reported to the dark arrow in time, and after some maneuvering, the dark arrow got in touch with Zhao Liang, during which the underground party did the work, and finally Zhao Liang decided to abandon the dark and turn to the light. After Ouyang Jian learned about the situation, he asked the dark arrow to inform Zhao Liang not to rush to declare an uprising and wait patiently for the opportunity.

When Ouyang Jian arrived at Jiuli Bridge in the north of Aicheng Town, he received a telegram from Su Yu, and he led his troops to Triangle Township in the east of Yongxiu County. Ouyang Jian ordered Su Yu to be on standby in Triangle Township for the time being, and not to act without an order. On this morning, Ouyang Jian and the guard Xiaoma, the special operations captain Mu Shixiong, and the deputy captain of the special operations team, Dabao, appeared in Aicheng Town. The hidden arrow personnel lurking in Aicheng Town reported that Zhao Liang had already arrived one step ahead and was waiting at a drop inn. There is no doubt that Ouyang Jian and Zhao Liang are going to meet here.

After all, Zhao Liang had been captured by Ouyang Jian, and his expression was a little embarrassed when they met. Ouyang Jian took the initiative to step forward and hold Zhao Liang's hand: "Commander Zhao, welcome to join the Jiujiang Independent Column, the revolution is in no particular order, and it is never too late!" "Column leader, it's my honor to be your subordinate. Please give the order, I will revolt at any time. "Zhao Liang stood upright." Head Zhao, don't be in a hurry. In 2 days, I will besiege Yongxiu County, your task is to control the uprising on the battlefield of Dongmen, and I will eat the 15th Brigade of the Gan Army at the minimum cost. ”

"Yes, always at any time!" "You have to be vigilant these days and don't do anything. At present, Chen Huanzhang is still in the dark, taking him by surprise, attacking him unprepared, and winning a blow. Ouyang Jian then ordered Mu Shixiong and Dabao to follow Zhao Liang into the city and assist him in the battle. After sending Zhao Liang away, Ouyang Jian did not leave Ai Town, according to the plan, after dark, Song Ren's poor troops and artillery brigade would seize Ai Town. At present, there is not a single soldier of the Gan army in Ai Town, only a few policemen, so the troops will not waste their efforts to occupy this place.

At night, Song Renqiang led 4 detachments to quickly surround Aicheng Town and tightly seal the news. The artillery brigade entered the city of Ai and the sky was already shining. Inside the temporary headquarters, the ticking of telegrams was pleasant. Political Commissar Mao Zetan said: "Column Commander, the telegram order has been issued, and all ministries are carrying out operations. Ouyang Jian's eyes were aimed at the map, and a combat staff officer began to place a small flag with Yongxiu County as the center. Column leader, Luo Ronghuan has already begun to outflank from the west side of Yongxiu County, and I don't know if Xiao Ke has arrived at the designated position on the south side. ”

As soon as Political Commissar Mao Zetan's voice fell, an operational staff officer came in with a telegram and said: "Report, Zhang Shiying's department has called, and the department has arrived at Suling and is building fortifications, asking for instructions." "Call back, order Zhang Shiying's department to closely monitor the movements of the 12th Brigade of De'an, and after the Yongxiu offensive is launched, it is necessary to resolutely snipe and aid the enemy to ensure the smooth implementation of the Yongxiu offensive operation." According to the proposed battle plan, Zhang Shiying's department was responsible for blocking the reinforcements in the direction of De'an. Suling is located between De'an and Yongxiu, which is conducive to blocking operations. Because of the internal response, the four detachments did not have much problem dealing with the 15th Brigade of the Jiangxi Army, and in order to ensure the smooth operation of the fortified position, it was imperative to block the reinforcement of the enemy in the direction of De'an.

"Report, Xiao Ke called, and the department arrived at the designated location on the south side of Yongxiu County." "Order the Shock Department to start the operation after dark." That night, Ouyang Jian led Song Renqiang and the artillery brigade to secretly outflank Yongxiu County from the north side, and Luo Ronghuan led his troops from the west, Xiao Ke led his troops from the south side, and Su Yu led his troops from the east side to start acting at the same time. In the darkness, the soldiers entered the attack positions in turn, and the artillery brigade arranged the artillery positions. The operational staff officer arranged the preface command post, and Ouyang Jian held a telescope to observe Yongxiu County.

At this time, it was already midnight, wild and silent, and the county seat of Yongxiu was dark, with occasional lights flickering. Obviously, the Gan army in Yongxiu County was unaware that it was dormant, and the tick-tock telegram sound in the command post sounded again, and soon the various departments reported through the radio that the headquarters had entered the attack position. The Gan army was still in the dark, and they didn't expect that a group of tigers and wolves had surrounded them. Ouyang Jian said in the command post: "Order all departments to launch an attack at 6 o'clock in the morning, and there must be no mistakes." ”

"There are still a few hours before dawn, Column Leader, you can sleep for a while!" Political Commissar Mao Zetan glanced at his pocket watch and said with concern. "It's sleeping there, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and no matter how well the plan is made, there are some omissions. In particular, our first joint operation was a great responsibility as a commander. "Yes, I'm also very nervous in my heart, if there is no new formation of the Jiangxi Army to do internal response, the solid Yongxiu County is indeed not easy to fight." "Commissar, maybe you and I are lucky enough to fight a war of annihilation at the lowest cost.

On the west side of Yongxiu County, in Su Yu's headquarters, various officials are busy. Su Yu's expression was solemn, as if he was waiting for something. "Deputy Column Leader, it's time for the contact person to arrive, why hasn't he shown up yet?" The captain of the team said anxiously. "There are still four hours before the attack is launched, and I hope nothing will happen to the new group." "Report, the person sent by Zhao Liang is here." A subordinate reported. As he spoke, a man in civilian clothes walked in. "Report to the column leader, the east gate is very heavily guarded, and I came out of the south gate. The contemptible person is the combat staff officer of the new regiment, so he didn't waste time! ”

"Comrade so-and-so, without delay, tell me about your preparations." "Since we are a new regiment, in order to prevent soldiers from deserting, the new regiment does not take on the task of city defense. In addition, Chen Huanzhang was suspicious of Zhao Liang, so the new regiment was not far from the brigade headquarters. Deputy Column Commander, Regiment Commander Zhao plans to dispatch a battalion to seize the east gate, and he needs an accurate attack time. "The general attack is at 6 o'clock sharp, when a feint attack will be launched in the north, west, and south directions to attract the attention of the enemy, and in half an hour your troops will seize the east gate. Your mission is to open the gates and welcome us into the city. Tell Zhao Liang that your unit has no combat mission to avoid unnecessary casualties. After carefully studying the battle plan, the visitor disappeared into the night.

"Order the assault team to move forward and lie in ambush near the city gates, and once the city gates are opened, they must rush into the city as fast as possible." After Su Yu gave the order, a stone fell to the ground in his heart, and then ordered a report to be sent to report the situation to the column commander in detail. The first time he launched an offensive operation and the first time he faced a brigade of enemy troops, Su Yu was frankly a little nervous. Although there is an internal response in the city, anything will happen, what if Zhao Liang can't seize the east gate in time? It looks like you have to be prepared. "Someone!" A captain walked in.

"In case of an accident, the commandos carry explosives and blow open the city gates if necessary!" This is Su Yu's strength, he thinks about everything thoughtfully. The operational staff officers of the newly formed regiment sneaked back into the city and returned to the regimental headquarters. Several battalion commanders sat at the regiment headquarters, and the atmosphere was very tense. Seeing that so-and-so came back safely, Zhao Liang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "How is the situation?" "The regiment commander, the commander of the Red Army on the eastern side was the deputy commander of the separate column. At present, four detachments of the Red Army have surrounded Yongxiu County, and the total attack time is 6 o'clock sharp. At 6 o'clock the shelling began in the north. ”

"How do we act?" "Half an hour after the attack was launched, we must seize the east gate and welcome the Red Army into the city. Deputy Column Commander Su demanded that our task was to seize the city gate, and all other units should stay where they were to avoid unnecessary casualties. "Ouyang Jian thought too thoughtfully, and ordered the first battalion to start preparing." Mu Shixiong and Dabao asked to participate in the first battalion operation, but Zhao Liang did not agree. The good news made everyone's nervous mood relax, the sky gradually brightened, Yongxiu County seemed to wake up, and the people who got up early had already begun to move, and it seemed that they were not alarmed.

A sentry on the north gate of the city tower lazily cheered up. The sentry inadvertently peered ahead, suddenly widening his eyes and mouth. At the headquarters of the 15th Brigade, Brigade Commander Chen Huanzhang walked into the headquarters with his clothes on. "Report, the sentries of the North City Tower have found a large number of Red Army." When Chen Huanzhang was stupid, bad news came from the west and south of the city, and a large number of Red Army troops were found to outflank him, but the Red Army was not found in the east of the city. "Brigade commander, could it be that Ouyang Jian wants to attack the city, but why hasn't the Red Army been found in the east of the city?" The chief of staff said apprehensively.

Chen Huanzhang fixed his mind and said: "Ouyang Jian has more than 2,000 troops, and he actually wants to capture my Yongxiu County, which is simply beyond his strength. The absence of the Red Army in the east indicates that his forces are insufficient. The 43rd and 44th regiments were ordered to enter the fortifications of the city, and the new regiments were ordered to be ready to support at any time. "Chen Huanzhang's confidence comes from the strong walls of Yongxiu County, and it is not easy for Ouyang Jian to attack it." At this time, there was a sudden shelling of the north of the city, followed by a violent explosion.