After receiving the order to form the Jiangyou Garrison Regiment, Peng Shaohui, commander of the 3rd Red Division, and Xiao Hua, political commissar, immediately drew a company from each of the three regiments to supplement the prisoners of the Zhangming Sichuan Army of a battalion handed over by the 1st Red Regiment, established the Jiangyou Garrison Regiment of the 1st Red Army, and appointed Huang Dingji, the Red Army's "special killer hero", as the regiment commander.

The 3rd Red Division is the original 15th Red Division, which is also known as the International Division of the Young Communist Party. Historically, this heroic unit was revoked after the Zunyi Conference. Due to the arrival of Liu Yimin, the remnants of the division were rescued by the Xiangjiang River and weapons and ammunition were replenished, so the troop losses were much smaller than in history. When the Central Red Army of the Zunyi Conference was reorganized, the division was reorganized into the Third Red Division. From Guizhou to Sichuan, the Red Third Division replenished all the way, and now it is also strong.

When I heard that the new Jiangyou Garrison Regiment had been formed, the cadres and companies that had been drawn out were not very happy, and they were afraid of leaving the establishment of the First Red Army. Xiao Hua mobilized like this: "The Jiangyou Garrison Regiment is the Jiangyou Garrison Regiment of the First Red Army, which belongs to the First Army Corps. If you look at our Red Seventh Army Corps, in less than two months, the troops have changed from 1,000 people at the time of the reorganization by the Xiangjiang River to an army of 30,000 people, with strong soldiers and strong horses, and also established the first artillery regiment, heavy machine gun regiment, engineer regiment, baggage regiment, and cavalry battalion in the history of our Red Army. Think about it, if our company commanders can become regiment commanders, then how many men and horses should we have in the Red Army? When the time comes, it's not that Jiang should beat us to death, but that we chase his ass and beat us. Now three companies have been pumped for you, and a battalion of recruits has been added, but this is not enough. After the main force is gone, you must expand and train as soon as possible, and turn it into three battalions that are fully manned. The company commander is always the battalion commander. If anyone doesn't want to go, or can't complete the task, I will learn the words of Commander Liu Yimin, the Red First Army doesn't want this kind of waste! ”

A company commander saluted and said: "Report to the political commissar, I heard that Commander Liu said that the guard division does not want this kind of wretchedness, not that the first corps does not want this kind of wretchedness. ”

Peng Shaohui, the one-armed division commander on the side, smiled angrily: "You stubborn donkey, as far as you talk a lot, we are from the First Legion, and the political commissar naturally wants to change the words of Commander Liu to our First Legion." It seems that you, the new battalion commander, are incompetent, so you should take your company back and be a company commander! ”

The company commander hurriedly said: "Don't, don't, division commander, I am in other words, I am still willing to be this battalion commander, and I promise to be a good one." ”

Peng Shaohui said: "It's pretty much the same. Don't be verbose, hurry up! ”

After the cadres left, Xiao Hua asked Peng Shaohui: "Have you seen Commander Liu?" ”

Peng Shaohui shook his head.

Xiao Hua said: "Commander Liu was assassinated a few days ago, I don't know how his body is recovering now!" ”

Peng Shaohui said hatefully: "This Chiang Kai-shek is really not a thing, if he can't be defeated, he will carry out assassination." I look down on him! ”

Xiao Hua said: "If there is a chance to catch Chiang Kai-shek and Dai Li in the future, there is no need to be verbose, just kill him." ”

Peng Shaohui smiled: "Hurry up and sleep for a while, maybe you will set off soon." ”

After entering Peng'an from Nanchong, the Red Third Army Corps was divided into three routes, the Red Fifth Division attacked Jinping along Zhengyuan and Changliang, the Red Fourth Division attacked Julong and Longyun, and the Red Sixth Division went north to Guihua and Gaomiao to attack Wangjiazhen and Muba, and the three armies all pointed to the Sichuan Army defense line on the Jialing River.

The Red Third Army, which was rushing all the way, encountered Li Jiayu's new 6th Division and Luo Zezhou's 23rd Division in Peng'an. Gradually retreat to the Jialing River.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, the Red Fifth Division pursued to Jinping by the Jialing River.

Jinping is located on the west bank of the Jialing River, is an important fulcrum of the Jialing River defense line, the town is not big, just a few streets.

However, at this time, there were a lot of people on Jinping Street, because Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou set up the Third Road Bandit Suppression Headquarters here, all kinds of people from the surrounding counties flocked to it, filling the small Peng'an County seat. The business of teahouses and restaurants has also suddenly become lively.

Hearing that the Red Army was coming, the town was in a panic. The door is closed, the door is closed, the chicken is flopping, the dog is barking.

Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou both graduated from the Sichuan Army Officer Academy and were the leaders of the "officer department" of the Sichuan warlords. Li Jiayu is called "King of Suining", and Luo Zezhou is called "King of Shunqing". However, at this time, the two had already been defeated in the warlord melee, attached themselves to Liu Xiang, and retreated to Peng'an and Yingshan counties.

At this time, Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou were at a loss for words.

The Red Army's offensive was too fierce, and the west bank of the Jialing River was in no danger to defend, and with the strength of the new 6th and 23rd Divisions, it was absolutely impossible to resist. In fact, in just one day, the second-line troops, which were deployed in depth on the Jialing River defense line, had been defeated under the powerful offensive of the Red Army and rushed to the Jialing River, which was originally a first-line position.

In fact, if you think about it, you don't blame them, their defense line faces the Jialing River, and they are firmly defended by the river, ready to cooperate with other troops to attack the Red Fourth Front Army. Now that the Red Army is killing from behind, are there any dangerous passes, and how can they defend them?

What's more, their troops were all defeated during the melee of the Sichuan army, and their weapons were outdated and could not be replenished. It is not at the same level as Liu Xiang's 21st Army, and there is a big gap between it and Deng Xihou's troops. If it had not relied on the cohesion of the grassroots officers of the "officer department", I am afraid that it would have collapsed long ago.

Now it seems that only by crossing the river and establishing a defensive line on the opposite bank can the offensive of the Red Army be stopped. If they hesitate any longer, maybe the two old classmates will have to become captives.

After thinking about it, Li Jiayu finally made up his mind, if he didn't leave, he was afraid that he would have no chance. So he opened his mouth and said: "Brother Pingzhang, stay in the green mountains, don't worry about no firewood." We will withdraw at once and go to the east coast, as long as we control the ship, the red bandits will be Monet for a while. We can make a comeback. ”

Luo Zezhou wanted to run away for a long time, but because Li Jiayu was the commander-in-chief and his strength was above him, he didn't dare to say that he would run. As soon as he heard Li Jiayu's words, he didn't want to stay for half an hour. immediately said: "His brother decides, and I naturally support it." If you want to withdraw, you can leave now, there is no way to stop the red bandits here, and after a while, not to mention the troops, we ourselves are in danger. ”

Since the two hit it off, they didn't care about the question of whether Liu Xiang would be investigated or not, and immediately ordered their respective guard units to board the ship immediately, and ordered all the troops that could still be contacted to withdraw across the Jialing River. After crossing the river, a defensive line was immediately established to strictly prevent the red bandits from crossing the river in pursuit.

After giving the order, Li Jiayu ordered the staff officers to immediately pack up the map and radio station, and get on the boat to cross the river.

Li Tianyou, commander of the Red Fifth Division, and Zhong Chibing, political commissar, together with several regiment commanders and political commissars, approached Jinping Town to observe and found that Jinping Town could be said to be in no danger to defend, as long as the troops could approach the city gate, a charge would enter. But it is not easy to get close to the city gates, because there is no danger to defend, which means that there is no way to hide.

When the 13th Regiment was discussing the use of mortars to cover and carry out a strong attack, the guard soldiers reported that the Sichuan army was going to run. Li Tianyou saw that the Sichuan army was indeed going to run, and the alert troops at the entrance of the town were withdrawing.

Li Tianyou was in a hurry, he already knew from the mouth of the captive that this was the location of Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou's Third Road Bandit Suppression Headquarters, and pursued for a day, just to catch these two big fish, but he didn't expect these two guys to be so unauthentic, and before they launched an attack, they began to run away. Is this worth it?

There is no longer any need to adjust the deployment and equip the firepower. Li Tianyou yelled at several regiment commanders and political commissars: "Hurry up and lead the troops to rush forward and catch one by one." Then he ordered the trumpeters to blow their trumpets and ordered the troops to charge.

The loud trumpet sounded, and the troops of the Red Fifth Division rushed towards the town like a mountain of mountains, and the Sichuan army covering behind the palace was soon overwhelmed by the crowd.

Unfortunately, it was still late, and by the time the troops rushed to the river, Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou's boats had already rowed to the opposite bank. The riverside was crowded with Sichuan officers and soldiers who had not had time to get on the boat. Annoyed, Li Tianyou ordered all the machine guns to fire, intending to kill Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou. But he was still disappointed, seeing that Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou's boats were getting closer and closer to the other side, and soon docked.

Back in Jinping Town, Li Tianyou, who was still angry, ordered the troops to rest for half an hour, eat some dry food, and immediately pursue upstream along the Jialing River.

Zhong Chibing sighed and persuaded: "Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou have all run away, can the other troops not run?" Let the troops rest for half an hour longer, recover their strength a little and chase again! ”

In fact, Zhong Chibing's judgment was correct. When Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou gave the order to retreat, their regiment commanders couldn't stand it for a long time, and they used the ferry to retreat to the other side of the Jialing River without saying a word. If there were not enough boats, they fled to the southern county seats. When the Fourth and Sixth Divisions chased them to the Jialing River, the outcome was similar to that of the Fifth Division, except that it was just a matter of who captured a little more prisoners.

Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou, who had escaped the Jialing River, were in shock when they received a telegram from Liu Xiang asking about the enemy's situation.

Li Jiayu frowned and felt that this telegram was difficult to answer.

Luo Zezhou, this guy sells opium, pumps heavy taxes, and occupies women, what hasn't happened? Seeing that Li Jiayu was in trouble, he said: "Brother Xiang, what is the difficulty, send a direct report to Liu Xiang, and say that our department is going to cross the Jialing River today, concentrate on Yingshan, and prepare to cooperate with the armies of all walks of life to encircle and annihilate Xu Qianqian's bandits." ”

Li Jiayu shook his head: "It's not proper, we can coax for a while, but we can't coax for a lifetime." The momentum of the red bandits' offensive is so fierce, and the losses of our army are so large, how can we do it without reporting? Besides, if we don't report it, Tian Songyao will be in danger, and the red bandits will soon attack him. ”

Luo Zezhou felt that Li Jiayu was really in the water, when was it, and he was still thinking about what to do with Tian Songyao. Tian Songyao just let the red bandits kill him, and he didn't care about the old people's affairs. just said: "Brother Qi, you can do it, don't ask Liu Xiang to take the opportunity to withdraw your new 6th Division and my 23rd Division." ”

Li Jiayu smiled bitterly: "Brother Pingzhang, I see that the battle situation today is different from the past, not to mention the command of the red bandits, just the combat effectiveness shown by their troops surprised me, don't say that our troops can't withstand it, and Liu Xiang's 21st Army can't do it." I think only the elite of the Central Army can fight the red bandits. Deng Xihou has already been surrounded in Mianyang, if Tian Songyao is defeated again, even the troops of the 28th Army with the Sword Pavilion will be very dangerous. At that time, there will be no foothold for our Sichuan army in the entire west of the Jialing River and east of the Fujiang River. Even if we are in this place now, I am afraid that we will not be able to defend it, and the red bandits will cross the river soon. After they join Xu Xiangqian, where will our Sichuan army be an opponent? You can rest assured, in this case, Liu Xiang will not embarrass us. ”

Luo Zezhou thought about it, so he said: "Do it according to your opinion, and report Liu Xiang truthfully." However, I would like to add that we are gathering our troops and actively reorganizing them. He was asked to provide some weapons, ammunition and funds. This time the two of us are completely finished, the family is gone, the money is gone, and the army is also collapsed. Years of struggle were ruined. Alas! ”

Li Jiayu also lamented again and again, two people, you look at me, I look at you, and tears come out when I look at it, and I start crying after a short time.

After learning the news that the Red Third Army defeated Li Jiayu and Luo Zezhou, [***], Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Zhang Wentian, and Liu Bocheng couldn't sit still in Deyang.

Originally, the headquarters of the Red Army and the central column acted with the 1st Army Corps. Considering that the first army was going to attack Jiangyou and Zitong, and the enemy's pursuers were still far away, [***] decided to stay in Deyang for the time being.

Now the Ninth Army Corps has surrounded Mianyang, the First Army Corps has attacked and occupied Jiangyou and Zitong, and the Third Army Corps has captured Nanchong and hit the Jialing River. It would be meaningless for the headquarters to stay in Deyang any longer, and it would be easy to be attacked by the enemy.

Liu Bocheng proposed that the headquarters and the central column should immediately set off to join the Ninth Army Corps in Deyang, and then move with the First Army Corps.

[***] was slow to take a stand.

Zhou Enlai asked: "Comrade Zedong, are you waiting for the telegram from the Seventh Army Corps?" ”

[***] said: "Yes, Deng Xihou, Tian Songyao, Li Jiayu, and Luo Zezhou's Sichuan army is not terrible, they are miscellaneous cards among miscellaneous cards." There are combat effectiveness in the Sichuan army, that is, several main divisions of Liu Xiang's 21st Army. The real target of our attack in this battle was Hu Zongnan's First Division, which Liu Yimin had said a long time ago. Now that Hu Zongnan has reinforced, he is really worried that Liu Yimin and they will not be able to catch up with the preset battlefield. When Hu Zongnan arrived at Jiange County and camped, it would be troublesome. ”

Mr. Zhu nodded: "Yes, there are more than 30,000 people in the first division, with good weapons and equipment, and most of the grassroots officers are from Huangpu students with a strong will to fight." If they were allowed to enter the county seat of Jiange and have a backing, they would have to give up. ”

Zhou En said: "The Seventh Army Corps marched continuously, and it was too tired. It is never advisable to attack the city with a tired army. If it doesn't work, they can give up their battle plan and find another battlefield between Sword Pavilion and Zitong. ”

[***] shook his head: "The fighter plane is tonight." If you miss tonight, it will be difficult to eliminate Hu Zongnan here. Tomorrow during the day, the enemy's planes can be active and bombing, and Hu Bu's combat effectiveness is strong, and it will be difficult to ambush him. Even if the order is an ambush, it is difficult to take it. In the end, it was a stalemate. Then we are passive. ”

After thinking about it, [***] said to Liu Bocheng: "To send a continuous report and call the Seventh Army." See if they can get to the predetermined location. If they can catch up, they will fight, and if they can't catch up, the troops will immediately rest in concealment. The 1st and 3rd Divisions of the 1st Army Corps were ordered to rush overnight to join the 2nd Division at Zitong in case of contingencies. The headquarters will not leave tonight, I will wait here for news from the Seventh Legion. ”

Liu Bocheng agreed and went to send a report.

After receiving Li Jiayu's telegram, Liu Xiang could no longer sit still, and immediately telegraphed Tian Songyao to strengthen his vigilance, and ordered the troops of Deng Xihou's 28th Army in Langzhong and Jiange to move closer to each other intensively, build fortifications, and strictly prevent the sneak attack of the red bandits. Ordered Pan Wenhua's troops to speed up and advance towards Mianyang. He sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek in a very respectful tone, giving a detailed report on the battle situation and imploring the Central Army to speed up. Then, take the initiative to visit He Guoguang, and ask He Guoguang to quickly send a telegram urging Xue Yue, Zhang Xueliang, and Yang Hucheng to speed up the pace, otherwise, the main force of the North Sichuan Army may be finished.

He Guoguang said lukewarmly: "Brother Fucheng, now do you want to ask the central government?" The chairman of the NPC National Committee has long said that [***] is the biggest source of trouble in China today, and the red bandits are the biggest obstacle to China's reunification. However, there are always some comrades in our party who cannot see clearly, or do not want to see clearly. If the Central Army does not enter Sichuan, let alone northern and western Sichuan, including your eastern Sichuan, it will also be red. It's a pity that you resolutely disagreed with the Central Army's entry into Sichuan at the beginning, and gave the red bandits time to expand their strength in vain. Now, Xue Yue is so far away from Chengdu, let alone rescue Mianyang, he can't even reach Chengdu. ”

Liu Xiangqi's face turned blue, and now he had no choice but to beg others, so he had to say earnestly: "Brother Yuanzhang, the time Xue Yue's department is not far from Chengdu, Zhang Xueliang has already arrived in Wanxian, and Yang Hucheng has also gone out of southern Shaanxi, so I must ask Brother Yuanzhang to urge you to speed up." If it was too late, the red bandits might wipe out Deng Xihou and Tian Songyao. When the time comes, the strength of the red bandits will increase greatly, and the difficulty of encirclement and suppression will also increase. Besides, the commission has already ordered the air force to help in the war, and the other directions should also speed up the progress! ”

He Guoguang saw that Liu Xiang was really anxious this time, and his tone softened: "Brother Fucheng, don't worry, the red bandits won't be able to stumble for a few days." As long as you and the commission are of one mind, why worry about the red bandits! I can tell you, but please keep it a secret. The elite of our Central Army, Hu Zongnan's First Division, has already moved south from Guangyuan, and it is estimated that it will be able to reach Mianyang tomorrow. As long as the southern part of Hu Zong arrives, the siege of Mianyang can be solved immediately. If the red bandits don't know each other and run slowly, I can guarantee that the Mianyang Plain is where they are buried! ”

When Liu Xiang heard this, his heart finally calmed down a little, and he even said: "Judge wisely, commission wise!" ”

He Guoguang saw that Liu Xiang's complexion was better, so he called someone to refill the water, and the two of them began to drink tea and set up a dragon gate array.

At this time, Hu Zongnan's first division, which was made by He Guoguang as the [***] elite, was trekking the Sword Pavilion Road.

At this time, the construction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway had not yet begun. From Guangyuan to Jianmen Pass, the mountain road extends in the mountains. Sometimes it goes deep into the valley floor, and the peaks on both sides of the river rise; Sometimes climbing over cliffs, steep and abnormal.

Hu Zongnan had never been here before, and he was worried along the way, fearing that grenades would fall on the top of the mountains on both sides and bury himself and his troops in this poor mountain and bad water. Fortunately, although it was difficult to walk all the way, I didn't encounter the red bandits. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the striker reported that the cavalry regiment had entered the Sword Gate Pass. There is a battalion guard from the Deng Xihou Department of the Sichuan Army on the pass, and everything is normal.

Hu Zongnan thought to himself, this broken road, a distance of 110 miles, the cavalry walked for 7 hours, it was really fucking dead. The cavalry regiment was then ordered to continue its advance, and the troops quickened their speed to camp in Pu'an Town, the county seat of Jiange, before 12 o'clock in the night.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, when Hu Zongnan's cavalry regiment arrived at Jianmen Pass, Liu Yimin led the cavalry battalion to Hanyang Town.

An hour and a half later, the guard battalion, the communications company, and the intelligence and information department also arrived.

(To be continued)