Ouyang Jian stood up and said happily: "Deputy Division Commander Su has a very incisive analysis and is very talented in military affairs. Comrades, there was nothing wrong with Deputy Division Commander Su's judgment, the problem was that many people were carried away by the victory. If we go north to fight Jiujiang, even if we take Jiujiang City, we will pay a heavy price. And this is again without taking into account the enemy's troop build-up. Don't look at Lao Jiang is commanding the Central Plains War, once there is a problem in Jiujiang, he will immediately telegraph and order the central army deployed along the river to quickly reinforce Jiujiang. Once we can't beat Jiujiang and form a scorched state, it will be troublesome, so it is not advisable to fight Jiujiang. ”

"Division commander, how do you reply to the order of the Central Committee?" Luo Ronghuan was worried. Ouyang Jian said: "As the saying goes, there will be no disapproval of the king's life outside. The Central Committee does not know the details of our situation here, and as long as we continue to win victories and the Central Committee understands, it will immediately send a report to the Central Committee that the conditions for fighting Jiujiang are not ripe, and our unit is ready to send troops to the east. In addition, the actual difficulties in fighting Jiujiang should be reported to the Central Committee. Everyone was confused, Su Yu's eyes lit up and said: "Division commander, it is possible to cross Poyang Lake and enter the east to fight, but the large army is ・・・・・・." ”

"I know your concern, I once said that there are not many soldiers but refinement, let's wait for the decision of the Central Committee!" Ouyang Jian knew that if he explained the difficult situation clearly, Enlai would definitely agree with his idea. Sure enough, three days later, the Central Committee called and agreed to Ouyang Jian's battle plan. As for the mystery in it, Ouyang Jian can also guess it. The independent column ate two brigades of the Jiangxi army in a row, and such a victory was extremely shocking, especially Ouyang Jian's military talent was affirmed, so the Central Committee must consider his suggestion. There is another reason, if Ouyang Jian resolutely disagrees to fight Jiujiang, it will be difficult for the Central Committee to do it, after all, Ouyang Jian is the front-line officer, and no one can replace him.

Ouyang Jian received a telegram from the Central Committee and immediately began to deploy. First of all, he sent a telegram to Mao Zetan, the political commissar sitting in Yongxiu County, explaining in detail the plan for the Eastern Expedition, and asking the political commissar to continue to stay in Yongxiu County and reorganize the training reserve regiment. In addition, he asked Luo Ronghuan to lead the 2nd Regiment and the Artillery Brigade back to Yunshui County to defend and prevent the enemy in Nanchang from moving north. According to the plan of the Eastern Expedition, 3 regiments were marched, so the Song Ren poor army stayed in De'an County and served as the northern defense. Ouyang Jianjiang led Su Yu, Xiao Ke, and Zhang Shiying to the expedition.

After the battle plan was drawn up, Ouyang Jian divided the grenadier detachments that belonged to the artillery brigade into five regiments equally, with the purpose of accepting the test of war. Each regiment was assigned 30 grenadiers, and 20 grenadiers were mounted in parallel. The other three regiments were each equipped with eight mortars. After all, the number of shells is limited, and it is out of place to have more. On this day, at the west gate of De'an County, Ouyang Jian sent Luo Ronghuan, all the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Regiment and the artillery brigade back to Yunshui County. Outside the city gate, everyone rushed to say goodbye, Luo Ronghuan shook hands with everyone one by one, and then walked up to Ouyang Jian and said, "Master, what else do you have to say?" ”

Ouyang Jian said: "Chief of Staff, once the enemy finds out that we are fighting in the east, he must think that it is the main force. I estimate that the 51st Brigade stationed in Jing'an County is very likely to attack Yunshui County in the north, how can they have the confidence to fight a defensive operation? "Commander, don't worry! We have iron watermelons and stone watermelons, and we will give a full meal to the invading enemy, and we will make it difficult for the enemy to move an inch. "Mine warfare is indispensable, but guerrilla warfare must blossom more and the initiative must be decentralized. Tao Yong performed well in this battle, you can let go of his hands and feet and let him exercise well. Luo Ronghuan nodded and said, "I understand!" Luo Ronghuan waved goodbye to everyone, and then rode on his war horse to chase the troops.

Luo Ronghuan is steady and thorough, there is no problem for him to sit in Yunshui County, and bringing Su Yu, Xiao Ke, and Zhang Shiying to the east is to let them further undergo training in actual combat and cultivate the talents of generals. Song Renqiao was young and asked him to guard the county seat of De'an, with the aim of cultivating his independence. Ouyang Jian knew in his heart that the most arduous battle was ahead, and he would have to face the encirclement and suppression of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops at that time, and he must let them grow up quickly in the war and face more severe tests. Before leaving, Ouyang Jian informed Dark Arrow, asking him to find out the situation of the enemy garrisons in Jingdezhen, Shangyao, Yingtan and other places, and he wanted to have first-hand information.

At present, the hidden arrow under the leadership of Li Kenong has been weaving a wide net in Jiangxi, and its tentacles are constantly extending to Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, and Hubei, gradually forming a powerful intelligence network. Timely and accurate intelligence ensured the military operations of the Red Army. To this end, Ouyang Jian strongly supported Li Kenong and provided him with funds to buy a radio station. At present, there are hidden arrow radio stations in major cities and regions in Jiangxi, and radio stations have played a tremendous role in the rapid transmission of intelligence. At present, the Kuomintang authorities do not have the technical ability to monitor, decipher, and discover radio stations.

In June, Jiangnan enters the rainy season, and the drizzle often sways from the sky, and it is rare to see a sunny day. The troops marched on the muddy road with difficulty, and the soldiers wore hats, full of emotions and high morale. Ouyang Jian rode a war horse and kept pace with the special combat team. In De'an County, Ouyang Jian specially ordered a batch of costumes for the special combat personnel, and the bells and whistles were named camouflage uniforms. At the moment, the members of the special combat team are wearing such costumes, which looks different. "Division commander, the concealment performance of this camouflage uniform is really good, but the reaction of the team members is too ugly!" Mu Shixiong broke the silence.

"Isn't it too hypocritical to dress well to fight a war. Tell your team members that you are a unit on a special mission. Concealment as a sniper is the first element. Don't look ugly in camouflage uniforms, he will make you get unexpected gains. "Captain Mu, I'm not ugly, give me a camouflage uniform!" The pony takes the opportunity to claim it. "You kid doesn't have the right to wear camouflage uniforms, so don't be whimsical." "That's not necessarily, if we have the conditions in the future, all combat uniforms will be changed to camouflage uniforms, which is the development direction of our Red Army uniforms."

"Division, Commander, this is true!" Pony is overjoyed. "Of course it's true, but I'm afraid it won't be possible in a few years, but I'm sure it will be done." Ouyang Jian's face showed a resolute and confident countenance. No one objected to his words, because Ouyang Jian had always counted his words, and there was nothing unfulfilled in what he said. The shadow of the town appeared in front of the rain curtain, and the resting trumpet troops stopped advancing. At this time, a group of people and horses came out of the city, and Ouyang Jian turned over and dismounted.

"Report to the division commander, Hong Liang (Hong Gang Leader), the captain of the Poyang Lake Water Guerrilla Brigade, came to respond." Hong Liang was in good spirits, and he didn't care about the rain wetting his clothes. "Comrade Hong Liang, we met again, I heard that your water guerrilla force has grown to more than 200 people" "Division commander, with your help, we have exterminated the lake bandits, and the guerrillas have grown rapidly. At present, the Xingzi County Party Committee has formed a Panlongshan guerrilla team, and this is Captain Li! Ouyang Jian warmly shook hands with Captain Li and greeted him. The group entered the city and walked into the temporary division headquarters Ouyang Jian asked with concern: "Captain Li, how many people do you have now, and are there any difficulties?" ”

Captain Li is about 40 years old and a little embarrassed: "At present, there are 100 of my guerrillas, but we lack weapons in our hands, can we support some of them?" "No problem, this time we have captured a lot, give you 150 rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition." Captain Li was overjoyed when he heard this. Seeing that Hong Liang was a little depressed, Ouyang Jian smiled and said, "Comrade Hong Liang, I will give you 200 rifles and 3,000 bullets." But I have one condition, within a month the guerrillas will grow to 300 people! "Division commander, please rest assured that the task will be completed."

"How's the wooden boat getting ready?" "Division commander, I have prepared 50 large boats, each wooden boat can carry 30 people, and there is no problem for the troops to cross it in two batches." That night, Ouyang Jian met with the comrades of the Xingzi County Party Committee and arranged how to support the troops in combat. The next day, during the day, the three regiments were transported to Sweetwater Island in two batches, and the troops stayed on Sweetwater Island until dark, and then took a wooden boat again to the Lao Ye Temple in two batches. At midnight, the wooden boat returned, and Ouyang Jian followed the second batch of transport troops to board the wooden boat.

The sky began to drizzle with a nasty drizzle, and the rain made a characteristic sound on the surface of the lake. It was dark and the rain blocked the view, and the visibility was very poor, and the wooden boat seemed to float in the ocean. Su Yu and Xiao Ke followed the first batch of troops to the Lao Ye Temple, and Zhang Shiying accompanied Ouyang Jian's second group. At this time, in the cabin, Ouyang Jian was not sleepy, he sat on a chair and looked at the map by the dim lantern. Zhang Shiying walked in wet and said, "Commander, the boss of the boat said that you can only reach the old man's temple at dawn, you can sleep for a while!" ”

"I'm not going to trap you here!" "Do the division commanders have a goal?" Zhang Shiying walked over with surprise on his face. "Is Yang Chisheng's Independent Brigade of the Gan Army stationed in Wannian County?" "Yes, his number turned out to be the 9th Division of the Jiangxi Army, and two regiments were wiped out by Zhu Mao in the Yang Chisheng Department of Jinggang Mountain. Later, the Jiangxi army was reorganized, and its 9th division number was cancelled. The remnants of Yang Chisheng were changed to an independent brigade and stationed in Wannian County. Ouyang Jian said to himself: "After the 22nd Division of the Central Army entered Jingdezhen, Shangyao, and Yingtan, the enemy army did not know if there had been any changes. ”

"Division commander, you want to fight Yang Chisheng's idea, but Wannian County is located in the middle of Nanchang, Shangyao, and Yingtan, and it is not suitable to take military action." Ouyang Jian said with a smile: "The Central Army has come in, I estimate that the independent brigade of the Gan Army will definitely be mobilized, and it is impossible for Yang Chisheng to enjoy Qingfu in Wannian County." I judged that the Independent Brigade had two directions: one was to be transferred to the south of Yingtan to strengthen the defense of the Central Red Army, and the other was to be transferred to Poyang Lake. May we be lucky. Zhang Shiying said: "It takes time for the dark arrow to collect intelligence, maybe we will know it when we arrive at the Lao Ye Temple." ”

The sky was bright, and the fleet arrived at the Lao Ye Temple. Ouyang Jian stood at the bow of the boat and looked at each other, and the figures of Su Yu and Xiao Ke appeared on the dock. The so-called pier is that there are wooden stakes on the shore of the lake, and the wooden stakes are just pedals. The boat docked, and Ouyang Jian jumped up quickly. "How's it going?" As soon as they met, Ouyang Jian asked. Xiao Ke said: "The situation is unknown, I sent a reconnaissance team and have not yet returned." Su Yu said: "Division commander, I sent the special operations captain Mu Shixiong to the eastern Zuoli Town to get in touch with the dark arrows. ”

The old man's temple was originally the old cave of the lake bandits, so the surrounding area is sparsely populated, and the troops gathered here will not be easily discovered. Ouyang Jian slept until noon and was woken up, and Xiao Keyu reported that after searching by the reconnaissance troops, there were no enemy troops stationed within 30 miles to the east, and there were a small number of landlords in Duobao Township in the northeast. "Division commander, are you sending troops to occupy Duobao Township?" Shook asked. "There is no point in occupying Duobao Township, our Eastern Crusade is not to occupy territory, but to find fighters to destroy the enemy's living forces to the greatest extent."

"Division commander, I guess you want to fight the idea of the independent brigade of the Jiangxi army!" Su Yu asked keenly. Ouyang Jian said with a smile: "Yang Chisheng was scared by the Red Army, if the conditions are met, he will be the first to attack." Our sharp knife must be sharpened more and more in order to become an invincible sharp knife. In the evening, Mu Shixiong brought back good news.