Relying on the efforts of more than 200 "amateur intelligence agents" to investigate everywhere, as well as the interception and decipherment of the Kuomintang military wireless telegraphy -- the ciphers of the 20 th century and thirties were simply easier than playing crossword puzzles in front of modern computers, not to mention that Wang Qiu and the others had made trouble early in the morning from the Military History Museum to the Kuomintang military code book of that time -- combined with the records of the relevant revolutionary war history books, Wang Qiu and the others spent a day finally figuring out the vicinity of Changhua County, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui, and The distribution location of the Kuomintang and Communist armies in southern Jiangsu and other regions and the actual situation on the battlefield.

-- Generally speaking, the 10th Red Army Corps, under the banner of "going north to resist Japan," flowed all the way along the border line of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang, and approached the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou region. The Kuomintang, on the other hand, amassed more than 100,000 troops -- but most of them were local security regiments with extremely poor equipment and very weak combat effectiveness -- and pursued the ass of this Red Army's partial division, encircling and intercepting them everywhere in an attempt to block the Red Tenth Army outside the hinterland of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

In fact, for Chiang Kai-shek, who was in the camp in Nanchang, this surprise move of the Red Tenth Army really caught him off guard.

At this moment, the Central Red Army, which had left Ruijin's Western Expedition, had just broken through the Kuomintang's three blockade lines and entered the Xiangjiang valley in Hunan -- but the Kuomintang had already estimated this, and published it in the newspapers in October: "...... The communist bandits in southern Gan gathered most of them a few months ago, suddenly entered and disturbed Shicheng, and were about to approach Changting, and were attacked by the two route armies in the northeast, and then fled back to Ruijin Huichang and the capital, because the bandit area had long been blocked by our army, and its food and medicine equipment were completely cut off. He concentrated the bandits and poured out of the nest, wanting to rush through southern Jiangxi and enter Sichuan. Rendezvous with Helong, and then make another attempt, now according to military information, the communist bandits know that it is difficult to defend the old nest, yesterday gathered 30,000 or 40,000 people, moved one after another, and arrived in the area along the Yunjiang River of the Zhanghe River. In order to make a desperate bet. In addition, it was mentioned that the red bandits "knew that the general trend was gone and could not be saved." Nai recently ordered the withdrawal of troops from all parts of Gannan to concentrate, and at the same time in the center of Ruijin, convened a meeting to discuss the attack and defense of Jihua. I heard that Zhu Maopeng and other bandit leaders at that time. Feeling that the current situation is not good, he plans to move west into Hunan as soon as possible, hoping to find another way out......"

Even the Kuomintang made a relatively accurate guess in advance about the general expeditionary route that the Central Red Army would take next, and the final destination after the 25,000-mile Long March, the Yan'an Revolutionary Base Area: "...... In order to avoid the annihilation of the whole army, it has been decided to abandon Changting's western trip to the border of Hunan, Guizhou, and Guizhou, and to develop into Sichuan-Qingdao and other provinces. Reopening the New Bandit Area ......"

That is, long before the start of the Long March. Chiang Kai-shek basically understood the course of action and the final destination of the Central Red Army. It was enough for him to calmly dispatch troops, arrange troops, wait for the Red Army to step into the trap itself, and by the way, consume some redundant miscellaneous troops. And he did exactly that—on November 21, Chiang Kai-shek issued a new round of combat orders and made targeted military deployments: "...... He Jian is hereby sent as the commander-in-chief of the pursuit army, and the commander-in-chief of all the North Road into Hunan Sixth Road, Xue Yue's Department and Zhou Hunyuan's Department, are under the command, and lead all troops and militia groups in Hunan to pursue and suppress the Zhumao Red Bandit in the west, and all the departments of Wuxi sincerely unite to annihilate the 'bandit' in the area east of Xiangshui. "And" mobilized people from all walks of life, with a total of 100 regiments and 400,000 people. On the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, the three counties of Quanzhou, Guanyang, and Xing'an in the northeast of Guangxi form a triangular pocket array......"

To this end, Chiang Kai-shek also wrote a "Zhongzheng Edict" in Nanchang Xingying, which was airdropped to the front line of the Xiangjiang River to encourage He Jian to lead the Hunan army to fight to the death.

-- Brother Yunqiao (He Jianzi) Xunjian: Today's brother has a great responsibility, do not bear the trust of the party and the state, and the fate of the party and the state is in this battle, and I hope to supervise and suppress it with all my might. And recorded an ancient poem to encourage each other: Last night, the autumn wind entered the Han Pass, and the moon was full of the West Mountain by the clouds; Even more urging the flight will chase the arrogant, and the horses on the battlefield will be returned......

Obviously, along the route of the march that has already been explored by the enemy, on the battlefield pre-selected by the enemy, it is necessary to fight to the death with an absolutely superior number of enemy troops, and the enemy commander is opposed. He Jian, the most die-hard in total...... The tragic sacrifice of the Red Army in the Battle of Xiangjiang seems to have been doomed from the beginning.

However, just when the Kuomintang reactionaries were making elaborate arrangements, assembling a number of heavy army groups, setting up a net of heaven and earth, and sharpening their knives to prepare for the complete destruction of the Central Red Army on the Xiangjiang battlefield, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the northeast were suddenly in an emergency.

-- On the eve of the Xiangjiang Campaign, the 19th and 20th Divisions of the Red Army's anti-Japanese advance contingent (i.e., the 10th Red Army Corps) suddenly invaded the Kaihua, Sui'an, Quxian, and Changshan areas of Zhejiang, cutting off the important Zhejiang-Jiangxi railway, and bringing great panic to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region.

As a result, Chiang Kai-shek had to urgently transfer Wang Yaowu's supplementary 1st Brigade from Yushan, Jiangxi, to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi border to block the Red Tenth Army.

However, Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou led the Red 19th Division to adopt a mobile and flexible strategy and tactics, fought all the way, crossed the Xin'an River, crossed the Hangzhou (Zhou) Chun (An) Highway, returned to the division in western Zhejiang by surprise, and successfully threw off Wang Yaowu's supplementary 1st Brigade, and then fought more than 10 battles with the Zhejiang Security Regiment along the way, destroying more than 250 enemies -- as early as the Beiyang warlord melee period, the Zhejiang soldiers were known for their cowardice and unbearable warfare, and now in front of the Red Army are all local security regiments with bird guns and guns, which even bandits cannot defeat. Basically, the guns were fired and dispersed -- so the Red Army not only won successive victories on the battlefield in Zhejiang, but also advanced further into Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, the richest and most prosperous elite region in China......

The Yangtze River Delta, where Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou are located, is the world's first-class financial land, and is also the core foundation on which Chiang Kai-shek relied to rule the whole of China, and there is no room for the slightest mistake -- for this reason, Chiang Kai-shek had to temporarily put aside the Central Red Army on the Xiangjiang battlefield, and while hastily collecting troops and horses in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, preparing to first destroy the Red Tenth Army Corps, which was like a thorn in his back, he sent a telegram to the Kuomintang county magistrates: "...... Supervise the team, stick to the help, in case the defense is exhausted, then die with the city", otherwise "the loss of the town, the erosion of the place, then the military law is there, and there will be no leniency"!

Therefore, when Wang Qiu and others rushed to Changhua and were besieged by the local security regiment and police, the southern and northern Anhui and northern Anhui regions were already heavily armed -- for the sake of the security of the Gyeonggi region, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized all the troops that could be mobilized near the battlefield in one go, including the Kuomintang Zhejiang Security Column, the 1st Supplementary Brigade, the 9th Division, the 4th Division, and the 468th Regiment of the 78th Division. In addition to some miscellaneous armed forces that did not even have a number, Yu Jishi, director of Zhejiang's security department, served as the supreme commander, and stepped up efforts to intercept and suppress the Red Tenth Army, which had only 10,000 men. To ensure the safety of the provincial capital Hangzhou.

However, although the Kuomintang participated in the encirclement and suppression, its combat effectiveness was very worrisome -- Chiang Kai-shek's lineage of elite and strong generals, totaling only about 500,000, was now either sniping at the Central Red Army on the Xiangjiang battlefield or "clearing out the remnants of bandits" in the central Soviet region, and some of them were to serve as garrison troops in the capital. Do not move lightly. In the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, which is the rear area, the garrison force is very empty...... Therefore, although Yu Jishi has a total of twenty regiments under his command. "Claimed" 200,000 people, but at least half of the soldiers were paid empty salaries, and those security regiments were generally only used by a few people.

However, among these encirclement and suppression troops, which are mainly waste firewood and tofu slag. There are also a few hard bones - such as supplementing the 1st Brigade Wang Yaowu.

“…… The latest information has been discovered! The Red 19th Division led by Su Yu and Xun Huaizhou. has been walking a tightrope along the border line between Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, and now it has just stepped into the edge of Changhua County from the direction of southern Anhui. But the Kuomintang troops who pursued them reached the hinterland of Changhua County first. ”

After carefully listening to the wireless telegraphy between the Red Army and the Kuomintang army, and combining the rumors and rumors collected by local spies, Wang Qiu summed it up as follows while comparing and drawing on the combat map with a stick...... Among them, the greatest threat to us is to supplement the 1st Brigade Wang Yaowu's Division. ”

“…… Replenish the 1st Brigade? What a humble name. It sounds like a ragtag troop......" Ma Tong muttered quietly.

“…… You'd be wrong. Although Wang Yaowu's supplementary 1st Brigade has the title of 'supplement', it does not actually belong to the second-rate miscellaneous army. It was reorganized in the winter of 1933 by three supplementary regiments of the Kuomintang Central Security Training Office. The quality of the officers and men of the imported German ordnance is also high, most of the officers are graduates of military academies, and most of the soldiers are northerners, and their combat effectiveness is not weak. Well, this unit will have a more famous name in the future - the integrated 74th Division! It was the army that was completely wiped out by Zhang Lingfu in the Battle of Menglianggu......" Wang Qiu put down the small wooden stick and got up to explain.

“…… Uh, that's the one who 'hit Meng Lianggu and captured Zhang Lingfu alive'? Oh, I remembered......"

Ma Tong suddenly realized, "...... One of the five ace divisions of the famous Kuomintang! But why isn't the commander Zhang Lingfu? ”

“…… Ahem, Zhang Lingfu's seniority is too low, and he has not been promoted yet. The person who is currently commanding this unit is Zhang Lingfu's old boss Wang Yaowu -- by the way, at the time of the Battle of Menglianggu, Wang Yaowu was still Zhang Lingfu's boss......

Professor Yang coughed dryly, leaned over and explained, "...... Don't underestimate this Wang Yaowu! He was the Kuomintang general who went south to intercept the Nanchang Uprising; In the fourth 'encirclement and suppression', he also held the strategic location of Yihuang for 24 days without being broken by the Red Army, which was praised as a miracle by Chiang Kai-shek. ”

“…… In short, this German armament brigade is just south of us, less than thirty kilometers downstream of Changhua Creek. The Red Tenth Army was deep in the mountains to the west -- the biggest problem at the moment was that, although it was not far away, the Red Army, which was closed off from information, might not be able to hear the news of our occupation of Changhua, while the Kuomintang army was likely to be the first to come...... Uh, no, I'm afraid it's not very likely, but it's already here......"

Listening to the sound of aircraft engines coming from the sky in the distance, Wang Qiu looked up from the window and looked up, and then said with a wry smile.

At the same time, Comrade Sonia, who had just woken up from a hangover, also gave the order to conduct an air defense operation while burping......

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

Under the cloudless clear sky, a biplane reconnaissance plane with a wooden frame and canvas skin painted on its wings with the Kuomintang blue sky and white sun badge took off from the Jianqiao Airport in Hangzhou, which belongs to the Central Aviation School, and first flew west along the Fuchun River, then turned at the intersection of the Fuchun River and Changhua River, and flew leisurely along the Changhua River and from the southeast toward the upstream Changhua County.

-- The planes of this era were not equipped with GPS navigation systems, and the old biplane reconnaissance planes used by the Kuomintang did not even have radios, so when flying, they relied entirely on the pilot's naked eye observation to determine their own position and terrain route...... Therefore. Where possible, they are accustomed to flying along rivers, railways, and coastlines in case they "get lost" in the sky.

Fortunately. Today's weather is very good, with a good view and a weak wind, which is very suitable for this slow and less wind-resistant old biplane to take to the air. The two Kuomintang pilots (flying officers) on the plane all had relaxed expressions and even hummed a minor tune.

Although the "Kesai" aircraft they flew were now regarded as out-and-out backward products, they were enough for the Kuomintang.

-- "Cosai" two-seat reconnaissance/light bomber. By American Line? Produced and exported by Vought Aircraft Company, codenamed V-65 and V-92, two-wing two-seater. Crew 2: pilot and reconnaissance, bomber, length 8.68 meters, wing length 10.5 meters, height 3.29 meters. Empty weight 1377 kg. The total weight is 2170 kg, the maximum speed is 237 km / h, the ceiling is 6250 meters, the range is 960 km, and a 7.62 mm fixed machine gun and a camera are installed in the middle of the left and right lower wings, and the A-3 bomb racks are equipped under the wings, which can carry 2 50 kg bombs.

Originally, in the rear compartment of the "Cosai" aircraft, there was also an active machine gun that fired at the rear. Used to repel enemy aircraft coming from behind. However, because today's Kuomintang Air Force only needs to know how to attack the ground, there is no need for air combat at all. So in order to reduce take-off weight. The machine gun was dismantled by prolonging the time spent in the air -- the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the ravines and ravines had no air force at all, and among the warlords of all stripes, only Zhang Xueliang in the northeast, Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang, and Chen Jitang in Guangdong had independent flying teams. Among them, Xinjiang is too far away, and the Northeast Army has long since collapsed, and although the Guangdong Air Force is considered a strong enemy, it has not yet torn its face with the central government...... Therefore, for the time being, the Kuomintang Air Force only needs to attack the ground.

Moreover, they are only carrying out a reconnaissance mission today, and they do not necessarily need even a ground attack.

-- Yesterday morning, a madman who looked like an official rushed into the Lin'an County Government, shouting that the Red Bandits had broken through Changhua County...... This is very normal, the leader of the red bandits, Fang Zhimin, has been active in the mountainous areas of western Zhejiang and southern Anhui for a long time, and there are many poor mud legs who can't eat are instigated by them to rebel, and occasionally losing a remote county town is not a big deal at all...... But the problem is, what kind of nonsense did he go on next, there was a convoy of Soviet ironclad in the town, and thousands of red-haired, green-eyed foreign devils and red bandits - this is ridiculous!

Hey, hey! You are just afraid of taking the crime of losing the county seat, and you can't spit and talk nonsense like this!

Ironclad cars of the Soviets? Hehe, how did these ironclad cars cross half of China, cross the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and rush to Zhejiang in one go? There are also thousands of foreign devils and red bandits...... Look at what you're saying! We are not Shanghai here, and it is difficult to say whether there are thousands of foreign devils in Zhejiang Province now!

In any case, it is certain that there is a mess in Changhua County. Since the telegraph line in Changhua County has been cut off, there is no radio station and no telephone. Therefore, after receiving the report, the bigwigs in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, decided to send planes over to investigate.

As a result, this swaying and slow "Kesai" double-seat reconnaissance/light bomber hit the road in this way, and after a flight of more than an hour, it successfully arrived over Changhua County...... After circling a few times, the two "flying officers" unsurprisingly did not find any of the legendary "Soviet ironclad cars".

-- Due to the terrible bumps in the rampage of the previous two days, Wang Qiu had already teleported all the tanks back to the other side of the wormhole for maintenance.

However, it is true that the county government was burned to the ground...... Moreover, in the middle of the town square, a few red flags were raised - it seems that this place is indeed occupied by the red bandits, but I don't know how these red bandits pretended to be ghosts and bluffed someone into believing that they were driving an armored car?

The two pilots glanced down at the dilapidated town with disdain, and decided to swoop down and shoot a few shuttles after they had finished taking pictures.

Unbeknownst to them, however, in a building below, someone was looking at their plane with disdain.

“…… The enemy aircraft is at an altitude of 300 meters, at a distance of 2500 meters, at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, and the enemy aircraft is slowing down to reduce the altitude ......"

A certain weapons operator reported to Wang Qiu while observing the instrument in his hand, "...... Good boy! What a broken plane this is! It's slower than my sports car! It seems that there is no need for anti-aircraft combat vehicles to deal with this kind of antique goods with double wings! ”

Wang Qiu nodded silently, and at the same time took out the walkie-talkie and issued a command...... The next moment, the windows of several houses in the town were opened one after another, revealing the sassy and heroic appearance of more than a dozen avant-garde XP shoulder-fired individual missiles.

“…… Ready-aim-fire! ”

The next moment, more than a dozen flames dragged a long white tail flame and hit the biplane that had just dived down, tearing it into countless burning wreckage fragments in an instant, like a goddess scattering flowers, and sprinkled down one after another......

However, at the same time that the plane was easily destroyed, Wang Yaowu's supplementary 1st Brigade and a part of the Zhejiang Security Column also appeared on the horizon on the outskirts of the town...... And the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was still further away......

-- The first real test of the time-travelers in the Republic of China is coming...... (To be continued......)