Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 38: Northern Expedition (Part 3)
On October 20, 1917, the right detachment of the Shaanxi Army occupied Yichuan, and two days later it approached Yunyan. The militia on the left resisted step by step and were defeated.
It seemed that Yanchang County was about to fall into the hands of the Shaanxi Army.
“We can’t retreat anymore.”
Although Li Huchen led Gao Jun out of the encirclement at the last moment of the Fengyuan battle despite the bayonets of the Shaanxi Army, the elite of the left-wing militia were completely wiped out after this battle. The remaining less than 4,000 people were mostly swordsmen temporarily recruited before the war, and there were only a little over a thousand usable guns. This could not but make the leaders feel frustrated.
"There have been nearly a hundred deserters in the past two days. If we retreat again, I'm afraid we'll all be finished if the Beiyang dogs attack us."
"Fight? How? Hu Chen, you know the current situation."
Cao Shiying shook his head.
It's not that he is indecisive, it's just that we are outnumbered and it's really difficult to fight.
"In my opinion, we should also retreat immediately, abandon Yanchang, Yanchuan, Qingjian and other counties, move the entire army to Suide, and meet up with Brother Boying immediately."
Although Zhang Xun did not bring much with him when he returned to Shaanxi due to Yan Xishan's blockade, the 300 guns and nearly 100,000 bullets could make up for the urgent needs of the militia.
"I'm not going back."
Fan Zhongxiu also disagreed. His cavalry regiment suffered the least losses among the left-wing militia, but if it went to Suide, it might be swallowed up by Zhang Xun without a bone.
"Who is Zhang Boying? He shouts loudly but hides in the background.
If this old guy could have brought his men here earlier, we would still have a chance to fight the Shaanxi Army.
Now I have to go back and flatter him. I won't do it!"
"Xingmin, why are you so angry at this time?"
Gao Jun was shot in the leg, but luckily only some flesh was bitten off and no bones were injured. Even so, he still had some difficulty in moving.
"Forget it. If you don't want to go to Suide, then you can go to Fushi to visit Brother Monk Li."
"Retreat, retreat, you just know to retreat! Why can't we strike back?"
Li Huchen squatted on the ground holding his head, unable to understand what was going on.
"We are all grown men, can't we just have another fight?"
"Tiger, I'm with you."
Fan Zhongxiu was also a fearless person, and he naturally looked down on Gao Jun and Cao Shiying for being such cowards.
"Let Brother Fengwu and Brother Junfu go to Suide."
“You two!”
Cao Shiying was furious. With a powerful enemy at the doorstep, he could not afford to start an internal conflict. He managed to suppress his anger with great difficulty.
"Okay, okay, if you want to beat up the Beiyang dogs, I won't stop you. Brother Feng Wu, Brother Zhen Wu, let's go!"
"It would be better to let Xingmin and the others stay."
Dong Wu hurried out to act as peacemaker and spoke to Fan and Li.
"I'd like to trouble you two brothers to cover for my brother Fengwu and brother Junfu."
The endless expanse of loess has been shaped into gullies by rain and strong winds. Plateaus, ridges and hills are the basic landform types in northern Shaanxi today.
The "yuan" is high and flat, but it is easily eroded by running water, which divides the long strips of the yuan into mountain ridges, which are called "liangs" in geology; if the liangs are further cut and isolated by valleys, and the shape is like a steamed bun-shaped hill, then it forms a shape that the locals call "mao".
In such terrain, the road was up and down, either passing through ditches or on top of ridges. The team stretched for several miles but actually did not go very far.
“This damn place!”
Ma Kang complained.
Excluding the garrisons and military depots left behind in various counties and towns, he still had nearly a complete brigade under his command.
But on this endless Loess Plateau, they are just a line of tiny ants, which can be ignored.
"Chief of Staff, this road is too difficult to travel. The artillery is really a burden!"
The cannons of this era did not use a simplified design, so they were very heavy. Even though more than half of the Shaanxi Army's horses were used to carry and tow the cannons, it still severely restricted the team's speed of advance.
"Brother Xiaoyou, you'd better stop complaining. When we really have to use the cannon, don't scream!"
Zhang Zili looked up at the sun above his head. Although it was already late autumn, the fully armed Shaanxi soldiers were still sweating profusely and breathing heavily under the heavy load.
"Let the troops stop for a while, drink some water and catch their breath."
"That's exactly what I meant!"
Ma Kang waved his hand.
"Send out the guards, and the rest rest."
As he said this, he rolled off the horse tiredly, pulled Zhang Zili and found a shady place to sit down.
"Radio operator, set up the radio and ask the Marshal about the situation."
"However, Brother Xiaoyou, what you said does make some sense."
Zhang Zilii was still thinking about what Ma Kang had just said.
"It's really a waste for us to assign an entire artillery regiment."
The militia was not without artillery, but neither the caliber nor the number could compare with that of the Shaanxi Army.
"I think we should let Shengchun do a temporary reorganization. Mix two artillery teams to follow us, and the rest go back to Huanglong to defend. What do you think ?"
"Just listen to Brother Park Chu."
Before Ma Kang could finish his words, he heard a gunshot in the air.
"Enemy attack!"
Zhang Zilii and Ma Kang stood up suddenly and saw hundreds of Kuomintang soldiers wielding epoch-making cold weapons rushing down from the ridges and hills on both sides of the road like a landslide.
The few militiamen who had quick guns stood on high ground and fired at the densely packed Shaanxi Army.
"Oops!"
The two people shouted almost at the same time.
“We were ambushed by the Democratic Party.”
Ma Kang looked at this scene in disbelief.
"Sniper, what do our soldiers eat?"
"Bayonet!"
"shooting!"
As the incident happened suddenly and the Shaanxi Army had just been resting, there was some sign of confusion in the command of various units for a while.
However, as the first row of bullets were fired by both sides, the Shaanxi Army slowly adjusted itself and each team went forward in squads and platoons.
"go to hell!"
Only a few of the militiamen were equipped with rapid-fire rifles, and among those they were, only a very small number could be equipped with bayonets.
Therefore, the large group of militiamen were either holding red-tasseled spears or wielding sharp swords, and each of them looked as ferocious as a demon rushing out of hell.
But the strong momentum does not mean that the militia will definitely win.
The Shaanxi Army had very high requirements for hand-to-hand combat. An ordinary private must first achieve full marks in the assassination test if he wants to be promoted to private and sergeant.
Therefore, facing the aggressive opponent, after the initial confusion, except for a few soldiers who were still at a loss, the rest had already got into the state under the leadership of junior officers and non-commissioned officers.
The two sides collided head-on at high speed, and then shouts of killing rang out one after another.
"The militia is merely relying on brute courage."
Zhang Zili could see very clearly through the telescope.
The Shaanxi army had large numbers and excellent assassination skills. Usually, a few people working together would be able to stab their opponents down within one or two rounds.
On the other hand, although some brave soldiers of the militia attacked left and right and seemed invincible, the casualties were extremely limited.
"careful!"
Ma Kang pounced on Zhang Zili fiercely.
Just as they lay down, several bullets flew over the heads of the two men from nowhere, and two or three of the grooms were knocked down at once because they were unable to dodge.
"asshole!"
Ma Kang used both hands to roll over and climb up from the ground.
"Is Park Chu-hyung okay?"
After receiving Zhang Zilii's affirmative answer, he crouched and looked around. It was obvious that the reflection of the telescope here attracted the other party's prying eyes.
However, since he survived the disaster, the first thing Ma Kang wanted to do was revenge. He snatched a rifle from the guard and aimed it everywhere, pulling the trigger cruelly. Within the maximum range of the Hanyang rifle, he hunted down several backbones of the militia who were shooting with guns.
"Brother Xiaoyou, calm down."
Seeing that Ma Kang seemed unable to stop, Zhang Zilii hurried forward to stop him from running away.
"You're a detachment commander, not a private."
Zhang Zili held down Ma Kang's hand as he was looking for bullets.
“Look carefully, the Democratic Party can’t hold on any longer. What you need to do now is not to shoot, but to arrange a team to pursue them.
This group of enemies actually had the guts to ambush us in broad daylight. They must be the most powerful force of the Left-wing Kuomintang. As long as we eliminate them, the door to extending the front line will obviously be open to us.
Ma Kang, I now order you to perform your duties!"
"Ah? I understand!"
After being scolded by Zhang Zilii, Ma Kang finally came to his senses.
He dropped his gun, picked up his hat, and immediately gathered the scattered staff officers and grooms.
Then he shouted loudly , "Tell Gao Tianzi to take a whole company to surround us from the flank! What is Huang Sanxi doing? He is the regiment commander, not a soldier. Get him to withdraw from the front line immediately."
Ma Kang repeated Zhang Zili's insults to him almost word for word.
"Have the artillery regiment ready with two-pounders. Once the Republicans flee, open fire immediately. I want to keep them all."
"Hu Chen, we can't fight anymore."
Fan Zhongxiu raised his hand and shot down a Shaanxi soldier who rushed forward, and grabbed Li Huchen's collar.
"The Shaanxi Army is counterattacking. If we don't leave now, we'll be trapped here. Let's retreat quickly!"
"Fuck Cao Junfu and Gao Fengwu. If those two old guys join us in this battle, we will definitely win."
Although the militia initially achieved a surprise attack tactically, due to their absolute disadvantages in firepower and training, failure was inevitable even if both Cao and Gao's forces were fully engaged in the battle.
But Li Huchen obviously cannot see this now.
"These two cowards!"
"Alright, Hu Chen! Stop swearing and go!"
Fan Zhongxiu grabbed Li Huchen and turned to flee.
At this place, as long as we go down into the ditch and make a turn, the Shaanxi Army behind us will definitely not dare to chase us.
"Ready, three rounds of rapid fire. Fire!"
The Shaanxi Army’s lightest 2-pound cannon was already in place. At a distance of just two or three hundred meters, the shell exploded almost immediately above the heads of the militia.
The Shaanxi swordsmen, who were just worried that the Shaanxi army had not caught up with them, were horrified to find that this was their final doomsday.
"Quick, get down to the ditch!"
Fan Zhongxiu no longer cared about Hu Chen. He covered his head with his hands and rolled down the slope from one side to the other until he was caught by the earth, rocks and thorns twenty or thirty meters below. Only then did he stop.
"Hu Chen, are you still alive?"
"I'm fine, why are you cursing me?"
Fan Zhongxiu has a bad temper, but Li Huchen is worse than him.
"Say 'birds, run!'"
This run is about twenty or thirty miles.
After finally being able to stop and gather the remaining subordinates, the two of them no longer had the heart to cry.
"Brother Xingmin, what do you think we should do next?"
"What to do? Leave it alone!"
Fan Zhongxiu looked at the dozen or so people and seven or eight guns at hand, and couldn't help feeling sad.
"I will not go to Suide. If I go, I will be laughed at by Gao Fengwu, Cao Junfu and others. I will go back to western Henan. I don't believe that I, Fan Xingmin, can't form a team with my reputation."
"Then let's break up now."
Everyone has their own aspirations, and Li Huchen did not force Fan Zhongxiu to stay.
"I'll go find Brother Liseng myself. I don't believe that Dai Jiliang will never be defeated."
