Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 41: Northern Expedition (VI)
Dai Jiliang was going to lead the charge personally. When the news reached the front line, the commanders of several regiments of the brigade all had tears in their eyes.
How could a provincial governor be a soldier? They immediately went down to the company one after another. It was obvious that the next attack would be a decisive blow.
"Withdraw the troops first and reorganize them."
Dai Jiliang went down to the headquarters of the First Regiment and met the deputy commander Zhao Xingsong who stayed behind. His first words to this first-term student from Baoding, who was from Xingping, Shaanxi, were.
"We have been fighting for more than four hours. Let's take a break. The next step is to fight to the death. We can only set off after we have eaten and drunk enough."
Then a mysterious silence appeared on the battlefield. Except for the occasional sound of stray bullets breaking through the air, everything seemed to have returned to the peace that had existed for tens of millions of years.
"What the hell does this smell like?"
The faint aroma of the broth floated in the air and reached the militia, immediately making them salivate as they could only eat two meals a day.
"Mutton soup, and pot cakes. This Beiyang dog is really lucky. He can eat such good food during the war."
Many militiamen tightened their belts and tried to find happiness in misery.
"If we can beat the Beiyang dogs away, I'll eat delicious food every day."
"There are also delicious fish and meat. Your family must have accumulated good karma in their previous life to be able to eat yam eggs every day."
This is what happens to militiamen who have not undergone rigorous training. They fight based on their momentary blood and heat. As the saying goes, one win, two loses, and three is exhaustion. The Shaanxi swordsmen on the front line who were joking with each other have almost exhausted all their physical strength and willpower.
"Report, all troops have been reorganized, and the replacement company and part of the artillery have been disbanded and incorporated into the various regiments."
After eating and drinking, it was time to start working. At this time, except for Dai Jiliang's two personal groomsmen, Song Cheng who was responsible for radio liaison and several radio operators, all the chief of guard and staff went to the front line. The Shaanxi Army was going to make a last stand.
"Tell Deng Chaoqun and Li Xingzhong to throw all the shells out!"
At Dai Jiliang's command, the general attack began.
"Follow me!"
As soon as the first shell landed on the Kuomintang opposite, Dai Jiliang's bodyguard Ding Guo jumped up and seemed to be leading the charge. Under his leadership, almost all the Shaanxi Army combat soldiers rushed out.
"Stop the shelling!"
Adjutant Li Ding ran to the artillery position breathlessly with Dai Jiliang's latest instructions.
He was also from the artillery department, so he naturally knew the importance of what he said, so he took two deep breaths and then announced loudly.
"The Marshal orders the artillery crew to stop firing!"
Deng Chaoqun and Li Xingzhong looked at him in surprise, only to see him snatch the telescope from Deng Chaoqun's hand and stare closely at the battle line.
" Director , order each artillery group to prepare to fire three rounds rapidly."
Although they were confused, the other party had Dai Jiliang's order in his hand. Even though they were reluctant, the two captains still followed Li Dingzhang's instructions.
"preparation!"
In the telescope, many Kuomintang members had already come out from their respective hiding places and began to open blocking fire, and Li Dingzhang's hand dropped.
"Fire!"
In an instant, all the guns opened fire at the same time, and in less than a second, the ridgeline 400 meters away was suddenly in an uproar.
"My two seniors, it was Youyan who was rude just now."
Only then did Li Dingzhang return the telescope to Deng Chaoqun, said hello, and ran back in a hurry. Only two people were left behind, shaking their heads, feeling both amused and helpless.
"Hold on for me!"
The militia actually did not have enough reserve troops. With their already weak firepower, they could only rely on deploying a large number of troops on the front line to use numbers to resist the firepower of the Shaanxi Army.
However, Dai Jiliang had just played a trick to divert artillery fire, and the situation on the front line suddenly became precarious.
"Hold on for me!"
Zhang Yangcheng held a self-defense weapon in one hand and brandished a snow knife in the other, shouting loudly and trying hard to keep the battle line from collapsing immediately.
"Brother Yi'an, hold on, the commander has sent me for support."
Yang Hucheng rushed up with more than 200 people including Ma Qingyuan.
As Hu Jingyi's personal guard battalion, they were all equipped with rapid-fire rifles and were the most elite among the entire left-wing militia.
Just like that, a counter-charge immediately drove back the Shaanxi Army that had already forced its way to the trench.
“Get down!”
Before Zhang Yangcheng finished his words, a grenade exploded above the heads of Yang Hucheng and his men, and shrapnel flew everywhere in an instant.
Before Ma Qingyuan could react, he felt a numbness on his back and fell down involuntarily.
There were more than a dozen people lying around him.
In the blink of an eye, only one tenth of the originally full guard battalion was gone.
But Zhang Yangcheng's side is still okay.
Tian Yujie lost a considerable number of men yesterday. If it weren't for Deng Baoshan who sent reinforcements from time to time, he would have collapsed long ago.
Now, the Shaanxi Army’s machine guns started moving again, adding fuel to the fire.
"There's a huge scar on his fucking head."
Tian Yujie had also attended the Tongzhou Military Academy run by the Kuomintang. When she saw the situation, she knew that she had to fight hard.
He simply took off his tattered leather coat, held the snow knife in his hand, and led his men down to fight against the Shaanxi army.
"If you are a real man, follow me and rush down!"
The two sides fought fiercely.
However, although the Shaanxi Army attacked from above, they had just eaten and drank and were in high spirits. How could the hungry civilian army, which had consumed a lot of physical strength and energy in the morning, be a match for the Shaanxi Army? This attack not only failed to achieve the corresponding results, but was defeated step by step, and it seemed that the hilltop was about to be lost.
"Brother Runchu, hold on!"
Seeing that the situation was not good , Li Jicai from the right hilltop personally led people to rescue.
More than three hundred snow knives were waving, and the scene was truly spectacular.
However, such a densely packed team was the best target for the Shaanxi Army's machine guns.
The two machine guns each fired a long burst of fire, and half of the militiamen who came to rescue immediately fell down. Even Li Jicai had seven or eight holes in his body, and it was obvious that he would not survive.
"Brother Ji Cai!"
Li Jicai's deputy regiment commander Wang Shaoyou screamed with tears streaming down his face, and like a wounded beast, he rushed into the flank of the Shaanxi Army without caring about anything.
The snow knife in his hand flew up and down, and he knocked down several Shaanxi soldiers at once.
It happened that this team of Shaanxi troops was led by the Third Regiment Commander Jiang Tao himself. Seeing that the newcomers were so fierce, he went to meet them in person. When the Shaanxi soldiers nearby saw that the commander was personally fighting against them, who dared not fight bravely? Soon they formed a three-way encirclement and surrounded Wang Shaoyou tightly with several bayonets.
"I want to see who dares to take my life."
Wang Shaoyou shouted and rushed forward, grabbed the barrel of a Shaanxi Army corporal's gun, and chopped it down with the knife in his hand.
Seeing that the corporal's fingers were in danger, Jiang Tao thrust forward and stabbed Wang Shaoyou in the chest. Wang Shaoyou had no choice but to block it with the barrel of his gun.
At this moment, three soldiers also stabbed from the other side.
Wang Shaoyou was unable to dodge and was stabbed in the left leg. The Shaanxi Army rifleman twisted and twitched, and Wang Shaoyou screamed and half-knelt.
The corporal, who had just saved his fingers, pulled his gun hard, and the barrel and bayonet slid through Wang Shaoyou's hands one after another, directly taking away half of Wang Shaoyou's left palm.
This was not the end. Jiang Tao retracted the gun and stabbed again, this time into Wang Shaoyou's neck and cutting his trachea.
"You are not a hero, fighting alone!"
Wang Shaoyou weakly raised the snow knife in his hand and pointed it at Jiang Tao, speaking in a leaky voice, and then fell to the ground weakly.
"Fool, this is a battlefield, not a duel!"
Jiang Tao spat at Wang Shaoyou's body, looked up and then rushed towards a new target.
"Commander, by 3pm, Shangqiao and Huaishuwa had already been lost. Commander Li and Deputy Commander Wang were killed in the battle. Commander Tian took in their remnants and is now retreating to Goumen with Commander Deng."
Li Wenqing, Chief of Staff of the militia, reported to Hu Jingyi with a nervous look on his face.
"In Shangjiagou, Commander Jiang is seriously injured, but Commander Zhang still has more than 800 brothers under his command, so they should be able to hold on."
"Should it be able to hold on?"
Hu Jingyi glared at the chief of staff who insisted on a decisive battle.
If it weren't for him, the militia would never have fallen into such a tragic state.
Of the more than 6,000 troops before the war, only half are left now.
If the Shaanxi Army had not been at the end of its rope, this battle would have been impossible to fight.
"How's the situation at Yuexi Peak?"
"The fighting in the Ershilipu direction is also very intense, but Captain Yue still has a relatively complete force at hand, and with the support of the artillery company, there should be no problem."
Li Wenqing stammered and couldn't explain clearly.
"Order them to hold their ground until dark. The Shaanxi Army doesn't dare to fight at night."
At this time of year, it will be dark in two hours or so. By then, whether it is a night attack or a retreat, as long as we can get out of the current stalemate, everything can be planned in the long run.
"Oh no! Oh no!"
A militiaman who came to report the news rushed in, a look of fear on his face.
“Kneel down!”
Hu Jingyi glared at the soldier, and he was so frightened that he fell to his knees on the ground.
"Tell me, what happened?"
Although Hu Jingyi was filled with hatred, he still controlled his temper and asked carefully.
"The Beiyang dogs came around from Taichungou. Captain Zhang couldn't hold on and collapsed!"
It was like a bolt from the blue! Hu Jingyi shook himself, then grabbed the neck of the soldier who reported the news and lifted the unlucky guy up.
"Tell me, how many soldiers are there in the Shaanxi Army?"
"I don't know. They're all over the mountains."
Obviously, the person who reported the news was in a panic and naturally exaggerated the enemy's situation.
"Someone, come and block me!"
Hu Jingyi had a clear mind. If he couldn't stop the Shaanxi army at Ershipu, then he would definitely lose the battle.
He immediately gathered all the soldiers who could go to the battlefield and was about to lead them towards Ershilipu when Senator Wang Ziyuan appeared in front of him with a look of surprise on his face.
"Commander, it's bad. Li Huchen has escaped from Yanchang Dandan. The left-wing army has been defeated. Now Gao Jun and Cao Shiying have retreated to Suide. Even Fan Zhongxiu has fled back to Henan. If we don't retreat, we will be surrounded by the Beiyang Army."
"What?"
Hu Jingyi raised his head suddenly.
"Retreat? If we don't stop Dai Jiliang, none of us can retreat. Forget it, just follow me and fight our way out!"
But it was too late.
"Kang Bangchu, where is your position?"
Less than half a mile away, Hu Jingyi discovered the fleeing soldiers in front of him. He rushed forward and shot and killed several of them, which slightly suppressed the panic of the militia.
"Commander, Captain Zhang's defeated troops have overrun my and Xifeng's positions."
When Kang Ziding saw Hu Jingyi, he was filled with sorrow.
"It's over, it's all over, we lost!"
A grown man actually squatted there and burst into tears, and the militia nearby became increasingly agitated.
"Where are Xifeng, Baoshan, Runchu, and Yian?"
Hu Jingyi slapped him twice in the face, and then asked after he was done.
"Are you just going to leave them all alone and run away? You bastard, you coward, if you are a real man, follow me and get them out."
Hu Jingyi no longer had any hope of victory, but he would save as many people as possible, as these veterans who had experienced the test of war would still be needed to persist in the struggle in the future.
"yes!"
Kang Ziding wiped his tears and snot and stood up from the ground.
"Brothers, follow the commander and pick up the brothers!"
So the group hurried back to the battlefield.
However, this was only the last glimmer of light. As night fell, this battle that concerned the future of Shaanxi came to an end!
