Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 467 Dear Martial Virtue and Glory
By evening, the 74th Division had suffered heavy casualties, and by then it had already run out of water and food.

Most importantly, without water, the 74th Division's M1917 heavy machine guns were completely unusable.

"Commander, we currently only control three hills: Diecui Mountain, 600, and Ma Mountain, which is a three-kilometer stretch east to west and a two-kilometer stretch north to south." Wei Zhenwen's lips were already cracked from thirst.

Seeing the somewhat dejected crowd around him, Zhang Zhonglin shouted:

"Even if only the summit of Diecui Mountain remains, my 74th Division can firmly hold off the main force of the G Army!"

"Commander, drawing the G army's attention is manageable, but the water shortage is severe right now."

"If the high-intensity fighting continues, the brothers probably won't be able to hold on," Wei Zhenwen licked his lips.

These non-frontline combat personnel in their division have not had water for a long time, and the remaining water has been supplied to the frontline.

Even so, it didn't have much effect, and some soldiers had already fainted due to severe dehydration.

Seeing that the morale of the troops was declining sharply, Zhang Zhonglin thought for a moment, then picked up his helmet and rushed out.

On the front lines, Zhang Zhonglin walked and shouted, "Brothers! What will we do without water?!"

"Are we going to retreat? Are we going to surrender? No! We will hold our ground! The 74th Division has no cowards!"

"Brigade Commander Lu!"

"Yes!" said Lu Xingli, commander of the 58th Brigade.

"Bring me horse urine!"

Lu Xing immediately signaled to the soldier next to him to bring over the prepared horse urine.

However, Lu Xing still hesitated in a low voice and said, "Commander, please don't drink this horse urine. The brothers will understand."

"Why? Just because I'm a division commander? I want to share both joy and sorrow with my brothers!"

With that, Zhang Zhonglin drank the horse urine in his hand in one gulp.

After finishing his drink, Zhang Zhonglin shouted, "Brothers! This horse urine is drinkable, and so is human urine!"

With Zhang Zhonglin setting an example, what reason did the soldiers have to refuse?

They all started drinking the horse urine.

As for those who are slow, they can only produce and sell their own products.

Even so, most people could only drink a sip, and most of the horse urine had to be reserved for heavy machine guns.

Just then, the G army launched another offensive. The 74th Division, fueled by the effects of drinking horse urine, was like a man possessed, leaping out of their positions and launching a counter-attack.

The attacking G army soldiers had spread out their lines, but the 74th Division's sudden counterattack caught them off guard.

Seeing the situation change unexpectedly, the frontline commanders immediately ordered a retreat and regrouping.

Zhang Zhonglin breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the morale lifted.

However, Zhang Zhonglin was unsure how the next offensive would go, even though he had managed to defend against it.

Just as Zhang Zhonglin was pacing around in circles at the division headquarters, the roar of an airplane interrupted his thoughts.
"The plane was flying very low; it wasn't a fighter jet or a bomber."

"It's a transport plane! Airdrop! The airdrop is here!" Zhang Zhonglin exclaimed excitedly.

"Chairman, you are truly a lifesaver for my 74th Division!"

With the airdropped ammunition and supplies, Zhang Zhonglin was confident he could hold out for another day.

On the opposite mountain, Chen Chengxing also saw the transport plane circling overhead.

"Chang Ruiyuan really cares about his student, using five transport planes at once," Chen Chengxing said, holding up his binoculars.

"Commander, although these five transport planes are all small, they can still airdrop at least several tons of supplies."

"If the 74th Division receives reinforcements, it could very well change the course of the battle." Chu Yunfei's expression was somewhat serious.

“Yes, that is indeed a problem.” Chen Chengxing nodded.

“I saw the plane circling continuously, it must be waiting for a signal from the ground,” Chen Chengxing said.

"At this time, there is a high probability that Zhang Zhonglin will use smoke grenades. Tell the frontline soldiers to be prepared. If we see smoke or fire on the enemy's position, we should do so immediately."

"The 74th Division's positions are now just a few small hills. As long as we disrupt them, the probability of the enemy making a mistake in their airdrop is extremely high."

"In addition, the 22nd and 23rd anti-aircraft gun emplacements were ordered to attack."

"Commander, the Type 24 heavy machine guns of the air defense company probably won't be able to shoot down the transport plane so easily," Chu Yunfei said.

“I know that, and I didn’t intend for them to shoot it down directly,” Chen Chengxing said. “As long as it puts some psychological pressure on the pilots, that’s fine.”

"The more eager they are to airdrop supplies, the easier it is for them to land them on our positions."

After receiving instructions from Chen Chengxing, the frontline soldiers, who were observing carefully, soon discovered that several bonfires had been lit on the positions of the 74th Division opposite them.

"Quickly, light some fires too!" Sun Xun ordered. "Also, call the artillery observation post immediately and tell them to set fire to the 74th Division's bonfires!"

"yes!".
The soldiers of the 74th Division never expected that lighting a fire would lead to being shelled, and that several shells would hit them at the same time.

The fire that had just been lit was immediately blown away.

The pilot, who was adjusting his flight path in preparation for the airdrop, rubbed his eyes when he saw the fire suddenly disappear.

"Have you found the fire? I think I'm seeing things. It was there a moment ago, but now it's gone?"

"That one must have been shelled. There are several more to the south, and that area is larger, so let's bombard it there."

The 74th Division still occupies several hilltops, all of which are extremely steep and difficult to hit accurately.

But if they are placed in a spacious place, they will have no problem.

"Okay, let's drop it there. The G army on the ground is already firing at the air. Let's drop it as soon as possible and get out of there."

Unaware of the truth, the transport plane hastily dropped the airdrop and drove away.

On the ground, Zhang Zhonglin looked at the white parachute above his head with great excitement.

In addition to ammunition, the airdrop also included food and water bags, which were in dire need of the 74th Division.

Just over ten seconds later, Wei Zhenwen suddenly asked in confusion, "Commander, something's not right. Why is the airdrop drifting outwards?" Just a moment ago, the airdrop was directly above him, but in just over ten seconds, it had already drifted outwards by a large margin.

At this speed, the airdrop will probably fly two miles before it lands.

Zhang Zhonglin didn't speak at first, his eyes fixed on the airdrops, hoping they would fall quickly.

However, as the airdrop flew further and further away and finally landed on the G army's position, Zhang Zhonglin spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Commander! Commander!"

Wei Zhenwen and Li Yunliang immediately reached out to support the swaying Zhang Zhonglin.

Anyone can fall at this moment, but Zhang Zhonglin cannot.

After being helped up by the two men, Zhang Zhonglin immediately said, "I'm fine."

However, Wei Zhenwen and Li Yunliang were still worried, so they quickly helped Zhang Zhonglin back to the division headquarters so he could rest.

Sitting in the chair, Zhang Zhonglin looked at the map on the wall, his eyes filled with confusion.

"I, Zhang Zhonglin, have followed the principal in battle for half my life. The Northern Expedition was successful, and the War of Resistance against Japan was won."

"But why did my elite troops suffer such heavy losses on this battlefield of suppressing the rebellion and saving the country?"

"Am I the one fighting against G, or is G fighting against me?"
On the outer positions, the 74th Division was already cut off from water and food, and now the airdrops had been seized by the G Army, and the atmosphere on the positions was immediately filled with pessimism.

Faced with the predicament of having no water and no food, the soldiers of the 74th Division chose to kill their horses.

After the horse was brought down, the soldiers of the 74th Division rushed to climb onto the horse and drink its blood, then used bayonets to cut the horse meat.

The hundreds of horses they had brought up the mountain were instantly reduced to pieces.

But just as they were preparing to use the remaining firewood to start a fire and roast the meat, another shell came flying over.

All the fire pits within the Second General's firing range were shelled, and many soldiers who were roasting meat with bayonets were killed or wounded.

Zhang Zhonglin was furious to learn that the G Army wouldn't even give him a chance to light a fire and roast horse meat.

The 74th Division was once the pride of the nation, but now they have to rely on the whims of the G Army even to start a fire and cook. When has Zhang Zhonglin ever suffered such humiliation?

"Chen Chengxing! I, Zhang Zhonglin, will never share the same sky with you! Never share the same sky with you!"

With that, Zhang Zhonglin rushed to the front line again.

"Brothers! If you want to survive, if you want to have food and drink, rush down the mountain and snatch it from the G army!"

"As long as Diecui Mountain is still at our feet, the 74th Division will not perish!"

"Brothers! Charge down the mountain! Take the position back!"

The soldiers of the 74th Division shouted and charged down the mountain, and a fierce battle ensued.

"The 74th Division, isolated on Diecui Mountain for many days without water or food, was still able to exert such combat power."

"This Zhang Zhonglin is no ordinary person," Chu Yunfei remarked.

He had been in the Kuomintang army for many years, and people like Zhang Zhonglin are truly rare.

"Therefore, we must not underestimate the enemy," Chen Chengxing said. "Zhang Zhonglin's 74th Division is the undisputed number one ace of the Kuomintang army."

"However, no matter how powerful Zhang Zhonglin is, he's still a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to jump around for many more days."

"One should press on with one's momentum, but it will weaken with each attempt and eventually be exhausted. Once this momentum fades, the 74th Division will be lambs to the slaughter."

"Damn it! Mo San is utterly incompetent!"

Upon seeing Zhang Zhonglin's telegram, Chang Ruiyuan couldn't hold back any longer.

It's been so long, the positions on Diecui Mountain have been fought over more than a dozen times, but reinforcements still haven't arrived.

The 25th Division and the 83rd Division were only four or five kilometers apart, but they just couldn't get past each other.

After thinking for a long time, Chang Ruiyuan decided to send Defense Minister Bai Jiansheng and Chief of the General Staff Chen Chengbo to Langya to supervise Tang Keqin's rescue of Zhang Zhonglin.

However, this also effectively sidelined Gu Mosan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

Meanwhile, Gu Mo San was still anxiously giving final orders to the three army corps commanders in Pengcheng.

Just as he was making a heated phone call, the operations staff officer next to him suddenly brought over a telegram.

This is the order issued by Bai Jiansheng and Chen Chengbo in Langya.

The two demanded that an Air Force transport plane take off and airdrop supplies to Zhang Zhonglin, who was trapped on Diecui Mountain.

"What? The two of them are in Langya?" Gu Mo was stunned.

The operations staff handed over the telegram, which the communications department had independently tested and translated.

"Heh." Gu Mo glanced at it, chuckled coldly, and tore the telegram to shreds.

Even if I didn't make any great contributions, I still put in a lot of effort, and now they've replaced me without even a word.

"This is the Chairman's specialty; he doesn't trust anyone," Gu Mosan said helplessly.

"Alright, then let Little Zhuge and Chen Chengbo take over this mess."

With that, Gu Mosan got up and walked out.

"Commander, what's going on?"

"Hmph! I should get some sleep too." Gu Mo left without looking back.

Ever since Zhang Zhonglin was cut off and surrounded by the G army, he had been stuck in the command post, his eyes bloodshot, his body unable to take it anymore.

Chang Ruiyuan's substitutions were effective, as the saying goes, "a change of personnel can be like a change of tools."

Under Chang Ruiyuan's strict orders and the supervision of Bai Jiansheng and Chen Chengbo, Tang Keqin sent a strongly worded telegram to all units.

They were ordered to carry forward the revolutionary army's spirit of camaraderie and valor, and to advance relentlessly, even under the cover of night.

We must break through the encirclement of the G army and rescue the 74th Division.

(End of this chapter)