Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 483 Personally visits Bianliang and gives instructions

A large number of bombers launched by the Guo army from Pengcheng and Shangdu, facing the G army troops that had already entered the city, chose to bombard the entire Bianliang.

Tons of bombs and incendiary bombs were rained down on the streets and densely populated residential areas of Bianliang.

Bianliang was engulfed in flames.

Xiangguo Temple, Henan University, and many other buildings were reduced to ruins by the bombing.

Of the more than 700 students at Bianliang Girls' High School, more than 400 were killed or injured in the bombing.

"Old Luo, the civilian casualties in the city are severe. I've transferred out the 23rd and 22nd teams. You take them and immediately rescue the surviving civilians."

"Take the engineering regiment, the supply regiment, and the uprising regiment with you as well."

Upon hearing about the uprising group, Chu Yunfei, who also served as its leader, immediately said:

“Commander-in-Chief, Political Commissar, there are still many soldiers in the uprising regiment whose ideological work has not been completed. If we release them now, I am afraid we will lose control.”

"Now is not the time to think about those things." Chen Chengxing waved his hand: "As long as we can save more people, it doesn't matter if we have to run a little."

“Okay, I’ll go right now.” Luo Ping grabbed a belt from the table and fastened it.

"However, there is still a problem. Reports from the front lines indicate that large numbers of people are flocking to the city gates. Should we open the city gates?"

Without hesitation, Chen Chengxing decisively said, "Open, open all four gates."

"The closer the battle got to the final stage, the more frantic the enemy's bombing became."

"In order to protect the interests of the people, we have no choice but to be generous."

"The enemy has been beaten so badly, shouldn't we let them send a few men to deliver the news?"

"Old Chu, order the front-line troops to maintain order at the city gates and guide and evacuate the masses to safer places outside the city to hide."

"Pass down the order: if anyone takes advantage of the chaos to loot, shoot them on the spot."

"Okay." Chu Yunfei immediately went to the phone to relay Chen Chengxing's order.

Luo Ping also put on his hat and led a few people straight to Bianliang.

The frontline soldiers' concerns were not unfounded. As soon as the city gates opened, local KMT officials and some security personnel immediately chose to feign an escape.

The soldiers outside the city who were responsible for guiding the way saw three strong men pushing a middle-aged man in a wheelbarrow.

A young woman was following beside them, stumbling along, so they immediately went up to her and asked.

"Fellow villager, what happened? Do you need help?"

"No need, no need. I just twisted my ankle while running. My three nephews can push me."

Liu En left the city to escape the Kuomintang army, so how could he dare to let the Kuomintang army help him?

If my guns and valuables are exposed, I'm doomed.

"Then slow down. There's a village to the south where we've set up a rest stop. You can have some water and rest for a bit."

"Okay, thank you, thank you." Liu En said, gesturing for his bodyguard to push him away quickly.

As for rest stops, only a fool would go there.

The soldiers were a little confused as they watched the group pushing faster and faster.

However, he didn't think much of it. In the midst of war and chaos, it was normal for ordinary people to be worried and fearful.

At this moment, Chang Ruiyuan's heart was filled with thoughts of Bianliang.

In addition to constantly urging all reinforcements to advance towards Bianliang at full speed, he also specially flew over Bianliang by private plane to inspect the battle situation.

Furthermore, he spoke directly with Zou Yunzhang via radio.

"Commander Li, Yunzhang, my loyal and brave student, my wife and I have flown over Longting to visit you and express our condolences."

"Did you hear me? Answer me now."

"Chairman, Zou Yunzhang, commander of the 66th Division, has heard your voice, Principal!" Zou Yunzhang was almost in tears.

What a wonderful principal! He disregarded his own safety and flew to the battlefield to visit me.

"Yun Zhang has accomplished nothing, so why should the Chairman come down from the sky to offer his condolences?"

"On behalf of Longting and all the soldiers defending Bianliang, I extend my greetings to Chairman Chiang and his wife!"

"Please give your instructions, Chairman!"

"As long as Longting stands, Bianliang will survive; as long as Bianliang is not lost, the whole city will thrive!"

"Yunzhang, this heavy responsibility rests on your shoulders."

"I have given strict orders to Qiu Feng, Qu Jieming, Hu Ziqi, Sun Yunliang, and Liu Ziliang to advance rapidly from multiple directions, preparing to annihilate the G army at the gates of Bianliang."

"Victory in the Battle of Bianliang is assured!"

"Yunzhang, you deserve the greatest credit! Under no circumstances should you abandon the city or attempt to break out in fear of the enemy!"

"Otherwise, you will become a sinner for all eternity, a sin that can never be atoned even by a hundred deaths!"

"Rest assured, Chairman! We will ensure the success of Longting! The students will either succeed or die trying!" Zou Yunzhang assured him.

"Yunzhang, who needs you to die for your cause? I only need you to hold out for 24 hours!"

"I want to hang the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun on your living body!"

Merlin, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. They had persevered this long, so he had to say something encouraging.

After snatching the microphone from Chang Ruiyuan's hand, Merlin said:
"Commander Zou, I have been praying day and night for the safety and victory of your troops. God will bless you."

"After the battle is over, I will hold a victory banquet in Jinling to welcome General Zou back in triumph."

Upon hearing Merlin's words, Zou Yunzhang was deeply moved.

"The unfavorable situation in Bianliang is entirely my fault. In this sweltering summer heat, with the city filled with a stench and thick smoke, I have caused my wife to suffer in the air."

At this moment, Zhou Daixi, Zou Yunzhang's wife, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand it anymore. What kind of time is this? He's still pretending.

After snatching the microphone, Zhou Daisy immediately cried out, "Madam, Madam, the G army's shells are hitting the top of Longting like hailstones, and my ears are about to be deafened."

"Madam, Yunzhang really can't hold on any longer."

"Madam, please come and save us!"
Seeing his wife getting increasingly outrageous, Zou Yunzhang snatched the microphone and pushed her aside.

"Don't howl in front of the Madam!" "Chief of Staff!"

"To!"

"Immediately convey the Chairman's instructions to the brothers: hold out for 24 hours, and we will all go to Nanjing to attend the victory celebration banquet!"

"yes!".
Chang Ruiyuan's combination of kindness and severity, along with Mei Lin's care and encouragement, convinced Zou Yunzhang to hold out for reinforcements.

However, before that, he planned to send his wife away.

"Daisy, I've made arrangements. Lieutenant Wang will escort you out of the city."

"Yunzhang, the G army has opened the city gates. Let's go together."

"Stop talking. The Chairman and his wife are still watching me. How can I possibly live on?"

"I've already put the gold bars in a compartment of the wicker trunk. You'll have to take good care of our child from now on."

"Yunzhang."

"Stop talking and go!"

Seeing that Zou Yunzhang was unwilling to leave, Zhou Daixi glanced at him and chose to leave with Deputy Wang without looking back.

As Zou Yunzhang watched Zhou Daixi's figure disappear, he turned around and went back to the operations room, preparing to fight the G army to the death.

At this time, Luo Ping had basically completed the evacuation of the people in Bianliang City.

Then, a call came to the headquarters.

"Old Chen, I have cooperated with the C Column and the Corps Headquarters to complete the general evacuation of personnel. You can call up the 22nd and 23rd detachments at any time."

"No need," Chen Chengxing said. "Old Luo, you take the soldiers to the provincial government compound to find Political Commissar Tang."

“There are several large warehouses for military equipment, food, and gasoline in Bianliang City, which urgently need to be transferred, but the transport capacity of the transport committee is insufficient.”

Taking Bianliang does not mean that we must hold Bianliang.

Chen Chengxing had received orders from the field headquarters commander that, except for a small force sufficient to capture Longting, the rest of the troops should immediately withdraw from Kaifeng and begin resting.

Before leaving, helping the transit committee move some things was just a convenient thing to do.

Especially artillery shells and gasoline, these are supplies that the Second General Headquarters urgently needs.

While it's impossible for the property to be moved out and immediately belong to the Second General Manager, as the party handling the matter, they will definitely gain some advantage in the allocation.

As longtime partners, Luo Ping immediately understood what Chen Chengxing meant.

"I'm going right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Chengxing didn't rest. In addition to ordering the 24th Brigade to withdraw from the battle and go to the provincial capital, he also rushed to Bianliang City.

Standing atop the church bell tower in Bianliang, Chen Chengxing carefully observed the enemy situation at Longting.

The Longting Pavilion is located on the site of the Song Dynasty imperial palace. Its platform is thirteen meters high and it is surrounded by walls.

Panjia Lake, Yangjia Lake, and Northwest Lake surround Longting on three sides, while the open sports field is directly to the north.

If we attack Longting, going north would make us easy targets. The only suitable route is the road between Panjia Lake and Yangjia Lake to the south.

Meanwhile, the Guo army deployed firing positions on the Longting platform and the surrounding walls, and also built bunkers outside the walls.

The dense crossfire made Longting easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Last night, the 21st Detachment and the 8th Division of the C Column launched an attack on Longting from two directions.

However, the Nationalist army's defense was very tenacious. Although they eventually inflicted considerable casualties on the Nationalist army, they were never able to break through the walls.

"Which battalion is the main force attacking now?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"The 21st battalion of the 7th division, together with the 1st battalion of the 65th Regiment of the C column, will attack Longting."

"The Seventh Battalion? Guo Sheng?"

“That’s right.” The operations staff officer next to him nodded.

Guo Sheng had previously distinguished himself during the attack on Fenggao, earning him the title of combat hero and being promoted from company commander to deputy battalion commander.

After the Battle of Diecui Mountain, he was promoted to battalion commander of the Seventh Battalion.

"How does Guo Sheng plan to fight this time?"

Longting was fortified with layers of visible and hidden bunkers, meaning that any attack from any angle would be met with enemy fire.

Longting is a famous historical site, and the commander specifically ordered that no 10,000 cannons be fired at once, which prevented the Second Division from using its strongest attack method.

"What we know so far is that they plan to use smoke bombs to launch a surprise attack on the road between Panjiahu and Yangjiahu."

Chen Chengxing shook his head: "That's not appropriate."

"Although smoke grenades can obscure the enemy's vision, this road is ultimately narrow."

"Moreover, the enemy troops at Longting are on high ground with an unrestricted field of fire. Once their firepower covers them, casualties will be uncontrollable."

"I immediately order a halt to the attack," the operations staff officer said, heading down to send someone to relay the order.

"and many more."

"The attack doesn't need to stop, but the method needs to be changed."

"Tell Guo Sheng not to commit large forces, but to launch attacks in squads or combat teams."

"Moreover, the target was not the Guo army's position, but the top of Longting."

"Even if only one person rushes in quickly, they can spread the fire across the enemy's entire formation and disrupt their deployment."

"As long as he can stand on top of Zou Yunzhang, he will feel his scalp tingle and his bones go weak."

The operations staff officer standing nearby gave a thumbs up: "As expected of the commander-in-chief, this is truly a brilliant idea that achieves multiple goals at once, reducing casualties and preventing damage to the Dragon Pavilion."

"Alright, stop flattering me. Tell Guo Sheng what I'm thinking."

"It must be emphasized that this is just my idea, and he should adapt it according to the actual situation."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)