Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 508 'Non-mainstream' Arrives on the Battlefield

On the day the General Front Committee was established, gunfire erupted again in the Nianxu area, which had been silent for two days.

After two days of rest and preparation, Huaye has made full preparations for the attack.

The trenches of various units were dug right up to the noses of the Guo army, and the two sides even greeted each other's relatives across the fortifications.

Meanwhile, on the K column's position, a group of people were watching the excitement surrounding a dozen or so tanks.

The soldiers had seen tanks in combat, but they had never fought alongside tanks before.

"Goodness, this is such a big lump of iron, don't let it crush us."

"If you press down on it, won't it break arms and legs?"

"Who do you think you are? We've practiced it all! If we can coordinate with the Second Armored Infantry Company, we'll blow your mind!" the tank driver said discontentedly.

Zhou Weiguo and his team often trained with the T-column tank regiment, and the drivers understood basic infantry-tank coordination.

If the Second General Staff Headquarters hadn't been part of the East China Field Army, Zhou Weiguo would have been detained by the tank regiment commander long ago.

Liang Hua, the commander of the 17th Division of the K Column, patted the back of the tank and rolled his eyes: "Don't talk big. Get in the tank and take me for a spin!"

"That won't do!" The driver shook his head repeatedly: "The T-series doesn't have much fuel, we can't just drive recklessly."

“How can you just drive around like that?” Liang Hua said, dissatisfied.

"Okay, I'll change my clothes, and then we'll go check out the Guo army's position on the flank."

"Here."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'? The orders from above are for you to cooperate with my 17th Division in combat. Execute the orders!"

"Yes!" The driver had no choice but to start the tank.

A few minutes later, Liang Hua changed his clothes, and the tank made a gurgling sound as it circled around and arrived at the front line of the Guo army.

Liang Hua, dressed in the uniform of the Kuomintang army, sat with his legs spread apart at the rear of the tank's gun barrel.

From a distance, Liang Hua shouted to Guo Jun, "Hey! We're contacted by Huang Siling, the commander of the Second Army Corps in Laihe! Which unit are you from? Where is the army corps headquarters?"

Upon hearing that it was reinforcements from the Second Army Corps, the Guo soldiers were so excited they almost jumped for joy, and some even ran out of their positions to wave from a distance.

"Brothers, don't panic!" shouted the battalion commander of the Guo army on the front line.

"The situation is unclear, don't talk to them! Be vigilant!"

As a lowly battalion commander, he was unaware of the situation with his superiors and therefore dared not act rashly.

However, not taking action doesn't mean you trust the other side; after all, the sudden appearance of a tank is rather unbelievable.

Liang Hua paid no heed to the warning of the Guo army battalion commander, nor did he intend to break through the Guo army's position by himself.

Liang Hua sat on the tank and walked around the Nationalist army's position several times, until he had a clear understanding of the Nationalist army's deployment, before returning satisfied.

By the time the situation in front of the position was reported up the chain of command by the Kuomintang army and it was confirmed that there were no reinforcements, the tanks had already returned to the 17th Division's position long ago.

Of course, I was also bound to get a good scolding from the political commissar when I got back.

However, for Liang Hua, being able to have his fill of fun while also getting a thorough look at the Kuomintang's positions was enough.

That evening, the East China Field Army's general offensive was officially launched.

Following the principle of attacking the weaker enemy first, then the stronger enemy, targeting their leadership, and disrupting their deployment, the East China Field Army concentrated its artillery fire on the positions of the 44th and 100th Armies.

The positions that Liang Hua had scouted were precisely targeted, and all the bunkers and pillboxes were blown to pieces.

Even the bunker at the headquarters of the 44th Army was hit by a 105mm grenade, and the 44th Army Commander, Li Hui, was almost buried alive.

After getting up covered in dust, Li Hui angrily cursed, "Damn it! This is too much!"

At this moment, Li Hui's heart was already filled with resentment.

The 44th Army belonged to the Sichuan Army and had always been bullied by the Guo Army.

The 44th Army was a temporary addition to the 7th Army Corps and was constantly used as cannon fodder.

A few days ago, when the G army launched a fierce attack, the 44th Army ran out of artillery shells. Li Hui went to Huang Huanran to ask for more shells, but Huang Huanran not only refused to give them any, but also ordered the 44th Army to hand over its only twelve mountain guns.

Confiscating weapons is a very serious matter in the military; it means that the unit is completely distrusted.

Li Hui, who had barely managed to crawl out of the rubble, hadn't even caught his breath when the operations staff next to him reported:
"Commander, all our radios, walkie-talkies, and telephones are buried underground. We have completely cut off communication with the Corps Headquarters and the divisions."

Upon realizing he had lost his ability to command, Li Hui almost lost his will to fight and collapsed to the ground.

After a few minutes of silence, Li Hui finally spoke: "I'm right here. Whether you break through, continue to resist, or surrender to the G army, I don't care."

At this point, the 44th Army's position was in complete disarray.

The intense artillery fire from the East China Field Army had just ceased when the soldiers launched a fierce attack under the cover of more than a dozen tanks.

Although they had lost contact with the army command, the various units of the 44th Army continued to fight desperately from their fortifications.

However, the 44th Army was simply unable to withstand the focused offensive of the East China Field Army.

At daybreak, Zhao Guangshuai, commander of the 150th Division of the 44th Army, looked at the dire state of his troops and concluded that they could no longer fight.

In Zhangguanzhuang, where the 150th Division was located, all the houses had been destroyed, and the entire position was filled with smoke and dust, making it almost impossible to see anyone face to face.

Those who were already wounded were wounded again, and the dead were repeatedly shelled, leaving the entire position littered with corpses.

"chief of staff."

"Master's seat!"

Zhao Guang said dejectedly, "Pass on my order: all units shall surrender."

The remaining 2,500 men of the 150th Division chose to surrender.

By noon, the remaining troops of the 44th Army also gave up resistance, and more than 4,000 people, including Li Hui, were captured.

At this time, Li Hui hated not the G Army the most, but Liu Jingfu.

If it weren't for Liu Jingfu's nonsense, he would have already fled back to Pengcheng with the Seventh Army Corps.

That same evening, the remnants of the 100th Army were also wiped out, and the Seventh Army Corps' defenses were completely torn apart.

The East China Field Army's tactical deployment of "attacking the weaker enemy first and then the stronger enemy" achieved great success, leaving the 25th and 64th Armies completely isolated and helpless.

Upon learning of the fierce fighting situation in the Seventh Army Corps, Gu Mo flew directly from Nanjing to the skies above Nianwei.

"Officer Huang Siling, this is Gu Mosan. How is your department doing now?"

"The 44th and 100th Armies have been completely annihilated, and the G Army's offensive has not stopped. The 25th and 64th Armies have also suffered heavy casualties." Huang Huanran's tone revealed some frustration.

"Officer Huang, if we really can't hold out any longer, the Seventh Army Corps can take the initiative to break through to the west and try to join up with the Qiu and Li Army Corps."

Upon hearing Gu Mosan's words, Huang Huanran immediately understood that reinforcements were no longer an option.

Huang Huanran remained silent for a long time. So long that Gu Mosan thought the communication had been cut off.

"Huang Siling official? Huang Siling official?!"

"Commander-in-Chief, I'm here." Huang Huanran spoke again, "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, I will live up to your expectations. At worst, I'll sacrifice myself to the end."

Huang Huanran's rapid rise to power was all thanks to Gu Mosan's patronage.

After hanging up the phone, Huang Huanran said to Wei Xiang next to him, "It's all over anyway, why bother trying to break through? Are we just going to show Qiu Feng our pathetic state?"

"Why not fight here? In the end, we'll all just die. Let the students from Whampoa see what's going on and tell them not to scheme against each other for personal gain."

Despite the fact that the position was already in ruins, Huang Huanran still decided to lead the remnants of the 25th Army and the 64th Army to resist to the end.

At this time, the East China Field Army's attack on Nianxu had slowed down.

According to the previous tactical deployment, the next step for the G army was to keep Huang Huanran's remnants as bait, and then prepare to annihilate Qiu Li's army group that was coming to the east.

Therefore, when the 44th Army and the 100th Army were annihilated, the Central Committee sent a telegram suggesting that Huang Huanran be allowed to live for two more days so that he could continue to lure Qiu and Li's army group eastward.

However, Hanano Noji quickly responded with a response regarding the actual situation.

Qiu Li's army had no intention of rescuing Huang Huanran. No matter how the blocking troops retreated and tried to lure him in, Qiu Li's army dared not advance eastward.

Even the troops in the single episode chose to retreat, but Qiu Feng and Li Bingwen remained unmoved.

Hua Yesi judged that the plan to lure Qiu Li's army over and annihilate it was now very difficult to achieve.

After understanding the situation, the Central Committee naturally agreed with the opinion of the Director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Since keeping Huang Huanran is no longer useful, let's just eliminate him.

Considering that Huang Huanran only had two remaining troops, the Field Army withdrew the K and F columns from the Nianxu front line one after another.

Preparations are underway for the next phase of operations.

Meanwhile, Huang Peiwu was still rushing towards Suzhou at full speed.

In fact, when the Battle of Nianxu was first launched, neither the Guo Army nor the G Army paid much attention to the 12th Army Corps led by Huang Peiwu.

It's not that the 12th Army Corps was weak; on the contrary, this elite corps of the Civil Engineering faction was arguably one of the strongest in the entire Central Plains battlefield.

The 12th Army Corps was formed around the 18th Army, one of the five elite units of the Kuomintang army.

其配属的10军、14军长期与18配合作战，10军更是由18军部分骨干扩编而成的。

The entire corps was equipped with a large number of American aircraft and tanks, and the soldiers were very well equipped, making their combat effectiveness quite considerable.

The reason why this unit was not taken seriously was simple: the 12th Army Corps was too far from the main battlefield.

When the Battle of Nianxu broke out, the 12th Army Corps was still stationed in the Runan area.

Runan is nearly 300 kilometers away from Suzhou in a straight line, and Nianxu is even further away, about 400 kilometers away. Moreover, this route is crisscrossed by rivers and muddy roads.

On the 8th, Chang Ruiyuan ordered Huang Peiwu to immediately lead the 12th Army Corps to Pengcheng battlefield to provide support.

He never imagined that in less than ten days, Huang Peiwu would lead this semi-mechanized army of 120,000 men across vast rivers and muddy terrain to reach the Pengcheng battlefield in time.

Given Guo Jun's consistent performance, this can only be described as a miracle.

The reason why the Twelfth Army Corps could have such an "unconventional" performance was mainly because it had an "unconventional" army clerk.

When the Twelfth Army Corps was first formed, everyone thought that the corps commander would be Hu Ziqi.

After all, Hu Ziqi had served as the commander of the 18th Army for a long time before this, and had also commanded the 10th Army. By all accounts, he was the perfect candidate to be the commander of the 12th Army Corps.

However, the 12th Army Corps was stationed on Bai Jiansheng's territory, and Bai Jiansheng and Chen Chengbo were mortal enemies.

Therefore, Bai Jiansheng firmly disagreed with letting Hu Ziqi, Chen Chengbo's direct subordinate, command this powerful army.

Amidst fierce factional struggles, Chang Ruiyuan had no choice but to take on the role of Siling in the 12th Army Corps, a position previously held by Huang Peiwu, the former commander of the 18th Army.

After 1940, Huang Peiwu was mainly responsible for training soldiers and officers of the Kuomintang army, and had not been on the battlefield for eight years.

Upon learning of the appointment, Hu Ziqi immediately took sick leave and went to Shanghai for "medical treatment".

Huang Peiwu knew he had taken on a hot potato.

Therefore, as soon as he took office, he stated that he was only acting in this position for a few months and that the position would still belong to Hu Ziqi.

However, it was precisely during these 'few months' that the two sides engaged in a strategic decisive battle in the Central Plains that would determine the fate of the entire nation.

Regardless of whether Huang Peiwu truly believes he is acting as an agent, he will actually be in charge of commanding this powerful army.

Because he had not been on the battlefield for a long time and had been in charge of military education for a long time, the generals of the Guo army called Huang Peiwu a "bookworm".

It was precisely this bookish stubbornness that enabled 120,000 elite Guo army troops to arrive at the Pengcheng battlefield in time and join this decisive battle that would determine their fate.

Huang Peiwu originally had a thousand reasons to slowly make his way to the Pengcheng battlefield.

On the way to Pengcheng, the 12th Army Corps not only had to cross a series of rivers, including the Nanru River, Hong River, Ying River, Xifei River, Wo River, Beifei River, and Hui River, but the only roads available were also muddy and unsuitable for mechanized troops to march.

However, after receiving Chang Ruiyuan's order, Huang Peiwu did not even hold a military meeting and directly ordered the 12th Army Corps to rush to Pengcheng without stopping.

Upon witnessing Huang Peiwu's rapid advance, the Central Committee and the Central Field Army immediately realized that this unusual Kuomintang army would have a significant negative impact on the already tense situation in the Central Plains.

Zhongye immediately ordered the B and K columns, which remained in western Henan, to follow Huang's army group into the Pengcheng battlefield.

Local military regions also used every means to slow down Huang Peiwu's advance.

However, Huang Peiwu was completely unconcerned about the harassment from the small group of troops.

On the 18th, the 12th Army Corps overcame numerous obstacles, and its vanguard arrived in the Mengcheng area southwest of Suxian County.

On the banks of the Wo River, Huang Peiwu stood on a mound of earth, watching the troops cross the river in a grand procession.

Chief of Staff Wen Xiu suggested, "Officer Siling, shouldn't we control the marching speed of the troops?"

"Judging from Li Yishou and Liu Ziliang's actions, we have already become somewhat prominent."

According to orders, the 12th Army Corps was to join forces with the 6th and 8th Army Corps at Zhucheng on the southern front to attack Suxian.

However, Li Yishou and Liu Ziliang are still stuck in the same place in Zhucheng.

"If the army is not in harmony, it cannot go into battle; if the formation is not in harmony, it cannot advance into battle; if the battle is not in harmony, it cannot win a decisive victory."

"Once we've joined the battle, we're all in this together. If things aren't handled properly, we might all get caught up in it."

Huang Peiwu was well aware of the reason why the Guo army suffered repeated defeats: the various commanders had too many ulterior motives.

But they didn't even consider what benefits they would gain if the Kuomintang was defeated by the Communist army.
It's just a matter of sooner or later.

"Pass on my order: the troops must advance at full speed, cross the Beifei River tomorrow, and then cross the Hui River the day after tomorrow."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)