Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 517 Why didn't the anti-aircraft guns fire!
"Commander, the Yudong Independent Brigade has lost contact!"

Upon hearing the staff officer's report, Chen Chengxing felt a pang of anxiety.

"Send the 22 telegraph operators to speed things up!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"yes!".
An hour later, 22 telegrams were sent back.

"Commander, the entire Yudong Independent Brigade has been wiped out, and only a small number of wounded soldiers have been found on the battlefield in the 22nd Regiment." Chu Yunfei's tone was somewhat somber.

"Damn it!" Chen Chengxing slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Pass on my order: the entire army must speed up!"

"Discard everything that is not helpful in the battle! Abandon all clothing and food. If you get hot from running, take off your cotton-padded coat too!"

"Call the logistics transport regiment and have all the vehicles moved over to the front to pick up the cooks and establish supply points before the main force."

"Everyone, don't stop eating! Catch up with Du Guangting as fast as you can!"

Chu Yunfei immediately reminded, "Commander, the troops are already moving at almost their maximum speed. If they go any faster, we won't be able to maintain smooth command, and the troops will inevitably fall into chaos."

"I don't care about that." Chen Chengxing waved his hand. "Whether it's chaotic or not doesn't matter, just find Du Guangting for me!"

"Once a firefight breaks out with the Guo army, the highest-ranking cadre in the region will automatically have command authority."

"yes!".
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers immediately threw everything they had on them, except for essential weapons and ammunition, to the roadside.

The pursuit speed increased significantly once again.

With the full assistance of local troops, more and more KMT soldiers were caught up.

However, the Second Commander did not choose to encircle and annihilate them. Instead, based on the number of enemies, he left enough troops to hold them off while the main force continued to pursue them with all its might.

At this time, several of the main mechanized units of the Guo army were still running ahead, relying on four wheels.

Du Guangting got out of the car and looked at the troops who were still rushing forward. He casually asked, "Where are we?"

The staff officer standing nearby reported, "The command post is located in Mengji."

Two days have passed since they left Pengcheng. Although the troops behind them are constantly being caught up and wiped out by the G army, the main force is still ahead.

"The speed is a bit slow," Du Guangting said with some dissatisfaction.

"Deputy Commander, we were delayed by the G Army for most of the night in Zhangzhuang, and the troops wasted a lot of time turning around."

"However, our advance troops have already arrived at Madatun."

Although the local forces of the G army were constantly blocking their advance, the strongest force in the entire group was the 89th Division, and their advance speed was still very fast.

"The command post will take a short rest before continuing our journey," Du Guangting ordered.

As the command center of the entire group, the command headquarters must maintain constant contact with all units.

However, most of the several thousand people at the command center can travel by vehicle, so not too much time will be wasted.

"yes!".
A dozen minutes later, information from various units kept coming to Du Guangting.

Seeing that the G army was still half a day's journey from Mengji, Du Guangting breathed a sigh of relief.

Although subsequent troops are being continuously wiped out, time is on their side.

The longer I stay away from Pengcheng, the more advantageous it will be for me.

After all, people get tired, but cars don't.

Once he relaxed, Du Guangting ordered the troops to take a short rest.

At this time, Guo Gui, who hadn't slept all night, met with Chang Ruiyuan.

"Chairman, Du Guangting's group is now less than 50 kilometers away from the 12th Army Corps. At the current speed, it only takes one day to travel east to rescue the 12th Army Corps."

"At this critical moment, we absolutely cannot stand idly by and watch the 12th Army Corps fend for itself!"

Upon hearing Guo Gui's suggestion, Chang Ruiyuan fell into deep thought.

The 18th Army of the 12th Army Corps was one of only two remaining units among the five elite units of the Kuomintang army. The 10th and 14th Armies were also elite units of the Central Army, second only to the elite units.

For Guo Jun, although the 12th Army Corps only had 120,000 men, its importance was no less than that of Du Guangting's group of 300,000 men.

After thinking for a long time, Chang Ruiyuan still couldn't let go of the elite force of the 12th Army Corps, which numbered over 100,000 men.

"Send a telegram to Guangting immediately! Since the distance isn't far, we can't just stand by and watch them die!"

"At the same time, order Li Yishou and Liu Ziliang's corps in Zhucheng to concentrate their forces and advance northward, and to rescue the 12th Corps at all costs!"

"yes!".
A few minutes later, the attendant ran back: "Chairman, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Du's radio has been put into radio silence and we can't contact him now."

"How can we not be able to get in touch at such an urgent moment!" Chang Ruiyuan said, somewhat angrily.

"Send a plane! Send a plane immediately!"

In Mengji, Du Guangting's command post was ready to be set off again.

At that moment, Du Guangting heard only the buzzing roar of airplane engines in the air.

Looking up, I saw a red box slowly descending from the sky with a parachute.

The moment he saw the box, Du Guangting's expression changed drastically; he had a bad feeling.

There's only one possible explanation for the airdrop of the red box: it's an order from Chang Ruiyuan.

Moreover, according to regulations, this box must be opened in front of everyone.

A few minutes later, the operations staff brought over the box, opened it in front of everyone, and took out the letters inside.

[My brother's troops are still advancing westward today. If we continue like this, we will only watch as Huang's army is annihilated, and our nation will perish. I urge you to immediately order all your armies to halt their westward advance and turn towards Suixikou to attack, coordinating with Li Yannian's army, which is advancing north from Zhucheng, to launch a pincer attack from the north and south to relieve the siege of Huang's army.]

Looking at the letter in his hand, Du Guangting's hands trembled involuntarily. It had been clearly agreed before that if they wanted to withdraw from Pengcheng, they couldn't linger in the fighting.

To be on the safe side, he even turned off the radio.

To Du Guangting's utter surprise, Chang Ruiyuan would give him such an order to airdrop supplies.

At that moment, he desperately wished that the air defense forces had just shot down the plane with their anti-aircraft guns.

Du Guangting can't pretend he didn't see it now, because the warrant was opened in public and everyone around saw it.

"He who does not know the authority of the three armies, yet assumes their responsibilities."

“They always directly intervene and give orders until it’s a critical juncture.”

"It's over, it's over. If we follow this order, three army corps, 300,000 soldiers, will be wiped out right before our eyes."

"Ugh!"

Du Guangting's mind was now filled with thoughts of disobeying orders.

Having finally gotten ahead of the G army, turning towards Suixikou at this moment would be like handing the G army a huge gift.
However, after thinking about it for a while, Du Guangting himself overturned his plan to disobey orders.

If we continue to retreat, and are intercepted by the G army along the way, our troops will suffer losses and we will not be able to relieve the siege of Huang Peiwu.

The responsibility for the failure of the campaign will certainly be entirely attributed to him, and he will inevitably be subject to military law.

In other words, from the moment this order was given, he would die whether he obeyed or disobeyed.

After hesitating for a long time and having no good ideas, Du Guangting had no choice but to order Qiu Feng, Sun Yunliang, and Li Bingwen to come to a meeting immediately.

Half an hour later, in the temporary meeting room, Sun Yunliang and Li Bingwen were speechless as they looked at the written order.

Seeing the silent crowd, Du Guangting spoke up:
"That's the situation. If we're willing to take responsibility, we'll leave; if we're not, we'll fight."

"This is the place of life and death for the army, the path to survival or destruction, and we must be extremely careful."

Sun Yunliang hesitated for a moment before saying, "I am willing to obey the arrangements of Deputy Chief Commander Du."

Li Bingwen followed suit, saying, "Me too, I'll listen to Deputy Chief Du."

Neither of them wanted to fight, nor did they want to take responsibility.

However, to everyone's surprise, Qiu Feng suddenly stood up: "Deputy Chief Du, I believe the Chairman's order is correct."

"We only need a day's journey to attack the G army that is surrounding Huang Peiwu's army."

"The G army, which has been hit hard by our attack, will inevitably collapse and retreat."

Upon hearing Qiu Feng's words, Sun Yunliang became anxious.

"It's easy to say, but if we go east, we'll be attacked from both sides by the East China Army behind us and the Central Plains Army in front of us!"

"If you're scared, my Second Army Corps can take the lead in the attack. You just need to protect my rear flank."

Qiu Feng was well aware that the two sides were actually in a state of equilibrium with Huang Peiwu's army.

Even if we don't mention his Second Army Corps, sending just the Fifth Army would be enough to break the balance and rescue Huang Peiwu.

Once the two sides join forces, with four army corps totaling 400,000 troops spread out, the G army will definitely not be able to defeat them.

“Who’s afraid?! I’m just stating the facts!” Sun Yunliang retorted stubbornly.

Du Guangting watched the two arguing, and he became even more conflicted.

After repeatedly reading this strongly worded handwritten letter, Du Guangting finally had only one thought left:
Jiangshan belongs to Chang Ruiyuan, so let him be.

"Alright, let's stop arguing." Du Guangting stood up.

"I have decided to obey orders and advance southeast in an attack."

Upon hearing Du Guangting's decision, Sun Yunliang and Li Bingwen, no matter how unwilling, had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

It's their own fault for not clearly stating their opinions earlier.

After reaching a consensus, Du Guangting immediately telegraphed Chang Ruiyuan, expressing his obedience to orders. He also sent a telegram to the Ministry of National Defense requesting that food and ammunition be airdropped.

When they evacuated Pengcheng, they were already short of ammunition, and with the logistics in disarray, they didn't take much with them.

However, something unexpected happened. A dozen minutes later, the Ministry of Defense sent back a telegram.

[Without food or ammunition to drop, immediately lead all corps to attack and advance towards Suixikou.]

Now, not only Sun Yunliang and Li Bingwen, but even Qiu Feng was getting anxious.

"Damn it! The Ministry of National Defense is a bunch of bastards, and the old man is senile too!"

"Without food and ammunition, how can hundreds of thousands of troops fight a war?"

The main force advanced southeast, not just to drive away the Central Plains G army, but also because the G army would definitely continue to confront them.

Without food and ammunition, even if Huang Peiwu's army is rescued, they will also run out of supplies.

However, the telegram to carry out the order had already been sent, and it was no longer something that Qiu Feng or Du Guangting could change.

They didn't even have the chance to disobey orders.

Du Guangting said expressionlessly, "Let's not talk about that now, let's carry out the orders."

"The entire army shall immediately advance rapidly towards Suixikou."

"We hope that we can break through the flank and rear of the Central Plains G Army in a short time."

"After joining up with Huang Peiwu's army, let's figure out a way to retreat south."

(End of this chapter)