Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 535 Chasing and intercepting
The Second General Corps marched rapidly for several days.

They often only get one or two meals a day, and sometimes they don't get to eat at all.

As for sleep, he can only get a few hours of sleep.

The severe physical exertion left the soldiers exhausted, some even dozing off while walking.

To make matters worse, the weather turned against us, with rain falling for days and the ground becoming muddy and impassable.

The Second Company had just crossed the river, and lacked both vehicles and rain gear, leaving the soldiers soaked to the bone.

The number of people with fever and diarrhea is increasing daily.

Fortunately, the people of Jiangnan along the way were very hospitable, carrying rice and hot water to the soldiers on their forced march.

Some even carried door planks and ladders to rebuild new bridges next to those destroyed by the Guo army.

They had only one request for the Second Commander: to catch up with the Guo Army and give them a good beating.

The villagers in Jiangnan also suffered a lot of bullying from Guo Jun.

Finally, in the early hours of the 25th, Chen Chengxing received a telegram from the 23rd Vanguard Detachment.

"Commander, the 23rd Detachment reports that they encountered the 20th Army of the Guo Army in Wanzhen."

"The 23rd Regiment has already seized Peach Blossom Mountain and Soap Horn Mountain, blocking the escape route of the enemy's 20th Army."

Upon hearing that the enemy forces had been blocked, Chen Chengxing immediately went to the map.

“Wanzhen, this location is wrong,” Chen Chengxing asserted. “This is just a small group of enemies!”

"Have the 23rd Detachment compress the enemy's area of ​​operation and find out how many of them there are."

"The rest of the troops, do not stop, continue to advance, target: Red Star Bridge!"

Hongxing Bridge is the largest bridge over the Dongliu River near Tongchuan. If Guo Jun wants to cross the river, Hongxing Bridge is the only way.

On the battlefield of Wanzhen, Qiao Ze, the commander of the 20th Army of the Guo Army, angrily threw down his binoculars as he watched his troops being shot down again.

"What did our allies say?"

"Commander, neither the 28th Army, the 45th Army, nor the 66th Army have given us any response."

"Damn it! They're all bastards!" Qiao Ze cursed. "Our allies are in trouble, and they don't even reply to the telegrams!"

"What about the 51st Army and the 99th Army?" Qiao Ze asked again.

Although these two units are only a portion of the force, as long as they can cooperate with him to attack the G army from both sides, the 20th Army will have a chance to break through the blockade.

"They did respond, but made it clear that they wouldn't come to help. They've already mixed up all the different units, and the organization is completely messed up."

"Damn it, it looks like we can't count on these guys at all. We'll have to do it ourselves!" Qiao Ze said through gritted teeth.

"Tell the brothers that what's ahead is just the vanguard of the G Army. Once we break through their lines, the 20th Army will be able to catch up with the main force!"

Tempted by the prospect of survival, the 20th Army launched one attack after another, but the 23rd Regiment remained as still as a reef.

Even when the 20th Army used its few remaining mountain guns, it was to no avail.

Although the 23 units only carried mortars, their accurate artillery fire still prevented the 20th Army's firepower points from being effectively utilized.

On the contrary, the 23 light and heavy machine guns were used to suppress the 20th Army's attacking forces.

During lulls in the Guo army's attacks, Sun Xun also commanded small units to launch several attacks, gradually forcing the 20th Army to retreat.

By 2 p.m., the 20th Army had not only failed to find a way out, but had also been pushed back into a mountain valley with a radius of less than two or three kilometers.

Looking at the position in the valley, Sun Xun said with a bit of regret: "The commander-in-chief was right. It looks like there are at most 15,000 men. It really is a small force."

"Send a telegram to the headquarters. There are only so many people; we can eat by ourselves."

Despite the fact that there are only 8,000 people in the 23rd Detachment here, Sun Xun still looks down on the 15,000-strong Guo Army.

After crossing Wanzhen, the main force of the Second General Corps continued its rapid advance.

At dawn on the 26th, the vanguard battalion of the Second General Corps arrived at Hongxing Bridge. After a brief exchange of fire with the Kuomintang troops guarding the bridge, a regiment of the Kuomintang troops responsible for defending Hongxing Bridge fled.

As for the task of having them occupy Hongxing Bridge and receive the main force to cross the river, that had long been forgotten.

The 28th, 45th, and 66th Armies of the Kuomintang army, along with parts of the 51st and 99th Armies, which were rushing towards Hongxing Bridge, only realized upon arrival that the bridge had already been occupied.

Now Guo Jun was at a loss, as more than 80,000 of them were crammed into this mountainous area from Langxi to Tongchuan.

"Commander-in-Chief, a big fish! Special Operations Brigade reports: although we haven't blocked them all, we've managed to stop over 80,000 people."

"Based on the prisoners they captured, only one soldier from the 54th Army escaped earlier and crossed the river before we arrived."

"Eighty thousand people, that's enough for us to have a meal." Chen Chengxing nodded in satisfaction.

“Send a telegram to Army C to ask where they are, and tell them that we are about to start the banquet.”

"yes!".
Soon, Li Yunlong's telegram arrived.

"The C Army has reached Zhumei Town, and the main force of the Fourth Army Corps is a day behind them."

Upon hearing that Li Yunlong had arrived in Zhumei Town, Chen Cheng laughed: "That guy Li Yunlong, as soon as he hears there's meat to eat, he runs faster than anyone else. He's already in Zhumei Town."

"Then let them go through Langxi, drive Guo's army south, and encircle and annihilate Guo's army on the banks of the Dongliu River."

At this time, the Second General's forces in Tongchuan were not many. Chen Chengxing was confident that he could easily defeat the Guo army, but it would be difficult to completely take them all.

Once they scatter and escape, they are still very difficult to catch.

If Li Yunlong's C Army could come along, none of these Kuomintang troops would be able to escape.
By 3 p.m., driven by Li Yunlong's C Army, the Guo Army was trapped in a triangular area of ​​more than ten kilometers between the Gongchuan River and the Dongliu River, in a sorry state.

"Commander-in-Chief, Guo Jun is already trapped like a turtle in a jar," Chu Yunfei said with a smile.

"Hehe. It's getting late. Have all units strengthen the blockade and prevent the enemy from escaping."

"Let's rest for the night, and then we'll have a feast at dawn!"

"yes!".
That night, Guo Jun did not sit idly by and wait for his death, but instead chose to launch frequent attacks.

However, the blockade by the Second General Headquarters had already been established, and the counterattack by the Guo Army had no effect.

The commanders of the various KMT armies within the encirclement also gathered together.

However, their words implied that they all wanted others to take the lead and exert themselves, while they stayed behind to cover the rear.

As a result, a bunch of people argued until midnight, and in the end, there was no resolution. When dawn broke, Chen Chengxing received a telegram from the Corps Headquarters.

The corps headquarters and two other armies had arrived in the Tongchuan area, but they did not stop and continued to advance rapidly southward.

The sergeant's order was for Li Yunlong and Chen Chengxing to wipe out the enemy troops before quickly following up.

"We originally wanted to take our time with them, but now that the Corps has gone to Lin'an for a banquet, we need to hurry up."

"Old Chu, relay my order: have all detachments prepare to encircle and attack the enemy!"

Chen Chengxing received a telegram from the Corps Headquarters, and Li Yunlong naturally received a telegram as well.

Impatient, Li Yunlong called Chen Chengxing directly using a walkie-talkie.

"Old Chen, the clerk and the others have gone to Lin'an. Shall we hurry up and make our move? If we're too late, Lin'an will fall!"

"Old Li, what's the rush? Aren't 80,000 men enough for you to eat? Besides, is Lin'an so easy to take?"

Chen Chengxing wasn't in a hurry. According to intelligence, Chang Ruiyuan was currently in Lin'an, and the retreating troops were also heading towards Lin'an.

With Chang Ruiyuan around, Lin'an can't be secured in a day. The outposts around Lin'an will definitely put up some resistance.

Putting everything else aside, if this were to happen in a day, where would Chang Ruiyuan put his face?

"Who complains about having too much food?" Li Yunlong said. "Do you complain about having too much food?"

“I don’t mind.” Chen Chengxing shook his head.

"Then why aren't you making a move?"

"Get started, get started." Chen Chengxing was speechless at Li Yunlong's impatience.

However, Chen Chengxing also wanted to finish quickly and then continue the attack.

Following orders from Chen Chengxing and Li Yunlong, the two divisions launched attacks on the encircled enemy forces from the north and south respectively.

Although the Second Division's heavy firepower was insufficient at this time, the firepower density generated by its light firepower alone was enough to give the Guo army a hard time.

In order to escape, these KMT troops had almost all of their heavy weapons abandoned, and they didn't have many artillery pieces left.

Following Chen Chengxing's orders, the three detachments launched a multi-pronged attack, advancing and striking relentlessly wherever there were Kuomintang troops.

The Guo army was already divided into independent forces, and faced with attacks from multiple directions, both north and south, it was in complete chaos.

Those being attacked desperately tried to shrink back, while those not being attacked wanted other units to take the bullets for them.

In the midst of the chaos, it was not uncommon for a regiment from the Second Division to sweep through an entire army.

The battle began in the early hours of the 27th and was basically over by noon on the 28th.

The Guo army, consisting of five divisions and more than 80,000 men, was completely annihilated, with more than 60,000 of them captured as prisoners.

Meanwhile, the 23rd Detachment of Wanzhen successfully annihilated the entire 20th Army and, with prisoners, reunited with the Second General.

After a quick cleanup of the battlefield, Chen Chengxing and Li Yunlong continued their advance towards Lin'an.

As for the prisoners, the two could only leave a unit to guard them.

However, at this point, the soldiers of the Guo army were not fools, and few of the prisoners thought of escaping to fight again later.

After all, the G army's policy of treating prisoners of war well was well-known. If they followed along, even if they didn't serve in the army anymore, they could still get some travel expenses to go back to their hometowns.

If we run away now, we'll end up with nothing.

However, to Chen Chengxing and Li Yunlong's disappointment, by the time they arrived in Lin'an, the army had already entered the city.

Li Yunlong was furious: "Useless! Guo Jun is useless! He Jingzhi is useless! Chang Ruiyuan is useless too!"

"Why don't they dare to fight the Fourth Army Corps?! Why are they running away?!"

"The Qiantang River Bridge, what a great location! Why not set up our forces and fight a battle here!"

Seeing Li Yunlong cursing angrily, Chen Chengxing laughed and said, "Come on, Lao Li, why didn't you look down on the Guo Army for being useless back in Tongchuan?"

"Oh, you can't have to share all the benefits, can you?"

"Old Chen, I think you're just talking without understanding the situation!" Li Yunlong said with dissatisfaction, "Look at how arrogant your Second Chief is."

"Damn it, the artillery of one detachment is almost as good as my entire army. The brigade also has its own howitzer regiment!"

"Why should I? Of those twenty-four howitzers, how many did you capture yourself? I think the field commander is just biased!"

"Sigh, what can I do? I have to please the leader." Chen Chengxing took off his hat and swept his hair back, looking incredibly lonely.

"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me, you bastard?!" Li Yunlong was even angrier.

"Old Li, if you could change your parochial mindset and stop always taking more than your share, the leader would definitely remember your kindness."

"Change it? Then tell me how you want to change it?" Li Yunlong asked immediately.

If the commander were willing to give him a howitzer regiment, he would guarantee to fix it immediately.

"Here's what we'll do: you don't need the supplies and prisoners captured in the Battle of Tongchuan. Show your selflessness."

"For the sake of you, my old comrade-in-arms, I will reluctantly accept all of these."

"Ugh, this is so hard for me."

"Get out! Is this what it means to be selfless? Isn't this what it means to be selfless for you?"

"If the commander finds out about this, won't I look like a complete idiot?"

Li Yunlong knew perfectly well that Chen Chengxing was making fun of him.

"Ha ha ha ha."

When Chen Chengxing saw that Li Yunlong had realized what was happening, he didn't take it seriously, since he was just joking anyway.

Even if you give it all to the Second Boss, he wouldn't need that much.

Besides, if Li Yunlong could change his temper, he wouldn't be called Li Yunlong anymore.

"Alright, enough talk, let's go into town."

"There are plenty of battles to come!"

(End of this chapter)