Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 544 One Faster Than the Other
Chen Chengxing led the Second General south from Taiyuan along the Tongpu Road until they reached Fenglingdu, where everyone got off the bus to prepare to cross the river.

After crossing the Yellow River, Chen Chengxing did not wait for the main force, but arrived at Ichinoyesi ahead of time.

"Chief!"

"Haha. I was wondering why I heard magpies chirping all day. You finally came!"

The Liberation War had been going on for more than three years, but the First Field Army had never been able to inflict a heavy blow on Hu Shoushan's army.

Despite Hu Shoushan's disorganized attack, he was faster than anyone else when it came to retreating.

The land in northern Shaanxi is barren, and coupled with years of fighting, the population is sparse, and food shortages have become the norm.

Previously, every time he met people from Shaanxi, he couldn't help but sigh, for the people of northern Shaanxi were suffering so much.

He desperately wanted to end this long war as soon as possible.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while and briefly explaining the situation on the map, the commander said, "Chen Chengxing, your troops need to take a break as soon as possible after crossing the river."

He had a premonition that they might not be able to wait for the two corps in North China.

Even though these two corps have already entered Shanxi and are heading south, they still can't wait any longer.

"Please rest assured, Commander, the Second Division is ready and can be deployed to battle at any time. We guarantee victory!"

"Very good! Go ahead."

Just as the Second General Corps crossed the Yellow River to rest and reorganize, Hu Shoushan also discovered that some troops of the G Army had crossed the river.

"How did the G army arrive so quickly?" Hu Shoushan asked in shock.

According to his previous intelligence, although the two North China Army Corps had entered Shanxi, it would still take some time before they entered Shaanxi.

He originally wanted to take advantage of this time difference to observe the situation of Bai Jiansheng in Central China, so why did the G army suddenly jump to Shaanxi?

Looking at the intelligence report, Lü Hanwen said, "Officer, based on my judgment, this should not be the G Army from North China."

"What unit do you think this is? Could it be the previous rebels?" Hu Shoushan raised his hopes again.

He wasn't too worried if it was a defector from the Guo army, since he knew very well what kind of troops those defectors were.

“No, that’s not it.” Lu Hanwen shook his head: “Although we don’t know which unit it is yet, it’s definitely an elite unit of the G Army.”

"Look at this intelligence report, the G army has trucks, and more importantly, the trucks are towing artillery."

"In other words, the other side has at least one well-equipped artillery unit."

"Alright, that's enough." Hu Shoushan waved his hand, interrupting Lü Hanwen.

It would be more accurate to say they were the vanguard of the North China G Army.

"No matter what, we can't just sit here and wait to die," Hu Shoushan said firmly.

"The order is issued to send additional reconnaissance troops, and the 69th Army, 30th Division, and 38th Army to regroup and prepare for retreat."

"yes!".
The sudden and large-scale retreat of the Guo army immediately attracted the attention of the field commander.

At this time, the First Field Army was resting and reorganizing, and the North China troops had not yet arrived, but the situation on the Northwest battlefield was changing every minute and every second.

After communicating with the central government, the field headquarters decided to stop the rest and reorganization and the entire army immediately headed south.

After receiving the telegram, the Second General Headquarters also moved from Dali County to the Jiaoxie area.

The First Field Army's southward advance immediately struck a nerve with Hu Shoushan.

For him, no matter what the G army wanted to do, retreating was definitely the right thing to do!
Hu Shoushan immediately issued a second retreat order to all troops.

"Chief of Staff! Pass on my orders!"

"The 57th Army and the 30th Division moved to Qianxian County respectively, and will regroup in Chencang County after the main force has withdrawn."

"The 36th Army withdrew south to Xiegukou and established a defensive line relying on the Qinling Mountains."

"The 69th Army retreated to Lantian to cover the flank of Chang'an."

"The main forces of the 65th, 38th, and 90th Armies shall immediately retreat to the Chencang area to assemble and await orders!"

Seeing the Guo army suddenly retreating with all their might, Ye Si immediately hesitated.

The commander's first consideration was whether or not to pursue the retreating Guo army in a full-scale attack.

If they choose to pursue, then Yiye will have to bear certain risks.

The Ma brothers' army of over 100,000 men remained entrenched in the highlands of northern Guanzhong. Many of these troops were cavalry, making them extremely mobile.

Once they break out from the rear flank and penetrate too deeply, they are likely to be attacked from both sides.

However, in the end, the field headquarters decided to launch a decisive attack without waiting for the North China Army to enter Shaanxi.

The reason is simple: with the Second General Headquarters in place, even if Hu Shoushan and the Ma brothers' 300,000-strong army attacked from both sides, the First Field Army could consolidate its forces and wait for reinforcements.

Of course, that would put the troops at a disadvantage, so the field headquarters sent a telegram to the Second General Staff.

The 2nd Armored Combined Armor Battalion moved to the Jingyang area and built a pontoon bridge over the Jing River.

If the Ma forces were to launch a surprise attack south along the West Lake Highway, the armored combined arms battalion could use its superior mobility and firepower to show the Ma cavalry what it means for times to change.

However, despite Ichino's decisive attack, he did not actually achieve any results.

Hu Shoushan's troops moved too fast. By the time the various units of the First Field Army had moved in to encircle them, the main force of the Guo army north of the Wei River had already disappeared.

The total number of enemies encountered by the Second General along the way was less than a thousand.

Moreover, there are no main forces among them; they are all local security forces.

Looking at the reports from various departments, Luo Ping said with some helplessness, "Hu Shoushan has a really keen sense of smell. No wonder he has been able to hold down the fort in the Northwest for so many years."

"After all, he's the military and political leader of a region; he can't be a complete incompetent fool," Chen Chengxing said casually. "Old Chen, there are no more enemy troops in Weibei, but surely Hu Shoushan of Chang'an can't be abandoned as well?"

"How about we cross the river and attack Chang'an?" Luo Ping suggested.

Judging from the current situation, it is likely that there are still Guo Jun troops south of the Wei River.

Chen Chengxing nodded: "Take Xianyang first, then cross the Yellow River near the Weihe Bridge."

"Old Chu, send a telegram to the field headquarters."

"Tell them that our army crossed the Jing River last night and is now pursuing Xianyang. Once Xianyang is captured, we will proceed to Chang'an."

"We also request that the main cadres of the Chang'an Military Control Commission come to the front line within two days to take charge of the work in Chang'an. Other receiving cadres should also come as soon as possible."

Since the Guo army north of the Wei River had all fled, there couldn't be many people left in Xianyang, so taking Xianyang was a piece of cake.

According to Chen Chengxing's estimate, the possibility of Guo Jun holding Chang'an was not high.

Even though reconnaissance revealed that there were still two military units in the area, Chen Chengxing still believed it to be true.

The final outcome of the battle did not surprise Chen Chengxing.

Before the main force of the Second General Corps even arrived in the Xianyang area, the vanguard regiment had already broken through the city's defenses.

The local security regiment originally stationed in Xianyang was almost completely wiped out, except for a few soldiers who fled before the battle when they sensed the danger.

After all, when it comes to running alone, the second-best is far ahead.

"Commander-in-Chief, Xianyang has fallen, and the enemy in Chang'an is probably shaken. Should we speed things up?"

"The troops will not rest; continue the attack." Chen Chengxing nodded.

"Order the 211th Regiment of the 21st Detachment to force a crossing of the Wei River from the front of the Wei River Bridge."

"The 212th Regiment crossed the river from the west, and the 221st Regiment of the 22nd Detachment crossed the river from the east. After crossing the river, the two regiments immediately launched a flanking attack on the bridgehead defenders."

"The 23rd Detachment continued westward along the river, crossed the river near Luyang Village and went straight to Echeng and Ziwukou to block the enemy's westward retreat route in Chang'an."

"yes!".
According to intelligence, in addition to the 47th and 48th Divisions of the 17th Army, Chang'an also had the 22nd Division of the 30th Army, as well as a local security self-defense force.

This security brigade is also the size of a division, but it only has about three thousand people.

Chen Chengxing judged that if the Second General Headquarters crossed the river and threatened Chang'an, the 17th Army would be very likely to flee.

Just as Chen Chengxing had predicted, Yang Delu was packing his luggage in Chang'an.

"Commander, Xianyang has fallen." Yu Zhiwei, Chief of Staff of the 17th Army, rushed in.

"How could they lose it so quickly? Didn't the G Army just cross the Jing River?" Yang Delu, commander of the 17th Army, widened his eyes.

"It was the vanguard of the G Army that did it; one regiment of them took Xianyang."

"They're all trash!"

Xianyang still had more than a thousand defenders, but they were wiped out in an instant by a single enemy regiment.

"Commander, a report from the front: the G Army has assembled troops on the other side of the Wei River Bridge, and it seems they intend to cross the river."

The Wei River is only one meter deep now, so even without using the railway bridge, the G army could easily wade across the river.

"It seems we can't stay in Chang'an," Yang Delu muttered.

He had long wanted to lead his troops to escape, but Hu Shoushan had given orders that the entire army could not retreat before the G army arrived.

In that case, Hu Shoushan would not be able to explain himself within the Party and the state.

But the generals of the Nationalist army in the Northwest were not fools. While everyone else ran away, they stayed behind with their troops.

However, Hu Shoushan knew the generals of the Guo army system all too well.

Most of the KMT officers were cowards who preferred to be local leaders rather than frontline officers.

Therefore, Hu Shoushan resorted to his ultimate move: all officers who were willing to stay behind would be promoted.

Among them, Yang Delu, the commander of the 17th Army, was promoted to the position of Commander of the Chang'an Garrison, taking on the task of guarding Chang'an and maintaining the last bit of face for Hu Shoushan.

Clearly, Hu Shoushan had grasped Yang Delu's weakness.

A month ago, Yang Delu was promoted to the position of Commander of the Chang'an Garrison. After taking over the defense of Chang'an, he began to amass wealth without saying a word.

Citizens and businessmen in the Chang'an area who do not cooperate will be paraded through the streets dressed as candied hawthorns.

Anyone who dared to resist was tied to the bell tower and starved to death.

Not only that, Yang Delu also personally led his guards to patrol the streets, and anyone who heard them talking or insulting him was shot dead on the spot.

For Yang Delu, his mission was complete; now he needed to evacuate safely.

Otherwise, wouldn't all the money I've accumulated be wasted?

After confirming the location of the G Army several times, Yang Delu ordered the 17th Army to withdraw from Chang'an, and the defense of Chang'an was handed over to the Self-Defense Security Corps.

The citizens of Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the Guo army begin to assemble and retreat.

They were truly terrified of Yang Delu, this "living Yama".

During the War of Resistance against Japan, although they were occasionally bombed by the Japanese, they were still able to get by.

Who would have thought that Yang Delu would be unable to make ends meet after only a month as the garrison commander?

(End of this chapter)