Southern guerrilla warfare: I led the Red Seventh Army Corps to amassed a million troops.

"Brigadier... are you sure that's a cannon? And not some kind of explosive charge?"

"Why wasn't it a cannonball? I confirmed with the city over the phone; someone saw a huge iron ball flying from the sky, and the city walls were blown down! They saw it with their own eyes!"

"They say that thing is much bigger than a 75mm shell. Tell me, what caliber is that artillery piece?"

Old Han smacked his lips and frowned, saying, "Judging from the sound... it's at least a 150mm caliber."

"What? That big? Are you sure?"

Old Han shook his head: "I'm being conservative; it could also be 180 millimeters in caliber."

"But this kind of artillery is too bulky and is generally used as a coastal defense gun, mounted on warships. I still prefer a 150mm caliber."

"However, transporting this kind of thing to our remote mountain village will take a lot of effort; the road will have to be repaired all over again."

"I really can't understand how the Red Army managed to transport these kinds of artillery pieces here?"

Xu Yongxiang could no longer hear what was said after that.

Previously, the shells fired by the Red Army near his command post were only 75 millimeters in diameter.

His brigade headquarters was located in a semi-underground bunker, covered with two layers of logs and more than a meter of soil. He could barely withstand the shells from the 75mm mortar unless they hit him directly.

But if it were a 150mm shell, one shot would wipe out the entire command post, including Xu Yongxiang himself, leaving not a single intact bone.

"No, we can't fight anymore. If we keep fighting, we'll all die here."

Xu Yongxiang's voice was so low that no one could hear him, then he suddenly raised his voice, "Summon the Chief of Staff! Immediately!"

Meanwhile, on the ridgeline south of the city, Xun Huaizhou was observing the movements of the Nationalist army positions ahead through binoculars.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

On the hilltop ahead, a large number of torches appeared, starting with only a few dozen, but then more and more appeared.

Hundreds and thousands of torches converged into a winding fire dragon, cascading down from the mountaintop and moving rapidly in a southwest direction.

Xun Huaizhou immediately pictured the enemy and friendly forces on the map in his mind. What was connected to the southwest?

It was Lu Xingbang's defense zone, and Song Xilian's 36th Division was also in that direction.

Xu Yongxiang was heading south to join up with the Nationalist army in the south.

He lowered his binoculars and turned to give the order to the messenger beside him:

"Notify all units to pursue! The First Regiment will leave only one company to maintain guard in place, the rest will advance! The Second Battalion of the Third Regiment will outflank from the right, and the Third Battalion of the Third Regiment will encircle from the left, blocking the enemy's path and intercepting them!"

The order was quickly relayed.

A moment later, a sharp bugle call rang out in the night sky.

In the mountain valleys and forests, Red Army units emerged from the darkness and quickly moved towards the direction of the surging fire dragon.

This battle of breaking through and counter-breaking through was massive in scale, but it ended very quickly.

The troops of the 8th Brigade of the National Revolutionary Army had long been terrified by the flying thunder cannons. As soon as the order to break out came, everyone was only concerned with running south.

When the Red Army's intercepting fire came from the flank, most people's first reaction was not to organize a counterattack, but to drop their weapons and raise their hands.

Less than ten minutes after the machine guns started firing, large swathes of Nationalist troops began to surrender.

The mountain path was littered with discarded guns and backpacks, and torches were scattered all over the ground, some still burning, illuminating the Nationalist soldiers who were crouching on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Red Army soldiers, guns in hand, moved through the crowd, collecting weapons and counting prisoners; everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Xun Huaizhou led several guards through the crowd and quickly walked to the place where the prisoners were gathered.

"Where is Xu Yongxiang? Has he been caught yet?"

The company commander, who was counting the prisoners of war, paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Reporting to the corps commander, Xu Yongxiang was not found among the prisoners. We are interrogating them one by one."

Xun Huaizhou frowned even more deeply.

A captured Nationalist army staff officer was brought before him.

Xun Huaizhou patiently asked, "Where is your brigade commander?"

The staff officer stammered, "The brigade commander... he didn't go with the main force. He took a guard platoon and went around to the west via that small path. It's been about... about half an hour."

Xun Huaizhou shrugged his not-so-broad shoulders.

He basically annihilated the 8th Brigade; the fact that a brigade commander escaped was not a big deal.

"Notify all units to continue clearing the battlefield and taking inventory of prisoners of war and captured items."

In the midst of battlefield competition, happiness often doesn't appear out of thin air, but rather transfers from one person to another.

"Xu Yongxiang, I'll curse your ancestors!" Li Yutang's roar exploded from the command post.

He was so angry that his face turned ashen, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

The hand that was slamming the table was already bright red, but he was completely unaware of it, as if that hand didn't belong to him.

The staff officers and adjutants standing nearby didn't dare to breathe, keeping their heads down and letting him vent his anger.

"I told him to launch a counterattack, and he ran away! An entire brigade! A whole brigade! He abandoned them without even a sound! Xu Yongxiang runs faster than a rabbit. I must have been blind to appoint such a piece of trash as a brigade commander!"

Chief of Staff Ruan Yongqi stepped forward with a stiff upper lip: "Commander... now is not the time to be angry. Xu Yongxiang's matter will be settled by the military law department after the war is over."

"The most urgent task is to retreat quickly. Otherwise, if the Red Army from the south rushes in, not only will the county town be lost, but the division headquarters will also be captured. At that point, everything will be over."

"I won't retreat! I won't retreat! I'd rather die fighting the Red Army!" Li Yutang suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide like copper bells.

"Am I, a division commander from the Central Army, supposed to slink away like this? If word gets out, how will I ever face anyone again?"

Deputy Division Commander Hu Qisan was also anxious. "Commander, as long as we're alive, we can always fight again! As long as we get the troops out of here, we can regroup and have plenty of opportunities to take revenge!"

"I said I'm not leaving!" Li Yutang shook off the hand that was being reached out to him.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than another burst of explosions came from the south, closer and louder than before, so loud that even the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.

Ruan Yongqi gave Hu Qisan a wink.

"Commander, please forgive me!" Hu Qisan beckoned, and two guards, understanding his meaning, stepped forward, one on each side, and grabbed Li Yutang's arms.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Li Yutang struggled fiercely, but this burly Shandong man, a brave and fierce general who had been a daredevil captain many times in his youth, was easily suppressed by two guards.

"Ruan Yongqi! Hu Qisan! Are you planning a rebellion?!"

"Commander, once you've calmed down, whether you want to execute me or dismiss me, I, Hu Qisan, will have no objections. Take me away!"

Two guards carried Li Yutang toward the back door of the command post.

Li Yutang was still struggling, cursing incessantly, starting with Xu Yongxiang's ancestors for eighteen generations and continuing down to Ruan Yongqi and Hu Qisan.

Ruan Yongqi sighed heavily, then quickly composed himself.

"Notify the supply battalion to take as much ammunition as possible, and destroy any that cannot be taken on the spot; absolutely nothing must be left for the Red Army! Notify the Ninth Brigade to contract its defensive line and move towards the west gate of the county town!"

"The communications squad, send a telegram to the Ninth and Thirty-Sixth Divisions, saying that our unit has been ordered to abandon the county town and break through to the west, requesting their assistance!"