German Red Prince

Page 15

He still couldn't quite believe it was real; he was afraid they were just being amused.

"Comrade Zheng, why are you so late?" Zheng Jiawang was about to answer when he was interrupted by a voice behind him. Shang Yunxia walked forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Comrade Zheng, didn't you know there was a meeting today? Why are you late?" Shang Yunxia pretended to be a little angry.

"Well, it was my dad who stopped me, otherwise I would have come much earlier." Zheng Jiawang scratched his head and looked at Shang Yunxia.

Seeing that Zheng Laogen was a little nervous, Shang Yunxia stepped forward and said with a smile, "Uncle, Comrade Zheng Jiawang has joined the Party and is now a Party cadre. Don't worry, with me watching over him, he won't do anything bad."

"Who asked you to watch over me?" Zheng Jiawang muttered under his breath after hearing this, which made Shang Yunxia turn around and glare at him before he quickly shut his mouth.

"Ah...this...this...boss...this...well, are you really dividing up the land?" Zheng Laogen was now somewhat obsessed; in his mind, the land was more important than his own life.

"Don't call me boss anymore."

Shang Yunxia smiled. "We Communists are the people's army, just call me comrade. Land redistribution is definitely going to happen. Zhengjiazhuang is being used as a model to provide a reference for future policy implementation. The Party organization has already discussed it, so rest assured, whatever the Communist Party says, it will absolutely do!"

Watching Shang Yunxia's departing figure, Zheng Laogen finally snapped out of his shock, picked up his pipe, and started smoking. After pondering for a moment, he walked over and patted Zheng Jiawang's arm.

“Your father is getting old, and my vision is no longer what it used to be. If you want to continue doing this, then go ahead. This old man of mine will only ever be able to keep up with those few plots of land. You should grow up and do your best.” After saying that, he left with his hands behind his back, but then suddenly turned back and smiled.

"That little girl is nice. When will you let your dad hold his grandson?" With that, he left with a smile.

"We are not only a revolutionary army, but also a workers' and peasants' army!" Chairman Mao was speaking at the Land Revolution Congress at this time. "Therefore, I believe we should have our own banner, so that the peasants will feel close to us and trust us as soon as they see us. Let them know that we are the people's army!"

The crowd below applauded. "So, from now on, we will be called the National Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Red Army!" Chairman Mao unfurled a military flag. "This flag will be our military flag from now on! We must let the people know as soon as they see this flag that the Communist Party has come and they are saved!"

The flag was a bright red, with the words "National Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" inscribed on the white border along the flagpole. The large golden five-pointed star in the center symbolized the Communist Party, and the hammer and sickle within represented the workers and peasants. The revolutionary flag was raised high in Hunan at this moment, a groundbreaking event. Because, as the National Revolution progressed, this was the first purely Communist armed force among all revolutionary armies.

"Chairman! Chairman!" Chairman Mao, who had just finished a meeting and was about to go to the peasant association to check on the situation, was stopped by a shout. "Chairman! Something terrible has happened!" The soldier's face was filled with grief. "Little Zhao has been beaten up!"

"What?" Chairman Mao was somewhat shocked and hurriedly ran into the inner room.

Inside the house, Old Song was crying his heart out.

"Little Zhao, look what those beasts have done to you! You can't get hurt! Once you're better, I'll make you braised pork and dumplings every day."

Chairman Mao looked at Zhao Caiying lying on the bed, his body almost completely battered from the beating; his legs were twisted to an extremely grotesque degree. The medical staff examining him sighed, shook their heads, and walked towards Chairman Mao.

"The bones are almost all broken, and both legs are broken. There's a high probability... a high probability..." The doctor didn't finish his sentence.

"Doctor, I beg you, you must cure him! He's still a child!" Old Song rushed forward, pressing on the doctor's shoulder and shaking him violently.

"Please, please heal him! I'll do anything for you! Please!" Old Song couldn't help but cry.

He's still unmarried, and he's treated Zhao Caiying like a son ever since she joined the unit. Although he can be a bit sarcastic, he treats her even better than his own son.

Seeing him lying in bed like this is worse than killing him.

"Chairman...Chairman..."

At that moment, Zhao Caiying's faint voice suddenly came from the bed.

"I'm here, Xiao Zhao, I'm here!" Chairman Mao hurriedly went to the bedside.

“Chairman, you…you…look.” Zhao Caiying struggled to take a jar out of the bag. “Chairman, your favorite spicy…chili peppers.”

At that time, Zhao Caiying was ambushed by thugs who suddenly rushed out. He held onto the bag tightly, which prevented the jar from breaking.

"Chairman... Chairman, braised pork... it's so delicious." Zhao Caiying smiled at Chairman Mao and closed her eyes.

"Little Zhao! Little Zhao!" Old Song rushed to Zhao Caiying's body. "Little Zhao, how can I live without you! Little Zhao! Wake up! I'll cook braised pork for you every day!"

Chairman Mao looked at Zhao Caiying's body and gripped the jar tightly. "What happened?" he asked the soldier beside him.

The soldier also had bruises on his body. "When we went to Zhengjiazhuang, we passed by a family. The girl's father couldn't pay the rent and was beaten half to death by Zheng Facai."

"Comrade Xiao Zhao was furious and wanted to come back to report and resign him, but little did he know that a group of people rushed out and attacked us shortly after he left her house."

"Comrade Zhao Caiying was fighting with them and told me to come back quickly to inform everyone. Who knew, who...who knew these beasts would be so ruthless!" He couldn't help but sob as he spoke.

Chairman Mao gripped his hand even tighter. What a fine comrade he was! So young, beaten to death by these beasts. How could he face Zhao Caiying's parents?

"Pass down the word: hold a memorial service for Comrade Zhao Caiying. We need to clean up this bunch of parasites!"

Chairman Mao walked out of the house with a solemn expression, determined to carry the land revolution through to the end!

"Don't worry, Xiao Zhao. In the future, every household in China will have braised pork with every meal!"

"Look at Comrade Zhao Caiying, such a good comrade, beaten to death by this group of scoundrels! Can you tolerate this?!" Lin Biao shouted at the soldiers below.

"cannot!"

The soldiers below gritted their teeth; they too were children from poor families, and had suffered much persecution at the hands of landlords in the past. Intense class hatred ignited the flames of their desire for revenge.

"We cannot let Comrade Zhao Caiying's sacrifice be in vain! We must resolutely implement Chairman Mao's instructions and carry the land revolution through to the end! So that every family in the future will have land and eat braised pork every day!" Lin Biao waved his hand and said, "Let's go to Zhengjiazhuang! Let's avenge Comrade Zhao Caiying! Let's overthrow those landlords and mercilessly eliminate these bloodsuckers!"

"Revenge! Revenge!"

The warriors shouted, and with the flames of revenge burning within them, they marched in a mighty procession toward Zhengjiazhuang.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Bloody Battle of Hangzhou

"It seems Sun Chuanfang is preparing for a decisive battle with us, judging by the scale of the operation. Hangzhou must be bustling with activity right now!"

In Pujiang County, at the temporary headquarters of the 19th Route Army, Cai Tingkai and a group of officers were carefully analyzing the current situation on a map.

Upon seeing the Allied forces' troop movements displayed on the table, Zhou Enlai couldn't help but sigh.

"It seems that way now. According to the information sent back by our comrades in the intelligence organization we have planted in Hangzhou, the number of troops in Hangzhou has increased significantly in the past month. Most of them are local troops transferred from Huzhou and Jiaxing. However, this is not the most troublesome thing."

Chief of Staff Zhou Guang looked at the map and sighed, then said, "Sun Chuanfang will most likely send his most elite German-equipped divisions to Hangzhou for defense. In that case, we may encounter as many as 50,000 to 60,000 enemies in Hangzhou."

"Have our comrades in Nanchang sent back any news?" Cai Tingkai asked the director of the confidential office with some concern.

"Reporting to the Commander, the comrades in Nanchang have replied that everything is normal."

"Fortunately, this greatly reduces the possibility of the enemy reinforcing Hangzhou. These German-equipped divisions are Sun Chuanfang's old guard; I guess he's reluctant to use them and is betting his fortune on Nanjing..."

Cai Tingkai remained silent for a long time, seemingly making a decision, before raising his head and saying, "Alright, let's set a week later for the general offensive against Hangzhou. The 26th Division will depart from Fuyang, the 30th Division from Shaoxing, and three independent divisions will launch a feint attack from near Xiaoshan. We will advance from three directions simultaneously and must take Hangzhou before enemy reinforcements arrive!"

"Yes!"

Cai Tingkai looked at Zhou Enlai with a smile and said, "You Communists are really good at intelligence gathering. If we didn't have this intelligence, I don't know how much more we would have suffered."

Something doesn't seem right.

Zhou Enlai was not particularly happy at this time; on the contrary, he felt somewhat uneasy.

"Commander Cai, have you heard? A few days ago near Nanchang, the First Army was ambushed by people from eight provinces and suffered heavy casualties. In a fit of anger, Commissioner Liao dismissed their commander."

"To be able to ambush the First Army and fight so fiercely, their personnel mobilization must have been quite significant. But our comrades in Nanchang haven't sent any messages. Shi Xinghuai is my student, and I know him well. A comrade with such a strong sense of vigilance wouldn't not report to us. I always feel that something is wrong."

"I think you're exhausted from not getting enough rest these past few days. Chiang Kai-shek's First Army is just that kind of incompetent. It's a real waste to put such an elite force in charge of the First Army. Their ambush must have been caused by that guy being too arrogant and doing some micromanagement again."

Cai Tingkai patted Zhou Enlai on the shoulder and said, "You should rest well these next few days. We're about to attack Hangzhou, so we need to be on high alert."

"I hope so, but we still need to be careful. We shouldn't rush in too quickly, and we should send more troops to scout ahead, just in case something goes wrong." Zhou Enlai nodded, still somewhat worried.

"report!"

"Come in."

At this moment, Shangguan Yunxiang was looking at the map and observing the movements of the revolutionary army. The net of Nanchang had been cast, just waiting for them to enter.

“In recent days, the Southern Army in the Zhejiang area has been communicating more with the Nanchang Radio Station, which is under our control, and they have raised the issue of troop movements near Nanchang.”

"What was your answer?" Shangguan Yunxiang asked without turning his head.

"My subordinates did not inform the other party; they only reported that everything was normal."

"Ok?"

Shangguan Yunxiang shifted his gaze from the map to the officer who had come to report, staring intently at him. This made the officer uneasy, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Recently, their so-called elite First Army was almost rendered ineffective by our attack near Nanchang. With such a large-scale operation, no matter how well we concealed it, based on my understanding of the Communist Party, they must have some information. How can you say everything is normal?"

"My subordinates are incompetent!"

The officer hurriedly apologized, explaining that the Allied forces were secretly mobilizing troops, and if anything went wrong on his end, he would be executed.

"It's too late to say anything now, but thankfully our troops have already been deployed in Hangzhou. Otherwise, if the Southern Army had reacted and attacked Hangzhou ahead of time, I would have definitely shot you."

Shangguan Yunxiang turned his head away and refused to look at him again.

"Remember, you are now a Communist. We have taken control of their intelligence network in Nanchang. You need to look at things from a Communist's perspective and use your brain more. Get out of here. There won't be a next time."

"Thank you sir!"

The officer quickly retreated, fearing that he would be taken down and shot at any moment.

(Yiwu City, the site of the 2nd Regiment of the 26th Division)

"Battalion Commander, Battalion Commander..."

A figure moved through the forest path, pushing aside obstructing branches, until he arrived at a campsite. Without even calling out a report, he plunged into a tent.

"Who is it? What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"

"Reporting to the battalion commander, this is an order from the regimental headquarters for you."

The newcomer gradually regulated his breathing, and his yellow armband clearly identified him as a messenger.

He took a document out of his satchel and handed it to the man he called the battalion commander, then quickly saluted and turned to leave the tent.

"Battalion Commander Deng, what did the division headquarters' order say?" Because of his meritorious service in the Fuzhou Uprising, Deng Zhiying had recently been promoted to battalion commander.

He opened the document, glanced at it quickly, and replied with a hint of excitement: "Our battalion will be the vanguard of the entire division in the main attack!"

"Notify the cavalry platoon to relay the order to each company and platoon headquarters: Prepare to move out!"

Battalion Commander Deng pulled the deputy battalion commander aside, saying, "I need to go see the division commander. You are now in full charge of battalion affairs."

"Reporting to the division commander, Deng Zhiying, battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, is reporting for duty."

"Battalion Commander Deng, I believe you already know your battalion's mission, right? But there's no other way; someone always has to be at the forefront. Your performance in the last battle to liberate Fuzhou was outstanding, which is why I made this decision."

As the division commander spoke, he looked at Deng Zhiying with some regret.

"Commander Chen, you don't need to think that way. I am a cadre of the National Revolutionary Army, and the soldiers under my command are soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army. No matter how great the sacrifice, I will resolutely complete the mission." Deng Zhiying said solemnly with her head held high.

"Good, well done."

Chen Yi was deeply moved and praised him repeatedly.

"Come in too," he said, waving towards the outside.

Two people walked in from outside. "Let me introduce you. This is Company Commander Liu Qiang on the left, from the artillery regiment. This is Squad Leader Zheng Weiguo on the right, the sniper squad leader. I know he's an old acquaintance of yours, and I've brought him back here."

"I went to great lengths to dig this up for you because I knew your battalion didn't have any decent support firepower. You didn't see those regimental commanders; they're giving me the cold shoulder right now," Chen Yi said with a smile.

"Thank you, Commander. I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

After bidding farewell to their division commander, Deng Zhiying and his two companions rode away. Meanwhile, over 30,000 troops of the National Revolutionary Army, including local forces, were marching towards Hangzhou.

"Prepare to fire!"

Deng Zhiying lowered her binoculars and shouted, "Liu Qiang, you damn well better not miss this time!"

"Battalion Commander, don't worry!" Liu Qiang said confidently. "calibrate the gun muzzle! Prepare to fire!"

The revolutionary army's four 155mm howitzers and four 105mm howitzers began to adjust their muzzles.

"fire!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Eight cannons fired simultaneously, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Third Battalion, charge with me!" Deng Zhiying shouted.

"They've arrived?" Xie Hongxun asked.

"They're here!" the adjutant said excitedly.

"Alright, these revolutionaries. Let's show them what elite troops are like! It's our turn!"

"Om-"

At that moment, Deng Zhiying suddenly heard a sound coming from the air.

Bombs rained down.

"Airplane? How could they have an airplane?" Before Deng Zhiying could think any further, an even more intense frontal artillery barrage came, and a round of artillery fire stunned the Third Battalion, which was on the verge of charging.

"Quick! Take cover! Take cover!"

Zheng Weiguo rolled into a crater and aimed at a soldier in the distance.