As night fell slowly, the fierce exchanges of fire gradually became less intense. The revolutionary army units, which suffered heavy casualties, had to stop their attacks and returned to the starting position, where they sat down on the ground, grabbed the cold dry food and swallowed it with difficulty with the cold water.
Suddenly, the enemy's shouts of killing suddenly sounded, earth-shaking, and the dark enemy defenders rushed out from several sluices under Nanchang City, killing like a wave towards the revolutionary officers and soldiers who were resting in various departments outside the city, and stripes fell from the top of the city.
Numerous enemy troops descended the ladder and joined the surprise attack. The exhausted revolutionary army soldiers threw away their dry food and water bottles and hurriedly responded to the battle. Soon, more and more enemies rushed into the formation to separate and surround them.
The enemy soldiers who had been waiting for work for two days were extremely brave. They brandished their swords and fired machine guns. In the blink of an eye, they stunned the unprepared revolutionary army. Thousands of officers and soldiers of the Second Division were struggling in the desert with a steep city wall in front and a surging river at their back.
Struggling and resisting tenaciously, he was gradually eaten away by the fierce enemy. The encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, and he was in danger.
In the Linjiang headquarters, Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who was shocked to hear the great changes, turned pale and asked loudly to Liu Zhi who rushed in to report: "Jingfu, where are your troops? Where are the troops?"
"It's all broken up! It's all chaos! My subordinates came to report urgently, and they fought their way through a bloody road under close guard." Liu Zhi's hat and collar were soaked with sweat, and his chest and left arm were stained with blood.
Commander-in-chief Jiang was shocked: "What should we do? What should we do... Jiansheng, what should we do?"
Bai Chongxi stood calmly in front of the map and walked towards the helpless commander-in-chief: "Don't panic, Mr. Jie, the enemy is not that fast...Brother Jing Fu, if possible, immediately go to the melee position a few hundred meters behind and blow the trumpet to assemble. Our troops
When the officers and soldiers heard the sound of the trumpet, they would definitely cheer up and break out of the encirclement. Brother Jingfu could immediately lead the troops to retreat southward and rush to the first pontoon bridge built by the model camp. Then they could return to the west bank safely, with my troops behind me to cover them.
."
"yes!"
After Liu Zhi answered, he turned around and left.
Bai Chongxi turned to the guard captain Huang Ruihua who was standing at the door: "Immediately assemble the three hundred guards, together with the commander-in-chief's guards, protect the commander-in-chief and follow the second division to retreat to the south pontoon bridge."
"Chief of Staff, you..."
Guard captain Huang Ruihua was extremely worried when he saw Bai Chongxi leaving no one behind.
Bai Chongxi waved his hand: "Just leave one platoon for me, go ahead!"
"yes……"
Bai Chongxi walked up to the grateful Commander-in-Chief Chiang and whispered a few words. He immediately went out and mounted his horse, leading more than thirty guards to the south of the battlefield. He reined in his horse and shouted an order to the guards: "Push your horse into the position and shout loudly.
Saying that I, Bai Chongxi, was here, all the officers and soldiers came closer to me, and then led the following officers and soldiers to me."
"yes!"
The guards galloped towards the chaotic fighting position, raised their machine guns and fired accurately at every enemy they encountered. While firing, they shouted, "Chief of Staff Bai is here, everyone come closer to me."
Ten minutes later, most of the thirty guards who dispersed returned. The struggling revolutionary officers and soldiers gathered around Bai Chongxi one by one. At the same time, they attracted bursts of bullets from the enemy, and Bai Chongxi was killed in the blink of an eye.
The three guards around him were knocked off their horses.
Bai Chongxi, who was riding a big white horse, issued orders calmly and calmly, directing the more and more officers and soldiers who gathered to resist layer by layer and retreat southward in an orderly manner. After crossing the water network of Xujia Village in the southwest of the city, he suddenly ordered to speed up. Nearly two thousand people.
Under Bai Chongxi's calm command, the defeated troops finally got rid of the large-scale pursuit and rushed southward.
At the head of the first pontoon bridge on the east bank and 500 meters deep on the west bank, with the support of two engineer companies of the model battalion, the direct artillery regiment that took the lead in successfully retreating was safe and sound.
The angry Cai Zhonghuan roared and ordered his officers and soldiers to quickly untie the fourteen cannons pulled by the draft horses, and set up a firing position at a distance. The gunners adjusted their firing positions amidst his orders, and the deputy shooters simultaneously
They moved out 70 boxes of artillery shells from the woods on the roadside, used a steel drill to pry open the thick ammunition boxes, moved out the brand-new artillery shells in the boxes, and hurriedly installed the information rapid assembly. They only waited for Cai Zhonghuang's order to launch all. Cai Zhonghuang
Wat boarded the top of the cab of a tractor that was transporting the wounded back, and waited for An Yi to give the signal and immediately launched an artillery bombardment on the pursuing enemy.
In front of the position on the east bank of the pontoon, Liu Zhi took the lead and led more than 2,000 remaining brothers of the Second Division to rush over. Under the guidance of the officers and soldiers of the fifth company of the Model Battalion, signal flags, they filed into the position and rushed up in an orderly and rapid manner.
pontoon.
Liu Zhi rode up to meet An Yi, who was striding forward: "Hurry, come with me to meet the principal immediately! Hurry! Jiang Mingsan is also injured and falls behind the team."
"Yes! Master, follow your subordinates, otherwise we will not be able to leave the formation. The retreating brothers are too chaotic and have blocked the entrance to the formation."
An Yi, who had been notified by Adjutant Bai Chongxi in advance, was ready. He turned and ran to the little black horse, grabbed the saddle with one hand, flew up, and shouted an order to Yang Bin who was standing high in the position:
"Lao Yang, this place is left to you and Lao Qu. The brothers of the Fifth Company and the Seventh Company must be nailed to this position by me. You are not allowed to take a step back without my order! As long as you see the flag of our model camp,
You immediately light the gasoline barrels on the riverside and let the artillery regiments on the west bank cut off the retreating brothers!"
"Yes!" Yang Bin replied loudly.
An Yile turned his horse's head and led Huzi, Gu Changfeng and more than a dozen brothers from the other side to ride out into battle, avoiding the oncoming chaotic flow of people, detouring from the east and rushing to the north, followed by Dong Yazi.
Immediately, the flag of the model camp was raised high, and more than ten war horses galloped with all four hooves. After running three kilometers, Liu Zhi shouted with joy, and Commander-in-Chief Chiang came towards him surrounded by hundreds of guards.
With the last ray of light in the sky, Wang Shihe, who was beside Commander-in-Chief Jiang, saw the banner of the model camp and immediately announced loudly. Commander-in-Chief raised his hand to signal the team to slow down. Seeing Liu Zhi and An Yi returning, they were extremely happy and comforted.
The hanging heart immediately calmed down.
The two teams stopped facing each other. Liu Zhi immediately saw that the commander-in-chief was safe and sound. He was filled with guilt and excitement. However, Commander-in-Chief Jiang smiled slightly at Liu Zhi. An Yi and Hu Hu said: "Chief of Staff Bai is still behind.
With support, the guards with Chief of Staff Bai will go immediately to respond!"
"As you command!"
Liu Zhi summoned Huang Ruihua, Bai Chongxi's chief of bodyguards, and led Bai Chongxi's bodyguards toward the north. Along the way, more and more defeated officers and soldiers were coming, and they were becoming more and more crowded. The defeated officers and soldiers from various divisions of the Second Army were coming in waves.
, Liu Zhi could only order Huang Ruihua to fire a gun to clear the way, and then he could slowly move north.
Seeing more and more defeated troops, An Yi asked Commander-in-Chief Jiang loudly: "Principal, please follow the students back to the bridge and cross the bridge as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late!"
"No, I have to wait until Chief of Staff Bai arrives before leaving. There is also the injured Jiang Mingsan, and the generals such as Xu Yuexiang who took care of him are still behind. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, how can I just leave?" Commander-in-Chief Jiang said stubbornly.
said.
An Yi was so anxious that he could only say loudly to Huzi beside him: "Huzi, lead your brothers to the north immediately to find the deputy division commander and chief of staff. When you see them, send them back immediately. If they don't have horses, you can catch them on their horses.
Bring it back together!"
"clear!"
The bearded man on the horse turned to the rear and shouted an order. More than ten elite men immediately patted their horses and followed him away quickly.
Fifteen minutes later, Liu Zhi and Bai Chongxi came galloping together, followed hundreds of meters behind by thousands of defeated officers and soldiers who were running and sweating. Almost half of them had thrown away their weapons and their military caps.
, An Yi sighed frequently and was very sad.
More than eight minutes later, Huzi and his party returned quickly. Chief of Staff Xu Tingyao and Deputy Division Commander Jiang Dingwen were both in the team. However, Jiang Dingwen, who was covered in blood, came back lying in front of Huzi's saddle. The wound from the bullet was so painful.
He bared his teeth and kept moaning.
Wang Shihe immediately called two guards to help Jiang Dingwen onto a war horse. Seeing that Jiang Dingwen was swaying and could no longer hold on, he could only ask a powerful guard to ride with him to take care of him.
Bai Chongxi rode his horse to the front of An Yi. After listening to An Yi's report, he nodded with satisfaction and told An Yi not to give the signal to the artillery regiment too quickly. There were still many officers and soldiers of the Second Army lagging behind and being chased hard by the enemy. Fourteen artillery pieces
Several rounds of salvos will cause many friendly troops to be accidentally injured.
An Yi ordered Hu Zi to lead Dong Yaozi and his brothers who were carrying the flag to stay behind and return immediately if they saw the shadow of the enemy. When Yang Bin saw the flag, he would light the oil barrel to give a signal, and then asked Hu Zi to lead the brothers without stopping.
Rush to the second pontoon in the south to meet up.
After everything was arranged, An Yi rode his horse and drove southward behind Commander-in-Chief Chiang and Vice-President Bai. Thousands of defeated officers and soldiers crowded the roads, fields and all easy escape routes. The Commander-in-Chief was mixed in the rolling flow of people.
The cavalry was like a long and narrow boat, rising and falling with the frightened flow of people, constantly changing its shape and moving forward.
After finally arriving at the position on the east bank of the First Floating Bridge, what they saw in front of them made An Yi and the generals extremely anxious. More and more defeated troops were overwhelmingly crowding the 150-meter-long and 100-meter-deep defensive position.
Unable to pass through the ten-meter-wide entrance to the position in time, batch after batch of terrified soldiers jumped over the trenches on both sides of the entrance and broke through the layers of sandbags in front of the trenches. The brothers of the model battalion in the trenches saw them all.
My brother did not dare to shoot to stop him. After a moment's hesitation, the position was immediately overrun by the extremely frightened crowd.
Looking around, the ant-like crowd on the pontoon was screaming incessantly, and it was a chaos. The officers and soldiers who were constantly squeezed off the pontoon by the crowd were struggling hopelessly. The thick cotton clothes on their bodies were extremely heavy after being soaked in water, and they would soon scream in agony.
Drowning people continue to fall to the bottom of the river.
It wasn't until this moment that An Yi, who saw the great defeat for the first time, felt a sense of trembling fear. Only then did he realize how far-reaching and brilliant Bai Chongxi's foresight was.
The pontoon bridge was built on the northern section of the river without a series of complicated and thorough preparations. Even he might not be able to escape.
Bai Chongxi, who rushed to the edge of the crowd, shouted to the captain of the guard behind him: "You lead a platoon to stay. Five minutes after we move forward, you immediately shout loudly that there is a pontoon bridge three miles south, and then immediately ride your horse to cross the bridge quickly."
."
"As you command!"
"Set off--"
An Yi roared, and the entire cavalry of nearly a thousand people bypassed the chaotic position filled with thousands of people, slowly accelerating faster and faster, and it only took five minutes to see the big flag on the river bank position of the second pontoon bridge.
.
Just when An Yi was breathing a sigh of relief, Xia Jian and others, who were on the sentry duty, rode towards us on horseback and loudly reported: "Report to the battalion commander, we found about 3,000 enemy troops two kilometers to the east rushing towards me.
Come, the brothers of the Sixth Company are ready and ready, and the West Bank Artillery Company is ready for battle!"
"You immediately assist the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Company and make all battle preparations!" An Yi's scalp went numb and his voice changed in tone.
Everyone was shocked. Bai Chongxi did not expect that the enemy commander Deng Ruzhuo would react so quickly, have such clever and cunning thoughts, and act so quickly and efficiently. In desperation, he stopped consulting with Commander-in-Chief Chiang and immediately issued an order to quickly cross the river.
An Yi took the lead and rushed to the bridgehead position. He dismounted and ordered a platoon leader to immediately mount his horse and go to the other side to notify the mortar company. As soon as the gunshots were fired, he immediately fired rapidly at 500 meters in front of our position.
After three rounds, extend the artillery fire by increasing the range by fifty meters each time.
Commander-in-Chief Chiang and his party had just approached the edge of the position when the whistling sound of artillery shells suddenly came from the sky. An Yi was shocked and shouted to get off his horse and take cover. Before everyone could react, he immediately rushed to Commander-in-Chief Chiang's horse and grabbed Principal Jiang's arm.
Pulling off his horse, Kankan carried Principal Jiang and rolled into the trench before two shells fell. An explosion shook the ground. More than 30 meters in front of the position were bombarded with red light and thick smoke. More than ten people were killed.
The guards and their horses were blown into the sky.
Before the smoke of gunfire was gone, the second round of artillery shells flew again, exploding an area of more than fifty meters in the position with mud and rocks scattered, and dust filled the air. One of the artillery shells flew over the position and landed on the river to the right of the pontoon bridge.
The load-bearing piles at the connection between the approach bridge and the five-meter-square formwork exploded. An Yi, who endured the severe pain in his left shoulder and pulled Principal Jiang to the exit of the traffic trench, screamed in agony. Bai Chongxi and others rushed over immediately and looked at the crumbling ten meters below.
, the creaking pontoon deck was startled.
Just when everyone was panicking, an astonishing scene immediately appeared. An Yi loudly ordered Wang Shihe behind him to protect the principal, stood up suddenly, rushed down the ramp, and climbed onto the approach bridge that made a creaking sound in a few steps. Under the astonished gaze of everyone
He jumped down the river, and the huge water columns stirred up by the shells submerged An Yi. After a while, he quickly swam to the break and quickly floated up. He grabbed the edge of the main bridge that was about to sink with one hand, and his body sank together.
His right shoulder slowly lifted up the heavy five-meter-square bridge, and he raised his wet head and shouted loudly at the shore: "Wang Shihe, hurry up and protect the principal across the bridge, hurry up--"
"battalion commander--"
The sixth company commander Chen Zhibiao, who was lying on the embankment, roared, threw down the weapon in his hand, and shouted for his brothers to come and help. Then he rushed down the river bank regardless of the flying artillery fire, jumped into the water with a fish, and quickly approached An Yi.
He used his strong shoulders to lift the beam under the bridge. Seven or eight brothers from the Sixth Company also rushed over and jumped into the cold and biting river water. They worked together to lift the heavy bridge deck and the approaching approach bridge that was about to collapse.
.
Surrounded by the guards, Principal Jiang braved the water curtain and ran to the bridge. He took a few steps to the bridge above An Yi and squatted down. With tears in his eyes, he trembled and sighed: "Xiao Yi..."
An Yi was in a hurry: "Principal, hurry up, it's dangerous... Wang Shi and you are so stupid? Do you know that there is a heavy pressure on me, hurry up -"
An Yi, who was pale and out of breath, roared loudly. His thigh was cut into a long wound by the sharp shrapnel nailed deeply to the broken pile. Due to the high tension and the coldness of the river, he felt nothing. From his burst left shoulder
Blood continuously gushes out from the wound on the back and right thigh, giving off a strong smell of blood as it is washed by the fiercely undulating river water.
The extremely moved Wang Shihe bit his lower lip, and he and another guard picked up the tearful Principal Jiang, hugged him tightly and rushed across the pontoon to the other side...