Chapter 418: Killing as fast and bold as lightning
At one o'clock at noon, a train pulling 13 tank wagons slowly left Xuzhou North Station and headed west along the Longhai Railway in the direction of Dangshan. After leaving the station, the train's speed slowly increased, but it only mentioned that
It kept moving at a constant speed at a speed of twenty kilometers per hour, as inconspicuously as any train loaded with cargo in the past.
The wooden carriage in the middle of the train quietly opened the four narrow square windows on the left and right, and the light immediately illuminated the carriage. Hu Jialin, the acting division commander of the independent division, pointed to the map on the neatly stacked ammunition boxes and began to explain the tasks to the commanders of each regiment.
The leaders and deputy regimental officers of the three main regiments gathered around Hu Jialin, discussing their respective tasks in low voices from time to time.
At the front of the carriage, communications section chief Luo Lei was waiting on two radio transmitters with three communications staff officers. Another translator with the rank of captain, with his back to the carriage, sat on the carriage floor and was translating the messages nervously.
At the same time, a team of twenty-five military trucks was marching on the highway northwest of Xuzhou. The convoy seemed to be moving slowly and leisurely, carrying more than 1,200 soldiers from An Yi's special agent battalion and engineering battalion.
An Yi, who was wearing a yellow-green general's uniform, and General Zhu Shaoliang, director of the General Office of the Military Commission, were sitting in the cab of the third military truck. This trip was specifically to gather the 33rd Army.
Thanks to the efforts of the brothers of the Special Brigade of the Independent Division, more than 21,000 officers and soldiers of the 33rd Army, which were defeated by the enemy, have gradually gathered in the Tulou Town area 24 kilometers northwest of Xuzhou. The troops of the Second Brigade of the Headquarters Military Police Regiment
More than 240 officers and soldiers have arrived in advance,
Officers and soldiers from various departments were gathered in an open space south of the town, and the remaining number was counted. More than 20,000 deserters gathered in regiments, anxiously waiting for the headquarters' response. A cursory look showed that almost one-third of the officers and soldiers had lost their weapons.
The embarrassment is evident.
At 2:20, smoke and dust were billowing from far to near. A huge convoy filled with officers and soldiers of the Independent Division wearing new camouflage uniforms drove bumpily to the south of the town. The thirty-three officers and soldiers who were originally crowded together, squatting or sitting, suddenly
He stood up and started to stir in panic, not knowing what fate awaited him next moment.
Major General Ying Rongguang, deputy commander of the Gendarmerie Regiment under the big locust tree, saw An Yi get out of the car. He breathed a long sigh of relief. He had put a lot of thought into gathering the more than 20,000 remaining soldiers and the defeated generals. He was afraid that something would go wrong. Now An Yi
Yi is a tiger
After the battle was over, he could finally let go of the big stone in his heart. At that moment, he straightened up his appearance and led the anxious Lieutenant General and Deputy Commander of the 33rd Army Xu Fentao, Division Commander Pan Shanzhai and a dozen other generals to stride forward to greet him.
.
An Yi and Zhu Shaoliang stopped five or six meters away from the truck, looked around with smiles on their faces, then returned a salute to Ying Rongguang and stepped forward to shake hands cordially.
Ying Rongguang was An Yi's Huangpu senior brother. When he served as the commander of the special agent company of the second division of the first army, An Yi had just graduated and entered the second division as the commander of the third engineer company. The relationship between the two had always been good and the cooperation was very pleasant until An Yi became the independent commander.
After becoming the leader of the group, the two gradually separated.
Ying Rongguang followed Liu Zhi on the Northern Expedition to Shanghai and was promoted to colonel and section chief. After Commander-in-Chief Chiang reinstated him, he re-established the Military Police Headquarters. Ying Rongguang was immediately transferred to the Military Police Regiment as the deputy of the Major General Regiment. This time he was ordered to lead the Second Military Police Brigade to arrive early to rectify the deserters.
He didn't know that the headquarters official who came to receive him was his junior brother An Yi, and he didn't know that Commander-in-Chief Chiang had already had murderous intentions.
Xu Fentao didn't know An Yi. Seeing the tall, handsome young An Yi with a smile on his face and his amiability, his originally tense heartstrings relaxed greatly. Although he knew that the world-famous An Yi was strict in his military management and had great military exploits, he didn't care at all. Worried about what An Yi would do to him.
Xu Fantao was a green man who was born on the border of Hubei and Anhui. He led two thousand men who robbed houses and homes to join the revolutionary ranks two years ago. At that time, he served as deputy division commander under General Bai Wenwei who raised the revolutionary flag. After two years of eastward and westward expeditions, three Not only did the Thirteenth Army have few military exploits, but it was also maimed several times, but each time it was quickly rebuilt like a cockroach that could not be killed. The reason for this was largely due to the fact that this man came from a green forest hero. The deputy commander ignored military discipline and sent troops everywhere. Although the quality of the officers and soldiers was extremely low and the military discipline was lax, no different from other local warlords' troops, Xu Fentao, who had military power in his hands, became more and more powerful. Last year, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek once attacked Nanjing. After personally meeting and commending him, General Li Zongren came to power after Commander-in-Chief Chiang stepped down and promoted his official position with a wave of his hand. No boss punished him for his repeated defeats or opportunism. Therefore, the increasingly courageous Xu Fantao simply did not The sale was the account of Zhang Keyao, the new army commander who also surrendered to the revolution.
Zhang Keyao, who was ignored, dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. With no other choice, he could only follow the army commander He Yaozu to do some staff work at the headquarters. The 33rd Army was handed over to the deputy commander Xu Fantao, but Zhang Keyao and He Yaozu No one expected that this Xu Fantao was so bad that he continued to carry forward his opportunistic, greedy and fearful style even though he was notified in advance by the headquarters to warn him.
In the past, in order to preserve his strength, Xu Fentao would run away when encountering a tough battle, wait until the battle was over, and then wait around. When the opportunity came, he would lead his troops out again, and continue to hold up the revolutionary banner and parade through the city. In this way, he could be promoted and make a fortune again and again. Naturally, he developed a arrogant and arrogant character. When we met for the first time today, Xu Fantao seemed to respect An Yi and Zhu Shaoliang on the surface, but he was deeply disapproving of them.
After greeting each other and shaking hands, Pan Shanzhai, commander of the 72nd Division, stepped forward and said to An Yi with a look of shame on his face:
"General An, I didn't expect to see you on such an occasion. I'm so embarrassed! Last year in the battle of Liuquan, the teaching division led by my subordinates fought side by side with the general's independent division. I still remember it vividly when I think of it. Most of the officers and soldiers of the 72nd Division under our command bear this in mind."
An Yi smiled heartily: "Brother Pan, you are too polite. Although the Tenth Army was dispersed during the Xuzhou Counterattack last August, brothers from all departments are still in our revolutionary army, and the Tenth Army has gone through many hardships , the flag still stands today. Brother Yang Shengzhi of the 29th Division of the original Tenth Army is now promoted to commander. It is a blessing among misfortunes! Brother Pan has the most complete preservation of military strength among the departments of the original Tenth Army!
By the way, do you still remember the two brothers Shi Zhen and Mo Ronggao? Later, I actually asked my younger brother to meet them in Jiangxi. However, Brother Shi and Brother Mo led more than 2,000 brothers back to Qianxi last October. I went to Nanchang in person to say goodbye to my younger brother. I heard that their team has now grown to more than 8,000 people. They have created a great situation in western and northwestern Guizhou, and they are living a good life."
"Life is unpredictable, and you are their savior!" Pan Shanzhai said with emotion.
Zhu Shaoliang, Ying Rongguang, Xu Fentao and more than ten famous generals around them did not expect that An Yi and Pan Shanzhai had such a close relationship. Seeing the two people's intimate conversation, they all chuckled in agreement, and the atmosphere became extremely relaxed.
With a friendly smile on his face, An Yi introduced Zhu Shaoliang's identity loudly. Zhu Shaoliang nodded politely, took the folder handed by the adjutant, and loudly announced the headquarters order:
"Everyone listens to the order: After being approved by the Northern Expeditionary Army General Headquarters and submitted to the Central Military Commission for approval, An Yi is hereby appointed as the deputy commander of the Third Army of the First Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Chiang Zhongzheng is hereby appointed."
The generals standing neatly across from each other exclaimed, and they all looked at An Yi beside Zhu Shaoliang.
An Yi smiled slightly, took off his white gloves unhurriedly, pulled out his gun and loaded it slowly. Under the gaze of a group of astonished eyes, he took a step forward, raised the gun and put it between Xu Fentao's eyebrows, who was shocked and had no time to react. The whole place suddenly became deathly silent, and the more than 20,000 officers and soldiers were so nervous that they could hardly breathe.
Ying Rongguang and the gendarmerie captain looked at An Yi in disbelief, who still had a smile on his face, and suddenly found that An Yi had become so strange and awe-inspiring.
Zhu Shaoliang then announced loudly: "The General Headquarters unanimously decided, in accordance with the law of our revolutionary army company, to sentence Xu Fentao, the deputy commander of the 33rd Army who escaped during the battle, to death. He will be shot on the spot to serve as a warning to others. Only the culprits will be punished, and the perpetrators will not be counted. Hope." All the officers and men in the army have learned their lesson and devoted themselves to their duties to kill the enemy and serve the party and the country. Sincerely, Chiang Kai-shek."
"Pah——"
An Yi did not hesitate to pull the trigger. The bullet entered between Xu Fentao's eyebrows and passed out from the back of his head, bringing out a bloody mist and red and white things. Xu Fentao's head suddenly tilted back, and he still looked at An in disbelief as he slowly fell. Yi didn't believe that An Yi really dared to shoot him.
Suddenly, several crisp gunshots once again triggered an exclamation at the scene. In the ranks of Xu Fentao's guards, which was more than 20 meters behind the center where Xu Fentao fell, the captain and deputy guard captain and three of Xu Fentao's confidants were just about to pull out their guns when they were shot by someone unknown. The bullets flying from nowhere killed him accurately. More than a dozen guards who put their hands on their gun holsters were so frightened that they did not dare to move anymore. Behind An Yi, the commander of the secret service battalion Qi Xiuping led five hundred brothers who were like wolves and tigers to quickly surround him. They all disarmed them. None of the remaining sixty-seven guards dared to resist, and they were escorted to An Yi in the blink of an eye.
An Yi still had a smile on his lips. He glanced at the sixty-seven guards one by one, wiped the blood from the muzzle of the gun with his white gloves, and slowly put the gun into the holster: "If any of you are dissatisfied, step forward."
Most of the sixty-seven guards lowered their heads unconsciously, not daring to meet An Yi's eyes. Only thirteen gritted their teeth and stared at An Yi angrily. One of the majors stepped forward and shouted: " If you have the guts, An, you will fucking kill us all!"
Under the horrified gaze of more than ten thousand officers and soldiers, An Yi laughed heartily and took a step forward: "Yes! However, you can only represent yourself. You have no qualifications to represent anyone, just like the deputy commander Xu who you are loyal to." Fen Tao cannot represent my heroic revolutionary army soldiers! As a soldier, if he escapes from the battlefield without engaging the enemy and sends more than 80,000 brothers into the enemy's encirclement, he is complacent and has no shame. Blushing for you!
Everyone, listen up... At this moment, the friendly soldiers who are surrounded by enemies because of your greed for life and fear of death are fighting hard with doubled enemies. Every minute and every second, someone is killed because of your shameful escape.
Die in battle, put yourself in your shoes, how would you feel if you were the one trapped in the encirclement? Are you still a soldier? Tell me, answer loudly, are you still a man?"
All the soldiers of the 33rd Army lowered their heads in shame. An Yi looked around and then said loudly: "As the saying goes, know your shame and then be brave! If you still have a little blood and a little sense of shame, you still think you are a man.
If so, just raise your heads and look at me! Muster up your courage to follow me and fight back together to take back the lost dignity! I
Now, in the name of the deputy commander of the Third Army, I act as the commander of the Thirty-third Army! Those who are willing to follow me, An Yi, pick up your guns and stand to the north! If you are unwilling, please do not force yourself. Please put down your guns and relieve yourself.
Take off your armed belt, bullet pouch and grenades, take off the military badge on your hat, and leave immediately. I, An Yi, will never make it difficult for you! Start now - "
Crowds suddenly surged on the wide field and dust was flying. Pan Shanzhai took the lead in shouting and led the 7,000 officers and soldiers of his 72nd Division to the north resolutely. Then Zhang Keyao's deputy, Deputy Commander of the 71st Division Lei Yingpeng, shouted the command and led the army.
More than 6,000 brothers quickly walked to the north to gather.
Only the 70th Division, where Xu Fentao served as the division commander, was circling around in confusion. In the end, more than 3,000 people put down their guns, took off their belts, took off their hats, and left sadly under the guidance of the brothers from the independent division's engineer battalion. The remaining more than 5,000 people
Gradually move towards the north and reorganize under the supervision of the gendarmerie brigade.
An Yi took a step forward and signaled his brothers in the secret service camp to let go of the sixty-odd people in Xu Fentao's guard. He looked at them and said loudly: "Listen up, I will only say this once. Those who are willing to stay should immediately stand to the north.
Those who don’t want to stay stay where they are!”
Within a few seconds, more than fifty people walked to the north obediently, and the remaining eleven people still stood motionless, while provoking An Yi with unruly eyes.
An Yi had a sarcastic smile on his face, shook his head, and slowly turned around. Battalion Commander Qi Xiuping, deputy battalion deputy Guo Sizheng, raised his machine gun and fired fiercely. After a heart-stopping gunshot, there was already a person in front of him.
There was no one alive. More than a hundred brothers from the Third Company of the Independent Division's Engineer Battalion pulled out their steel shovels and started swinging them on the spot. In less than ten minutes, seventeen corpses including Xu Fentao were thrown into the ground within a meter.
In the deep pit of 5, the sweating third company commander shouted, and more than a hundred steel shovels were waved again. The 30-meter-long and 1.5-meter-deep pit was quickly filled, and the skilled engineer brothers finally returned.
He flattened the ground with a shovel and looked at it as if he had never excavated before. The tens of thousands of officers and soldiers watching from a distance were stunned and their spines ran cold. Even Ying Rongguang was afraid of An Yi's iron-blooded methods.
An Yi turned around and walked up to the sighing Zhu Shaoliang and saluted: "Report to the general, An Yi has completed the orders of the headquarters and the Central Military Commission. Please give the general instructions!"
Zhu Shaoliang responded solemnly: "Well done, thank you General An for your hard work!"
"Thank you, sir!" An Yi grinned.
Zhu Shaoliang stepped forward and gave An Yi a gentle punch, and called Ying Rongguang to lead the gendarmerie team to return by car to recover.
An Yi led the two division commanders Pan Shanzhai and Lei Yingpeng to see off the convoy, whispered a few words to Qi Xiuping and the engineer battalion commander Huang Hanqian, and returned to the big tree to hold a meeting between division commanders and above.
Less than five minutes after the notice was issued, all the chief and deputy commanders of each division and regiment came running to report. No one dared to look at An Yi.
An Yi solemnly ordered everyone to sit on the floor. Just as he was about to speak, two horses galloped over. Two well-equipped special forces soldiers in camouflage uniforms with their faces painted on their horses rode up to An Yi and dismounted: "Team 1 Captain An Jin is here to report!"
An Yi took the envelope from his younger brother An Jin, tapped the helmet covered with camouflage cloth on his head affectionately, opened the letter, and said with a smile: "Would you like to be promoted to squad leader?"
"Brother, you underestimate me too much. I was recommended by the brothers and appointed by Deputy Commander Hu. I am definitely not the kind of person who relies on connections to climb up the ranks." An Jin curled his lips and replied, leaving dozens of generals standing aside stunned.
An Yi nodded after reading the letter: "Understood, everything is going as planned. You can take your radio station team away and leave me alone. The artillery regiment and teaching regiment will arrive later. I am here to communicate." That’ll be no problem!”
"Yes! I'm leaving!"
An Jin saluted, turned around, took two steps and flew up onto his horse. Under the astonished gaze of tens of thousands of soldiers, the two horses headed northward.
An Yi put away the envelope and turned to dozens of generals: "Everyone, from now on, I will march and fight with you. Your positions will remain unchanged, and your team will remain unchanged. As long as you obey orders and fight bravely, after this battle I will In the name of the deputy commander of the army, I will report to the general headquarters to ask for merit for you, and give you priority to replenish your troops with the authority of the former chief of staff of the enemy's general headquarters to rebuild a brand new 33rd Army! My artillery regiment, teaching regiment , the special agent company, guard company and logistics department will arrive here within two hours, temporarily joining the battle ranks of the 33rd Army, fighting side by side with you and the entire army. I order below..."
All the generals jumped up and stood respectfully. An Yi nodded with satisfaction: "I order: temporarily cancel the 70th Division, and divide the officers and soldiers of the 70th Division evenly into Commander Pan's 72nd Division and Commander Lei's 71st Division to strengthen The two division commanders are solely responsible for receiving and arranging the combat effectiveness of the 70th Division. The ranks and positions of the officers and soldiers will remain the same. Secondly, due to limited weapons and uneven physical fitness of the soldiers, please return the unqualified ones immediately after you return. Select the soldiers and hand them over to my brothers in the engineer battalion to arrange them. These brothers will receive one month's military pay and then be dismissed. The remaining weapons will be quickly replenished to your two divisions. This work must be done within two hours. It will be completed within a week, do you have any questions?"
"No!"
All the generals and commanders responded in unison, showing a gratifying change in their mental outlook.
An Yi nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, these are the real revolutionary soldiers! Xu Fentao's ill-gotten wealth has been confiscated by my guards, and the specific amount is still being liquidated. In addition to paying each of the dismissed brothers one month's military pay In addition, the remaining funds will be divided equally between your two divisions. I only have one request here, and that is that the distribution must be fair and just. Do you have any different opinions?"
"No!"
The voices of all the generals became louder, and they were all in high spirits and were in awe of An Yi.