The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

At daybreak, the first battalion of the training regiment quietly rose from their beds. Each soldier grabbed a few rice cakes and munched on them as they took their starting positions.

Today, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions will each launch a simultaneous attack on a 2-kilometer-wide front, selecting a point easily accessible for breakthrough. Not far east of the 1st Training Regiment, the 7th Brigade of the Guangdong Army will also launch a simultaneous attack.

If they could penetrate into the ranks of Lin Hu's 10,000 men, burn or blow up their baggage and artillery, and cause chaos throughout Lin Hu's army, they would summon the Second Teaching Regiment to attack the chaotic Lin Hu army.

The school army's battle today was a desperate one. The reserve force He Yingqin had was only the regimental guard platoon and a student soldier company, which totaled only 100 people.

After the order was distributed to the battalions last night, Chen Tianheng, Jiang Xianyun, and Chen Geng held a meeting to discuss the matter. They concluded that they must attack. Lin Hu's army was likely planning to attack tomorrow as well, so the First Battalion would have to launch an attack before Lin Hu's army did. This would be very frustrating for Lin Hu's army as they were assembling their formations for the attack.

Of course, this meant they would lose the artillery support from the training regiment, but that support was already pretty much nonexistent. Four of the six mountain guns the training regiment had brought were now broken. Chen Tianheng speculated that the humid southern weather had caused the hydraulic recoil or other delicate mechanisms of the guns to rust, and the artillerymen then forced the guns to fire.

The attack was scheduled for 4:30, and it is now 4:20.

"Huang Wei, go to one of the heavy machine guns. Operate the machine gun yourself!"

Huang Wei: “Yes!”

Chen Tianheng: "Remember, when there is no artillery, heavy machine guns are the rhythm of the battlefield."

"Yes! Battalion Commander!"

4:25.

The first, second and third companies have already moved up. Chen Tianheng can't see where they are hiding, but they should be 300 to 400 meters ahead of Lin Hu's army.

Chen Tianheng could also see Lin Hu's army's positions through his telescope. The heavy machine guns were laid out, unholstered, and behind each was a soldier's head. But it was unknown whether these night watchmen were still conscious at 4 a.m.

If the First Battalion hadn't been so inexperienced in night combat, Chen Tianheng would have wanted to launch a night attack. However, given the current level of coordination, a night attack would easily cause a large number of officers and soldiers to be separated, so he changed the time to 4:30 a.m. At this time, the sky was bright, but the opposing Lin Hu army had not yet fully awakened.

4:29.

Chen Tianheng looked to the left side of the position, where there were three well-hidden heavy machine guns. Huang Wei should be at one of them.

4:30.

"Da da da da da-"

"Come on -"

Signaled by a long burst of heavy machine gun fire, the entire battalion of over 200 men roared and sprinted towards Lin Hu's position. Lin Hu's sentries and machine gunners reacted quickly, swung their guns and fired wildly, sending the soldiers of the first battalion sprawling. Seeing Lin Hu's machine guns fire, Huang Wei's heavy machine gun crew roared again, sending dust billowing from top to bottom.

Lin Hujun's heavy machine gun turned its muzzle to engage Huang Wei. Huang Wei's heavy machine gun immediately stopped firing. When Lin Hujun's heavy machine guns came over, the three heavy machine guns had already been dismantled into pieces by the machine gun squad and carried to another position.

Without the suppression of Lin Hujun's heavy machine guns, the three companies of the first battalion stood up and said, "Charge!"

"Very good," Chen Tianheng said. "So far, it's better than expected."

Jiang Xianyun: "Lin Hu's troops are on too many hills. The troops we attacked yesterday may not pass on the lessons learned to other troops."

Chen Tianheng: "The enemy only has six heavy machine guns on duty. I estimate that Chen Geng and Xu Xiangqian will soon find the light machine gun position. Immediately, you go to the heavy machine guns and tell them to prepare to move forward. I will follow the first and second companies!"

……

At the front, after the second surge, the front combat group was only 200 meters away from Lin Hu's position. The firepower team set up their light machine guns and fired bursts at the enemy heavy machine gun group. A few bursts of fire silenced three heavy machine guns.

"Chen Geng! Charge non-stop!" Chen Tianheng, who had caught up, shouted, "These are all night sentries. There's not even a deputy gunner! We must quickly capture this position!"

Chen Geng: "Bugler, blow the bugle!"

The charge was sounded. At the signal, all the soldiers leaped to their feet and sprinted 200 meters.

Sure enough, the only two heavy machine guns left in Lin Hu's army were unable to effectively intercept the enemy's fire, and some gunners even threw down their heavy machine guns and turned around to run away. The first and second companies rushed all the way and directly rushed into Lin Hu's army's position.

Chen Tianheng's estimate was correct. Lin Hu's army had more than one trench. Seventy or eighty meters behind the first trench, there was another one. But -

There's no one in this trench!

Looking up and looking into the distance, he saw dense crowds of Lin Hu rescue officers and soldiers of the Guangdong Army, estimated to be more than 300 people, rushing towards their positions.

Chen Geng: "Everyone, I'm sorry for getting up late!"

Light machine gun bursts.

Although the First Battalion had been losing men since the Eastern Expedition began, the tactical prowess, combat awareness, and even combat instincts of its soldiers and junior officers had been visibly improving. This round of volleys was dense and accurate, and crucially, the First Battalion's volleys were now incredibly fast. Within seconds, each man had fired five rounds, ducking down to reload his magazine. By then, Lin Hu's troops, sprinting towards their positions, had been completely scattered by five volleys of fire.

"Beep, beep, beep—" Chen Tianheng blew the whistle at Huang Wei, "Huang Wei, move the heavy machine gun to this position!"

Huang Wei: “Yes!”

Even after the bulky Maxim was disassembled into its components, each part was quite heavy. Adding the necessary ammunition boxes, it took seven or eight soldiers to carry each one. Following Chen Tianheng's instructions, the three heavy machine guns were moved forward again and assembled in the second trench.

Chen Tianheng: "Quick, quick, quick, move quickly! Huang Wei, do you see that direction? Load your gun and fire immediately!"

The heavy machine gun crew used all their strength to set up the machine gun as quickly as possible, opened the full ammunition box, pulled out the canvas belt, connected it to the machine gun with a click, and pulled the bolt to load the gun: "Da da da da..."

Chen Tianheng: "Xu Xiangqian! Your Second Company, dig another trench forward!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xianyun: "The surprise attack was a complete success. Let Du Yuming come down from Dagong Mountain and join the battle with his three heavy machine guns?"

Chen Tianheng: "No, they are still the last line of defense. Our success does not mean that other units will also succeed, especially the Third Battalion. I am most worried about the Third Battalion."

……

Compared to the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Hui Dongsheng's 3rd Battalion had not participated in yesterday's fierce battle, so its personnel were relatively complete (still more than 300 men). However, the 3rd Battalion had never fought against Lin Hu's 1st Army of the Guangdong Rescue Army, and was not very familiar with this opponent's strength and fighting style.

When the first battalion had penetrated three trenches and penetrated deep into Lin Hu's army, the entire third battalion lined up and prepared to attack the Lin Hu army positions in front of them.

What Hui Dongsheng did not expect was that Lin Hu's army on the opposite side also pulled out more than 400 people and lined up to prepare for the attack!

In the first rays of morning sun, the Third Battalion and the Guangdong Rescue Army met. After a few seconds of confusion, both sides simultaneously let out wild shouts and began firing volleys and charging at each other.

Lin Hu's troops fell dozens in the first volley of fire, and the Third Battalion also suffered heavy casualties. The Seventh Company Commander, Tan Luming, was killed instantly by a bullet. The Eighth Company's Deputy Commander, Chen Shu, suffered a slit in the abdomen from shrapnel, causing his intestines to spill out. He covered the wound to prevent it from leaking out, and continued to lead his troops forward until he collapsed from exhaustion after a dozen meters.

Eight hundred men approached each other with volleys of gunfire, then collided. In just a few minutes of hand-to-hand combat, one-third of the soldiers on both sides fell. At this time, Chen Hu's army had a huge advantage in manpower. Under Lin Hu's on-site supervision, the Guangdong Rescue Army sent another battalion of more than 300 people to charge the Third Battalion.

These more than 300 people passed by the Third Battalion and ran towards Da Gong Mountain on their own.

However, Dagong Mountain was not deserted at this time. Du Yuming, three heavy machine guns, and an infantry platoon remained there. When more than 3 soldiers of the Guangdong Rescue Army tried to sneak up the mountain, Du Yuming immediately ordered a volley of machine gun fire, and the hail of bullets accurately covered the Guangdong Rescue Army's attempt to launch a fourth attack on Dagong Mountain.

In the direction of the Second Battalion, Liu Zhi (or Xu Jishen) employed tactics similar to those of the First Battalion, stealthily approaching the positions and then dividing the squads into combat teams to assault. Only slightly slower than the First Battalion, the Second Battalion also fully penetrated the trenches of the Guangdong Rescue Army a few minutes later. He Yingqin achieved two of the three breakthrough points he planned, but failed to break through the third, which was instead broken through by the Guangdong Rescue Army.

This was roughly the overall situation of the 1st Teaching Regiment. In another direction, the combat situation of the 7th Brigade of the Guangdong Army was very bad.

Who could have imagined that a leading regiment of the 7th Brigade would get lost when the area was only 5 kilometers from the campsite to the place of attack?

In the direction of the 2nd Training Regiment, the same thing happened as with the 7th Brigade: they got lost.

Qian Dajun felt that he was very unlucky. He had just been in charge of the Second Regiment for less than a month and such a low-level mistake had already occurred.

But there was no way around it. The terrain of eastern Guangdong was unfamiliar. Mountains, hills, flat land between hills, rivers, and narrow river valley plains—to an outsider, the topography of all the counties in eastern Guangdong looked very similar, encompassing all of these elements.

The two armies failed to join the battlefield in time, and the consequences soon became apparent. At 11 a.m., another Guangdong Rescue Army unit broke through the scattered Third Battalion's position. This unit did not climb Dagong Mountain, but headed straight for the school army headquarters.

He Yingqin brought out his most important reserve troops—the guard platoon and the student soldier company. These more than one hundred people stubbornly defended the barrier in front of the school army headquarters, preventing the rescue troops from entering.

To stop this force, Chen Cheng of the artillery battalion pulled out a malfunctioning cannon, aimed, loaded, and cocked it. Miraculously, the previously inactive cannon suddenly fired with a roar. Chen Cheng continued to load and fire, firing three rounds in quick succession. The three shells penetrated the enemy group, forcing the Guangdong Rescue Army to abandon their attempt to raid the school's headquarters and move elsewhere.

The first and second battalions, which were deep in the enemy group, did not know that two of the troops assisting in the battle had failed, but Chen Tianheng clearly felt that there were more and more enemies howling around them.

"We must find a high ground! A high ground where we can build a circular position!" Chen Tianheng found that the situation was becoming more and more serious.

Jiang Xianyun pointed to a mound over 300 meters away and said, "That's the best high ground we can find nearby!"

Chen Tianheng: "Companies 1 and 2, follow my orders. Temporarily break contact in all directions and move to the eastern high ground!"

Amidst a hail of gunfire, over two hundred men retreated, firing. The Second Company advanced to the higher ground, while the First Company held the rear. Chen Geng, directing the entire company's retreat, suddenly shuddered and collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from his chest.

Song Xilian: "Company Commander!!"

Chen Tianheng: "Chen Geng! Damn it, Chen Geng, you can't die here!"

Chapter 59

A group of people shouted and screamed as they carried the shot Chen Geng to a safe place. He was still breathing. Song Xilian applied pressure to stop the bleeding, while Guan Linzheng bandaged him. Then a crowd of heads gathered around him. However, no matter how loudly Chen Tianheng or Jiang Xianyun shouted, Chen Geng would not wake up.

Chen Tianheng: "Old Chen! You can't die here! We haven't even conquered all of China yet!"

Chen Geng: “.”

Xu Xiangqian: "Chen Geng! Chen Geng! If you don't wake up, my Second Company will take first place in the next competition!"

Chen Geng: “.”

Jiang Xianyun: "Chen Geng! You can't die! You still owe me three manuscripts for 'Young Soldiers'!"

Chen Geng: "You're talking nonsense. I've already submitted one."

A huge weight lifted off Chen Tianheng's shoulders, and the others surrounding Chen Geng also burst into laughter.

"Song Xilian!"

Chen Tianheng shouted, "You will be the acting commander of the First Company! Xu Xiangqian! The First Company faces east, the Second Company faces west, and we will establish a circular defensive position! Huang Wei! Come with me to figure out the placement of the heavy machine gun positions!"

……

Lin Hujun Command Headquarters.

"Are you saying that Sun's army was the one that defended Dagong Mountain yesterday?"

Now, from his command post, Lin Hu could see the position of Chen Tianheng's First Battalion. Two kilometers away, a low hillside lay half terraced, half covered with pomelo trees. In winter, the leaves had fallen, leaving only the branches.

Chen Shaopeng: "Yes, Marshal. It's that unit, the Whampoa Student Army."

Chen Shaopeng's brigade had failed to capture Dagong Mountain after three attempts, earning a harsh reprimand from Lin Hu. That evening, Lin Hu dispatched troops to occupy Zengkuo Village, attempting a two-pronged assault on Dagong Mountain. However, they were again driven back by the Whampoa student army. Not only did they fail to capture Zengkuo Village, but their brigade commander, Zhang Huaru, was also captured.

Then, early this morning on March 13th, this group of student soldiers launched an attack without hesitation! They broke through the three lines of defense of Lin Hu's army and rushed in!

Lin Hu: "Chen Shaopeng, you have to fight me today! I don't believe that three hundred student soldiers dare to rush into a crowd of thousands of people and act so ruthlessly! They will never return alive!"

Chen Shaopeng said fearfully, "Marshal, it's hard to defeat this group of people with the few soldiers I have left. Their volleys are too powerful!"

"You and Li Sheng come together! Fifteen hundred people, is that enough?"

……

On an unnamed hill, the first battalion’s defensive position.

In fact, the First Battalion is not only powerful in volley guns. If the situation really escalates to the point where both sides draw blood with bayonets, Lin Hu's army will realize that the First Battalion is even more powerful in hand-to-hand combat.

But Chen Tianheng was trying to avoid large-scale bayonet fighting. Since the 7th Brigade of the Guangdong Army had not yet arrived at the battlefield, it was now 1500 men from the 1st Training Regiment against 10,000 men from Lin Hu's army. He was also deeply trapped in the enemy's lines. If he made a mistake, the entire battalion would be wiped out.

The First Battalion and the entire First Teaching Regiment are the seeds of the Whampoa Army and the seeds of the revolutionary army. Chen Tianheng broke out in cold sweat just now when Chen Geng fell. If one or two more company commanders were injured or killed, it would feel like the sky was falling.

Twenty minutes after capturing the nameless hilltop, Lin Hu's army launched its first large-scale offensive. Thousands of soldiers rushed upward in dense formation. When they closed to within 20 meters, all of the light and heavy weapons of the first battalion opened fire.

The attacking troops included the remaining troops of Chen Shaopeng's Independent Brigade. When they saw a long row of flashes on the hill ahead, and then looked around and were afraid that a group of people would fall down, they turned around and ran without hesitation.

Oh my god, isn’t this the same scenario as what happened on Dagong Mountain yesterday?

I escaped death from Dagong Mountain, do I have to escape death again on this mountain?

Li Sheng's troops, who participated in the attack, were quite resolute. Although Chen Shaopeng's troops retreated at the first blow, these 500-plus men continued to climb the mountain.

Amidst the rifle volleys and light machine gun roll calls, soldiers of Li Sheng's army continued to fall to the ground. The survivors gritted their teeth and kept running, betting that the bullets would miss them. When they rushed to a distance of several dozen meters, they fought one on one for their lives.

"Da da da da da-"

Huang Wei's three heavy machine guns lifted up the camouflaged branches and straw bundles, and the attacking enemy troops lined up in a line, just under the muzzles of the three heavy machine guns arranged on the flank of the position.

The assistant gunner pulled the canvas belt, and the gunner held the trigger tightly. The heavy machine gun did not need to turn the muzzle left and right in a large range for side shooting. It only needed to pour bullets in one direction, and rows of enemy soldiers at a distance of two hundred to five hundred meters would fall down.

"what? What?"

Brigade Commander Li Sheng at the foot of the mountain was shocked: "Are these people carrying heavy machine guns weighing over 100 kilograms everywhere?"

……

After repelling this wave of boarded-man charge by a thousand men, Chen Tianheng called in Song Xilian, Xu Xiangqian and Huang Wei.

"Comrades, in the battle just now, do you think Lin Hu's army was lacking something?"

Xu Xiangqian: "Their cannons didn't fire."

"Yes, they attacked without any artillery preparation," Chen Tianheng said. "Lin Hu's army had ammunition and couldn't have been without shells. The reason they didn't have artillery support was that the mountain blocked the firing range of their artillery positions. If my estimate is correct, Lin Hu's army's dozen or so mountain cannons are being relocated to a new position on the hill that can fire at us."

Song Xilian: "Then, should we change positions?"

Chen Tianheng: "Take the wounded and change positions immediately. We already have more than 20 wounded who can't walk on their own, so now, we will switch to Lin Hu's command headquarters."

……

The battle around Mianhu raged from dawn to noon, pitting the Training Regiment's thousand-plus men against Lin Hu's ten thousand. The Whampoa Student Army truly fought one against a hundred, charging forward with unwavering resolve. The three battalions completely thwarted Lin Hu's attack. Throughout the battlefield, the Training Regiment's First Battalion, regardless of its number, fought without retreat, especially the First and Second Battalions. Lin Hu's troops never gained an advantage in direct confrontations with these two battalions.

Even though the Third Battalion suffered heavy casualties, the remaining soldiers still fought bravely in platoons or even squads, causing great trouble to Lin Hu's army.

At 1 p.m., the 7th Brigade of the Guangdong Army, which was late because it took the wrong road, finally arrived at the battlefield.