1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Comrade Li Desheng, the army's mission is urgent right now. How about we put this off until later?"

The latter thought for a moment and then spoke: "Comrade Li Desheng, anger does not lead to war."

"No! This public trial must be held! We must give the people an explanation!!" Li Desheng showed no sign of giving in.

"Since these bastards are threatening our Red Army with the lives of ordinary people, then we will threaten them with their lives!!" Of course, Li Desheng did not lose his mind.

Because he was very confident that the Nationalist army could not understand his operation and would definitely still be running towards Henan foolishly; so, there was plenty of time.

“…”

So, during the intense battle and dog walking, Li Desheng ordered the entire army to take time out to hold a grand public trial in Lu'an.

At the meeting, according to Red Army law, the military judge sentenced and executed officers like Li Shiding who had issued the arrest warrant, as well as soldiers who had committed murder, rape, and robbery. A few days later, the Nationalist troops, who had been foolishly marching toward Henan in compliance with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's orders, finally realized something was amiss.

The Communist bandits, it seems they are not heading in this direction...

As the Seventh Division completely lost contact, someone realized the problem:

not good!

It feels like I was cheated!

The first to notice the problem was Hu Zongnan's First Division.

As a division-level commander and a direct subordinate of Chiang, Hu Zongnan was certainly unwilling and unable to stay in Wuhan, so he left Wuhan early; later, his troops were the most active in pursuing the Red Fourth Front Army, and were the first to react and turn to arrive in Lu'an.

Then, looking at the completely destroyed Sujiabu fortifications, the hanged bodies dangling from the gate towers of Lu'an County, and the huge red words on the city walls, his face turned pale. "...Anyone who dares to attack innocent civilians will be killed by the Red Army..."

While muttering these words, Hu Zongnan heard the adjutant's report:

"Commander! I've found out! The Communists are fleeing south! They say they're going to attack Anqing! Damn, did they drink gasoline? They can really run!"

Anqing, the capital city of Anhui Province at that time, had very developed transportation and commerce;

Most importantly, due to the previous layout, there was almost no heavy military presence there. Once it was captured, the Communist bandits could obtain a large number of ships and supplies and go down the river to attack Nanjing! Even if they did not attack Nanjing, they could go upstream, pass through Wangjiang, Pengze, Hukou and other places, sneak into Jiangxi, threaten Nanchang, and even join forces with the Communist bandits in Jiangxi!

The adjutant immediately realized the danger and said anxiously:

"Commander! Chase them now! It will be too late if we don't! Nanjing should be safe, but we absolutely cannot let them capture Anqing and allow the two Communist bandits to merge!"

Hu Zongnan thought for a while and shook his head:

“No, we’re not going to Anqing.”

"what?"

"The Communists are cunning. This must be fake news, just like they lied to us about running to Henan." "...So..."

"They must have run east!" Hu Zongnan said confidently:

"Instead of going around in circles and attacking Anqing first, it's better to threaten Nanjing directly! That way the impact will be greater!" "The commander is wise!"

Upon receiving the report, Chiang Kai-shek, while berating Li Shiding for "taking days to capture even 3 Communist bandits," endorsed Hu Zongnan's assessment and ordered him and other troops to advance eastwards, absolutely certain to stop the Communists. Consequently, the Nationalist troops, having first retreated to Xinji, then been ordered to Lu'an and then Henan, now raced back towards Nanjing, each one exhausted.

Then, everyone got a piece of news that made countless KMT commanders (Hu Zongnan is specifically mentioned here) smash cups, beat subordinates, pull their hair, and curse their mothers:

Anqing has fallen... Hey?

Unexpected, right?

I anticipated your anticipation.

The Red Army passed between Huoshan and Shucheng, forming a > shape and marching in a nearly straight line for two days, taking Anqing in just one hour. This is really not the fault of the local Kuomintang troops' incompetence.

No one could have imagined that the Red Army could make it all the way from Xinji, hundreds of kilometers away, to here, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. It's simply impossible for humans to do this!

The old feudal warlords who had no faith at all could not understand the fighting will and desire of the Red Army troops who had begun to evolve gradually towards the direction of the People's Liberation Army; what they did not know was that the man leading these Red Army soldiers was called Li Desheng, a god-like man who had fought in classic battles in history such as the "Four Crossings of the Chishui River".

Whether they understood it or not, Anqing had already been lost, and a large amount of supplies and ships had fallen into the hands of the Red Army, which immediately prepared to move down the river and attack Nanjing. Sure enough, two days later, a large number of ships began to move down the river in a mighty and open manner. Chizhou, Tongling, and Wuhu along the way all saw this "huge" fleet. Now, Chiang Kai-shek in Wuhan was really panicked.

He immediately ordered Hu Zongnan and others to block the river leading to Nanjing, and other troops to quickly move towards the Anqing-Nanjing area. Not a single Communist soldier should be allowed to appear near Nanjing!

Chairman Chiang Kai-shek certainly knew that the Communists with such a small number of men could never capture Nanjing. However, if the enemy appeared near Nanjing, or even fired a single shot in its direction, it would be a major political incident! He knew with his ass that bastards like Wang Jingwei, Li Zongren, and Li Jishen would definitely take the opportunity to attack him!

Don't think that after the Central Plains War, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's position was as secure as a rock!

Okay!

You, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, mobilized a large army to Hubei, Henan, and Anhui to suppress bandits, claiming that you had achieved remarkable results and were about to completely wipe out the bandit army. But in the end, the Communist bandits were driven back to the capital? What kind of front line was being shifted backward?

Moreover, during this period of encirclement and suppression, the Nationalist army had already lost one lieutenant general, seven major generals, and over a hundred colonel-level officers, and had lost over 50,000 men and a large amount of equipment and supplies. The army was exhausted and resentful. At this point in the war, both the "Third Encirclement and Suppression" and the "Fourth Encirclement and Suppression" had undoubtedly suffered major failures.

Now, forget about suppressing the bandits, let's think about how to end this and how to save the last bit of face for Chairman Chiang and the Nationalist government!

Hu Zongnan, who had honestly taken the blame for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, led his troops around Chaohu Lake with a bitter face and finally blocked the Red Army fleet near Dangtu.

Surprisingly, upon seeing the Kuomintang troops, who were acting as if they were facing a formidable enemy, the fleet actually stopped very quickly. The captain disembarked with his hands raised, saying they were forced to come here and that there were actually no Communist bandits on board. What?

How did you force it?

Those damn communists who came all the way here with guns pointed at our heads just jumped off the boat and escaped.

" .."

" .."

" .."

Fuck you!!!

What about the Communist bandits?

I am such a big bunch of communists???

199 The terrifying Communist army is approaching Wuhan!

Li Desheng really had a new respect for the Red Army troops under his command.

As we all know, even if a commander's strategy is perfect, without an army capable of executing it, everything is worth nothing.

However, after nearly a month of fighting in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region, this main force of the Red Fourth Front Army not only had no complaints, but also was in excellent spirits, strength, and physical condition, far exceeding that of the Central Red Army. This is not to say that people from Hubei, Henan, and Anhui are physically better than those from Jiangxi, but because Chairman Chiang Kai-shek besieged the Central Soviet Area so harshly.

There's no way. They're so short of salt that they can't even stand. We can't expect them to stay in good shape.

But these kids from the mountains are in really good shape and can handle a lot of hard work.

(If you are not patient, you can't cross the grassland three times in a row under Zhang Guotao's hesitation and stupid command. It is really admirable and difficult.)

After venturing out from the Dabie Mountains to the plains, they were basically like wolves among a flock of sheep, running all the way to the present day. Even if they were tired that day, they would eat a good meal, rest at night,

The next day I continued to be full of energy.

It's no exaggeration to say that it's almost the same as Agent Matt.

Li Desheng was filled with admiration as he watched UMP45, who had also been traveling for so many days without showing any signs of fatigue or even losing weight.

What Li Desheng didn't know was that the reason why these soldiers of the Red Fourth Front Army were so persistent was not only because of their good physical fitness and their faith after transformation, but also because of other reasons.

A very important reason:

Damn it, Agent Matt, a woman, never complained a word, but we're a bunch of grown men, and anyone who complains is a dog!

Men have a strange desire to win and to perform.

Little did they know that UMP45's cloud map had already become a little disordered because of them.

That's not right. According to data monitoring and calculations, many soldiers should have died of exhaustion long ago. Why are they still alive? Is this the so-called "human will"?

It's not scientific...

No wonder even in 2082, the study of "human willpower" remains a key and difficult topic. Everyone marvels at the other's strength.

In fact, from the perspective of God in later generations, especially in the eyes of the Chinese, the actions of the Red Army seemed nothing remarkable; but at that time, when the world had never seen such an army, it was a very terrifying thing.

Obviously, Chiang Kai-shek, who was played like a dog by Li Desheng, could never have imagined that there was such a thing in the world that could attack thousands of kilometers in less than a month without falling apart.

Troops.

Therefore, until he received Hu Zongnan's new telegram, Chiang Kai-shek still believed that the Red Army was advancing eastward and was going to threaten Nanjing.

(The Fourth Red Army actually intended to do this, but because Zeng Zhongsheng disobeyed orders a few times, they only did half of it.)

After receiving the telegram that "all the ships we intercepted were empty," Chairman Chiang Kai-shek was furious at being tricked again and extremely confused about where the Communist bandits had gone. Then, soon after, he (thought he) knew the Red Army's movements.

Because He Yingqin from Nanchang sent an urgent telegram:

The Communist bandits in Jiangxi are launching a massive attack to the north, intending to besiege the city of Nanchang. Our army cannot bear the harassment from their air force and suffers repeated defeats. They have no choice but to close the city and defend themselves. Request for support! Request for support! Well, He Yingqin lied about military intelligence again.

The Central Red Army did send troops to harass and attack the city of Nanchang, and did rely on the large amount of spoils captured in battles such as Zhangzhou to form a firepower advantage in a small area and within a short period of time, but the National Army in Nanchang did not suffer a crushing defeat; the reason they did not go into battle was simply that a certain He heard about the various things that happened near Hubei, Henan and Anhui, and remembered the threat, so he did not dare to fight.

But Chairman Chiang didn't know this. He just analyzed the situation from the telegram and looked at the map, and then he thought he understood:

Okay!

That's it!

The Hubei, Henan, and Anhui Communist bandits really want to join forces with the Jiangxi Communist bandits! They even want to attack Nanchang from both the north and the south!

Do not!

They must be planning to attack Nanchang from both the north and the south!

Because the Communist bandits' intention to seize Nanchang is known throughout the country!

The combination of these two Communist bandits was something that even the elite Nationalist troops in Nanchang could not underestimate! That’s why they kept feinting their tactics!

not to mention...

Recalling the repeated tricks he had endured during this period, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's face was gloomy and bewildered. His gloom was due to his awareness of the Communist army's tenacity and the commander's difficulty.

He was confused because he knew Zhang Guotao and did not think he had the ability to do so. Regardless, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek once again issued orders to the various units of the National Army:

All units must assemble as quickly as possible in the Hubei-Jiangxi border, Jiujiang, and Lushan areas, and search for and encircle the Communist bandits near Nanchang.

So, amidst the curses of "motherfucker," "motherfucker," "donkey fuck," "fuck your mother," and "fuck your grandmother," the Nationalist troops, who had been running around, some of whom had even fled into Henan, were forced to move again. Do you think they had no objections?

Don't make trouble.

The various armies participating in this battle, including Hu Zongnan's elite First Division, experienced a large number of desertions and even collective mutinies because everyone could no longer bear it.

Men join the army to eat the emperor's food, so dying on the battlefield is understandable, but what the hell is this about running around all day and being so tired that you vomit blood! I've lost more than ten or twenty pounds!!!

I'm dying!

I'm really dying!!!

This is not an exaggeration; it is the reality of the situation for the soldiers of the Nationalist Army. Serving in the Nationalist Army is truly miserable.

Don't believe the images of well-equipped, powerful, and superhuman Nationalist officers and soldiers portrayed in later films and TV dramas. In real history, even the most elite Central Army couldn't achieve this! In reality, due to the Nationalist army's "fine tradition" (referring to the withholding of soldiers' staple and non-staple food) that only began to improve under the urging of the United States in 1946, the physical condition of the Nationalist soldiers was extremely poor.

How bad is it?

His body was covered with visible ribs and had almost no fat stored.

Anyone with even a passing understanding of physiology, nutrition, and military science knows the serious consequences this will bring: Nationalist soldiers simply cannot withstand any sustained combat!

Under the pressure of their superiors, they could force themselves to run, but often, while running, they would suddenly fall headfirst to the ground and could not get up again.

This is also the reason why most national armies in history were unable to repeatedly fight for positions with the enemy, because that requires strong physical support! Coincidentally, being walked around like a dog by the Red Army is "protracted combat", which is the most physically demanding behavior.

The Red Army soldiers were not in great shape, but compared to the Nationalist Army, they were still in much better shape. At least their rations were not deducted, and at least they had the will to fight.

But what about the nationalist soldiers?

The officers were lucky not to have to pick out the vitamin tablets they had taken and resell them.

(This was the case historically, so the American officers sent to support the troops would stare at every Nationalist soldier and wait until they swallowed their vitamin tablets before their mission was complete.) As a result, during these mobile battles, many Nationalist soldiers died of exhaustion on the road before even seeing the enemy, and even more chose to flee. Of course, Chiang Kai-shek did not appreciate the hard work of his Nationalist soldiers, and even complained about the slow pace of the various units, sending one telegram after another urging them to hurry up.

So, the officers also frantically urged the soldiers below;

As a result, more soldiers fled and died of exhaustion...

If there were high-definition satellites in the sky at that time, we would be able to see that a large number of Kuomintang troops formed thin lines, gathering in the direction of Jiujiang, Anqing, and Nanchang from all directions; why do we say "thin lines"?

Because too many soldiers could not keep up with the team, they could only drag it farther and farther away, and then slowly fell behind and disappeared.

Of the original 30-man army (a slightly exaggerated number to begin with), only 5 are still capable of fighting. 30 versus 5, the advantage is mine, but what about 5 versus 5?

Don't forget that in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area, there are still more than 20 guerrilla and local troops who are short of guns and artillery but have received some military training. So, now it is 5 to 30!

In the eyes of a great strategist who has terrible marksmanship but "knows a little about military affairs", this is exactly the situation he wants to see.

While he couldn't see the entire battlefield as clearly as the UMP45, his keen sense of the battlefield had already made a clear observation. "Send a telegram to Comrades Xu Xiangqian, Zeng Zhongsheng, and others. Order all hidden forces to mobilize! Fight freely! Seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy's active forces!" "Send a telegram to Comrade Shen Zemin. Organize the guerrillas to launch a counterattack and recapture the base areas! Also notify the Air Force to remove their camouflage and prepare for takeoff!" Previously, Xu Xiangqian and Zeng Zhongsheng, each leading approximately 10,000 men, had been hiding in the mountains, patiently awaiting orders.

The Red Army Air Force first bombed Wuhan, then, at the last moment after Xinji and other cities fell, departed for Lu'an to assist in the battle. After refueling there, they took off and returned to Xinji Airport. "Send a telegram to Comrade He Long, ordering the Red Third Army to mobilize and launch an attack from the southwest! Increase the momentum! Cooperate with our main force in the attack on Wuhan!"

That's right. Under Li Desheng's leadership, the main force of the Red Army, which had wreaked havoc in the Lu'an and Anqing areas, did not march south to Nanchang or east to Nanjing. Instead, it marched westward along the Anhui-Jiangsu River plain and the edge of the Dabie Mountains! Yes, after making a dramatic turn, the main force of the Red Fourth Front Army unexpectedly set its sights on the very thing they had initially claimed, but which no one on the Nationalist side believed: