Black Flag Army

Tuoketuo County is one of the six counties under Guisui City. It is located in the central part of Suiyuan, on the Tumochuan Plain on the northern bank of the boundary between the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain. It is backed by Yin Mountain in the north and faces the Yellow River in the south. It is located in the hinterland of the golden triangle of Guisui, Baotou and Ordos. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. In 390 BC, Zhao Wuhou built Yunzhong City here. In 307 BC, King Wuling of Zhao established Yunzhong County, where the famous Hufu horse riding and archery were successfully trained.

In 1392, the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty ordered the construction of Dongshengwei City, which is now the best-preserved ancient city built with rammed earth slabs in my country. In the tenth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1531), Tuotu, the adopted son of Altan Khan, settled in Dongshengwei City, and the city was named "Tokto".

Liu Zhendong, who had just arrived in Tokto County, had no time to rest. Under the guidance of Zhao Sheng, the head of the Tokto County militia, he went to the Tokto Pass to learn about the terrain. After Zhang Shaozeng defeated the Jin army and took control of Guisui City, the governor of Tokto County and the head of the militia immediately expressed their loyalty to Zhang Shaozeng. Originally, the Tokto County militia had only more than 300 people and dozens of old-fashioned rifles, so they could only choose to be fence-sitters.

Since a lot of war horses were captured in the battle against the Jin army, Liu Zhendong's battalion all came on horseback, so they arrived quickly. However, they could not be considered a cavalry battalion, but only mounted infantry. Because they had no riding training, they could only use the war horses as pack horses and had to dismount to fight.

Wu Guozhu, the leader of the reconnaissance platoon, rode up from the south and breathlessly said to Liu Zhendong, "Battalion Commander! The leading cavalry regiment of the Jin army will reach the mountain pass in half an hour."

Wu Guozhu was the son of Wu Pengnian, a general under Liu Yongfu, and the adopted son of Liu Chengliang. When he was in Qinzhou, he looked down on Liu Zhendong. After being taught a lesson by Liu Chengliang, he still refused to accept it and proposed to compete with Liu Zhendong in martial arts. Liu Zhendong accepted the challenge and knocked him to the ground with only one move. He refused to accept it and got up to fight again, but fell to the ground again. He was knocked down seven or eight times in a row. Liu Zhendong only used one move each time and used different techniques. Wu Guozhu was convinced and admired Liu Zhendong very much. He wanted to worship him as his teacher. Liu Zhendong said that he would be tested for two years before agreeing. After Liu Chengliang became the battalion commander of the third battalion, he refused to join the third battalion and insisted on working in Liu Zhendong's security brigade. After Liu Zhendong became the battalion commander of the fourth battalion, the backbone of the security team entered the fourth battalion, and he became the reconnaissance platoon leader of the fourth battalion.

Liu Zhendong was shocked and said, "How come they arrived so quickly? Five hours earlier than expected. Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu, order the first and second companies to enter the sniper position on the top of the mountain, and the third company to be the reserve. Signalman Xiao Zhao immediately goes to Baotou to inform General Manager Wu about the situation here, and ask him to send a telegram to Mr. Di and ask them to come over quickly."

Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu Anting is the younger brother of Second Battalion Commander Zhu Anbang. Zhang Zhenyang was worried that Liu Zhendong had just become battalion commander and was not familiar with many military affairs, so he transferred a group of officers from the First and Second Battalions to help him.

With a crisp gunshot, the reconnaissance cavalry of the Second Division of the Shanxi Army and the reconnaissance cavalry of the Baotou Patrol Regiment exchanged fire, and the Tokto sniper battle started ahead of schedule.

After a round of gunfire, several scouts from both sides were shot and fell off their horses. Follow-up troops from both armies also arrived one after another. Liu Hu, the cavalry commander of the Jin army, noticed that the gunfire from the patrol battalion was sparse, and realized that the other side had fewer people, so he ordered the entire regiment to charge and try to quickly seize several nearby hilltops. So, densely packed Jin soldiers rushed to the hilltops, and the hillside was full of Jin officers and soldiers in gray cloth uniforms, and the sound of gunfire was also one after another. This battle had a special point. Both sides were cavalry, but they had to seize positions in an infantry manner.

Liu Zhendong's Fourth Battalion was in a commanding position, occupying the terrain advantage, and used machine guns and mortars to cause heavy casualties to the cavalry regiment. After only one charge, the Jin army left dozens of corpses and seriously injured soldiers. The remaining people were terrified and soon fled to the foot of the mountain. The charge of the cavalry regiment failed. Liu Hu, the commander of the Jin army's cavalry regiment, was so angry that he cursed and shot several fast-running deserters. He launched another attack, but was soon beaten back. In order to march quickly, the regiment was only equipped with pistols, rifles, machine guns and sabers, and even mortars. So for a while, these people could not think of a solution, and the battlefield temporarily fell into silence, with only the neighing of war horses and coughs choked by gunpowder.

Liu Zhendong realized that the other side was waiting for follow-up troops, so he said to the deputy battalion commander Zhu Anting: "The enemy's large force will arrive soon, and we must be prepared for a fierce battle. If I am killed, you will take command, and we cannot retreat even if there is only one person left."

Zhu Anting said: "Captain Zhang will definitely come to reinforce us in time."

Liu Zhendong sighed, "The enemy is coming too fast. Commander Zhang still has to cross the Yellow River to the west, which takes a lot of time. I don't know if the plane that has been tested for more than a month can participate in the battle."

Wu Guozhu said, "It would be great if planes could participate in the battle. They would bomb a large area and scare the Jin army terribly. That factory director Feng Ru is too stingy and is always reluctant to send planes out."

Zhu Anting said: "Mr. Feng also has his difficulties. The cost of aircraft is too high. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to buy one from abroad. The cost of producing it by ourselves is even higher. Now it is in the test period. If one is damaged, it will cost a lot of money!"

At the Baotou Municipal Government Office, Wu Zhong, who also serves as the mayor of Baotou, received the news from Xiao Zhao, a communications soldier, and immediately sent a telegram to Di Xiong in Guisui. A few minutes later, Di Xiong called back: "Send planes to rescue Tokto at any cost."

The six pilots selected from the patrol regiment had only been trained for more than a month, and the quality of the aircraft had yet to be tested. It was very risky to take off and fight at this time, but Di Xiong could no longer care about much.

When Wu Zhong and Tian Mengxue arrived at the aircraft factory by horse-drawn carriage, they were received by the deputy director Zhu Zhuquan. Zhu Zhuquan said, "Director Feng worked on the new engine last night and stayed up all night. He just fell asleep now. What should we do?"

Wu Zhong handed the telegram to Zhu Zhuquan and said, "Since he is asleep, there is no need to wake him up. This is Mr. Di's order. Send a plane to Tokto to help immediately. If Feng Ru is awake, he will not refuse."

After reading the telegram, Zhu Zhuquan said in embarrassment: "If you move Director Feng's plane without his consent, Director Feng will be furious if he finds out."

Tian Mengxue said sternly, "The military situation is extremely urgent right now. How can we not send out the plane just because a factory director gets angry? Besides, does the plane belong to him personally? Mr. Di paid him to build it. He has no power to stop it. When he wakes up and gets angry, let him come at me."

Zhu Zhuquan naturally knew the relationship between her and Feng Ru. Feng Ru tried to please her in every way and never got angry with her, but she often got angry with Feng Ru. Zhu Zhuquan had to call six pilots together, explain the situation, and ask for their opinions. The pilots selected from the patrol regiment all expressed their determination to obey orders. So Zhu Zhuquan let them enter the cabin. At that time, the bomber was still very primitive and required two people to operate, one to drive, and one to shoot and drop bombs. The captain of the six-man flight team was Wu Shao, Wu Zhong's cousin. Like Hu Lin and Hu Canglang, he came from other places to seek refuge with Wu Zhong. Wu Zhong couldn't figure out why so many relatives appeared after he became the general manager. Perhaps it was in line with the old saying: Poor in the city, no one knows, rich in the mountains, distant relatives.

At the Tokto battlefield, about half an hour after the ceasefire, the brigade commander of the Jin faction, Liu Hanqing, arrived with the remaining two cavalry regiments and heavy weapons. The leading regiment commander, Liu Hu, quickly reported the battle situation to his superiors. After Liu Hanqing had a general understanding, he ordered the 18 heavy artillery of the heavy artillery battalion to fire and bombard the hilltop, and sent his two regiments into the battlefield. With the deafening sound of heavy artillery, another charge of the Jin army began.

Artillery, grenades and machine guns from both sides were put into use. An endless stream of bullets covered the mountains and fields, and explosions resounded from the top to the foot of the mountain. With heavy artillery as cover, the Jin army's offensive was very fierce, and the casualties of the 4th Patrol Battalion continued to increase. More than half of the battalion's mortar platoon were killed or wounded, and all four mortars were destroyed. Several machine gunners were also killed. Some of the Jin army rushed to the top of the hill, and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The top of the hill was immediately filled with blood and flesh, and the sounds of gun butts colliding and swords clashing resounded throughout the hill. Liu Zhendong personally wielded a sword and rushed to the front line. His moves were as fast as lightning, and more than a dozen Jin soldiers fell under his sword one after another. In the hand-to-hand combat, no Jin soldier could last a round under his sword. Seeing that the battalion commander was so brave, the morale of the soldiers of the 4th Battalion was greatly boosted, and their fighting will was stronger than that of the Jin army. The offensive up the mountain was suppressed by the defenders, and rows of Jin soldiers were hacked to death on the top of the hill. Some people panicked and fell directly off the cliff.

However, more and more enemies were rushing up the hill, and the machine gun fire points were suppressed by heavy artillery. The casualties of the Jin army reached more than 300 people, but the first company of the fourth battalion had also suffered more than half of its casualties, and the second company had also suffered one-third of its casualties. Zhu Anting had already rushed to support with the third company. As soon as he arrived, he saw several enemies rushing to the rear of the position. He quickly swung his sword and immediately killed two enemies. The rest of the enemies also died under the bayonets of the patrol army. Liu Zhendong was shot in the right arm. The medical staff had just bandaged him, and he went back to the battlefield, swinging his sword with his left hand to kill the enemy.

After the battle lasted for more than an hour, the Jin army lost its will to fight, and the barrels of the heavy artillery began to overheat. When the artillery fire stopped, the attacking party withdrew again. But Liu Zhendong was not happy because of the heavy casualties. Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu Anting was seriously injured by the artillery, and two of the three company commanders died and one was seriously injured, so the deputy company commander had to take over the command.

Although Liu Hanqing's brigade failed again, he had received news that the infantry brigade led by Wen Shouquan and Li Dagui was about to arrive. Therefore, he was confident in destroying the enemy in front of him. However, at this moment, a strange roar resounded over the valley, and three silver planes appeared over the Jin Army Cavalry Brigade. Airplanes were still rare in the Republic of China, and most people had never seen one, including the Jin soldiers. When they saw the planes, they shouted "Strange birds are coming". As the bombs from the three planes were dropped, multiple explosions occurred, and a heavy artillery was also blown up. The Jin Army became even more panicked, and the soldiers ran around everywhere, not knowing what to do. The cavalry brigade soon began to fall into chaos.

The patrol battalion on the hilltop was overjoyed and cheered. Wu Guozhu asked Liu Zhendong to take the opportunity to launch a charge and seize the enemy's heavy artillery position. The temptation of the 120mm caliber heavy artillery was too great. But Liu Zhendong refused. Liu Zhendong also knew that this was an excellent opportunity for a counterattack, but the difference in the number of people on both sides was too large. They only had more than 100 people left, and the enemy still had nearly 3,000 people, so they had to hold back.

Brigade Commander Liu Hanqing had never seen such a "strange bird" before, and he was afraid that there were many of them. He was terrified and immediately ordered a retreat. After just over ten minutes, the brigade in Yamaguchi had fled cleanly, leaving behind more than 500 corpses and seriously injured. The three planes did not pursue them and quickly flew back to Baotou, because these experimental planes had a short range and would crash if they did not return.

"Captain! Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu died due to his severe injuries."

The military doctor reported to Liu Zhendong sadly. Liu Zhendong had just been happy for a while when he received this bad news. He couldn't help but burst into tears. Zhu Anting was a loyal and honest person. Because he had been in Feng Jishen's army, he had solid military knowledge. After coming to the Fourth Battalion as the deputy battalion commander, he helped Liu Zhendong a lot. Although the two had only been together for more than a month, they had already developed a deep friendship.

Liu Han's Youth Brigade retreated ten miles away and met the Second Brigade led by the division commander Wen Shouquan. They reported the "strange bird" bombing to Wen Shouquan. Wen Shouquan had studied in Japan and of course knew that the "strange bird" was an airplane. He was shocked to hear that Zhang Shaozeng's army actually had airplanes, and that three of them came at once. He knew that airplanes were very expensive at that time. Yan Xishan once wanted to buy one, but gave up after inquiring about the price.

Wen Shouquan discussed with the two brigade commanders and decided to hold off until Yan Xishan reported the situation. Since there were no portable military telegraphs at that time, they could only send people to the Datong Telegraph Office to send a message. While they were hesitating, Di Xiong personally led three battalions of Zhang Zhenyang's patrol regiment to Tokto, taking over Liu Zhendong's defense line and replacing them to treat their injuries and rest.

Di Xiong was shocked when he saw the casualty figures, and quickly asked Liu Zhendong: "Why are there so many casualties?"

Liu Zhendong sighed, "The Jin army's heavy artillery was too lethal. Most of our brothers died under it, including Deputy Battalion Commander Zhu and two company commanders. We can't fight without heavy artillery in the future! Fortunately, the planes came quickly, otherwise we would all be finished."

Wen Shouquan also received the news that Guisui had fallen and two brigades had been wiped out. He knew that the battle could not be fought, and without waiting for Yan Xishan's reply, he ordered a retreat back to Shanxi. Yan Xishan was shocked to learn that the Baotou Patrol Regiment had three aircraft participating in the battle, and did not ask Wen Shouquan to attack again, but sent someone to contact the Japanese as soon as possible to prepare to purchase aircraft.