Rebirth from the Ashes: Rebuilding the Red Soviet Area

At noon, the 45th Division Headquarters in Liancheng

There is a rich meal on the table, but no one touches it.

45th Division Commander Zhang took the wine glass and poured it into his mouth

His face turned red

Commander He of the 733rd Regiment hurried to the entrance of the command office.

Seeing such a scene

I couldn't help but sigh slightly

But he couldn't help but walk to the dining table and said, "Commander, the Red Army has surrounded Liancheng."

Commander Zhang was stunned for a moment

Squinted his eyes and glanced at Captain He

Puzzled, he asked, "What did you say?"

Regimental Commander He gave a helpless wry smile and repeated, "Commander, the Red Army has surrounded Liancheng."

Commander Zhang just said "Oh" and continued drinking.

As if I didn't hear anything

Captain He thought the division commander hadn't heard clearly, so he hurriedly shouted: "Division commander, the Red Army has surrounded Liancheng!"

"There are flags all around. I see quite a few Red Army troops arriving."

“That’s all the troops we have.”

"What should I do?"

Teacher Zhang looked outside the living room and said quietly, "Don't be so loud."

"I can hear it"

"But what can we do now?"

“I went up to the city wall yesterday to take a look.”

"There is at least one regiment of Red Army at each city gate"

"And an artillery battalion"

"I will send a telegram immediately."

"They said they don't have enough troops and asked us to hold out for at least a week."

Captain He immediately said, "Commander, they have given up on us!"

“Given our current situation”

"Let alone a week, we can't even last three days."

"Master, we need to think of a solution."

Commander Zhang also got angry and slammed his wine glass on the table.

Drinks spilled everywhere

He shouted loudly: "Those people watched people die without helping them."

“Our people can’t get out again.”

“I don’t know what’s happening with the other two groups right now.”

"What do you want me to do?"

Captain He was suddenly discouraged.

Suddenly, a miserable cry came from outside the command center: "Commander, Commander!"

Captain He was stunned and listened carefully again.

He immediately said: "Captain Xu is back."

Then he ran out of the command room

Commander Zhang also reacted and ran out staggeringly, not even noticing that his shoes had fallen off.

Before Commander Zhang could run out for long, he stopped

A ragged man with a black face was carried by Captain He and ran towards him.

Commander Zhang rubbed his eyes and opened them again.

The person that Captain He was holding was already in front of him.

After Commander Zhang sees clearly who this person is,

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he asked, "Is that Captain Xu?"

It's better not to ask this question

When asked, Commander Xu burst into tears: "Division Commander"

"It's all over. We're all finished."

When Commander Zhang heard this, his eyes went dark and he fainted.

When I woke up again, I was lying on a chair at the division headquarters.

When Commander Zhang saw Commander Song in front of him

He immediately asked, "Captain Xu, what exactly happened?"

While sobbing, Commander Xu recounted how the 734th and 735th Regiments were used as cannon fodder by the 108th Brigade of the 36th Division.

Commander Zhang was so angry that he was shaking all over, but he still asked, "After you passed Zhangquankeng, didn't you still have half of your troops?"

"Why are you the only one back, Captain Zhao?"

Commander Xu said: "After we passed Zhangquankeng, we ran north along the road."

"The Red Army kept pursuing us along the way"

"When we arrived at Quxi Township, there were less than two battalions of troops left."

"But who knew that as soon as we arrived in Quxi Township, before we could even catch our breath, we were surrounded by a group of ordinary people."

"Captain Zhao fought hard to stop me and some of my brothers, and that's how I escaped."

Captain He felt something was wrong: "Liancheng has been surrounded by the Red Army"

"How did you get in?"

Captain Xu was stunned, then stopped crying. After thinking for a moment, he said, "We came from the south."

"There was only one position at the South Gate, but no one was there."

"I thought it was dug by our people to stop the Red Army."

“I went into the city without thinking much.”

When Captain He heard this, his eyes lit up and he said, "Commander..."

"The Red Army is afraid of heavy losses in the siege, so they are preparing to surround the city from three sides and leave one side open."

"We can take this opportunity to escape."

Commander Zhang gave a bitter laugh, shook his head, and slumped in his chair, saying, "The Red Army is not surrounded on three sides and missing one."

"The Red Army has four regiments and an artillery battalion, and we only have one regiment"

"All they need to do is launch an all-out attack and we will be defeated immediately"

"Why would they go to such lengths to spread the news and issue a bloody declaration of war?"

“This is to make us surrender.”

Commander Xu gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Commander, let's surrender!"

Captain He also said: "Yes, Commander"

"We sincerely surrender to the Central Army"

"They transferred us to this poor place called Fujian and used us as cannon fodder."

“They don’t treat us as human beings at all.”

"Let's rebel"

Commander Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "If we surrender again, we will end up like Lu Bu."

"Becoming a slave of three surnames"

"How will we establish ourselves in the future and how can we face our fellow countrymen?"

Commander Xu said: "Division Commander"

“When we fled Quxi Township”

"Captain Zhao asked me to pass on a message to the division commander."

"We, the proud people of Shandong, will never serve as dogs for the ruthless and ungrateful Nationalist Army, even if we die."

After listening to the words of his subordinate, Commander Xu, Commander Zhang closed his eyes tightly.

After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "We can surrender."

"But have you ever thought about whether the Red Army will recruit our soldiers?"

"We are still in Fujian, surrounded by the Nationalist Army"

"If the Red Army asks us to disband the 45th Division"

"We soldiers became lambs to be slaughtered"

Captain He thought about it and realized that it was possible.

He frowned and said, "No way, Master."

"The Red Army is also short of soldiers now."

"Although our 45th Division's combat effectiveness is a bit weak, we are all veterans after all, and we are better than the new recruits they recruited."

Captain Xu also said: "At this point, it's useless to think too much."

"When we were still in Jiaodong, we also had contact with the Communists"

“We also know something about their policies.”

"Even if the Red Army didn't recruit us, they wouldn't massacre us."

"At least the brothers still have a chance to survive"

"It's better than us resisting and being wiped out."

"As for the fact that there are national troops all around us"

"As long as we are alive, some people will escape."

"It also left a seed for our 45th Division."

Hearing this

Commander Zhang no longer hesitated

He said firmly and tragically: "We have done a lot of bad things over the years, and now retribution has finally come."

"Okay, we surrender."

"As long as the Red Army promises to let our brothers go"

“It’s best to recruit them.”

"Even after we surrendered, the Red Army killed us"

“It’s worth it”

“This is my final explanation to them.”

After saying these words

Commander Zhang continued with genuine emotion: "I have lived for most of my life, and I have had enough."

"You two have been with me for many years, and you are still young."

"If possible, I will do my best to fight for your chance to live."

The two regimental commanders, Xu and He, also saw that Commander Zhang was determined to die.

While admiring him in my heart, I cried out with tears in my eyes: "Master!"

Commander Zhang waved his hand and said: "If you can survive, take my ashes back to Jiaodong."

"Let me return to my roots"

The last words of Commander Zhang were filled with sadness.

"Report to the division commander, four people have come from outside the city, claiming to be sent by the Red Army and want to talk to us."

Commander Zhang is a soldier after all.

His expression changed, he stood up from the chair and straightened his clothes.

He said solemnly: "Wipe away your tears."

"Show the courage of us Shandong people"

“Don’t let people look down on you”

“Open the Gates”

'Let them in'