The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Gu Shiduo replied, half-jokingly.

"Alright, the military is being exceptionally lenient with you. These two pistols are yours too. Remember to kill as many enemies as possible on the battlefield, but also be careful of your own safety!"

"Understood, Commander!"

"how old are you?"

"I'm 17 this year!"

"You're quite a sharpshooter for your age. Who taught you?"

"My grandfather often took me hunting!"

"Ah, no wonder! It's true that a great teacher produces a great student!"

Gu Shiduo was born into a hunter's family. From the age of eleven or twelve, he went hunting in the mountains with his grandfather, developing excellent marksmanship and extraordinary courage from a young age, having hunted countless wolves and leopards. At fourteen, he joined a plainclothes unit and later the Northeast Hubei Independent Regiment. Last autumn, he arrived in western Anhui with the regiment and was quickly promoted to captain of the second platoon of the pistol regiment. He was renowned as a "sharpshooter" for his perfect accuracy in military shooting demonstrations. Cao Wenting particularly admired him and from then on, kept Gu Shiduo by his side at all times.

Gu Shiduo carrying three guns was extremely rare in the Red Army.

Hearing Cao Wenting's praise, Gu Shiduo happily put down the machine gun in his hand. He then raised a short gun in each hand and fired with both hands. Two shots rang out, and two willow branches not far away snapped in half. Cheers immediately rang out from the ranks, and Cao Wenting smiled with pleasure.

Cao Wenting turned around and said to everyone:

"Comrades, to fight the enemy, we must hone our marksmanship and skills, to shoot accurately and ruthlessly. From now on, the military headquarters will make an unwritten rule:"

Whoever fires the most and most accurate shots at the enemy will be commended by the military and awarded two pistols!

"it is good!"

The soldiers jumped up with joy, and Gu Shiduo's face also glowed.

The Battle of Taohualing was the most brilliant battle fought by the 28th Red Army since its formation, and it was also a well-prepared annihilation battle.

After the war, those soldiers who did not have guns were given guns and ammunition, which greatly boosted the morale of the Red Army.

Chiang Kai-shek was extremely shocked to hear that the Red 28th Army had wiped out most of a regiment of the White Army at Taohualing. He had thought that the Red Army had been completely annihilated after more than three months of mopping-up operations in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region. Now, not only had the Red Army not been completely wiped out, but a new Red 28th Army had emerged, and it was becoming increasingly fierce in the fight against the White Army, wiping out more than half of his regiment overnight. He was particularly furious and immediately began to berate the many White Army military and political officials in front of him.

"The Northeast Army is a bunch of useless bastards. They have been suppressing the Red Army for nearly a year, but they have not yet eliminated a few small Red Army groups. They are still rebelling and disturbing the peace of our people. What has Zhang Yi'an been doing? It is simply outrageous!"

He paced hurriedly in the operations room, glancing at the map and then at the government officials standing nearby. After a brief pause, he said:

"To date, we have used a great deal of material, financial and human resources to suppress the Red Army from all sides. Zhu and Mao have not yet been eliminated; the Red Army in Sichuan and Hunan is rampant; the Red Army in Henan and Shaanxi has risen again; and the Red Army in northern Shaanxi is still active. At this time of national crisis, the people's hearts are not stable. All comrades must do their best to suppress them to eliminate this great threat. If we fail to suppress them, we will be punished for letting bandits run rampant!"

After saying that, he angrily turned to his adjutant and said:

"Immediately telegraph Zhang Yi'an, instructing him to redeploy his forces and annihilate the remaining Red Army troops in western Anhui. Tell him to bring me Cao Wenting's head. If he fails to suppress the bandits, he will be punished according to military law!"

"Yes!"

The staff officer then quickly left to send a telegram to Zhang Yi'an.

Furthermore, after receiving the telegram from Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Yi'an, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Suppression Headquarters, naturally dared not be careless. He immediately redeployed 13 divisions, totaling 61 regiments, into three defense zones to conduct a comprehensive, carpet-style mopping-up operation against the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area.

One unit from the 57th, 11th, and 25th routes was stationed as a suppression force, relentlessly pursuing the main force of the Red Army day and night without setting any defense zone boundaries.

Since its establishment, the 28th Red Army fought across western Anhui, constantly facing encirclement and suppression by the Kuomintang army. Although it annihilated thousands of enemy troops, it also suffered hundreds of casualties after several months of continuous fighting, and was never able to shake off the enemy's pursuit.

After the Battle of Taohualing, Zhang Yi'an redeployed his forces. For a period of time, powerful enemies pressed in from all sides, and the Red 28th Army's area of ​​operation became smaller and smaller, and their range of operations became narrower and narrower. They could not go out during the day at all, and when they went out at night, they were often attacked by the enemy. The Red Army was almost in a desperate situation.

The joy on Cao Wenting's face vanished once again. He was sullen all day, not wanting to say a word. His former arrogance had completely disappeared, and he, who used to like to act unilaterally, began to actively seek the opinions of Fang Shuihua, Xu Wencai, and Xu Hongji. Because he was genuinely worried:

If this drags on, this young team will be worn down by the enemy's constant blockade.

Although Cao Wenting was very talented and possessed certain leadership abilities, with his own set of methods for employing people, he did lack decisiveness, tactical strategy, and boldness. Ultimately, he also lacked experience and talent, especially in troop deployment and military command, but he did have his own set of tactics for guerrilla warfare.

However, he was extremely anxious about what to do when faced with an enemy dozens of times stronger than himself.

In his haste, his craving for cigarettes intensified. After finishing one batch, he immediately lit another and continued smoking, but his anxiety only grew.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die; we have to come up with a foolproof plan!"

He muttered to himself.

He knocked the ash out of the cigarette holder, tossed the pipe to his waist, and immediately said to Deputy Political Commissar Fang Shuihua:

"Let's hold a meeting tonight and discuss this further!"

Therefore, a meeting of officers above the company level of the 28th Red Army was held in a cave in western Qianshan County, Anhui Province.

After receiving the notification, everyone rushed to the military headquarters for a meeting. After everyone was seated, Cao Wenting looked at everyone and said with deep emotion:

"Comrades, the main reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss our future. Everyone should speak freely, say whatever comes to mind, and offer suggestions to see if we can come up with a perfect solution!"

"Comrades, I must first apologize to you all. I have failed to lead this army well! Since the 28th Red Army entered southwestern Anhui, we have been fighting the enemy almost every day. This has caused great exhaustion for the troops. We have not received enough rest, and the supplies from the rear are also seriously insufficient."