The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

I hope you can stay with the guerrillas and recover from your injuries. Once you're healed, join the guerrillas on the spot. Use the tactics and techniques you learned in the army to teach these guerrilla comrades, so they can master the combat skills of both regular troops and guerrilla warfare. I also look forward to the day when I can reunite with my comrades in the near future.

I cannot guarantee you how long this period will take, but I can tell you that no matter how difficult the road ahead, the final victory of this national liberation will surely belong to us. What you need to do is persevere and endure, waiting for the day when spring arrives and flowers bloom.

As many Red Army officers and soldiers tearfully bid farewell to their former comrades, Xu Wenqing secretly handed over a batch of captured gold bars, silver dollars, medicine, and salt to Hu Tianyuan, the secretary of the underground party in Yansi Town who was also serving as the political commissar of the guerrilla team, as well as the leaders of the three guerrilla teams, Xu Dabao and Li Youcai.

They were told that their situation might be very difficult for some time to come, and that the money, medicine, and salt might be able to help them in their most urgent circumstances. They were also advised to unite and form the Huizhou Red Army Independent Guerrilla Brigade.

Unable to resist Xu Wenqing's good intentions, Hu Tianyuan, an old Party member over fifty years old, solemnly promised Xu Wenqing and the comrades of the 55th Regiment that he would lead these guerrillas to persist in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and wait for the main force to return in the future.

As for those Red Army soldiers who were unable to travel with the main force due to injuries or illness, he would arrange for special personnel to take good care of them. Once these Red Army soldiers had recovered, he would lead them to continue fighting the reactionaries in these mountains and valleys to the very end.

After seeing off the guerrillas and wounded Red Army soldiers who were bidding a tearful farewell, Xu Wenqing immediately ordered the 55th Regiment to set off immediately and leave Yansi Town, where they had rested for a day, quickly and quietly under the cover of night.

When the people in the city woke up the next day, they discovered that the Red Army soldiers who had been standing guard on the city wall the night before had all disappeared overnight.

Those stragglers of the White Army who had taken refuge in civilian homes during the battle the previous night, after secretly peeking out and carefully checking everywhere, confirmed that there were no Red Army soldiers left in the city. Only then did they rush to the place where the White Army prisoners had been held and rescue the security regiment officers and soldiers who were lucky enough to have survived the battle.

However, those White Army officers and soldiers who had blood on their hands were executed by firing squad by order of Xu Wenqing after being discussed and approved by the 55th Regiment's military meeting before leaving.

Moreover, it was carried out in front of these surviving officers and prisoners of the security regiment, in order to deter these surviving White Army soldiers and hope that they would not continue to be enemies of the Red Army.

He warned them that if they encountered wounded or sick Red Army soldiers again, anyone who dared to mistreat or kill them would suffer the same fate as these Gui Army soldiers lying in pools of blood when he caught them next time.

A Red Army unit of over a thousand men, driving four trucks loaded with weapons, ammunition, and provisions, and after changing into the uniforms of the White Army security regiment, openly appeared outside Tunxi Town, not far from Yansi Town, shortly after dawn.

Seeing the large, spirited group of soldiers driving cars, the commander of the Tunxi Town security regiment's city defense battalion mistook them for the elite regular army of the White Army. He hurriedly ordered his soldiers to open the city gates to welcome them. However, when he was led into the city's security regiment's command post by Hu Jiu, who was impersonating the deputy commander of the White Army's regular army, along with his guards, he was shocked to find that...

He was immediately ordered to be arrested by Hu Jiu, leaving the bewildered city defense battalion commander completely confused as to why he had offended these officers. It wasn't until Xu Wenqing revealed his identity that he realized the foolish thing he had just done.

He had no idea that while the main force of the 10th Red Army Corps was retreating from southern Anhui, there was still a well-disciplined Red Army unit that dared to impersonate the White Army in broad daylight and occupy the town they were stationed in.

Unlike Yansi Town, Tunxi Town, with only one garrison battalion stationed there, didn't have many supplies. However, there were still nearly two hundred Red Army prisoners held there. These were the people who made Xu Wenqing risk his life to enter the town.

After they took control of the White Army's city defense forces in Tunxi Town and rescued the Red Army soldiers, they quickly reorganized these Red Army soldiers into two under-strength infantry companies.

After enjoying the breakfast prepared by the city's defense battalion, Xu Wenqing ordered his men to dismantle and cut all the telephone lines and radios in Tunxi Town. Then, without the knowledge of the town's inhabitants, he openly and swiftly led these Red Army prisoners away from Tunxi Town.

Without radios and telephones, these days, their only means of communication was their own two legs. As for the warhorses normally used for messengers in the city, Xu Wenqing naturally wouldn't let a single one go, confiscating them all for the troops. These were given to the weaker soldiers to ride, thus speeding up the troop's movement.

After leaving Tunxi Town, Xu Wenqing ordered his troops to advance rapidly towards Jiangxi Province. He needed to capture Fuliang County, where the Jiangxi army was stationed, before the White Army could react. Many Red Army prisoners were being held there as well. He believed that by the time the White Army in Yansi Town and Tunxi Town had reported their situation up the chain of command to the higher-ups, they might already be outside Fuliang County.

With the help of cars and warhorses, and knowing that no news had leaked out yet, Xu Wenqing ordered his troops to advance quickly.

At midnight, they finally arrived safely in the mountainous area outside Fuliang County. Knowing that there would be a major battle the next day, Xu Wenqing ordered the soldiers, who were even eating on the go, to quickly rest and recover their strength.

At the same time, officers of all ranks were summoned for a brief operational meeting to determine the operational plan for attacking Fuliang County the following day.

Xu Wenqing understood that at this time, not only were there White Army search teams all over southern Anhui, but there were also many Jiangxi Army search teams in the surrounding areas of Fuliang County.

Therefore, Xu Wenqing's plan was for him to lead a disguised guard company to infiltrate the city and scout the situation before seizing the opportunity to capture Fuliang County.

By this time, the main force of the army corps had returned to Jiangxi Province, and the main force of the Jiangxi army had followed the main force. The troops left behind, which they considered a safe rear, were mostly security regiments, and their combat effectiveness was generally not strong. At this time, the security regiments in southern Anhui were generally not very strong, and the Jiangxi army was even weaker.

Hu Jiu, the chief of staff of the 55th Regiment, who knew they had to be cautious with every step they took, also felt that Xu Wenqing's method was undoubtedly the safest. At the same time, he also knew that the guard company that Xu Wenqing had carefully selected could unleash combat power that was in no way inferior to a security regiment of an infantry battalion once they entered combat mode.