The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

Therefore, after careful consideration, it was decided that Regiment Commander Xu Wenqing would personally lead the Special Service Company as the vanguard, posing as a Jiangxi Army search team to enter the city.

The rest of the main force, led by Chief of Staff Hu Jiu, lay in ambush outside the city, waiting for orders. Once Xu Wenqing deemed the time ripe, he would immediately attack and capture Fuliang County, rescuing all the Red Army soldiers imprisoned there.

Before the Jiangxi army could react, they turned back to southern Anhui. This prevented the two warlord forces, who were outwardly allied but secretly wary of each other, from joining forces against them.

Once Xu Wenqing felt the rescue operation was nearing its end, he would suddenly disappear from the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi region, leaving both warlord armies confused about his next move.

Only in this way could he, to the greatest extent possible, unite these scattered Red Army soldiers into a cohesive whole.

Fuliang County is located in northeastern Jiangxi Province. It borders Xiuning County and Wuyuan County of Anhui Province to the east, Poyang County of Jiangxi Province to the west, Leping County to the south, and Qimen County and Dongzhi County of Anhui Province to the north. Situated at the center of six mountains and two lakes (Huangshan, Jiuhuashan, Lushan, Wuyishan, Longhushan, Sanqingshan, Poyang Lake, and Qiandao Lake), it lies within the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the "Golden Triangle" of southern Fujian, and is the center of the adjacent areas of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang. The county stretches approximately 88 kilometers from north to south and 67 kilometers from east to west.

As a county town visited by the Seventh Red Army Corps during the Long March, and an important supply station for the Jiangxi Army on the front lines, it naturally had a considerable number of troops stationed there. Similar to Yansi Town, which He Zhengdao had previously raided, the Jiangxi Army also stationed a security regiment here. What's even more perplexing is that the commander of this security regiment seemed keen on capturing prisoners near the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi border conflict zone.

As a result, the actual troop strength within the city was less than two battalions. These circumstances were extremely similar to those in Yansi Town. The officials left in the city to defend the city were also deputy commanders of the security regiment, while the actual commanders had gone to the combat zone to capture Red Army prisoners to curry favor and receive rewards.

Xu Wenqing, leading his special agent company, posing as a Jiangxi army unit, infiltrated the city. Xu Wenqing, who spoke fluent Huizhou dialect hailed from Huizhou in Anhui province, was accompanied by a company commander from a security regiment who spoke fluent northeastern Jiangxi dialect, with a hint of the provincial capital, Hongdu. This quickly made the company commander, who had initially found the work of receiving prisoners tedious, feel at ease, and he and Xu Wenqing became fast friends.

Under Xu Wenqing's deliberate flattery, the company commander remained completely unaware of the troop deployment in the city. He also learned everything about the prisoner-of-war camp behind him, which appeared far more organized than the temporary prison in Yansi Town. Xu Wenqing quickly realized, after the conversation, that the time was ripe to take Fuliang County.

Clearly, taking Fuliang County at night was the better strategy than a daytime, open attack. Xu Wenqing, together with the special operations company soldiers who had entered the city with him, finalized the plan to open the city gates at midnight to welcome the troops outside.

With their single regiment, they had captured a county town defended by fewer than two battalions, and they also had the advantage of being in the shadows. If they still couldn't take Fuliang County, then all their hard work and rushing along the way would have been for nothing.

As night fell on Fuliang County, the city gates were quickly closed by the soldiers guarding the city. Apart from a few routine patrols, the entire county was eerily quiet. Meanwhile, over a hundred pairs of eyes were hidden in the shadows, constantly watching the every move of the Jiangxi army within the city.

To ensure a successful capture of the city's defenses, Xu Wenqing naturally had to personally lead the charge, accompanied by thirty-five carefully selected veteran Red Army soldiers. After the soldiers in their barracks had fallen asleep, they quietly got up, carefully avoiding patrols, and arrived at the street just a stone's throw from the city gate.

Looking at the city gate tower, only a few soldiers were pacing back and forth by torchlight. In the two heavy machine gun emplacements built at the city gate, the Jiangxi Army security regiments were all fast asleep, wrapped in their clothes. From the foot of the city wall to the top of the tower, not a single person could be seen. This meant that to open the city gate and allow the outside troops to secretly enter, the defenders on the city gate tower had to be dealt with.

Watching the second hand tick away on his watch, Xu Wenqing and the other special agents had been in this dark alley for nearly an hour. During that hour, the patrol team that was supposed to be following the city wall had passed by twice.

Although they ignored the sleeping soldiers at the heavy machine gun positions, it also proved that no one expected that, while the main force of the Red Army was retreating, there would still be Red Army soldiers who dared to come and attack their stronghold.

As the patrol team appeared in Xu Wenqing's and others' sight for the third time, Xu Wenqing arranged for ten warriors skilled in surprise attacks and close combat to prepare with him to capture and kill the patrol team before immediately launching an attack on the patrol on the city wall.

As for the other twenty-odd soldiers, they were to act as lookouts, preparing for a swift and decisive attack should the operation be exposed. First, they would seize the heavy machine gun positions, then forcefully open the city gates to welcome the main force into the city and capture Fuliang County in one fell swoop. After rescuing the imprisoned Red Army soldiers, they would leave as quickly as possible and advance back into southern Anhui.

As the patrol carrying rifles gradually approached the alleyway where they were hiding, the Red Army soldiers who had spent more time with Xu Wenqing could understand some of his simple sign language commands. Their goal was to ensure that they could silently and in unison deal with the Jiangxi Army patrol.

This patrol team of eight men was manageable for He Zhengdao, who could handle two of them alone, but the other six Jiangxi soldiers were basically two against one. If he still couldn't handle them, then it would be a waste that He Zhengdao had specifically chosen them for the special operations platoon.

While Xu Wenqing stared at the approaching patrol, the other soldiers watched his outstretched hand. With a sudden clench, two throwing knives shot forth. The remaining dozen or so soldiers, before the patrol could even cry out, covered their mouths and killed them one by one. They cleanly and swiftly eliminated the eight Jiangxi army patrolmen in an alleyway not far from the city gate.

Xu Wenqing ordered the special operations platoon to drag the eight patrolmen to a dark corner and cover them up. He then instructed seven soldiers to help him, carrying torches, walk towards the heavy machine gun positions where the men were still fast asleep. To avoid being discovered by the people on the city wall, Xu Wenqing instructed the soldiers following behind him to eliminate the sleeping enemies quickly and efficiently.

Observing the soldiers of the Jiangxi Army Security Regiment on the city wall, during the early morning breaks, Xu Wenqing, who was walking at the front of the column, deliberately slowed down his pace.