The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

While Xu Wenqing was busy reorganizing his troops, news of the loss of Fuliang County finally reached his superiors. Upon learning that Fuliang County had been looted by a group of Red Army soldiers, the commander-in-chief of the Jiangxi Army was undoubtedly furious. He ordered the Jiangxi Army and all local security regiments to intensify their checks on all suspicious troops. Even troops wearing Jiangxi Army uniforms were not to be overlooked; they had to be rigorously checked to prevent them from being impersonated by the Red Army.

The same thing was happening in Anhui Army territory. The White Army seemed to know that this Red Army force, which didn't seem large, had managed to exploit many of their weaknesses. If they weren't wiped out in time, it could really cause them big trouble and throw their rear into chaos.

However, despite the extensive search and defense efforts by both armies, no suspicious troops were encountered. This puzzled the commanders of both armies, who wondered if the Red Army unit had somehow grown wings and could fly.

While the 55th Regiment, hidden deep in the mountains, was busy with reorganization, it took them a day to temporarily complete the organization of five main battalions, one special service battalion, and one supply corps.

Chen Xinchun, the commander of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment, who had also had a good day's rest, noticed that Xu Wenqing seemed to be very good at military command and system building. Chen Xinchun, who had only thought of Xu Wenqing's martial arts skills and throwing knife skills, also felt that Xu Wenqing might become an outstanding young military commander in the Red Army in the near future.

After completing the initial reorganization plan, Xu Wenqing also ordered each battalion to unify their disorganized uniforms.

If a battalion has many men wearing Jiangxi Army uniforms, then the entire battalion should wear Jiangxi Army uniforms. If many men wear Anhui Army uniforms, then the entire battalion should wear Anhui Army uniforms. This way, after the reorganization is complete, they won't be immediately recognized as a fake Red Army unit.

Finally, even units where most soldiers wore Red Army uniforms were ordered by Xu Wenqing to replace them all with Jiangxi or Anhui Army uniforms, citing the complex current situation. As a result, the six battalions were ostensibly reduced to three Anhui Army battalions and three Jiangxi Army battalions. Even Xu Wenqing and his reorganized guard company were all dressed in Anhui Army uniforms.

After the reorganization, each unit was given a formal battalion and company commander. Xu Wenqing only needed to manage these commanders; the rest would be their responsibility. As grassroots commanders of the Red Army, which had grown stronger step by step, they had experienced even more difficult adversities. Therefore, reorganization was equally easy for them.

After everything was basically ready, Xu Wenqing handed over the affairs of the 55th Regiment to Chief of Staff Hu Jiu, Director of the Political Department Yao Hutou, and Deputy Regiment Commander Wang Tielin.

Then Xu Wenqing went to the place where Chen Xinchun of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment was resting. He was prepared to have a good talk with this regimental commander, who seemed truly determined to lead these more than 800 men back to the Southern Anhui region to lead the guerrilla war.

The soldiers of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment, who had also changed into Anhui Army uniforms, were undoubtedly very welcoming to their regimental commander, Xu Wenqing, who had finally given them a good night's sleep, clean clothes, and a hearty meal. Soon, one of Chen Xinchun's bodyguards led him to Chen Xinchun's tent.

These tents were also specially selected by Xu Wenqing from among the spoils of war and sent to the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment. With these tents, the officers and soldiers of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment no longer had to rest in the rain when they camped in the field.

Besides, Chen Xinchun was, after all, a regimental commander in the Red Army. Giving him a tent to rest in wouldn't be considered strange by any Red Army soldier!

The other tents were also set up to provide sleeping quarters for wounded or unwell soldiers. This was to allow them to recover as quickly as possible and catch up with the main force in the next phase of military operations.

Xu Wenqing entered the tent of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment headquarters and saw Chen Xinchun drawing something on a military map of southern Anhui that they had captured. Upon seeing Xu Wenqing enter, Chen Xinchun quickly waved and said:

"Xiao Xu, you're here. Come quickly and see if there's any problem with my next step, returning to southern Anhui along this route."

As Xu Wenqing glanced down, Chen Xinchun drew what he called the "best" route—the shortest distance—on the map. Xu Wenqing said with a somewhat serious expression:

"Commander Chen, are you really going to return directly to southern Anhui to lead the troops left behind to carry out guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines?"

When Chen Xinchun heard that Xu Wenqing hadn't discussed the route back to southern Anhui with him, but instead brought it up, Chen Xinchun was somewhat surprised and said:

"Xiao Xu, why do I feel that you seem to be against me going back to southern Anhui directly?"

You must understand, this was an order issued by the corps leadership to the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment before the main force withdrew, and as the commander of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment, I had to obey it. Moreover, I also needed to go back and organize the guerrillas active in Southern Anhui, Huizhou, and Xuanzhou.

"We can't just abandon them here after the main force leaves! If it weren't for your desire to catch up with the main force, I would have invited your entire 55th Regiment to stay!"

In those days, Red Army commanders were exceptionally obedient to their superiors' orders. Even knowing that an order could very well lead to the annihilation of their entire army, these commanders still followed orders without fear.

The consequence of this was that if the leader's orders were wrong, they too would bravely sacrifice themselves. This blind obedience made Xu Wenqing wonder whether it was loyalty or foolish loyalty.

Knowing there was no way to stop Chen Xinchun's determination to return to southern Anhui, Xu Wenqing was also familiar with the region, the Red Army force where many of them had grown and thrived. For them, southern Anhui was undoubtedly the cradle of the revolution. Returning there seemed to give them a sense of home and security.

This wasn't just true for ordinary Red Army soldiers; even high-ranking commanders like Chen Xinchun shared this mentality. So much so that he didn't object at all to the order to return to southern Anhui and lead the guerrilla operations along the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi border. On the contrary, he was quite happy to accept the order. However, he was unaware that the Soviet area was currently shrouded in white terror.

Putting aside the countless ambushes and interceptions they would face on their way back, their current numbers wouldn't be enough to handle even a few intense battles. Once they ran out of ammunition and supplies, their fate seemed to be either a heroic sacrifice or capture.

Realizing this, He Zhengdao took the Anhui Army military map and said: