The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

It was precisely because of this tacit understanding that the Red Army prisoners being escorted out of the city appeared very obedient, which allowed Xu Wenqing's 55th Regiment, disguised as a Central Army inspection team, to rescue them so easily!

After Xu Wenqing stood before the crowd and introduced himself, the rescued Red Army soldiers realized that it wasn't a large force that had sent them to rescue them. Instead, it was the young regimental commander of the 55th Regiment, who had been responsible for the rearguard during the retreat from southern Anhui, who had led the 55th Regiment to rescue captured Red Army soldiers along the way, leading to this scene.

After introducing himself, Xu Wenqing continued:

"Comrades, we are currently surrounded by the enemy. Therefore, we don't have much time to move out, and we must leave here as soon as possible."

"Now, on my orders, all comrades who served as officers in your old units, please register with Director Yao. We will then assign you to officer positions within our unit based on your circumstances."

At this moment, Yao Hutou, the director of the political department, raised his hand to signal everyone to match their names.

Xu Wenqing then offered his opinion.

"In addition, we have another base at Foziling. Comrades of the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment, please report to my right. Your Regiment Commander Chen is there, eagerly awaiting your return. You will also be guided back to your unit by guides I will send."

I hope that after you return, you will be able to adjust and recover as soon as possible, and continue to fight bravely against the enemy under your Commander Chen. Other comrades who are willing to join our 55th Regiment can register with Chief of Staff Hu and Deputy Commander Wang.

We will assign you to one of the six main battalions of the 55th Regiment based on your specific circumstances. Comrades who have served in artillery do not need to report to the infantry battalion. You can report to the artillery company commander, but with these infantry guns provided by the Central Army, you will be expanded into machine gun battalions later.

Alright, comrades, now quickly divide into teams according to my orders. Also, I want to emphasize that our future may be fraught with difficulties. Therefore, comrades who are injured or unwell should not force themselves to join the 55th Regiment.

I suggest you consider joining Commander Chen's Southern Anhui Independent Regiment. He has prepared medicine and food in our established base area, hoping you will recover from your injuries and achieve new merits.

After saying this, the thousands of men were immediately divided into two distinct organizational units. Aside from the more than 800 who chose to join the 55th Regiment for combat, the remaining 200-plus men, plus nearly 200 wounded or sick soldiers who were unable to move with the main force due to injury or illness, all obeyed Xu Wenqing's orders. They were willing to join the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment and wage guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines in Southern Anhui.

Of the more than 400 people who remained, nearly 200 were wounded or sick, plus over 100 scattered soldiers from the Southern Anhui Independent Regiment who returned to their original units. Only about 100 soldiers truly did not want to join the 55th Regiment.

Xu Wenqing didn't say much about those who chose to stay. He handed over all the rifles and machine guns that the Central Army had replaced to these Red Army soldiers who were preparing to return to Foziling. He also instructed them to immediately select commanders at all levels and temporarily form a battalion with four companies.

After arranging several soldiers to act as guides and temporarily appointing the battalion and company commanders selected by everyone, Xu Wenqing let them set off.

Before setting off, Xu Wenqing repeatedly instructed them to be careful on the road and to bring the wounded and sick back to the Foziling base safely.

As for the 55th Regiment, they will also take action to draw the White Army's attention away from them.

Once they arrive at Foziling, remember to have Regiment Commander Chen Xinchun send him a telegram to let him know they're safe. Chen Xinchun should appreciate it; after all, Xu Wenqing has sent him a fully armed main force battalion this time! The Southern Anhui Independent Regiment can finally be at full strength.

After rescuing the Red Army prisoners and reuniting with everyone, Xu Wenqing spent only an hour assigning the remaining soldiers to the new recruits. As for the rescued Red Army officers, they would temporarily be assigned to corresponding deputy positions in the six newly reorganized main battalions, based on their ranks in their old units.

Even if a battalion had two deputy battalion commanders or several deputy company commanders, it wouldn't matter; Xu Wenqing told them not to rush. Along the way, many more of them would join the 55th Regiment, and once they did, the officers currently serving as deputies would immediately be promoted to full officers. After all, Xu Wenqing knew that recruiting soldiers was easy, but finding officers was difficult!

For these officers who had narrowly escaped death, the question of whether they could lead troops was irrelevant. As long as they could continue fighting these reactionary warlords with the 55th Regiment, they were willing to remain soldiers.

With the addition of over 800 men, Xu Wenqing's 55th Regiment is now undoubtedly a strong and well-equipped force, almost rivaling the size of a division. This is especially true of the still-developing artillery battalion. Zhu Xianyi, the artillery company commander who had only operated infantry guns twice in his old unit, has not only been promoted to battalion commander but also acquired several infantry guns previously only found in main force divisions.

After everything was prepared, Xu Wenqing ordered the reconnaissance company to send out several scouts to recall the machine gun platoon guarding the Central Army's inspection team. He also quietly recounted the events of the past, causing the soldiers in the reconnaissance company to chuckle softly. They knew that with their regimental commander's actions, the Jiangxi Army and the Central Army were likely to cause trouble for the Anhui Army!

Sure enough, when the reconnaissance soldiers arrived in the valley, they found the Central Army prisoners to be quite docile. The two soldiers, who had picked up quite a bit of the local dialect in southern Anhui, chatted quietly for a while. One of them said:

After saying the Anhui dialect phrase, "Let the Central Army and the Jiangxi Army fight like dogs," he led his machine gun platoon and successfully left the valley.

When Liu Yadong had his bodyguard peek up the mountain and discovered that the other party had indeed fled, he immediately said menacingly:

"You wait, once I get back to the rear, I'll definitely report you to the Chairman. Brothers, let's go!"

Just then, a soldier from southern Anhui suddenly whispered:

"Commander, I don't think these people are from the Jiangxi Army. Those two guys just now were speaking in the local dialect of southern Anhui."

Although I was far away, I seemed to hear him telling us to fight our own Jiangxi soldiers. Do you think these people might be Anhui soldiers in disguise? After all, this place isn't too far from southern Anhui!

After the soldier finished speaking, Liu Yadong was also a little confused. He started to wonder if these people were from the Anhui Army or the Jiangxi Army. But no matter who they were, they had gotten into trouble on Jiangxi Army territory, so the Jiangxi Army should at least give an explanation, right?