Chapter 83: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 83 Shifting Targets

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Warlord Zheng Junyan's Tenth Division and Yang Genghe's Independent Brigade, serving as Sun Chuanfang's vanguard, rode trains south along the Nanxun Railway with great momentum, intending to strike directly at Nanchang.

The two were relatively cautious; more than ten kilometers from Niuhang Station, they sent over a hundred soldiers off the train to conduct a lightly equipped search along the railway, preventing enemy ambushes.

The train followed behind the infantry, traveling at reduced speed.

However, when the train was still ten kilometers from Niuhang Station, braking sounds came from ahead, and the entire train derailed!

It turned out Lv Muzhi had suggested that, besides dismantling ten kilometers of railway, only part of the final kilometer of track be dismantled—removing some bolts on the railway to leave a safety hazard for the enemy's train passage.

Fortunately, the train was not moving fast; the first ten or so carriages lay on their sides, and curses and cries from warlord soldiers came from inside the carriages.

"Damn it, get off me, I can't breathe!"

"Ah~my bones feel like they've been crushed..."

Zheng Junyan sat in the rear and also suffered some impact; the carriage shifted onto the gravel beside the tracks, the scene in utter disarray.

Because the train derailed, many soldiers were cut by shattered glass or suffered multiple fractures from being crushed together.

"What's going on?!" Zheng Junyan held onto the carriage wall and shouted angrily.

Soon, the vanguard sent a report: "Report to Division Commander! The enemy tampered with the railway, causing the train to derail, and many brothers suffered minor injuries! Also, the tracks ahead... the tracks have all been stripped bare! The sleepers are gone too, leaving only a bare embankment!"

Zheng Junyan and Yang Genghe hurried off the train to inspect, only to see that where the railway should have extended before them, it was now completely empty.

The bare embankment stretched southward endlessly, out of sight.

The track beneath their feet was also missing many bolts; without close inspection, it was impossible to tell. Clearly, the Revolutionary Army had deliberately tampered with it.

In the distance, sporadic gunfire had already begun—the infantry vanguard had encountered the Revolutionary Army.

"Damn it! Liu Zhi, you bastard, so cunning!" Zheng Junyan cursed furiously.

"All is fair in war; cutting off supply routes and obstructing marches is normal. But no matter what tricks he pulls, he can't stop our vanguard of over ten thousand men!" Yang Genghe looked completely confident.

The forward security forces were exchanging fire with Liu Zhi's Fifth Regiment, which was harassing them; the gunfire was sporadic, obviously the Fifth Regiment employing delaying tactics.

"Report! A Revolutionary Army regiment is blocking our army's advance ahead!" the messenger reported on horseback.

Zheng Junyan was furious and immediately ordered: "All-out attack, hold them tight—I want to see just how strong Liu Zhi really is!"

"Brigade Commander Yang, prepare to support from the rear; I'm going first!"

Zheng Junyan's Tenth Division deployed as ordered and launched a fierce attack against the Fifth Regiment, which was fighting while retreating.

The Fifth Regiment, according to the predetermined plan, resisted for a while then withdrew in an orderly fashion, luring the enemy deeper in.

Zheng Junyan's forces, eager for victory, pursued relentlessly, and before they knew it, were led by the Fifth Regiment gradually approaching the outer defensive perimeter of Niuhang Station.

When Zheng Junyan's vanguard charged across that open, charred, and completely exposed ground, gunfire suddenly erupted from the Niuhang Station position!

Chen Jicheng's Fourth Regiment and Lv Muzhi's Supplementary Regiment, long prepared, relying on carefully constructed trenches and fortifications, poured dense rain of bullets upon the enemy exposed in the open.

Machine guns fired in interlocking fields of fire, relying on the train station buildings to create high-and-low combinations, forming a tight machine-gun blockade line;

Riflemen aimed at the warlord soldiers with nowhere to hide on the scorched earth, pulling their triggers without cease.

The enemy soldiers charging in front fell like harvested wheat in swaths; around them there wasn't even a dirt mound to lie down and hide behind, completely becoming live targets for the defenders.

Zheng Junyan had been following far behind in the rear, and suddenly realized this was another of Liu Zhi's tricks, hurriedly ordering his troops to withdraw.

However, before the enemy's withdrawal order could be transmitted, the Second Division's artillery observation post quickly reported the firing data back to the artillery position.

Liu Zhi gave the order, and the mountain guns and field guns of the divisional artillery battalion roared.

Shells screamed over the defenders' positions, exploding in the enemy ranks in balls of fire and smoke columns, further increasing enemy casualties and chaos.

Zheng Junyan saw this through binoculars from the rear, his heart bleeding.

Fortunately, he had discovered it in time; after the vanguard took several shells, they had already begun withdrawing in succession.

Seeing that a frontal assault would incur heavy losses, Zheng Junyan had to order his troops to temporarily halt the attack, while ordering the twenty-plus artillery pieces accompanying the army to move forward and cover the defenders' positions at Niuhang Station with artillery fire, attempting to destroy the enemy's fortifications and suppress their firepower.

"Don't think only you have artillery; I came prepared too!" Zheng Junyan ordered the artillery to open fire, with the infantry ready to follow up at any time.

"Artillery strike! Into the anti-artillery caves!" On the position, Lv Muzhi shouted at the top of his voice.

According to the predetermined drill, company and platoon leaders at all levels also urged the soldiers into the anti-artillery caves to take cover from the shells.

The soldiers of the Supplementary Regiment had already drilled once; upon hearing the order, they immediately dove into the anti-artillery caves dug into the sides of the nearby trenches.

The moment the artillery sounded, Lv Muzhi grabbed Song Xilian, who was still directing fire, and ducked into an anti-artillery cave reinforced with sleepers and thick earth beside them.

Deafening explosions came from the position, shells falling like raindrops.

The entire position trembled; dirt, splintered wood, and shrapnel flew everywhere, thick with gunpowder smoke.

However, most soldiers were safely curled up inside the anti-artillery caves, listening to the booming artillery outside; casualties were far fewer than if exposed to the artillery fire.

The enemy's fierce artillery bombardment lasted about twenty minutes; when the gunfire stopped, Lv Muzhi rushed out of the anti-artillery cave, shouting to organize firepower.

The soldiers quickly emerged from the anti-artillery caves and swiftly took their firing positions.

Liu Zhi, watching from the rear as the enemy's artillery fire was so fierce, also broke into a cold sweat; he had already called the regimental commander of the reserve to his side, ready to send him for support at any time.

However, through binoculars, seeing the soldiers return to their firing positions full of vigor, Liu Zhi finally let his heart settle.

When Zheng Junyan thought the artillery fire had cleared the obstacles and launched another charge, what greeted them was still the defenders' stubborn, fierce fire at Niuhang Station.

Zheng Junyan's forces' attack was again firmly suppressed on the open, pitch-black scorched earth before the Niuhang Station position.

Just as the enemy forces were caught between advancing and retreating, their offensive frustrated, Liu Zhi seized the timing and ordered the Sixth Regiment, serving as reserve, to strike from the flank, plunging straight into the waist of the enemy's attacking force.

Zheng Junyan's forces, already worn down by prolonged fighting and with morale shaken, were thrown into sudden disorder by this unexpected flank attack, could no longer hold, and the entire line retreated ten li in rout.

Only when warlord Yang Genghe brought his Independent Brigade to support and stabilized the line did the decline stop.

Liu Zhi saw this, and did not order his troops to pursue, but simply held their position firmly, using firepower to pursue by fire.

Zheng Junyan and Yang Genghe gathered their troops; casualties exceeded eight hundred, and they were instantly outraged, gnashing their teeth, yet finally helpless.

"Liu Zhi's troops are truly ferocious; they actually do not fear my artillery fire at all. After one round of artillery strikes, the firepower inside Niuhang Station shows no sign of weakening!" Zheng Junyan said, frowning.

"Niuhang Station is a hard nut to crack; there is a division guarding it opposite, and it is indeed not easy to take." Yang Genghe finally recognized reality.

"Wrong! Since the enemy has dug up all the railways near Niuhang Station, how can we transport troops to Niuhang Station by railway? Repairing the railway takes too much time!"

"Simply do not attack Niuhang Station. Having the station without the railway means taking it is meaningless; we might as well think of a way to cross the Gan River first and directly attack Nanchang City." Zheng Junyan suddenly proposed.

Yang Genghe heard this and also felt it was reasonable, but to be safe, he still said, "Wait a bit longer. Wait for Xie Hongxun's division to arrive as reinforcements. Then let Xie Hongxun pin down the enemy inside Niuhang Station, while my Independent Brigade plus your division, Zheng Junyan, cross the river via floating bridge from Yangzi Island, land directly on the East Bank of the Gan River, lead the army south, and attack Nanchang City."

Zheng Junyan also became excited: "Reasonable! Let Deng Ruzuo's troops stationed at Zhangshu divide their forces to head north and join us in a pincer attack on Nanchang City. I want to see what the Revolutionary Army will do then!"

At Niuhang Station, Lv Muzhi found Liu Zhi. "Commander, our Niuhang Station is now like an iron bucket. I worry the enemy will tactically withdraw, give up attacking Niuhang Station, and very likely directly build a floating bridge to cross the river ahead at Yangzi Island."

Liu Zhi was also worried. "Do you think we should notify Wang Bolin? I heard he did not return home last night."

Lv Muzhi thought for a moment. "We should still notify him. Once Nanchang City falls, our right wing will be exposed. If the enemy sets up cannons on our right wing, we will be finished."

Although Liu Zhi wanted Wang Bolin to make a mistake so he could turn the tide himself, what Lv Muzhi said was not without reason. Without Nanchang City, this Niuhang Station would probably not be holdable!

"Hurry and find Wang Bolin. Tell them to be alert toward the Yangzi Island direction and not let the enemy sneak over!"