Chapter 397: Good News

The bandits of Qingfeng Stronghold have already been dealt with by Wu Tianlu, and now Zhang Kang has also met with Qiu Ming at Hutou Mountain.

At the Regiment Headquarters on Hutou Mountain!

Li Yong and Qiu Ming have met with Zhang Kang, though Li Yong himself still holds a bit of a grudge against Zhang Kang.

Because, back during the Long March, the unit Li Yong belonged to suffered heavy blows from the National Revolutionary Army, and many comrades sacrificed their lives.

Especially during the Tucheng Campaign, Li Yong suffered greatly at the hands of the Sichuan Army.

The Tucheng Campaign caused heavy losses to the Red Army at the time, and furthermore, various units suffered heavy blows.

"Alright then, I wish you success in advance, old brother!" As he spoke, Qian Dajun raised the wine glass in his hand.

At this moment!

At the Nanjing Command in Hankou, Dai Chunfeng received a report from his subordinate.

This battle was a major setback for the Red Army since the Zunyi Conference, forcing the Red Army to abandon its attempt to enter Sichuan and instead divert to Zhaxi in Yunnan Province.

Approximately ten people died, and twenty were injured!

When Dai Chunfeng received the explanation for this report, he was also stunned for a moment. Who could the "Low-key Club" have offended?!

First, Dai Chunfeng ruled out the idea of Chang Kaishen; if he were to take action against the "Low-key Club," his Military Statistics Bureau would certainly be Principal Chang's sharp blade, the first to be deployed.

"Now that the Japanese Army is heavily reinforcing Teng County, my Sichuan Army is facing great pressure. I hope Regiment Commander Qiu will lead his troops to ambush the Japanese logistics, cut off the Japanese grain routes and supplies, and alleviate the pressure on our frontal battlefield."

Originally, according to the orders of the 115th Division, after the Independent Regiment established a base at Hutou Mountain, it was also supposed to harass the Japanese Army from the flanks, expand the base area, and develop and strengthen the ranks.

"Regiment Commander Qiu, I have come this time specifically hoping that the Independent Regiment will assist my Sichuan Army in blocking the Japanese Army."

Subsequently, both sides discussed operational issues, and Zhang Kang had the first batch of weaponry delivered to the Independent Regiment, with the remaining weapons to be settled within two days.

The Red Army, having re-entered Guizhou Province, routed Wang Jialie's Guizhou Army in one fell swoop, which subsequently led to Wang Jialie being dismissed from his post as the head of Guizhou Province by Chang Kaishen.

Tucheng is a town at the border of northwestern Guizhou Province and Sichuan Province; the troops stationed here were the Sichuan Army and Wang Jialie's Guizhou Army, but overall, it was still primarily the Sichuan Army.

Zhang Kang is Sichuan Army; although the two parties are cooperating now, Li Yong still has a knot in his heart.

Regarding Li Yong's behavior, Qiu Ming knew of Li Yong's past experiences, so he had to smooth things over immediately: "Regiment Commander Zhang, please don't mind it. My Chief of Staff is a bit odd, but after we get to know each other better..."

"Today was Adjutant Li's first time going to the 'Low-key Club.' He hadn't been there before, and the club was perfectly fine. Now that he's gone, an explosion occurred in less than ten minutes."

Dai Chunfeng clinked glasses with Qian Dajun!

In Teng County!

Wang Mingzhang ran to Yu Hua's side: "Brother Yu, good news!"

"This matter... I suspect it was done by Deng Xihou and the others from Sichuan Province," Qian Dajun said after drinking his wine. "Not long ago, the Principal gave instructions to Xiong Shihui, telling him to smear the Sichuan Army."

Upon hearing this!

"Who do you think did this? The Garrison Command Headquarters in Hankou has already issued an investigation order, and the Principal has also asked my Military Statistics Bureau to look into it."

"Isn't it a coincidence?!"

Qiu Ming grinned and said: "Regiment Commander Zhang, assisting the Sichuan Army in the War of Resistance is only right. It's just that my Independent Regiment has only just arrived at Hutou Mountain, and we are still slightly lacking in weaponry."

Seeing Li Yong pull a long face, Qiu Ming patted Li Yong with his hand, "Sigh... Old Li. Why don't you greet Regiment Commander Zhang? He's a guest who has come from afar."

The Japanese Army's mobile forces were gathering in Teng County, and Qiu Ming had already planned to assemble his troops to strike the little devil's logistics units on the highway.

"Understood!" Dai Chunfeng drank his wine: "The Military Statistics Bureau personnel in Shandong Province have already arrived in Lincheng. I want to see what tricks the Sichuan Army is playing this time to shake off the public's skepticism."

Even the usually taciturn Li Yong was startled for a moment.

After finishing, Qian Dajun filled his glass again.

In an instant, Qiu Ming's eyes lit up. This Sichuan Army unit is truly reliable; he just mentioned it casually, and they are providing weaponry right now.

"Greetings, Regiment Commander Zhang!" Li Yong responded coldly.

Zhang Kang waved his hand: "It doesn't matter... it doesn't matter!" Regarding Li Yong's behavior, Zhang Kang didn't mind; after all, he was the one here to seek help from the Independent Regiment!

Although the Red Army failed in the Tucheng Campaign, Runzhi Xiansheng fully absorbed the essence of the Sichuan Army's movement warfare, thereby changing his operational thinking and perfecting his theories on guerrilla warfare and movement warfare.

Guo Xunqi, a fierce general under Pan Wenhua, became famous nationwide overnight because of the Tucheng Campaign.

Qian Dajun sat in his chair, toying with a wine glass in his hand, and after turning it a few times, he poured himself a glass of wine.

"Old Dai, come... let's have a drink first."

"These little devils are well-equipped, and on top of that, they..."

Dai Chunfeng took the wine glass handed to him by Qian Dajun.

"Xiong Shihui's Adjutant Li wrote an article with sharp language, scolding the Sichuan Army severely in the newspaper."

Now that the Sichuan Army has taken the initiative to cooperate and even sent them equipment, it's like a pie falling from the sky; it's like Qin Shi Huang touching an electric wire—winning big!!

"Regiment Commander Zhang!" Qiu Ming clapped his hands: "I wonder about this equipment?"

Regarding the Tucheng Campaign, Li Yong still remembers it vividly to this day.

"One battalion's worth of Japanese-style equipment, plus six mortars and five hundred shells," Zhang Kang looked at Qiu Ming. "Regiment Commander Qiu, what do you think of this batch of equipment?"

"Satisfied... very satisfied!" Qiu Ming was overjoyed inside. A battalion's worth of Japanese-style weapons, plus six mortars—this was a huge gain. The Sichuan Army is truly capable.

"Dajun, I think your analysis makes a lot of sense. Given the Sichuan Army's current style of holding grudges, it's eighty percent likely that it really was the Sichuan Army's doing."

The "Low-key Club" in Hanyang was attacked by a mysterious force. A small car packed with explosives crashed into the club, and the massive explosion directly caused the club to collapse.

After being reminded by Qian Dajun, Dai Chunfeng's mind instantly cleared.

"According to my Military Statistics Bureau's investigation, it seems that an organization similar to the Central Statistics Bureau and the Military Statistics Bureau has been established within the Sichuan Army."

"I think this retaliation against the 'Low-key Club' must have been the work of the Sichuan Army's intelligence organization."

"Hmm!" Qian Dajun nodded: "Old Dai, now that the Sichuan Army's strength has grown, it has firmly secured the top spot among local warlords. We must use public opinion to strike a heavy blow against the Sichuan Army regarding this smear campaign."

A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit; Runzhi Xiansheng used movement warfare to divert from Yunnan Province back to Guizhou Province, thereby shaking off the encirclement of the three-way armies from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

"Because the Sichuan Army is as solid as a rock, my people had just discovered a lead when they were discovered by the Sichuan Army, and now contact has been lost."

Before Qiu Ming could finish, Zhang Kang patted his chest and said: "Regiment Commander Qiu, rest assured, for this ambush on the Japanese Army, my Sichuan Army will provide the equipment."

"You will find that Chief of Staff Li is actually a very good person!"

Dai Chunfeng summoned Qian Dajun, "Dajun!"

"Our people blew up the 'Low-key Club' today, and the Adjutant Li of my Sichuan Army, who was slandered in the newspapers, was killed in the explosion on the spot."

"There were also several pro-Japanese faction members who were killed in the blast as well; if I weren't afraid of killing ordinary civilians, I would have had the Revival Office blow up the entire villa of the Hanyang 'Low-key Club'."

(End of this chapter)