Independence Corps

Chapter 1
The air before the war was always so dull and tense.

The surrounding mountains and fields were quiet, there was no wind, the sun had already set to the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun splashed on Wufeng Ridge like blood. Wufeng Ridge, which had been bombarded countless times, was dry and cracked before Shen Mengzi's eyes like an old cowhide.Although it was early spring, there was not a single star of green on the entire ridge. The poplar trees and bushes that were still there last autumn were all reduced to ashes in a winter of artillery fire.Scorched black, eyes full of scorched black.The densely packed bomb craters and bunkers make Wufengling appear to be riddled with holes, which is horrible.There was nothing else in the air except the smell of burning.

Shen Mengzi raised his wrist and looked at his watch.It was still early, and there was still more than an hour before dark. Taking advantage of this time, he wanted to go to the forward position to inspect again.

This is a tough battle, and there is no room for carelessness.The 11rd Brigade of the 43th Group Army of the Kuomintang stationed in Miliang City at the foot of the mountain had just suffered a defeat two days ago, leaving nearly two battalions of troops here.The soldiers of the third battalion and the fifth battalion carried the corpses lying all over the mountain all night, but at last they couldn't carry them anymore. The deputy commander Bai Jianjiang ordered the soldiers to use the enemy's corpses as cover on the spot.The fortifications that Shen Mengzi saw now were almost piled up with the corpses of the Kuomintang army.Six corpses were buried under the wet soil bag under his feet at this moment.Of course, among these corpses, there are also brothers from the 72nd Regiment.There is no way, one bad battle after another, even if you want to catch your breath. The 43rd Brigade put on a stance that they would be sure of him. Since the beginning of winter, the offensive has become more and more fierce every time, and he has never given him a day to rest.After one winter, the 72nd regiment was exhausted, the supplies on the mountain were almost gone, and weapons and ammunition were frequently in short supply. Not only did the 72nd Regiment fail to follow the orders of their superiors to cross the Nvnvhe River and take down Miliang City, but they were pushed from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain by the 43rd Brigade of the National Army guarding the foot of the mountain.If Bai Jianjiang hadn't commanded properly and withstood the enemy's violent bombardment again and again, Wufengling at his feet would have fallen long ago, and he would have to retreat to the original base Huajialing with the whole regiment of brothers.

Guerrilla warfare can no longer be fought, and Wufengling must not be lost. Even if they can't cross the Naughty River and take down Miliang City, they must expand their positions to the Naughty River, forming a confrontation with the enemy across the river.This is the strategic goal set in autumn, and right now, this goal cannot be shaken.Thinking of this, he rushed away to Bai Jianjiang, the deputy head of the regiment, and said, "Jianjiang, is there any news from Political Commissar Bi?"

Asking this question is like asking for nothing. The whole regiment knows that Bi Chuanyun, the political commissar, and Bai Jianjiang, the deputy head of the regiment, have always had disagreements. Sour scholar, he has yelled more than once to throw him out of the 72nd regiment.If it weren't for Shen Mengzi's repeated work, Bai Jianjiang would not want to put another political commissar on his head.For more than ten years, Bai Jianjiang has been used to only listening to Shen Mengzi alone, and prefers to call him the boss in front of his brothers, so that it is smooth and affectionate.What kind of regiment leader and political commissar, it sounds like shouting outside the family.

Bai Jianjiang shook his head.His eyes were sunken, and his thin face seemed to be scratched by a knife. There was a tight black skin on his bones, making his cheekbones extraordinarily high. At first glance, he looked like a ghost.Shen Mengzi looked away distressedly, and stopped asking.

Political commissar Bi Chuanyun was sent by his superiors in the early autumn of last year. According to the above statement, the 72nd Regiment was surrendered, a mixed bag of good and bad people. Although there are brave and skilled commanders like Shen Mengzi and Bai Jianjiang, the team has been under the KMT for a long time. In addition, he was originally from a reckless background, and he has a bandit spirit. If he doesn't rectify it, it will be difficult to become a hero.So shortly after the reorganization, Bi Chuanyun, the division's staff officer, was sent here.Bi Chuanyun brought another man named Shi Run, and the two of them publicized new ideas and theories in the army all day long, saying that they wanted to arm this reckless army with new military ideas and become a qualified people's armed force.

What is a qualified people's armed forces?Shen Mengzi himself was very confused, he instinctively disliked or resisted what Bi Chuanyun and Shi Run did.The team was brought out by him, Shen Mengzi, who first occupied the mountain in his hometown of Baziying and became king. Later, Fu Zuoyi's regiment leader named Meng insisted on pulling him out of the mountain and defecting to General Fu.Shen Mengzi had long admired General Fu, and it was not a long-term plan to occupy the mountain as king, so he took his brother No. 22 and defected to General Fu.First, he set up the sharp knife battalion under Commander Meng, and then set up a cavalry battalion from the top of the mountain.During the Central Plains War, his cavalry battalion teamed up with Bai Jianjiang's broadsword team, making them even more powerful, making repeated military exploits in the northern section of the Jinpu line.In the 24nd year of the Republic of China, the Japanese army invaded Shanhaiguan and opened the prelude to the Great Wall War of Resistance. His cavalry battalion followed the large troops from Suiyuan to the east, and fought the Japanese devils in the area of ​​Niulan Mountain.In the next four years, his cavalry battalion grew rapidly. Although he was repeatedly injured on the battlefield, the morale of the team was not affected at all.During the Battle of Pingxingguan, he and Bai Jianjiang had actually formed a regiment, and the others had fewer troops in Yuezhan, but he, Shen Mengzi, and Bai Jianjiang were more brothers in Yuezhan.Later, he was reorganized into the Seventh Army Independent Regiment.In the battle of defending the city of Taiyuan, in order to preserve his strength, Yan Xishan transferred the main force to Linfen and other places, so that the Seventh Army fought alone. Although General Fu was determined to sacrifice his life to serve the country, he was outnumbered and failed miserably.Under the violent bombardment of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army, Taiyuan fell, and they were forced to retreat to the Shilou area.Later, under the order of the chairman, his independent regiment left Fu Zuoyi's department and went to Linfen to support Chief Yan. Unfortunately, they were intercepted by the Japanese on the way and fought a bloody battle with the enemy for three days and three nights.In the bloody battle, one-third of his brother was injured, and with a sharpened sword, he wiped out a brigade of the Japanese army.Unexpectedly, when they took advantage of the night to get out of Gou'er Mountain and retreated towards Shilou, the Japanese army made a comeback and attacked the Independence Regiment with ten times his strength.How could the independent regiment that hadn't recovered its breath dare to fight brutally? Shen Mengzi commanded his brothers to retreat while fighting, trying to escape the disaster under the cover of night. If the 24th Division can come as soon as possible and form a front and back attack on the Japanese army, who knows...

Damn, every time I think of this, Shen Mengzi can't help but get angry. If it wasn't for the hateful 24th division, or the cowardly Tu Lanlong, would Shen Mengzi be able to make it to this day?Can you swallow your anger and be a "dog army" under the 18th Army that is not loved by your father or mother?Yes, "dog army"!Ever since he was forced to revolt, left General Fu, and became an incorporated unit under the 18th Brigade of the 312th Group Army, Shen Mengzi had always had this fire in his heart.Huluo Pingyang was bullied by dogs. Although he is not bullied by dogs now, he is at most equal to a dog. Therefore, when discussing military affairs with Bai Jianjiang privately, he no longer called his 72nd regiment the tiger regiment. It is resentment and half self-deprecating that this mighty army that grew rapidly in the battle against the Japanese and was eventually forced to change their family by the Japanese is called the "dog army".

"Boss, you can't fight like this!" Bai Jianjiang, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly stopped, looked at him and said.

Shen Mengzi woke up from the memories, looking at Bai Jianjiang who had been with him for nearly ten years, he was speechless for a while.He understood the meaning of Bai Jianjiang's words.From the day he was sent to Miliang Mountain by the 312th Brigade, Bai Jianjiang was worried about the prospects of the 72nd Regiment, and even more worried about the fate of the two of them.Although it is a cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party at the moment, according to General Fu, he was incorporated into the 18th Army, which is no different from when he was in the 35th Army. They are all anti-Japanese.But both he and Bai Jianjiang knew in their hearts that the 72nd regiment would never return to General Fu's place. Although the 18th Army expressed a warm welcome to them, claiming to treat them like their own brothers, but this brother is clearly different from the brothers in the past, not to mention the cold eyes and contempt from the 312 brigade, Bi Chuanyun alone , It's enough for him and Bai Jianjiang to suffer.

If it wasn't for Bi Chuanyun's insistence on making them give up their attack on Liu Ji and attack Miliang City from the front instead, he and Shi Run would lead a small force to adopt a psychological strategy of disintegrating and persuading the surrender, and persuade Tu Zhucheng, who was guarding Liu Ji's trump card The 12th division of the division secretly revolted, and Bai Jianjiang's broadsword team might have hacked into Liu Ji long ago.Of course, it is not the best strategy to attack Liu Ji head-on. Others don't know about the 12th Division, but he and Bai Jianjiang know it very well.This ace division, like the 72nd Regiment, is a team started by Commander-in-Chief Tu Zhucheng Tu. Tu Zhucheng led it to conquer the South and the North, across 11 provinces, and after several catastrophes, finally occupied the Miliang Mountains. The mountain is king, and become a tiger and wolf division that dares to challenge any unit of the National Army.In the final analysis, the 11th Group Army that dominates Miliang City still has the 12th Division as its main force. The others were all recruited by Tu Zhucheng during the north-south campaign.With the 11th Group Army, Tu Zhucheng became a very special figure in the Kuomintang army, and even Chairman Jiang looked up to him.In recent years, in order to win over and win over Tu Zhucheng, a series of struggles have been launched within the Kuomintang. However, Commander-in-Chief Tu has no choice but to take refuge in anyone and remains neutral at all times. There are five counties in the mountainous area and one million people.Relying on Miliang Mountain, Nuer River, and Gu River, even if the mountains outside shake and the ground shakes, he will not move at all here.

Regrettably, Tang Peisen, the brigade commander of the 312th brigade, thought that Tu Zhucheng was nothing more than a reckless man, and his 72 troops were nothing more than a team of thieves and idiots.Today, when the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are openly cooperating again, Tang Peisen is ingenious and insists on the 12nd regiment taking the lead, occupying Huajialing first, and then attacking Miliang City.Tang Peisen's reason was that since Tu Zhucheng did not take refuge in anyone within the Kuomintang, he might become the target of the Communist Party.There are two ways to fight for it. One is to rely on wisdom, such as against Tan Weiming and the [-]th Division under Tu Zhucheng.The other is to fight. To deal with Tu Zhucheng's old stubbornness, Brigadier Tang Peisen thinks that fighting is the best way.

It is a pity that since last winter, the flames of war have scorched Wufengling, and Tang Peisen has issued countless orders. The pace of the 72nd regiment has never been able to cross the daughter river, let alone take down Miliang City, even Tu Zhucheng can't see it The Wufeng Ridge in their eyes is not what they want to take.Tu Zhucheng sat in Miliang City at ease, and only sent a 43rd brigade to block them severely.Seeing that the 72nd regiment's attack was blocked, Tang Peisen neither reinforced nor gave an order to retreat, and only let the 72nd regiment die here.Shen Mengzi sometimes thought that maybe Tang Peisen wanted to borrow Miliang City to bury him and his brothers alive here.

This was an extremely pessimistic thought, and it was also very desperate. When the battle was extremely difficult, Shen Mengzi wanted to turn his gun and go to Tang Peisen for an explanation.But this is just a thought, if you really want to do this, Bai Jianjiang and Lao Luan will definitely not agree.Bai Jianjiang and Lao Luan had no interest in Tang Peisen and the 312 brigade at all, and thought it was superfluous to ask for an explanation.

"The head of the family can't be hanged on a tree. There is no place for him to stay here. If the 72nd regiment wants to stay, they have to find General Fu."

This is their proposition. From the day he arrived at Huajialing, Bai Jianjiang secretly sent someone to contact General Fu. If Shen Mengzi hadn't discovered it early and stopped it in time, the 72nd Regiment would have taken a shortcut and defected to General Fu.It's not that Shen Mengzi doesn't want to join General Fu, he even dreams about it.The problem is that the 72nd regiment went to see General Fu in this state, which is an insult to General Fu!

"I have to change the face of the 72nd regiment. I want to meet General Fu in my own way!" This is Shen Mengzi's determination and also Shen Mengzi's secret.For this reason, he gritted his teeth and spent a whole winter in Wufengling and the 43rd Brigade down the mountain.Although they had never fought Nvnuhe, the morale of the team has improved, and the hard work of the 72nd regiment has returned.In particular, the brothers of the 72nd regiment have now deeply realized that there is no force in the world that can save themselves, and to save themselves, they have to rely on the handle of the gun in their hands!For this, Shen Mengzi has to be grateful for the winter that just passed.

When the winter was coming to an end, Shen Mengzi deliberately slowed down the rhythm of the attack, which he could still control. If he didn't fight, the 43rd Brigade under the mountain would not come up to attack him.He wanted to give his brothers a chance to breathe, and he also wanted to give himself a chance to think about where the 72nd regiment was headed. This question must be understood!
Unexpectedly, when he was strategizing, a sudden change happened at the foot of the mountain. A conspiracy completely overturned Miliang City, and also overturned the inside of the 11th Army!
Tu Zhucheng was assassinated!
Mr. Tu, who has always been resourceful and surreptitious, never dreamed that he would be assassinated on Jigong Mountain!When the news came out, there was a lot of shock, and the entire Kuomintang was full of public opinion and condemnation.Immediately afterwards, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party launched a series of struggles surrounding the future of the 11th Army Group.Shen Mengzi was also very sad when he heard about it.After all, what died was a generation of heroes who had dominated the situation for decades, had a military career, and galloped on the strong field!Shen Mengzi ordered the 72nd regiment to cease fire in memory of this respected senior Kuomintang general.Unexpectedly, on the fifth day of his ceasefire, an order suddenly came from the brigade headquarters. The brigade commander Tang Peisen ordered the 72nd regiment to rush into the Daughter River. Going down to Miliang City won the opportunity for the 11th Army to control the entire Miliang Mountain area.

Facing a piece of telegram, Shen Mengzi fell into deep thought.It is said that to capture Miliang City, this is a great opportunity given by God, no matter how powerful the opponent is, as long as there is no commander in the army, he will be nothing.Besides, when Tu Zhucheng died, the entire Miliang mountain area lost its backbone. It would be a good time to launch an attack at this time.Tang Peisen clearly stated in the telegram that as soon as the gunfire of the 72nd Regiment fired, the 312th Brigade would overwhelm the entire army and destroy Miliangcheng at all costs.In order to convince Shen Mengzi, the 312 brigade also quickly sent weapons, ammunition and logistical supplies.Bi Chuanyun danced and danced, his confidence was so high that he used his identity as a political commissar to force Shen Mengzi down the mountain.To everyone's surprise, Shen Mengzi suddenly made a decision, and the whole group withdrew to Huajialing to rest and recuperate. Without his order, no one could leave Huajialing!
When Tang Peisen heard about it, he was furious and threatened Shen Mengzi in the telegram that if he dared to confront his superiors, the brigade would take decisive measures.Shen Mengzi naturally knew what this decisive measure was, and it was nothing more than letting Bi Chuanyun replace him.He smiled coldly, and replied to Tang Peisen: I want to hit you!

As a result, Tang Peisen and the 312th Brigade did not move again. Not to mention the overwhelming army, even the original agreement to send an additional regiment failed to materialize.So far, all kinds of feelings about this Brigadier Tang have been clearly exposed.Shen Mengzi smiled again, wanting him to be a funeral object, it's hard!

Shen Mengzi's sadness for the old commander Tu is real, and his nostalgia for the old commander Tu is also real.A soldier is actually a strange animal. He is said to be ruthless, and he is so ruthless when facing an opponent. He wished he could wipe out Miliangcheng with a machine gun.Saying that he is kind, he can look at Jigong Mountain every night, at the place where the old commander Tu died, and silently shed sad tears.During those days, Shen Mengzi's life was quite bleak. On the one hand, he had to risk his life against Tang Peisen's orders, and on the other hand, he had to think about how the 72nd regiment should face the opponents down the mountain in the next step.If Chief Yan hadn't sent Tu Lanlong, the former commander of the 24th Division, to Miliang City first, and if Tu Lanlong hadn't given him up as soon as he arrived, and let the 43rd Brigade attack Huajialing in the middle of the night, maybe the flames of this war would have been extinguished long ago.At least, Shen Mengzi didn't want to fight anymore, really didn't want to fight anymore.

But who knows, the old enemy Tu Lanlong suddenly ignited the flames of war for Tang Peisen!
Wufengling once again fell into the flames of war.

For a month, the 72nd Regiment and the 43rd Brigade of the Kuomintang Army have been biting Wufengling. Although the 72nd Regiment has more victories and fewer losses, the casualties are also very serious.Especially in front of the 43rd brigade's iron fence-like defense line, the 72nd regiment could only stick to it, and could not move forward half a step.The Japanese are about to attack right now. If Miliang City cannot be captured as soon as possible and the situation in the entire Miliang Mountain area can be controlled, the situation will be extremely unfavorable to the 72nd Regiment.At this time, Tu Lanlong mobilized the 46th Brigade deployed on the southern line to bite him from the flanks, making him attack—not attack, retreat—retreat—unable to retreat, so he could only grit his teeth and start a war of attrition with the opponent in Wufengling .The night before last night when the battle had just ended, Shen Mengzi had originally planned to draw out three battalions of troops to reach the lower reaches of the Naughty River, from the Qinv Peak area, and catch the 46th Brigade by surprise.Before the troops had time to deploy their defenses, the reconnaissance company sent information. Tu Lanlong in the city was dispatching troops to push himself from the elite brigade 24 brigade brought by the 112th division to the back of the 43rd brigade, forcing the 43rd brigade to fight against him. Hand to hand combat.When the strength of the two sides was almost exhausted, the 112th Brigade rushed out from behind like a tiger and swallowed him in one go.

Bai Jianjiang's worry lies behind the 112th brigade.

How can Shen Mengzi not understand Tu Lanlong's sinister intentions? If the 112th Brigade is really behind, there is no need to fight this battle again. The 72nd Regiment will undoubtedly lose, and the entire army may be wiped out.Right now, the reason why he is anxious to know the news about Bi Chuanyun is because he wants to have a glimmer of hope for Bi Chuanyun.If he can really convince Liu Ji's 12th Division, then the 72nd Regiment will still be saved.If Bi Chuanyun returns without success, he and his brothers can only sprinkle blood on Wufengling, becoming a piece of cooked meat that cannot escape from the mouth of the 112th brigade.

He is not reconciled!If he died under the sword of the Japanese, he, Shen Mengzi, would still be an anti-Japanese hero, and the blood of his brothers would not be shed in vain.Let Tu Lanlong swallow him up, I'm afraid he won't be able to rest in peace even if he dies!

"Boss, let's make a quick decision. The 72nd Regiment won't do this to you!" Bai Jianjiang said again when he saw that he was sullen and silent.

(End of this chapter)