Encouraged by the good news that boosted morale, more than 6,000 officers and men of the 11th Division of the Zhilu Allied Army threw themselves into the third offensive, and when the vast majority of officers and men rushed 300 meters into the forward position to assemble, something unexpected finally happened.

A dull mortar sound suddenly came, and thirty-six shells with a sharp whistling sound swept through the sky over the positions of both sides, and fell into the headquarters of Jiguan Mountain, which had planted the flag, as accurately as if they had eyes, and the deafening explosion burst out from the dazzling flames and billowing smoke, and the ground trembled with trees, mud and rocks splashed all over the sky, and the headquarters of the 11th Division and the guards of a company were wiped out.

The officers and men of Zhilu who were prostrate on the forward positions had not yet reacted, and the light and heavy machine guns on the revolutionary army's positions rang out, and the dense bullets that were twice as numerous as the previous two suppressed thousands of officers and men in the 200-meter line, and the fierce fire knocked the officers and men who exposed their bodies and heads into a blur of flesh and blood, and the fatal thing was that after five minutes of continuous firing, the 36 mortars hidden behind the revolutionary army's position had already adjusted their firing ranges, and the high-powered shells exploded one after another among the dense officers and men, blowing up the hastily constructed forward fortifications to a thousand holes. Fragmented.

As soon as they stood up, they immediately became live targets for light and heavy machine gun fire, and the light machine guns fired at a distance of more than 200 meters were extremely accurate, not to mention the powerful and effective water-cooled heavy machine guns with a range of more than 800 meters.

With the gradual weakening of the firepower of the revolutionary army, serious differences broke out among the remaining commanders of the four-kilometer-long Zhilu Army's attack position, and almost half of the battalions and companies rushed to charge, while the other half of the cowards led their units to retreat quickly, and the loose charging team immediately became the best target of the revolutionary army, and dozens of light machine guns that had only stopped for less than half a minute roared again after changing their barrels, beating more than 2,000 brave enemies to the ground with corpses and no power to parry.

The surviving officers and men of the stormtrooper were affected by the heavy blows and the retreating officers and men, and the courage they had finally mustered was completely lost, and almost all of them gave up the death charge, which was certain to die, and turned around and ran away.

Seeing this, Gu Changfeng, the commander of the third regiment on the revolutionary army's position, threw down his machine gun and jumped up, pulled out his big knife and roared loudly: "Brothers, kill me with me-"

"Kill—"

More than 1,600 soldiers roared in unison under the encouragement of Gu Changfeng, rushed to catch up, stepped on the enemy's corpses and bloodstains, and bravely rushed to pursue the first, one bullet after another, grenades flew towards the backward enemy, and one by one the big knives cut out the cold light, and killed the enemy to cry wolf and run wildly for two kilometers, only then did the ministers turn around and rush back to the position, quickly evacuate the position, and rush to the front line of Fanjiashan and Xiaozhuang Village, which is 3.5 kilometers behind them. The 3.5-kilometer defense line north of the Huai River sweated like rain and nervously built a defensive position.

Hu Jialin, the deputy division commander, took the staff officers and guards to inspect it, and then he relieved himself and sent a telegram to An Yi: He had withdrawn to the second-line position as planned, and there were no enemy troops interspersed.

Just when Hu Jialin called An Yi, the Shabu wharf, three kilometers south of his position, was a different look, and the Second Regiment of the Reading Division quickly retreated after three hours of courageous resistance at the mouth of the Tonghe River.

During the three-hour fierce battle, the 2,100 officers and men of the 2nd Regiment paid a heavy price of nearly half of the casualties under the fierce blows of the two regiments of the enemy's 9th Division and the 37th Division.

The pursuers of the 37th Division of the enemy watched more than 200 fishing boats fleeing with nearly 2,000 revolutionary troops scarred, and they were very angry, suffering from the fact that the mortar company and heavy machine gun company could not arrive in time, and they looked in vain at the fishing boats hundreds of meters away and shot headlessly.

The sound of rumbling horses' hooves rushed to the dock by the lake from far to near, and the 800 cavalry of the enemy's cavalry regiment successfully crossed the river three kilometers upstream of the Tong River and galloped to the front line of the pier with murderous spirit.

Zhang Chengzhu, the commander of the colonel on the tall black horse, looked at the sails farther and farther away, raised the horsewhip, and decisively pointed to the north, and the 800 well-trained cavalry surged again, and rushed to the north in an orderly formation, at this time the cavalry regiment did not know that the 11th Division had been defeated by the strong Third Regiment of the Revolutionary Army, and the division commander, deputy division commander, radio station, and more than 10 generals and colonels were killed in the artillery fire, and the position of the Third Regiment of the Revolutionary Army had moved back 3.5 kilometers.

The speed of the eight hundred cavalry became faster and faster, like a sharp blade, cutting through everything and stabbing towards the north at high speed.

When the horse team forward was one and a half kilometers away from Xiaozhuang Village, a series of violent explosions sounded one after another thirty meters in front, and the four wooden bridges above the Tao River that flowed into Nushan Lake from the northwest were all blown up in an instant, and the horse team forward roared loudly and grabbed the reins, only to stop before rushing into the eight-meter-wide river, and the entire horse team also exploded violently, reducing their speed uniformly and finally stopped, looking at the Tao River in front of them and scolding helplessly.

Zhang Chengzhu rode his horse up the small dirt slope by the river on the left side and looked north, 800 meters away a blue sky and white flags hunting and waving in the strong wind, Zhang Chengzhu was taken aback, took out a telescope and carefully observed, and was puzzled after seeing the officers and soldiers on the tight defensive position and a machine gun, he never expected the enemy to retreat so quickly, and thought that it was the second-line position of the main force of the revolutionary army.

Zhang Chengzhu thought about it for a while, felt that something was wrong, and turned his telescope to the position of the 11th Army in the northwest, and was shocked to find that on the empty position, except for the thick smoke, there was no sign of battle, which made Zhang Chengzhu, who was galloping all the way from the west, puzzled.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound faintly entered the eardrum, Zhang Chengzhu raised the telescope again and looked to the northwest, a two-meter-high, hundreds of meters wide flood line is surging with a surging impact that swept everything, the impact of "boom" is getting louder and louder, Zhang Chengzhu suddenly remembered the reservoir in the upper reaches of the Tao River on the map, and slammed the reins under the shock, the mount stood up and hissed wildly, and turned beautifully in the air to carry the master down the hill, Zhang Chengzhu shouted while running:

"The flood has burst the levees, run with me—"

The 800 cavalry were taken aback, turned their horses' heads with skillful horsemanship, raised their whips and whipped violently, and the 800 war horses rushed to the west with bursts of neighing, and the flood of the overflowing levees overwhelmingly flooded, rushing the stumps and broken trees on the earth into the vast Nushan Lake together with the horseshoe prints left by the 800 war horses.

The 800 cavalry who moved quickly ran two kilometers and looked back, the sea full of eyes was shocking, if it was a minute late, it was likely to incur the danger of annihilation, and the knights on the horse were all shocked into a cold sweat.

Li Jinlong, lieutenant colonel of the cavalry regiment, patted his horse and came to Zhang Chengzhu, who was looking up to the sky and sighing, looked at the two-kilometer ocean in front of him, and said in a low voice:

"Big brother, there's no need to sigh, the enemy is vicious! If you hadn't discovered the danger in time, I'm afraid that most of our brothers would not have escaped this fate, and if it had been pursued by the infantry, it would have been miserable! ”

Zhang Chengzhu shook his head: "I didn't sigh for not being able to attack the enemy's flank as I wished, but I was surprised by the enemy's accurate calculations, you recall, from the beginning of the fierce battle at the mouth of the Tong River to the successful crossing of the river upstream, every step was very difficult, along the way encountered either cold guns or bridges were broken, so that our regiment wasted more than an hour of precious time in vain, I am now glad that I did not rush into the enemy formation, otherwise what awaits us will be a series of positions and dense machine gun bullets." ”

"How so? Didn't the four regiments of the 11th Division keep pressing the three main regiments of the enemy? How is it possible that the enemy still has the strength to build positions behind the flanks? Li Jinlong asked in surprise.

Zhang Chengzhu shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There is no one on the battlefield of the 11th Division, and there is not a single figure on either side of the enemy, so there must be a great change that we don't know." Let's go, Jin Long, let's go around this flooded area at once, and rush to Liuxiang Town, I have a hunch that we can't fall into the trap of the revolutionary army, if that's the case, we can cross the river immediately when we get to Liuxiang, so as not to fall into the enemy's heavy encirclement. The ground is soft and damp, and the river is vertical and horizontal, which is not suitable for the deployment of our cavalry at all, if it is blocked, it will not be able to give full play to the advantages of our cavalry, go quickly! ”

"This ...... How is this possible? Li Jinlong's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Golden Dragon, listen to me! There is no time to say more, order the troops to move quickly! Zhang Chengzhu didn't have time to explain in detail, shouted a horse to the west, and the eight hundred cavalry immediately followed the horse, and the sound of "rumbling" horse hooves suddenly overshadowed the sound of "bang-la-la-la".

Wuhe County, Zhilu Army Headquarters.

Chu Yupu, who was in front of the large map, listened to the battle report of the adjutant Qin Shanhu and was very satisfied: "It took the 37th Division three hours to break through the enemy's defense line on the south bank, which is much slower, but the cavalry battalion of the pillar can cross the river smoothly enough to catch the enemy off guard. This battle has been carried out so far, and we have basically achieved our intended goal, and the result will be available before dark at the latest. ”

"Deputy marshal, it's just that the 11th Division hasn't sent a telegram so far, and my subordinates are a little worried!" Qin Shanhu said in a low voice.

Chu Yupu nodded: "It's a pity that we encounter this kind of ghost weather, otherwise our plane will be clear at a glance as long as it goes up to the sky and turns around...... Make a phone call to Jiang Yuming, the commander of the Ninth Division in Changhuai, and ask him to lead a regiment to help the Eleventh Division in Liuxiang, what are you doing in Changhuai? The loss of one or two regiments scared his guts? ”

"Yes! The subordinates did it immediately. ”

Dingyuan County, 85 kilometers south of Wuhe County, is the front-line headquarters of the Third Route Army.

After listening to the report of Chief of Staff Wang Yingyu, General Li Zongren raised his head in surprise: "What? The 37th Division of Su County moved east into the Wuhe area? ”

"That's right, the intelligence has been verified again, and the 37th Division of the Third Army stationed in Suxian County suddenly drove to Guzhen in the southeast yesterday afternoon, and then went straight to Wuhe County in the east without stopping. The subordinates are also thinking, what is the intention of this road to go to Wuhe? It can't be rushing to the aid of Fengyang, right? Wang Yingyu said suspiciously.

Li Zongren leaned over to look at the map, suddenly remembered something, his fingers were a little heavier in the area of Wuhe County, raised his head and said loudly: "Understood!" It must have been the First Army's An Yi Reading Division that disturbed the Wuhe line, didn't the previous war report say that he once led his troops to attack Wuhe County? This guy has nothing to dare to do in a war, his reading division cut off the enemy's northward retreat and the waterway logistics supply line, the enemy must be unbearable, and was forced to quietly draw out a division from the three divisions in Suxian to regain the lost territory...... If only that would have been good for me! Fenting (Wang Yingyu), immediately sent a telegram to Jiansheng to inquire about this matter, and then called the general headquarters in Nanchang to inquire, if the situation is true, our department immediately divided an army to cross the left flank of Bengbu and directly into Su County, the enemy of Bengbu will be chaotic without a fight, and our army's 20,000 soldiers can take Bengbu with only one charge, and the opportunity must not be lost, and the time will not come again! ”

"Yes!"

Wang Yingyu walked away quickly.

Li Zongren leaned over to check the map again, and sighed to himself after a while: "This guy is too bold, provoke two enemy divisions to besiege, although his courage is commendable, but it is also precarious, whether he can retreat with his whole body depends on his luck......

Nanjing General Headquarters, Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

Commander-in-Chief Chiang, who had returned from a meeting at the Central Party Headquarters, entered the office, and Yu Jishi, the attendant, hurriedly came to report: "Principal, General Li Zongren has called to ask the headquarters if there is any news that An Yi's Reading Division is fighting fiercely with the enemy in the Wuhe area, and the telegram says that in addition to the enemy's 9th Division, there are still two garrison brigades in Wuhe County, and the enemy troops quietly mobilized the 37th Division from Su County to the Wuhe area again yesterday afternoon. The General Staff Office felt that the situation was serious and had already contacted Chief Bai, and Director Ge was waiting for the principal in the side hall. ”

Chiang Kai-shek frowned: "Please!" ”

"Yes!"

Ge Jingen strode in and saluted, whispered a few words and walked to the map, and when Chiang Kai-shek, who was in a hurry, followed, he pointed to the map and analyzed in a low voice:

"Brother Jiansheng has sent a telegram back, confirming that An Yi's Reading Division has pinned down the 9th Division, the 37th Division, and half of the garrison brigade of the Zhilu Coalition Army, and that the other three regiments have been annihilated by the Reading Division three days ago, but according to the information we received in the early morning of this day, the enemy 11th Division in Suqian rushed south late the night before yesterday, and its destination was Shuanggou Town, on the north bank of the Huai River north of the Wuhe River. According to the private analysis of his subordinates, An Yi's reading force master is in danger and is likely to fall into a situation of being surrounded on three sides. ”

Commander-in-Chief Chiang was taken aback, and after seeing the situation on the map clearly under Ge Jingen's signal, he walked around excitedly:

"What to do? What to do? Why didn't Bai Jiansheng send reinforcements to support An Yi's reading teacher? Since An Yi's lone army was allowed to deeply contain the enemy's forces, why didn't he send reinforcements at this time? ”

"Commander-in-chief, please rest assured, according to Jiansheng's telegram, An Yi's communication with him is still unimpeded, and he has not asked for assistance or retreat for three days, and his subordinates believe that with the extraordinary speed of the reader, and in an area surrounded by a network of water on the shore of the lake, it is difficult for the enemy to surround him." Ge Jingen persuaded in a low voice.

Commander-in-Chief Jiang stopped, turned back to the map again to take a closer look, stretched out his finger and moved between Nüshan Lake and the Huai River for a while, and then muttered reassuringly:

"Mother, Xipi! This kid is too bold, so don't be so strange...... Zhan Hou, contact An Yi immediately, just use the radio at the headquarters to contact, and I want him to report to me in person! ”

"Yes!"

(To be continued)