It was already May 1st, and the Huiji River on the edge of Tuocheng, Henan, was flowing slowly. Because it is the dry season, the river channel becomes narrower and large stretches of river beach are exposed on both sides.
As early as three days ago, the Central Army Engineering Corps had built three pontoons on the narrowest river channel that could pass trucks.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, all the large troops had passed through the pontoon bridge and headed towards Guide. The officers and soldiers of the Engineer Corps could finally take a breath and start making rice. It had been three days since they had had hot food. Most of the officers and soldiers were lying on the river beach warmed by the sun. Some were smoking and chatting, and some were falling asleep directly.
At this time, another team came from the west, with hundreds of people driving more than 20 carriages. When we arrived at the bridge, we negotiated with the sentry and then went all the way to the pontoon bridge.
The officers and soldiers of the Engineer Regiment watched this group of ragged troops crossing the bridge with indifferent and slightly contemptuous eyes.
What kind of army is this? No, it can't be considered an army anymore. If they weren't carrying a few broken rifles, they would be no different from civilians. The shabby iron-gray military uniforms have been covered with thick loess and dust. They vary in age, but none of them are in their prime. The carriage was packed full of supplies, which made the wooden planks on the bridge creak.
This team is naturally the supplementary team for Zhou Wen and the others. Since setting off with the Sixth Brigade, the young and old men in the supplementary group have had their eyes opened. Thousands of troops, hundreds of cavalry, countless trucks and carriages, and countless types of artillery, all passed through their eyes, moving forward, always moving forward.
The past ten days in the supplementary group have been really relaxing and comfortable. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is an outing. Although they look ragged and miserable, they are actually for outsiders to see.
Set off with the army, surrounded by friendly troops, there is no need for any reconnaissance and sentry, just follow the orders from the brigade headquarters. Where you should go and where you should rest are clearly stated in the order. Zhao Changshu also paid special attention to it. Whether it was the soldiers who came to deliver orders or the officers who came to direct the transportation, they were all polite. No one made trouble for you, and no one yelled at you.
In accordance with the order, the supplementary regiment has always maintained a distance of about five miles from the brigade headquarters. No one will take care of you at ordinary times. The supplies and food are sufficient. Except for the daily supply to the brigade headquarters, the rest are open to build.
To be honest, the equipment and material supplies of the Jin army are really the best in China. Each brigade has an artillery regiment, equipped with machine guns in platoons, two in each platoon. Jin-made Thompson submachine guns are distributed to the squad, two per squad. There is plenty of ammunition and food, and there are even cans.
I walked less than 200 kilometers in more than ten days. To the old and young men in the supplementary group, it was still nothing more than a joke. Walking, watching and eating canned food, you say it is pleasant or not. It's totally a tour group.
The same goes for Zhou Wen. His nerves that have been tense have rarely relaxed for a few days. Recently, only two tasks have been given to the transportation team. One is to observe and draw topographic maps along the road as a group. Where there are villages and rivers, they must be marked. If there are mistakes, they must be redrawn ten times.
The second is to keep the team members proficient in sign language training. Even many communications require sign language.
So the veterans who drove the car looked at these children with smiles all day long, and made various gestures with their hands like mutes. Anyone who makes a mistake will consciously run to the carriage and kiss the horse's butt. If he makes a mistake again, he will kiss the donkey's butt. The third time he makes a mistake, he will run around naked and make everyone laugh so hard.
Zhou Wen also made another important discovery. When he passed through Linying County, he bought some roast chickens for his body and stored them in the Buddhist bead space. Then I forgot about it, and by the time I remembered it, three days had passed. I was thinking that it might be broken, but when I took it out, I found that it was just like when I put it in, and it still smelled good.
This is an incredible discovery. The Buddhist bead space actually has the function of stopping time? Zhou Wen guessed, and quickly took back all the intercoms, charged them up, and put them into the space. This electronic device is the most susceptible to aging. If it is as I guessed, and the space is taken back and stored when not in use, then these intercoms should be able to be used for many years.
In addition to the gold bars and communication devices piled up in one corner of Zhou Wen's prayer bead space, there are also several hundred oceans, several kettles filled with water, two Thompson submachine guns with the butts removed, and four drum magazines. Dozens of flatbreads and a small bag of salt. The roasted chickens were not cleaned either. These were life-saving items in an emergency. Basically fill most of the space.
After a few days, the situation gradually became tense, and more supplies were sent to the brigade headquarters. There were constant messengers galloping back and forth, and the sound of gunfire from the direction of Guide became more and more intense. Zhao Changshu is really interesting. He sends a copy of the military intelligence report to the supplementary regiment every day, so Zhou Wen also has a better understanding of the battle situation ahead.
Now the main force of the Central Route Army is passing through Guide and attacking in the direction of Xuzhou, while the National Army is also attacking in the direction of Guide from the direction of Xuzhou. The main forces of both sides meet at the small station of Mamuji on the Longhai Line. When the fierce battle begins, they must strive to capture the enemy. The opponent is defeated. This opens up the attack route.
Zhou Wen and his supplementary regiment had already arrived at the Longhai Railway and were stationed in a village twenty miles away from Guide.
On this day, as soon as Old Uncle Wu brought people to deliver supplies to the brigade headquarters, Wang Huzi called Zhou Wen into the temporary regiment headquarters. Old Uncle Wu took a sip of water and said: "Awen, your fellow countryman Zhang Cheng quietly told me today that the Mamuji Station in front of Guide may not be able to be defended. The National Army seems to have used some iron lumps to prevent it. We can still fire artillery while running, and bullets cannot penetrate it. Many people in the center route army died and we cannot stop them. Let us be prepared to retreat along the railway line at any time."
However, Zhou Wen knew the details of the Mamuji Battle and couldn't help but remember it, because this was the first battle in China's history where tanks were used in combat.
At that time, because the National Army was unable to overcome the Jin Army's defense line in Mamuji after several days of continuous attacks, Du Luming, the principal's favorite student, asked for a fight and took the lead in the attack with three crude tanks modified from old armored vehicles and thickened iron sheets.
The Jin army had no experience in dealing with tanks. Most of the officers and soldiers had never even heard of a tank. Watching a tall and tall iron lump roaring and shouting, rushing over with black smoke, the machine gun above kept spitting out tongues of flame. Bullet guns couldn't penetrate or explode, and trenches couldn't stop it from moving forward. It collapsed instantly.
The Nationalist Army used tanks to clear the way, and the Jin army was forced to break through three lines of defense in succession, and finally had to withdraw from Mamuji. One of the National Army tanks also got stuck in a trench and was burned.
Zhou Wen walked back and forth thinking, and finally said: "Uncle Beard, Old Uncle Wu, I think tonight, whether we retreat or not, I will take the transportation team to the Yellow River. There are fewer troops there and it is more convenient. Hidden. The time I've been waiting for is almost here, and if it succeeds, it won't take long for us to meet again."
