Chapter 994
This boy is truly a man of strong character!
The two armies were locked in combat, the booming of artillery and the crackling of gunfire never ceasing, and thick smoke constantly rose from the ground, enveloping the entire battlefield—even the most clueless person, upon seeing such a scene, could conjure up a single image in their mind:
Countless soldiers from both sides were engaged in fierce combat!
And that is indeed the case:
The artillerymen fired shell after shell;
The soldiers at the front kept pulling the trigger, and bullets, or bursts of bullets, kept spitting out of the muzzle...
and then?
On the defending side, a soldier quietly poked his head out of the trench, but after looking for a long time, he couldn't see a single enemy—no matter how intense the gunfire or how loud the artillery roared.
"The Loyal Salvation Army is truly a misnomer—they can't even spot such an obvious fake position, and they keep bombarding it with shells without actually attacking. How many bullets are they wasting?!"
The old soldier next to him said nonchalantly, "Why do you care so much? We can rest while they don't charge. We've been digging trenches all night and haven't had a moment's sleep. I'll take a nap first, and you can wake me up if the Zhongji Army comes."
The soldier looked at the veteran with admiration. The veteran's nerves were really tough; he could even fall asleep in this situation. If it were him, how could he dare to sleep at a time like this?
Special Forces Command.
Listening to the rumbling of cannons, Zheng Yaoxian felt heartbroken.
Why does Old Xu act like a wealthy landlord? Where does he get so many cannonballs?
Just as he was feeling sorry for Zheng Yao, Song Xiaoan burst into the command post and saw him quickly run to his side, whispering:
"We just received intelligence that a batch of supplies is being transferred to the left flank."
Zheng Yaoxian raised an eyebrow: "A very large batch?"
"Yes, it was supposedly prepared for the 74th Army, but it was intercepted by Commander Xu's men."
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go get the goods—" Seeing Song Xiaoan about to "go get the goods" with a "gauntlet," Zheng Yaoxian called out to him again: "Be smart, understand?"
Song Xiaoan suppressed a laugh and said, "I know—Seventh Brother, just you wait and see!"
As soon as Song Xiaoan left, Zheng Yaoxian raised his wrist to check the time. Seeing that the hour hand was just pointing to eight o'clock, he couldn't help but tap his fingers rapidly on the table again.
Old Xu said that the 74th Army would intervene in the battle around 12 o'clock. There are still four hours until 12 o'clock. I wonder if the friendly forces can arrive within four hours.
[If all else fails, then let's fight to the death! Anping's meticulously trained special weapons are still capable of fighting this kind of positional warfare!]
……
An army is marching at high speed.
An operations staff officer rushed to the commander with the newly translated telegram:
"Commander, the higher command has ordered us to speed up and get to Pantang before noon to meet up with the secret service troops who have revolted."
"Before 12 o'clock? Is it that urgent?"
"Reliable intelligence indicates that the enemy's 74th Army will intervene in the battle before noon. If our troops cannot arrive in time, this uprising force may be wiped out by the enemy. In addition, the higher command said that the enemy's 74th Army will carry out infiltration operations after crossing Pantang and advance towards Nianzhuangwei. After our troops receive the uprising of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics forces, we must contain the enemy's infiltration and absolutely prevent them from cooperating with the enemy's eastern reinforcement corps to advance towards Nianzhuang."
"Infiltration? The 74th Army?" The commander couldn't help but laugh. The 74th Division had advanced recklessly and alone, resulting in its complete annihilation at Menglianggu, with even its commander being killed.
Has the enemy never learned their lesson? Now they're sending out the rebuilt 74th Army again to carry out infiltration operations!
Trying to infiltrate in front of our People's Liberation Army is like waving a big sword in front of Guan Yu (a legendary swordsman).
The commander laughed loudly: "Order the troops to accelerate their advance and be present east of Pantang before 12 o'clock—tell all units that our old enemy has risen from the dead and is trying to infiltrate us this time! Make sure all units are on high alert and teach this resurrected old enemy a lesson in what true infiltration warfare is!"
……
Another, larger force was also marching—but their pace showed no sign of urgency.
A senior officer finally couldn't hold back any longer and had his driver take him to the commander.
After meeting him, he said frankly:
"Commander, at this rate of marching, we're afraid we won't make it before noon!"
In response to his subordinate's deliberate reminder, the commander asked impatiently, "Can you hear the cannon fire?"
"Yes, it's intense. The Loyal Salvation Army lives up to its reputation. We underestimated them in the past."
"Xu is eager to prove himself, so he definitely won't hold back at this point. You can tell from the sound of the cannons—but have he achieved any results? No!"
His subordinates looked puzzled. "It's precisely because we haven't achieved any results that we should speed things up!"
"Are you stupid?!"
The commander said helplessly:
"The Special Weapons of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, although well-trained, you know they're not suited for positional warfare. Yet, they've been fighting for at least three to four hours now! But the Loyal Salvation Army, fighting desperately, still hasn't been able to take the Special Weapons' position. What does that mean?"
The subordinate seemed to be thinking: "Is Special Forces good at positional warfare?"
The commander was so angry he laughed:
"Bullshit! This means the Communist army is here—the Communist army is secretly supporting the Special Forces, which is why two reinforced traffic police regiments couldn't take down the Special Forces!"
“I told Commander Huang and Commander Du yesterday that if we can find weaknesses, the Communist army can find them too—if we want to infiltrate, the Communist army is even better at it than we are. This is clearly courting death!”
"Now it seems that the Communist army is not thinking about infiltration, but rather about wiping out my 74th Army in one fell swoop!"
His subordinates were horrified and couldn't help but recall their "past life"—it had only been a little over a year, but the "past life" was still vivid in their minds.
Especially given that the new commander has repeatedly reviewed the Battle of Menglianggu.
"The Communist army, they're addicted!"
The subordinates murmured to themselves, inwardly giving their commanders a huge thumbs-up for their decision.
That was close!
"Now you understand my concerns, right? Go to your unit quickly. Once you reach Pantang, do not cross Pantang. Take over the defense and build up positions. It doesn't matter whether we annihilate the special forces or not. What's important is to prevent the Communist army from penetrating through Pantang."
The subordinate asked worriedly, "How are we going to explain this to the General Headquarters? And the Traffic Police Corps, they're still waiting for us."
Commander's answer:
“If we hold Pantang, at least the traffic police brigade can retreat. If we rush in all at once, the 74th Army and both traffic police brigades will be finished! You don’t need to worry about the General Headquarters. Xu Baichuan has ‘borrowed’ the supplies that the General Headquarters prepared for our infiltration. I can use this as an excuse to talk to the General Headquarters.”
The army has several cameras; take them with you and give them to the scouts. Tell them to investigate the situation, and if they spot any Communist troops, they must take pictures, lest the General Headquarters accuse me of disobeying orders.
The subordinates bowed in submission: "Commander is wise!"
……
Above the sky, a transport plane is flying rapidly at high altitude.
Inside the cabin, Zhang Anping stared blankly at the earth through the porthole—no matter how good his eyesight or how excellent his vision, he could only see emptiness.
But before his eyes appeared an entire vast battlefield.
He was not worried about the encirclement and annihilation of Huang's army—the Kuomintang always wanted to replicate what had happened in Northeast China, and tried to use Nianzhuangwei as the core to lure our army into a decisive battle, but they could not dream of such a thing. The fate of Huang's army was already sealed from the moment they took up Nianzhuangwei.
What he was really worried about was Zheng Yaoxian.
Old Zheng, can you lead your team to rendezvous with our army without suffering any losses?
At first, he thought that since Lao Zheng had decided to revolt, his return would be smooth sailing. But as he gradually learned about the battle situation on the plane, he realized that Zheng Yaoxian's revolt was in a very dangerous position.
Pantang was right under the enemy's nose, yet our army had no troops stationed along the Pantang line.
To be honest, even if an uprising were to take place at the very front of the Xudong blocking battle, the level of danger would be lower than that of an uprising at the Pantang front.
But Zhang Anping also knew why Zheng Yaoxian did this—Zheng Yaoxian could only have been forced to rebel, not be an undercover agent, so his uprising could not have been premeditated.
The intense uprising at the front lines had a strong premeditated element to it.
The fact that an uprising was launched at Pantang put them in danger, which perfectly illustrates the meaning of "having no choice".
But there are risks involved...
Old Xu should be able to provide support...
Old Xu can't just stand by and watch Old Zheng get into trouble; he'll definitely provide support...
Zhang Anping murmured to himself, at this moment, he could only trust Xu Baichuan.
Normally, the flight from Beiping to Xuzhou is less than 600 kilometers in a straight line. Considering the takeoff, climb, and landing processes, the C47 usually only takes two and a half hours to reach the destination.
However, at this time, fierce fighting was taking place, and our army controlled southern Shandong and the area east of Xuzhou. With our army equipped with anti-aircraft firepower, the C47 carrying important personnel had to take a detour. Therefore, the journey of less than 600 kilometers and two and a half hours became five and a half hours. At 8:15, the C47 transport plane finally landed at Xuzhou Jiulishan Airport.
(I have to give credit to AI here; without its assistance, these seemingly insignificant pieces of information would be impossible to find...)
At this moment, Jiulishan Airport was "exploded".
As mentioned before, the traffic police corps, which was temporarily reorganized as the traffic police force, was used as a logistics support force in Xuzhou, and naturally, it couldn't escape the task of guarding the airport.
After Xu Baichuan took away the two brigades guarding the airport, he temporarily moved the command post to the airport and ordered Liu Xinjie to bring a brigades to take over the defense. At this time, Liu Xinjie was the highest-ranking person in charge at the airport.
When the control tower learned that Deputy Director Zhang Anping was on board the landing plane, it immediately notified the traffic police headquarters – your old superior has arrived, hurry up and greet him.
Look at the social skills and manners displayed by the control tower! But Tan Zhongshu and Liu Xinjie, upon receiving the news, broke out in a cold sweat.
Mao Renfeng is here—not even a bird in sight. The traffic police headquarters is a solid block. If Mao Renfeng wanted to come in for an inspection, a mere lieutenant would dare to block him at the gate of the military camp. Even if Mao Renfeng were dressed as a general, he wouldn't be able to get in!
But what if Zhang Anping arrives?
Even if Xu Baichuan were stationed at the headquarters, Zhang Anping could appear directly in front of Xu Baichuan without needing to be notified!
What is the current situation with the traffic police headquarters?
How could Tan Zhongshu and Liu Xinjie not be shocked?
The two quickly relayed the news of Zhang Anping's arrival. Tan Zhongshu was in charge of leading people to "welcome him," while Liu Xinjie went to personally oversee the front line. Zhang Anping had far too many cronies in the traffic police headquarters. It was possible that even an insignificant section chief or captain could be called by name by Zhang Anping. At this critical juncture, Liu Xinjie could only stay on the front line to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening.
Fortunately, Political Commissar Zhao wasn't here, otherwise...
Liu Xinjie frantically wiped away cold sweat. Zhao Gang held no official position in the current traffic police force, yet he was respected everywhere. If Zhang Anping saw this, he would definitely be finished.
At the airport, the plane, which had traveled thousands of kilometers, slowly came to a stop. After the cabin door opened and the steel ladder was brought over, Zhang Anping, with a gloomy face, quickly walked down the steel ladder.
Tan Zhongshu, who came to greet him, immediately saluted and greeted him:
"District Chief!"
Zhang Anping glanced at the guards around him, frowned, and asked:
"You guys are actually in charge of airport security?"
There's a sense of anger in that sentence, like the thought that my precious son is working as a security guard in a factory.
Tan Zhongshu lowered his head in shame.
Zhang Anping snorted angrily, then asked, "Where is Xu Baichuan?"
"Commander-in-Chief Xu personally led the team to pursue 'Zheng the Rebel'."
Upon hearing these words, Zhang Anping felt instantly at ease. Old Xu had indeed lived up to my expectations!
It's all settled now, Lao Zheng is in the clear this time!
"Take me to the General Headquarters of the Suppression Headquarters—you come with me in the car, and tell me what's really going on with Zheng Yaoxian!"
Zhang Anping said angrily, "The Party and the country have supported him for more than ten years, but he betrayed the Party and the country at the critical moment. It's hateful, truly hateful!"
Tan Zhongshu dared not respond, and could only wait for Zhang Anping to finish speaking angrily before respectfully inviting Zhang Anping to get into the car.
On the way to the headquarters of the Suppression Headquarters, he recounted how Zheng Yaoxian was forced to rebel. Zhang Anping's face grew darker and darker as he listened, but he never said a word.
Tan Zhongshu felt a slight tremor in his heart upon seeing this. According to Zhang Anping's temperament, the more silent he was at this moment, the greater his anger was.
His arrival raises questions about the potential risks for Zheng Yaoxian.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was divine intervention.
Just as the convoy arrived at the headquarters of the Suppression Headquarters, an unexpected person coincidentally walked out of the headquarters.
Mao Renfeng!
Upon seeing Mao Renfeng, Zhang Anping couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
retribution!
Immediately afterwards, his eyes turned bloodshot, and before Tan Zhongshu could get out of the car to open the door for him, he pushed the door open and got out.
"Mao! Ren! Feng!"
The furious roar, fueled by gritted teeth, startled Mao Renfeng, who was about to board the car. He was enraged.
Who dares to call my name?
Then came a shock:
No, no! This sound is wrong!
It's not just wrong, it's that the voice sounds so familiar.
No, that thing is in Beiping, how could it possibly be here...?
As I turned my head, I saw a fist the size of a sandbag coming straight at me.
Compared to well-trained special agents, Zhang Anping's skill level was only 20 out of 40 – a 50% reduction.
But Mao Renfeng's number is five—a true weakling.
Therefore, the following scene is quite predictable:
Zhang Anping punched Mao Renfeng right in the eye socket, then another punch, then another, then another, and another…
They punched Mao Renfeng repeatedly in the head, and occasionally kicked him hard.
"My special weapon!"
"Hey Mao, are you a Communist Party spy? You're using my special weapons to curry favor!"
"I'll kill you!"
Mao Renfeng was completely stunned, clutching her head with no room for explanation, enduring Zhang Anping's relentless barrage of attacks.
His guards reacted and tried to stop it, but hesitated when they saw that the person who was beating him was Zhang Anping. They finally mustered up the courage to break up the fight, but what they were met with were pairs of murderous eyes.
The Secret Service's most powerful armed special operations team!
Mao Renfeng's guards chickened out and could only cheer him on in their hearts.
Mengmeng—wrong, you've wandered onto the wrong set.
"General, stand up and fight back! Fight back!"
Fighting back was out of the question—Mao Renfeng could only endure the blows to the head, screaming in agony and hoping for help.
Tan Zhongshu was dumbfounded. He knew Zhang Anping was holding back a big move, but he didn't expect it to be this big.
He couldn't help but swallow hard, but he was overjoyed. With such an incident, Zhang Anping probably wouldn't have time to deal with the traffic police headquarters anymore!
Good thing!
This is fantastic news!
Looking at Mao Renfeng being brutally beaten, he suddenly found Mao Renfeng surprisingly pleasing to the eye.
So, has Zhang Anping gone mad?
Of course he's not crazy.
He did it purely on purpose—making a big fuss was his intention, but he didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that he ran into Mao Renfeng.
Now that fate has given him the opportunity, how could he possibly give it up?!
So, without hesitation, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.
The reason for this scene is actually the same as Mao Renfeng's previous insistence on suing Zhang Anping and making a big fuss about Minglou's "defection"—it was all to get an official, definitive conclusion.
Whether or not it is dealt with is not a big deal. As long as the higher authorities give a final conclusion, this matter will not be brought up again.
Given this situation, how could things not escalate?
Headquarters for the Suppression of Enemy Personnel.
Commander Du was cursing at the 74th Army's telegram.
When the decision was made earlier, the man surnamed Qiu opposed the infiltration from Pantang—how could Commander Du not understand the reasoning behind it?
But military orders are absolute – the chief attendant insisted on making Nianzhuangwei the core of the decisive battle, so what could he do?
Compared to others, Commander Qiu, who had learned from Zhang Lingfu's mistakes, was more cautious, so only the 74th Army could penetrate the enemy lines.
But Commander Qiu's composure was beyond imagination. Even at this point, he was only dragging his feet and delaying the fight, claiming that the supplies had been "borrowed." He didn't want to engage in this flanking maneuver.
What's most infuriating is that the supplies were "borrowed" in the early hours of the morning, but Qiu only reported it at this time, deliberately bringing it up.
Do you really think I can't see through your scheme?!
Commander Du was cursing angrily because he had figured out the reason. Just as he was cursing, a staff officer ran in in a panic.
Commander Du said angrily, "What kind of behavior is this, all this panic and disarray!"
"Commander Du, something's happened—something's happened outside!"
Commander Du was even angrier: "Have the Communist troops invaded?"
"No, no—it's the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the deputy director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, Zhang Anping, is beating up the director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, Mao Renfeng, in front of the headquarters."
After hearing this, Commander Du was stunned. What?
What do you say?
"Why is he here? Well, that makes sense, he was the one who came up with the special weapons..."
Commander Du asked and answered himself, then became extremely curious – probably because his gossip-loving nature had been ignited.
He immediately went out to see what was going on.
Once outside, he saw a scene that made him laugh:
Mao Renfeng's guards were intimidated by Zhang Anping's guards from a distance and dared not approach. Meanwhile, in the very heart of the focal area, Zhang Anping was straddling Mao Renfeng, cursing and punching him relentlessly.
At this moment, Mao Renfeng's head looked like... a pig's head.
Commander Du was shocked. After the shock subsided, he couldn't help but murmur:
"This young man is truly... a man of strong emotions!" (End of Chapter)