Chapter 53: Feinting East, Striking West—A Surprise Attack on Xichang City

Presently, Kunming possessed merely two brigades of troops, totaling fewer than ten thousand men combined. Yet, as Long Yun's main stronghold, he would by no means allow Kunming to fall under any circumstances.

De Sheng made a bold assessment: as long as a feigned attack was launched against Kunming—regardless of its authenticity—Long Yun would inevitably summon the surrounding forces, and even the garrison troops stationed along the banks of the Jinsha River, to fall back and reinforce Kunming together.

The reasoning behind this judgment was quite simple. Local warlords like Long Yun and Bai Chongxi shared the exact same mindset regarding the Red Army. Their guiding principle was to "escort the guests out of bounds" as politely as possible; as long as the Red Army did not wreak havoc in their territories, they were more than happy to play along with the Red Army's theatrics.

Once that happened, the Red Army forces would swing northward, crossing the river at Jiaopingdu while constructing a pontoon bridge at Longjiedu to mislead the enemy's judgment. Having successfully crossed the river, they would march north to attack the Huili, Dechang, and Xichang line, pushing all the way up to the Dadu River.

Once the operation plan was finalized, the main columns of the Red Army set out that very night.

However, the Central Column was still unaware that because a certain Red 18th Division—which they had released ahead of them—was far too formidable in battle, their subsequent operations would prove to be vastly less arduous than they had imagined.

While a detachment of the Red Army launched a feigned attack on Kunming and the main force swung northward, Long Wencheng had already led his men to successively capture the county towns of Butuo and Puge.

After replenishing provisions here, conveniently punishing local gentry, and rescuing the impoverished commoners, Long Wencheng calculated the time and decided to head straight north, pass by Qihai, and proceed to attack Xichang.

According to his memory of the Long March history, Liu Wenhui's garrison forces on the north bank of the Jinsha River were currently concentrated primarily in Dechang and Huili, while Xichang's rear-guard defense was relatively thinly manned.

Nevertheless, to confuse the enemy's judgment, Long Wencheng still detached a force to march north toward Zhaojue County. Even the division's radio station accompanied this detachment northward, broadcasting and transmitting telegrams frequently.

In this way, the enemy would be led to believe that the main force of the Red 18th Division had already marched north to Zhaojue County.

In reality, this was merely a decoy force. Long Wencheng lay low in the northern part of Puge County for a week before finally receiving intelligence that Zhaojue County had been captured by Qi Delong's troops.

Upon confirming this news, Long Wencheng finally swung his forces northward, advancing toward Xichang along lesser-known paths. If they could capture Xichang, they would form a pincer movement with the Red Army's Central Column on the opposite side of the Jinsha River, squeezing Liu Wenhui's Sichuan warlord forces stationed in Dechang and Huili.

Long Wencheng had already fully witnessed the terrifying combat effectiveness of Liu Wenhui's Sichuan-Xikang Border Defense Force. Compared to Liu Wenhui blocking their path ahead, the Central Army relentlessly pursuing them from behind was the true object of concern.

Because the current Central Army, aside from the eight divisions in hot pursuit, also had Hunan provincial troops relentlessly chasing from behind.

While Long Wencheng was swinging his forces north, Tang Yunshan, who had been in relentless pursuit, also led over ten thousand Nationalist troops from the 52nd Division to catch up, seizing Puge County.

They had also crossed the river at Datuo Village, but Long Wencheng had taken all the boats to the northern bank upon his departure, causing a delay of several days.

Added to this was the 52nd Division's inherently sluggish marching speed, creating a considerable gap compared to the fully mechanized and exceptionally swift Red 18th Division.

Inside the county town of Puge, gazing at the propaganda slogans left behind by the Red Army, Tang Yunshan wore a grave expression.

"The locals say the enemy headed in the direction of Zhaojue County. Furthermore, after verifying with headquarters, there are indeed signs of Red Army activities in the Zhaojue County area."

The speaker was Zhang Chenren. Out of courtesy to Wu Qiwei, Tang Yunshan had kept him under his command, temporarily serving as an aide-de-camp.

"Zhaojue County... they intend to march north and enter the Chengdu Plain, do they?"

Tang Yunshan spoke with a slight Cantonese accent. As he spoke, he reached out to rub his increasingly sparse hair.

"Rest for the night, march north to attack Zhaojue County tomorrow morning, and simultaneously petition headquarters to have the Sichuan forces deploy defenses in the northern part of Zhaojue County. I'd like to see just how much longer these little rats can keep running."

Tang Yunshan said with a chilling glare in his eyes.

From leading troops into Guizhou, then to Yunnan, and now entering Sichuan, throughout the entire journey, he had enjoyed almost no respite. Yet, miraculously, not a single battle had been fought.

This left Tang Yunshan, who was eager to achieve military merits and rise through the ranks, consumed with pent-up frustration, wishing he could tear the Red 18th Division to pieces right here and now.

Yet, for reasons unknown, these fellows marched at such a breakneck speed. They seemed cast in iron, completely impervious to fatigue, and always managed to leave them far, far behind.

This time, with the Sichuan army blocking ahead and them pursuing from behind, Tang Yunshan was determined to see just where else this Red Army force could possibly flee.

Xichang.

This place would one day become a vital satellite launch center for the nation.

At present, however, it was merely a remote border town.

Mid-conversation, a figure at the front of the column strode forward with long strides at an astonishing speed—it was Hu Erleng.

Long Wencheng often thought that had this not been wartime, Hu Erleng would undoubtedly have been an outstanding long-distance runner. He ran like a gust of wind and seemingly knew nothing of exhaustion.

"Division Commander, Company Commander Lin says the scouting is done. The enemy in Xichang has only two garrison regiments, totaling at most around fifteen hundred men. Moreover, they are all concentrated in western Xichang, with zero troops stationed around Qihai."

Qihai was a sizable lake, resembling a sapphire inlaid at the juncture of the high mountains and plains in southwest Xichang.

Looking out over that azure lake, Long Wencheng could not help but sigh at the magnificent scenery, regretting only that it was marred by such troubled times.

The troops did not immediately cross via Qihai, instead waiting until nightfall descended.

Long Wencheng ordered Tian Lixin to lead the 3rd Regiment, Peng Hongsen to lead the 4th Regiment, along with the artillery company and the sniper detachment, to launch a direct surprise attack on the two garrison regiments in Xichang.

As for Yang Gang, he led the 2nd Regiment to set up a blockade on the road from Dechang to Xichang.

Based on Long Wencheng's estimation, the Central Column at this moment was likely just crossing the Jinsha River from Jiaopingdu and preparing to attack Huili.

Once he captured Xichang, he would be able to catch the Sichuan border defense forces in Huili and Dechang in a pincer attack from the front and rear.

The two garrison regiments in Xichang did not disappoint Long Wencheng; their combat effectiveness was indeed pitifully weak.

Under the double-sided assault of the 3rd and 4th Regiments, they were promptly routed. By midnight, the city of Xichang was essentially under control.

It was not until the latter half of the night that Long Wencheng led the remaining troops into Xichang City.

Hardly had he arrived when Little Stone came running over in high spirits.

"Division Commander, we've got an unexpected harvest this time!"