Chapter 55: Long Wencheng Proposes Crossing the River at Luding Bridge

Right now, the entirety of Huili must have been captured by the Red Army as well.
"These Red Army troops—do they have wings or something? How could they move so fast?"
Liu Yuanzhang found it somewhat incredible because, according to intelligence reports, the Red Army's vanguard was still a hundred li away from Huili.
Could it be that these Red Army soldiers had marched a hundred li in a single day?
Were they even human?
"What should we do, Big Brother?"
Liu Yuantao looked at Liu Yuanzhang with a plea for help in his eyes.
With Huili now fallen, Dechang would undoubtedly be the Red Army's next target, sending a chill down Liu Yuanzhang's spine.
"How about we retreat to Xichang? When the time comes, we clear the road and let the Red Army pass, while we hole up inside the city of Xichang and refuse to come out.
Anyway, the Red Army's goal is to head north. If we garrison ourselves within Xichang, they won't specifically dispatch troops to attack us, as that would only delay their northward advance."
Liu Yuanzhang proposed a plan to play the coward like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Liu Yuantao thought this was a brilliant plan.
What was wrong with playing the coward? It was certainly better than being a headless turtle.
However, neither of them knew that the garrison forces in Xichang had already been completely annihilated.
At this moment, Liu Yuanzhang picked up the telephone to call the garrison regiment stationed in Xichang.
No one answered.
He dialed again...
Still no one answered.
The two brothers looked at each other in dismay, sensing that the situation was far from simple.
"Could it be... that Xichang has also been taken by the Red Army?"
Liu Yuantao considered this possibility.
Yet Liu Yuanzhang waved his hand dismissively and said,
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. The Red Army vanguard has only just reached Huili, and Xichang is still several hundred li away from Huili. Unless these Red Army soldiers really have wings, they could never capture Xichang."
With that said, he decided to send men to Xichang to find out what was actually going on.
Just at that moment, the sound of explosions and gunfire suddenly erupted from outside, extremely intense.
"Could it... could they really have attacked here?"

Liu Yuanzhang and Liu Yuantao were both dumbfounded, staring at each other wide-eyed, unable to speak for a long time.
At that very moment, Long Wencheng was concentrating all the light and heavy machine gun firepower of his entire division to launch a fierce assault on the northern gate of Dechang.
Ten mortars, and even those two makeshift native cannons, had been brought into play, all to create the illusion that the main force of the Red Army had outflanked Dechang from the north and was launching a ferocious assault on this position.
Liu Yuanzhang and Liu Yuantao rushed to the northern city gate, but didn't even dare to climb up the city wall because the firepower of the 18th Red Division was too ferocious, and the gate tower of the north gate had already been blown to ruins.
"This doesn't look like the firepower of a small detachment of the Red Army."
Liu Yuantao said, listening to the gunfire and explosions outside, and watching the wounded soldiers being continuously carried down from the city wall.
"What small detachment of the Red Army could possess this kind of firepower? Without even thinking, one knows this is the main force of the Red Army."
Liu Yuanzhang remarked, a vague realization dawning on him.
"Right! They must have launched a direct surprise attack on Xichang from the direction of Qihai, and then swept down from Xichang to catch Dechang in a pincer attack from the front and rear."
"What should we do now, Big Brother?"
Liu Yuantao asked urgently.
Liu Yuanzhang immediately ordered:
"Send a telegram to our superiors, stating that Xichang has been captured by the enemy, and Dechang is facing a pincer attack from the Red Army's main force from both front and rear. Our forces fought to the death in resistance, but unable to hold out, we have no choice but to retreat toward Miyi County."
As his voice trailed off, Liu Yuanzhang decisively led the seven regiments stationed inside Dechang City in a retreat toward Miyi County.
In the early morning, Long Wencheng led his soldiers into Dechang County City.
Wen Song was utterly amazed, thinking to himself whether these Sichuan-Kang Border Defense Forces could even be called an army. They were simply unable to withstand a blow and collapsed at the slightest touch.
"Divisional Commander, how did you know they would retreat?"
Wen Song trotted over, utterly unable to figure it out.
Long Wencheng replied:
"Based on my understanding of the Central Column, Huili to the south should have been captured by now.
If we then disguise ourselves as the main force of the Red Army and launch an offensive from the north, if you were Liu Yuanzhang, what would you think?"
After listening and pondering for a moment, Wen Song knew without asking that being caught in a pincer attack by two Red Army main forces meant Dechang could not possibly be held. Running away immediately was indeed the optimal solution.
Moreover, for these local petty warlords, the Red Army was merely passing through, whereas their troops were their own capital. If they were to be wiped out fighting to the last for the Red Army, could they seriously expect the Central Army to replenish their ammunition, money, and grain?
Thus, although the combat capability of the Sichuan-Kang Border Defense Forces was indeed remarkably weak, their current avoidance of battle also stemmed from a desire to preserve their strength.
After occupying Dechang, whatever supplies the Sichuan-Kang Border Defense Forces had failed to evacuate naturally became the spoils of war for the 18th Red Division.
However, such local warlords possessed few items of genuine value; aside from some ammunition and rations that were barely acceptable, the rest was practically negligible.

After capturing Dechang, Long Wencheng dispatched Lin Tong to gallop at top speed toward Huili to inform the Central Column that the 18th Red Division had already captured Dechang and Xichang, and that the Central Column could safely pass through.
At noon, the Central Column sent messengers to notify Long Wencheng to go to Huili to attend a meeting.
Upon arriving in Huili, Long Wencheng met the senior commanders of the Central Column.
They naturally showered Long Wencheng with high praise, but following that, the next step of the marching route had to be explicitly determined.
Because further ahead, the road would become even more treacherous.
Commander Desheng took the floor first.
"Long Yun sent me a book called *A Sequel to Yong'an's Collected Works*, which records an event concerning the Wing King, Shi Dakai."
He then recounted to everyone the circumstances of how Shi Dakai met his doom at Anshunchang.
Upon hearing this, everyone reached a single conclusion: the Dadu River lying right before their eyes would be a battle of life and death for the Red Army.
If they failed to successfully force a crossing of the Dadu River, the Red Army would likely meet the same fate as the Wing King Shi Dakai from back then, ultimately being annihilated along the banks of the Dadu River.
The good news was that defending the northern bank was Liu Wenhui of the Sichuan-Kang Border Defense Forces, whose troops under this warlord could be described as a mob, collapsing almost at the first touch.
Yet, with the roaring Dadu River barring their way ahead, the enemy soldiers on the opposite bank only needed to set up their machine gun positions to block the Red Army from forcing a crossing.
This battle would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.
Right now, three plans lay before them regarding crossing the Dadu River.
Some suggested taking the main road directly toward Yuexi and Dashubao, and crossing the river there.
Others suggested crossing at Anshunchang.
The final proposal was raised by Long Wencheng, seizing the moment.
"Cross the river at Luding Bridge."
This took everyone somewhat by surprise.
The only bridge across the Dadu River was that single iron-chain bridge, Luding Bridge; but what they could think of, the enemy would surely think of as well, and would undoubtedly dismantle or destroy this iron bridge directly. Going there would likely mean a wasted trip.
Regarding Long Wencheng's proposal, only a minority expressed approval.
Commander Desheng waited until everyone had finished speaking before turning his gaze toward Long Wencheng.