The beacon of youth

After a brief introduction of the situation, Army Commander Luo took a note to Li Yong: "This is what our comrades in the report paid for it with their lives. Take a closer look."

Commander Luo handed over the latest personnel composition of the relevant units of the Qingma Army. Among them, the Eighth Cavalry Division had more than 3000 people left after the defeat at Guguan. Ma Jiyuan allocated another 2000 people to the Eighth Division. The current Eighth Cavalry Division is 5000 There were many people, and Ma Ying, the division commander, was not punished. Although officers and soldiers from the [-]th Brigade kept complaining to Mr. Ma Jiyuan, it didn't work.

According to the family law of the Ma family army, Ma Ying, the commander of the Eighth Cavalry Division, would be shot to death, but with the persuasion of people around Ma Jiyuan, it is an ominous sign to kill generals before the battle. What Ma Ying did to the Fourteenth Brigade in Guguan Although what he did is hateful, this guy is indeed a character, and now is the time to employ someone, and he can be made to commit crimes and make meritorious deeds.

In this way, Ma Ying, the division commander of the Eighth Cavalry Division, not only did not receive any punishment, but also remained in his original position. I had no choice but to swallow the hatred. Not only did I have to swallow it, but the reorganized Fourteenth Brigade had to be restrained by Ma Ying.

The [-]th Cavalry Brigade was newly formed after Guguan was wiped out by the Du Li Brigade of the People's Liberation Army. Other troops transferred a large number of officers and soldiers to reorganize the [-]th Cavalry Brigade. However, this newly formed unit is far worse than the previous [-]th Brigade. It is also not on the same level as before.

The former 8000th Brigade was full of more than 4000 people. It not only had many light and heavy machine guns, but also had a field artillery battalion. It was very prominent in the Majiajun system. The newly formed [-]th Brigade only had more than [-] officers and soldiers who came over temporarily. , They haven't gotten along well with each other, let alone the artillery, even if Ma Bufang and Ma Jiyuan want to give it.

There is also a new First Division responsible for the defense of the Yellow River Iron Bridge. As the name suggests, this new First Division is a force temporarily developed by the Ma family father and son in order to increase the strength of the Qingma Army. The total strength is more than 5000, and the weapons and equipment are There are no ordinary horse rifles and a small number of light and heavy machine guns and artillery, and the combat effectiveness is unknown. However, from experience, a temporary army formed before the war has no strong combat effectiveness.

Although the three troops are all at the division brigade level, their total strength is only between [-] and [-], which is slightly more than that of the du li brigade. Ma Ying, commander of the Eighth Cavalry Division.

Ma Jiyuan believed that although Ma Ying had problems of one kind or another, he was still very good at leading troops in battle, and commanding such three troops was quite appropriate.

After introducing the situation to Li Yong, Commander Luo of the Sixth Army said again: "The head of the headquarters told me to pass on the mission to you. How to beat your brigade is up to you. But you must take the Yellow River within five hours. The iron bridge, and stick to it, the time is urgent, you act quickly."

It is the first time that the du li brigade has been assigned tasks by the head of the headquarters, and it is stipulated that they must be completed within a certain period of time. .

According to our military intelligence personnel in Lanzhou City, after the defensive positions outside Lanzhou were successively captured by the People's Liberation Army, Ma Jiyuan had a long phone call with his father, Ma Bufang, who was far away in Xining, and even spoke in local dialect after the city wall was blown open After discussing with Ma Bufang on the phone, it is estimated that Ma Jiyuan may take advantage of the chaos and escape first.

It was based on the above judgment that the Field Army Headquarters made up its mind to seize the Iron Bridge over the Yellow River, blocking the escape route of the Qingma Army, and preparing for the later westward advance of the army.

The du li brigade, which received the order, handed over the newly defeated position to the [-]th division of the [-]th army. The main force of the brigade gave up the formation of street fighting with the Ma family army in the city, and rushed towards the iron bridge of the Yellow River according to the original battle order.

Because of the urgency, the brigade commander Li Yong and the political commissar Wang Chengde were studying the combat deployment during the march. Li Yong believed that the enemy's total strength in charge of the defense of the Yellow River Iron Bridge was [-]. Although it was slightly more than ours, it was nothing to be afraid of. The combat effectiveness of the enemy and our armies is definitely not at the same level. The du li brigade, which has undergone more than two years of hard fighting, is fully capable of defeating the enemy. But the question is, how can we preserve ourselves to the maximum while defeating the enemy? Never fight hard.

Wang Chengde fully agrees with Li Yong's opinion, and finally after two people's research, they decided to use Zhang Jinsong's reconnaissance battalion to meet the enemy in disguise. Revolutionary efforts.

Battalion Commander Zhang Jinsong and his reconnaissance battalion soldiers were overjoyed after passing on the order, because the opportunity is rare. Who would have thought that Ma's army would make more contributions when they were about to be defeated, so that they would have the capital to show off in the future. Although the reconnaissance battalion It's not an infantry combat battalion, but I don't want to be a third echelon all the time.

Most of the clothes are kept in the supply camp. There are more than 1000 people in the reconnaissance battalion. It would be too time-consuming and unnecessary to change them all up. Therefore, Zhang Jinsong deliberately selected more than 100 soldiers to let them More than 100 fighters are enough to fool the enemy.

The most combative unit in the reconnaissance battalion was selected. The reconnaissance hero Ning Erzi led a platoon. A row of such missions were performed many times. The soldiers happily changed into their clothes. Negotiate the details.

Scouts, you have to pretend to be what you look like. The result of the two people's discussions is that they pretend to be the newly formed [-]th Cavalry Brigade. All the personnel of the [-]th Brigade are newly transferred from various units of the Qingma Army. There are a large number of recruits, the organization is chaotic, there is a chance to fish in troubled waters, and it is not easy for outsiders to understand their details.

Ma Jiyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Qingma Army in the Lanzhou Campaign, who had just finished talking with me on the phone, quietly slipped out of the headquarters with a few cronies, and drove towards the Yellow River Iron Bridge with a few jeeps.

A regiment of the Eighth Cavalry Division was in charge of guarding the bridgehead position of the Iron Bridge over the Yellow River. Ma Ying, the division commander, believed that the terrain near the bridge was narrow and large troops could not be deployed. On the vast area on the side, this kind of arrangement can attack when advancing, defend when retreating, and can also reinforce the guards on the bridge at any time. Finally, there is another unspoken idea that once the People's Liberation Army breaks through Lanzhou City, he Ma Ying You can also escape calmly.

It was gradually getting dark, and the soldiers looked at the officer holding a special pass in the jeep, and let them pass after examining them.

The soldiers guarding the bridge did not recognize that the person in the car was their commander-in-chief. Although it was suspicious to leave Lanzhou city at this time, he had a special pass issued by the headquarters. There is no need to report to the teacher for a small matter.

Ma Jiyuan wanted to run away, but he had no choice but to run away. Lanzhou City was about to fall, even if the Qingma Army tried their best, it would only last for a while. What's the difference between being defeated a few days earlier and being defeated a few days later?Once the Yellow River Iron Bridge was blocked by the Communist Army, it would be too late to run away.

Ma Jiyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Lanzhou Campaign, left his soldiers and subordinates and ran away quietly at the last moment. He only brought out a few trusted officers and more than forty guards. After leaving Lanzhou, he went all the way to Xining. Life and death, any bloody battle with the People's Liberation Army to the end is nothing but lies and empty words to fool subordinates.

Not long after Ma Jiyuan's group left, another small army came straight to the bridge. With the dim light, the soldiers guarding the bridge could barely see that it was a small army of more than 100 people.

Suspicious, indeed a little suspicious, because although these people who came were all wearing naked clothes, the military uniforms were still slightly different from those of Ma Jiajun, so it seemed a bit strange no matter how they looked at them.

The duli brigade seized all the uniforms of the Central Yang Army of the Kuomintang, and they were all new products. This is somewhat different from the Majia Army in the northwest. Although they are all in the same order of battle, but the local warlord troops in these places The equipment is far from that of the central yang army, not only in the clothes.

Li Yong and Zhang Jinsong also thought about this problem when they were about to change their clothes, and they also wanted to put Ning Erzi and the others in tattered military uniforms from the Ma family army, but everyone was speechless after the inspection. They didn't catch them, and the dead bodies on the ground were blown to pieces by heavy machine guns and mortars. What kind of decent military uniforms could there be?So I had no choice but to put on better clothes to fool the Ma family army guarding the bridge. The key depended on the performance of Ning Erzi on the spot.

Walking in neat steps, getting closer and closer, the outline of the iron bridge became clearer and clearer. Ning Erzi, who was walking in the front with the soldiers, looked at the tall iron bridge brackets and felt a burst of fire in his heart. Big iron bridge, big iron bridge , Whether they can block all the enemies depends on their performance tonight.

It was getting closer, so close that the soldiers could clearly see the rivets on the bridge brackets. When they were tens of meters away from the bridge, a roadblock made of thick wooden poles blocked Ning Erzi's way. Next to it was a machine gun bunker built with sandbags, the muzzle of the black hole pointing forward, and a group of soldiers watched the squad covetously from behind the roadblock.

"Stop, what part? Password?"

It's no wonder that the soldiers guarding the bridge suspected that few of Ma's troops wore steel helmets. Not only did the men who came here wear steel helmets, but they also carried a submachine gun. In line, it is not like Ma's army at all.