Chapter 18: The Blood Battle at Baizhang Pass—Su Changqing Turns the Tide, the Steel Legion of Great Xia Makes Its Name Renowned
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The Northwest.
The Ma Clique.
“Hahahaha! Hahahaha! A heaven-sent opportunity—truly a heaven-sent opportunity!”
“That’s right. Hundred-Zhang Pass is the vital point of the bandit army’s Western Route Army. Who would have thought that those poor peasant bastards would overlook such a crucial position?”
“There is an old saying in the Great Xia Kingdom: if Heaven gives you a gift and you refuse it, you will be punished for it.”
“Such a splendid opportunity is right before our eyes. If we let it slip away, we would truly be unworthy of this perfect chance.”
“Order the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Brigades to break off the engagement at once and advance toward Hundred-Zhang Pass at full speed.”
“They must reach Hundred-Zhang Pass within a day.”
“Strike at the vital point of these bandits. I hear they have deployed more than twenty thousand men this time. I intend to leave every last one of them here.”
“Let Jinling see the credentials we are presenting to them.”
“Yes, sir!”
Elsewhere.
Night descended silently. Carrying bolt-action rifles, the 1st Column advanced toward Hundred-Zhang Pass at astonishing speed, stretching out like a long dragon.
Time was life itself!
If they lost time and failed to reach Hundred-Zhang Pass according to schedule, not only would the 1st Column risk total annihilation—the entire Western Route Army would be plunged into an irredeemable disaster.
Su Changqing had no choice.
“Faster, faster, faster!”
“Come on, comrades! Pick up the pace—faster!”
This forced march at extreme intensity was a tremendous test of will for every ordinary soldier.
Their soles were already covered in blood blisters.
Their thighs were sore and swollen, making every step forward agonizing.
The soldiers moved mechanically, yet the entire force advanced steadily and orderly toward Hundred-Zhang Pass at an even pace.
Seventy-two kilometers!
The allotted time was fourteen hours.
That meant they had to cover five or six kilometers every hour.
For an ordinary person, walking five or six kilometers in an hour might not be particularly difficult.
But to carry marching rations, weapons, and equipment while continuing to march for more than ten hours at a constant pace—
That was nothing short of a challenge to the limits of the human body.
“Huff!”
“Huff!”
The soldiers breathed heavily, but their resolve remained unshakable.
“We’re almost there! Almost there!”
Su Changqing gazed into the distance.
After more than ten consecutive hours of forced marching, even he felt an exhaustion too profound to describe.
Yet when he saw Hundred-Zhang Pass lying just ahead, a strength whose source he could not name surged up within him.
It once again seized control of Su Changqing’s body.
By then, the sky had begun to pale.
Su Changqing raised his wrist and glanced at the Swiss mechanical watch he had brought out of the Frunze Military Academy of the Polar Bear Empire.
Thirteen hours and twenty-one minutes.
The 1st Column had achieved what was nearly a miracle, forcing its way across seventy-two kilometers in less than thirteen and a half hours.
Even in the history of human warfare, this was an unimaginable and unbelievable feat.
“Li Yunlong!”
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“Ding Wei!”
“Kong Jie!”
Su Changqing bellowed.
“Present!”
The Iron Triangle of Northwest Shanxi stepped forward at the same moment and saluted Su Changqing.
“Kong Jie, take the Rainbow 26th Regiment and construct flexible defensive positions in Area 43 and on Hill 32 at Hundred-Zhang Pass.”
“Move quickly. The fortifications must be completed before the Northwest Ma Clique cavalry arrives.”
“Li Yunlong!”
“You will lead the Rainbow 24th Regiment in establishing defensive positions at Hill 18 and Area 21. Pay attention to checking and covering the fire positions. Lay minefields and booby traps. Set up whatever other devices you can. Speed is essential.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Ding Wei, take the 18th Regiment and immediately construct pillboxes. I want fire positions established at every point across this battlefield. I want every step these Ma Clique troops take to cost them dearly in blood.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Su Changqing issued his orders, the Iron Triangle of Northwest Shanxi immediately sprang into action.
As for Su Changqing, not a trace of relief appeared between his brows.
According to the system’s warning, the combined strength of two cavalry brigades was advancing toward Hundred-Zhang Pass.
And those were only the vanguard.
The Ma Clique possessed an extraordinarily keen sense for opportunity. Hundred-Zhang Pass was the vital weak point of the Rainbow Army’s Western Route Army.
If they wanted to trap and annihilate the twenty-five thousand soldiers of the Rainbow Western Route Army, seizing Hundred-Zhang Pass would deal a fatal blow to the entire force.
A vast number of Ma Clique troops were following close behind the two cavalry brigades.
Moreover, Commander Hu, who had long been waiting for an opportunity to act, had also recognized the enormous weakness at Hundred-Zhang Pass.
Large numbers of Azure Sky Party troops were advancing toward it as well.
The Ma Clique—
combined with the Azure Sky Party forces—
numbered no fewer than twenty thousand men, while Su Changqing had only three regiments under his command.
No more than four thousand soldiers.
Four thousand against twenty thousand!
It was an utterly impossible mission.
But Su Changqing had no choice.
Even if the entire 1st Column had to fight to the last man, even if every one of them fell, Su Changqing had to hold Hundred-Zhang Pass.
…
“Clip-clop! Clip-clop!”
“Clip-clop! Clip-clop!”
The sky had gradually begun to brighten. Under the urging of the Ma family patriarch, the two cavalry brigades of the Northwest Ma Clique finally reached Hundred-Zhang Pass.
At first, the two cavalry brigades assumed that no enemy troops were defending the pass.
As a result, the cavalry paid it no heed.
The Ma Clique called itself a regular army, but in truth it was nothing more than a band of brigands.
Its conduct was savage and barbaric.
Apart from brutality, what military discipline did it possess?
With Hundred-Zhang Pass so close at hand, the eyes of one cavalry unit lit up with greed.
“Brothers, Hundred-Zhang Pass is right ahead!”
“I hear those Red Bandits left this place undefended.”
“Once we seize Hundred-Zhang Pass, those Red Bandits will have no path to Heaven and no road to Earth.”
“This is an absolutely perfect opportunity—a chance to win great merit!”
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“Brothers, charge with me!”
Deceived by the tranquil appearance before them, the Ma Clique soldiers assumed that there were no Rainbow Army troops at Hundred-Zhang Pass.
One after another, they waved their cavalry sabers and charged toward the pass with wild cries.
The horses’ hooves pounded the earth, throwing up clouds of dust.
Seeing a unit from the 1st Cavalry Brigade charging toward Hundred-Zhang Pass, the commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade immediately grew displeased.
“Damn it!”
“Those bastards only know how to snatch the credit! To hell with them!”
“Order our brothers to charge in as well. We can’t let those bastards from the 1st Cavalry Brigade take all the benefits.”
“Yes, Brigade Commander!”
Upon receiving the order, a unit from the 2nd Cavalry Brigade also surged rapidly toward Hundred-Zhang Pass.
Just as the two cavalry forces were advancing at full speed—
“Boom!”
A violent explosion tore through the air, blasting several warhorses at the front into pieces.
The Ma Clique cavalry had entered the minefield laid by the 1st Column.
Only then did the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Brigades realize that Hundred-Zhang Pass was nothing like the intelligence reports had claimed.
The Rainbow Army was here!
“There are enemies! Enemies!”
“Fall back! Fall back!”
“Damn it! Those Red Bandits are treacherous!”
Just as the commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade bellowed—
the Rainbow Army soldiers concealed nearby pulled the detonators of the explosives they had buried long before.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Explosions burst across the ground like a scattering of heavenly blossoms, sending the two cavalry brigades that had advanced rashly and underestimated the enemy into utter chaos.
The full destructive power of the smokeless-powder explosives was revealed.
Watching more than half of the two cavalry forces vanish in the blink of an eye, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade cursed furiously.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
“You treacherous, despicable Red Bandits! I’ll chop off your heads and use them as chamber pots!”
“I’ll skin you alive!”
“1st Cavalry Brigade, prepare for battle!”
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
“Give them everything we’ve got!”
As the 1st Cavalry Brigade launched its assault on the defenses of Hundred-Zhang Pass, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade refused to be outdone.
The enormous cavalry force shook the very earth.
Dust billowed into the sky.
The arrogant Ma Clique charged ferociously toward the positions of the 1st Column.
…
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