Chapter 24: Reinforcements from a Whampoa First-Class Senior, The Decisive Battle at Baizhang Pass

"Damn it, what is going on?"

"What's happening?"

Ma, the leader of the Ma Family Army, yanked his belt tight, shoved the woman beside him away, and strode out.

"What's the matter?" Ma was met by his personal guard.

"Commander, it's bad!" the guard exclaimed. "Enemy forces are launching a surprise attack within the encampment. Their numbers are unknown. It seems the Red Bandits have used the cover of night to strike us."

Ma froze, his eyes full of disbelief. "A surprise attack? The Red Bandits have so few men; how dare they?"

Before he could say more, the sound of submachine gun fire and grenade explosions, drawing ever closer, served as a grim reminder that the invading force was rapidly approaching his position.

"Commander! It's dangerous—the Red Bandits are breaking through!"

Ma’s face turned ghastly. When had his Ma Family Army become so inept? They didn't even know the size of the enemy force, yet they were already in such a panicked state?

"Organize a counterattack! Organize one immediately! Send in the inspection teams—anyone caught fleeing is to be executed on the spot! Stabilize the front line!"

Having climbed his way up through mountains of corpses, Ma was not without some talent for leading and disciplining troops. This was one of the reasons Su Changqing had refrained from committing his entire force to the night battle. Once a large body of troops is committed to combat, it is difficult to disengage. If they became bogged down in a melee, the Ma Family Army would surely organize a counterattack, and the larger force would gain no advantage. Abandoning solid defensive fortifications to trade lives in a night battle was an unwise move.

The First Column had only one objective: to hold Baizhang Pass. Even if they killed countless enemies, it would all be in vain if they failed to hold the pass. By using small, elite units armed with submachine guns, pistols, and grenades to launch raids, they could act swiftly, avoid detection, and withdraw quickly after completing their mission—achieving the greatest results with the minimum cost. This was, in essence, the prototype of special operations.

"Captain, the enemy's counterattack is becoming organized," a veteran holding a submachine gun said to Captain Zhang Zixiong. "They must have regained control."

"According to the Column Commander's orders, it's time to retreat. Signal the command post!"

"Yes, sir!"

***

With the signal sent, Su Changqing had a grasp of the situation. "Have the bugler sound the charge. At the same time, order all units not to engage. If the enemy pursues our assault team, provide cover for their withdrawal."

"Yes, sir!"

As Su Changqing’s orders were issued, loud bugle calls echoed across the battlefield, startling the Ma Family Army and the Nationalist troops stationed there. Zhang Zixiong and his men naturally understood this as the signal to retreat.

"Brothers! Mount up!"

Ever since the Red 24th Regiment had captured a cavalry battalion, Su Changqing had ordered all guards to learn to ride. Thus, this assault team was mounted. They had gathered at the location where the Ma Family Army kept their horses. Why not take them?

The assault team members swung into their saddles. As they rode forward, their submachine guns and pistols continued to blaze, and they hurled grenades into the thick of the Ma Family Army’s ranks. Gunfire and explosions rang out in relentless succession.

***

The next day, as dawn broke, the battlefield was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder. Ma stood with a livid expression, staring at the camp and the trenches littered with bodies. Cruel and hot-tempered, his eyes bulged with rage, ready to explode.

"Have you tallied the losses?" Ma roared.

"Commander, in yesterday's raid, we lost 893 men and 231 horses."

"And the Red Bandits?" Ma barked.

"No Red Bandit corpses were found. Perhaps... perhaps they carried their dead away."

Carried them away! On such a chaotic battlefield, they had found time to collect their fallen comrades? It was a slap in the face. Ma’s expression darkened further. If the bodies hadn't been collected, it meant that the Red Bandits had killed nearly a thousand of his men with zero casualties of their own? This was a result even harder for him to accept.

"Organize an assault immediately! Begin shelling Baizhang Pass right now! I want those Red Bandits dead! I want them dead!" Ma roared, near-hysterical.

"Yes, sir!"

This time, the Ma Family Army brought out all their artillery. Shells rained down on the flanks of Baizhang Pass as if they cost nothing. Having lost their morale in previous engagements, the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Brigades were held back, and Ma threw in other units that had not yet faced the Red Army. The wave after wave of attacks showed just how deep Ma’s hatred for Su Changqing and the First Column holding the pass truly was.

Meanwhile, Commander Hu did not sit idly by. After all, his superior had ordered him to capture Su Changqing alive if possible, or kill him on the spot if not. If the Nationalist forces didn't act, Ma might grow resentful. To conquer the Shaanxi region and annihilate the Red Bandits, Commander Hu could not rely on his own strength alone; the Ma Family Army was a vital force.

Thus, the Ma Family Army was tasked with attacking the left side of the pass, while the Nationalist forces committed heavy troops to the right. The overwhelming, tide-like offensive left the positions at Baizhang Pass teetering on the brink of collapse. Even Su Changqing’s expression turned grave.

"Have the 18th Regiment support the flanks! If necessary, we can abandon the first line of defense. Consolidate our forces and inflict as many casualties on the enemy as possible. Meanwhile, send a telegram to headquarters! Request reinforcements! Repeat: request reinforcements."

"Yes, Column Commander!"

Elsewhere, a commander—a graduate of the Whampoa Academy’s first class—was shouting hoarsely: "Faster, faster! The comrades of the First Column are waiting for us! They are holding off tens of thousands of enemy troops for our sake. Today, it is our turn to support them and bring them back to the base alive! Do not let our comrades down!"

Su Changqing, also a Whampoa graduate, had long been dissatisfied with the interference of certain individuals in the command structure. If not for that interference, Baizhang Pass would never have fallen into such a dire state. Now, that same individual was attempting to bypass the command post to manipulate the Western Route Army. The decision to abandon the First Column inside the pass had pushed the commanders, already resentful, to their breaking point.

After a brief, five-minute emergency meeting, the decision was clear. Upon receiving word of the situation, Su Changqing’s fellow Whampoa alumnus immediately led the main force in a forced march toward Baizhang Pass. Whether as comrades-in-arms or fellow revolutionaries, they would not abandon their own people just because of some "deal" made by a man in power.