Chapter 20: On the Lethality of a First Love to an Old Man, Whampoa Class 1 vs. Whampoa Class 4

"Cannot take it?"

"Two cavalry brigades cannot capture a single Baizhang Pass?"

"What are you people good for?"

"What are you good for?"

The leader of the Ma Family Army roared into the other end of the telephone.

He had expected to easily capture the minor Baizhang Pass, yet he had encountered an army there. And it was this very force of Red Bandits that had caused two of his elite cavalry brigades to suffer a crushing defeat. This sent the Ma leader into a fit of burning rage.

"Commander, it is too difficult to fight, much too difficult."

"These Red Bandits are simply the most formidable opponents we have ever encountered."

"Every one of their firing points is positioned perfectly."

"Their defensive fortifications are extremely solid; our artillery fire has little effect."

"Their coordination, their tactics, their methods..."

"They are bizarre and unpredictable; it is impossible to guard against them."

"Commander, it is too hard to fight!"

Wave after wave of charges had left the Ma Family Army’s cavalry brigades devoid of confidence. Never before had a battle made them feel such overwhelming dread. Each successive charge seemed to fall right into the trap set by this Red Army force. The battlefield was riddled with an unknown number of concealed bunkers. As the cavalry charged forward, the "roar" of machine guns would suddenly erupt from behind their own lines. Not to mention the impossible-to-anticipate "trick mines."

With every step forward, the First and Second Cavalry Brigades paid in blood.

From the first light of dawn until darkness fell, more than a dozen consecutive attacks had ended in failure.

What terrified the Ma Family Army’s cavalry commanders most was the fighting spirit of every single soldier in this unit. It was terrifyingly tenacious and fierce. Their combat objectives were so clear that even if they died, they did not die in vain; they died to achieve small-scale strategic goals. Thus, even when these Red Army soldiers were severely wounded and near death, they would use their teeth to tear open explosive satchels and perish together with the charging Ma Family cavalry.

This willingness to cast life and death aside, purely for the sake of victory and the completion of their mission, was absolutely horrific. This was an army unlike any the Ma Family Army had ever faced. Their weapons might have been crude, but setting aside the equipment, every other aspect of this army was top-tier. They were true men of steel, iron-willed and fearless in the face of death.

On the other end of the line, the Ma leader fell silent for a long time.

"Who is the commander?"

"Who is the commander of this enemy force?"

"We have been fighting for so long, and you don't even know who leads these Red Bandits?"

"What are you good for?"

Hearing the roar of the Ma leader, the commander of the First Brigade instinctively trembled.

"It seems to be the First Column, consisting of three regiments."

"The 18th, 24th, and 26th Red Army Regiments."

"The commander of the First Column seems to be named Su... Su... Su Changqing. Yes, yes, that is the name."

"Su Changqing!"

Su Changqing? The Ma leader frowned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it.

"Su Changqing?" The Ma leader looked at his adjutant. "Have you heard this name?"

"Su Changqing! He is a graduate of the fourth class of the Whampoa Military Academy and participated in the Northern Expedition. He is a star pupil of that man in Nanjing! However, he later turned against him and participated in the Battle of Nanchang. Afterward, he disappeared for a time, until recently. At the Battle of Zhiluozhen, he used a single regiment to wipe out an entire division of the Northeastern Army!"

Hearing this, the Ma leader stood up abruptly.

"It’s him! So it was this guy." The Ma leader was shocked, his face filled with astonishment.

He had actually been keeping an eye on this elite unit. But! How could the First Column led by Su Changqing suddenly appear at Baizhang Pass?

Unsettled, the Ma leader strode toward a map. "Where was the First Column originally located? According to our intelligence, there shouldn't be any Red Bandits near Baizhang Pass."

His staff officer stepped forward. "Here! As of yesterday, the First Column was here."

The Ma leader picked up a ruler and measured the distance on the map.

"Hiss!" The Ma leader gasped, and the ruler clattered to the floor with a crisp sound.

"72 to 75 kilometers?"

"Eighteen hours before the First and Second Cavalry Brigades arrived at Baizhang Pass, there were no Red Bandits there. That means this force of Red Bandits performed a forced march of 72 to 75 kilometers in eighteen hours to reach the pass?"

Upon reaching this shocking conclusion, the Ma leader was nearly paralyzed with fear. Could an army actually manage such a long forced march in eighteen hours? One had to remember that Su Changqing’s First Column consisted mostly of infantry. They had walked to Baizhang Pass on foot, while the First and Second Cavalry Brigades had ridden horses!

The Ma leader's confidant smiled bitterly. "Commander, I fear it wasn't even eighteen hours. If they had taken eighteen hours to arrive, they wouldn't have had any extra time to construct the defenses that have left our cavalry brigades unable to move and suffering such heavy losses. Therefore, these Red Bandits may have force-marched 72 to 75 kilometers in fifteen or sixteen hours, and then built perfect defensive fortifications before our arrival."

Hearing his advisor, the Ma leader’s jaw dropped, and he remained speechless for a long time.

After a while, the Ma leader finally uttered, "Monsters, these Red Bandits are monsters!"

However, the Ma leader was a man of brutal temperament. His gaze shifted, and an undisguised, violent aura emerged.

"If Baizhang Pass cannot be taken, the Red Bandits' Western Route Army cannot be contained. But! Regardless of whether the Western Route Army can be stopped, this group of Red Bandits holding the pass—even if the King of Heaven himself comes down, I will finish them off. If I cannot eat the big meat, I will gnaw this bone to pieces no matter what."

"Order the pistol regiment and the military police regiment directly under the 100th Division, an infantry brigade (consisting of two regiments) from the 5th Cavalry Division, plus the artillery and engineer regiments... to advance toward Baizhang Pass immediately."

"Also, Army Commander Hu of the Blue Sky Party is also a Whampoa graduate, class one. I think Commander Hu would be very interested to know that the officer defending Baizhang Pass is his own junior. Even if Baizhang Pass is a hard bone, a stone, I will crush it. My Ma Family Army will let the Red Bandits see that Qinghai and Gansu are not places they can lay their hands on."

On the other side, Commander Hu also received the telegram from the Ma leader.

Commander Hu smiled bitterly. "Send a telegram to the Old Man!"

"Yes!"

The reply came back quickly. In all his years of commanding troops, this was the first time Commander Hu had seen such a swift response from the Old Man. It was clear how much of a "white moonlight" this junior was in the Old Man's eyes!

Commander Hu took the telegram, which read: *The Red Bandit leader Su Changqing, if possible, must be captured alive. If he cannot be captured alive, kill him on the spot. He must not be allowed any hope of escape. Brother, keep this in mind! Keep it in mind!!*

From the Old Man's urgency, one could see how high Su Changqing ranked in his heart. He wanted to capture him alive if at all possible! Was this the lethality of the "white moonlight"?

Commander Hu shrugged with a bitter smile. "Junior, oh junior! I never expected that you and I would meet here. They say you are the Dragon of Whampoa. Now, I finally have the chance to see it for myself with real steel and fire on the battlefield."

With that, Commander Hu’s expression hardened.

"Order the 16th and 27th Divisions to advance rapidly toward Baizhang Pass. Anyone who delays the opportunity for battle will be executed on the spot!"

"Yes!!"