Chapter 16: A Hearty Meal and Disguising as the 189th Regiment

After Long Wencheng walked over, Tian Lixin said, “Commander, among the supplies we seized this time, there are no medicines.”

“Medicines... The Nationalist Army doesn’t have much of that either. There really isn’t much. What, are the medical supplies at the wounded soldiers’ camp running low?” Long Wencheng asked.

In the previous battles, although the unit’s losses were not severe, there were over forty wounded in total. Some had light injuries, others were seriously wounded. But considering the Red Army’s poor medical conditions and the continuous marching over several days, many of the lightly injured gradually turned into seriously wounded.

“They really are running low. We should be arriving at Longsheng County soon. I think we can try to purchase some medicine there,” Tian Lixin said.

Long Wencheng replied, “We need quite a bit of medicine. Even if we pay cash, not only would the money be insufficient, but there’s no guarantee we could buy that much.”

Tian Lixin was also troubled. After all, Hunan and Guangxi were all Nationalist territory now. The Red Army troops couldn’t just march openly into the county seat. If they attacked directly, casualties would increase. Moreover, the 189th Regiment behind them was in close pursuit—they simply couldn’t afford delays.

“No problem. I’ll gather everyone for a military democratic meeting,” Long Wencheng said, intending to brainstorm ways to obtain a large quantity of medicine.

Soon, several key commanders were summoned.

“We’re approaching Longsheng County, and our medicine supplies are nearly depleted. We must find a way to get as much medicine as possible,” Long Wencheng told them.

“Of course, besides medicine, we also need to find ways to buy food and other supplies,” he added.

“On the way, the county gates we passed were all tightly closed. I’m sure they received orders not to let Red Army troops in,” Yang Gang said.

Qi Delong, chewing on a twig, said, “If you ask me, why not just storm Longsheng County directly? Then we could get all the medicine we want.”

Wen Song, who hadn’t spoken before and was more familiar with Guangxi’s local situation, warned, “Longsheng County’s security regiment has over seven hundred men, equipped with light and heavy machine guns. Their combat strength isn’t weak. A direct assault might not take the city quickly.”

“You, a prisoner, talking now?” Yang Gang glared fiercely, the scar on his face making his expression even more menacing.

Long Wencheng glanced at Wen Song and waved his hand. “Let him speak.”

He suspected Wen Song already had an idea.

Wen Song grinned and rolled his eyes at Yang Gang. “Commander Long asked me to speak.”

Then he shared his plan.

“Why not disguise yourselves as Nationalist soldiers? The security regiment and the county magistrate will definitely send people to welcome and entertain the troops. If that’s not enough, then just take what’s needed by force.”

“Huh? Just take it by force? Wouldn’t that ruin the Red Army’s reputation?” Little Stone worried.

In fact, even during the Long March, the Red Army was known for strict discipline. Even when confronting landlords, they were very careful—only targeting the oppressive rich and corrupt, not ordinary well-off peasants. If the local people were poor, they even distributed food to them.

That’s why in the story “Drawing the Sword,” Li Yunlong was severely reprimanded and sent to the kitchen squad for pillaging grain during the Long March.

“Yeah, won’t that bring divine punishment for evil deeds?” Tian Lixin pondered seriously.

Long Wencheng shot them a glance. “You two, spouting rhymes—are you planning to take the graduate entrance exam?”

“What’s that?” Little Stone whispered to Tian Lixin, since the third battalion commander was more educated.

“I don’t know either,” Tian Lixin replied bluntly, his education somewhat limited.

Long Wencheng looked at everyone and said, “Don’t worry about tarnishing the Red Army’s reputation. It’s the Nationalist troops who’ll be doing the looting, not us. Besides, we’ll be targeting the landlords, wealthy bullies, and corrupt officials who oppress the people. We’re ridding the world of evil.”

Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood. Right, we’ll be disguised as Nationalist soldiers. The looting won’t be the Red Army’s doing.

“Wen Song, you should be good at this. But your identity needs to change. From now on, you are Xue Yu, commander of the 4th Battalion, 189th Regiment,” Long Wencheng said, clapping him heavily on the shoulder.

Wen Song straightened his chest and raised his head confidently. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.”

His gaze then fell on Peng Hongsen, company commander of the 34th Red Division.

“Commander Peng, pick a few sharp men, dress them in civilian clothes, and scout Longsheng County in advance. Find out which households are the rich bullies. We’ll target those first.”

“Got it, Commander. Leave it to me,” Peng Hongsen said, patting his chest.

After these arrangements, dinner was ready.

Looking at the abundant meal, Long Wencheng’s mouth watered. In the future, they would have meat every meal and never worry about food and drink. He really hadn’t suffered much hardship.

He had been forced to gnaw on fried noodles and soybean cakes until nearly vomiting, so today’s meal with some meat was a welcome change.

The soldiers’ eyes shone brightly, holding their bowls and swallowing saliva repeatedly.

After serving the wounded their meals, the cooks began serving the soldiers. The officers had to wait in line until last.

Long Wencheng ate three steamed buns and a bowl of white rice, savoring the cured bacon and smoked ham—it was delicious.

Longsheng County was of moderate size and later became quite famous because of the world-renowned Longji Terrace Fields.

It wasn’t far from Tongdao County and Liping County, places where the central column had stopped during the Long March, according to Long Wencheng’s memory.

That morning, Guo Baozhi, the county magistrate of Longsheng, was leisurely sipping tea when a deputy officer of the security regiment rushed over in a panic.

“Magistrate, bad news! A group of Nationalist soldiers just arrived outside. They’re wearing Guangxi Army uniforms.”

“Look at you, what’s there to fear? They’re Nationalists, not the Red Army,” Guo Baozhi said as he led people toward the city gate.

Upon closer inspection, they found about four or five hundred weary men, dust-covered and exhausted from a long march.

Their banners identified them as the 4th Battalion of the 189th Regiment, Guangxi Army.

At the gate, Wen Song was standing proudly.

Zhang Min, commander of the security regiment, said nervously, “Magistrate, shall we open the gate?”

Guo Baozhi glanced at him and then addressed Wen Song below, “Sir, which unit are you from? Do you have credentials? There’s been trouble with the Red Army lately. What if you’re disguised rebels?”