Chapter 42 42. Zhiluo Town "Provoking Cows", "Turning Cows" and "Chasing Cows"

On November 3, 1935, the First Red Army and the Fifteenth Red Army were combined into the First Red Army, with Mao Zedong as political commissar and Peng Dehuai as commander.In order to smash the Kuomintang army's third "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area, boost the morale of the Red Army, and solve the problem of lack of armament supply, Mao Zedong decided to give him personal command to fight a beautiful victory.The location was chosen in Zhiluo Town, and the target of the annihilation was designated as the 109th Division of the 57th Army of the Kuomintang.

In order to wipe out Niu Yuanfeng's tribe, he had to "provoke" Niu first. On November 5, Mao Zedong told Lin Biao: I will give you one day to conduct a detailed investigation of the roads, terrain, and people near Zhiluo Town, and report the investigation results tomorrow.The next day, Lin Biao handed over the investigation report of Zhiluo Town to Mao Zedong. After reading it, Mao Zedong instructed Lin Biao to conduct further investigations, draw out the topographic map of Zhiluo Town, and attach a written report. Afterwards, cadres above the First Red Army Corps and the Fifth Red Army Corps met at Zhangcun Post, led by Commander Peng Dehuai. They rushed for more than 30 miles to Zhiluo Town to inspect the terrain on the spot.They climbed up a high mountain to the southwest of Zhiluo Town, and as far as the eye can see, Zhiluo Town and its surrounding areas are unobstructed.Zhiluo Town is a small town with less than 100 households. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides. A road from the west passes through the center of the town. To the north of the town is a small river with a gentle flow.The generals of the Red Army exclaimed in unison: "The terrain in this area is so beneficial to us!" "The enemy entered Zhiluo Town, as if they had gotten into their pockets." Peng Dehuai noticed that there was an ancient small village at the east end of the town. , although the houses inside collapsed, the stone walls remained intact.In order to prevent the enemy from using it as a stronghold, Peng Dehuai immediately instructed Xu Haidong to send a battalion of the 15th Red Army to tear down the wall overnight.

In mid-November, the Red Army marched to the area near Zhiluo Town.In order to confuse the enemy and provoke "cows" into the fence, Mao Zedong specially deployed a company of the 15th Red Army Corps on a hill west of Zhiluo Town to take on the task of luring the enemy deep.At the same time, Mao Zedong ordered the Red 241st Regiment to intensify the siege of Ganquan, creating the illusion of seizing Ganquan.The Kuomintang's "Northwest Bandit Suppression Headquarters" really caught the trick, and immediately ordered the 57th Army to move eastward quickly to relieve the siege of Ganquan.

Dong Yingbin, acting commander of the 57th Army of the Kuomintang, received the order and immediately held a military meeting in Taibai Town to study whether to go south or north to solve the siege of Ganquan.Taking the South Road is safer, but it takes an extra 100 kilometers.Taking the North Road, you have to bypass Heishui Temple, Zhiluo Town, Zhangcunyi and other areas. Although the road is close, it is narrow and steep, and it is not easy to walk, and it is easy to be intercepted by the Red Army.At the meeting, many people advocated taking the southern route, but Niu Yuanfeng, the commander of the 109th Division, disagreed. He stood up arrogantly and said: "I advocate taking the northern route. Let's go late and stay early. What are we afraid of? If you are so timid, what are you fighting for?" Fight!" Niu Yuanfeng proposed to let his 109th Division fight in the front line to open the way for the whole army.Those who advocate taking the south way do not want to be accused of being cowards, so they give up the idea of ​​taking the south way.The Fifty-seventh Army belongs to the Northeast Army. Dong Yingbin, acting commander, did not start in the Northeast Army, nor was he a direct descendant of Zhang Xueliang, but Niu Yuanfeng was Zhang Xueliang's most trusted person. Dong Yingbin knew that Niu Yuanfeng could not be easily offended, and he could not easily refute Niu Yuanfeng's opinion. , had to obey.To be on the safe side, Dong Yingbin also temporarily assigned the 632nd Regiment of the 111th Division to Niu Yuanfeng's command.

After the meeting, Niu Yuanfeng led the 109th Division on a rampage all the way, rushing towards Zhiluo Town in a bullish manner. When Mao Zedong learned that the "cow" had been provoked, he was secretly happy, and gave clear instructions on the next step of "pulling the cow": all troops should immediately raise enough food for seven days at the station to ensure the victory of the battle; Never let them join the battle.Zuo Quan, who had just served as the chief of staff of the Red First Army, received Mao Zedong's instructions and immediately went to the divisions and regiments of the Red First Army to verify the combatants and the sick and wounded.

When Chief of Staff Zuo Quan verified the Red Thirteenth Regiment, he met Chen Geng, an old classmate at the Whampoa Military Academy and the head of the Thirteenth Regiment.He said to Chen Geng: "Your foot has a fractured battle injury, so don't participate, let me command the 13th Regiment instead of you!" Chen Geng hurriedly argued: "Old classmate! He is the third fire when the new official takes office, you But he poured water on me! The battle of Zhiluo Town is so important, how can I, the regiment commander, not go into battle?" After arguing for a while, Zuo Quan had no choice but to give in, agreeing that Chen Geng would go into battle with his injuries, but he would be given two horses.Chen Geng didn't accept anything. He said: "I came here on the Long March, not on a horse. Now that I'm home, I can't ride a horse!" Zuo Quan had no choice but to order the special commissioner Ou Zhifu: Immediately implement a stretcher. From now on, The stretcher was not allowed to leave Chen Geng's side, and he was discharged from the hospital early to participate in the command.

After sending Zuo Quan away, Chen Geng immediately held a battle deployment meeting.His opening remarks were very special. He didn't talk about fighting, but asked everyone: "Which of you has killed a cow?" Everyone looked at each other, some nodded, but some shook their heads and answered that they had never killed a cow.Chen Geng said: "We are going to kill a cow this time! Of course it is not the kind of yak that was killed on the grass. This cow, after we entered Shaanxi-Gansu, has been eating our ass...Now, the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao are determined to let Let's hit back, smash the bull's head, give it a hard hammer, and then disembowel it!" After listening to Chen Geng's metaphor, everyone understood that this "cow" originally referred to the Kuomintang army led by Niu Yuanfeng. 〇 Ninth division.So everyone laughed and said: "Okay, we promise to kill this 'cow'!"

On November 19, Niu Yuanfeng led the 109th Division to the Heishui Temple and Anjiachuan area, followed by the other two divisions of the 57th Army to the area east of Zhangjiawan. On the morning of the 20th, under the cover of six aircraft, Niu Yuanfeng's 109th Division advanced in three routes along the Hulu River Valley and the north and south mountains to Zhiluo Town.At 10 kilometers away from Zhiluo Town, he came into contact with a small group of Red Army. The Red Army fought and retreated, leading Niu Yuanfeng's department to Zhiluo Town.Niu Yuanfeng thought that the Red Army had been defeated, so he entered Zhiluo Town at 4 pm.He first asked the staff to send a telegram to the headquarters and the military headquarters to "report victory", then ordered the 632nd Regiment of the 111th Division to return to the original organizational system, and then ordered his subordinates to kill pigs and sheep to celebrate "the victory of the flag".After drinking and eating, Niu Yuanfeng fell asleep in peace.He never dreamed that he and his troops had entered the net of the Red Army.

In the evening, Mao Zedong ordered the Red Army to march quickly into the forward position.Chen Geng was very enthusiastic, and felt that the time had come to show his talents.He refused to sit on a stretcher, but limped forward on the night road with a stick, but he couldn't run fast, and gradually fell behind the troops.The special commissioner Ou Zhifu was in a hurry, and immediately ordered: "Guards, carry the commander!" Chen Geng couldn't refuse at this time, so the two guards took turns to carry the road for a while.Despite this, he still distanced himself from the troops.Chen Geng was in a hurry this time, and couldn't help shouting: "Stretcher!" So, the stretcher team members and guards helped Captain Chen onto the stretcher, lifted it up and left.Chen Geng said: "Thank you for your hard work," and sighed, "This is really carrying the general into battle!" Since then, "carrying the general to fight Zhiluo" has become a good story in the history of the Red Army.

After a night of running, the troops of the Red Front Army who participated in the battle arrived at the designated position on time, surrounded Zhiluo Town by night, occupied the surrounding hills, and controlled all the commanding heights. Mao Zedong's command post was set up on a hillside not far from Zhiluo Town.There are several broken cave dwellings here. In order to directly observe the situation on the battlefield and command the battle, Mao Zedong did not enter the cave dwellings, but set the command platform on a large bluestone slab at the entrance of the cave dwellings.He excitedly said to the people around him: This time, I want to see with my own eyes that this "cow" Niu Yuanfeng is slaughtered!Comrades in charge of all units must pay attention, it is better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten fingers, and we must fight a war of annihilation.

The scenes of "chasing cattle" and "slaughtering cattle" continued. On the 21st, just after dawn, Mao Zedong gave an order, and only three gunshots were heard. The two Red Army troops, like two iron fists, smashed down from the high mountains on the north and south sides to Niu Yuanfeng in Zhiluo Town.In addition, a part of the troops went straight into Heishui Temple to block the enemy's retreat and contain the enemies of Heishui Temple.Immediately, red flags were flying all over the mountains and plains, the sound of gunfire shook the sky, and the sound of killing was everywhere.Master Niu Yuanfeng was caught off guard and became a shackle in the blink of an eye.Under the overwhelming offensive of the Red Army, Niu Yuanfeng's division was pinched in a valley between the two mountains, and they were defeated and rushed like wolves. By 11:00 in the morning, the two Red Army units had divided and surrounded the enemy. The Second Red Division first attacked Zhiluo Town and occupied Niu Yuanfeng's division headquarters.The Kuomintang soldiers scurry around like a swarm of headless flies.The Red Army went all over the mountains and plains to catch prisoners.Some Kuomintang soldiers repeatedly said: "I have raised my hand twice, don't fight, don't fight!" Those Kuomintang soldiers who resisted were quickly shot to death by the Red Army. Only then did Niu Yuanfeng realize that he had underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Red Army, so he took a battalion and fled into the small village in the east of the town, built fortifications, and resisted stubbornly.Although the Zhendong Xiaozhai was demolished by the Red Army before the war, the terrain is dangerous and complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, after the enemy army arrived yesterday, they hurriedly repaired it, and part of it has been restored.The first onslaught of the Red Fifteenth Army was unsuccessful, and when they were about to launch the second onslaught, Zhou Enlai instructed: The enemy has become a turtle in a urn, so suspend the attack, and surround it without fighting; there is neither food nor water in the stockade, and they always want to For those who escape, try to wipe them out when they break out. This trick really works.Niu Yuanfeng squatted in the stockade, sending out telegrams one after another, asking Dong Yingbin, acting commander of the 57th Army, to send troops to rescue the siege immediately.Dong Yingbin sent the 106th Division and the 111th Division from Heishui Temple for reinforcements. Before halfway there, they were hit head-on by the main force of the Red First Army and the two battalions of the Red Fifth Army. They were beaten badly and turned around. .The Red Army pursued the victory and wiped out the 617th Regiment of the 106th Division on the way from Zhangjiawan to Yangjiaotai.With no hope of assistance and lack of food and water, at midnight on the 23rd, Niu Yuanfeng led the remnant troops to break through and escape westward.The Red Fifteenth Army immediately followed and chased, and the soldiers said: We must chase this "cow" back.The soldiers of the 15th Red Army "chased the cattle" for 25 miles in one breath, and wiped out all the battalions of Niu Yuanfeng's remnants.At this time, Niu Yuanfeng had only two subordinates left, and the Red Army chased closer and closer, shouting "hand in the guns" from behind.Seeing that he was about to become a prisoner of the Red Army, Niu Yuanfeng pulled out the pistol on his waist in frustration. He tried several times, but he didn't dare to shoot himself in the head, so he handed the pistol to the adjutant and said, "You beat me to death." The adjutant took the pistol and shot a bullet into Niu Yuanfeng's right back of the head, and the "cow" suddenly shattered his cheek and died. So far, the battle of Zhiluo Town has ended victoriously.On the hillside and in the town, captured guns and ammunition were piled up everywhere, and captured Kuomintang officers and soldiers gathered everywhere.The joy of victory filled the hearts of every Red Army soldier. On the way back to the teacher, special commissioner Ou Zhifu asked Chen Geng to go back on a stretcher, but Chen Geng refused to sit on it, and ordered two stretcher members to carry other wounded.He said humorously: "You know, it's an honor to be promoted. What about to be lowered? People say you are a 'loser'. How ugly! Don't sit anymore!" In the battle of Zhiluo Town, the entire 109th Division and 1 regiment of the 106th Division of the Kuomintang Army were wiped out, more than 5,300 enemies were captured, more than 1,000 were killed and wounded, and a large number of weapons and equipment were seized.All Red Army commanders and fighters put on cotton-padded clothes after the battle.The Battle of Zhiluo Town shattered Chiang Kai-shek's third "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area, forcing the enemy's 108th Division and 111th Division to return to Gansu territory, and the 117th Division that invaded Yangquanyuan on the East Road was also driven out of Fuxian County (now Fuxian County), the Northern Shaanxi Soviet Area has been consolidated and expanded. On November 30, the Red Front Army held a meeting to celebrate the reunion and the victory of the Zhiluo Town Battle in the East Village Church of Zhiluo Town.Mao Zedong said excitedly: "In the battle of Zhiluo Town, the fraternal unity of the Central Red Army and the Northwest Red Army shattered Chiang Kai-shek's 'encirclement and suppression' of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region, and gave the Party Central Committee the task of placing the national revolutionary base camp in the Northwest. present."