Chapter 114 7. Nie Rongzhen "died"

When the Luowenfang squad was confusing the enemy, Nie Rongzhen led the real Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region's large forces to drive 40 kilometers overnight to Dingjiazhuang in the northwest of Fuping, where they rested and ate.In Dingjiazhuang, a division and regiment ordered to defend the transfer of the head office of the party, government and army in the border area also arrived. Nie Rongzhen later recalled: "We were on the phone there, and the enemy was also on the phone. There was only a mountain top between the two calls." "That time I didn't close my eyes for 7 days and 7 nights."

This is the first time for Nie Rongzhen, who has experienced many battles, to face such a dangerous situation of struggle.At this time, what he was thinking about was not his own safety, but how to protect the party, government and military headquarters in the border area, and how to protect the many men, women and children who were loyal to the people and resolutely resisted the Japanese.He asked the 1st regiment to take measures to strengthen protection. Chen Haihan, political commissar of the 1st Regiment, Song Yulin, deputy head of the regiment, and Chen Guang, chief of staff of the regiment, immediately organized the reconnaissance company, special agent company, and artillery company of the regiment headquarters into one battalion, and protected the breakout team at the front, back, left, and right sides of the original three battalions.Chen Zhengxiang, the former head of the 1st regiment who is recovering from illness in the military region, has rich practical experience and assisted Tang Yanjie in commanding.In view of the critical situation and the special mission, he gave a death order to the 1st regiment: "No matter what situation or enemy the avant-garde encounters, fight resolutely and kill a bloody path! No matter what situation or enemy the rear encounters, resolutely resist and die Don't let the enemy get close to the breakout team!"

The scouts reported that the Japanese army came down from Laiyuan and Daumaguan and was rushing towards the breakout team led by Nie Rongzhen. The combat staff of the military headquarters also confirmed this situation to Song Yulin.Song Yulin immediately ordered Li Decai, the commander of the 1st Battalion, who was known for his bravery in combat in the 1st Army during the Red Army period and was highly appreciated by Nie Rongzhen, to lead people to run to block the enemy in the north.Fortunately, the 1st Battalion did not come into contact with the enemy, allowing the large forces to continue to move in cover.Song Yulin herself stayed close to Nie Rongzhen, and escorted Nie Rongzhen to transfer by night.

In the early morning of September 2, the breakout team entered a narrow and hidden ravine and arrived at a small mountain village called Changjiaqu.There are twenty or thirty families in this village, with seventy or eighty people.The villagers thought it was the Japanese army, so they all fled to the mountains to hide.It wasn't until noon that they found that the entire valley was full of the Eighth Route Army and local anti-Japanese cadres. Then they returned to the small cottages of each family to deliver water and food to the soldiers and party and government cadres. The team hid for three days in the ravines around Changjiaqu. Nie Rongzhen, who hadn't closed his eyes for several days and nights, managed to sleep for a while in a thatched hut.Although the Japanese army has not entered the Changjiaqu valley for the time being, the planes often fly over the sky for reconnaissance.As long as the air defense sentry on the top of the hill blows the whistle, everyone will stay hidden, so the Japanese army is still unaware.The Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain were scurrying around, and sometimes the small search force they sent was just outside the ravine, very close to the vanguard soldiers sent by the 1st Regiment of the Front Guard Battalion, and a battle could break out at any time. The situation was quite thrilling.Many people in the breakout team were tired, hungry and sick. Even the eight or nine people in the combat department around Nie Rongzhen were so sick that only three people were still sick and kept on duty.

After careful research with relevant leaders, Nie Rongzhen decided: In order to make future operations more flexible and light, the troops should be further lightened. After jumping out of the encirclement, except for the main leaders of the branch bureau, the border region government and the Beiyue District Party Committee to act together with the military command organization, the rest of the personnel Spread out the action in several different directions.The military region still followed the original plan and turned to the areas on both sides of the Hutuo River in the west of the fourth division.

On the afternoon of September 5, the scouts reported that the enemy on the road outside the ditch had opened up an opening.At dusk, Nie Rongzhen ordered an immediate breakout.He was wearing a captured gray-yellow Japanese windbreaker, leaning on a jujube stick, surrounded by a platoon of guards in the military area, and walking behind a group of avant-garde troops on foot.Unexpectedly, they only walked five or six miles, and found that the Japanese army from Fuping was marching westward along the road. In order to avoid encountering the Japanese army, Nie Rongzhen immediately ordered the troops to return to Changjiaqu and continue to hide.

On the evening of September 6, Nie Rongzhen led the team to set off again.Seeing that they were about to break out of the siege, the scouts rushed over and reported to Nie Rongzhen that the enemies moving westward from Fuping would not go away, and they were all camping in the villages on the road at Anziling, East-West Xiaguan, and Dajiaochang. , blocking the breakout route that was going to pass through.Nie Rongzhen said: "The team stopped and asked Chen Zhengxiang to come up." Chen Zhengxiang, who was walking behind, rushed up quickly, and Nie Rongzhen asked for advice with some anxiety: "What do you think? The enemy is blocking again."

Chen Zhengxiang replied: "It's okay, we'll go back and we'll talk about it when we go back." Back in Changjiaqu, Nie Rongzhen asked the secretary department to send the dry cell radio, intending to find out the news of the past few days.As soon as I turned on the radio, I heard the radio station of the Japanese puppet army triumphantly broadcasting a piece of news about him and the military region: The radio station of "Nie Headquarters" has been blown up by warriors from the "Heroic Air Force".Today is the third day that the "Nie Headquarters" radio station has not been heard.Nie Rongzhen has died...

Hearing this, Nie Rongzhen smiled contemptuously! A round of bright moon hung in the night sky, covered by clouds from time to time, making the mountains and valleys hazy.Taking advantage of the night, Nie Rongzhen led the breakout team to move towards the mouth southwest of Changjiaqu for the third time.Before that, he got a report: there was a small opening leading to Longquan Pass. The enemy came during the day and withdrew at night.He decided to take the risk of jumping out before the enemy's attack circle was completely closed. It was the night of September 7th, a moonlit night in which victory and defeat, life and death, were possible.Nie Rongzhen summed up a very important lesson from the previous two failed breakouts: "When the enemy is attacking together, the timing of jumping out of the joint attack circle must be just right, neither too early nor too late. If it is too early, the enemy will change his plan. To attack our new area of ​​activity is equivalent to not getting rid of the enemy's encirclement. If it is too late, you will be surrounded by the enemy and cannot get out. Generally speaking, only when the enemy's attack circle has been formed but not closed can we just jump out. At this time, it was too late for the enemy to change their deployment, but we were able to penetrate behind the enemy, harass the enemy's communication lines, and resume the offensive."

As the saying goes, there are three things that are not polite.Unexpectedly, Nie Rongzhen's breakout responded to this sentence.The third breakout was successful!In the hazy moonlight, tens of thousands of people flashed through that unforgettable opening one by one, jumped out of the encirclement circle painstakingly set up by the Japanese army on the line from Fuping to Wutai, and scattered in all directions.