Chapter 41 Flanking Southern Shaanxi

In fact, there was another reason why Xu Xiangqian and Chen Changhao decided to withdraw from the siege of Guang and Zhao, and not to deal with Hu Zongnan, that is, they received the "Central Military Commission's Battle Plan for Crossing the River" issued by the Central Committee, which was shifting battles on the Sichuan-Guizhou border. On the same day that the Guangzhao Campaign was launched, on January 22, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission called the Fourth Front Army again: In order to choose good conditions and strive for greater development prospects, it was decided that our field army would transfer to western Sichuan and plan to cross the river from the upper reaches of Luzhou. If there is no obstacle, we can cross the river to the north in about mid-February. It is expected that there will be many fierce battles along the way.The realization of this strategic policy is closely related to your actions... We suggest that you should use mass armed forces and independent divisions and regiments to actively move to the east to restrain Liu's enemy, and concentrate the Red Army to attack westward with all its strength.Because our army has entered Sichuan, Liu Xiang has no possibility of attacking you. If you attack Liu's enemy, you will have little chance of victory. The distance to cooperate with our army is far, and the development direction of the Soviet area is also relatively unfavorable; In the southern transfer, Yang, Li, and Luo's troops are weak individually, and they are more likely to win, and they are closer to our army, which is also beneficial to the development of the Soviet area.Therefore, it is advisable for you to quickly assemble your troops to complete the offensive preparations, and in the near future, carry out the offensive to the west of the Jialing River.When deploying troops and attacking targets, it is advisable to use the line toward Yingshan as the auxiliary direction; and the line of Cangxi, Langzhong, and the south as the main direction.It is advisable to concentrate the main force in the main direction, break into the enemy's rear from the gaps and weak parts of the enemy's fortress, seek the enemy in the vast unfortified area, encircle and eliminate them in mobile warfare.If you develop according to the battle situation and can enter the Xichong, Nanchong, and Pengxi areas, it will be most beneficial to cooperate with our army.

After receiving a call from the central government, the Northwest Military Commission convened an emergency meeting in Wangcang to discuss how to implement the call from the central government.The debate at the meeting was very intense. The main disagreement was that if the Jialing River was crossed westward, it would be difficult to keep the Sichuan-Shanxi base.But coordinating the Central Red Army and coordinating the Red Twenty-Five military is closely related to the overall situation.In the end, it was decided to adjust the deployment, abandon the attack on Guangzhao, and prepare to cross the Jialing River westward. Before crossing the river, in order to disrupt and confuse the enemy's deployment, first launch the Southern Shaanxi Campaign.Xu Xiangqian stated his strategic intentions at that time in his article "The Battle of Southern Shaanxi":

When the Central Committee sent this telegram, the Red Army had left Zunyi and was heading towards Chishui on the border of Sichuan and Guizhou.The urgency of the situation does not allow us to hesitate.I hurried back to Wangcangba from the front line to attend an emergency meeting held at the headquarters to discuss this issue of operational policy that affects the overall situation. The central government required the Fourth Red Army to focus on crossing the Jialing River westward, break into the enemy's rear, move to wipe out the enemy, and coordinate with the Red Front Army to cross the river to the north.That is to say, the main force of the Fourth Red Front Army will leave the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area and develop west of the Jialing River.Everyone believes that if the situation of the Central Red Army is not very difficult, the Central Committee will not make such a decision, so the westward march to support the Central Red Army is the most important thing.The meeting decided, first, to temporarily suspend the competition with Hu Zongnan.Second, the 31st Army and the Engineering Battalion of the Headquarters quickly collected shipbuilding materials, built ships in a concealed manner, and solved the problem of river crossing tools.Third, appropriately shrink the troops on the eastern front and prepare to abandon the Chengkou and Wanyuan areas.Fourth, attack southern Shaanxi with a part of the main force, mobilize the enemy along the river to the north, create opportunities for crossing the river at Cangxi and Langzhong, and respond to the 25th Red Army that has entered Shangxian County in southern Shaanxi.At the meeting, it was also discussed whether to use the main force to go south and directly communicate with the Central Red Army.Which way to go?How many troops are needed?Can you hit the Yangtze River?Due to limited strength and uncertainty, I had no choice but to give up.

Stationed in southern Shaanxi... Sun Weiru's troops were afraid that Hu Zongnan's forces would enter Shaanxi and occupy the territory of the Northwest Army. They had reached a tacit agreement with us not to invade each other. The two sides lived in peace for a time and had some contacts.But during the siege of the enemy's six routes, they succumbed to Chiang Kai-shek's pressure and sent troops to attack us.At the same time, even if Hu Zongnan's forces extended to the Sichuan and Shaanxi borders and threatened my back, it also annoyed us enough.It is necessary for us to attack southern Shaanxi this time out of strategic needs, and to show Sun Weiru some color as a sign of punishment.

The Battle of Southern Shaanxi killed two birds with one stone. In addition to supporting the Central Red Army, it also needed to support the Red Twenty-fifth Army in the east of Xuhai, which was in a difficult environment. After the large forces of the Red Fourth Front Army withdrew from Hubei, Henan and Anhui, the Hubei, Henan and Anhui base areas fell into extremely difficult situations. In November 1934, while the Central Red Army was preparing to implement a strategic transfer, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China instructed the Hubei, Henan and Anhui Provincial Committees twice to try to get out of the predicament and open up new bases. On November 11, 1934, the Hubei, Henan and Anhui provincial committees of the Communist Party of China decided to reorganize part of the armed forces led by Gao Jingting, a member of the provincial committee, into the Red 28th Army, and stay in the local area to persist in guerrilla warfare.With Cheng Zihua as the army commander, Wu Huanxian as the political commissar, and Xu Haidong as the deputy army commander, the 25th Red Army consisted of more than 2,900 members. In the name of the second advance team of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army going northward to fight against Japan, on November 16th, it left Hejiachong, Luoshan County, Henan Province set off and began to move westward.

The westward route of the 25th Red Army was basically the same as that of the 4th Front Army of the Red Army, and the Liu Zhi Department of the Kuomintang followed it all the way.The 25th Red Army went through untold hardships and entered Shaanxi at the end of 1934, reaching Shang County, Zhen'an, Zhashui, and Lantian in southern Shaanxi.In order to deal with the 25th Red Army entering Shaanxi, Sun Weiru's Division of the Shaanxi Army mobilized 15 regiments to defend Ningqiang, Mianxian, Nanzheng, and Baocheng. The enemy Liu Ziqian, Xiao Zichu, Feng Qinzai, and Zhang Feisheng The Ministry surrounded the 25th Army from all directions, and the Red 25th Army was in a critical situation.

According to the requirements of the central government, the Wangcangba military meeting decided: to stop the competition with Hu Zongnan, appropriately shrink the troops on the east front, abandon the Chengkou and Wanyuan areas, concentrate the main force to cross the Jialing River westward in the Cangxi and Langzhong areas, attack Jiangyou and Zitong, and attack Jiangyou and Zitong. Maoxian, Beichuan, and Wenchuan attacked and advanced to meet the Central Red Army's entry into Sichuan.In order to mobilize the enemy's attention and give the enemy the illusion that our army is going east out of Hanzhong, the Fourth Red Front Army, while preparing for the westward crossing of the Jialing River, gathered 12 regiments and headed north toward southern Shaanxi.

In early February 1935, the Battle of Southern Shaanxi started. The first stop of the battle was Ningqiang.Ningqiang is located in the southwest of Shaanxi Province and the west of Hanzhong, across the three provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, and is the gateway from Sichuan to Shaanxi.The garrison of Ning and Qiang was the Sun Weiru Department of the Shaanxi Army.The purpose of fighting Ning and Qiang is to create the illusion that the enemy thinks that our army is going to capture Hanzhong. Because the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army had a secret agreement of "mutual non-aggression" with Sun Weiru's Department of the Shaanxi Army. , do not resist.However, Sun Wei was already vacillating at this time. Seeing Jiang's massive siege, he thought that the Red Army would be sad, and wanted to get involved in Sichuan and Shaanxi to help Jiang's fire, so he ordered Yang Zhusun to stand by and wait for help.

The county seat of Ningqiang County is a small city in the mountains of the Qinling Mountains. The city is far less solid than Guangyuan and Zhaohua, and the combat effectiveness and morale of the Shaanxi Army are not as good as the enemy's Central Army. On February 3, the main force of the Tenth Division of the Fourth Red Army launched an attack on Hejialiang, Qixingchi, and Dongshan Temple on the outskirts of Ningqiang and fought all night.The next day, the enemy abandoned Hejialiang and retreated to the small highland in the south of the city.The Red Army then stormed Dongshanguan. Yang Zhusun led troops to help, but before the reinforcements arrived, the Dongshanguan defenders had been wiped out.Yang Zhusun hurriedly returned to Ningqiang County.Unexpectedly, the first part of the Red Eighty-eighth Division had already blocked the west and north gates of Ningqiang and cut off the enemy's retreat route. One escaped through the net, the rest were wiped out, and the enemy regiment leader Yang Zhusun was captured alive.The Enemy 38th Army's "Battle Detailed Report" recorded in detail the course of this battle:

At around 4:00 p.m. on the 3rd, the bandits in the Huangbayi area attacked our Hejialiang and Qixingchi positions with all their strength. Our 2nd and 3rd companies fought calmly based on the watchtowers and strong fortifications. Many bandits died, but they failed.In the fierce battle until dawn, the Naigai bandits gathered more and more, and bombarded the watchtowers with mortars. With their dense team of about two regiments and many automatic rifles, they rushed to Hejialiang's position.Our infantry company fired fiercely from the position above the city, and hit many key points. The officers and soldiers of the second company fought bravely and fought bloody blood with the bandits more than ten times, killing more than a hundred bandits.Due to the death of the company commander, the soldiers suffered too many casualties, and the watchtower was destroyed, he had to abandon He Jialiang and retreat to the small highland in the south of the city.At that time, the bandits attacked Dongshan Temple with the main force, and the north and west sides of the city were also attacked by bandits. Commander Yang thought that Dongshan Temple was related to the safety of Ningcheng, and only stationed in the first company. The third company gave up Qilichi to reinforce Dongshan Temple, and personally led the fifth and sixth companies and the special agent platoon to help, intending to defend Dongshan Temple to protect Ningcheng.The bandit took advantage of my change of front and rushed to the Dongshanguan position with all his strength. The fourth company fell into a heavy siege. The company commander was injured and died, and more than half of the soldiers were injured. The observation position was lost.The troops defending the city and the officers and soldiers led by Commander Yang also fell one after another due to the disparity in numbers and powerlessness.In this campaign, only the commander of the first battalion, Shi Zaozhen, was seriously injured and led more than a hundred officers and soldiers to break out of the encirclement. Only more than 30 people escaped from danger. Xingye retreated to Da'an Station, and the rest of the officers and soldiers disappeared. Commander Yang disappeared, and the battle came to an end. (This is according to the official who fled back).

After capturing Ning and Qiang, on February 5, the Fourth Army, the Ninth Army, and the Thirty-first Army marched northeastward from Tiesuo Pass, Yangping Pass, and Ning and Qiang, and captured Da'an Station on February 6. Seeing that the Red Army was in a hurry, Sun Weiru hurriedly dispatched Wang Yiwu's Division of the 49th Brigade of the 17th Division of the 38th Army and the First Regiment of the Independent First Brigade to build fortifications in Xinpu Bay, west of Mian County, to meet the Red Army.The 49th Brigade of the Shaanxi Army is the most effective unit in the Shaanxi Army in Yang Hucheng. It has a first-class establishment and is fully staffed. Its strength is equivalent to that of a division.The brigade commander Wang Yiwu is stubborn and cruel, arrogant and domineering, and he runs the army extremely strictly. Whenever there is a fierce battle, Wang Yiwu will be shirtless, carry a ghost-headed sword, drink half a bottle of wine in one gulp, and then fight with red eyes. , he often shouted and fell down with a knife.Under his intimidation, the officers and soldiers of Wang Yiwu's military department were also extremely desperate. Over time, Wang Yiwu became known as the "Tiger King" among the warlords.This time, Sun Weiru blocked the "Wang Tiger" brigade on the way forward of the 88th Division of the 30th Red Army.The 88th Division is the famous "Iron Army" in the Red Army. The commander of the division, Xiong Houfa, was in his early twenties, and wielding a broadsword, more than ten enemies could not get close.But this time Wang Yiwu met not the division commander Xiong Houfa, but Zheng Weishan, the political commissar of the 88th Division. Zheng Weishan, a native of Xinxian County, Henan Province, joined the Communist Party of China in 1930 and joined the Red Army of Chinese Workers and Peasants in the same year.In the spring of 1933, after the end of the anti-"three-way siege", the seventeen-year-old Zheng Weishan served as the political commissar of the 81st Regiment of the Red Ninth Army. In 1934, he was only 18 years old. Zheng Weishan was promoted to political commissar of the 27th Red Division. In November 1934, Qingjiangdu was reorganized, and the Red Thirty Army had three main regiments with honorary titles, namely, the 263rd Regiment of "Able to Attack Steel Army", the 265th Regiment of "Night Tiger", and the "Capable of Defending Steel Army". "The 268th Regiment was organized into the 88th Division, with Xiong Houfa as the division commander and Zheng Weishan as the political commissar.The new eighty-eight divisions are fully staffed, and the division has more than 10,000 personnel, becoming the iron fist of the Red Thirty Army. This time, the 88th Division attacked from Ningqiang to Mian County, and Zheng Weishan led the "Night Tiger" 268th Regiment to follow up behind the army headquarters.When the troops marched to Qingyangyi, Li Xiannian, political commissar of the 30th Red Army, approached Zheng Weishan. Li Xiannian immediately asked, "I'll give you a tiger this time. Can you eat it?" the meaning of.All the generals of the Fourth Red Front Army were fought out of the sea of ​​corpses and blood. Although Zheng Weishan was young, he had already grown up in the environment of fighting big and bad battles. He was excited when he heard the sound of guns and guns.Like a martial arts expert, he is only willing to compete with masters. He also heard that the Shaanxi Army has a "king tiger".Zheng Weishan smiled: "I just took Yehuo with me today, so I wanted to fight against this king tiger. Today, I will definitely eat this tiger." Seeing Zheng Weishan's enthusiasm, Li Xiannian and Cheng Shicai smiled with satisfaction, and they turned to Zheng Weishan. The task was explained in detail: Wang Yiwu's brigade has occupied Erlang Mountain in front and built fortifications.The combat deployment of our army is: the 30th Army will attack from the front, and the 10th Division will cooperate from the flanks.I ask you the 265th Regiment of the 88th Division to capture the main position of Erlang Mountain tonight. When the enemy counterattacks tomorrow, our main force will go into battle and try to annihilate Wang Yiwu's brigade during the campaign. After accepting the task, the 265th Regiment rushed to the foot of Erlang Mountain at noon that day.Zheng Weishan, head of the 265th Regiment Zou Fengming, and political commissar Huang Yingxiang came to a hill next to Erlang Mountain to see the terrain.In the binoculars, the Erlang Mountain position is well-built, with a tight layout and prominent points. The traffic trenches extend in all directions, and the enemy soldiers are moving back and forth in the fortifications.The fortifications can be built like this in such a short period of time. It seems that the enemy's usual training and tactical literacy are not low. On the night of February 7, the weather was clear and the sky was full of stars. In the winter night of Qinling Mountains, the cold wind was like countless steel needles piercing the skin.After careful scheduling, the 265th Regiment was dispatched in the dark, with Zou Fengming leading the 1st Battalion, Huang Yingxiang leading the 2nd Battalion, and Zheng Weishan leading the 3rd Battalion and the Divisional Communications Team to stay behind as a reserve team.A team of thousands of people moved at night without making a sound.Zheng Weishan recalled: We are not unfamiliar with wars, but tonight's battle is different from usual. This is the first tough battle in the southern Shaanxi campaign, and it is another "tiger". Although I believe that the troops can complete the task, I am also a little worried. I'm afraid that something may go wrong and affect the overall situation. ... When I was anxious, suddenly, a group of dazzling flames appeared on the main peak of Erlang Mountain, and then there was a shocking explosion and the roar of soldiers. Our sneak attack was successful! ... After a while, the frontal enemies were wiped out, and the main peak of Erlang Mountain blew the trumpet of victory. I waved my hand, took the communication team and the third battalion and ran towards the main peak of Erlang Mountain. We had just reached the halfway point of Erlang Mountain, when we vaguely heard the sound of gunfire and grenade explosions coming from the other side of the mountain... Obviously the enemy is fighting back violently... The enemy's counterattack came so fast and with such a strong momentum in night combat, it was overwhelming. It really has a bit of a "tiger taste"... So we rushed up to the main peak. ... In a short while, we approached the main peak of Erlang Mountain, and saw that there were enemy corpses, wounded soldiers, guns and big hand grenades everywhere.Our two assault battalions followed and chased, and no one was left on the main peak to control it.Just as I was about to climb to the top of the mountain, a group of people on the opposite side had already reached the top of the mountain. As soon as I met them, they immediately pointed their guns at me. Seeing this situation, I judged that the person who came was the enemy... The messenger behind me rushed in front of me.A shuttle of bullets was shot out, knocking down the leader of the enemy.Immediately afterwards, the communication team beat the enemy down... ... The enemy counterattack continued.Pushing upwards in succession... This continued for nearly two hours, until the gunpowder smoke billowed on the ground, and the wind could not disperse it. ... After a while, gunshots rang out at the foot of Nanshan Mountain. I knew it was the commander Xiong Houfa who had arrived with the main force... "Blow the charge" I ordered loudly.In an instant, the sound of charging horns sounded all over the mountains and plains.With a whoosh, Sanying rushed out from my side.At this time, dozens of red flags up and down the mountain were fluttering in the wind, and there was a sound of killing everywhere. My commanders rushed into the enemy group like fierce tigers.I saw during the charge that Huang Yingxiang was waving a shell gun in his left hand and a broadsword in his right hand leading the team to pounce on the enemy.There are a few soldiers around him wielding ghost-headed knives, slashing horizontally and vertically, trying to cut a bloody path through the lumpy enemy group... The enemy was able to resist for a while at first... It didn't take long. The 268th regiment plunged into the depths of the enemy and cut them apart.But it was too late, the Red Army surrounded them from all directions, and after a period of fierce hand-to-hand combat, the mighty "Wang Tiger Brigade" was finally wiped out at the foot of Erlang Mountain. Only Wang Yiwu was caught alone and fled back to Baocheng. Later, I heard that Wang Yiwu fled to Xi'an dejectedly. He said to everyone he met: "Although my brother has experienced many battles, he has never fought such a tough battle. The Red Army, I am convinced." On February 7, the 88th Division of the 30th Red Army wiped out all the 49th Brigade and one regiment of the Independent Brigade. On the 8th, it occupied Mian County and besieged Baocheng.In just ten days, the Red Fourth Army reported frequent successes, wiped out four regiments of the enemy, seized more than 50 machine guns, more than 5,000 rifles, and captured more than 4,000 officers and soldiers below the commander of the enemy regiment. The Battle of Southern Shaanxi was like a hornet's nest, and the Central Army from the Shaanxi Army to Chiang Kai-shek was all in a mess.Sun Weiru was the primary target of the Southern Shaanxi Campaign. On February 3, when the Red Army began to attack Ning and Qiang, he urgently telegraphed Shao Lizi, chairman of Shaanxi Province, to report the fall of Ning and Qiang: "The rescue is too late, the whole army and the city fell." On February 7, Sun Weiru sent a telegram to Shao Lizi: "Tuan Yang was in two battalions in Ning and Qiang, only 30 people escaped, and Commander Yang died in battle." On February 10th, Shao Lizi was called again: "The bandits besieged Mian County with most of them. They fought fiercely for two days and nights. There was a great disparity between the number of people and widows. Moreover, Mian County was not in danger. The surrounding city was surrounded by mountains and mountains, so it was impossible to defend. Our army suffered a lot." In the afternoon of the same day, Shao Lizi was sent another telegram: "In this Ningmian battle, all the regiments that fought suffered all casualties, and lost more than one-third of them. This is due to the huge disparity in numbers." In addition to the shouts from the Shaanxi army, Hu Zongnan also telegraphed Shao Lizi: "The bandits attacked my Baocheng and the north and south areas." The enemy Liu Zhi's Department, which was chasing and suppressing the 25th Red Army, also telegraphed Shao Lizi to intensify the encirclement and suppression of the "Xu Haidong bandits" to prevent them from joining the Red Army in southern Shaanxi. Mount Lu, Jiangxi.In his villa in Guling, Chiang Kai-shek is disturbed by the chaos in the country.In the north, Japanese invaders continued to invade; in the south, Chen Jitang and Li Zongren were aggressive, threatening to resist the Japanese, and they wanted to lead their troops north to force the palace;Chiang Kai-shek is not afraid of chaos, his goal is very clear, all threats are not as great as the threat of the Communist Party.As long as the Communist Party is solved, other problems will be solved easily.Right now, the Red Army led by Mao Zedong is in a desperate situation in Guizhou. Wang Jialie, Long Yun, Yang Sen, Pan Wenhua, Liu Xiang, plus the Central Army Hu Zongnan and Xue Yue have a combined hundreds of thousands of horses, and the Yangtze River, Wujiang River, and Jinsha River are dangerous. Look at you Where did Mao Zedong go?Xu Xiangqian in Sichuan was "encircled and suppressed" by the Sichuan warlords Liu Xiang, Deng Xihou, and Tian Songyao, and Hu Zongnan was there to support Xu Xiangqian.The key now is not to allow Mao Zedong and Xu Xiangqian from Sichuan to become one.While Chiang Kai-shek was racking his brains to deal with these matters, military reports on southern Shaanxi kept collecting on his desk. Chiang Kai-shek fixed his eyes on the military map hanging on the wall.Xu Xiangqian suddenly gave up attacking Guangyuan and Zhaohua, turned around and attacked Ningqiang, occupied Mian County, and went down to Baocheng. Where exactly was the target?He imagined that if he was Xu Xiangqian, what would he think?Going forward along Baocheng is Hanzhong, an important town in Shaanxi.Hanzhong is connected to Tianshui and Longnan in Gansu in the north, Xi'an in the east, Sichuan-Shaanxi base of the Red Army in the south, Bashan Mountain in the south, Qinling Mountains in the north, Hanjiang River in its arms, rich in products, known as "Little Jiangnan" in Shaanxi and "Pearl of Qinba". "The name.Compared with the poor mountains and bad waters in Northwest Sichuan, this place can be regarded as a paradise. Zhuge Liang took Hanzhong back then, and took advantage of the geographical situation here to resist Sun Quan in the east and Cao Wei in the north.Chiang Kai-shek determined that Xu Xiangqian also planned to do the same. The Sichuan Red Army stormed southern Shaanxi with the goal of expanding its base to Hanzhong in southern Shaanxi, and then from Shaanxi to Gansu. On February 7, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Sun Weiru: The bandits have captured Ning and Qiang, and there is no doubt that they will flee from Shanxi to Gansu... Except for the necessary few troops who have been transferred to Xixiang, Zhenba, Shiquan, and Hanyin to stay in the city, all the troops south of the Han River are also ordered to concentrate on Nanzheng on the same day. , thicken the defense, and limit each serving as the garrison to complete all preparations quickly. Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered Liu Zhi, who was stationed in Henan, to quickly transfer Pang Bingxun's 39th Division stationed in Henan to Ankang, and the 60th Division to open Hanzhong. Following the defense line south of the Archery River, five regiments were transferred to take over the defense of Guang and Zhao, and the ministries around Hubei and Shaanxi also moved to the south of Shaanxi and Gansu.These transfers reduced the enemy's garrison on the Jialing River, created conditions for the Red Army to cross the Jialing River westward, and relieved the pressure on the Central Red Army and the 25th Red Army. Seeing the blue arrow representing Jiang's army on the military map moving towards the south of Shaanxi and Gansu, Xu Xiangqian smiled, and his goal of attacking east and west was achieved.Xu Xiangqian said: ... Our attempt to attack southern Shaanxi was not to attack Yang Hucheng's troops, but to attract the enemy along the river to the north so that our army could break through from the middle section of the Jialing River and meet the Central Red Army.If we really want to annihilate Sun Weiru's tribe and seize the Hanzhong Basin... all the way out of Nanzheng, all the way out of Zhenba and Xixiang, encircle Hanzhong, "catch turtles in the urn", then Sun Weiru can't bear it, and the Hanzhong Basin will inevitably fall into the Red Army hands. The goal of feigning a shot was achieved, and the Fourth Red Army stopped its offensive in mid-February, and returned to northern Sichuan, preparing to cross the Jialing River westward to support the Central Red Army entering Sichuan.But the situation in the Central Red Army changed again. After the Zunyi Conference, the Central Red Army advanced to the east of the Chishui River in three routes.On the way to Tucheng, Mao Zedong saw that there were valleys on both sides of the road in this area, so he discussed with Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Liu Bocheng, etc. that if the chasing troops went deep alone, the Red Army could take advantage of the favorable terrain on the Qing NFDA 2 slope east of Tucheng. Concentrate superior forces to encircle and wipe out the Guo Xunqi Division of the Sichuan Army to ensure the smooth northward crossing of the Yangtze River in the next step.After discussion, the Red Army headquarters decided to fight a battle here with the Third and Fifth Red Army Corps as the main force. On January 28, the battle started. After several hours of fierce fighting, the battle was in a stalemate, and the enemy fought more and more.From the number of captured prisoners, it was found that the original intelligence was wrong. The enemy army was not four regiments with more than 6,000 people, but six regiments with more than 10,000 people.Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Sichuan Army's Guo Xunqi Division was also underestimated. Just when the Red Army and the Sichuan Army were fighting fiercely, the follow-up troops of the Sichuan Army arrived quickly, and the situation gradually became unfavorable for the Red Army.At the critical moment, Chen Geng and Song Renqiong led the Military Commission's column cadres to step forward for reinforcements to stabilize their position.This battle did not annihilate the Sichuan Army near Tucheng, but he himself suffered a lot of losses. What's more serious, the Red Army's development intentions were also identified by the enemy.According to aerial reconnaissance, Chiang Kai-shek identified the Central Red Army's intention to cross the Yangtze River northward, and sent heavy troops to strengthen the defense line along the Yangtze River near Luzhou. On February 7, the newly formed Central Secretariat held a meeting in Tashi (now Weixin, Yunnan), and decided to abandon the original plan to cross the Yangtze River northward in the upper reaches of Luzhou to join the Fourth Red Army in northwestern Sichuan. On February 16, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Wang Jiaxiang jointly called the leaders of the Second and Sixth Army Corps and the Fourth Front Army to report the situation: Guo Tao, Xu Chen Xianghe was appointed Xiao Wang: A. Our field army was originally scheduled to cross the Yangtze River and directly cooperate with the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army to redify Sichuan. When our field army entered the Sichuan-Guizhou border area and continued to advance northwest, the Sichuan enemy pursued us with 12 brigades and deployed defenses along the river. On the 28th of January, we failed to succeed in the battle with the Guo and Pan brigades of the Sichuan enemy near Tucheng. Activities in the vast areas of Guizhou and Yunnan, striving to create a new Soviet base area in this vast area, so as to fight in response to the Second and Sixth Army Corps and the Fourth Front Army... Due to the disadvantages of fighting in this area, our field army has turned to the north of the Wujiang River in the east of Chishui River, and the enemy in western Guizhou is the main combat target. After receiving a telegram from the Central Committee, Zhang Guotao, Xu Xiangqian, and Chen Changhao urgently convened a Northwest Military Commission meeting to study countermeasures. After repeated consideration, it was decided that the original plan for crossing the Jialing River and marching westward would remain unchanged.Xu Xiangqian wrote when recalling the Battle of Southern Shaanxi: Now that Tucheng was blocked, it was absolutely necessary for the Central Red Army to temporarily change its combat policy and action plan on January 22 based on the enemy's situation and our strength at the time.However, due to the influence of the combat policy on January 22, the Red Fourth Front Army was already on the verge of an arrow, and had to advance.On the Eastern Front, Liu Xiang's main force is advancing towards Tongjiang and Bazhong after occupying Wanyuan.Cangxi, Langzhong, Yilong and the southern part of the western front were also occupied by Tian Songyao and Luo Naiqiong respectively.The territory of the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area is getting smaller and smaller.We decided that the main goal would still be to forcibly cross the Jialing River and realize the original Sichuan-Shanxi-Gansu plan, and pay close attention to the movement of the Central Red Army to fight, and wait for the opportunity to respond effectively.