During the period when He Jian fainted, Chiang Kai-shek made a plan, and Bai Chongxi withdrew his troops, the Red Second Division trekked all the way, defeated the reactionary militia and attacked and harassed several times to Liping.

To the surprise of the cadres and soldiers of the 2nd Division, Liping was an empty city, not a single soldier guarded it, and most of the people ran to the mountains. A few poor peasants opened the east gate of the city, beat gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers to welcome the Red Army. This made Chen Guang, Liu Yalou and the cadres and soldiers of the Second Division overjoyed. You must know that since leaving the Soviet area, this glorious vanguard unit of the Red Army has encountered a scene of spontaneous welcome from the masses for the first time.

Chen Guang and Liu Yalou excitedly asked the names of these peasants one by one, and these poor peasants were also generous, and reported their names one by one: Wang Huatang, Liu Bayuan, Zhang Keming, Min Dewen, Zhong Jingzhai, "Zhou Huamian", and Ning Laosi. After understanding it again, Chen Guang and Liu Yalou understood why some people here welcomed the Red Army. It turned out that both the Red Seventh Army and the Red Sixth Army had been to Liping, leaving a very good impression on the suffering.

Of course, what these peasants didn't know was that Liping had already had the red seeds sown by the Red Seventh Army. When Comrade Xiaoping, Comrade Zhang Yunyi, and Comrade Wei Baqun launched the Baise Uprising, there was a Liping soldier Shi Laofa who had participated in the Guangzhou Uprising in the ranks. Later, when the Red Seventh Army moved from Guangxi to the border of Guizhou, it was Shi Laofa who led the troops into Liping Shuikou. After the Red Seventh Army left, Wei Shaohuai was killed by the enemy, and Shi Laofa continued to fight in concealment.

Overjoyed, Chen Guang and Liu Yalou entrusted these peasants to go up the mountain separately and call back the people who were hiding, and the city of Liping became lively, and the Red Army soldiers, under the leadership of these ordinary people, organized the masses to kill pigs and mill rice, and prepared to meet the large army.

After the 1st Army and 1st Division and the Central Column arrived, Li Ping had already made logistical preparations. It turned out that Liping was a relatively wealthy place in the southeast of Guizhou, with many shops and many products, which was suitable for the rest and replenishment of the large army. Historically, before and after the Liping Conference, the Red Army rested here for several days.

The Central Revolutionary Military Commission immediately telegraphed the 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 9th Red Army Corps to Liping for a short rest. The Central Column and the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the 1st Army Corps were a little better, they had a short rest in the passage, and the soldiers changed into new uniforms, had a full meal, and got a haircut. The other troops had never been repaired since the Long March, and this time they entered Liping, busy with haircuts, mending shoes, eating a hot meal, and sleeping well. In addition, from the departure of Yudu to the present, the Red Army troops have fought all the way, and how many old comrades-in-arms and relatives have died on the way to break through the blockade. Liping City was filled with a strong atmosphere of joy when he landed.

The surprises are yet to come. At six o'clock in the afternoon, the confidential section chief again reported the good news: the Red 18th Regiment completely annihilated the 62nd and 63rd divisions of Hunan in Xikou. Mr. Zhu took the telegram, only glanced at it, and without consulting anyone, he ordered all the staff officers of the headquarters to go out and loudly publicize the good news of the annihilation of the 62nd and 63rd divisions of the 62nd and 63rd divisions of the Red 18th Regiment throughout the city. At this moment, the city of Liping was completely plunged into a sea of joy, and the Red Army soldiers were thunderous and excited, sweeping away the phenomenon of low morale after the fiasco on the Xiangjiang River.

The owners of several shops selling fireworks and firecrackers in the city laughed completely crookedly, and as long as the Red Army soldiers still had a little allowance in their pockets, they all came in groups to buy firecrackers, bought all the firecrackers in Liping City, and then began to set them off.

The cadres originally wanted to stop the setting off of firecrackers, for fear of exposing the whereabouts of our army. But on second thought, let the warriors rejoice. Since the departure from Yudu, every day has been the sad news of the sacrifice of comrades-in-arms and the report of the enemy situation where the enemy has pursued and our army's stubborn resistance. Besides, He Jian lost three elite divisions, I'm afraid he is crying for his father and mother at this time, how can he have time to chase us. Even if the order is chasing, what are you afraid of? As long as the troops are repaired and restored, will the Red Army be easy to mess with? Who have we been afraid of? Tell him to come and kill one; Come on a pair, kill a pair. I'm afraid he won't come! As a result, the cadres not only did not stop it, but soon joined the ranks of setting off firecrackers.

Due to the long-term period of war transfer and the lack of communication between the troops, many Red Army cadres and soldiers were full of curiosity about the Red 18th Regiment destroying the enemy's two divisions with one regiment, no, three divisions, and the Hunan 16th Division. Liu Yimin, the heroic commander of this heroic unit, had never even heard of it, so the cadres and soldiers of the Red 34th Division and the soldiers of a battalion of the Red 15th Division that participated in the reorganization by the Xiangjiang River, that is, the International Division of the Young Communist Party, and the soldiers of the Red 8th Army Corps, immediately became broadcasters. The Red Army soldiers surrounded them and inquired about everything about Liu Yimin and the Red 18th Regiment. The soldiers who were inquired about were also proud, and they told what they knew and what they didn't know according to their own imagination, and the soldiers listened with great excitement and yearning.

In the temporary residence of the Red Army Headquarters, Bo Gu, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Wentian, Wang Jiaxiang, *, Zhu De, and the leaders of the various regiments who rushed to hear the news gathered together happily, only to hear Vice Chairman Zhou read the telegram sent by the Red 18th Regiment in high spirits:

"The Central Revolutionary Military Commission and [***], Vice Chairman Zhou, Commander-in-Chief Zhu: Our regiment ended the battle of Xiaoshui at 12:40 noon on the 12th, rested in Xiaoshui for 3 hours, and removed the impurities of the captured 1,400 capable soldiers of the Hunan army, and urgently mobilized and incorporated into the troops through heart-to-heart talks and complaints, and the whole regiment actually had 4,700 people, organized into 6 combat battalions, an artillery battalion, a heavy machine gun battalion, an engineer battalion, a baggage battalion, a recruit battalion, a cavalry company, a regimental teaching team, a sniper platoon, a reconnaissance platoon, Guard platoon, communications platoon. ”

"During the reorganization of the troops, it was learned from the radio station of the enemy's 16th Division that the Wang Yuying Brigade of the Taoguang Division of the 62nd Hunan Division crossed the Xikou and advanced towards Jingwuzhou. Our regiment judged that the enemy's brigade was unstoppable, and it was likely to quickly occupy Jingwu Prefecture and then occupy the county seat of Tongdao. He then ordered the three battalions, seven companies and one platoon of the three battalions remaining in the county town of the passage to evacuate the passage and adopt guerrilla tactics to harass the enemy in Jingwuzhou, and ordered the 50 cavalry companies of the regiment to quickly reconnoiter and advance from Xiaoshui to Xikou and monitor the road from Shanmu Bridge to Xikou. ”

"After the reorganization of the main force of the regiment was completed, the radio contact confirmed that Tao Guang, the commander of the 62nd Division, led the Zhong Guangren Brigade to advance from Le'anbu to Xikou, and our regiment was determined to attack the enemy's 62nd Division headquarters and Zhong Brigade from Xiaoshui directly into Xikou. If Tao Guangbu has not yet arrived, an ambush will be implemented; If Tao Guangbu has passed through the mouth of the stream, he will pursue it and force him to turn back and fight a decisive battle with me; In the event of an encounter, fire first and crush the enemy. In order to achieve the goal, the troops were divided into two routes, leaving 510 seriously wounded Hunan soldiers to be taken care of by Xiaoshui villagers, and ordered Wu Zheng, chief of the logistics department of the regiment, to lead the teaching team, guard platoon, and baggage battalion to escort the wounded of our regiment, escort the materials of the captured 16th Division and 760 lightly wounded and captured officers of the Hunan Army, disguise the 16th Hunan Division, and advance along the main road to Linkou; The main force of the regiment advanced towards the mouth of the stream. ”

"At about 5 o'clock, the main force of the regiment and the scouts converged, and after understanding that Tao Guangbu had not yet reached the position of the cavalry company, the political commissar Cai Zhong was left to lead two mountain artillery companies and the recruit battalion to follow up, and the main force was divided into three roads, running forward, and seizing the hill on the front, the hill on the east side of the road, and Beishan Village at the end of the road."

"At half past five o'clock, the vanguard company of the enemy's Tao Guang Department arrived at the north end of Xikou, and the cavalry company that I arrived in advance hid on the hill at the turn of the road, and after letting go of the enemy's vanguard company, Tao Guang's main force arrived. At this time, our main force had reached the north side of the hillside on the east side of the highway and was seizing the position in three ways. In order to buy time for the main force, the cavalry company opened decisive fire and severely damaged the cavalry company at the front of the enemy's main force. After that, our cavalry company retreated to hide behind the hill. The enemy mistakenly thought that he was being attacked and harassed by our small group of troops behind the palace, so he stopped his advance and concentrated his fire to cover the front of the hill, and the two regiments of the Zhong Brigade pressed on the whole army, one regiment attacked the front hill in three waves, and one regiment seized the hill on the east side, and the troops directly under the brigade and the division made preparations for battle on the road. ”

"At this time, Li Qing, director of the Political Department of our regiment, led the 4th and 5th Battalions and the attached heavy machine gun company to destroy the vanguard company of the enemy's return reinforcements, and then occupied the hill and joined up with the cavalry company. He then destroyed the enemy's mortar position with four mortars attached to two battalions, destroyed the enemy's first wave of attacking troops with machine guns and infantry fire, and began to pursue the enemy's retreating troops. Seeing that the momentum was not right, Tao Guang, the commander of the enemy's division, immediately telegraphed Wang Yuying's brigade to return for reinforcements, and sent a report to Liu Jianxu of the First Corps for help. At this time, regiment commander Liu Yimin led the 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion, Engineer Battalion, 2 mortar companies, and 3rd heavy machine gun company to occupy the hill on the east side of the road, set up 28 mortars to cover and shoot at the frontal enemy and the enemy on the road, and attacked the frontal enemy with the fire of the engineer company and the 3rd company of heavy machine guns, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions attacked downward in two ways to cut off the enemy. The enemy was routed, and weapons were lost all over the ground. When the enemy fled to Beishan Village, he was attacked by the 3rd and 6th Battalions led by Liu Jianjian, chief of staff of our regiment, and was surrounded and surrendered. In this battle, a total of 4,600 enemy divisions, one brigade headquarters, and two regiments were annihilated, 2,616 people under the enemy's division commander Tao Guang were captured, 1,424 people were killed, 560 people were wounded, two radio stations were captured, 30,000 pieces of ocean, and more than 4,000 light and heavy machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, and pistols were captured. ”

After interrogating the enemy operator, it was learned that Tao Guang had ordered Wang Lu to return for help and asked Liu Jianxu for help. Our regiment decided to expand the results of the battle, first ambush the Wang brigade, and then destroy the enemy reinforcements after success. Then he used the radio of the 62nd Division to report to Liu Jianxu that the Red Army encountered was the Red Ninth Army Corps and the 15th Division of the First Army Corps, and the Tao Department had occupied positions and was waiting for reinforcements, asking for rapid reinforcements. At the same time, the recruit battalion was ordered to concentrate the original recruits into a company, led by political commissar Cai Zhong, and escort the Taobu prisoners to Xikou Village for custody, and directly incorporated them into the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th companies of the recruits for battlefield education and transformation; Li Qing, director of the political department of the regiment, led the engineer battalion, cavalry company, and two mountain artillery companies to build a position on the high ground on the east side of Beishan Village, preparing to ambush and aid the enemy; The main force of the regiment set up an ambush 5 miles out of the mouth of the river. At the same time, the teaching team and guard platoon that had arrived at Linkou were ordered to light more torches and disguise the 16th Hunan Division to reinforce Xikou; ordered the third battalion, seven companies and one platoon to intensify the attack on Wang's brigade, creating the illusion of blocking the enemy's reinforcements; Ordered the cavalry company to set off firecrackers at the north end of the Xikou, creating the illusion of a fierce battle between Tao and me, and ordered the Wang Brigade to speed up reinforcements in the name of Tao Guang. At more than 8 o'clock in the evening, the enemy brigade ran reinforcements into the ambush circle, and the battle was resolved in 5 minutes, and the enemy brigade commander Wang Yuying led 1,600 people to surrender, killing 1,900 enemies, and capturing a radio station, 12 mortars, 12 heavy machine guns, 54 light machine guns, and 3,200 rifles, submachine guns, and pistols. ”

"When the troops returned to Xikou for dinner, the radio contacted and found that the enemy's reinforcement 63rd Division had changed its march route without authorization, and went straight to Luocheng and painted along the main road from Zhaiya through Dalin Village and Huangjiashui Village, in an attempt to occupy Xikou and copy the rear road of our army. Our regiment immediately adjusted its deployment and adopted the method of continuing to camouflage the reinforcements of the enemy's 16th Division, disguising Wang Yuying's brigade in an attempt to open up contact with Tao Guangbu, and camouflaging our army's all-out siege of Tao Guangbu's main position to induce the enemy to speed up reinforcements, concentrate the main force and firepower, and encircle and annihilate the enemy on the farmland in front of Xikou Village. At about 11 o'clock in the evening, the enemy entered the ambush circle, and without formation, a swarm of swarms rushed towards Xikou Village, and was swallowed up by our powerful firepower. In this battle, a total of 8,100 people from one division headquarters, two brigade headquarters, and four regiments of the enemy's 63rd Division were annihilated, 6,600 people under the enemy's lieutenant general and division commander Chen Guangzhong were killed, and 1,500 people under the enemy's brigade commander Li Bojiao were captured. Three radio stations, 12 mortars, 12 heavy machine guns, 56 light machine guns, 6,900 rifles, submachine guns, and pistols were seized, and the rest of the guns were damaged by artillery fire. ”

"After the battle, in order to prolong the transfer time, our department reported to Liu Jianxu in the name of Tao Guang, saying that the Red Army blocking force was eliminated and 5,000 people under Luo Binghui, the commander of the Red Ninth Army Corps, were captured. Our troops then withdrew from the battlefield and went to the front line of Jingwuzhou to rest and recuperate, and practiced radio silence. Please apologize to Commander Luo Binghui. ”

"Today, after the troops rested, they originally planned to carry out a sneak attack on the 43rd Division of the Gui Army, which had advanced to Yatun Fort, but unexpectedly, the enemy suddenly retreated at noon, and was covered by aircraft. According to the investigators' report, the 15th Army of Gui Army, Xia Wei, and the 7th Army of Liao Lei all returned to northern Guibei. Judging by the fact that the Gui Army already knew that the three divisions of the Hunan Army had been completely annihilated. ”

"The Hunan army on the northern front only sent cavalry regiments to Xikou and Xiaoshui to survey the battlefield in two ways, and then quickly retreated. The remains of the Hunan soldiers were buried and disposed of by the township and security chiefs. ”

"Our department sent the 5th Battalion, the 6th Battalion, and the Baggage Battalion, led by Political Commissar Cai Zhong, to secretly set off at 7 o'clock in the evening to escort the 4,000 Hunan prisoners who were willing to join the Red Army after preliminary education to the headquarters to replenish the main force. At the same time, it escorted 6 mountain artillery pieces, 24 mortars, 12 heavy machine guns, 100 light machine guns, 15,000 submachine guns, rifles, and pistols, 300 mountain artillery shells, 1,200 mortar shells, 150,000 hand grenades, 12,000 heavy machine gun rounds, 100,000 light machine gun rounds, 1.5 million Qijiu bullets, some submachine guns, pistol bullets, and 80 other truckloads of supplies. Please send capable troops to meet you along the route from Liping and Majiatuan to Pingcha and Xinchang. Password: Red Army. Return: Victory. The remaining prisoners were transformed into three combat battalions, the 7th, 8th, and 9th of the 18th Regiment. Those that cannot be converted are to be released. ”

"Another: Our department captured 1,300 officers below the enemy's division commanders Tao Guang and Zhang Liangji and the Hunan army with minor wounded, and suggested that the headquarters send someone to negotiate with He Jian in exchange for arms and medicine. Otherwise, the first evil will be punished, and the rest of the wounded soldiers will be mobilized to join our army after they have been wounded. Liu Yimin, commander of the 6th Regiment of the 18th Division of the Red Third Army Corps, and Cai Zhong, political commissar. ”

When the telegram was finished, the audience fell silent.

After a while, Mr. Peng said: "Unexpectedly, it's really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, when Xiyan was training, they only had more than 1,000 guns, and now they have turned in so many weapons and ammunition." Liu Yimin, good job! 18 regiment, heroes! This is the unit of my 3rd Corps, and my 3rd Corps should go to meet and escort the supplies back to the headquarters, and I will go back to make arrangements immediately. After saying that, he turned around and left.

Vice Chairman Zhou said: "Comrade Dehuai, don't worry, let's discuss it." ”

Mr. Peng said: "It's already set off over there, I have to leave quickly, time is tight." Why, could it be that Vice Chairman Zhou didn't believe in the combat effectiveness of our three legions, and was afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect the supplies? ”

Without waiting for Vice Chairman Zhou to answer, the commander of the First Legion said in a slow voice: "Commander Peng, wait a minute, the Third Legion has been in Liping for a short time, and many soldiers may not have eaten yet." In this way, you send out a regiment, I will let the second division send out a regiment, under your leadership, and I will go with you to meet this heroic unit. ”

Dong Zhentang, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps, said angrily: "Liu Yimin was originally the commander of the top soldier company of my 34th Division, and Cai Zhongyuan was the director of the Political Department of my 34th Division, and I will take the 101st Regiment with you." ”

Luo Binghui, the commander of the Ninth Army Corps, said: "Liu Yimin, a stinky boy, dared to arrange me and say that I let Tao Guang take prisoner. I have to personally lead a group to Cai Zhong to seek justice. ”

Seeing the competition between several corps commanders, several central leaders laughed. Bogu said: "Old Mao, what do you think should be done? ”

[***] smiled and said: "A few of you are rushing to go, it is estimated that one is to share more materials and arms, and the other is to take a fancy to the 4,000 Hunan elites." Isn't it? ”

Several of the corps commanders were embarrassed, but no one spoke.

[***] also said: "I know that since the Long March, all the troops have suffered great losses, and they have not been replenished. It is to replenish some new recruits, and in the short term, it is just to make up the number. In my opinion, since the 34th Division has returned, the Fifth Army Corps has also been replenished to a certain extent along the Xiangjiang River, so there is no need for people or artillery, and light weapons, ammunition, and materials are given priority to replenish. The three corps lost more than half of the Xiangjiang River, and now although the 18th regiment has returned, it has been transferred to the direct command of the Military Commission and added 2,000 people to the 3rd corps. There are many recruits in the Ninth Legion, and the losses of the First Legion are also large, and each is replenished by 1,000. First of all, these prisoners were only willing to join the Red Army because Liu Yimin had a heart-to-heart talk and complained about their grievances, and the General Political Department had their reports and printed them for reference in all regiments. If your ideological work does not keep up, it is difficult to say whether these captives will change and become deserters. ”

Several corps commanders said almost in unison: "We are not afraid. ”

[***] then said, "Okay, just have your words." As for heavy weapons, mountain artillery is used intensively by the artillery battalion of the Military Commission. 8 mortars 1, 3 and 9 each, and 4 heavy machine guns of 12 each. 100 light machine guns, 20 each of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th Army Corps and cadre regiments. The central column is responsible for other materials, which are uniformly distributed, and priority is given to meeting the needs of combat units. As for who will lead the team to greet them, I don't think the leaders of the four main army corps will go, and we need to study the current enemy dynamics and our army's strategy of action. It is suggested that Comrade Chen Yun, Comrade Luo Ronghuan, and Comrade Cao Lihuai, commander of the Sixth Division, should be sent to lead the team, and each of the four regiments should go to one regiment. In case of an enemy situation on the road, Comrade Cao Lihuai will be responsible militarily. What do you see? ”

Several corps commanders looked at each other and said they had no opinion.

[***] said: "If you have no opinion, Comrade Bogu and Comrade Enlai, do you want to ask Mr. Zhu to give an order?" ”