Yanjiatai is located in the southwest corner of Dahong Mountain. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the steep peaks on both sides sandwich this village like the word "Sichuan", and it has been the only place for the Jianghan Plain to enter the hinterland of Dahong Mountain since ancient times.

In early summer, the area is surrounded by dense woods, and the young leaves after the rain look very fresh in the sunlight. Scattered in the valleys of the hills, there are flowers of one kind or another blooming in front of and behind the houses. The water of the Boiling River from the Daehong Mountains meanders not far from the front of the village, passing through the mouth of the Wongye Gorge to the Zhihe River and joining the Han River. Cuckoos call, and the occasional barking of dogs can be heard in the mountain rush. If it weren't for the invasion of the Japanese invaders, this would definitely be a paradise.

In May 1942, the 40th Division of the Japanese Army captured the town of Kedian at the southern foot of Dahong Mountain, and then marched north along the Kedian (Shop) Zhang (Ji) Road, which soon broke the tranquility here. He Shuheng, the commander of the 161st Division of the Sichuan Army, once again handed over the task of holding Yanjiatai, which can lead directly to the hinterland of Dahong Mountain, to the 482nd Regiment.

Xiao Dejun had the experience of holding on to the battle of Qingfeng Mountain, and knew well the wonder and importance of combining positional warfare with guerrilla warfare. After arriving at the garrison, on the one hand, he ordered the troops to rush to build fortifications, build bunkers, and set up barricades; Organize and mobilize the local people to move the old, weak, sick, women and children, as well as food and materials to the depths of the back mountains, and clear the wilderness. On the other hand, the guard platoon commander secretly sent a plainclothes reconnaissance team to get in touch with the local guerrillas of the New Fourth Army overnight, collect intelligence, learn about the enemy's situation, and ask the guerrillas to work together to evacuate the masses.

At this time, the headquarters of the Sichuan Army had already become aware of the secret pro-communist behavior of He Shuheng's department, and carried out the necessary reorganization of the troops, and political instructors were stationed in each regiment, and many anti-communist backbones were mixed in among the officers at the battalion and company level.

He Shuheng was unaware of the danger of being pro-communist, but he recognized from the bottom of his heart the united front of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the United War of Resistance, and he repeatedly tasted the sweetness of cooperation with the guerrillas of the New Fourth Army, so he still kept secret contacts with the guerrillas of the New Fourth Army in private, and in particular, he always turned a blind eye to Xiao Dejun's ties with the underground Communist Party, but he was more cautious. With regard to the fact that the Political Work Office of the Group Army asked him to thoroughly investigate whether Xiao Dejun was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, he kept delaying it on the grounds that the current tense situation was precisely the time to employ personnel.

When studying and formulating the battle plan for sticking to Yanjiatai, He Shuheng instructed Xiao Dejun: "A strong dragon does not suppress the head snake on the ground, and the local armed forces should not be underestimated, so our department must have a good relationship with them and strive for the greatest support." ”

"Please rest assured! Someone has been sent to contact them, and with their support, we will be able to win another big battle this time. ”

The next day, a mysterious guest came to the headquarters of the 482nd Regiment of Yanjiatai, he was tall and thin, with well-defined facial features, a pair of gold-wire glasses on the bridge of his nose, and a scholar's dress, who claimed to be a classmate of Xiao Dejun's military academy, but his real identity was the secretary of the special committee of the Communist Party of China. He brought intelligence and instructions from the Central China Bureau of the Communist Party of China: "This time the Japanese invaders attacked Dahongshan, the Kuomintang army will not really fight in order to preserve its strength, and it will inevitably find various reasons to retreat at that time." It is hoped that Xiao De's military department will stick to the strategic place of Yanjiatai, and influence He Shuheng's department to cooperate with the 5th Division of the New Fourth Army to smash the Japanese army's sweeping plan to ensure that the anti-Japanese base area in Dahongshan will not completely fall. ”

When Xiao Dejun received the order, he felt a lot of pressure in his heart, and immediately said: "Please rest assured that the organization does not dare to say that other troops dare not say it, our department will not fail in its mission and swear to live and die with the position." ”

"Excellent! The New Fourth Army guerrillas will help you organize the safe evacuation of the local people, and plant mines on the way of the Japanese army, blocking the way to help you. If you can't resist it, you can retreat into the back mountains to fight guerrillas. ”

"That couldn't be better!" With the full support of the guerrillas of the New Fourth Army, Xiao Dejun's confidence was doubled. So he let go of his hands and feet to arrange the deployment of the battle plan, and he wanted to put on a good show of "luring the enemy into the depths, closing the door and beating the dogs."

In mid-May, a Japanese wing launched a large-scale attack on Yanjiatai under the cover of aircraft artillery.

At this moment, the people and materials of Yanjiatai have all been moved to the safety of the back mountain. Xiao Dejun hid the main 1st and 4th battalions on the high ground on the left and right flanks, and the officers above the platoon level and some combat backbones of these two battalions were basically underground Communist Party members, and he equipped these two battalions with enough grenades and light and heavy weapons and ammunition. The 3rd Battalion was sent to guard the forward position on the left flank of Yanjiataizi, because he knew that Wang Kuisheng, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, was a distant nephew of the commander of the group army and an anti-communist cronie planted in the regiment by the military commander. The 2 battalion was fortified in the back mountain area as a reserve. The regimental command post was set up on a hidden high ground behind Yanjiatai, and two machine gun companies were placed in front of the high ground; A command post liaison station was set up on the forward position, which was commanded by deputy regiment commander Luo Hu.

The battle began.

Xiao Dejun knew that the Japanese army was accustomed to using the "three-plate axe", so he issued the first order: "First let all the troops withdraw from their positions and hide in the bunker." ”

Sure enough, the Japanese artillery let out a deafening roar, and for a while, Yanjiatai, which was located in the two valleys, turned into a sea of fire, and the overwhelming gunpowder smoke made the sun and moon dull, as if the entire sky was about to collapse.

Xiao Dejun held a telescope in the bunker of the regimental headquarters. In his telescope, Yan Jiatai, who was shrouded in the smoke of artillery fire, appeared and disappeared from time to time, as if he had been torn to pieces and drowned in the artillery fire. Both ears almost lost their hearing in the constant loud noise.

Slowly, the Japanese artillery fire thinned out, and the attacking devils let out a wolf's howl. "Quick! The troops entered the position, rushed to repair the damaged fortifications, and blocked the attack of the devils! ”

But something unexpected happened. According to the pre-arrangement, the 3rd Battalion, which was guarding the forward position on the left flank of Yanjiatai, should return to seize the first line of defense position as soon as possible after the end of the Japanese artillery fire to block the attacking enemy, and then retreat to the second line of defense according to the battle situation, but Wang Kuisheng, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, who was timid and afraid of death and held a grudge, did not obey the order to return to the first line of defense, nor did he retreat to the second line of defense, but ordered to retreat without firing a shot. Let you Luo Hu go and fight the devil desperately.