On November 18, 1948, the 14th Column of the North China Military Region launched the Battle of Xinxiang with the cooperation of the first unit of the Taiyue Military Region. At that time, Xinxiang, with a population of nearly 100,000, was a bridgehead and military station base for the Kuomintang north of the Yellow River, and was also the political and economic center of northern Henan. At that time, the Kuomintang 40th Army was defending Xinxiang, which was the old department of the northwest warlord Pang Bingxun, and the commander Li Zhenqing was a close associate of Pang Bingxun, who led his troops to fight with our army many times in the Liberation War.
The 40th Army has been in Xinxiang for a long time and has built many permanent fortifications. At the same time, because the strategic position of Xinxiang was very important, Lao Jiang also gave Li Zhenqing a death order to let him stay in Xinxiang. The 14th Column, which was responsible for the siege, was only a second-line unit of the North China Military Region, and it was not long to form and lacked heavy weapons, so it was ultimately unable to capture Xinxiang and paid the price of hundreds of casualties. After this battle, Li Zhenqing was commended by the old Chiang Kai-shek, which strengthened his determination to stay in Xinxiang.
Half a year later, the Siye 47th Army arrived near Xinxiang, and after the training of the Liaoshen Campaign and the Pingjin Campaign, the 47th Army became strong and strong, with four divisions under its jurisdiction, a total strength of more than 60,000 troops, and many heavy artillery. The commander of the army, Liang Xingchu, was a famous tiger general in Siye, and during the Liaoshen Campaign, he led his troops to fight with the 100,000 troops of Liao Yaoxiang's corps in Montenegro and Dahu Mountain for several days and nights, trying to ensure that the position was not lost, and he became famous in the first battle. Soon after the 47th Army arrived in Xinxiang, Liang Xingchu received orders to make him the commander of the 38th Army.
However, Liang Xingchu insisted on taking over Xinxiang after he had taken it, and his superiors agreed to his request and asked him to command the 47th Army to liberate Xinxiang. Li Zhenqing was a very cunning man, he saw that the 47th Army was strong and strong, and it was also equipped with heavy artillery, and he knew that he could not hold it this time, so he flew away and left the mess to Deputy Commander Li Chenxi. After clearing the perimeter, the 47th Army quickly approached the city. Fearing that the artillery fire might accidentally injure the people in the city, Liang Xing initially sent people into the city to persuade Li Chenxi to surrender and strive to liberate Xinxiang peacefully.
At that time, there were still many diehards and secret agents of the military command in Xinxiang City, and there was a certain danger in entering the city to persuade them to surrender. Who should I send? Just when Liang Xing was in trouble, Ran Ying, deputy commander of the artillery regiment, came and said that Li Chenxi, the deputy commander of the enemy army, was his cousin and was willing to enter the city to persuade him to surrender. Liang Xingchu was very happy when he first heard it, with this layer of relationship, no matter whether the persuasion could be successful or not, at least Ran Ying's personal safety had a certain guarantee.
Then Ran Ying personally wrote a letter to Li Chenxi: "My brother went from Beiping to Han For official business, passing through this place, Xi Su came to pick me up and take me into the city, one greeted my cousin, and the other had important things to tell, please do it quickly, and ask for near safety." Li Chenxi has been in the official field for a long time, and naturally knows that his cousin came to see him at this time, and it will certainly not be a simple way to reminisce about the past. For the sake of secrecy, he sent his lieutenant to personally drive Ran Ying into the city in a car and arrange it in a secret room.
After the greeting, Ran Ying opened the door and said to Li Chenxi, "I came to see you this time, which is a task entrusted by the chief. The army besieged the city, hoping that the cousin would stop making senseless resistance and find a way out for himself. After hearing this, Li Chenxi hesitated for half a second and said: "My cousin's words are reasonable, but I alone in the city said it doesn't count, some people advocate fighting, and some people want to pull the team to Taihang to fight guerrillas." ”
Ran Ying was happy after listening to it, and said to Li Chenxi: "Cousin, is the current situation still unclear?" In terms of troop strength, we are four times yours, and the firepower is much stronger than yours. What do you take to fight? It is even more wishful thinking to go to the Taihang Mountains to fight guerrilla warfare, Xinxiang has been heavily besieged by our army, are you going out? Under the persuasion of Ran Ying's bitter mouth, Li Chenxi clearly recognized the reality and finally led his troops to surrender to our army. On May 5, 1949, Xinxiang was peacefully liberated. After the founding of New China, Li Chenxi served in the CPPCC and had a good ending.