In December 1938, Chen Guang, acting commander of the 115th Division, and Luo Shuai, political commissar, led the division's direct subordinate unit and the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade to the east, leaving Western Jinxi and rushing to Shandong to open up anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines. At this time, Yang Yong served as the commander and political commissar of the 686 regiment.
On March 1, 1939, Yang Yong led the 686th Regiment to the area north of Luxi Yuncheng.
Yang Yong quickly organized and convened mass meetings and meetings of enlightened gentlemen to thoroughly publicize the Communist Party's anti-Japanese stand, report on the situation of the Eighth Route Army's War of Resistance, extensively mobilize the masses, boost the morale of the people, and continuously expand the influence of the Eighth Route Army. After hearing the news, Zhu Bichen, commander of the Kuomintang Yuncheng County Security Guard stationed in Zhanglou, and other enlightened progressive figures elected more than 20 people, including Sun Houfu and Fu Zhonghua, to walk dozens of miles in the rain to meet the Eighth Route Army.
Yang Yong attached great importance to the overall situation of the War of Resistance Against Japan, disregarded his previous accusations, and warmly received these deputies. The deputies recounted the suffering of the people of Luxi, accused Liu Yusheng, a puppet army entrenched in Fanba, of his crimes, and demanded that the Eighth Route Army eliminate harm to the people.
The puppet army entrenched in and around Fanba has a total of one regiment of troops, the main force is stationed in Houfanba, the terrain around the village is flat, the west of the village has the Yellow River levee as a barrier, the village has an earthen fence as a support, the vigilance is tight, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Yang Yong decided to eliminate the Fanba puppet army as the first gift to his father and elders in Shandong after entering Shandong.
On the afternoon of March 3, Yang Yong led his troops to the vicinity of Fanba. Zhou Haibin, commander of the 3rd Battalion, and Liu Xiyuan, the instructor, led the whole battalion to attack Fanba from the north, east and south, and the 2nd Battalion was used as a reserve.
At dawn, the enemy slept soundly, taking advantage of the darkness of the night before dawn, the 3rd Battalion launched a brave attack, after about seven or eight hours of fighting, the gunfire in Fanba gradually thinned down, only a battalion of puppet troops on the east side of Fanba was stubbornly resisting.
At this time, dozens of warriors escorted Liu Yusheng, the commander of the puppet army who was wounded on the head, to Yang Yong. Yang Yong asked the hygienist to bandage Liu Yusheng's wounds and ordered him to write a letter to the battalion that was still resisting to lay down its weapons and surrender immediately. Liu Yusheng saw that the general trend had gone, and could only do so. Without much effort, the puppet army of this battalion obediently surrendered. At this point, the Battle of Fanba ended. The Battle of Fanba was the first battle fought against the puppet army after the eighth route army's eastward march into Luxi, and this victory struck the arrogance of the Japanese puppet army and encouraged the confidence of the people of Luxi.
In order to win over and dismantle the puppet army, Yang Yong decided to adopt a lenient policy towards Liu Yusheng. He not only sent doctors to treat his father-in-law's war wounds, but also personally talked to Liu Wangsheng and told him about the great righteousness of resisting Japan and saving the country, hoping that he would change from evil to righteousness and become a man again. Half a year later, Liu Yusheng brought more than 300 people to the Eighth Route Army.
After the battle of Fanba, the 686th Regiment was supposed to continue eastward with the division headquarters, but the local people were afraid that the Japanese puppet army would make a comeback after the Eighth Route Army left, and sent local representatives to the division headquarters to try to retain them. Therefore, the commander of the 115th Division decided that the 3rd Battalion and the Teaching Team of the 686th Regiment led by Yang Yong would remain to persist in Luxi's anti-Japanese struggle, and the remaining troops would be reorganized into the Independent 1st Regiment.
On 10 March, the 115th Division and the 686th Regiment continued their eastward advance. Yang Yong took on the heavy responsibility of opening up the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Luxi.
In order to quickly open up the situation, Yang Yong dispersed his troops to mobilize the masses, and personally led a company to Carry out work in Lüyuan and other places in the sixth district of Fengzhang. The companies scattered and mobilized the masses, and established an anti-Japanese democratic regime in one village, one district, and one county. The masses, who had suffered the cruel ravages of the Japanese puppet army and the diehards, realized that the Eighth Route Army was truly an army serving the country and the people, gradually eliminated their fears, and began to take the initiative to approach the Eighth Route Army.
In just a few months, guerrilla groups, self-defense forces, women's rescue associations, and other anti-Japanese mass organizations were set up one after another in Yuncheng, Zhencheng, Shouzhang, Fanxian, Liangshan, and other places. The expansion of the army was also very smooth, and a company active in Shouzhangji expanded by more than 400 people in just one month to form an independent battalion, and later established an independent battalion in Shouzhang County.
Yang Yong dispatched cadres from the main forces to strengthen the leadership of the county and district brigades, and sent the main forces to assist the localities in rectifying and training the scattered armed forces. At the same time, as far as possible, some weapons and ammunition were pumped out to the local armed forces, which increased their combat effectiveness.
As a result of the good work of the masses, the troops of the Independent 1st Regiment also expanded rapidly.
At this time, the Qi Zi Repair Department of the 11th Brigade of the Kuomintang Luxi Security Brigade, with more than 5,000 people, ran to Liangshan in order to avoid the "sweeping" of the devils, and often clashed with the Eighth Route Army, which was very harmful. In April, Qi Zixiu led his troops to collect grain in the Area of Xiaopikou, and his troops harassed people's houses, burned and looted, and aroused public anger.
Yang Yong concentrated his forces, and with the support of the local masses, fought several battles with Qi Zixiu in the northeast of Yuncheng. First he destroyed one regiment at XiaoPikou, and then another regiment near Shouzhangji. In the end, Qi Zixiu fled with the remnants of the defeated general.
The second target of the anti-stubborn struggle was Lu Yizhi, the Kuomintang Commissioner of Luxi. At first, Yang Yong treated him with courtesy, patiently persuaded and educated him, won him to resist Japan together, and also sent Ouyang Wen, director of the Political Department, to Juancheng to negotiate with him. However, Lu Yizhi regarded the sincerity of the Eighth Route Army as weak and deceitful, and was even more unscrupulous. Unable to bear it, Yang Yong mobilized his troops and hit him hard. Lu Yizhi lost his troops and territory, and had to flee to the Heze area in a gray and slippery manner.
On July 7, 1939, the second anniversary of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Independent Brigade of the 115th Division was officially established in the village of Heihumiao in Liangshan, with Yang Yong as brigade commander and political commissar.
From the beginning of March to the beginning of July, in just four months, a regiment of the Eighth Route Army developed into a brigade, and Yang Yong became a brigade commander from regimental commander. The Eighth Route Army not only gained a firm foothold in Luxi, but also laid the foundation for the future development of the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Luxi. Soon after Yang Yong and his troops arrived in Ruxi, they made a name for themselves and established the Qigong of the War of Resistance, and the Soldiers and civilians of Luxi rushed to tell each other, cocked their thumbs, and praised in a highly appreciative tone, "Ruxi has come to a sheep, and it is very capable of beating devils." ”