In the early winter of 1943, the Japanese puppet army in Dayu Town, Rudong, Jiangsu Province, snatched dozens of tons of lint from the hands of ordinary people during the so-called "comb sweep" of Nankan Township.
The cunning enemy, fearing that the night would be long and dreamy, loaded the lint on the ship and prepared to transport it to the base camp in the dug port in two days.
The lint-laden boat stopped in a river bend at the junction of the Japanese foot tower and the pseudo-township office in Dayu Town. They circled barbed wire and bamboo fences on the side of the river, and also set up sentry sheds, sent people to guard day and night, and the gun towers were even more heavily guarded, lest something happen to the cotton boats.
Don't underestimate the dozens of cartons of lint, which at that time were military materials that were highly valued by both the enemy and us. The cold winter is coming, and for the New Fourth Army troops, which are very difficult to logistically supply, lint cotton is even more scarce.
When the commander of the Fourth Sub-district of the New Fourth Army learned of this situation, he immediately decided to send the Third Brigade, the Seventh Regiment, the Third Battalion, and the Seventh Company to seize the cotton from the enemy.
After receiving this task, Zheng Xianglin, commander of the Seventh Company, immediately disguised himself in the town of Dayu to conduct on-the-spot reconnaissance, and found out from Tao Huanru, an underground party member who had infiltrated the enemy's internal work, the enemy's strength and firepower configuration.
That night, under the leadership of Zheng Xianglin, the commanders and fighters of the Seventh Company, under the cover of night, quietly touched the south of Dayu Town. There, a third platoon was left to monitor the ghosts in the artillery tower and the puppet army in the township office, and the rest of the personnel quickly inserted themselves from the south of the town to the town.
In order to prevent and facilitate the response, Zheng Xianglin sent 16 more soldiers to ambush in the earth pits on both sides of the enemy's artillery tower and the pseudo-township office.
There were still 56 people left, under the leadership of Zheng Xianglin, smoothly crossed the barbed wire fence and went straight to the cotton boat.
Crouched at the bow of the ship were two enemy soldiers holding long guns in their arms and guarding the cotton. Everyone hid on the spot, and Zheng Xianglin picked up a small pebble from the ground and gently threw it on the surface of the water next to the boat.
After a while, seeing that there was no movement, Zheng Xianglin led the two fighters next to him to "whizz" and jumped on the boat.
The two guards were still crouching at the bow of the ship, sleeping with their necks shrunk, and they were cleanly solved by the soldiers of the New Fourth Army.
At this time, the enemy sentries in the upper sentry were also killed by two soldiers of the New Fourth Army.
As soon as Zheng Xianglin waved his hand, the soldiers rushed to the boat together, either carrying or carrying, and in a short while, they removed more than half of the lint on the boat.
Suddenly there was a "bang-", and I don't know which soldier's gun was buried on the side of the turret accidentally went off!
The Japanese troops in the turret and the puppet army of the township office immediately panicked. The two machine guns on the turret crossed into a net of fire, firing violently at the place where the guns had just been fired, and the puppet army also randomly released their guns.
The devils on the turret found that the cotton had been transported away, and quickly diverted the machine gun fire and aimed it at the ship containing the lint.
At this time, the enemy of the pseudo-township office also returned to his senses, sending out more than 20 outlaws, while releasing their guns, rushing from the trench to the direction of Stop Hao.
Many soldiers of the Seventh Company were grabbing the lint on the ship, and they were suddenly exposed to the enemy's gunfire and bullets.
The soldiers of the Seven Companies who were ambushed on the flank immediately opened fire, crushing the puppet soldiers in the trench, so that they did not dare to raise their heads for half a day.
The two combat groups that received them on the periphery also opened fire on the enemy's artillery towers and the pseudo-township offices, and the gunfire was immediately loud.
The Japanese army and the puppet army could not figure out the details for a while, so they had to shrink in the turret and the township office and did not dare to come out.
In this melee, the lint on the enemy ship had been taken away by the commanders and fighters of the seven companies. Subsequently, they quickly withdrew from the town of Dayu and rushed to the pre-designated meeting place.
Zheng Xianglin did not wait for him to withdraw from the town because he commanded everyone to move, and the bridge was already blocked by the enemy. When the soldiers saw that the company commander had not returned, they were all anxious.
Although Zheng Xianglin was alone in the enemy group, this excellent commander was calm and self-assured, taking advantage of the chaos to come to the town and find tao Huanru, an underground party member.
When he learned that the home of the pseudo-security captain Xu Fengchu was nearby, his eyes lit up and he thought of a good way.
Subsequently, with the enthusiastic help of Tao Huanru, he disguised himself as a businessman and then walked alone to Xu Fengchu's house.
Coincidentally, the sentry who was originally guarding Xu Fengchu's house deserted and smoked, and there was no one to stop Zheng Xianglin.
Xu Fengchu had just escaped home when he saw a middle-aged man wearing a robe and a top hat come to his house early in the morning, and he was a little surprised for a while.
He looked up and looked at it carefully, and suddenly froze in surprise and said, "Huh? Isn't this the famous company commander of the New Fourth Army, Zheng Xianglin? ”
Zheng Xianglin sneered and said, "What, does Captain Xu still know his contemptible people?" ”
Xu Fengchu broke out in a cold sweat on his head and nodded his head repeatedly: "Know, know..."
Zheng Xianglin said: "Well, we are not the first friend, so today, I will trouble you to send me a trip." ”
Zheng Xianglin held a gun in his hand to observe the movement outside, and turned back to look at Xu Fengchu: "Everyone be polite, you will send me out of town, I will not touch you, otherwise..."
Xu Fengchu dared to be sloppy, and hurriedly accompanied by a smiling face and said, "Commander Zheng, please rest assured, I promise to send you out of town." ”
The sound of gunfire and shouting in the town has gradually receded, and dozens of corpses lie on the ground around the turrets and pseudo-township offices.
At this time, Zheng Xianglin and Xu Fengchu walked side by side, and outsiders thought that these two people were quite intimate. In fact, Zheng Xianglin put one hand on Xu Fengchu's shoulder, but the other hand held a short gun against his waist.
After crossing the bridge, Zheng Xianglin took a step and ran towards the predetermined meeting place.
The cadres and fighters of the Seventh Company saw that the company commander not only returned to the unit safely, but also grabbed the captain of the puppet army security team by the way, and they were all happy to praise the company commander for doing a good job.
However, Zheng Xianglin did not bother to tell everyone in detail about the experience of this solo entry into the Tiger's Den, but immediately interrogated Xu Fengchu and forced him to confess the deployment and firepower configuration of the Japanese puppet army in Dayu Town.
Two days later, all three battalions dispatched to raid the town of Dayu, and the seventh company was the main attack company, and they took the lead in attacking the town under the leadership of Zheng Xianglin, annihilating the Japanese puppet army and achieving a clean and clean victory.
After the war, the commanders and fighters of the three battalions praised one after another: Originally, our army only planned to seize a ship of lint, but unexpectedly, Commander Zheng Company defused the crisis with a bold action, so that the whole battalion finally annihilated all the enemies in Dayu Town, opening up a new situation for our army to resist Japan.
Reference historical materials: "Documentary of the Eastward Advance of the New Fourth Army", "Memories of the New Fourth Army", etc