Zhang Zhen recalled that when he attacked Hongdong County, Chen Guang's division commander was preparing to attack the city, but The political commissar Peng Xuefeng ordered the attack to be stopped

In late March, when our division attacked hongdong county, I came to the city with commander Chen Guang, who commanded the troops to set up a ladder and was preparing to attack the city. At this moment, Commissar Peng Xuefeng ordered the trumpeters behind him to blow up the military trumpet to stop the attack. Master Chen said angrily, "Go! Go back to sleep!" Since then, the seeds of discord between division commanders and political commissars have been sown. At that time, I did not know the reason, but I learned afterwards that the central authorities had considered the specific plan of "vigorously developing the Red Army" during the Eastern Expedition, and planned to merge the Red 81st Division in northern Shaanxi with the Red 4th Division, and prepare to formally restore the red 3 corps structure after going to Shanxi. The cadres of the former Red 3 Corps had feelings for the old troops and the old numbers, and they were very happy to hear them, and some regiments also mobilized. One of the reasons why Commissar Peng did not agree to the strong attack on Hongdong City was to reduce casualties and preserve the backbone of the Red Army for the future expansion of the Red Army and the restoration of the Red 3Rd Army. This kind of thinking also existed among the cadres of the former Red 1 Corps. At that time, the headquarters of the Front Army was preparing to select the young backbone of the Red 1st Army to serve in the Red 15th Army, but after receiving the notice, some divisional and regimental cadres of the 1st Army let them hide or send them out, unwilling to be picked up by those sent by their superiors. It seems that after a long time in a unit and deep feelings, they tend to ignore the overall concept and are prone to make the mistake of localism.

Before Hongdong City was attacked, our division was doing mass work, expanding the army, and raising funds around it. Political commissar Peng Xuefeng once called the kuomintang governor of Fushan County and asked him to hand over 50,000 yuan, otherwise he would send troops to attack the county seat. The county magistrate was frightened and obediently sent money. Soon, the troops continued south, advancing in the direction of Houma. On the way, we annihilated an enemy cavalry company and captured many horses. We selected 30 horses from them and formed a cavalry communication platoon. One day, division commander Chen Guang, with me and a cavalry communication platoon, crossed the vanguard of the 12th Regiment, galloped forward along the road, ran into a village, and suddenly encountered the enemy. In a hurry, we turned our heads. Just when the 12th Regiment's vanguard arrived, they quickly eliminated the enemy's squad post. The captives confessed that they were Chiang Kai-shek's 25th Division, which had just come from the Fenglingdu area.

Originally, we believed that there were contradictions between Jiang and Yan that could be exploited. However, I did not expect that Chiang Kai-shek's entry into the Jin Dynasty would be so fast, and it seems that the consistency of class interests is still at play. With the support of Chiang Kai-shek's army, the Jin Sui army quickly occupied the Yellow River crossing controlled by the Red Army and began to attack the Red Army. The commander of the front decided to gather his forces and gradually move west to repel the enemy's attack. From April 6 to 12, the Left Route Army fought with the enemy in battles such as Yidong Town (present-day Fangshan County), annihilating nearly two enemy regiments and recapturing the Yellow River crossing. On the 15th, the Right Route Army besieged the city of Ji county, and our 4th Division fought bravely, annihilating the enemy's defense regiment, capturing more than 300 enemy soldiers and occupying the city. At the beginning of May, all the Red Army entering the Jin Dynasty crossed the Yellow River in the west and returned to northern Shaanxi, and our division rested in the Yanchang area. At this time, the contradiction between the division commander and the political commissar deepened, and every time a group meeting was held, both of them quarreled endlessly, making it very difficult for me, the party group leader, to handle it, so I had to find Shu Tong, director of the political department, to advise.

On May 13, the Red Army held a meeting of cadres at and above the regimental level at Daxiang Temple in Yanchuan County. At the meeting, Comrade Mao Zedong made a report on the current political situation and tasks, summed up the experience of the Eastern Expedition, and mobilized for the Western Expedition. Another content of the meeting was to criticize the localism that existed in the Red 1 Corps and to solve the problem of unity among the cadres of the former Red 1 and 3 Corps divisions. The main manifestations are that in order to preserve their strength and avoid fighting battles with relatively large casualties, the cadres of various divisions and regiments are unwilling to transfer personnel to strengthen the strength of the Red 15th Army and the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and there are still some contradictions left over from the past. Peng Xuefeng, political commissar of our division, was also criticized. Once, I went to deliver papers to him and saw him alone in his dormitory, sullen.

After the Daxiang temple meeting, the Central Military Commission decided to open a Red Army University in Bao'an County in order to cultivate anti-Japanese military and political talents to meet the needs of the new anti-Japanese situation. The Red 1st Army dispatched many cadres at or above the regimental level, led by Commander Lin Biao, to participate in the preparatory work. Division Commander Chen Guang, Political Commissar Peng Xuefeng, and Chief of Staff Chen Shiyu also went to study. The 4th Division was headed by Li Tianyou, Huang Kecheng as political commissar, He Dequan as chief of staff, and Shu Tong as director of the political department.