During his time in the Red Army, General Xu Haidong was once the commander of general Chen Geng's regiment.
The two have fought many good battles together. The tofu shop war is one of them.
In early February 1932, the area around the tofu shop near Huangchuan County was covered in heavy snow. More than 20 regiments of the enemy pressed against the Red Army from Henan. The Red Army then engaged in a vicious battle with the enemy in the snow of the tofu shop.
Xu Haidong and his Red 36 regiment were placed in the enemy's main direction of attack by Chen Geng, commander of the Red 12th Division.
The Red 36 regiment fought bitterly for a day and a night, and at dawn the forward position was breached by the enemy. When Xu Haidong saw this, he immediately ran over, threw off his cotton coat, wore a white shirt, wielded a large knife, and flew in the snow to meet the enemy soldiers. When the warriors saw it, they knew that it was time for a decisive battle, and they all ran up, so another hand-to-hand battle began.
After more than an hour of killing, Xu Haidong led the whole regiment to finally beat the enemy soldiers down again.
The gains and losses of the forward positions of the Red 36 regiment are related to the victory or defeat of the overall battle. Chen Geng had been staring in Xu Haidong's direction, and three times he had sent people to convey orders to Xu Haidong: "We must hold on!" "Hold firm!" "Attract the enemy tightly!"
Xu Haidong's answer is always two sentences, one is: "The chief is assured, we will be able to withstand it!" Another sentence is: "The chief is assured, the people are in the position!" ”
In three days and three nights, the enemy launched more than 20 charges, but failed to cross the positions of the Red 36 Regiment.
The decisive battle between the two armies was carried out until the afternoon of the fourth day, and the enemy finally could not hold back and was discouraged. At this time the General Command of the Red Army issued an order to counterattack. Suddenly, the Red Army attacked on all sides. Xu Haidong led the Red 36 Regiment to also kill from the front. The men and horses of more than 20 regiments of the enemy were desperately fleeing backwards.
As a result, more than 2,000 people who did not have time to run away were all taken prisoner.
The Red 36th Regiment captured an enemy regimental commander, and Xu Haidong sent someone to call him over and ask about the situation. Even if the guy died, he didn't admit that he was the regimental commander, and one moment he said that he was the deputy of the regiment, and the next he said that he was the acting regimental commander. Xu Haidong waved his hand and said, "You are a military commander, and we will treat you the same." I just want to ask you one word, what do you think of our tactics? ”
The captive sighed and said, "In the past, I only knew that the Red Army could fight guerrilla warfare, but now that you have learned the regular warfare of the Red Army, you can attack and defend!" Had to serve! ”
Xu Haidong smiled.
Because, he felt that in this battle, the Red 36 regiment had indeed taken a big step towards regular warfare.
At this time, the division commander Chen Geng came, saw Xu Haidong and said, "Your regiment has fought this battle well!" ”
Xu Haidong said: "It is the superior who commands well, and the brother troops coordinate well!" ”
Chen Geng said, "In this battle, the 36th Regiment fought!" ”
Xu Haidong was a little proud and said unceremoniously: "Ha! Yes, cadres and soldiers have been trained. If I fight for a few more days, I will even become a good company commander! He said, and laughed.
Unexpectedly, Chen Geng said, "Well, don't talk too much first, I came this time to transfer a few battalion and company commanders from your regiment, and if you are incompetent, I will scold you Xu Tiger!" ”
When Xu Haidong saw the posture of the division commander, he stuck out his tongue and did not dare to "brag" anymore.
Decades later, Chen Geng and Xu Haidong met and talked about this matter again, Xu Haidong smiled and said: "I was not afraid of anyone at that time, I was afraid of you Old Chen, your ideas are many." ”
Chen Geng said seriously, "My ideas are exclusive to you." If I hadn't packed up your pride, would you be a general like me today? ”
The crowd laughed.