In mid-May 1942, more than 5,000 people of the First Army of the Japanese Army stationed in Shanxi, under the command of commander Yoshio Shinobu, once again invaded the Taihang Mountains in a vain attempt to destroy the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop.
Before the Japanese army could make a force, it first sent two forward teams (special agent armed forces) as the vanguard, and the task was to take Liu Bocheng's head.
On May 19, the enemy's "sweep" of Taipei District began. On the 21st, Liu Bocheng led a small number of guard troops to start from the village of Huili in Xiangxian County and jumped out of the enemy's combined attack circle.
The next day, transfer to the mouth of Guxin Village in Xiangxian County, in the south of the Taihang Mountains.
Just after settling down, the scouts brought news that just 3 hours after the division headquarters was transferred the day before, the enemy Liuchuan's standing team arrived at the division headquarters station. That is to say, as long as the troops set off a little later, they are likely to bump into the enemy, and under the siege of the superior forces of the other side, the consequences are unimaginable! It is very likely that there is no name Liu Bocheng among the ten marshals.
Li Da, the chief of staff who was closely following Liu Bocheng at the time, talked about this past 40 years later, and still said with some trepidation: "This breakthrough is too thrilling!" In the unlikely event, I will never be able to forgive myself for not getting accurate information beforehand! ”
In early June, the enemy shifted the center of gravity of the "sweep" to the southern part of the Taihang Mountains, and the first target was to jointly attack the headquarters of the 129th Division and the head office of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Border Region Government.
On the 8th, a large number of Japanese troops moved from Licheng, Shanxi, to attack Songjia Mountain, 15 kilometers east of the city.
The troops stationed at Songjiashan were the 2nd Regiment of the New 1st Brigade of the 129th Division's Guard Unit, the Headquarters of the 129th Division and the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Border District Government located in Huangyan Village, which was only 10 miles southeast of Songjiashan Mountain. The enemy attempted to first take Songjiashan and then besiege Huangyan Village and the surrounding area.
The enemy's offensive was fierce, and the positions of our army in Songjiashan were in danger of being breached, and the situation was becoming more and more tense. After careful consideration, Liu Bocheng immediately decided to break through.
That night, the division headquarters set off from Huangyan Village and came to Huangbeiping, 5 miles south of the city of Xiangxian, in the early morning of the 9th. Arriving at Zhanghan Village on the afternoon of the 10th, it was planned to break through the enemy's encirclement circle that night and enter the safe area north of Handan Chang Road.
Unexpectedly, the clouds covered the moon that night, and the surrounding area was pitch black, unable to identify the direction, blindly advancing, and there was a possibility of breaking into the enemy's camp at any time.
Chief of Staff Li Da suggested: "It is not easy to identify the direction now, and it will be troublesome to break into the devil's camp, so let's rest in place and leave again at dawn!" ”
"Well, first tell the troops to rest in place." Liu Bocheng sighed for a moment and then said, "We are such a big stall, we have walked dozens of miles, there are many agents of the devils, we can't not be discovered, camp here, may be attacked." Let everyone take a nap and then return to Zhanghan Village overnight. The devils would not have expected us to return to our original places. ”
The troops immediately returned overnight. The road was steep in dark, and it took seven turns and eight turns until noon on the 11th to return to Zhanghan Village.
Originally planning to rest and eat in Zhanghan Village, but as soon as they entered the village, the guard unit found a small group of enemies searching the mountain not far away.
Liu Bocheng immediately ordered his troops to avoid the enemy and immediately entered Yangjia mountain. Who knows, the troops have just climbed over a mountain beam and found that Yangjiashan mountain has also been occupied by the enemy, and the troops are surrounded by the enemy.
The commanders and fighters of the 2nd Regiment of the New 1st Brigade, who were tasked with guarding, deeply felt the heavy task they shouldered. They uncovered the grenade, put their rifles on bayonets, and prepared for a bloody battle with the Japanese to protect Commander Liu from breaking through the siege.
Liu Bocheng calmly said to Tang Tianji, political commissar of the New 1st Brigade: "Tell the soldiers not to be nervous. We have the support of the local people and will be able to stand out. He also instructed Tang Tianji to send two scouts to infiltrate Zhang Han Village and inquire with his fellow villagers who were familiar with the situation to see if there was a trail leading to the direction of Licheng.
After a while, Tang Tianji reported: According to the information provided by his fellow villagers, from here to the northwest, there is a small road that shepherds often take, along this path, over two large ridges, you can reach Dongyang Pass and Donghuangsu. This road is close enough to bypass the enemy, but it is rugged and difficult for troops to pass.
Liu Bocheng said: "The commander of the Russian army, Suvorov, has a famous saying: 'Wherever the road can be walked, people can pass.'" In 1799, he once led a large army to cross the Alps from an inaccessible place, rescued the Desperate Russian Army, and created a miracle on earth. Since where deer can walk, people can pass, and where sheep can walk, people must be able to pass. Let's take this shepherd's path. ”
The Japanese troops not far away fired cold guns from time to time, and the shouting was clear and audible. Liu Bocheng carried a branch as a walking stick, sweating profusely, and led his troops along the shepherd road.
In the twilight, I climbed over two mountains and climbed a hill, and I vaguely saw a team on the opposite hillside approaching. At first, it was not clear to see, when the distance was tens of meters, from the shining steel helmets of the other side, it was concluded that the person coming was a Japanese army.
Fortunately, the enemy did not find our army for a while. Liu Bocheng calmly ordered: "Don't panic, don't shoot, quietly bypass the enemy." ”
The procession was methodical and quietly burrowed into another ravine. This enemy did not even find our army!
In a mountain hollow, the troops took a short break.
Liu Bocheng said humorously: "It's so dangerous, almost let the devils choose to get rid of it, go to see Marx." When I met the devils just now, I could even see their beards clearly. Sweeping up this topic can make the enemy and us mix, cook a pot of rice and eat the enemy and me, and walk all the way to mix the enemy and us, which can be described as an extremely complicated, extremely cruel, and extremely exciting struggle. ”
At night, the party moved on. The winding shepherd road stretches out among strange rocks and thorns, with steep slopes and deep cliffs. In the dark of night, walking in it, the difficulties can be imagined. Especially for Liu Bocheng, who is plagued by diseases, bullet marks all over his body, and is fifty years old, his difficulties are even more self-evident.
In the middle of the night, Liu Bocheng was hungry and thirsty due to his long journey, and his steps gradually slowed down.
At about 4 a.m., Liu Bocheng called Zhou Jian aside and whispered, "I really can't walk, I want to rest on the spot." Chief Zhou, take the guard unit with you! Before dawn, be sure to highlight the enemy's combined strike circle. ”
Zhou Jian was taken aback and hurriedly grabbed Liu Bocheng's hand: "Commander, I can't listen to your words!" Protecting you from the enemy, even if I sacrifice my life, will not be ambiguous. ”
He immediately ordered four tall and tough guards to help Liu Bocheng forward. He also ordered the other soldiers not to doze off, not to speak loudly, not to fall behind, and to maintain a high degree of vigilance at all times.
Just like that, another ride. At dawn, Liu Bocheng was so hungry and thirsty that he said to Zhou Jian, "Chief Zhou, my two legs really don't listen to the call, and I want to take a rest." After saying that, he pounced and fainted on the ground.
Stunned, Zhou Jian urgently ordered the guards to run to find Tang Tianji, who was in charge of cover in the back, to prepare a stretcher, and ordered several fighters to go to the vicinity to find water.
The hygienist poured a bowl of stream water into Liu Bocheng. After a while, Liu Bocheng slowly opened his eyes.
At this time, in the nearby Liulin Village, chickens and dogs barked, smoke billowed, and the enemy was burning the house. This place could not stay long, and the guards helped Liu Bocheng on a stretcher.
The trail is rugged and thorny, and only two people can carry it one after the other. Marching all night, the soldiers were tired and weak, and they had to change people before they could take a few steps.
Zhou Jianjian saw that it was not the way, and he was in a hurry, squatting down, spelling out all his strength, carrying Liu Bocheng on his back, and running for hundreds of meters in one breath.
Just around a mountain mouth, suddenly, a gunshot snapped from behind. Zhou Jian thought that he had been discovered by the enemy, and he broke out in a cold sweat and ran faster.
After another journey, I didn't see the enemy chasing me, and only then did I let out a sigh of relief. It turned out that the enemy had just fired its guns and closed the whistle, and the enemy gathered and drove south.
Further on, the road gradually widened, and it was possible to ride a horse, but Liu Bocheng was helped to the horse's back, and another rush was made to get out of the dangerous situation.
Zhou Jian was overworked due to nervousness, and after a dizziness, he vomited blood and fainted on the ground.
At noon on the 12th, Liu Bocheng led his troops to move to the incense burners in Licheng County. At this point, the victory ended the 4-day and 4-night counter-sweep and jumped out of the enemy's combined strike circle.