Zheng Qigui, the former commander of the 180th Division of the Volunteer Army, was originally a political work cadre, he was also a veteran Red Army soldier, and he gave the same order as General Han Xianchu, who was already a well-known deputy commander of the Volunteer Army, and he had only reached the leadership position at the division level, and his progress was not very fast.
During the Liberation War, after Liu Deng led the main force of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region to leap thousands of miles into Dabie Mountain, he, as a left-behind unit of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, accompanied Xu Xiangqian, Zhou Shidi, and Wang Xinting to the Taihang Mountains, serving as the regimental political commissar of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, the director of the Political Department of the 23rd Brigade of the Eighth Column of the Central Plains, the director of the Political Department of the Independent Brigade of the Taihang Military Region, the director of the Political Department of the Independent Brigade of the Taiyue Military Region, the deputy brigade commander, and the deputy division commander and chief of staff of the 180th Division of the 60th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
In 1949, he participated in the campaign to march into the great southwest, and suppressed bandits in the western Sichuan region, and his results in suppressing bandits were still quite good.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the commander of the 180th Division of the 60th Army, the commander of the Meishan Military Subdistrict of the West Sichuan Military Region and the commander of the 180th Division of the 60th Army.
After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he led the 180th Division of the 60th Army to participate in the Chinese Volunteer Army's entry into The Korean War in March 1951, and at the end of April 1951, he led his troops to participate in the Fifth Campaign.
On the Korean battlefield, for the first time, Zheng Qigui obviously lacked experience in fighting foreign forces.
In the second phase of the Fifth Campaign, due to the rapid withdrawal of the left and right wings of the 180th Division, the withdrawal of the Korean People's Army troops without warning, and the 180th Division's inability to make a timely decision to retreat, the American and South Korean troops quickly inserted themselves and surrounded the 180th Division.
In the process of breaking through, Zheng Qigui summoned deputy division commander Duan Longzhang, acting political commissar Wu Chengde, and chief of staff Wang Zhenbang to a meeting to study, and decided to break through in the direction of the military headquarters, and after dusk the troops began to break through, after a bitter battle, they came to the foot of Yingfeng Mountain, the enemy army came faster, quickly came here to block and encircle the 180th Division again, the 180th Division was exhausted, Zheng Qigui decided to disperse the breakthrough, but deputy division commander Duan Longzhang and acting political commissar Wu Chengde opposed the dispersed breakthrough, and dispersing the breakthrough meant that they were fighting separately. A large number of wounded and sick people and commanders and fighters will be left behind, leaving them to fight for their own lives, which is a negative practice, but the division commander Zheng Qigui, as the military commander, will eventually make a decision to disperse the breakthrough.
Division commander Zheng Qigui and deputy division commander Duan Longzhang, under the cover of dozens of guards, rushed out of the enemy's encirclement, chief of staff Wang Zhenbang led more than 1,000 commanders and fighters from another direction to burst out, division political commissar Wu Chengde was not so lucky, he led the divisional organ personnel scattered to break through, on the road encountered some wounded and sick, he could not bear to abandon them, led them to fight guerrilla warfare inside The Eagle Peak Mountain, after a year and a half of fighting, finally, was discovered by the US troops searching the mountain, Wu Chengde was arrested in a concentration camp, he was tortured in prison. In 1953, after the armistice of Korea, he was repatriated.
After the fifth campaign, the Volunteer Army Zhisi held an operational meeting to pursue the defeat of the 180th Division, Zheng Qigui was dismissed from his post as division commander, stopped his work for review, and after review, he was appointed as the head of the Management Department of the Third Corps.
In 1953, after the Korean armistice negotiation agreement was signed, the three corps returned to China, and Zheng Qigui was transferred from the field army to the Jilin Provincial Military Region as deputy chief of staff.
After being awarded the rank of colonel in 1955, he served as the deputy commander of the Baicheng Military Subdistrict of the Jilin Provincial Military District, and in 1959, he was promoted to the commander of the Baicheng Military Subdistrict, and in 1963 he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
One day, Zheng Qigui was working in the office of the Baicheng Military Subdistrict, and the doorman called to say that an officer had come to him, saying that he had been a deputy division commander before, and Zheng Qigui was quite puzzled, for so many years, he had left the field army to work in the local troops, who would come to him?
When he came to the gate to take a look, it turned out to be duan longzhang, an old comrade-in-arms, deputy commander of the 180th division of the volunteer army, who hurriedly went forward to shake hands and welcome him into the office, and the two sat down and talked cordially, and Zheng Qigui said to Duan Longzhang: "Tell me about your situation." ”
Duan Longzhang, a native of Yao County, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, was born in 1920 to a bankrupt landlord family in Yao County, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he actively participated in anti-Japanese activities, and in March 1938, he was sent to the mobile task force of the Xiangning Central District of the League as a propagandist, and in October of the same year, he joined the Communist Party of China.
In 1939, he was transferred to the second battalion of the 57th Regiment of the 21st Brigade of the Shanxi New Army as a political worker and secretary of the party branch, and on December 14, he was appointed as the deputy commander of the Hedong Guerrilla Brigade in Xiangling County, and later transferred to the Linfen County Guerrilla Brigade as an instructor.
In 1940, he was appointed as an instructor of the Hongdong County Guerrilla Brigade, and in June he was changed to the commander of the brigade, and in April 1945, the Hongdong Guerrilla Brigade was promoted to the Hongdong Independent Regiment, and Comrade Duan Longzhang was appointed as the regimental commander.
In January 1946, the independent regiment was reorganized into the Fourth Guard Regiment of the Taiyuan 19th Military Subdistrict, and Comrade Duan Longzhang was still the regimental commander.
In 1949, he was appointed deputy commander of the 180th Division of the 60th Army.
In March 1951, he accompanied the troops to resist the United States and aid Korea, went to Korea to participate in the war, and in the fifth campaign, because the troops of the 180th Division were surrounded, suffered a major defeat, was punished and demoted, and served as the chief of the operations department of the 60th Army.
In 1954, he became the deputy commander of the artillery division of the 181st Division of the 60th Army.
In 1959, he was transferred to the 12th Army Artillery Director.
In 1964, he was appointed director of the artillery room of the Shanghai Garrison District.
This time, he came to the northeast for a meeting, and heard that Zheng Qigui was serving as a commander in the Baicheng Military Subdistrict, and specially went to Baicheng to visit Zheng Qigui.
Zheng Qigui gave Duan Longzhang a cup of longjing and said to Duan Longzhang: "Brother, you have not forgotten me, and you have come to visit me, it is rare and precious, since the defeat of the 180th Division, I am ashamed of the 180th Division, ashamed of my comrades-in-arms, it is my military mistakes, and everyone is tired."
Duan Longzhang hurriedly said, "Teacher Chief, don't say that, who goes to the battlefield and doesn't want to win the battle?" There are many reasons for the failure of our division, we can't blame you all, history will make a fair conclusion, I came to see you, see that you are in good health, your spirit is very good, this I am relieved, we should all put down our baggage, light forward, you say yes? ”
Zheng Qigui said with tears in his eyes: "I am really sorry for those comrades who died, and even more sorry for Commissar Wu, I heard that he suffered a lot in prison, and after returning to China, he was expelled from the party, the military, and sent to work on the farm. ”
Duan Longzhang said, "Whenever I have a chance, I will also go to see him?" ”
The two talked heartily together, Zheng Qigui left Duan Longzhang to stay in the military quarters for one night, and the two exchanged together for most of the night before falling asleep.
The next day, Duan Longzhang was going to go back, Zheng Qigui sent him a car, ordered the driver to send him to Changchun, and the two waved goodbye reluctantly.