One day in April 1947, the Twenty-fourth Division of the Eighth Column of the East China Field Army received an order from its superiors to depart that night and move to the Mengyin area of Shandong Province to prepare for a new campaign.
However, the superiors did not limit the arrival time, so the Twenty-fourth Division had more time to prepare and walked more calmly on the road.
In the recent Battle of Tai'an, Huaye's troops won a great victory, not only annihilating the enemy in large numbers, but also capturing a large number of booty, including many Chuanma horses.
Now that the troops were about to be transferred, those Sichuan horses were assigned to cadres at all levels, and Liu Jianguo, chief of the security section of the Twenty-fourth Division, was given a batch of good horses.
This was the first time Liu Jianguo had ridden such a good horse to march at night, and it felt really better than ever.
The reason is that this Sichuan horse has been carefully trained in the Kuomintang troops, which is not only easy to control, but also has a particularly smooth walk.
What is even more amazing is that these horses know how to take the initiative to take the "zigzag" road to improve the safety and comfort of the driver when they go up or down the mountain, which can be called the best among military horses.
Although Liu Jianguo is not an excellent driver, riding such a good horse to march, it is particularly stable, and even because it is too comfortable, he unconsciously falls asleep.
I don't know how long later, Liu Jianguo woke up, only to find that the horse pattern under him did not move, as if frozen.
Liu Jianguo thought to himself: Maybe it was because he was asleep and had not given instructions to the horse, plus the horse was tired, so he simply stood there and rested.
At this time, there was no light in the sky, and this man was in the wilderness, and there was only a black expanse in front of him.
Liu Jianguo wanted to see if the large army was nearby, but neither a single figure nor any sound was found around. He rode his horse around the side, but still did not see the large troops.
The scene in front of him could not help but surprise Liu Jianguo, and he broke out in a cold sweat: it seemed that he had fallen behind in his sleep, and there was no one else in front of him, only himself and the Sichuan horse standing in the wilderness!
What made Liu Jianguo anxious was that at this time, the black lights were blind, and it was impossible to discern the direction, nor could he find anyone who could ask for directions.
What worried him even more was that a long section of the troops' marching route was interspersed with enemy-occupied areas, and it could not be ruled out that there would be enemy troops nearby. It is difficult to clap your own hands, and if you bump into the enemy, you will be in trouble.
Liu Jianguo was in a hurry in the dark, but he couldn't think of any way to resolve the crisis. In desperation, he had to pin his hopes on the Sichuan horse that silently accompanied him - since ancient times, there is a saying that "old horses know the way", simply believe in the horse and let this horse find its own way!
Of course, when he rode forward on horseback, his heart was not steady, after all, there were too many unknown risks in this aimless way of walking.
The man walked in the dark for nearly half an hour, when suddenly a very noisy sound came from the front. Liu Jianguo strangled the horse's ear and listened carefully, confirming that it was the sound of many people walking around and talking, and from time to time mixed with the sound of wheels rolling and the horse's nose...
He was shocked: there was most likely a troop marching ahead! But is this force friend or foe? If it is one's own person, then thank god; if it is an enemy, then what to do?
But at this time, Liu Jianguo's curiosity had overcome the worry about unknown risks, and he didn't care so much, and he followed the horse.
Not far from the walk, it seemed that someone had spotted Liu Jianguo and his horse and shouted, "Who is coming?" Which unit? Then came the sound of pulling the bolt of the gun.
At this time, it was too late to go back, so Liu Jianguo had to turn over and dismount, tentatively saying to the interrogator: "I am from the Twenty-fourth Division." ”
He still kept an eye on it, and did not immediately say that it was the Twenty-fourth Division of the Eighth Column of Huaye, because he had heard that the Kuomintang also had a Twenty-fourth Division.
"Twenty-fourth Division? Is it the Twenty-fourth Division of the Eighth Column? The other party continued to ask questions.
When Liu Jianguo heard him say the Eight Verticals so thoughtfully, it was obvious that only he himself knew so well the formation sequence of our army, and his heart was excited, and he quickly replied: "Yes! I am from the Security Section of the 24th Division of the Eighth Column of Huaye! ”
"Oh, that's the way it is," the other person breathed a sigh of relief, "how come you're running blindly alone?" ”
Liu Jianguo was embarrassed to say that he was asleep on horseback, so he said vaguely: "It was too dark, I accidentally walked to the fork in the road and got lost..."
The other party was very vigilant, did not listen to Liu Jianguo's words, and said unceremoniously: "This black light is blind, you are wandering around, who knows what you are doing!" You're not allowed to run around anymore, now go with me to meet someone!" ”
Next, Liu Jianguo was escorted by the interrogators to a commander in front of a commander in the marching army.
There were many soldiers in the ranks holding torches, and the light of the fire just illuminated the face of the chief, and Liu Jianguo took a look at it and couldn't help but be overjoyed--he knew this chief and had dealt with him many times, and this chief was Bao Qichen, director of the Political Department of the Eighth Column and Twenty-second Division.
"Director Bao, it was you!" Liu Jianguo's excitement was hard to suppress.
"Chief Liu?" Bao Qichen asked in surprise, "Why did you appear here alone, is there any urgent task?" ”
Liu Jianguo knew that he would not be able to hide the matter of getting lost after falling asleep on his horse, so he had to tell the truth about the matter.
"You, the chief of the security section, have actually lost the large troops!" It's also too paralyzing! Bao Qichen unceremoniously criticized, "There are enemies everywhere in this area, and if you bump into the enemy, the consequences will be serious!" Good thing you have a good horse, it saved your life! ”
Liu Jianguo was speechless and felt that his face was burning. At this time, Bao Qichen turned his head to a guard and said, "The Twenty-fourth Division is right in front of us, you go find two cavalry communicators, send one to Chief Liu, and let him catch up with the big troops!" ”
Liu Jianguo hurriedly said, "Thank you Director Bao! I'm in trouble for you!" ”
Nearly an hour later, two cavalry communicators escorted Liu Jianguo to catch up with the large force of the Twenty-fourth Division.
After experiencing this nocturnal miracle, Liu Jianguo has always been grateful to the Sichuan horse, and since then he has not dared to be careless in his work, and has made many meritorious achievements in the defense front of the army. He became a founding colonel in 1955 and was promoted to colonel nine years later.
Note: The facts described in this article are real people and real events, and Liu Jianguo wrote a special article recalling this matter in his later years.