In the spring of 1939, the second regiment of the first detachment of the New Fourth Army, under the leadership of regimental commander Wang Bicheng (lieutenant general in 1955) and political commissar Liu Peishan (lieutenant general in 1955), was ordered to launch an attack on the Japanese puppet army strongholds around Xinfeng, Jurong, Dongwan and Yanling in Jiangsu Province, and won consecutive victories.
The Japanese commander was furious, quickly mobilized a force of more than 5,000 people, and launched a retaliatory pursuit in an attempt to annihilate the Second Regiment of the New Fourth Army in one fell swoop.
Through the "two devils" informant, the Japanese army had an important intelligence: the second regimental headquarters of the New Fourth Army and the first battalion headquarters were temporarily stationed in Shangxiahui Village, more than 40 miles away from Zhenjiang City, and on March 8, they mobilized heavy troops and launched a siege on this small village.
After the sentries of the New Fourth Army discovered the enemy's tracks, they quickly fired warning shots, and the regimental commanders Wang Bicheng and Liu Peishan were not alarmed, and commanded the battalions and companies to quickly enter the battle and look for opportunities to break through.
In accordance with Wang Bicheng's instructions, a battalion and a company quickly seized the "White Rock Mountain" highland northwest of the village, attacked the enemy from a commanding position with machine guns and grenades, and covered the breakthrough of the large troops.
The Japanese army was blocked by a company, and the commander was embarrassed and angry, and ordered the brigade to take the "White Rock Mountain". The two sides fought fiercely for hours on this high ground.
Under the bloody struggle of the commanders and fighters of the first company, most of the regimental headquarters and the second and third companies of the first battalion broke through successfully.
In the course of this breakout, an interesting thing happened about the war horse.
This battle was fought extremely fiercely, and it also brought a lot of losses to our army. Four breeders in the second regimental headquarters of the New Fourth Army were unfortunately shot and killed, and many of the warhorses they carefully fed were also killed and wounded by the enemy, and only the horse ridden by political commissar Liu Peishan survived.
Logically speaking, if Liu Peishan rode on a horse and ran fast, the success rate of his breakthrough was of course greatly increased.
Zhong Deyang, a veteran soldier who raised this war horse, repeatedly asked the political commissar to ride on this horse and go first.
However, Liu Peishan was reluctant to retreat on horseback alone, and he also considered that if the war horses made a hissing sound during the breakthrough of the troops, they would inevitably expose the target and affect everyone.
Under these circumstances, Liu Peishan could only helplessly issue a decision to Zhong Deyang that made him extremely sad: to kill this war horse that had accompanied him for nearly two years in the southern expedition and the northern war.
Zhong Deyang joined the Red Army very early, became a soldier in the second battalion and four companies of the second regiment of the New Fourth Army in December 1937, and was transferred to the regimental headquarters in August 1938 as the head of the breeding squad.
Liu Peishan's mount has always been fed by Zhong Deyang himself, and although there are differences between humans and animals, his feelings for this horse are beyond people's imagination.
When Liu Peishan ordered the death of the war horse, Zhong Deyang could not accept this matter in his heart no matter what.
At that moment, his tears came out of his eyes, thinking: No matter what the circumstances, a soldier cannot lose his gun. As a breeder, I must not discard my own livestock, let alone kill it myself!
However, Zhong Deyang also knew that Commissar Liu was a person who ordered the order to be carried out, and at this critical moment of life and death, his orders would not be discounted in the slightest!
Zhong Deyang did not want to kill the horse, nor did he dare to disobey the orders of the chief, and he was suddenly caught in a dilemma, and his heart was as anxious as a fire.
At this time, the enemy pressed on a large scale, the gunfire became more and more fierce, and the commanders of the regiment, political commissar and other commanders broke through first at the strong request of the guard platoon leader, but Zhong Deyang was always unable to make up his mind to kill the horse.
He walked over to the warhorse and rubbed the mane around the horse's neck with his palm, and the more he looked at it, the more unbearable his heart became, and the tears couldn't stop flowing.
At this moment, Zhong Deyang inadvertently saw the leggings on his feet, and suddenly his eyes lit up: There is a way!
He quickly bent down and untied a pair of leggings and wrapped the horse's mouth in a circle so that the horse could not make a hissing sound.
He saw two wounded men on the side of the road who were unable to walk with leg wounds, and immediately helped them onto their horses.
After Zhong Deyang had done these things, there was no longer any time to delay, and he immediately pulled his horse and two wounded men to chase after the breakthrough troops.
They chased for more than ten miles, and finally caught up with the regimental headquarters, and the troops also successfully broke through. When Liu Peishan saw that his mount was safe and sound, and he also brought out two wounded, he praised the measures taken by Cheng Deyang in a hurry.
In addition to verbal praise, Liu Peishan also gave Cheng Deyang a heavy reward in material rewards, such as a pair of leather shoes and the most beloved fountain pen that he had been reluctant to wear.
At that time, our army had not yet established and improved the rules and regulations related to meritorious service and awarding awards, and the commanders of the troops gave verbal praise to cadres and soldiers who had made outstanding contributions at most.
Zhong Deyang was able to win these two prizes, indicating that Liu Peishan really recognized his performance.
At the summary meeting after the breakout, Liu Peishan also specifically mentioned the fact that Zhong Deyang wrapped the horse's mouth with leggings and successfully rescued two wounded.
He said with great emotion: "This veteran soldier did not obey my order to kill horses, but taught me a lesson, and his quick wisdom made me deeply inspired and educated -- if you really love the revolutionary cause and love your fighting partner, then in the face of great difficulties, you will certainly be able to find a solution!" ”