On June 23, 1942, Tian Houyi (Major General, 1955), commander of the 22nd Regiment of the Newly Organized Eighth Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, suddenly received an order from his superiors to lead the whole regiment to move immediately with the brigade headquarters.
At that time, the brigade headquarters was stationed in Dahetao, and the twenty-second regiment was stationed in the Fourth Lady Village. Tian Houyi gathered his troops and rushed to Dahetao, where the brigade headquarters had already set out.
At that time, Tian Houyi could not figure out the purpose of the transfer, and the brigade headquarters did not clearly explain where to transfer. He guessed from the hasty transfer from the brigade headquarters that there might be a fierce battle waiting for them.
The night was dark, and the troops groped forward. Tian Houyi rode on his horse, strangled the reins and stood aside, urging the warriors to follow.
When the troops arrived at Huizhuang, there was a sudden and intense gunfire from the direction of Jizetun.
Tian Houyi couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that the brigade headquarters has encountered the enemy? He immediately ordered the troops to stop and sent a cavalry squad to inquire about the situation.
Not long after, the cavalry squad hurriedly returned to report that the brigade headquarters had indeed encountered the Japanese army, and fortunately had broken through at this time. This time, the Japanese army dispatched a large number of men and horses, completely prepared, with the intention of completely annihilating our newly organized Eighth Brigade.
Tian Houyi thought to himself: If you continue to walk in the direction of Ji zetun now, it is tantamount to sending lambs into the tiger's mouth. The most important thing now is to avoid the enemy's superior forces and look for weak links.
He immediately made a decision and ordered the troops to move northwest instead. Unexpectedly, just after walking near Xiaozhai, I caught fire with the enemy coming from the direction of Yali.
The situation was undoubtedly very unfortunate for the Twenty-second Regiment--the enemy not only came from Yali, but also from all directions of Feixiang, Dahetao, and Sifuzhai, and there were Japanese troops with black pressure coming like a tide breaking the embankment. The enemy in all directions, waving the sun flag, chirping and wailing a strange cry, murderously wanted to "encircle the iron wall" of the Eighth Route Army.
In other words, the Twenty-second Regiment was already under siege by the Japanese army.
As the commander of this regiment, Tian Houyi undoubtedly had tremendous pressure in his heart: the Twenty-second Regiment was in the most difficult period, and this unit could no longer be allowed to suffer a major blow!
Just over a month ago, Tian Houyi was ordered to temporarily leave the army and go to the Party School of the Northern Bureau to participate in the study.
He never expected that the day after he left, the troops suffered heavy losses at Lü Dongyu, and the deputy regimental commander was captured and many soldiers were sacrificed.
When Tian Houyi learned this unfortunate news, he stood there, unable to say a word for half a day. He immediately decided: don't study anymore, go back to the army immediately!
When Tian Houyi returned to the twenty-second regiment garrison with a heavy heart, he only saw one wounded soldier after another, some squads only had two or three people left, and some squads even did not exist at all. Cadres at the battalion, company, and platoon levels have also sacrificed a lot.
However, even with a crippled team, the soldiers were still disciplined, which made Tian Houyi very moved.
Now that the troops are in a difficult situation surrounded by the enemy, what should they do?
Tian Houyi knew that at such a time, he could not panic. Without a little composure, without a little fear of danger, the troops will be buried in the enemy's siege.
He calmly issued the order: the commander of the three battalions with a few machine guns, occupied the terrain, tried to suppress the enemy fire, and the troops were immediately ready to break through!
However, there are enemies everywhere, where should the troops break through? This cannot but make Tian Houyi treat it prudently and think seriously, after all, this is related to the life and death of the whole regiment!
Suddenly, Tian Houyi's eyes lit up, and he had an idea in his heart, and he gave a categorical order to the cadres: "Immediately break through in the direction of Yali!" ”
When the cadres of the battalions and companies heard this, they were all surprised and puzzled, and they thought that they had heard it wrong.
"Yari? Isn't that the direction the Japanese are coming? ”
"Go in the most dangerous direction, aren't we drilling into the tiger's mouth?"
"Colonel, you're not mistaken..."
At this critical juncture, we must not hesitate, otherwise we will miss the opportunity to break through.
Tian Houyi said emphatically, "Don't grind anymore, let's go in the most dangerous direction - Yali break through and carry out the order!" When the time comes, we will have breakfast in the courtyard! ”
The cadres of the battalion company saw that the regimental commander was so full of confidence, and although they still had doubts in their hearts, they no longer argued anything and immediately made the troops ready for a breakthrough.
The breakthrough began, and the enemy's team was still gathering in Xiaozhai. When they gathered, they found that it was an empty village.
The breakthrough was unexpectedly smooth, and the fighters not only broke out of the encirclement of the Japanese army, but also killed dozens of enemies by the way.
When the troops arrived at Yari, they found that there was no longer a single enemy here, and the warriors were able to eat and rest calmly.
At this time, everyone realized why Tian Houyi chose to break through in the direction of Yali, and the warriors praised one after another: "The direction that seems to be the most dangerous is actually the safest." The leader of the regiment is really wonderful! ”
A soldier ran to Tian Houyi and said excitedly, "Commander, I killed 3 devils!" ”
"You could have played 6," Tian Houyi said with a smile, "as soon as we broke through, the 3 devils slipped away." ”
"I can make it up!" The warrior said confidently.
"You've got to make up 30 more!"
At this time, Tian Houyi was really happy in his heart, not only for the success of the breakthrough to save the living strength of the troops, but also for the fact that this battle had re-stimulated the confidence and morale of the entire troops.