In late March 1947, the 3rd, 8th, and 10th Columns of the East China Field Army captured the enemy-held city of Tai'an in Shandong, and completely annihilated the headquarters of the 72nd Division and two brigades of the Reorganized 72nd Division of the Chiang Kai-shek Army.
In this battle, our army not only annihilated a large number of enemies, but also captured a considerable amount of booty, in addition to a large number of weapons and ammunition, as well as a large number of Chuanma horses.
These Sichuan horses are popular among the PLA troops because they are carefully trained, easy to maneuver, and they walk very smoothly.
Untrained horses are particularly uncomfortable to climb up the trail. But these Sichuan horses know how to use the "zigzag" shape when going up and down the mountain, which is safe and stable, and people ride very comfortably on them.
One day in April, the 24th Division of the 8th Column received an order from its superiors to move to the Mengyin area, and at the end of the line was the headquarters of the 24th Division.
At that time, Liu Jianguo, the chief of the 24th Division's security section (who became the founding colonel in 1955), rode a Sichuan horse captured in the Battle of Tai'an for the night, which led to an adventure.
Since the time of the march was not urgent, and because it was a night march, the whole procession walked unhurriedly and slowly, and the horses walked very smoothly.
Although Liu Jianguo is riding a Sichuan horse for the first time, he feels very comfortable, like sitting in a fishing boat.
Due to the days of marching and fighting, all the officers and men of the division were exhausted, and Liu Jianguo was no exception. Coupled with the fact that the march on a Sichuan horse was particularly smooth, Liu Jianguo unconsciously fell asleep on horseback as he walked.
I don't know how long later, Liu Jianguo suddenly woke up from his sleep, and only then did he realize that he had just fallen asleep in a daze.
He looked down, the horse also stayed still, it turned out that after Liu Jianguo fell asleep, the horse was also tired, and he stopped in a depression and began to sleep.
At this time, there was no light in the sky, and all around was pitch black, Liu Jianguo tried his best to find the big troops, but there was no one around, and the big troops had long disappeared, leaving only the lonely Liu Jianguo and the Sichuan horse.
This unexpected situation in front of him made Liu Jianguo break out in a cold sweat!
When this black light was blinded, it was completely impossible to distinguish the direction, where did he go alone to find the large troops?
What's more, there are still quite a few Chiang Kai-shek troops hiding in this area, what if they encounter the enemy?
Liu Jianguo thought left and right, but he couldn't think of how to get out of the predicament in front of him. In the end, he simply crossed his heart and decided to continue to ride the horse, let the horse go forward on its own, maybe with his keen sense of smell, maybe he could keep up with the large army!
However, Liu Jianguo was completely clueless about this idea in his heart, and could only try it in the absence of other methods.
He rode on his horse for about half an hour, when he suddenly heard a slightly noisy voice of people and horses in front of him, and it seemed that there were troops in front of him. This Sichuan horse was also very spiritual and did not hesitate to follow the sound.
Is it friend or foe in front? Liu Jianguo is completely confused, but what else to do in this situation? You can only go up and see what is going on.
Ma Had just taken dozens of steps, when he suddenly heard a broken drink coming from the front: "What person?" Which unit?! ”
It seemed that he was the sentry of the front unit, and Liu Jianguo got off his horse nervously, walked up to the sentry, and said, "I am from the 24th Division, which unit are you from?" ”
"How did the 24th Division get here?" The sentry asked incomprehensibly, "Almost arrested you as an enemy sentry!" ”
Hearing these words, proving that this unit is not the enemy, Liu Jianguo's hanging heart finally let go.
"It's too dark to see the road, I... I accidentally fell behind..." He was embarrassed to say what he was asleep about.
"I don't care what your reason is, don't run around until you figure out your true identity!" Follow me and I'll take you to meet someone! ”
This sentry was quite vigilant, he did not reveal which unit he was, and directly "escorted" Liu Jianguo to a chief.
Liu Jianguo fixed his eyes on the light emitted by the torches in the ranks, and couldn't help but be overjoyed, it turned out that the chief in front of him knew himself, he was Bao Qichen, director of the political (governance) department of the 8th Column and 22nd Division.
However, at this time, Liu Jianguo felt very embarrassed, because just two months ago, Liu Jianguo had led the 24th Division's Security Section and The Guard Company to intercept the supplies of the 22nd Division, and it was Director Bao Qichen (who was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955 and promoted to major general in 1961).
However, due to the urgent military situation of the 24th Division at that time, the 22nd Division had to give up the supply, and Liu Jianguo and others were also in a hurry, and they did not have time to apologize and thank Director Bao.
Without waiting for Liu Jianguo to speak, Bao Qichen did open his mouth first, and he asked with a smile: "My Chief Liu, what is the matter with you?" How did a man come to our 24th Division? ”
Liu Jianguo was embarrassed to tell him about his sleep and lost, so he said in a broken voice: "Marching at night, my horse does not know what to do, doze off, and fall behind." ”
Bao Qichen didn't believe it at all, and then asked, "What kind of thing is there—if you are not asleep, how can a horse fall asleep?" ”
This sentence poked at Liu Jianguo's sore spot, and he opened his mouth for a moment and could not answer at all.
Bao Qichen was no longer entangled, and his words turned sharply, and he said in a very serious tone: "Why can you, the chief of the security section, be so paralyzed?" This area is full of enemy troops, you are good, the black light is blind, the horse is reined, fortunately bumped into your own people, in case it falls into the hands of the enemy, see what you do! ”
He did not wait for Liu Jianguo to reply, nor did he pursue the last interception of supplies, but ordered the guards around him: "Immediately go to find two cavalry communicators and send Liu Section Chief to the camp of the 24th Division!" ”
Liu Jianguolian claimed thanks, and then followed the two cavalry messengers called by the guards.
After only about an hour, the three men caught up with the large force of the 24th Division. When Liu Jianguo returned to the division headquarters to report, everyone did not know that he had fallen behind, and thought that he had gone on some mission before.
Although this marching adventure was thrilling, Liu Jianguo still sighed many years later: If he was unlucky at that time and encountered the enemy's team, he would be in danger of "moving" his head if he did not do it!
It was also from that day that Liu Jianguo learned his lesson and no longer dared to be careless. In his ensuing career, he was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955 and promoted to the rank of colonel in 1964. In 1988, he was awarded the Medal of Merit for Independence of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.