During the war years, some generals with big tempers and fierce temperaments were difficult to find partners, such as Zhang Aiping and Wang Pingren who refused to make Peng Xuefeng political commissars.
In 1935, after the Red Army crossed the Red River on the fourth day, the troops were greatly reduced. To this end, the Central Military Commission decided to streamline its organs. The Red Third Army led by Peng Dehuai abolished the division and formed four regiments, namely the 10th Regiment, the 11th Regiment, the 12th Regiment, and the 13th Regiment, with the regimental commanders Zhang Zongxun, Deng Guoqing, Xie Song, and Peng Xuefeng.
Zhang Aiping served as the political commissar of the 11th Regiment, and Wang Ping served as the director of the Political Department to assist in the work. During the work of the 11th Regiment, Zhang Aiping partnered with Wang Ping.
After forcibly crossing the Dadu River, Li Ganhui, political commissar of the 13th Regiment, was transferred to the 32nd Army, and organizationally prepared to send Wang Ping as the political commissar. Wang Ping knew that Peng Xuefeng's temper was big, plus Peng Xuefeng had been his old chief for a long time, and if he was transferred to the 13th Regiment as a political commissar, it would be a little difficult for him to handle in his work.
During the Red Army period, the political commissar had a veto power, and Wang Ping, as an old subordinate, knew that Peng Xuefeng's temper and disposition were very strong, and if he issued some inappropriate combat deployments, he would not be able to deal with it. To this end, he resigned from the 13th regiment and recommended Zhang Aiping.
Zhang Aiping also did not want to be the political commissar of the 13th Regiment, he knew that Peng Xuefeng's heroism was strong. And I am also very difficult to talk and do things, which will affect unity and refuse again and again.
Peng Dehuai, who was the commander of the regiment, was a little angry when he saw that Zhang Aiping and Wang Ping did not want to go to the 13th Regiment. He said, "You don't go, I'll have to go." This trick really worked, and Zhang Aiping was forced to obey.
Before that, Peng Xuefeng and Zhang Aiping did not work much together, they were in a legion, and they both knew each other. Under the leadership of the two of them, the 13th Regiment crossed the "Jiajin Mountain" and joined the Red Fourth Front.
By September 1935, the Red Fourth Front army was moving south, and the Red Front Army was reorganized into the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment to the north, the Shaanxi-Gansu Detachment had 3 columns under its jurisdiction, the 3rd Corps was reorganized into the Second Column, the four regiments were reorganized into the 10th Brigade, the 11th Brigade, the 12th Brigade, and the 13th Brigade, zhang Aiping was still the captain of the 13th Brigade, at this time Chen Geng served as the captain of the brigade, and Peng Xuefeng was transferred.
When Zhang Aiping and Peng Xuefeng were partners, there were disputes and cooperation, because there were many similarities between the two of them. Both of them are small intellectuals who love to read, Zhang Aiping likes to write poetry, and Peng Xuefeng wrote 80 family letters to his wife and children in three years, revealing his literati and elegant side and the military temperament of Jinge Iron Horse in the letter.
Both of them also have unruly personalities, such personalities can become friends, but become partners but not for long.
In the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Peng Xuefeng set up a guerrilla detachment of the New Fourth Army in Zhugou, Qishan County, to prepare to open up a base area behind the enemy in eastern Henan. Peng Xuefeng several times hoped that Zhang Aiping, who worked in the Wuhan office of the Eighth Route Army, would come over and assist her in doing united front work.
Subsequently, Zhang Aiping was appointed secretary of the Yuwan Su Provincial Party Committee.
In 1939, the guerrilla detachment of the New Fourth Army had different opinions when studying the issue of development direction. Some people think that it should be developed to the west; some people think that it should be developed to the east of Jinpu Road. Zhang Aiping supported the latter, arguing that many parts east of Jinpu Road were not occupied by the Japanese. The former is a bad change formulated by the central government, and Peng Xuefeng supports the former.
In the end, Zhang Aiping decided to leave Peng Xuefeng and go to northeast Anhui to develop the team, and spent three months to pull up her own team and establish a base area in northeast Anhui, and the Yuwan Su and northern Jiangsu were connected.
Later facts proved that Zhang Aiping's proposition was correct, and Peng Xuefeng later walked maicheng in Luxi. In a later article, Zhang Zhen euphemistically said: Insufficient understanding of work, did not send troops to accompany Aiping, and lost a favorable opportunity.
The two of them went through two brief encounters.
Zhang Aiping formed three detachments of the Fifth Column in northeast Anhui, which was later reorganized into the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army.
After the Anhui Incident, Zhang Aiping's 9th Brigade was reversed with Peng Xuefeng's 10th Brigade, with Peng Xuefeng leading the 9th Brigade in the War of Resistance, while Zhang Aiping served as deputy division commander in the 3rd Division. In 1944, after Peng Xuefeng's death, Zhang Aiping succeeded him as division commander.
The 4th Division was a unit developed by Zhang Aiping and Peng Xuefeng, and made great contributions to the unit's defense against foreign insults during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.