Author: Unsentimental
On May 15, 1946, the reorganized 38th Division, which had long been under the influence of our side, under the leadership of Kong Congzhou and others, revolted in Gong County, Henan Province. After that, the rebel troops went through several rounds, got rid of the entanglement of the pursuing soldiers, and entered the Liberated Area of Jinji-Hebei Luyu.
Kong Congzhou after the uprising
Considering the overall situation, the headquarters decided to form the 38th Army of the Northwest Democratic Coalition Army on the basis of the organizational principles of the people's army and on the basis of the rebel forces (Note: This 38th Army was not the 38th Army of the later famous "Long Live army" in Shiye). On September 13 of that year, the 38th Army was officially proclaimed in Handan, the capital of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Liberated Area, with Kong Congzhou as the commander, Wang Feng as the military political commissar, Liu Weicheng and Chen Xianrui as the deputy commanders, Wang Ruzhao as the chief of staff, and Cui Zhongyuan as the director of the political department. The corps consisted of the 17th Division (the 50th and 51st regiments) and the 55th Division (the 163rd and 164th regiments).
This old base of the 38th Army was the main force of Yang Hucheng's Seventeenth Route Army. After receiving the new students, Liu and Deng were not eager to give them combat tasks, but arranged for the army to carry out a long period of reorganization. It was not until May 1947 that the results of the reorganization were tested by regiments, and only when all aspects were qualified could they go to the front.
Soon, the army was placed under the command of Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi's corps, preparing to cross the Yellow River in the south and fight deep into western Henan. In early August 1947, Kong Congzhou went to Yangcheng, the capital of Taiyue District, to attend a meeting of the former committee of the Chen Xie Corps, and only then did he meet Commander Chen Geng for the first time, who had been fascinated for a long time and had many legends.
At that time, Chen Geng had just returned from the Xiaohe Conference in northern Shaanxi and conveyed to his subordinates the strategic principles of the headquarters on directing the war to the Jiang-guan region, deploying the corps to cross the Yellow River in the south, advancing into western Henan, and establishing a new base area in Yushan, Shaanxi, and Hubei.
General Chen Geng
As soon as they met, Chen Geng said humorously: "Old Kong, the chairman said that you are most afraid of others 'eating miscellaneous cards'. This time, he specifically told me not to let me 'eat' your miscellaneous cards! Seeing that Chen Geng was so frank, Kong Congzhou also saw each other with sincerity: "The people's army does not care about miscellaneous cards, only old Jiang is bent on cultivating the concubines, and only then does the non-concubines be regarded as miscellaneous cards." Chen Geng then said, "The chairman asked me to help you more, and the soldiers captured in the future battles and the captured materials should be given priority to replenishing the 38th Army." Hearing this, Kong Congzhou smiled: "Thank you chairman for your concern." ”
During the meeting of the corps' former committee, Chen Geng was very concerned about the situation of the 38th Army, and repeatedly asked Kong Congzhou about the training of the troops, the dynamics of their thinking, and what difficulties still existed in the Nandu operation. Kong Congzhou did not hide it, bluntly saying that the 38th Army lacked experience in field defense and attacking strong points, and it was best to ask the old troops to conduct a performance of attacking strong points, so that the commanders of the 38 Army could observe and study on the spot. Chen Geng immediately agreed and designated the 11th Brigade to be responsible for sending troops to carry out on-site teaching. Kong Congzhou informed cadres at and above the battalion level of the troops to go to observe and observe, and not only to learn the techniques of the old troops, but also to learn the tenacious fighting style and advanced training experience of the old troops, and to conduct discussions in connection with their own combat experience, with a view to raising the command level as soon as possible.
After Chen Xie's corps unexpectedly broke through the natural danger of the Yellow River, it cut off the Longhai Railway, and the main force marched west to launch the Ling (Bao) Shaanxi (County) Campaign. Kong Congzhou led the 38th Army to participate in this campaign. Chen Geng ordered the 17th Division of the army to be attached to the 10th Brigade and adopt a roundabout encirclement tactic to attack Fuxiang, on the one hand threatening Tongguan and on the other hand cutting off the retreat route of the enemies in Shaanzhou and Lingbao. The 55th Division cooperated with the 11th Brigade in attacking Shaanzhou.
Because this was the first time that the 38th Army had undertaken an important combat task since it was transferred to the people's camp, the whole army attached great importance to it. Kong personally ran to the forward position from zhouzhou to check the combat readiness of the battalion and company. Things like this that go deep into the forefront are also often done by Chen Geng. But when he heard that Kong Congzhou had done this, he immediately called him in and gave him a serious criticism: "You are the commander of an army, how can you just leave your command position and run around?" What if I hit a landmine on the road and something goes wrong? Listen, I won't allow you to do that in the future. Kong Congzhou knew in his heart that Chen Geng was doing this for his own good, and he didn't argue anything.
When the Western Henan Military Region was established, the first commander of the military region was Concurrently appointed by Chen Geng, and Kong Congzhou was appointed deputy commander. Later, Chen Geng was busy, and after Li Chengfang acted as the commander of the military region for a period of time, he was handed over to Zeng Xisheng.
Zeng Xisheng was an old qualification, and in 1924 he was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy and participated in the Northern Expedition. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, he resolutely joined the organization during a very severe period of the situation. During the years of armed struggle, he was engaged in military movement work and military intelligence for a long time, and in 1932 he participated in the creation of the Second Bureau, and served as its director for a long time. The chairman spoke highly of Zeng Xisheng and the second bureau he led, saying that without the second bureau, the Long March would be unimaginable. With the second inning, we were like walking at night with a lantern. Vice Chairman Zhou said: Zeng Xisheng was the pioneer of our military's intelligence work. During the All-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zeng Xisheng served as the Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army and the political commissar of the Anhui River Military Region.
On the left is Zeng Xisheng
Such an old revolutionary with outstanding merits is frank and sincere and very respected. However, no one is perfect, and gold is not perfect. Zeng Xisheng was more anxious, prone to tantrums, and scolded his mother as soon as he got excited. Chen Geng, who was familiar with Zeng Xisheng's temper and was accustomed to him casually, very solemnly reminded Zeng Xisheng when he took office: "Old Zeng, we are together, how to scold, it doesn't matter." When the scolding is over, no one remembers revenge. However, Kong Congzhou has just joined the revolutionary camp, and if you have something to say, you can't scold him. ”
After a while, when Chen Geng saw Kong Congzhou again, the first sentence was: "Did Commander Zeng scold you?" When he heard Kong Congzhou tell the truth: "He is very good, he cares about me, and he has never scolded me." Chen Geng was greatly relieved.
Chen Geng and Li Yunlong in the Bright Sword
The 38th Army and the 12th Brigade passed through southern Shaanxi and soon opened up the situation, and many were also captured. Kong Congzhou consulted with political commissar Wang Feng and sent a batch of flour and other materials to the commander of the fourth column, selecting some good ones. But Chen Geng said he would not accept anything, he said, "The column does not want it." The 11th Brigade also had many seizures. The 38th Army is the poorest and has the thinnest family. As I said, all your captured materials are left for your own use and do not have to be handed over. Not only that, Chen Geng was afraid that his subordinates could not withstand Kong Congzhou's "soft and hard bubbles", so he accepted the supplies without him, and also deliberately ran to the column quartermaster office to publicly reiterate this special regulation and let everyone supervise each other.
After this incident reached the 38th Army, the officers and men of the uprising were extremely moved and strengthened the road even more. Later, some cadres of the 38th Army were exchanged to the 4th Column because of the needs of the war situation. Chen Geng's use, transfer, and promotion of them are completely consistent with the cadres of the old troops, and there is no difference between them and their intimacy. As a result, this rebel force is completely integrated with the old army, regardless of each other.
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