In the spring of 1936, the Red Army had already gained a foothold in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Suzhou region, and on May 18, the Red Army began a western expedition to Gansu and Ningxia, and Han Xianchu, then the commander of the 78th Division, led his army to act alone on the North Road, and Han Xianchu at this time already had the ability to act alone.
On May 20, when Han Xianchu led his troops to Dingbian City, he reconnoitred and learned that there was a cavalry battalion of the Kuomintang Ma Hongkui's troops guarding the city, and Han Xianchu immediately rushed to the 232nd Regiment of the vanguard force, and found that the enemy troops in the city also found the Red Army troops, but the enemy neither attacked nor fled.
Han Xianchu wondered about this, so he discussed countermeasures with Wang Derong, the commander of the 232nd Regiment, and Liu Maogong, the political commissar, that the enemy only had 1 battalion, and it was a pity that the fat in front of him did not eat, but why did the enemy not react to the Red Army?
Liu Maogong, political commissar of the regiment, analyzed that the enemy stationed in the isolated city did not dare to act without authorization; on the one hand, he was afraid of being surrounded and annihilated by the Red Army, and on the other hand, he did not dare to flee, for fear that he would not be able to make a mistake when he returned, and it was estimated that the enemy was now burning high incense and praying that the Red Army would leave from Dingbian City as soon as possible.
Han Xianchu said: "The analysis is right"! Then he added: "Although the walls of Dingbian City are strong, they are not high, and the ladder can be climbed, and it is completely certain to destroy the enemy!" ”
Then Han Xianchu took them to inspect the terrain in the surrounding area, made a plan to lay down the border city, and immediately sent a telegram to the boss and the headquarters of the Red 15th Army, and without waiting for the telegram to reply, Han Xianchu ordered the 233rd Regiment and the 234th Regiment to quickly follow up, and rushed to DingbianCheng at 4 p.m. to prepare for the battle.
Soon after the order was issued, the boss called back and instructed: "Ignore the edge and continue to detour." "It turned out that I was always afraid that the border city would not be able to attack for a long time, which would affect the entire operation, and for unplanned battles, I was not completely sure that I would try not to fight."
After receiving the order, Han Xianchu hesitated, and if he fought, he would disobey the order, and it would be a pity not to fight, not to mention that even if he did not fight now, he might pay a greater price for capturing The border city in the future, weighing the pros and cons, and considering the order after Han Xianchu ordered: "Fight!"
In the end, under the command of Han Xianchu, the red army fighters completely annihilated a cavalry battalion of the defenders through heroic fighting, captured more than 350 people, and captured more than 180 warhorses.
Dare to disobey the boss's orders, Han Xianchu is really bold, someone once asked Xu Shiyou, who he admired the most among the many generals, Xu Shiyou replied: "Han Xianchu! And asked why? Answer: "He has courage and strategy!" It seems that Han Xianchu's boldness is based on courage and strategy.
Later, whether in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression or the War of Liberation, Han Xianchu made many military achievements, especially during the Liberation War, Han Xianchu served as the commander of the 3rd Column of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, he led the 3rd Column to surround Faku, fight Zhangwu, and captured the enemy commander Chen Linda alive.
Becoming a famous "whirlwind commander" on the battlefield in the northeast, Wei Lihuang took over Chen Cheng's position in the northeast and once commented: "Han Xianchu is a tiger general, and his movements are as fast as a whirlwind. In 1955, Han Xianchu conferred the title of general, and together with Xu Shiyou, he was called two "bold generals".