In September 1949, just after the Ningxia Campaign ended, Zheng Weishan, the commander of the 63rd Army, pointed to the nose of a subordinate division commander and scolded: "A dignified division commander, you are so unorganized and undisciplined, what do you want to do?" ”
Although he was scolded by the commander, the division commander's face did not show any repentance and self-blame, but said with a very resolute look in his eyes: "Report to the commander, I will write a review when I go back, but I am not wrong!" ”
As soon as the words were poured on a fire, Zheng Weishan continued to scold angrily: "You are a stubborn donkey, if the review is not written deeply enough, I will remove you!" ”
Who is this division commander who has been scolded and stubbornly spoken? What did he do in the Lanzhou Campaign that was disorganized and undisciplined, causing the army commander to be so angry?
The scolded division commander was Cai Changyuan, and the reason for the incident began in 1936, when the remnants of the Red Ninth Army where he was located were ordered to march westward.
At the end of 1936, the Red Ninth Army was ordered to cross the Yellow River west and move to the Hexi Corridor. But it was in this process that they encountered the Ma Jiajun entrenched in the northwest.
At that time, the entire Red Ninth Army was full of more than 1,000 people, and the Ma Jiajun dispatched more than 10,000 troops.
But after all, two fists are hard to beat with four hands, not to mention that in the face of ten times the strength of their own, more than 1,000 people of the Red Ninth Army fought less and less, and in the end, only 300 people broke out of the encirclement.
Such an experience made Cai Changyuan hate Ma Jiajun to the core. Because in the more than two months of breaking through, he witnessed his comrades-in-arms fall under the guns one by one, even if they were dying wounded, the herd of animals did not intend to let go, and a series of torture methods such as skinning, tendon picking, and lighting sky lanterns were even more painful and cruel to the comrades-in-arms.
Therefore, more than ten years later, that is, in 1949, the Shanxi-Jicha Military Region carried out army reorganization and reorganized the 9th Brigade of the Third Column into the 189th Division of the 63rd Army, with Cai Changyuan as the division commander.
Prior to this, Cai Changyuan had been engaged in political work and had no experience in actual combat command. Therefore, this appointment is not a small test for him.
But when Cai Changyuan learned from the commander that he was going to follow the troops to the west and liberate the vast northwest region, his originally apprehensive heart immediately became excited. Because, westward expansion means fighting to the death with the Ma Jiajun, and the day of shame and revenge for his comrades-in-arms has finally come.
On September 16, 1949, in the midst of fierce fighting on the battlefield of Ningxia, Cai Changyuan led the soldiers of the 189th Division to meet a mixed brigade of the Ma Jiajun in the area of Changlebao.
After a day and a night of fierce fighting, more than half of the Ma Jiajun troops were killed and wounded, and they were shocked by the PLA's lifeless fighting style.
Seeing that the enemy was cowering behind the fortifications and did not dare to show his head, Cai Changyuan raised his arms and shouted: "Comrades, it is this enemy who killed our brothers in the Western Expeditionary Army back then. ”
Hearing this, hatred swelled up in the eyes of every PLA soldier. Immediately afterwards, Cai Changyuan roared: "Listen to my orders, all of them put on bayonets, and avenge the dead brothers!" ”
Under the leadership of Cai Changyuan, the soldiers of the 189th Division launched a fierce attack on the enemy position, and they crossed the trenches and walls to fight with the enemy.
According to the recollections of the guards around Cai Changyuan, the division commander rushed to the front at that time, and he was rampaging through the enemy pile with a big knife in his hand, and more than 20 enemies fell under his knife just as I saw with my own eyes.
In this battle, none of the more than 1,100 soldiers of the mixed brigade of the Ma Jiajun survived and were completely annihilated by the 189th Division of our army.
After the Ningxia Campaign ended, Cai Changyuan received a telegram asking him to gather at the military headquarters as soon as possible.
After Cai Changyuan arrived at the military headquarters of the 63rd Army, he was scolded by the army commander Zheng Weishan.
There is no other reason, Cai Changyuan, as the division commander, shoulders the life and death of all the soldiers of the 189th Division, and he actually left the command post without authorization and led the team to charge. What if the troops get caught in an ambush circle? What if Cai Changyuan is injured or dies directly? Who commanded the 189 Division?
Another important reason is that when Cai Changyuan rushed into the enemy's position, many soldiers of the Ma family army had already begun to disarm and surrender, but Cai Changyuan ignored this, regardless of whether he disarmed or not, he would be killed. This is contrary to the policy of our army to give preferential treatment to prisoners.
No matter how the commander reprimanded, Cai Changyuan didn't think that he had done anything wrong, after all, the appearance of his comrades-in-arms being tortured and killed by Ma Jiajun was vivid, and there was only one thing he had to do: that is, to avenge the dead comrades-in-arms in the past.