Chen Xianrui’s military career

On December 8, 1934, Chen Xianrui entered southern Shaanxi for the first time. He arrived at the Sanyaosi of Luonan County through the Tiezhuoguan on the border of Henan and Shaanxi, and then went deep into the hinterland of Shangluo. At that time, Chen Xianrui served as the director of the political office in the 223rd Regiment of the 25th Red Army and concurrently served as the political commissar of the third battalion of the regiment. In late December 1934, the troops arrived at Jiujia Bay in Shanyang County. Following the instructions of the military political commissar Wu Huanxian, Chen Xianrui led 60 or 70 people from the seventh company of the third battalion of the regiment to Yunxi, Shanyang and Zhen'an on the border of Hubei and Shaanxi. , Xunyang and other places to mobilize and organize the masses to create new revolutionary bases. The seventh company was renamed "E-Shaanxi Guerrilla Division" to the outside world, and Chen Xianrui was appointed commander of the guerrilla division. From then on, Chen Xianrui left the main force of the Red Army and carried out local work independently. He quickly gained a foothold and opened up a new struggle situation.

After the 25th Red Army captured Zhen'an County on January 9, 1935, they took advantage of the victory to establish a revolutionary base in the border areas of Hubei and Shaanxi, established a number of district, township and village Soviet regimes, and developed and Strengthened local armed forces. In late February, the Hubei-Shaanxi Special Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Hubei-Shaanxi Guerrilla General Headquarters were formally established. Guo Shushen was the secretary of the special committee (later Zheng Weisan), and Chen Xianrui was the commander of the Guerrilla General Headquarters. At this time, the headquarters had jurisdiction over the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th guerrilla divisions and the headquarters combat battalion (expanded from the 7th company), and the local armed forces had grown to more than 2,000 people. In early April, the Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region Soviet Government (administering two counties and seven or eight district-level red political powers) was established at Yuanjiagouikou in Shanyang County. Chen Xianrui was elected as a member of the Hubei Henan and Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. After the victory at Yuanjiagouou, the 25th Red Army left Zhongnan Mountain north on July 13 to threaten Xi'an. On the 16th, the Provincial Party Committee led the 25th Red Army to march westward from Fengyukou in Chang'an County and continue the Long March. At the same time, the Provincial Party Committee wrote twice to Zheng Weisan, Li Longgui, and Chen Xianrui, making specific arrangements and instructions on the actions of the 25th Red Army and the principles and tasks of adhering to the struggle in southern Shaanxi. However, due to various reasons, this Both letters of instructions were lost during delivery. Therefore, Zheng Weisan and others were unable to understand the whereabouts of the 25th Red Army.

After the main force of the 25th Red Army left, the Kuomintang army still used more than 20 regiments to carry out "zonal clearing" of the Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi revolutionary base areas. The struggle situation was extremely severe. Hubei and Shaanxi and Henan and Shaanxi were brutally destroyed by the enemy. The Ninth Route Guerrilla Division rebelled and surrendered to the enemy. The other routes suffered heavy losses. The base area is in danger! At that time, the two special committees of Hubei and Shaanxi and Henan and Shaanxi who stayed in the base area learned from newspapers that the 25th Red Army had moved to Longnan and Longdong, so they held a joint meeting in Liangjiafen, Shangnan County on September 9. Both sides agreed to form the two special committees into the Central Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi Special Committee (also known as the Southern Shaanxi Special Committee) to provide unified leadership and perseverance in the struggle. Zheng Weisan serves as secretary of the special committee. Chen Xianrui, Li Longgui and others are members of the special committee. According to the decision of the Special Committee, the combat battalion of the Hubei-Shaanxi Guerrilla General Headquarters, the Sixth and Seventh Route Guerrilla Divisions and the Shanyang West District Guerrilla Brigade, together with the four guerrilla brigade of the Henan-Shaanxi Guerrilla Division, formed the 74th Division of the Red Army . On October 6, the 74th Red Division was formally established in Nianziping, Shangnan County, with Chen Xianrui as the division commander and Li Longgui as the political commissar. The division has a total of more than 700 soldiers, organized into two battalions, a pistol regiment and a special agent company. After the formation of the Red 74th Division, it independently persisted in the guerrilla war on the borders of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi, consolidating and expanding this hard-won base area.

On December 6, 1935, Chen Xianrui commanded the 74th Red Division to win the first battle at Qingtongguanqikai, annihilating one battalion of the 230th Regiment of the 115th Brigade of the 40th Army of Pang Bingxun, and killing and wounding the enemy battalion commander. There are more than a hundred people below.

After the war, Chen Xianrui promptly gathered the 3rd and 5th Route Guerrilla Divisions to supplement and strengthen the Red 74th Division. On December 26, 1935, the 74th Red Division captured Ningshan County in one fell swoop and wiped out more than 300 people from the enemy security group. Then they captured Foping County and wiped out part of the enemy. At this time, the Special Committee and the 74th Red Division created a new revolutionary base between Ningshan and Foping, established the Ningfo Working Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and established several district and township grassroots political powers and local armed forces. Before the Spring Festival of 1936, when the Second Brigade of the Shaanxi Army Guards attacked from south to north, the 74th Red Division left the Qinling Mountains on New Year's Eve and went straight into Hu County. A prosperous Spring Festival. This action forced the enemies of Xi'an and Baoji to send troops to intercept them in a hurry. However, the Red 74th Division quickly moved into the Qinling Mountains, opened Foping County for the second time, and annihilated a newly formed security force.

In February 1936, when the enemy concentrated more than 10 regiments to launch a siege in the Ningfo area, the Red 74th Division marched westward from Foping, annihilating the Huayang and Jiangkou Town militia groups along the way. They went straight to Shuangshipu (now the county seat of Fengxian County), an important place on the border between Shaanxi and Gansu, and successively annihilated more than 400 people from the local and Huangniupu militia. Then, between Shuangshipu and Huangniupu, they destroyed roads, destroyed bridges, chopped down electric poles, and cut wires, cutting off traffic on the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway for half a month. They also intercepted five enemy vehicles and seized a batch of food and supplies. The 74th Red Division made a long-distance attack on Shuangshipu. Fengxian, Baoji and other places were in emergency one after another. The northwest "bandit suppression" headquarters in Xi'an also had to send planes for reconnaissance for days. This continuous combat operation, together with the Eastern Expedition launched by the Red Army at this time, formed a strategic synergy between the east and west fronts.

On February 28, 1936, when the enemy's 49th Division was following and pursuing them, the Red 74th Division turned around and returned eastward, crossing the snow-covered Taibai Mountain. After more than half a month, After a arduous battle, he broke through the encirclement and interception of four or five enemy regiments, successfully returned to the Ningfo area, and took a short rest at the mouth of the Dongjiang River. At this moment, Cheng Fucai, a former soldier of the 25th Red Army Pistol Regiment, arrived at Dongjiangkou from northern Shaanxi via Guanzhong, delivering important documents such as the "August 1st Declaration" and "The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Current Political Situation and the Party's Tasks" . On March 24, Zheng Weisan wrote a report on the establishment of the Red 74th Division and related situations to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China under his and Chen Xianrui's pseudonyms, and handed it to Cheng Fucai to take to northern Shaanxi. In mid-September 1936, most of the several enemy armies stationed in southern Shaanxi were transferred westward. Judging from these signs, Chen Xianrui estimated that the war on the Shaanxi-Gansu border was urgent. However, he did not know the situation of the Red Second Front Army on the Long March north, which had already occupied Liangdang, Huixian, Kangxian and besieged Fengxian. In order to grasp the situation and cooperate with the action, Chen Xianrui immediately sent a pistol regiment to follow the enemy westward, tracking and conducting reconnaissance while harassing the enemy.

In order to coordinate the war operations on the Shaanxi-Gansu border, Chen Xianrui then led the 74th Red Division to fight in Zhen'an, Shanyang, and Shangnan areas, and then went east to the Henan-Shaanxi border to launch an offensive, passing through Jingzi Pass From Xiping to Jiepai Town, cut off the traffic on the Xijin Highway in one fell swoop to attract and contain the enemy. At that time, Gong Bingfan, the garrison commander of Shang County, was ordered by the Northwest "Suppression General" to restore traffic on the Xijin Highway. He personally led more than a thousand people from the first detachment of his special mobile corps and the Shaanxi Security Team to rush along the highway in cars. . On November 14, the 74th Red Division repelled the attack of Gong Bingfan at Fushui Pass in Shangnan County, killing and wounding nearly a hundred enemies, capturing an enemy lieutenant colonel, and seizing many guns and ammunition. After the war, the 74th Red Division took advantage of the victory and went northward, sweeping through the militia groups in Guanpo, Lancao, Lingyukou, Shijiapo and other places on the Henan-Shaanxi border, and sent out surprise troops from the north to "make trouble in Huashan". The troops made three large circles at the foot of Mount Huashan, and sent a small number of troops to climb Mount Huashan to post slogans and build momentum. The news that "the Red Army is in Huashan" spread like wildfire, causing the enemy to panic everywhere. This unexpectedly successful combat operation effectively coordinated with the victorious rendezvous of the three main Red Army forces and the Battle of the Mountain Castle after the rendezvous. Later, Mao Zedong praised Chen Xianrui: The main force of the Red Army was operating on the western front, and you were in Huashan in the east. The cooperation was good, very good!

After the Xi'an Incident broke out, Zhou Enlai wrote to the Red 74th Division from Xi'an and sent Li Tao, Zhang Guohua, Long Feihu and key radio personnel to find the Red 74th Division. Li Tao conveyed the situation of the Xi'an Incident and the relevant spirit of the Party Central Committee. According to the instructions of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, the Southern Shaanxi Military Commission was established, with Chairman Zheng Weisan and Vice Chairman Li Tao. The 74th Red Division was externally renamed the South Anti-Japanese Army, with its commander Chen Xianrui. At this time, the 74th Red Division was ordered to rush to Tongguan and Lingbao to launch operations to cooperate with the Northeast Army and the Northwest Army to prevent the Kuomintang's "Rebel Army" from attacking Xi'an. On January 22, 1937, the 74th Red Division was ordered to arrive in the Shangxian area and successfully joined forces with the 15th Red Army Corps, which had gone south to fight with friendly forces. Legion leaders Xu Haidong, Cheng Zihua, Wang Shoudao, etc. all spoke highly of the Red 74th Division's independent persistence in the guerrilla war in southern Shaanxi.

At the same time, while negotiating with the Kuomintang about the Red Army garrison area, Chiang Kai-shek proposed that the troops of Xu Haidong and Chen Xianrui must abandon southern Shaanxi and drive to the north of the Wei River. When Mao Zedong decided to evacuate the eastern part of Xuhai from southern Shaanxi, he "insisted that Chen Xianrui's troops should stay in southern Shaanxi" on the grounds that they "are indigenous troops in southern Shaanxi and are unwilling to open to Weibei and cannot force them". After negotiations with Gu Zhutong, the agreement was finally reached. The designation of this garrison area is intended to prevent the recurrence of civil war and to coordinate with the Northern Shaanxi Red Army.

After the 15th Red Army Corps withdrew from southern Shaanxi in early February 1937, the 74th Red Division stationed in Zhen'an, Zhashui and other places around the Spring Festival. Later, due to difficulties in the supply of grain and fodder, they were moved to Dayukou, Chang'an County for garrison training. At this time, the division's three regiments had more than 2,100 soldiers. In August 1937, Chen Xianrui was ordered to lead the 74th Red Division to Sanyuan, where it was reorganized into the rear area of ??the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and later became the Fourth Guard Regiment of the Northwest Left-behind Corps and the Second Regiment of the First Guard Brigade. In October 1944, Chen Xianrui served as deputy commander of the First Guard Brigade. The second regiment of the brigade was ordered to form the Third Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Detachment in Western Henan (administering the seventh and ninth regiments, with Chen Xianrui as commander and political commissar). Together with the fourth detachment, At the same time, they crossed the Yellow River from Jingjia County in Yan'an to the east, then crossed the Yellow River from Luliang via Taiyue to the south of Yuanqu, and advanced into western Henan to develop and expand the anti-Japanese base areas. After arriving in Dengfeng, Yu County, and Linru areas, the Third Detachment was renamed the Third Military Division of the Henan Military Region (detachment and military division), and Chen Xianrui was the commander and political commissar of the Third Military Division.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Third Detachment under Chen Xianrui was reorganized into the Independent Third Brigade of the Central Plains Military Region (still under the jurisdiction of the Seventh and Ninth Regiments), with Chen Xianrui serving as the brigade commander. In February 1946, the Dusan Brigade merged with the 15th Brigade of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, retaining the designation of the 15th Brigade and administering the 43rd, 44th, and 45th Regiments. Brigadier Wang Haishan and political commissar Chen Xianrui. On June 26, when the troops of the Central Plains Military Region split into separate routes to break out of the encirclement, brigade commander Wang Haishan led the 45th Regiment, accompanying the Central Plains Bureau and the leading organs of the military region, and broke through to the border of Shangnan County in southern Shaanxi in mid-July; Political Commissar Chen Xianrui led the 45th Regiment. The 43rd and 44th regiments, following the action of Wang Shusheng's first column (under the first brigade) on the South Road, crossed the Pinghan Road and crossed the Xianghe River to the west, and entered the Wudang Mountain area in northwest Hubei in late July 1946. According to the instruction of "flowering on the spot", the two regiments led by Chen Xianrui launched guerrilla activities in the border areas of Fangxian, Zhushan and Yunxian counties, actively contained and eliminated the enemies, and opened up guerrilla base areas centered on Wudang Mountain on the spot. At this moment, Chen Xianrui was suddenly ordered to lead his troops back north to the Shangluo area and assumed the post of deputy commander and chief of staff of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Military Region. This long-distance transfer was originally agreed upon by Zheng Weisan and Li Xiannian for a simple but sufficient reason: because he had persisted in a two-year guerrilla war in southern Shaanxi, he knew the local situation well, making it easier to lead and carry out the struggle. According to the Central Plains Bureau's telegram, Chen Xianrui led his troops in early September 1946 from Damuchang, north of Fang County, and advanced westward, bypassing Baihe County and crossing the Han River at Lengshuitan. After that, he followed the road he had traveled and quickly headed north through the high mountains on the border of Yunxi. He fought off numerous enemy interceptions along the way, passed through the steep terrain of the First, Second, and Third Gates, and soon entered the Shangluo area.

The Central Plains broke out and troops from all walks of life suffered heavy losses. The two regiments led by Chen Xianrui had more than 1,000 people left in total. The 45th regiment, which broke through to Shangluo earlier, suffered heavier losses along the way. After arriving in Shangluo, the 15th Brigade was renamed the 5th Military Division, with commander Wang Haishan and political commissar Tang Chenggong. At that time, the first, second, third and fourth military divisions of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Military Region had been established successively in August. The 15th Brigade followed the general divisional deployment, that is, entering Zhashui, Ningshan, Foping and other counties, and established the Fifth Military Division in late September. The leading members of the Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Military Region are: Commander Wen Jianwu and Political Commissar Wang Feng (concurrently). After Chen Xianrui took office, in October 1946, he led a company from Caijiachuan and Liuxianping areas east of Luonan and Shang County to guide and help carry out work in the fifth division. This is an extremely difficult long-distance trek. Due to the weak force, it was more difficult than entering Shangluo from Wudang Mountain. The villages, towns and traffic arteries passed along the way were all tightly blocked by the enemy, and they would be pursued and intercepted by the enemy at any time and at any time. He led a company, relying on the familiar terrain and roads, sometimes making detours, sometimes traveling day and night. After more than half a month of running and fighting, he finally arrived in the Ningshan area. Due to the serious enemy situation, the troops of the Fifth Army Division had already moved away and could not be found in time. He then went guerrilla hunting for troops in the border areas of Ningshan, Zhashui, and Zhen'an, trying to get in touch with the division leaders. After more than half a month of hard fighting, he finally found the Fifth Army Division troops in the area west of Shanyang.

In December 1946, the enemy pressed heavily on the territory and the situation became more serious. The main force of the military region, led by Wen Jianwu and Wang Feng, was forced to move to the territory of Lushi in western Henan. In February 1947, with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Party Committee, Military Region and Administrative Office of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Border Region crossed the Yellow River north and headed for Jincheng, Shanxi Province for rest and recuperation.

At the same time, according to the decisions of the district party committee and the military region, Chen Xianrui, together with Han Dongshan, political commissar of the Fourth Military Division, were responsible for gathering and reorganizing the troops belonging to each military division in preparation for crossing the river into Shanxi. After a lot of contact and gathering, more than 2,700 remaining troops from each division were finally gathered together to form the second column of the military region, with Chen Xianrui as the commander and Han Dongshan as the political commissar. The newly formed second column then assembled and set off from western Henan. On March 20, it crossed the Yellow River from Mianchi to the north, then passed through Yangcheng and arrived at Jincheng, where it joined the main force of the military region (i.e. the first column) that had arrived earlier. During the rest of the army, Li Xiannian, Zheng Weisan, Chen Shaomin, etc. came to Jincheng from Yan'an successively, chaired a meeting of leading cadres above the regiment, and summarized the experience and lessons of the Central Plains breakout. Chen Xianrui attended this important meeting. After the meeting, the first and second columns of the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi Military Region were unified into one column, the twelfth column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army. In late July, the Party Committee, Military Region and Administrative Office of Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi Region were immediately abolished. At this point, Chen Xianrui was also transferred from his old army. In July 1947, Chen Xianrui was transferred to deputy commander of the 38th Army of the Northwest Democratic Alliance Army on the order of the Central Military Commission. At that time, the People's Liberation Army was shifting from strategic defense to strategic counter-offensive. At this time, the 38th Army was organized into the Chen (Geng) Xie (Fu Zhi) Group. On the night of August 22, 1947, the 38th Army crossed the Yellow River from Maojin, Pinglu, and successively captured Huixing Town, Zhangmaodian, Guanyintang and other places, cutting off the Longhai Railway transportation line. After conquering Lingbao and Nuxiang (which were merged into Lingbao in 1954), Chen Xianrui was ordered to lead the 17th Division and the 22nd Brigade to pursue the westward enemy along Longhai Road and approach Tongguan. At the same time, it also covered the main force's return to the east and captured Shaanxi County. The 17th Division wiped out one enemy regiment and two battalions in the battle at Cheshanyu on the southern plateau of Tongguan, and then repelled the siege of four enemy regiments in the battle at Yaodizhai.

On September 23, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to Chen Xie: "The 38th Army will be sent to the base of the document to approach Tongguan and make a feint to confuse the enemy; Liu (Jinxuan)'s brigade will be attached to the 38th Army. The first branch of the army immediately marched westward, seizing Luonan, Shangxian, Shangnan, and Shanyang counties, and mobilized the masses to establish base areas." Accordingly, Chen Xianrui led the 17th Division of the 38th Army and the teaching regiment on September 9. On the 24th, they set off from the southern plateau of Tongguan and entered Taiyukou to march towards southern Shaanxi. They passed through Luonan County's Inspection Department, Shijiapo, Jingcun and other places, and arrived at Yecun, Shang County on the 28th. They successfully defeated the 12th Brigade (Liu Jinxuan Brigade) who first arrived at Longjuzhai (today's Danfeng County). Reunion. On the 29th, Chen Xianrui led the 17th Division Commander Zhang Fuzhen, Political Commissar Liang Lisheng, and Operations Section Chief Zhao Shoujie to hold a joint meeting with the 12th Brigade Commander Liu Jinxuan and Political Commissar Li Yao in Shangluo Town. The two sides agreed that the 12th Brigade would be responsible for the area south of Danjiang, move towards Shanyang, Zhen'an and northwest Hubei, and establish the southern Shaanxi base area; the 17th Division would contain the enemy in the area north of Danjiang, cover and support the 12th Brigade Expand to the southern line to ensure the safety of the brigade's flanks, and at the same time command the Southern Shaanxi Independent Regiment (renamed from the 38th Army Teaching Corps) to carry out the struggle on the spot.

The two troops entering southern Shaanxi are equivalent to inserting a knife into the side of Hu Zongnan Group! In this way, it will directly play a strategic containment role, tightly contain the enemy in southern Shaanxi, and better coordinate with the battlefields in northern Shaanxi and the Central Plains. Two days later, the enemy reorganized the 65th Division and launched an attack from Luonan and Shangxian. Due to the serious enemy situation, after capturing Wuguan and Shangnan County, the 12th Brigade was forced to move to the area south of Lu to rest and recuperate before it could deploy to the south. The 17th Division covered the 12th Brigade eastward. To transfer, first stop the enemy at the front line of Yanggang Village and Shangluo Town, then turn northward via the Liangcha River east of Longju Village, and arrive at Lancao, Guanpo and other places west of Lushi, where they will rest and standby. During this period, the 17th Division held an enlarged meeting of the Division Party Committee in Guanpo. At the meeting, Chen Xianrui first conveyed instructions on entering southern Shaanxi and establishing base areas, requiring participants to clearly understand the situation, clarify tasks, build confidence, enhance fighting spirit, and prepare to survive an extremely difficult winter to achieve this glorious strategic mission. He also combined the actual situation in southern Shaanxi and his personal experience of persisting in the struggle in southern Shaanxi to promptly put forward a set of combat principles that combined guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare. He said: If you want to gain a foothold in southern Shaanxi, you must adopt flexible tactics of "circling, detours, taking advantage of loopholes, and inserting stalls" to skillfully deal with powerful enemies, drag them down, consume them, and look for opportunities to annihilate them. Do not fight with powerful enemies. The enemy fights to the death. In order to confuse the enemy, he also asked the troops to constantly change their designations and call them the "Division of the Three Brigades" to the outside world. He used this bluff to make it difficult for the enemy to find out the reality.

After the enemy's reorganized 65th Division was dragged into Shangluo, it squatted like an iron wall on the Longjuzhai and Luonan lines north of Danjiang to prevent our army from entering the area again. . On November 3, the 12th Brigade was ordered to set off from Lushi Wulichuan, and the troops were divided into three groups and entered southern Shaanxi again. In order to cooperate with the 12th Brigade's operations to the south, the 17th Division and the Shaanxi Independent Regiment served as cover on both sides of the Xijing Highway. After the 12th Brigade crossed the road and crossed the Danjiang River, the 17th Division then moved The main force of the enemy's reorganized 65th Division was tightly contained in western Henan. On November 5, the 17th Division was completely surrounded by enemy lines and was in a very critical situation. In order to escape the enemy's encirclement, it was decided to leave the Second Battalion of the 50th Regiment of the Division to cover the transfer of the main force and persist in guerrilla activities behind enemy lines. The main force of the 17th Division passed through Shiziping, Wulichuan, Zhuyangguan and other places south of Lushi, and went straight to the area north of Luanchuan, thereby containing the enemy in the Funiu Mountains. When the enemy reorganized the 65th Division and followed it southward and eastward in pursuit, the 17th Division suddenly turned around and headed northward, arriving at the Zhongshan Town area west of Luoning. Then it marched westward, passing through Chongyang, Guxian, Fanli, etc. Land, regained Lushi County on November 17, and then took a short rest in the Lushi Wenyu area. When the enemy's reorganized 65th Division followed and pursued them again, the 17th Division began to deal with the enemy again and returned to the Guanpo and Lancao areas at the end of November. In this way, we tightly hold the enemy's nose, causing the enemy to run exhausted and fall short at every turn.

After returning to Guanpo and Lancao, the Second Battalion of the 50th Regiment, which had been left to persist in the struggle, was gathered back in time. In mid-December, when the exhausted enemy's main force of the reorganized 65th Division turned west and attempted to encircle the 17th Division again, Chen Xianrui decided to continue "circling" with the enemy to tightly contain the enemy within the territory of western Henan. After more than 10 days of arduous fighting, it was difficult to escape the pursuit and interception of the powerful enemy, so it was decided to leave the first battalion of the 51st Regiment to cover the main operations of the division, and cooperate with the local guerrillas to carry out guerrilla activities behind enemy lines, bluffing, confusing and containing the enemy; The main force of the 17th Division moved westward from Zhuyangguan and other places to the Shangnan area, crossed the Xijing Highway, crossed the Danjiang River, and entered the Zhulinguan area in late December. At this time, the 12th Brigade had already deployed in the area south of Danjiang, conquering cities and territories with overwhelming momentum, and soon opened up a new struggle situation. At the same time, it was determined that the two Yun regions in northwest Hubei would be the central area to create the southern Shaanxi base area. On New Year's Day 1948, the Hubei-Shaanxi Fourth Army Division, which was concurrently served by the 12th Brigade, was established. After nearly two months of hard fighting, the troops of the 17th Division were exhausted and in urgent need of rest and recuperation. After New Year's Day in 1948, the 17th Division relied on the base area established by the 12th Brigade and rested and reorganized its troops in the Longwangmiao area.

In mid-January 1948, the enemy reorganized two regiments of the 65th Division and the Shang County Security Group, aggressively invaded our base area, and occupied Shanyang County on January 18. In order to contain and mobilize the enemy, the 17th Division once again advanced into western Henan and dealt with the enemy on the outside. It was the middle of winter, and the troops braved the wind, snow and severe cold to cross the Danjiang River, cross the Xijing Highway, pass through Wuguan, Luanzhuang, Majiaping and other places, and enter the Lancao and Guanpo areas for the third time. At this time, the 1st Battalion of the 51st Regiment, which was left to persist in guerrilla activities in the area south of Lushi, completed the task of covering the transfer of the main force of the division to the west. After 38 days of hard struggle, it broke through the enemy's encirclement four times and finally Joined the main force of the division on February 1st.

After the troops returned north to Lancao and Guanpo, the enemy reorganized the main force of the 65th Division and the local security team, and followed closely. In order to continue to mobilize and contain the enemy, the 17th Division turned east again on New Year's Eve (February 9). After two or three days of emergency operations, it arrived in the area west of Luanchuan. After the Spring Festival, Pei Changhui, commander of the enemy's 5th Corps, suddenly concentrated the forces of four divisions in western Henan, divided into three lines to encircle the 17th Division, and threatened to "annihilate the 17th Division in Funiu Mountain!" "Due to the huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ours, the 17th Division was completely in trouble, so it was ordered to move closer to the Lushan area. Therefore, the 17th Division turned around from the west of Luanchuan and headed south, crossed Laojun Ridge, and prepared to pass through Xixia, Neixiang, and Nanzhao counties and enter the Lushan area eastward. Unexpectedly, when passing through Taiping Town in Xixia County, they suddenly discovered that a regiment of the enemy's reorganized 65th Division had arrived in the area east of the town and occupied positions to build fortifications in an attempt to encircle the 17th Division there with enemy forces. . The 17th Division's eastward advance was blocked. In desperation, Chen Xianrui and the division leader *** jointly studied and analyzed the enemy's dynamics. They believed that the enemy concentrated four divisions in the hinterland of Funiu Mountain, and there must be an empty space in the rear with opportunities to take advantage of them, so they sent troops quickly They captured two highlands in the southwest and northwest of Taiping Town, started fierce battles with the defending enemies, and quickly occupied the highlands.

After that, the 17th Division turned around from Xixia County and headed westward, heading straight for Heiyan Town along the Inexplicable Ridge. After passing through Heiyan Town, we entered the Guanpo and Lancao areas for the fourth time from Zhuyangguan, Wulichuan, Shuanghuaishu and other places. This flexible combat action finally got rid of the encirclement attack of four enemy divisions. In March 1948, Chen Xianrui was transferred to deputy commander of the Western Henan Military Region and was ordered to lead his troops to carry out the task of suppressing bandits in the western Henan region. He led the 17th Division and other attached troops, and after more than a month of arduous suppression, they basically eliminated the bandit armed forces in western Henan, and connected western Henan and southern Shaanxi.

On May 2, 1948, the 17th Division was ordered to participate in the Battle of Wanxi, cooperating with the brothers' troops to siege Xixiakou, and captured more than 700 enemy soldiers. After the Battle of Wanxi, Chen Xianrui commanded the 17th Division and marched westward. With the cooperation of the Shangluo Army divisional troops, they regained Shangnan County on May 17, 1948, and captured Longju Village again on May 21. At this point, the 17th Division entered the south of southern Shaanxi. After 8 months of arduous battles and a snowy winter, it finally achieved the great strategic task of basing itself in southern Shaanxi "as a wing to seize the great northwest." In May 1948, the 17th Division led by Chen Xianrui formed the Southern Shaanxi Military Region with the 12th Brigade Army in accordance with the Central Plains Bureau's telegram. Chen Xianrui was once again ordered to enter southern Shaanxi. Before the establishment of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region, Commander Chen Geng conveyed the formation plan of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region to Chen Xianrui and asked him to serve as the political commissar of the soon-to-be-established Southern Shaanxi Military Region. The Southern Shaanxi Military Region is composed of two units, each of which must have a leader who serves as the military and political leader. However, Chen Xianrui was unwilling to change his military and political leadership positions, and proposed that he should stick to his old profession and continue to engage in military work. When the Southern Shaanxi Military Region was established on June 7, 1948, Liu Jinxuan was appointed commander, Wang Feng was appointed political commissar, Chen Xianrui was appointed deputy commander, and Li Yao was appointed deputy political commissar. At that time, Chen Xianrui did not take up his post in time. Instead, following the instructions of Commander Chen Geng, he led the 17th Division to conduct a new army reorganization movement in the Jingziguan area for more than two months. In mid-September, he went to Yunyang Shaanxi Military Region to take up the post of deputy commander. At that time, the jurisdiction of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region included the Liangyun area of ??Hubei Province. After 1950, the Liangyun area was assigned to Hubei.

After Chen Xianrui took office, Military Region Commander Liu Jinxuan immediately led two regiments of the 12th Brigade and the 51st Regiment of the 17th Division from Liangyun to the Nanyang area to participate in the Huaihai Campaign. When the main force of the military region participated in the Huaihai Campaign, Chen Xianrui organized and commanded two independent regiments, the 50th Regiment of the 17th Division, the 36th Regiment of the 12th Brigade, and the Liang Yun Army Division, and launched the Junxian Battle in northwest Hubei. , the Battle of Huanglongtan and the Battle of Fangzhu, three battles and three victories, the Communist Party of China wiped out more than 3,000 enemies, recovered and liberated Jun County, Fang County and Zhushan County, and consolidated and expanded the base area.

In March 1949, Liu Jinxuan led the main force of the military region to return to the Jingziguan area. At this time, Comrade Zhang Bangying also arrived in Yunyang and served as the first secretary of the Party Committee of Southern Shaanxi District and the first political commissar of the military region. According to the division of labor among the leading members of the military region, Chen Xianrui is responsible for the work of eradicating bandits, establishing political power, and training cadres. On May 1, when the entire army was reorganizing, the 19th Army was established based on the Southern Shaanxi Military Region (also the Southern Shaanxi Military Region, under the organizational structure of the Central Plains Military Region). Army Commander Liu Jinxuan, First Political Commissar Zhang Bangying, Political Commissar Wang Feng, Deputy Army Commander Chen Xianrui, and Deputy Political Commissar Li Yao. After the formation of the 19th Army, it was placed under the command sequence of the First Northwest Field Army on May 11. The Southern Shaanxi District Party Committee and the Southern Shaanxi Military Region were also under the unified leadership of the Northwest Bureau and the Northwest Military Region.

At the same time, the Central Military Commission telegraphed to Liu and Deng on May 8: "...the First Field Army will begin the campaign to seize Tongguan, Xi'an, Baoji, Hanzhong, Tianshui and Longnan in June. It is hoped that Liu Jinxuan's troops in southern Shaanxi will move towards Hanzhong along the Han River. It is best to take the Hanzhong area directly and cut off Hu Zongnan's escape route to northern Sichuan." Accordingly, the southern Shaanxi Military Region established the "Forward Support Headquarters" on May 16. It was decided that Chen Xianrui, deputy commander of the military region, would concurrently serve as the commander, and Shi Yizhi, director of the Southern Shaanxi Administrative Office, would concurrently serve as the political commissar. After the 19th Army's westward march began, Chen Xianrui devoted all his efforts to front-line support work. He sent a large number of staff to various places in Liangyun and Shangluo to mobilize and organize the masses to support the front line with practical actions. In June, Chen Xianrui traveled from Yunyang to Shangluo to Xi'an, where he reported to the Northwest Bureau and the Northwest Military Region. After the report, Chen Xianrui was left by Commander He Long in the Northwest Military Region to assist in the work. During this period, he participated in the study of the deployment plan for the troops to enter Sichuan and the allocation of the party, government, and military leadership teams in Hanzhong area and other important tasks.

After that, he marched to Hanzhong with the 18th Corps. On December 8, the vanguard of the 18th Corps and the 57th Division of the 19th Army successfully met in Hanzhong. At this time, Chen Xianrui also served as the director of the Hanzhong Military Control Commission.

After Chen Xianrui entered southern Shaanxi for the fourth time, he fought to the final victory on the battlefield in southern Shaanxi and ushered in the dawn of liberation of the entire southern Shaanxi province. As far as Chen Xianrui's experience is concerned, it took him 15 years from the first time he entered Shangluo on December 8, 1934, to the liberation of Hanzhong on December 8, 1949, and he also experienced four arduous campaigns into southern Shaanxi. The four battles into southern Shaanxi took a total of five and a half years.