1939, Chen Geng personally took photos of 14-year-old Wang Entian. It was the first time that Wang Entian fought against Japanese soldiers, marking the half-year victory in the army.

The 90-year-old Major General Wang Entian is from Zhoukou, Henan. It was only when he joined the army 1938. Because he could sing opera, he was selected by Chen Geng, then the brigade commander of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army129th Division, to join the "Chen Geng Doll Peking Opera Troupe" and become a member of the Army Art Troupe.

In that photo, Wang Entian's military uniform is different from that of ordinary soldiers at that time in two ways. First, shoes, although they look the same as ordinary sandals, are actually tied with cloth strips because of the lack of rice in the north, and there are some hydrangeas tied with red ropes in front as decoration. The second is the big "hanging pocket" on the clothes. At that time, he was still a child soldier and had put on the clothes of the regiment cadres first.

Wang Entian said that this is a costume specially selected by Chen Geng for the art troupe. "At that time, military-civilian cooperation was advocated, and the art troupe was a window. We had to dress neatly."

Wang Entian recalled that many comrades who fought day and night at that time were about the same age, and some joined the army at the age of 12. Some of these little soldiers are "Little Eighth Route" Rainbow Entian, while others are "Red Kids".

"Hong Haier" climbed over the snow-capped mountains and had excellent combat experience. "At that time, in order to exercise and educate us to adapt to the battlefield quickly, our' Little Eight Road' followed' Hong Haier' to participate in the battle." Wang Entian still remembers his first "teacher" and "Hong Haier" Yue Ruyun: "He is three years older than me, tall and strong, and his back is badly hurt." In wartime, "Hong Haier" charged ahead, and "Xiaobalu" carried "Hong Haier's backpack, repeating the action of" a gunshot, bending over ". When retreating, "Xiaoba Road" will also help lift the legs of the wounded.

1939 February 10, Xiangcheng solid campaign started in Qiu county, Hebei province. This is the first time that Wang Entian fought with Japanese soldiers.

Wang Entian said: "At that time, our weapons were not as good as the Japanese, so it was difficult to fight hard. Chen Geng decided to play an ambush. "

Chen Geng understood the arrogance of the Japanese army, and decided to look for favorable terrain, luring the enemy in depth and annihilating in one fell swoop. Xiangchenggu, located in the plain, was chosen as the ambush site. It's winter, and it looks bare here. There is a dry beach nearly 2000 meters long. The bottom of the beach is two or three feet high from the ground and the terrain is inclined. The nearby sandbars and villages will close the low-lying areas into "pockets".

Chen Geng led a new regiment of the 386th Brigade, a supplementary regiment of the 386th Brigade and a regiment of the 688th Brigade of the 344th Brigade, with a total of more than 5,000 people. After three consecutive days, the Japanese army was finally angered. The Japanese army dispatched eight cars, carrying more than 200 soldiers, dragging four cannons, and more than 50 cavalry attacked Xiangchenggu area.

"When the Japanese army arrived near Xiangchenggu, the cavalry company began to fight to lure the enemy deep, and the desert was dusty." Wang Entian said that the Japanese army was chased by cavalry, the new regiment cut off the Japanese retreat in zhang jia zhuang, and the 688th regiment was responsible for the frontal attack.

"The first Japanese car rushed over and was defeated. I just got off the bus and rushed, but the Eighth Route Army has already held the village. The Japanese army tried to rob the sand hills again and was also suppressed. They can't hide in an open place. " Wang Entian said that the fighting continued until the early morning of the next day. The Eighth Route Army * * * killed more than 250 enemies, captured 8 people alive, seized mountain guns 1 type, infantry guns 1 type, 65,438 mortars, long and short guns 100, and burned 8 Japanese cars.

On the second day of the Battle of Xiangchenggu, the Japanese army dispatched 150 vehicles with more than 2,000 people, which were covered by five planes and launched a large-scale counterattack. As the Eighth Route Army had moved, the Japanese army searched for seven days and finally failed. The battle of Xiangchenggu dealt a heavy blow to the overall "sweeping" plan and arrogance of the Japanese army. This campaign created an excellent example of fighting the enemy in the plain, and was known as "the first battle to kill the enemy in the plain".