The Kang Daying Battle Site

The Kang Daying Battle Site

The Kang Daying Battle Site is a classic destination for red tourism.

The Kang Daying Battle Site is located in Min’an Village, Kang Daying Town, Meihekou City, covering an area of approximately 400 square meters. It currently houses the village committee and residential homes.

In 1931, the Kang Daying police station had over 30 armed officers and served as a stronghold for suppressing underground Communist organizations and guerrilla activities. The station chief, He Yongchang, was utterly loyal to the Japanese invaders. To eliminate this thorn in their side, the task of scouting the enemy fell on Liu Zhengru, an underground Communist Party member of the Kang Daying Party branch. At the time, Liu Zhengru’s father and Police Chief He Yongchang had sworn a brotherhood, making He Yongchang Liu’s sworn uncle. Liu Zhengru and his mother lived in two civilian houses right next to the police station, separated only by a wall. He Yongchang was fond of playing chess and often engaged in matches with Liu Zhengru during his free time. Since Liu was already quite familiar with the station, the two even set up wooden ladders on either side of the wall for easy access. Liu would often climb over the wall to play chess with He, rarely using the main gate—this arrangement provided him with convenient opportunities to gather intelligence.

In early July 1934, after receiving the scouting mission, Liu Zhengru became increasingly anxious, losing sleep and appetite, and his frequency of climbing over for chess matches noticeably increased. He not only visited unprompted every night but also insisted on continuing until the game was thoroughly satisfying. Beyond casually extracting information during breaks in their games, he also took advantage of bathroom breaks to carefully observe the terrain, personnel positions, and weapon placements. Before long, he had fully grasped the internal situation of the enemy and even drew a map of the Kang Daying police station. The next day, Liu rose early, and under the cover of pre-dawn darkness, secretly handed the map to the underground courier “Spotted Deer” Zhao Yuxian, who then delivered it to the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces.

On the evening of July 9, 1934, the sky was overcast, the wind strong, and surroundings pitch black. Controlling his excitement, Liu Zhengru finished a game of chess with He Yongchang, then took the opportunity to relieve himself in the yard, quickly placing the prearranged signal items in position. The signal was a long “stick line,” with one end tied to a wooden stick and the other to a copper coin. The stick was planted against the wall, and the coin tossed over to the other side. When the wind blew and the coin swayed gently, the guerrillas knew to scale the wall at that spot for their attack. At midnight, Liu Shanchun, political commissar of the Hailong Guerrilla Unit, led over 90 anti-Japanese fighters in a silent advance into Kang Daying. They split into two groups to operate independently. One group, led by the guerrilla captain, lay in ambush along the road to Hailong County on the southern side of Kang Daying, ready to block any fleeing or reinforcements. The other, led by Liu Shanchun, targeted the police station. They approached from the northwest corner, found the marker, and used a human ladder to scale the wall. Following Liu Zhengru’s detailed map, they swiftly disarmed all officers in the eastern and western barracks who were sound asleep.

The successful night raid on the Kang Daying police station struck a blow to the enemy’s arrogance, boosted the morale of the public in resisting Japan, and created highly favorable conditions for the anti-Japanese movement.

The Kang Daying Victory Memorial Site has not been developed or utilized and has now become a residential area.

Source: Party School of the Meihekou Municipal Committee

Min’an Village: Min’an Village…… More details about Min’an Village++