Du Yuming
Zheng made a name for himself as a capable commander, defeating forces of the technologically and logistically superior Imperial Japanese Army in several engagements in Yunnan, Burma, Northern China, and Manchuria. In Yunnan, Zhang was considered popular with his troops, and many of the soldiers recruited and trained there would remain with him throughout the remainder of his campaigns with the Kuomintang. It is during this time that Zheng came under the command of General Du Yuming, and himself gained a degree of notoriety inside China.