In November 1948, Huang Baitao was surrounded by the People's Liberation Army in Nianzhuang, and he was in danger. Chiang Kai-shek was in a hurry and ordered Huang Wei to lead the 12th Corps to the rescue.
However, Huang Weicai ran to Mengcheng and suddenly felt that he had traveled thousands of miles to help, and it was very easy to fall into the encirclement of the People's Liberation Army, so he summoned his generals to make a plan.
Yang Botao, commander of the 18th Army, felt the same way. However, he has always been quick to speak, but this time he was unusual, silent for a long time.
Why did Huang Wei feel that it was extremely dangerous to go here, but Yang Botao did not speak?
It turned out that his heart was very hot.
Why?
Because, this time, Chiang Kai-shek appointed his old superior and iron brother Hu Lian only as the deputy commander-in-chief of the 12th Corps, but instead let the incompetent Huang Wei of Nono be the commander-in-chief, Hu Lian was so angry that he returned to his hometown, and he Yang Botao was very angry and angry in his heart, and he was in a bad mood, so he deliberately became dumb and prepared to watch Huang Wei go to the fire pit.
Yang Botao would fight and perceive the situation, but he deliberately did not speak, in fact, the entire corps was not just a person who understood.
Xiao Rui, chief of staff of Huang Wei's 12th Corps, is also an experienced veteran.
Yang Botao did not speak, he stood up and said: "The future of this corps is treacherous!" ”
Then, Xiao Rui proposed: "We will first base ourselves on Mengcheng, send troops to guerrilla attacks everywhere, and then look for favorable fighters to give the communist army the best strategy." Don't be reckless, let alone move forward. ”
Huang Wei also thought so, so he decided to temporarily garrison Mengcheng.
However, he also reported the plan to stay in Mengcheng to Chiang Kai-shek. After Chiang Kai-shek saw this, he instead strictly ordered him to lead his army to immediately take Su County and open up Xu Beng.
Huang Wei knew that going to Su County was more vicious and less auspicious, but he did not dare to disobey Jiang's strict orders, so he had no choice but to lead his troops to the east. Before leaving, Xiao Rui, chief of staff, whispered to Huang Wei, "Abandon mengcheng's plan?" ”
Huang Wei could only smile bitterly, and it was difficult to say.
Xiao Rui was a very clever person, and seeing that following Huang Wei into the trap was equivalent to sending him to death; so he decided to leave in order to protect himself. The next day, he found Huang Wei and said, "I have worsened my cecalitis, and I am in so much pain that I have to leave to go to Bengbu for medical treatment." ”
As a result, Xiao Rui also followed the example of deputy commander-in-chief Hu Lian, and the tiger escaped and left.
As soon as Xiao Rui left, he left Deputy Chief of Staff Wei Zhenfu as acting chief of staff.
Wei Zhenfu was a close companion of Huang Wei, and when he first came to battle, he could not offer advice, so he followed Commander Huang step by step to a desperate situation.
Yang Botao held the mentality of watching the fire from the other side, and thought that he would command the trump card of the 18th Army and follow Huang Wei's army forward, no matter how to protect himself, there was no problem, but unexpectedly, after the double pile fell into the encirclement of the People's Liberation Army, there was no way to escape, and the whole army was destroyed. Like Huang Wei, he was also a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army.
39 years later, Yang Botao sighed in an interview with a reporter: "We were so angry at that time! If it were Hu Lian, he would never have carried out Chiang Kai-shek's order. How refined Hu Lian is in battle! ”
Then, he added, "If you want to say that you are more refined than Hu Lian, you should count Xiao Rui, the chief of staff." The entire 12th Corps, hundreds of generals, he escaped before the battle alone, did not fall into the encirclement circle (Hu Lian later also entered the encirclement circle), the method can be called 'perfect'. ”
Interestingly, this Xiao Rui was more heavily used by Chiang Kai-shek after escaping the fate of being annihilated in the Battle of Huaihai by relying on his medical treatment.