After the Battle of Menglianggu in the spring of 1947, the enemy who invaded Luzhong collapsed on all fronts. However, Chiang Kai-shek was very unconvinced, and quickly gathered 240,000 people from 32 brigades and launched a large-scale attack on the Yimeng Mountains where Huaye's main force was located on June 25.
Hua Ye decided to use Ye Fei's first column and Tao Yong's fourth column to penetrate deep into Lunan, mobilize the enemy army, and then carry out a north-south attack with Hua Ye's other columns to repel the invading enemy. Who knew that the two battles of Nanma and Linqu were not fought well, and the intention of attacking the north and south was frustrated, so Chiang Kai-shek grabbed the first and fourth columns behind the lonely Lunan enemy and wanted to eat them.
Combining the two columns of Huaye, the enemy's five integrated divisions, followed by three reorganized divisions of the enemy's Ou Zhen Corps, and the two armies of the enemy Feng Zhi'an in the south, adding up, the number of enemies exceeded 200,000; while the combined first column and the fourth column were only 40,000 people. The enemy took 200,000 to 40,000, and the first and fourth columns did not have any reinforcements.
The situation is critical!
Chiang Kai-shek was convinced and declared, "I will personally avenge the 74th Division." "Personally organize the interception.
Ye Fei and Tao Yong were very upset when they found out that they were surrounded by heavy enemy troops.
What to do? The two fell into "great hesitation". Ye Fei recalled this matter 35 years later, saying:
"It was a difficult situation and determination was difficult. Noji Chen Su was also anxious about the situation of our two columns. Chen Su instructed us: 'Take the insertion of Mengshan back into Mengshan to win the return of the eastern division as the course of action.' He conceived many of the schemes for the division, but pointed out: 'In short, it is up to you to deal with the situation by machine, or by the two columns to assemble and act, or to act in two ways, please consider the implementation, and all the machines will be dealt with, so as to achieve victory and transfer. Obviously, the chief of the Noji Division's main tendency is to return to the east, but how to act is up to the commander of the campaign to decide. ”
In other words, the superiors do not have a good way to get out of danger.
Ye Fei said to Tao Yong, "I consider that it is impossible to break through to the north and southwest, and the enemy has heavy troops. To the west was the Jinpu Railway, where the enemy was mobilizing to intercept our army. Only cross the Yi River to the northeast and then jump into the Yimeng Mountains. ”
"But the flash flood broke out, the Yi River soared, and there was no bridge, so there was no way to pass it!" Tao Yong said, "Although the Water of the Yi River rises and falls, it is difficult to retreat for a while. Time is precious, and a momentary difference may lead to the destruction of the entire army. ”
As a result, the two did not decide to settle down for a day and a night.
After much deliberation, Ye Fei and Tao Yong finally decided to break through to southwest Lu—the opposite of their superiors' "eastward return" policy.
Because of this, as long as they rushed out, they could meet the right road corps led by Chen Shiyu and Tang Liang. But the question is how to stand out.
Huaye's two main columns were encircled, which attracted the attention of the Yan'an headquarters and agreed to their plan to break out to the west.
How to break out to the west? Ye Fei decided to adopt the tactic of attacking the west with sound from the east, first showing the form in the east, creating an illusion, and then continuing to move east with a powerful one to lead the enemy to the east, and then the main forces of the first column and the fourth column took the opportunity to go west, distance themselves from the pursuing enemy, and jump out of the encirclement.
To achieve this goal, however, it is necessary to select a strong force to move eastward, one to create a momentum to go east, and the other to be ready to sacrifice oneself.
Who to choose?
Tao Yong proposed that the 10th Division of the Fourth Column should serve.
The 10th Division was the main division of the Fourth Column, and was an old unit that had experienced three years of guerrilla warfare in western Fujian, and its commander was Peng Deqing. With them as cover and attracting the enemy, Ye Fei and Tao Yong were not sure whether they could return.
After all, there are more than 200,000 enemies!
To this end, before parting, Tao Yong specially put a table of wine and rice for Peng Deqing and others, which was a farewell.
At this meal, the crowd ate with great sorrow and excitement that the heroes would never return.
On July 24, the 1st and 4th Columns deliberately moved eastward and engaged the enemy's entire 7th Division and 48th Division, and the battle was very fierce. Chiang Kai-shek immediately concluded: "The communist army will break through to the east!" "Immediately ordered the adjustment of the deployment and the reinforcement of the blockade to the east with heavy troops."
Before it was dark, Peng Deqing commanded the 10th Division to move first to the east and advance towards Yishui. When the enemy saw it, it chased eastwards like a swarm.
At this time, Ye Fei and Tao Yong led the hidden first and fourth columns of the army to quietly set off to the west, and ran faster and faster.
On the evening of the 28th, the first and fourth columns braved the pouring rain and crossed the Jinpu Railway south of Tengxian County. The two columns and the pursuing enemy finally opened up a full day's journey and turned the corner. Ye Fei and Tao Yong breathed a long sigh of relief:
"The strategy of attacking the west has finally come to fruition."
However, their hanging hearts did not let go: Will Peng Deqing's 10th Division be destroyed by the pursuing enemy? Life and death are unpredictable!
Who knows, the battle situation has undergone more surprising changes.
One day after dawn, the enemy suddenly realized that it was only a division of Huaye who was chasing, and he was taken aback and hurriedly reported it. Chiang Kai-shek saw the plan, and even Peng Deqing's division, which was about to cross the river, did not pursue it, and ordered the pursuing army to quickly turn around and pursue Ye Fei and Tao Yong's main forces.
In this way, the 10th Division, which was about to fight a battle against the water, crossed the Yi River smoothly and smoothly, jumped into the Yimeng Mountains intact, and also escaped danger.
The enemy army turned around and chased after the main forces of the first column and the fourth column, but they were already separated by one or two hundred kilometers, and it was not easy to catch up! Ye Fei and Tao Yong led their troops day and night, quickly passing through the Huan River, and on August 1, they met with Chen Tang's army, and the breakthrough was completely successful.
After the war, Tao Yong said: "Usually we surround and annihilate the enemy, but this time it is people who surround and annihilate us." The Ruxi breakthrough was an unprecedented fierce battle fought by the two columns in a harsh environment, and the 10th Division returned intact, except for the help of Old Jiang, Peng Deqing's fu would make a great contribution! ”
Later, Peng Deqing became the commander of the 27th Army of the People's Liberation Army. In the 1970s, Lieutenant General Pi Dingjun saw Peng Deqing in Fuzhou and sighed: "The Central Plains Breakthrough in 1946 and the Lunan Breakthrough in 1947, we all used the strategy of attacking the west from the east, in fact, you used it better, and the losses were much less than mine!" ”