What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
On November 30, 1948, Du Yuming, deputy commander of the Kuomintang reactionary Xuzhou "Suppression General", led hundreds of thousands of troops of Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, and Sun Yuanliang to abandon Xuzhou and retreat south. After Du Yuming left Xuzhou, he ran south without any concern, and there was still a great possibility that he would escape.
However, just when Du Yuming's retreat had already made Commander-in-Chief Su Yu sick, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly airdropped a handwritten warrant and ordered Du Yuming to stop retreating south and advance east to rescue Huang Wei's corps. Chiang Kai-shek's order bought enough time for HuaYe's pursuit and encirclement.
Du Yuming actually guessed that Chiang Kai-shek might not be able to resist "micro-manipulation", and after leaving Xuzhou, he turned off all communication equipment, which showed that he already had the idea that "he will be outside, and the king's life will not be affected". If this is the case, after receiving Chiang Kai-shek's "Gong Delin Notice", why did Du Yuming not disobey the order?
Many years later, Du Yuming said that he did not have two reasons why he did not "be outside, and the king's life is not affected": First, if "the king's life will be outside, the king's life will not be affected", then the "black cauldron" that failed in the entire Huaihai Campaign must definitely have to be carried by Du Yuming, and Du Yuming felt that he really could not afford to carry it.
Second, Qiu Qingquan resolutely advocated that Du Yuming carry out Chiang Kai-shek's warrant and opposed that "the king's orders will be dispensed with when he is outside." It should be known that the strength of Qiu Qingquan's corps accounted for nearly one-third of Du Yuming's group, and its equipment and quality were also the best, and Qiu Qingquan's command was second only to Du Yuming.
If Du Yuming engages in "general outside, the king's orders will not be affected," Qiu Qingquan will most likely directly revoke Du Yuming's command in the name of Chiang Kai-shek. Because of this, Du Yuming knew very well that the execution of Chiang Kai-shek's warrant would be the end of the total annihilation of the army, but it was still necessary to resolutely carry out it.