In 1955, Hu Qicai was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, Marshal Luo Ronghuan personally awarded him medals and certificates, Hu Qicai was already in tears when he saw Luo Ronghuan, he saluted Luo Ronghuan with a standard military salute and said: "Hello old chief! The old chief has worked hard! ”
Photograph of Marshal Luo Ronghuan
Luo Ronghuan was very happy when he saw Hu Qicai, and he dusted Hu Qicai's military uniform with his hand and said, "Our Hu Bold of the Four Wilds has now become a founding lieutenant general!" Think about it for so many years, I have indeed been strict with you, but strict is still good, does this not force out a founding lieutenant general? ”
After Hu Qicai heard these words, his emotions became more excited, and he had experienced countless scenes of nine deaths on the battlefield over the years, and Hu Qicai had never cried, but Marshal Luo Ronghuan's words really hit the softest place in Hu Qicai's heart, and his tears began to flow uncontrollably.
Luo Ronghuan was also a little excited and said to Hu Qicai, "Silly boy! Cry what! Today is a happy day, and you are really emotionally rich! I just gave Han Xianchu the title, and this boy also shed tears for me! ”
Hu Qicai said loudly: "I Hu Qicai have today, thank Chairman Mao for his cultivation!" Thank you for the cultivation of Commissar Luo! ”
Before Han Xianchu became the commander of the third column of the Northeast Field Army, he was Hu Qicai's deputy, and many of the hard battles fought by the Northeast Field Army in the northeast at that time were the credit of Hu Qicai, so Luo Ronghuan had great trust in him.
Every time there was a combat mission and a military conference was held, the first thing Luo Ronghuan did when he arrived at the venue was to shout, "What about Hu Qicai?" Where do you sit? There is a battle to fight, you boy slipped up to get the task! ”
When hu qicai's troops were responsible for luring the enemy to go deep and contain the large army under Du Yuming's hands, Hu Qicai was responsible for attracting an enemy 5 times that of himself, and he whispered when leading the combat mission: "There are too many enemies!" This battle is not easy to fight! ”
Luo Ronghuan, who was at the side, heard this and immediately said, "What? Think this battle is not easy to fight? Never mind! I can get other columns on!" ”
Hu Qicai immediately smiled and said, "No! No! My main position, no one wants to take it! No matter how hard the bone is, I'm going to chew it up too! ”
Luo Ronghuan smiled and said, "Hu Qicai! There are wizards! Heavenly things can't overwhelm you Hu Qicai! ”
After Luo Ronghuan said these words, everyone in the venue laughed loudly, and even Lin Biao, who usually did not smile, would smile.
Of course, Hu Qicai is indeed brave and commendable, as long as he goes to the battlefield, like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, he will not give up until he bites all the enemies to death.
Photo of General Hu Qicai
In 1933, Hu Qicai was a battalion commander of the Red Fourth Front, and in the "anti-three-way encirclement and suppression" at that time, Hu Qicai led a battalion of troops to fight against a division of the reactionaries, and in one day Hu Qicai led his troops to repel 18 enemy attacks, and the division commander of this division was called Tian Songyao, who stood on the high ground to observe the battle on the front line, and saw that his troops were defeated and retreated by Hu Qicai, and he could not help but sigh: "The commander on the opposite side is not small!" It's a tough battle! ”
This Tian Songyao led his troops to attack hard for three days, and even the first line of defense arranged by Hu Qicai could not be broken, Chiang Kai-shek was so angry that he directly dismissed him, and Hu Qicai became famous in this battle, Xu Xiangqian praised Hu Qicai and said: "In time, Hu Qicai will become a great instrument!" ”
Xu Xiangqian's vision was precise, when the Northeast Field Army was just established, Hu Qicai served as the commander of the 4th Column, and Han Xianchu was the deputy commander of the 4th Column, and the two partners fought many victorious battles in the early stage.
In the early days of the Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek sent his proud protégé Du Yuming to the northeast to command the overall situation; at that time, the deployment of our army's troops in the northeast had not yet been completed, so Du Yuming did occupy a certain advantage in the initial operations.
Three times down the Jiangnan And four Bao Linjiang directly smashed Du Yuming's key attack on our army, thus ushering in a turning point in our army's war in the northeast, and the time when our army really began to have the ability to launch a large-scale counterattack was precisely earlier that our army won the victory in the Xinkailing Campaign.
The platooning of Hu Qicai in this great war was exemplary, and Chairman Mao personally wrote a long article praising Hu Qicai's performance.
In October 1946, Du Yuming deployed troops to launch a new round of attack on our army, and Du Yuming's strategy in the northeast was: "First the south and then the north, attack the south, and defend the north." "Therefore, the pressure on our army's South Manchuria Military Region was very great, and at that time, the commanders of the South Manchuria Military Region, Xiao Hua, and Hu Qicai's troops were transferred to the South Manchuria Military Region for defense.
In fact, Lin Biao and Xiao Hua both understood in their hearts that although Du Yuming had 600,000 troops under his command, the front line between the two sides was very long at that time, and it was difficult for Du Yuming to launch an all-out offensive, so Du Yuming would first target our army's South Manchuria Military Region.
The enemy was menacing, and Luo Ronghuan personally came to the South Manchuria Military Region to deploy the battle plan, just like the previous battles, Luo Ronghuan once again ordered Hu Qicai's general and ordered him to lead four columns to block the enemy's attack.
This is another battle of less to many, such a vicious battle, Hu Qicai is the best at fighting, Luo Ronghuan's instructions to Hu Qicai are: "As long as you lead your troops to resist the enemy for 10 days, the main force of our army can complete the interspersed division, and even encircle the enemy's three or four divisions!" ”
That is to say, Luo Ronghuan's initial orders to Hu Qicai were to let him contain Du Yuming's main force and win enough time for the deployment of other troops, but then the development of the war surprised everyone, and Hu Qicai defeated Du Yuming with a clever plan, and a blockade battle turned into a counterattack war.
Du Yuming's deployment of this campaign was basically based on the advantages of his troops, and Du Yuming was very confident in his deployment, so he assured Chiang Kai-shek before the battle began: "The principal is assured!" I will definitely take the Liaodong region in a week! ”
Strategic diagram of the Battle of Xinkailing
Obviously, Du Yuming's words are a little too early, and the ending will make him lose face. As mentioned above, Du Yuming's soldiers came in three ways, and briefly summarized Du Yuming's specific deployment:
The enemy on the right was the remnants of the 14th, 22nd, and 184th Divisions of the New Sixth Army, and they attacked Xiuyan, Zhuanghe, and Dagushan.
The enemy in the middle of the road is the 2nd and 25th Divisions of the Fifty-second Army, which are attacking our fourth column along the Shen'an line.
On the left side were the 30th Division of the New First Army, the 91st Brigade of the 71st Army, and the 195th Division of the 52nd Army, who attacked Tonghua, Linjiang, and Ji'an.
There were not many tactics to speak of in this deployment, and Du Yuming used this style of play to fight with his own sufficient troops. At that time, Hu Qicai's fourth column only had three divisions, of which the 10th division of the fourth column was still far away in the Yongling area, that is to say, Hu Qicai had to use two divisions under his command to block Du Yuming's 8 divisions, and from the comparison of troop strength, it could be predicted that this would be a bad battle.
Hu Qi knew that the enemy was menacing, and he did not dare to be a little sluggish, so he immediately summoned the main leaders of the column to a meeting, at that time the political commissar of the fourth column, Peng Jiaqing, deputy political commissar Ouyang Wen, deputy commander Han Xianchu, and chief of staff Li Fuze all came from all over the place, and the battalion-level commanders of the subordinate units were all in place.
Chief of Staff Li Fuze first gave a briefing on the reconnaissance of the enemy's situation, followed by political commissar Peng Jiaqing to explain the background and importance of the entire war, and then everyone had a fierce discussion, Ouyang Wen believed that our army should divide the troops into pieces, disperse the formation to block the enemy's main force, so as to delay the enemy's attack to the greatest extent.
Ouyang Wen's suggestion was approved by most people, but Hu Qicai remained silent and did not express any expression on this proposal, Han Xianchu began to show his military talent very early, and he suggested: "Although the enemy is powerful, but the composition of his troops is mixed, I think we can find the right time to fight a beautiful counterattack and annihilate the enemy first!" ”
Han Xianchu's suggestion was very bold from a tactical point of view, as soon as this remark came out, everyone felt a little risky, but Hu Qicai said with his eyes shining: "A good Han Xianchu!" You boy has an appetite for me! Exactly as I thought! ”
Han Xianchu has always been flexible in his use of troops, and in the future he will thrive in the Northeast Field Army and become a famous "whirlwind commander". Hu Qicai continued, "Han Xianchu's analysis is very correct! Although the enemy is divided into three roads, the left and right roads come out of the New First Army and the New Sixth Army each one division, the others are miscellaneous troops, there is no need to be afraid, but the enemy's two divisions in the middle of the road are elite troops, a little difficult to fight! ”
Hu Qicai's words set a tone for the meeting first, that is, in this battle, our army will deal with the enemy with the situation of counterattack warfare and replace defense with offense.
Political Commissar Peng Jiaqing said, "Old Hu! Do you remember how we dealt with the Japanese army in the Shandong Military Region during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression? Peng Jiaqing's words gave Hu Qicai a hint, and Hu Qicai laughed and said: "Good reminder!" We can choose to attack all the way and annihilate the enemy's vanguard forces with superior forces, which can disrupt the enemy's deployment! ”
However, which division to fight the enemy first became the first thing to be determined at that time, and Han Xianchu boldly said: "The two divisions in the middle of the enemy road are both Kuomintang ace divisions, and my suggestion is to eat these two divisions first!" ”
Hu Qicai smiled and said, "Your Appetite for Han Xianchu is indeed not small!" However, our current total strength is only two divisions, and it is impossible to surround and annihilate two enemy divisions with the strength of two divisions! I think we can first annihilate the enemy's 25th Division in the middle of the road, this unit is all American elders, is Du Yuming's treasure, we will take this 25th Division to open the knife! ”
Deputy Political Commissar Ouyang Wen frowned, he knew the enemy's 25th Division very well, and even this unit was strong in combat, and our army surrounded this division with the strength of two divisions, I am afraid it would be difficult to succeed, he told Hu Qicai his thoughts.
Hu Qicai said mysteriously: "The deputy political commissar is assured!" I already have a brilliant plan in mind! In this battle, our army will certainly be able to annihilate the enemy's 25th Division! ”
Immediately after that, Hu Qi explained the battle plan in detail to the commanders and fighters present, which I summarized into the following three points:
1 regiment of the 11th Division of the 4th Column entered the left road in advance to form a blocking position to block the support of the enemy left road army in the middle road.
The 12th Division of the 4th Column was ordered to form a blocking position on the right side, blocking possible reinforcements from the enemy's right route army, and planning the attack of the main force on the enemy's frontal 25th Division.
The rest of the main forces assembled in the middle of the road, one lured the enemy deeper at the front line, and the rest set up an ambush circle at Xinkailing and launched an attack after the enemy 25th Division entered the ambush circle.
After the meeting, Hu Qicai ordered the troops to immediately prepare to march to the designated position, and the troops cooperated closely and waited for the arrival of the enemy.
The operational goal of our army this time is to completely annihilate the enemy's 25th Division, which is the absolute elite of the Central Army and is known as the "Thousand Mile Colt" support; all the Kuomintang generals who previously served as the commanders of this unit were able to recruit good warriors, and now the commander of the enemy's 25th Division is called Li Zhengyi, who graduated from the Huangpu Ivy Stage and is Du Yuming's confidant who has been carefully cultivating.
Li Zhengyi was originally the brigade commander of the Second Division of the Kuomintang Army, and later he was favored by Du Yuming, and had just been promoted to the commander of the 25th Division before the battle; since the 25th Division was a concubine of the Central Army, and the whole division was full of American equipment, Li Zhengyi was very arrogant after taking office, and did not pay attention to any troops. ”
After everything was ready for our army, a regiment of the 12th Division of the 4th Column took the lead in launching a feint attack from the front of the enemy's 25th Division.
At this time, Li Zhengyi was invincible, he thought that our army retreated because it could not resist his attack, so he ordered the whole army to chase after a regiment of our army, Hu Qicai personally commanded at the front, saw this scene from the telescope, he said happily: "Great! The enemy has been deceived! We had meat to eat! ”
But when Li Zhengyi was halfway through, his chief of staff reminded Li Zhengyi: "Two months ago, our Second Division was caught in their plan to lure the enemy deeper, and almost destroyed the entire army!" I'm afraid Hutch will repeat the trick! ”
Li Zhengyi realized that there was danger, so he ordered the troops to stop the pursuit, and Hu Qicai smiled and said: "I have thought about this question, what if the enemy stops pursuing?" I didn't expect this to really happen, and it seems that I need to go out myself! ”
Hu Qicai immediately rushed to the front line, and sent an additional regiment of troops to continue to turn back and pretend to attack the enemy's 25th Division, Hu Qicai deliberately charged in the front, in order to let the enemy see his presence and attract the enemy to pursue.
Hu Qicai was using himself as bait to induce the enemy to pursue, and several of Li Zhengyi's operational staff officers soon discovered Hu Qicai's figure and immediately reported the situation to Li Zhengyi, who did not dare to make his own decisions, so he called Du Yuming to ask for instructions on the next move.
Du Yuming said loudly on the phone: "Li Zhengyi! Your guts are too small! Our army has 8 divisions and 100,000 troops in this operation, you just have to pursue, even if there is a situation, the second division behind you, several divisions on the left and right roads will support you in time! ”
At this time, Du Yuming was already paralyzed by his own strength, he only wanted to make quick achievements, ignoring the changes in the situation on the battlefield, Li Zhengyi had Du Yuming's military order, and immediately ordered the whole army to pursue our army, and Hu Qicai immediately ordered the troops to retreat.
Li Zhengyi's main force chased all the way to Xinkailing and stepped into the ambush circle set up by Hu Qicai, and the main forces of the two divisions of our army quickly launched an attack from three directions.
Li Zhengyi immediately called Du Yuming for help, and Du Yuming was deceived, at this time Du Yuming could not think of a question: Hu Qicai's men obviously only had two divisions of troops, where did he have the courage to surround one of his ace divisions?
Photo of Du Yuming
Du Yuming immediately ordered all the troops to quickly support Li Zhengyi; our army had already set up a blocking position on the enemy's inevitable road in advance, and the reinforcements of the enemy's three roads were firmly blocked and could not advance one step.
However, in this battle, Hu Qicai did not have many reinforcements because of the shortage of troops, so the two regiments of our army responsible for blocking the enemy fought very fiercely, and Hu Qicai did not dare to delay a little time, and immediately ordered the whole army to launch a general attack on Li Zhengyi's troops.
This great battle lasted for one day and one night, and in the end our army successfully completely annihilated 9,500 men of the enemy's 25th Division and captured the division commander Li Zhengyi alive.
After the great victory in this battle, Du Yuming's previous deployment was completely disrupted by Hu Qicai, and the collapse of the 25th Division made Du Yuming miserable, and he himself was scolded by Chiang Kai-shek to the point of bloodshed.
Hu Qicai completely annihilated the enemy's 25th Division, Luo Ronghuan was furious when he saw the entire battle pass, Luo Ronghuan immediately rushed to the headquarters of the 4th Column and fired a fire, Luo Ronghuan said angrily: "If you Hu Qicai dare to do this next time!" I'll shoot you!" ”
Hu Qicai was confused, he had obviously won the battle, why did Luo Ronghuan want to shoot himself? He said very aggrievedly, "Commissar Luo! Why did you shoot me? Is there any reason for that? ”
Luo Ronghuan said, "You Hu Qi is the commander of the column!" But regardless of their own safety, they use themselves as bait to attract the enemy to pursue, if you have an accident, who should I command this column of people? ”
Hu Qicai smiled and said, "Even if I exchange my Hu Qicai's life for an enemy division, this transaction is not a loss!" ”
Luo Ronghuan said loudly, "Bullshit! Don't say that one of the enemy's divisions, even if it is an enemy army, you Hu Qicai can't be exchanged! ”
Luo Ronghuan reprimanded Hu Qi this time out of the intention of loving and caring for him, and after Luo Ronghuan left, Hu Qicai's eyes were moist.