Go East! Eastward
After Guo Cun's victory in defending the battle, the problem he faced was how to solve the problem of northern Jiangsu. Comrade Chen Yi sent a telegram to the Central Committee on July 5, the Headquarters of the New Fourth Army, and the Central Plains Bureau: "The attack of the two Li has been repelled, and an armistice is demanded. Our opinion: Striking at the enemy, uniting with Li, and Isolating Han are the basic conditions for peace, so that the two Li can be the strength under our leadership and the provincial Han and the two Li will be broken. ”
After Han Deqin failed in his attack on Guocun, he instigated Li Mingyang, who was still in Xinghua City at the time, to give Li Mingyang a special fund for "suppressing the communists," to support a large amount of ammunition, and the Eighty-ninth Army could also dispatch to assist in the battle.
Li Mingyang was undecided: Would he bow down to Han Deloitte's dictates or make peace with the New Fourth Army? The middle forces always have room to drill, and moreover, there were still some contacts between the New Fourth Army and the Front. He decided to rush back to Taizhou overnight to make another decision.
When Li Mingyang returned to Taizhou, he received a letter from Chen Yi and a poem brought by Comrade Zhu Kejing. This poem is "Sending Friends to Taizhou to Negotiate Anti-Japanese Cooperation" in the "Selected Poems of Chen Yi":
Stop Luo asked how the battle intention is?
Words are really sent to the book.
The military order should now behead the horse
What is the wrong way to cry Zhu Yang?
Zhonglian Zhi avoided the East Sea,
Wu Mu was wronged into a passing car.
With the message of the King,
Friction is self-cautioned.
The poem uses the example of chopping horses, warning Li Mingyang that if he continues to fight, he will lose his division and lose his land, and it will be difficult to escape; He also hoped that Li Mingyang would not imitate wandering, such as Yang Zhu cried and returned from a wrong way; Persuade him to learn from Lu Zhonglian to maintain the middle power and not to be like Yue Feimeng who was unjustly killed. Inspired by a series of policies such as the release of captured personnel by our army, the return of some of the captured guns, the abandonment of occupied areas, and the cessation of the attack on Taizhou, Li Mingyang finally got rid of the painful choice and still took the old road of left and right to save himself.
This is the historical background of Guo Cun's post-war efforts to make peace with the two Li Yan and seize the opportunity to move east. Subsequently, our army gave up Guocun, Tangtou, and Yiling, and gave up to the two li along the Wujiaqiao and the thirty-mile old defense zone around the bridge, together with a monthly tax of 50,000 yuan, further consolidating the unity and cooperative relations with the two li.
On July 8, Comrade Su Yu led the Jiangnan Command, the Old Second Regiment, and the New Sixth Regiment to defeat the attack of Gu Zhutong and Leng Xin in the Xitashan area of Jiangnan, and crossed the river north to reach the Wujiaqiao area. In accordance with the instructions of the CPC Central Committee, the Jiangnan Command was changed to the Northern Jiangsu Command, with Chen Yi as the commander and political commissar, Su Yu as the deputy commander (and chief of staff), and Liu Yan and Zhong Zhiguang as the chief and deputy directors of the Political Department. The troops were reorganized into three columns: Ye Fei, commander and political commissar of the First Column, under the jurisdiction of the First Regiment (formerly the Old Sixth Regiment of the New Fourth Army), the Fourth Regiment (formerly the Fourth Regiment of the Ting column), and the Fifth Regiment (wang orange uprising troops); Wang Bicheng, commander of the Second Column, and Liu Peishan, political commissar, under their jurisdiction the 2nd Regiment (formerly the 2nd Regiment of the New Fourth Army), the 6th Regiment (the former Jiangnan New 6th Regiment), and the 9th Regiment (formerly the 2nd Regiment of jiangsu resistance); Tao Yong, commander of the Third Column, and Liu Xiansheng, political commissar, under their jurisdiction the Third Regiment (formerly the Suwan Detachment), the Seventh Regiment (formerly the Second Regiment of the Ting column), and the Eighth Regiment (composed of a company of the Ting column, the Jiangdu guerrillas, and the Suwan detachment). There were more than 7,000 people in total, and although the number was not large, the command was unified and the troops had a new look.
After the main force of Jiangnan went north. The struggle in northern Jiangsu has entered a new stage. Chiang Kai-shek and Han Deloitte will never allow us to establish and develop anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in northern Jiangsu, and there will be a decisive battle between the stubborn and the enemy, and we must make full preparations.
With regard to the question of where our army should establish its base areas as the center, the General Staff Office of the Command Put forward two plans to the north and to the east.
To the north, it is to enter Xinghua in the north and directly pound Han Deloitte's old lair. The reason is that to the north of Guocun is the Han Deloitte area, where Zhang Xingbing's third brigade is stationed, and our army directly counterattacks Zhang Xingbing from Guocun and directly toward Xinghua. However, neither do the leading comrades of our advancing column, nor do the comrades who are familiar with the situation in northern Jiangsu. Although it is certain to eliminate Zhang Xingbing's brigade, Han Deloitte will definitely send troops to fight us, and to the north is a water network area, the wide and deep river channel is as dense as a chessboard, the troops must move by ships, it is difficult to unfold, and it is even more difficult to move back to the encirclement and fight the movement war and the annihilation war, which is not good for our army. Moreover, it soon fought with Han Deloitte's main force, and the preparation for our army, which had just gained an unstable foothold in jiangbei, was not sufficiently prepared. This plan could only be implemented when the Eighth Route Army moved south to the vicinity of Xinghua and laid the foundation of Xinghua, that is, to join the Eighth Route Army. At that time, the troops of the Eighth Route Army going south had only crossed the Longhai Railway, which was too far away and the time was not ripe.
To the east, east to the Yellow Bridge. The reasons are: First, the Yellow Bridge is located in Taizhou and Taixing. Between Rugao and Jingjiang, with the Yellow Bridge as the center, a base area can be established, which can control four counties and develop to Nantong, Haimen, and Qidong; after our army controls this area, it can echo with the Jiangnan troops, control the Yangtze River passage, threaten the Japanese Kou, and cut off Han Deloitte's contact with Jiangnan Lengxin. Second, the Fourth Security Brigade of He Keqian's department, which was entrenched in the Huangqiao area, was a bandit and miscellaneous army, which belonged to Han Deloitte in structure and was actually independent as king. The Ministry has always colluded with the enemy and the hypocrites, rampantly opposed communism, especially the people in the Huangqiao area, who have made harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, kidnapped tickets and extorted money, and done all kinds of evil deeds, and the people hate them to the bone. Some officers gambled red-eyed and used grenades pulled out strings to pawn pawn shops for silver dollars. A regimental commander was invited to a banquet by the local seven gentry, but the regimental commander's horse abandoned him and went into the back room and raped the gentry's daughter. If this contingent is wiped out, the people of several counties and the gentry will clap their hands and applaud. If we knew that our army was advancing eastward, we would certainly send someone to urge it. Third, the Huangqiao area was the place where the Red Fourteenth Army was established during the peasant revolt, and the revolutionary influence was relatively large; In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Shanghai Party sent people to carry out activities, set up working committees and county party committees, and developed the Party's peripheral organization, the Anti-Japanese Youth Nation-Building League, and the mass base was very good. In addition, opening up the Yellow Bridge, Han Deloitte may not fully support he is because He Keqian is a wild horse he hates; After our army establishes the Huangqiao base area, he will certainly not be able to sit idly by; if he attacks from afar, while Li Mingyang watches the fire across the river, our army will have a relatively ideal battlefield and can carry out a smooth decisive battle.
Compared with the above northbound and eastbound cases, of course, there is no argument that the eastward yellow bridge is the best.
Comrade Chen Yi relayed this determination to the Central Committee and Comrade Zhou Enlai of Chongqing on July 14: "Decided to rectify for a week and advance to the east" to establish base areas in Taixing Jingjiang, Rugao, and Nantong, with Huangqiao as the center. ”
Therefore, the New Fourth Army of Northern Jiangsu sang the resounding song of "Eastward, Eastward, We are the Iron New Fourth Army."
Hufu scheme
On July 20, 1940, Hu Fu and Comrade Deng Zihui jointly telephoned Chen Yi and reported to Zhu (De), Mao (Zedong), and Wang (Jiaxiang) and sent a message to Peng, Xiang, Ye, and Huang. Northern Jiangsu must be taken to establish a general consolidated base area for the whole of China.
Comrade Shaoqi put forward his opinions on the next step of the battle plan, and these opinions were very bold and thoughtful in terms of military and political victories, but they were very different from Comrade Chen Yi's plans in terms of struggle tactics, development methods, and campaign organization.
Comrade Shao qi's plan was: Chen Yi's troops would not go to the Yellow Bridge for the time being, and when they were in the same place "to let Han and Li concentrate their troops from the northeast" to attack us, our army "waited for work and waited in a strict position, and it was best that I not make a major attack within three or five days of his attack, and when I was in the same place, I should be prepared to hold out independently for two weeks to a month." In order to prove to the national public opinion and the masses in northern Jiangsu politically that "provoking oneself and opening one's own way." Militarily, they waited for the arrival of powerful reinforcements and fought a decisive battle together. Comrade Shaoqi is ready to organize the troops of the Eighth Route Army to the south and the fourth and fifth detachments of the New Fourth Army to make a large-scale relocation of hundreds of miles, "in order to defeat the main force of Han and Li in Dongtai and its south", "drive out Han Deloitte, and preferably Li Mingyang will also drive away at the same time." ”
It is conceivable that such a decisive battle, on a huge scale, is the development and expansion of the half-tower set defense war, and it is also the development and expansion of the battle after Comrade Shaoqi instructed me to return to northern Jiangsu. If victorious, northern Jiangsu will be included in one fell swoop. If this is the case, the situation in central China can be immediately opened up, and decisive progress can be made in the strategic plan of the Party Central Committee for the development of central China.
The Hufu plan should be said to be completely in line with the line and principles of the central authorities.
After studying, Chen Yi, Su Yu, and other comrades made two crucial decisions on their original operational plan for northern Jiangsu:
First, "independently arrange and develop the work of northern Jiangsu." On the basis of his long-term combat experience and the fact that he could not be rescued during the battle in Guocun, Comrade Chen Yi deeply felt that under the stubborn obstruction of the Japanese and the obstruction of railways, highways, rivers, and lakes, he should not take reinforcements from afar as the basis for campaign deployment, but should "actively prepare to solve the decisive battle tasks alone" and "take independent combat as the principle." This does not imply the adoption of the method of "fighting to the end in one go", but rather "consolidating development to a limited extent and in a step-by-step manner" and "adopting a posture of gradual leap forward".
Second, unite to win the two lees. Hu Fu's plan was obviously based on the siege of Guo Cun and Li, and the two Li would cooperate with Han Deloitte to attack me. Therefore, when "Han and Li concentrated their troops from the northeast" attacked us, They also drove Li Mingyang away at the same time. However, after the battle of Guocun, after a series of work, the possibility of two Li and Han Deloitte cooperating to attack us has been eliminated, and It is impossible for Han Deloitte to cross the two Li defense areas to attack me. Therefore, Comrade Chen Yi sent a secret telegram saying: "As long as we strive for the Fa in the future, the two Li li have the means to be neutral and can strive for further progress." At the same time, the middle elements of The Korean Ministry are more inclined to us. ”
The facts are clear that this is not a divergence of course and strategic approach. Any specific campaign or battle may have a variety of plans, of course, there are the best solutions, and the victory of the implementation of the best plan does not mean that other plans are undesirable or wrong.
On July 23, the Northern Jiangsu Command maintained the original proposal and sent a telegram to the Central Committee, the New Fourth Army Headquarters, and the Central Plains Bureau, and began to march east into The Yellow Bridge.
Rooted in the Yellow Bridge
The troops rested for a week in the Yangtai area, reorganized the troops in Tangtou, and held a mobilization meeting for cadres at and above the company level in a landlord's garden. Comrade Chen Yi made a mobilization report, and he said passionately and generously: Our current eastward march is a shipwreck, a battle against the water, and we must strive for victory. If you fail, you have to go down the Yangtze River to drink water; Only when victory is won can the situation in northern Jiangsu be opened. With the utmost determination, we must defeat the enemy. At that time, the situation was indeed very dangerous, with 7,000 people facing the enemy and 100,000 stubborn troops, and Yiling and Tangtou handed over to two Li, and they could not return to the west at all.
At that time, not only did Yiling, Tangtou, and Guocun hand over to the two Li, but later the old defense areas of the bridge and Wujiaqiao were given to the two Li to take over. The monthly tax revenue of this region is 50,000 yuan. Just as some people think that the two Li are centrist factions, that they can only unite and cannot struggle, and that they cannot fight back when they come to the door, otherwise they will beat the centrists away, and there is also a one-sided belief that General Manager Chen always suffers losses by engaging in the united front. This latter kind of one-sidedness is mainly short-sightedness, and it is impossible to see "giving real benefits to the centrists", which is exchanged for a smooth eastward advance, and it also lays the foundation for the security brigades to send representatives to contact each other in the future.
On 25 July, when our army passed through the two Li defense zones of Si Xiangkou and Miao Wan on the kou (shore) Tai (Xing) line, Li Jun gave way as promised and fired his gun into the sky to cover Han Deloitte's eyes and ears.
Han Deqin received a report from He Keqian of the Baosi Brigade: "The New Fourth Army invaded the east from Xuanjiabao, and Zhang Gongren's troops had withdrawn." Han Deqin personally called Li Mingyang and asked if there was a large-scale eastward advance of the New Fourth Army? How many people are there? Why not add a barrier? Li Mingyang replied: In this matter, fierce fighting is taking place in the Miao Wan area, and it is reported that the New Fourth Army has suffered heavy casualties and detoured to the east. The industry requested that the "deputy general seat" be replenished with ammunition.
Han Deqin never expected that our army would abandon the vested areas and move east with the whole division, so he ordered The Fourth Brigade of He Keqianbao to attack north from The Yellow Bridge and the area south of it, and at the same time ordered the Chen Taiyun Taxation Police Corps to go south from Qutang to the area of Beixin Street, in a vain attempt to attack from the north and south to destroy our army in the movement.
Our army decided to adopt different countermeasures against He Keqian and Chen Taiyun. The purpose of punishing Chen Taiyun was to warn him not to follow Han Deloitte to create friction and fight a civil war, but to unite against Japan; He Keqian was annihilated. The second column was then used as the left road to support the flanks; The third column detoured, cutting off the enemy's retreat; The first column was on the right side, taking the Yellow Bridge directly.
When our second column reached the south of Beixin Street, Chen Taiyun's department had already entered the area of Xuejia'an and Beixin Street. The command headquarters ordered the second column to turn around and move north, defeating chen Taiyun's two regiments and annihilating one of its multiple battalions. After the war, we repatriated prisoners and voluntarily returned some guns. Chen Taiyun was overjoyed. This Chen Taiyun, who had just been rescued from House Arrest in Xinghua by Comrade Huang Yifeng, a member of the Sulu Theater Design Committee of the Kuomintang Field Party and Government Committee and a veteran Communist Party member of the Northern Expedition era, was "ordered to use troops." As far as our army is concerned, Chen Taiyun is stationed in Qutang, north of the Yellow Bridge, which is just as a buffer zone between him and the province and South Korea, so that our army can concentrate all its efforts on annihilating He Keqian's troops.
He Keqian didn't know whether to kill or die, it was you who came to beat me, and I was famous. The Second Column attacked Jiang Duo, Guxi, and Yingxi north of the Yellow Bridge; The three columns moved back, attacked the moving scriptures, and cut off He Keqian's retreat; Our column directly attacked the town and the area south of it after fierce fighting on July 28 and one night, and the units successfully completed their tasks. Our army liberated Huangqiao in the early morning of the 29th. In this battle, more than 2,000 people of He Keqian's main force were annihilated, and more than 400 people of the HeBu Special Service Regiment revolted under the leadership of Comrade Chen Zongbao and were organized into the first regiment of the New Fourth Brigade.
After a short rest in Huangqiao Town, the troops entered the Rugao and Ruxi areas.
One regiment took advantage of the victory to conquer the Japanese stronghold of Xilai'an Town northeast of the Jingjiang River, and the fourth regiment conquered the puppet army stronghold of Gushan Mountain. Actively prepare to counter the battlefield of the Japanese puppet army's "sweeping" and anti-stubborn army friction, as well as the work of creating base areas. The enemy scattered from the Yellow Bridge spread to the countryside for evil, disturbed the social order in the countryside, scattered the regiments to attack, captured a lot of guns, and the people were able to live and produce in peace.
When our army arrived at the Yellow Bridge, the masses along the way welcomed them in the middle of the road, and warmly demanded that our army be stationed for a long time, protect the place, and fight against the Japanese. At the beginning of August, the Huangqiao Joint Military-Civilian Office was established, the administrative work of the four districts around Huangqiao was resumed, and Comrade Chen Tongsheng, deputy director of the Political Department of the First Column, concurrently served as the director, and began to collect taxes and collect grain, solve the problem of troop supply, and smash the Kuomintang's conspiracy to kill us financially and in terms of supplies. In late August, the Tongru Jingtai Provisional Administrative Committee was established, with Comrades Guan Wenwei and Chen Tongsheng serving as the chief and deputy directors respectively. At the same time, four county governments of Taixian, Taixing, Rugao, and Jingjiang were established, and Comrades Hui Yuyu, Chen Tongsheng, Liang Lingguang, and Liu Wanli were appointed as county governors.
In order to speed up the construction of the base areas and prepare for Han Deloitte's offensive, the Northern Jiangsu Command and Military Branch issued a "Directive on the Establishment of the Huangqiao Great Base Area" on August 20, emphatically pointing out: "The current work tasks are to actively purchase the main force, strictly reorganize the troops, work hard for the popular movement, establish the foundation of democratic political power, and be ready to meet the victory of opposing 'sweeping' and anti-friction at any time." Specific guidelines and tasks were put forward for the above-mentioned work. In this way, the construction of the base area centered on the Yellow Bridge was gradually carried out.
The Provisional Administrative Committee promulgated the Anti-Japanese Democratic Governance Program, the "15Th Five-Year Plan" decree and the Organic Law of Mass Organizations. When the slogan of "two five-year rent reduction" was put forward, it caused repercussions in the society of northern Jiangsu. The landlord class listened to the kuomintang reactionaries' slanderous propaganda and feared "communism in disguise" and "chronic revolution"; The broad masses of peasants hoped to carry out the practice of "dividing up the land among local tycoons" during the Red Fourteenth Army, believing that the "rent reduction in the Second Five-Year Plan" would not quench their thirst. On the one hand, we explained the decree on rent reduction to the peasants and landlords and gentry in various ways, and on the other hand, we organized the masses to set up a peasant resistance committee and led the peasants to carry out a campaign to reduce rent and interest.
In order to train military and political cadres, the Military and Political Cadre School in Northern Jiangsu was established, and a large number of knowledgeable young people were absorbed; Training courses for Party members to train and promote new Party members; Published the "Anti-Enemy Newspaper" (Subei Bao); Anti-Japanese mass organizations such as the Anti-Peasants' Association, the Women's Resistance Association, and the Youth Resistance Association were established.
Our army has also been expanded, with more than 1,200 new recruits in August alone. The main force has been expanded, and local armed forces have also been established, with more than 200 guards of the Jingtai Administrative Committee, more than 200 people in Rugao County, more than 100 people in Jingjiang County, 56 people in Taixing County, and 20 or 30 armed organizations in the district.
The base area centered on the Yellow Bridge has begun to take shape at the fastest speed.