Before the Outbreak of the Huaihai Campaign, Chiang Kai-shek originally intended to make Bai Chongxi the commander-in-chief of the Nationalist army. However, after consultation with the Gui generals Li Pinxian and Xia Wei, Bai Chongxi thought that the situation on the Huaihai battlefield was dangerous, and it was better not to go, so that not only could he take the opportunity to retaliate against Old Jiang but also give Liu Zhi a favor. Because Bai Chongxi refused to take office, Lao Jiang was forced to push Liu Zhi to the front desk and ask Du Yuming to assist him in command. After the Battle of Huaihai broke out, neither Liu Zhi nor Du Yuming could command the troops, and Qiu Qingquan complained about this: If the old man personally sat in command, who would dare not listen?
When Du Yuming arrived in Xuzhou, Huang Baitao was already surrounded by Huaye. Du Yuming ordered Li Mi's 13th Corps and Qiu Qingquan's 2nd Corps to advance towards the Nianzhuang attack and go all out to relieve Huang Baitao. However, Qiu Qingquan was angry that Huang Baitao had snatched the Qingtian White Sun Medal and the commander of the 7th Corps that should have belonged to him in the Battle of Eastern Henan, so he refused to come to the rescue with all his might. Huang Baitao knew this very well, and on the one hand he ordered the various armies to "prepare to fight independently and fulfill their military duties", and at the same time, he said to his confidential secretary Li Shijie: "Who in the national army is willing to sacrifice themselves to save others from danger?" ”
Li Shijie later recalled that at this moment, Huang Baitao thought of Zhang Lingfu on Meng Lianggu. Du Yuming saw that Qiu Qingquan did not obey the order and deliberately preserved his strength, so he reported the situation to Lao Jiang. Old Jiang personally sent a telegram to Qiu Qingquan: "For the survival of the party and the state, in this move, my brother should carry forward the Huangpu spirit, be loyal to the country, fulfill filial piety for the nation, and make all sacrifices to crush the enemy in front of him, so as to relieve the siege of the Yellow Army." However, Qiu Qingquan was still unmoved, and complained: "Why didn't the old man come by himself?" If he sits in Xuzhou, who dares not to fight? Of course, Xuzhou is dangerous now, so you can also sit at the airport and command! ”
At the end of the Battle of Nianzhuang, Gu Zhutong ordered Huang Baitao to take the initiative to break through to the west and strive to join Qiu Qingquan. Huang Baitao knew that the reinforcements were hopeless, and said to Chen Shizhang, the commander of the 25th Army next to him: "Anyway, it is an end, what to do with the breakthrough?" Send a wolf look to Qiu Qingquan to look happy? It is better to fight one by one in this place, and in the end, if you die, you will also be worthy of the party-state and the president, and ask the Huangpu students to see it, or encourage them to stop plotting in the future and only seek selfish interests. In the unlikely event that the party-state turns a crisis into a safe situation, it is also our contribution. In the end, Huang Baitao could not wait for qiu Qingquan and Li Mi's reinforcements, and in despair, he raised his gun and committed suicide.
After the collapse of Huang Baitao's corps, Huang Wei's corps was again surrounded by Nakano. Du Yuming saw that the general situation was gone, so he suggested to Lao Jiang to abandon Xuzhou and withdraw his troops to the Bengbu area, and Lao Jiang agreed to this suggestion. However, when Du Yuming's group reached Mengji, the 45th Division of the Second Corps was surrounded by HuaYe. After receiving a telegram from Guo Jiqian, the commander of the division, Qiu Qingquan immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and sent the 72nd Army back to rescue the 45th Division.
Du Yuming thought that Qiu Qingquan's move was inappropriate, and the 45th Division was originally the rear of the Second Corps, responsible for covering the transfer of the main force of the corps. Now it was time to lose his bodyguard, so he ordered Qiu Qingquan to abandon the 45th Division and continue to retreat south. But Qiu Qingquan did not listen at all, insisting that the 72nd Army turn back to rescue the 45th Division, delaying the precious retreat opportunity. Qiu Qingquan was once Du Yuming's subordinate, but with the favor of Old Jiang, he did not listen to dispatches on the battlefield, and Du Yuming could not do anything with him. For Liu Zhi, who had low military ability, Qiu Qingquan even looked down on him, and naturally he would not listen to his command.
In addition to Qiu Qingquan, the commander of the 13th Corps, Li Mi, did not pay attention to Du Yuming and Liu Zhi. After Du Yuming's group retreated from Xuzhou, Li Mi's corps took on the post of empress. Du Yuming ordered Li Mi to retreat on December 1, but Li Mi, in order to preserve his strength, ordered his troops to withdraw early on November 30. As a result, the corps that was supposed to be in charge of the task behind the palace suddenly ran to the front of several other corps and became the vanguard of escape. In order to prevent Du Yuming from finding himself, Li Mi also took the initiative to cut off all contact with Du Yuming.
Li Mi, a huangpu fourth-term student, dared not listen to Du Yuming's orders, and others could imagine it. The reason why Bai Chongxi was unwilling to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Nationalist army in the Huaihai Campaign, in addition to the overall unfavorable situation of the Nationalist army at that time, a big reason was that he was worried about commanding the arrogant generals of the Huangpu department. Although Du Yuming was capable, Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi and others did not listen to the command, and many tactical ideas could not be implemented. Although the Nationalist army in the Huaihai Campaign was 800,000 to 600,000, the main generals did not listen to the command, each played its own calculations, and there was no cohesion to speak of, and defeat was inevitable.