Author: Mo Guyan
Statement: Bing said that the original was first published, and the whole network has been opened to protect rights, and plagiarism and manuscript handling must be investigated
From March 1947, Chiang's army began to prepare for a "key offensive" against the liberated areas of Shandong. Prior to this, the two "famous generals" of the Jiang army, Liu Zhi and Xue Yue, were both removed from their posts due to repeated defeats, and now they have to send another senior officer to fight against Chen Su's army, and this candidate makes it difficult for the Jiang family.
The "Battle of Lunan" initiated by Chiang's army was a great investment, and they set up three field corps, plus the troops in the appeasement area, with a total of more than 400,000 people, including three of the "five main forces" -- the 74th Division, the 11th Division, and the 5th Army, all of which were the blood capital of Chiang's pressure box. To lead such an army, you must have both seniority, prestige, and command ability. In the end, Chiang asked Gu Zhutong, the commander-in-chief of the army, to sit in Xuzhou and fight Chen Su to the death.
【Gu Zhutong】
In Chiang's military and political clique, there are the so-called Eight King Kongs (He Yingqin, Chen Cheng, Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, Zhang Zhizhong, Qian Dajun, Jiang Dingwen, and Chen Jiji) and the Five Tiger Generals (cadre general Chen Cheng, loyal general Gu Zhutong, Fu general Liu Zhi, flying general Jiang Dingwen, and tiger general Wei Lihuang). Gu Zhutong is not only one of the five tiger generals, but also among the eight King Kongs, he is Jiang's most trusted confidant, and he is low-key, cautious and modest, very popular, known as the "saint in the army", and is sent to Xuzhou to sit in the town and is not afraid of public expectations.
In terms of military ability, Gu Zhutong was originally a mediocre person, who was in charge of the Third War Zone during the Anti-Japanese War, and there was no major war except for a battle of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. Gu has always been cautious and cautious, and his combat style is steady and conservative, which is completely different from Xue Yue, who thinks highly of himself. Xue had already suffered a big loss under Chen Su before, proving that his set did not work, and Gu's steady style was the most suitable for Jiang Jun at the moment.
Gu's tactic was to "fight steadily and steadily", that is, to gather the three hedgehogs together and advance in unison, forcing the main force of Huaye to fight a decisive battle with it, and squeezing out the Yimeng Mountain base area with the advantage of the number of troops. This was originally an old method used when the Jiangxi Red Army was "encircled and suppressed" in the first place, and it was not very clever, but Chen Su suffered from the narrow space on the battlefield and was not easy to crack for a while, so he could only fight and retreat. Gu Zhutong expressed his sincerity, so he sent a telegram to Jiang saying that Chen Su's army "suffered heavy casualties and was unable to fight again". Jiang replied and instructed Gu to change his tactics to "steady and fierce fighting".
Chiang's optimism was transmitted layer by layer, directly infecting Tang Enbo, the commander of the 1st Corps. At this time, Tang obtained an important piece of information, that is, Huaye's headquarters was in Tangbu, so he made a deployment that had been debated for more than 70 years - the reorganization of the 74th Division to capture Tangbu. After that, the battle of Meng Lianggu was completed, and the 74th Division was destroyed, and the division commander Zhang Lingfu and deputy division commander Cai Renjie were killed.
When the bad news came, it was tantamount to a bolt from the blue for the Nanjing authorities, and they naturally had to be held accountable. Li Tianxia, commander of the reorganized 83 rd Division, was dismissed from his post and handed over to a military court for trial for "dereliction of duty and ineffective rescue"; Huang Baitao, commander of the reorganized 25 th Division, was also dismissed from his post and retained on probation for failing to provide effective rescue; Tang Enbo, who had direct command responsibility, was dismissed from his post as corps commander; and Chen Cheng, chief of staff, was also suspended from his post for probation because of improper command. Only Gu Zhutong, the supreme person in charge of the theater, was safe and sound and did not receive any punishment.
The reason why Gu Zhutong became a "tumbler" in officialdom was entirely due to his devotion to Jiang, and his degree of loyalty even exceeded that of Liu Zhi. He unconditionally supported and obeyed Jiang's decision-making, and never bargained no matter how he was transferred, and even He Yingqin said privately that Gu was simply "obedient to Jiang".
Among the generals of the Jiang army, not all of them were without character, and some generals who adhered to personal integrity sneered at the minions of Liu Zhi and Gu Zhu, and often made up some jokes to ridicule them. Needless to say, Liu Zhi has nicknames such as "long-legged general" and "janitor pig", and the famous joke about Gu Zhutong is "one kneeling and rising to three levels".
It is said that when the Whampoa Military Academy was first established, President Jiang gathered teachers and students to give lectures, but an officer was late. Jiang was furious and ordered him to kneel as an example. Jiang Xun left after speaking, and when he came to the playground again the next morning, he couldn't help but be greatly moved when he saw that this person was still kneeling on the ground, covered with hoarfrost. After asking, Fang knew that this person's name was Gu Zhutong, and he was still an alumnus of Baoding Military Academy, so he immediately asked Gu to be the director of the management department of the military academy, and his military rank was promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel.
This matter may not really exist, but it is widely circulated among Chiang's army, and it can be seen as a mockery of Chiang's way of employing people in Nanjing officialdom.
Gu belonged to He Yingqin's faction in Chiang's clique, but on some key issues, he was able to properly handle and deal with the contradictions between Chiang and Ho. For example, after the Xi'an Incident, Gu and Liu Zhi were both appointed commander-in-chief by He Yingqin and ordered to lead their troops to march to Xi'an. Liu Zhi was very active, while Gu Ze was not so enthusiastic. Liu Zhi ignored the opinions of Song Ziwen and Song Meiling's brothers and sisters. Gu was full of approval. Therefore, after the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident, Jiang felt that Gu was more reliable, and Gu's status began to surpass that of Liu Zhi.
Jiang Jun's fiasco at Meng Lianggu was, from a certain point of view, precisely because of Gu Zhutong's "100 obedience". At the beginning, Zhang Lingfu reported the battle plan to Jiang's superiors, and Gu knew it, but he knew that Zhang was Jiang's protégé and had a bright future, so he also pretended not to know. Chiang approved Zhang's plan to "blossom in the center", and Gu, who had always been cautious, disagreed, knowing that if there was a problem with the follow-up coordination of the two wings, Zhang Lingfu might be besieged. However, he didn't dare to raise objections to Jiang Zhutong's decision, otherwise he would not be Gu Zhutong.
In military command, Chiang not only had the problem of overstepping his command, but also often ordered long orders. In the battle of Menglianggu, Chief of Staff Chen Cheng directly intervened in the command, and Chen was Gu's sworn enemy. Gu knew that Chen was "acting on orders", and his position was embarrassing, so he simply lay down. So much so that when people reviewed the Battle of Menglianggu afterwards, they often forgot that Gu Zhutong was the forward commander of Jiang's army, which shows that the sense of existence is not strong.
Chen had no choice but to stay away from Nanjing and go to the northeast to avoid the limelight, and he also wanted to rely on the US Expeditionary Force to win a few battles to save his reputation, but he was defeated again and again, and his reputation was completely ruined. As soon as Chen left, Gu took over as chief of staff, replacing Chen Cheng as the number one favorite by Jiang's side. In the future, Gu Zhutong fled to Taiwan and was still in shock, but Chen Cheng suggested to the Jiang family that the respected General Gu should be sent back to the mainland to preside over major affairs. Gu gritted his teeth with hatred, but he couldn't openly refuse. Gu's wife cried everywhere, saying that President Gu's life was over.
Jiang also understood that sending Gu back to the mainland at this time was undoubtedly to send him as a prisoner, so he asked Gu to recommend another person, and Gu recommended Tang Yao, deputy commander-in-chief of the army. After some work, Tang Yao agreed, and Gu Cai breathed a sigh of relief. As a result, as soon as Tang Yao returned to the mainland, he was captured in the dense forests of Yunnan, and he went to prison for Gu Zhutong.
[Deeply cultivate the history of war and promote positive energy]