In May 1938, after Li Tianyou participated in the battles of Pingxingguan and Guangyang, he was promoted to the commander of the 343 Brigade because of his outstanding performance. And Chen Guang became the acting commander of the 115th Division, because the previous division commander was injured and needed to rest.
However, Li Tianyou, who had just been in office for two months, could have shown his skills, but he fell ill at this time, and then he was sent to Yan'an, but his condition did not improve, and Li Tianyou had no choice but to be sent to the Soviet Union. However, when he was recuperating in the Soviet Union, Li Tianyou went to Frunze to learn more military knowledge, and his military ability was also greatly improved, but because of this study, he missed the anti-Japanese resistance.
Li Tianyou returned to Yan'an in August 1944, after which he participated in the Seventh National Congress, and Japan surrendered not long after. Soon the Liberation War began, and Li Tianyou also shined during this period, and his reputation as the number one tiger general in Siye also began. However, when Li Tianyou came to the Northeast, because he had left the army for so many years, after re-entering the army, he was not the commander of the column, but he was able to lead the troops to fight.
At first, he was only the chief of staff of the military region in the northeast, and he also served as the commander of the military region, but these positions have little to do with front-line operations, but such a position is a bit condescending for Li Tianyou, after all, his military ability was learned from the Soviet Union, and only when he used it can he be regarded as useful.
However, even though Li Tianyou left the army for many years, the superior leaders were still clear about Li Tianyou's combat ability, especially during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the ambush battles at Pingxingguan and Guangyang under his command were impeccable, and they also achieved considerable results. Not only that, when Li Tianyou went to study in the Soviet Union, he also had contacts with Liu Yalou, and the two were classmates, so Liu Yalou was also clear about Li Tianyou's talent.
In May 1947, after the end of the Jiangnan Campaign, Dongye was ready to launch a summer offensive, which had been more than a year since Dongye was in the Northeast, and Dongye had also gained a firm foothold in the Northeast, and could even develop in a good direction, so in the next battle, the head of Dongye set a high combat goal, not only to cross the Songhua River, but also to liberate Siping.
Now that the battle goals have been set, the next step is to implement it, but before that, it is still necessary to select good generals, and then the head of Dongye transferred Li Tianyou to a column as the commander after some consideration, and the previous commander Wan Yi can only return to work in the rear, that is to say, Wan Yi and Li Tianyou's positions have been reversed, which is also to ensure that the chances of winning the battle in the future are higher.
A column is an absolute trump card in Dongye, not only the number of people is large, but even their equipment is not comparable to other columns, and the head of Dongye asked Li Tianyou to take over the commander of this column, there is another reason, which is also very important, that is, the 112th Division is the main division of the first column, the division was once the army led by Mr. Peng, and also participated in the Pingjiang Uprising, and later became the 115th Regiment of the 686th Division, and participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan, and Li Tianyou is the commander of the regiment.
In this way, Li Tianyou can be regarded as returning to his old army. However, after this order was issued, Wan Yi had great doubts, he did not agree with the arrangement of his superiors, why must he have been replaced, what kind of gap did he have between himself and Li Tianyou? Wan Yi also wanted to go to the front line to kill the enemy, and did not want to go to the rear, after all, he felt that he was no worse than Li Tianyou, he also went to a military academy, and he had always been among the best in the school, and leading troops to fight was his strong point and should not be buried.
However, since the chief has said so, even if Wan Yi has any opinions, he can only obey, after all, this is also a preparation for the victory of the future war, in fact, in order to be able to persuade Wan Yi, the head of Dongye has also done a lot of ideological work, and even what position he wants to go to the rear is up to him, but Wan Yi finally agreed to the chief's arrangement without saying anything.