Du Yuming learned the news that the 89th Division had been completely annihilated by Lin Biao in the Crooked Stone Stone Valley, and Han Yan did not say a word. He locked himself in the war room and did not allow anyone to enter. Even the doctor who treats him every day is no exception.
Chief of Staff Zhao Jiajun was overwhelmed by this and paced back and forth outside the war room door. He looked at the peach blossoms in the compound and couldn't help but sigh:
"This spring really didn't open well!"
The attendant soldiers looked at Zhao Jiajun with dinner. Zhao Jiahua waved his hand and did not say a word. The attendants had no choice but to retreat in boredom. At this time, Zhao Jiajun suddenly remembered Zheng Dongguo and took it upon himself to recall Zheng Dongguo to Shenyang.
Zheng Dongguo rushed to du Yuming's official residence in Shenyang at 4:00 a.m., and the guards immediately reported zhao jiajun. Zhao Jiajun had been waiting for news from Zheng Dongguo, when he heard the guards coming to report, he hurried to wait outside the door.
The car drove into the compound, and Zheng Dongguo lay asleep in the car. The adjutant said, "Deputy Commander Zheng, here it is, wake up, it has arrived!" ”
Seeing this, Zhao Jiajun walked to the car, pushed the adjutant away, got into the car, and shouted: "Brother Du Ting, wake up!" ”
Zheng Dongguo slowly sat up, rubbed his eyes, and said, "This sleep is really dead, I almost can't get up!" ”
Zhao Jiajun knew that he had something to say, so he told him: "Chief Du is sick, neither eating nor seeking medical treatment, and the northeast is in danger!" ”
"How can this be?" Zheng Dongguo was a little surprised.
"It's not because of Lin Biao." Zhao Jiajun whispered.
Zheng Dongguo got out of the car and walked into the governor's mansion side by side with Zhao Jiajun, and they talked about the northeast war situation as they walked. Zheng Dongguo believed that the failure of the strategy of "attacking the south and defending the north" was that the Songhua River was frozen, the northern troops were thin, the river defense fortress was useless, and Lin Biao's army came and went freely. Zhao Jiajun believes that the crisis currently facing the northeast is not caused by the strategy of "attacking the south and defending the north", but lies in the passive conservatism of the field commanders, resulting in the inability to attack the south and the north to be unable to defend.
Both men believe that the lack of troops is an important reason why the strategy of "attacking the south and defending the north" cannot be realized. If the south could not be attacked, the troops of the north would be transferred to the south; if the north could not hold, the troops of the south would be transferred to the north. Going north and south, tired of running for their lives, the head and tail can not take care of each other, and the result is that both sides suffer losses.
Zheng Dongguo pushed open the door of the war room and saw Du Yumingfu planting a small red and blue pennant on the map of the sand table. That look of full concentration reminded Zheng Dongguo of the resolute and decisive Deputy Commander Du during his expedition to the Jungles of Burma. Zheng Dongguo suspected that what Zhao Jiajun said was not true. He believes that the person who does not eat, does not seek medical treatment, and abandons himself is definitely not Du Yuming.
Du Yuming will not collapse.
"Brother Hikari." Zheng Dongguo called cordially.
"Gui Ting?" Du Yuming raised his head, "How did you come, so late, what are you going to do?" ”
"I drove hundreds of miles overnight to chat with you and relieve your boredom." Zheng Dongguo pointed to the sand table and said, "It's not bad to play sand table confrontation." ”
Du Yuming understood and said, "Well, I am the Red Fang, and you are the Blue Fang." ”
Du Zheng and du Zheng engaged in a 20-minute sandbox confrontation, and as a result, the red side took the lead everywhere, while the blue side was passively beaten everywhere. Du Zheng and the two knew in their hearts that Lin Biao was going to counterattack.
Du Yuming said: "If the Red Side launches an offensive at the same time from the five aspects of Changchun, east of Jilin, north of Zhengjiatun, northwest of Tonghua, and Jichareliao, the Blue Side will be in danger!" ”
Zheng Dongguo said: "In order to cope with the crisis, the blue side must add at least two more armies. ”
"You will fly to Nanjing tomorrow, tell the old man the truth about the northeast, and ask him to send two more troops to the northeast." Du Yuming paused for a moment and said, "At least the 53rd Army on the Rehe side should be returned to the northeast formation." ”
Zheng Dongguo went to Nanjing to meet Chiang Kai-shek and gave a detailed report on the dangerous situation facing the Kuomintang in the northeast. Chiang Kai-shek's eyes widened as he listened, and only then did he say:
"I thought that the situation in the northeast was better than the various war zones in Guannei, but Guangting blocked my side alone, which made me worry a lot less, but I didn't expect this." I am too optimistic, and my estimation of the situation in the northeast is too optimistic! ”
"In order to save the crisis, it is imperative to reinforce at least two armies to the northeast." Jeongdong National Road.
Chiang Kai-shek looked at Zheng Dongguo with wide eyes, as if he didn't know him. Zheng Dongguo knew that it would certainly not be realistic to transfer two armies to the northeast, so he said:
"At the very least, the 53rd Army must be returned to the northeast structure." Principal, otherwise, the situation in the Northeast will not be able to be contained. ”
"Although the northeast is important, Nanjing is even more important. Shandong Chen Yi, Zhongyuan Liu Bocheng, and Northern Shaanxi Peng Dehuai were as difficult to deal with as Lin Biao. All the battlefields in Guannei were in a stalemate, and it was necessary to increase the strength of several armies to break the stalemate, overwhelm the communist army, and could not draw troops anywhere, and were in a stalemate with the communist army. At present, not only can two more armies be transferred to the northeast, but even the 53rd Army cannot be returned to the establishment. Chiang Kai-shek said excitedly.
Zheng Dongguo went to see Defense Minister Bai Chongxi again. Bai Chongxi did not wait for Zheng Dongguo to finish speaking, and then said: "Last year I went to the Siping front to inspect, and the situation was not what you said. At that time, the northeast battlefield was the most inspiring, less than a year, how could this be? You exaggerate the facts! ”
After the Battle of Siping, Zheng Dongguo explained in detail the evolution of the situation in the northeast. Finally, angrily said:
"If the northeast can't hold on, north China will also be finished." Cold lips and teeth! ”
"Even if you lose the northeast, you can't lose the north of the country." Bai Chongxi insists that north China is more important than northeast China.
Zheng Dongguo understood the weight of Li Zongren, the director of the North China Tour, in Bai Chongxi's heart. Of course, zheng Dongguo's conversation with Bai Chongxi would not be speculative, so it was not happy.
The sandbox game rehearsed by Du Yuming and Zheng Dongguo has really become a reality. On May 13, 1947, Lin Biao commanded the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army to launch a powerful offensive in five directions estimated by Du Yuming at the same time. In the face of the offensive of the "red side", the "blue side" can only do its best to barely cope.
At dawn on 14 May, the main force of the 2nd Column of the Democratic Coalition Army, which had been on a long march, suddenly surrounded Wilder. Liu Zhen, commander of the 2nd Column, and Wu Faxian, political commissar, hurried in a jeep to the bottom of a mountain outside The city of Huaide. Hu Jicheng, commander of the 4th Division, immediately reported:
"The enemy is all cowering in the city, there are only a few small strongholds on the periphery, all wrapped in dumplings, and none of them have run away."
"It was so good!" Liu Zhen smiled, "Prepare a pot to serve him." ”
"How many enemies are there in the city?" Figure it out? Wu Faxian said.
"I immediately organized a reconnaissance detachment to take prisoners in the outlying strongholds." Hu Jicheng Dao.
"Digging up the ground is a good trick for your division's special agent company," Liu Zhen laughed, "and strive to catch a captain or above, don't arrest everyone who doesn't know." ”
"Understood!" Hu Jicheng stepped onto his war horse and galloped away.
Under the careful plan of division commander Hu Jicheng, the special agent company of the 4th Division entered a bunker that night and arrested more than a dozen prisoners. The deputy company commander of the reconnaissance company ordered a surprise attack, and with a few grenades, he rushed into the stronghold. The captain company commander was pulled out of bed.
Hu Jicheng personally interrogated and soon found that the Huaide defenders were the 90th Regiment of the 30th Division of the New 1st Army, the 17th Regiment of Security, and the 2nd Cavalry Division, with a total of 5,000 people.
The defense of Wilder City was unusually strong, the moat was seven or eight meters wide and three or four meters deep, and outside the moat was a roof ridge-shaped barbed wire. The ming and dark forts on the city walls are densely packed. The city walls are surrounded by open and flat areas, which are not easy to approach hidden.
Liu Zhen reported the hostility of Huaide to the General Report. Liu Yalou, chief of staff of the general headquarters, called back and said: General Manager Lin said that at present, the enemy is being beaten everywhere, and it is impossible to draw out a large number of reinforcements to go north. The 1st Column was about to guard the enemy in Changchun east of Huaide, and the 5th Division of the 2nd Column was deployed southwest of Huaide, preparing to block siping to help the enemy.
Xiang Dianyuan, commander of the 90th Regiment of the 30th Division of the New 1st Army of the Huaide Defenders, saw that the outside of the city was densely packed with Lin Biao's army, and he was flustered, not knowing whether it was better to stick to the lonely city or risk death to break through, and hesitated for a while. On May 15, Sun Liren called from Changchun and ordered Xiang Dianyuan to lead his troops to break through; but soon after, Du Yuming called from Shenyang and ordered the Huaide defenders to hold out for help.
Reinforcements rushed to Huaide in two ways, one was to Changchun for reinforcements, and the other was for Siping.
On May 15, Liu Zhen and Wu Faxian reported to the headquarters that preparations for the siege had been prepared and demanded a rapid siege. Liu Yalou ran to Lin Biao's room and said breathlessly:
"Lin Zong, the 2nd Column is ready, have you ordered a siege of the city?"
"Wait a minute." Lin Biao said.
"Yes!" Liu Yalou turned and ran toward the war room.
In the early morning of May 16, the 2nd Column finally received Lin Biao's order to attack the city that night. At this time, the enemy's two-way reinforcements were already approaching, especially the 88th Division of the 71st Army that Came to the Aid of Siping, under the command of division commander Han Zengdong, moved particularly rapidly, and the shells had already landed on the blocking positions of the 2nd Column and 5th Division.
On the evening of the 16th, Liu Zhen officially issued a siege order.
Hundreds of cannons of the Democratic Coalition army opened fire at the same time, and the defense of Wilder City quickly disintegrated. The enemy was stunned by unprecedented artillery fire. In only half an hour, a regiment of the 6th Division of the 2nd Column rushed into the city and engaged in a fierce street battle with the enemy.
By the early morning of the 17th, after a night of fierce fighting, most of the Enemy's defenders of Huaide were annihilated, and only Xiang Dianyuan, the leader of the 90th Regiment, led the remnants of more than 400 people to hold in the Guandi Temple and the Dayao Pot Courtyard in the north of the city. Due to the strong fortifications, the high terrain, and the concentration of enemy fire, the two attacks of the 4th Division were ineffective. Hu Jicheng ordered the attack to stop and immediately mobilize artillery to prepare for a devastating blow to the defending enemy.
At this time, Liu Zhen received orders from Lin Biao, except for leaving a regiment to continue to encircle and annihilate the enemy in Huaide, the rest of the troops immediately moved to the southwest, preparing to surround and annihilate the main force of the enemy 71 Army that came to the aid of the main force of the 1st Column.
The 1st Column entrusted the task of blocking the enemy from Changchun to help the 1st Division, and quickly moved south to the preset pocket positions around the Great Black Forest, preparing to encircle and annihilate the 88th Division of the 71st Army.
The 88th and 91st Divisions of the 71st Army entered the preset pockets of the Democratic Coalition Army in the Great Black Forest. At noon on the 17th, Lin Biao issued a general offensive order. Han Zengdong had faced the same situation two months ago, when the 88th Division was almost completely annihilated at Paoshantun at that time, and only he led a few people to escape, and the re-formed 88th Division repeated the same mistakes in less than two months, and was once again annihilated.
The battle began at noon on the 17th and ended at 2 p.m. on the 18th, and the Democratic Coalition Army completely annihilated all the 88th Division and most of the 91st Division. More than 800 people, including Feng Zongyi, chief of staff of the 71st Army, and Han Zengdong, commander of the 88th Division, were killed and more than 5,000 captured.
When the entire division of the 88th Division was annihilated, Chen Mingren, commander of the 71st Army, did not know the truth and still led the 87th Division to reinforcements. Chen Mingren went to Gongzhuling to receive a call from Du Yuming, only to learn that the 88th Division had been completely annihilated by Lin Biao, so he quickly withdrew his troops to the south bank of the Liao River.
As soon as Chen Mingren left Gongzhuling, Lin Biao commanded the vanguard of the Democratic Coalition Army and entered the Harajuku camp of the 71st Division. At one point, mortar shells blew up the tires of Chen Mingren's car, and Chen Mingren jumped on a jeep and fled in a hurry— almost catching Chen Mingren. (Please pay attention to me, continue to watch Lin Biao galloping on the black land)