Chapter 40 3. Mao Zedong pointed out: We must not underestimate the two horses

July 28, 1949. The People's Liberation Army finally entered Pingliang. Of course, Ma Jiyuan, a militant, would not just admit defeat. He did not carry out Lao Tzu's order thoroughly, but withdrew the main force from Pingliang and arranged it in Jingning area. After the enemy voluntarily gave up the decisive battle in Pingliang, the overall battle situation was in our army's favor. On a scorchingly hot afternoon, the heads of the regiments of the First Field Army held a military meeting in Xi'an.Re-adjust the corps layout. Peng Dehuai said to everyone: "The two horses retreated without a fight. The situation is very favorable to us. The contradiction between Ning Qing and the two horses is deepening day by day. They all fought us with the attitude of preserving their strength. Our battle plan has to be changed."

Yang Dezhi said: "Ning Ma has run away, we should pursue Qing Ma, it would be best if we can hit Ma Jiyuan hard on the outskirts of Lanzhou." Wang Zhen said: "The separation of the two horses is beneficial to us. We should concentrate on attacking Ma Bufang first." After some debate, the meeting adopted the following operational arrangements: Yang Dezhi's 19th Corps continued to pursue Ningma. Wang Zhen's 1st Corps and Xu Guangda's 2nd Corps pursued Qingma in two ways. Yang, Wang, and Xu's corps should pursue and retreat day and night, and use every opportunity to annihilate the enemy.

At this time, the Lu Zhongliang Department of the Ningxia Corps had withdrawn to the foot of Liupan Mountain under the order of Ma Hongkui. The two horses were divided, and Lanzhou and Yinchuan were at stake. Yan Xishan had no choice but to summon the two horses to Guangzhou to mediate the conflict. Ma Hongkui had long intended to leave the Northwest, but he did not expect the time to come, and it was justified. Yan Xishan, President of the Executive Yuan, called Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui together to criticize each other, and finally smiled and said a lot of compliments, telling them to put the interests of the party and the country first, unite sincerely, and stick to the Northwest.

On the surface, the relationship between the two horses has eased. Chiang Kai-shek, who had fled to Taiwan, called Ma Hongkui to Taiwan for an interview. Ma Hongkui flew to Taiwan for a while, and Hong Kong for a while. In just a few days, his activities were quite frequent, and he spared no expense to purchase property in these two places, and made plans to escape. As for what Chiang Kai-shek said to him in Taiwan at that time, there are no records. We can guess that when the Kuomintang army was in a state of collapse across the board, Chiang Kai-shek simply ordered him to cooperate with Ma Bufang and fight against the people to the end.

However, one thing needs to be explained. Ma Hongkui has a very close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. This special situation comes from his father, so the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and him is extraordinary. Ma Hongkui once said in his memoirs that when he was in Guangzhou, he received a secret order from Chiang Kai-shek not to cooperate with Yan Xishan and Li Zongren.It is doubtful whether this matter is credible. According to the situation of Ma Hongkui who fled to Taiwan later, Chiang Kai-shek has a lot of opinions on his ineffective anti-communism and his failure to cooperate with Ma Bufang to keep the Northwest.

It was at this time that Yan Xishan said to Ma Hongkui: "The president also said hello, and he is going to let you go to Gansu to sit in charge." Ma Hongkui no longer had much interest in being the chairman of Gansu Province. He knew that Ma Bufang would attack him again. Originally, the two reconciled in front of Yan Xishan, vowed to live and die with the Northwest, and said that the two horses were originally a group and the enemy would be twisted into one, but they changed their minds later. It was originally planned that the two horses would fly to Lanzhou on the same plane.

That night, Ma Hongkui came back from the Aiqun Hotel and said to his entourage Ma Jingruo and Su Lianyuan: "Jiang Gong thinks of me now, let me go to Lanzhou, what did I do?" Ma Jingruo asked: "Guo Jiqiao is still in Gan Province's seat, what should we do when we go?" "Yes, you know Zixiang's character. In order to expand his power and attack me, he secretly fought with Guo. Guo did what he liked and used his power to make a fortune. What am I going to do?" "The chairman means..." "We are not going to Lanzhou, and we will fly to Ningxia early tomorrow morning."

Su Lianyuan said: "Chairman, we have already promised him, it is not good to change our mind suddenly." Ma Hongkui shook his head and said: "Why don't I want to fly back to Lanzhou? But I can't go. If I go, Ma Bufang will definitely arrest me and force Ningxia to send troops. He may kill me if necessary. This person is cruel. If we If you go, you don’t die to the Communist Party, you die to Ma Bufang. Hurry up and clean up, we will leave at dawn, and we can’t stay here for long.” In the early morning of the next day, Ma Bufang was sleeping soundly, and Ma Hongkui's plane had already left Guangzhou and flew straight to Ningxia.

At this point, the two horses in the Northwest completely broke up. This was the last time they saw each other. Although they both fled to Taiwan and went into exile abroad, the two had no contact until their death, and Ma Bufang put all the responsibility for the loss of the Northwest on Ma Hongkui. In fact, Ma Hongkui was active in fighting the PLA on the first day after flying back to Yinchuan, but this activeness was not only related to his reactionary stance, but also related to his personal fame and fortune. At that time, the People's Liberation Army launched an attack on the front line of Lanzhou with overwhelming momentum, and Ma Jiyuan's troops could not stop Peng Dehuai's army at all.He said to Laozi Ma Bufang:

"Now our army alone can't resist the communist army. We have to order the Ningxia Corps to restrain the main force of the communist army at the foot of Liupan Mountain." Ma Bufang asked: "Where has the Ningxia Corps retreated now?" "It has retreated to the Greater Bay Area." "Well, I'll call them in person, and you can't fight hard. Come back to Lanzhou and fight the communist army here. The terrain is in our favor." "We can't go back any further." "why?" "It has retreated to the door of the house."

"Lanzhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the communist army cannot break through." Ma Jiyuan still insisted on his position, saying that he would fight the People's Liberation Army on the outskirts of Lanzhou. The scheming Ma Bufang was in a hurry, so he had to order one of his senior officers to come to the front line in person and persuade Ma Jiyuan to retreat westward. Ma Hongkui asked his son: "Where is our Corps now?" "Lu Zhongliang has withdrawn all the troops participating in the war to the vicinity of Guyuan." "Be more specific." "The main force of the 128th Army is in the Guyuan and Kaesong areas, and the 2nd Regiment of the 256th Division is deployed in depth between Sanguankou and Wating." "Where does he place his main position?" "Big Bay." "Yes, Zhongliang is very strategic!" "Dad, to be honest, among our young generals in Ningxia, only Zhongliang can use troops." "This man is loyal to us. I'm relieved to hand over the troops to him. His regiment has a lot of troops. How about the other troops?" "All have been withdrawn from Pingliang. Except for a cavalry division left as a guard, the rest of the ministries are moving towards Ningxia." "What changes in the battle situation ahead?" "The communist army is continuing to pursue. Ma Jiyuan's department has suffered heavy losses, and our team has suffered little loss." "Very well, I don't believe that the Communist Army can't put Ma Bufang down." "Yang Dezhi is pushing us very hard, we can't do without resistance." "You can ask Zhongliang to fight a few times. I said earlier that if we send troops this time, we might bring in the communist army. Sure enough!" Lu Zhongliang didn't want to fight anymore, but Yang Dezhi's corps were chasing after him. Ma Bufang called him personally and said: "Commander Lu! Your Ningxia Corps can no longer retreat. Your chairman will become the chairman of Gan Province. Now you must fight hard, and you must not retreat any longer." Lu Zhongliang put down the phone and still ordered the troops to continue to retreat. Without Ma Hongkui's order, he would not have dared to fight the communist army. The Ningxia Corps did not move, and Ma Jiyuan was besieged everywhere. In order to win them over, Ma Bufang sent a large condolence regiment from Lanzhou to Lu Zhongliang's garrison. Gold plated medal. Ma Hongkui's attitude has also changed. He immediately sent his son Ma Dunjing to Kaesong with the 81st Army and sent an order to Lu Zhongliang: "The old chief has an order. All the troops of the Ningxia Corps here are under your command. We must fight a good battle in this ravine, and we can't bring the communist army in." Lu Zhongliang said: "There are so many troops in the Corps, I'd better ask you to command it." "I have something to go back to Yinchuan, the old officer trusts you very much." "What kind of play?" "This area is very important. It is our gateway to Ningxia. If the communist army breaks through, our Ningxia will be ruined. You must stick to it." "Ma Bufang asked me to send two divisions to aid the Qinghai Corps." "You can't go, your task is to hold this position." Lu Zhongliang began to resist. Yang Dezhi's vanguard had already exchanged fire with the cavalry division of the Ningxia Corps. After the enemy was defeated, they arranged all the main forces at the Sanguan Pass at the foot of Liupan Mountain, trying to use this ancient battlefield to fight our army decisively by virtue of the dangerous pass.Ma Hongkui was restless in Ningxia, so he could only place his bet here. Liupan Mountain is the throat of Lanzhou in the west and Ningxia in the north. Stretching for hundreds of miles, the peaks are steep and the terrain is dangerous.The altitude is as high as 2800 meters. When the Red Army’s Long March came here in 1936, Mao Zedong stood on Liupan Mountain and wrote a famous poem: Since then, Liupan Mountain has become famous all over the world for its poems. Legend has it that this was once the place where the Yang family generals fought in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the generals of the Yang family traveled long distances, the soldiers were exhausted, and coupled with the shortage of food and grass, they fought fiercely with the ethnic minority army for several days, resulting in extremely heavy losses.Later, when the imperial court sent reinforcements, they turned defeat into victory and repelled the enemy. Now there is a boulder on the north peak of Sanguankou, which is said to be the general's platform of the Yang family. This is a battleground for military strategists, and the bloody battle between Ma Hongkui and the People's Liberation Army started here again. The People's Liberation Army moved forward. Lu Zhongliang arranged the 37th Cavalry Regiment at the South Pass of Sanguan, and another vanguard regiment was placed on the northern high mountain to resist our army. The main force gathered in the Guwa area to prepare to fight the main force of Yang Dezhi's corps. Yang Dezhi called the deputy commander of the 65th Army to the front command post and said: "Now Ma Hongkui has ordered Lu Zhongliang and his army to fight a decisive battle in the Guwa area. There will be a tough battle here. Your army will take the lead. Is there any problem?" Deputy Army Commander Xiao Yingtang replied: "Please rest assured Commander Yang, we will definitely complete the task." "Your army commander is sick and can't go to the front line. You will command this army. What are your plans to attack this place?" Xiao Yingtang lay on the table and looked at the map for a while, and finally stood up and said: "I plan to use two divisions to storm the third pass. If we can break through, the enemy's Wating position will be broken through. Send two other regiments to clear the enemy's mines." area, so that our large troops can rush in the direction of Liupan Mountain." "I agree with this style of play, but after the attack begins, you must focus on chasing the target of Lu Zhongliang's cavalry division." Although Lu Zhongliang clamored to live and die with the position, he ran away when the cannon fired. Early morning of July 31st. At the same time that the 65th Army launched an attack on Sanguankou, the 64th Army had annihilated a self-defense brigade in Zhenyuan County outside Baiyang City. At the same time, the third pass has fallen.Lu Zhongliang sent a regiment leader to stand guard in front, but he himself retreated towards Ningxia with his troops. August 1st. Yang Dezhi's corps successfully crossed Liupan Mountain. Ma's army collapsed across the board, and Ma Jiyuan had no choice but to follow Ma Bufang's instructions and retreat all the troops to the outskirts of Lanzhou, where he was going to fight Peng Dehuai to the death. Ma Hongkui hid in Yinchuan to watch Ma Bufang's jokes. Chiang Kai-shek instructed Yan Xishan to call the two horses to Guangzhou to plot countermeasures. Also attending the meeting was Hu Zongnan. In a bright hall, Yan Xishan watched them speak in an official tone: "Today, I was entrusted by the president to invite you here to hold the Northwest Joint Defense Conference. Now that Lanzhou is approaching the city, this kind of battle situation is something none of us want to see, but it is already like this. Please stop complaining to each other and work together. Discuss the strategy against the communist army, you can speak freely!" the weather is getting hotter. These three Northwest men have their own ulterior motives, and they don't want to speak first. A few floor-standing electric fans kept turning, and two beautiful women came in with fruits, but Ma Bufang said, "Dean Yan, can you get something to quench your thirst?" Ge Xishan said, "What would Mr. Ma want to eat?" "Watermelon is the best." Yan Xishan waved to the two maids, telling them to bring the watermelon up as soon as possible. A woman walked past Ma Hongkui with small steps, and smiled gracefully at him. Her big buttocks twisted rhythmically, which made people think about it. Ma Hongkui stared at the back of the woman going away in a daze. Yan Xishan smiled and said, "Brother Shaoyun is really caring. If you are interested, how about I ask them to accompany you to dance in the rich man after the meeting?" Ma Hongkui said: "How can I have such intentions! The enemy is now, and I don't like eating well." Ma Bufang said sarcastic words: "The enemy is now, and some of us are still having fun!" "What do you mean?" Ma Hongkui asked back. "You know what you mean!" Hu Zongnan took pleasure in the quarrel between the two horses. Yan Xishan waved his hands and said, "You two should put the interests of the party and the country first, and stop haggling over everything." Ma Bufang stood up and said, "We have a meeting today, and some things must be made clear." Hu Zongnan, who was eating melons, looked at Ma Bufang and said, "Mr. Ma, please stop arguing. We are studying the battle plan, not talking about who is wrong. If it is said that the Northwest battlefield was not good in the past, I think everyone is responsible." The mood of the meeting changed. Ma Bufang's anti-communist stance is very firm.In the past six months, his troops have been attacked by the People's Liberation Army everywhere, and the others did not actively cooperate. He was very angry, and today he finally found the opportunity. He looked at the others and said: "Why did we retreat in the Battle of Pingliang and the Battle of Sanguankou? The main problem is not that the Communist Army is so powerful and has three heads and six arms, but that we are not united internally. Some people disregard the interests of the party and the country at critical moments." , hide aside and watch the river rise, and preserve your strength." Ma Hongkui was naturally guilty. He felt that what Ma Bufang said was not referring to Hu Zongnan alone. In these two battles, Hu Zongnan's Central Army basically did not carry out Ma Bufang's orders, and his Ningxia Corps also tried their best to fight peripheral battles with the Communist Army. Shi also secretly withdrew from the battlefield, for which Ma Bufang and his son have always held grudges. Ma Hongkui sat there smoking a cigarette with his head bowed. Hu Zongnan's face was also ugly.He also has a lot of opinions on Ma Bufang. When the Xianyang and Xi'an battles were defeated, Ma Bufang did not help him at all, but spoke ill of him in front of Chiang Kai-shek. However, this defeated general has a deep relationship with Jiang. Although he has suffered so many defeats, Jiang still reuses him.At this time, he showed the arrogance of the Central Army again, looked at Ma Bufang and said: "What Officer Ma said just now sounds like the interests of the party and the country are the most important thing, but I think the reason for the current defeat in the Northwest battlefield is that some people ignore the interests of the party and the country, preserve their strength everywhere, and just want to expand their territory!" Ma Bufang understood this. The meaning of the words, he looked at Ma Hongkui and hoped that he could stand up and attack Hu Zongnan, but Ma Hongkui just kept silent, Ma Bufang had no choice but to ask Hu Zongnan: "What do you mean by saying that?" Hu Zongnan squinted at him and said: "What do you mean? I have fought hard with the Communist Army in northern Shaanxi for more than a year, and the troops have lost so much. Why don't you Qingning troops send troops to reinforce me? Hu Zongnan won the battle without you. The old nest of the Communist Party has been taken away, and Mao Zedong and others have been driven out of Yan'an!" Ma Bufang sneered, and said, "Director Hu is really forgetful. If I'm not mistaken, the Yan'an you occupied later was just an empty city!" "Nonsense, why is Yan'an an empty city? My main force went in and captured so many communist troops." Yan Xishan stood up to smooth things over, telling them to focus on unity and not to care about past grievances. Hu Zongnan is also a very characteristic general. He dealt with the People's Liberation Army in the Northwest for several years and made a lot of fools. Spring of 1947. He was promoted to the chief of the first war zone, stationed in Xi'an, and began to fight hand-to-hand with the People's Liberation Army. However, after several battles, he suffered a lot. Chiang Kai-shek had a lot of opinions on him, a direct descendant of Huangpu, thinking that he was not good at fighting, and he was ashamed of the principal. A few days later, Hu Zongnan gathered an army to prepare to attack Yan'an. Beforehand, he had stated to Chiang Kai-shek: "This time we dispatch troops, we must take Yan'an within three days, and report the victory to the principal and the people of the whole country!" But a week passed, and instead of advancing, the troops he sent were surrounded by the People's Liberation Army.The big words have been uttered, so he had to adjust the layout and increase the offensive force.He said to Dong Zhao, the commander of the First Army: "You have to fight hard. First enter the troops in Yan'an, and you will be rewarded with 10 million French coins." Facing such a powerful enemy, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the support of the masses, fought against it while organizing mass transfers in various organs. Ten days later, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had completely withdrawn from Yan'an, Hu Zongnan's vanguard troops entered the empty city.At that time, it was Chen Wu's 90th Division that was leading the way, but when Hu Zongnan learned that Yan'an was empty, he ordered the unit to stop advancing and transferred a brigade from the 1st Division, which was almost wiped out in the Battle of Jinnan. Known as the best ace brigade in the world, it entered Yan'an first with empty guns. The commander of the 90th Division, who had already driven to the outskirts of the city, was very dissatisfied. He said to his subordinates: "Seeing that Yan'an is within easy reach at this time, Commander Hu asked the first division to make the first contribution. It is really unreasonable!" The 90th Division gave way to the 1st Division. There was chaos on the winding path.Looking at this scene, Chen Wu said angrily: "In the past, some people made a fool of Chief Hu, saying that he can't fight and is only worthy of being a platoon leader. Today he uses troops like this again. If there is a Communist army in the rear to fight back, he must make a fool of himself." No." The troops entered Yan'an. There is no one in the city, and the people have transported everything away. Hu Zongnan rode a horse back and forth on the empty street, and said to his combat staff: "Immediately announce the good news to the principal." The staff officer was an honest man, so he was a little embarrassed. He opened his notebook and asked, "How did you write this telegram without firing a single shot?" Hu Zongnan was very angry: "Idiot! You just say that our army fought hard for seven days and nights. The first brigade finally occupied Yan'an at dawn on the 19th. During this service, more than 5,000 people from the Communist Army were captured, and countless weapons and ammunition were seized. The investigation is underway." Chiang Kai-shek, who didn't know the truth, was ecstatic when he heard the news, and immediately told Chinese and foreign reporters that the Communist army's old den had been destroyed by Hu Zongnan.Some enthusiastic reporters immediately came to Yan'an for on-site interviews. Hu Zongnan sat still, started acting again, and sent his confidantes to set up the so-called performance showroom. In order to prevent reporters from proposing to contact the captured communist army, he conceived another plan, assigning a division of troops to serve as prisoners, all wearing the clothes of the People's Liberation Army. Just in case, he even practiced dialogue.In addition, each of these fake prisoners of war was rewarded with ten yuan a day. So, under the instigation of reporters, Hu Zongnan stood proudly among the "prisoners of war" photos all over the country's newspapers, and he became Chiang Kai-shek's big celebrity.And promoted to the rank of general. This kind of farce is rare in ancient and modern China and abroad. of course!Being in the same war zone, it is impossible for Ma Bufang not to know his jokes. When it comes to Hu Zongnan, there are many jokes, so let me tell you two more. In 1935, the Red Army marched northward.Hu Zongnan led troops to intercept, but was defeated. Later, he became the commander of the army relying on Chiang Kai-shek's relationship, and moved to Xuzhou at that time.One day his father came to visit him from his hometown Xiaofeng, and he found the gate of his headquarters after a lot of trouble. The guard looked at the old man and asked, "What are you doing here, leave quickly." "I'm looking for my son," said his father. "What's your son's name?" "It's called Hu Zongnan, he's your army commander, hurry up and report." The guard hurried in and said to Hu Zongnan, "Report to the commander, there is an old man outside who claims to be your father and wants to see you." Hu Zongnan got up, lay on the window and glanced at his father, then turned and said to the guard: "I don't know this person, hurry him away." The guard came out and said, "Our officer said he didn't know you, so he told you to leave here." The old man insisted: "Impossible, how can my son not know me? Did you hear me wrong?" "Absolutely heard it right, you'd better leave." The guard took up the butt of his gun and frightened the old man, and the two sides quarreled. The old man kicked the guard, sat down on the ground and said: "You son of a bitch, you have only been an official for a few days, and you don't recognize me anymore. Go ahead and let Qin Zhai, a dog, come out to see me." When the guard heard that the old man was calling Hu Zongnan by his nickname, he felt that he was really Commander Hu's father, so he ran in to report to Hu Zongnan again. However, Hu Zongnan still said: "Where did this bastard old man come from, such a scoundrel, drive him away!" The old man cursed and left. Hu Zongnan looked at his father's back and instructed his adjutant to follow him. At night, he disguised himself as a scholar and sneaked into the hotel where his father was staying. His father got angry and stood up and slapped him. Hu Zongnan touched his face and said to his father: "Don't come to the headquarters to look for me in the future, now I will give you three hundred oceans and go home quickly." His old man threw Dayang on the ground and scolded: "You ungrateful boy, you don't recognize your father when you are rich, I will go back by myself, who wants your stinky money." In a fit of anger, the old man left Xuzhou overnight... Hu Zongnan and Dai Li had a very good relationship. Once when he returned to Hangzhou, Dai Li introduced his lover Miss Ye Xia to him, hoping that they could marry Qin and Jin.At that time, Hu Zongnan was also interested in Miss Ye, but when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, he lost contact with Ye and was still living a celibate life in the military camp. Later, Chen Lifu came forward as a matchmaker and introduced Kong Xiangxi's second lady to him. Hu Zongnan was moved, but he didn't have time to go back to Nanjing for a meeting due to business.Miss Kong Er was originally a romantic woman. He admired Hu Zongnan very much, so he came to Xi'an alone to meet Hu Zongnan. Dai Li strongly opposed this matter and called him many times to tell him that Miss Kong Er was originally a woman in the court of romance, with romantic talk and bad conduct, and she was very famous in Nanjing. Whether it is true or not, Hu Zongnan has countless thoughts.He had no choice but to disguise himself as a doctor and come to the hotel where Miss Kong Er stayed to spy on the situation. Unexpectedly, this Miss Kong Er really lived up to her reputation. She didn't know that the doctor in front of her was Hu Zongnan, and she flirted with him in the restaurant, spoke arrogantly, behaved vulgarly, and The people in Hu Zongnan's mind were very different.After returning from the hotel, he completely believed what Dai Li said, and confirmed that Miss Kong Er was not a good character, so he had no choice but to write a letter rejecting Miss Kong Er's request to meet with him on business. Miss Kong Er left Xi'an very unhappy. Later, when she knew that the doctor who dealt with him in the restaurant was Hu Zongnan, she was very sad and scolded Hu Zongnan everywhere. After the news spread, it became a big joke of Hu Zongnan. The two horses are fully aware of the above matter. Whenever they get together, when Hu Zongnan violated their interests, they will inevitably bring up this matter again, embarrassing Hu Zongnan. Of course this time is no exception. Ma Bufang said that Hu Zongnan was wrong, and Ma Hongkui watched the joke. Yan Xishan made a rescue, but they didn't listen, and changed the topic to the issue of responsibility for the defeat in the battle. Ma Bufang said: "I preserve my strength, and you, Chief Hu, work the hardest? I ask how many times have you won battles?" Hu Zongnan puffed up his eyes and said: "Didn't you just defeat the Red Army in Hexi? Who didn't understand the situation they were in at that time, and what capital is there to speak of." The two sides began to curse. Yan Xishan stood up and said: "The enemy is now, and you are all party and state officials. What's the point of arguing like this? Let's discuss the big issue of dealing with Peng Dehuai together!" Ma Bufang said confidently: "Although we have suffered a small loss in the northwest, we are determined to deal with the communist army." The meeting broke up badly. Finally, the plan for the decisive battle in Lanzhou was barely passed: Relying on the solid city defenses of Lanzhou and the natural dangers of the Yellow River, the Ma Bufang Department attracted and consumed the main force of the Communist Army; the Ma Hongkui Department assembled in the Zhongwei and Zhongning areas, and the four southern Huzong armies assembled in the Huixian, Chengxian, and Liangdang areas of Longnan, respectively. Attacking the Communist Army's side and back; three-way flanking attack, defeating the Communist Army on the outskirts of Lanzhou. Peng Dehuai's 300,000 troops pursued the victory under the scorching sun, and had arrived near Lanzhou, an important town in the northwest. Where to fight the two horses is also a question that Peng Dehuai has been thinking about. At the front committee, he said to everyone: "Now the general situation is very beneficial to us. The two horses of Ning and Qing have been separated by us. We should strive for a decisive battle in Lanzhou, and focus on Ma Bufang, who dominates the Northwest and is stronger than Ma Hongkui militarily, and annihilating him is equivalent to basically solving the Northwest issue." Zhou Shidi flipped through several maps of different scales, and then said: "I completely agree with Boss Peng's point of view. Now Qingma poses a great threat to our continued march. Ma Jiyuan is young and vigorous, and he has indeed shown his strength in the confrontation with us. Ma’s army is capable of fighting tough battles. They invested in one brigade, and we invested in several brigades to defeat them. Facts have proved that Chairman Mao’s instruction to us to be careful of green horses is correct. How to fight and how to win still needs to be studied. We have already Chased them to the door, as the saying goes, if a dog jumps over a wall in a hurry, Ma Bufang and his son will definitely take out all their money and fight with us." After Peng Dehuai finished smoking, he looked at Yang Dezhi, the youngest commander of the corps, and said, "You can also share your views." Yang Dezhi said: "I think we should fight Ma Bufang in Lanzhou." Peng Dehuai asked, "Why?" "Although Lanzhou is an important town in the northwest, surrounded by mountains and rivers, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack militarily, but we have more troops than them, and we still have the support of the people. If we let it retreat to Qinghai, it will inevitably cause many difficulties in our operations. Difficulties will also prolong the time for us to liberate the entire Northwest." Wang Zhen put down his teacup and said, "The decisive battle in Lanzhou will be the first major battle for us since our army entered the Northwest, and it will also be a very difficult battle. The Kuomintang in Lanzhou City has been operating for decades, and there are The fortifications built during the Anti-Japanese War, and later Ma Bufang spent a lot of effort on city defenses at all costs, how to attack them is still worth studying, and we should not be too blind." Yang Dezhi said: "In any case, I think the decisive battle here is more advantageous than Qinghai." Xu Guangda looked at Peng Dehuai and said: "It is said that after the Battle of Pingliang, Ma Jiyuan was so unconvinced that he didn't even listen to his father's words. He has transferred all his 82nd Army, 129th Army and cavalry troops to the Dingxi area for defense. Stop us from going forward." Peng Dehuai said: "He had this plan at the beginning, but he was transferred back by his father." Wang Zhen said with a smile: "It seems that I'm still cunning! The decisive battle in Dingxi is of course beneficial to me. It is impossible for Ma Hongkui to send a single soldier. Ma Bufang will become a lonely family." Peng Dehuai put the fan on the table and said to everyone: "The enemy is retreating and will defend Lanzhou to the death. We will fight here. All the corps go back and prepare. We will set a date for the general attack after the central government agrees." Peng Dehuai immediately reported to the Central Military Commission the combat plan for attacking Lanzhou. The corps continued to advance, and Ma Jiyuan faced the powerful offensive of the People's Liberation Army, so he had to withdraw all his troops to Lanzhou for defense. Ma Bufang flew back to Lanzhou from Guangzhou and also made up his mind to fight the PLA to the death. But his son did not advocate a decisive battle here. Ma Bufang wrote a warrant to send someone to the front to pass on Ma Jiyuan to lead the troops westward, and temporarily let Peng Dehuai's army in, but he also had concerns.Although the decisive battle in Lanzhou was beneficial to him, Ma Hongkui in Ningxia and the Central Army in Longnan could not completely listen to his orders. He spent the whole morning thinking in the mansion, thinking that the Central Army was unreliable, so he could only ask Ma Hongkui for help.When the special envoy he sent came to Yinchuan, Ma Hongkui was uncharacteristically polite.He said: "Officer Zixiang intends to fight Peng Dehuai in Lanzhou. We discussed this matter in Guangzhou. Dean Yan and Hu Zongnan also agreed. Our Ningqing and Qing armies are of the same blood and have the same interests. Please tell him that as long as he Start, and our Ningxia Corps will arrive soon." The special envoy said: "Chairman Ma is now the parent officer of Gansu Province. Our officer hopes that you will come back to Lanzhou with me this time to sit in town." Ma Hongkui said: "It stands to reason that I should go, but my health is not good recently and I can't move!" "Then I'll wait for the chairman for a few days." "No need, you should go back first while you are on official business." Naturally the special envoy would not leave. Seeing that Ma Hongkui's troops had no intention of moving in, Ma Bufang instructed the special envoy to fight for it.But Ma Hongkui's attitude changed drastically. He said: "We can send out an army, but how? There are many difficulties. If your commander does not give us funds, we will not be able to move. Now I am poor and white. I have no money and no cars. It is difficult to move." The special envoy said: "Funding can be won, but the means of transportation is difficult to solve. Our Qinghai troops sent troops to Longdong relying on their legs, and cars are very limited." "Then we won't be able to hurry." "Let's ask the chairman to decide to send troops as soon as possible for the sake of Ning Qing's old relationship." "You'd better go back first, I'll let Lu Zhongliang lead the troops there." After the special envoy left, Ma Hongkui's flirtatious female secretary in charge of confidential documents asked: "You really let Zhongliang go to Lanzhou?" Ma Hongkui said: "I'm just fooling them. Ningxia's safety is hard to guarantee. How can I have such a high style?" The female secretary threw her head into his arms and said, "You just came back from a meeting in Guangzhou, and you can only deal with Ma Bufang. We don't say we won't fight, but we only emphasize the objective difficulties, and we just want to delay." Ma Hongkui hugged her in his arms and said with a smile, "You're still smart..." The two hugged each other and rolled on the sofa. This female secretary was originally a charming woman, she was above the other concubines in terms of culture and appearance, and she was also favored by Ma Hongkui.But after a long time, she became the target of everyone's attacks, especially Ms. Liu Muxia who held a grudge against her and often called other concubines to trouble her to find the female secretary. Although the female secretary is favored by Ma Hongkui, after all, she is a bit of a bad name, and sometimes she is not easy to get angry when she is angry.She was acting like a baby in Ma Hongkui's arms when Liu Muxia walked in suddenly. Ma Hongkui had no choice but to push her away from his arms and asked, "What's the matter with you?" Liu Muxia said angrily: "The People's Liberation Army has already arrived at our door, do you still have the time to fool around with this goblin?" "Fart!" Ma Hongkui stood up and slapped Liu Muxia. Liu Muxia wept and said: "What will she do? Isn't it just to dance with you and sleep with you? We all work hard for your family all day long, but you don't care about it, and you never care about it." The female secretary also cried. Ma Hongkui said: "I'm upset, you all get out!" Neither of the women had any intention of leaving. Ma Hongkui looked very ugly, and sat down to smoke. Liu Muxia came over to help him strike a match. Ma Hongkui held the water pipe in one hand, took Liu Muxia's hand with the other, and said, "You are the hardest worker and you understand the truth. How can I treat you badly? In my mind, all of you have meritorious service, and the secretary also has it." To her credit, she can help me read books and newspapers and learn English." "I know, you have been to Guangzhou this time, and you have also been to Hong Kong. In my opinion, the Kuomintang is finished. I suggest that you transfer all your property to Hong Kong. I have acquaintances there, so I can handle it first." "Okay, this matter is up to you, the sooner the better." "In my opinion, if Lanzhou falls, our Ningxia will be in danger. You have to prepare early. Many important party and state officials have fled to Taiwan." "I will think about it. The decisive battle in Lanzhou is a good thing, but I always think that Ma Bufang is too proud and has not seen the strength of the communist army. Besides, it is impossible for others to drive the team in and bury it in his hands for nothing." "We just play by ear." "You can go first, but I have a request." "You are the chairman, you can do whatever you want, do you still need to tell me?" "This matter is extraordinary, and I must seek your opinion first." "Is that right?" "Ok." "Then tell me." "My female secretary came here from a big city, and she has endured a lot of hardships and is very talented. I want to make her my sixth aunt." "As long as you can stand her torment, take it." At this time, the female secretary sitting behind suddenly smiled, walked over and took Liu Muxia's hand and said: "I will ask Sister Liu to take care of you in the future." The three reconciled, Ma Hongkui was very happy, and immediately ordered someone to treat the guests, and made arrangements for him to take a concubine according to traditional etiquette. The matter soon spread to Ma Bufang. Seeing that Peng Dehuai's army had rushed over, Ma Bufang threw the concubine invitation from Ma Hongkui on the ground and said: "This Shaoyun is too absurd, even Peng Dehuai came to him, and he still has the mood to flirt with women." Ma Jiyuan, who was standing beside him, said viciously: "Forget it if he doesn't send troops, and he sent this crap to ruin us." Ma Bufang said, "Let's ignore him." "It may not be good to ignore it. If we want to fight in Lanzhou, if he doesn't send troops, it will be difficult for us to stand up." "You are too naive. It is impossible for him to act. This person has always been cunning and cunning, and he uses troops to protect himself." "We don't need to give in to the communist army and lure them to Lanzhou. We'd better fight them in the Dingxi area." "How to fight? With your two armies and cavalry divisions, Peng Dehuai's three-way army has no less than 300,000 horses, and is equipped with armored troops. They are so fierce, can you beat them?" "Peng Dehuai has nothing to fear. We can also mobilize Huang Zuxun's 91st Army and Zhou Jiabin's 120th Army from Longxi to join the battle and cheer." "You put it lightly, these two central armies are under Hu Zongnan's influence, can they be mobilized?" "Not necessarily." "Let me ask you again, in the decisive battle in Dingxi, if the three major corps of the Communist Army attack, how will you fight? This place has no natural dangers, no fortifications, and no supply. Once surrounded, you can only watch and wait for death. " "We are retreating steadily. If we don't fight in Dingxi, it will increase the prestige of the communist army." “你还怕没有仗打吗？对付共军也要灵活机动。退回兰州，对我们有利。” “还是不能退。” “那你怎么打？” “我准备在定西一带充分发挥骑兵优势，与共军打运动战。” “共军是打运动战起家的，如果能打，胡宗南在陕西围了几年，为何没有吃掉共军。反而被人家打得焦头烂额，退到汉中去了。你不能意气用事，应立即将主力全撤到兰州来。” 马继援说服不了老子，只好命令所有部队全部退守兰州。 马继援率领两个军匆忙退回兰州时，兰州城里人心惶惶，许多有钱人已开始向外逃跑。 马继援在他老子召开的军事会议上受到批评，他的心情很不好，流着泪对马步芳说： “我们就这么退回来了，难道是走投无路了吗？” 马步芳拍着桌子说：“你太固执了，我与共产党打了几十年仗，难道没有你经验丰富？现在兵无斗志，如不退下来休整，你会把先人的老本全赔进去。” 马继援不再与马步芳争执，坐在那里低头抽烟。 出席会议的除副长官刘任外，其余全是青海兵团师以上军官。 本来马步芳曾想让中央军第91军、第120军来参加兰州会战，可是已逃到临洮地区的黄祖勋和周嘉彬这两个军长根本不听他的指挥，表面上答应配合，其实并没有行动。 这次会议马步芳同他的儿子确定了如下作战方案： 1.以国民党原陇东兵团的第82军、第129军及炮兵一营，在北部狗娃山、皋兰山、东岗坡一带设防。该部骑兵配置在兰州、河口一线的黄河北岸。 2.以国民党原陇南兵团的第91军、第120军，配置在兰州至靖远一带，为策应兰州的左翼部队。 3.韩起功的骑兵军防守洮河，为兰州右翼部队。 这只是一个大致的作战方案，后来马步芳又将其细化为4大军事要点，以西北军政长官公署的名义下发各部队，其具体内容为： 1.置有力骑兵部队于榆中、甘草店一带，迟滞共军前进，以赢得防御准备时间。 2.如果共军主力直扑兰州时，兰州守军借坚固工事，予以杀伤，待敌我兵力接近平衡时，断然转移攻势。此时，北岸骑兵部队应支援骑兵军，努力击破当面之敌，向内官营、定西开进；兰州左翼部队即向榆中方向运动。 3.如果共军主力向临洮方面发起攻击，兰州及其东北部地区的守军应断然出击，向共军主力侧背攻击。 4.假如共军主力将主攻方向转到靖远方面，该方面的守军应极力阻止其渡河。同时兰州及同心城部队应构成钳形攻势，乘共军半渡歼灭之。