Chapter 31 Chapter 6 From the Siege of Beiping to the Founding Ceremony

Towards the end of 1948, Colonel David Barrett of the U.S. military delegation was having lunch in Peking with John Melby, the latter from the U.S. embassy in Nanking.It was a sunny day, and the warm sunlight shone through the persimmon trees. However, the rumbling sound of the cannon shook off the chopsticks on the table.The People's Liberation Army has reached Xishan, from where you can overlook the whole city of Peiping.Shell shrapnel flew down to Peiping Airport. Although the military situation is hopeless, Fu Zuoyi, who is alone in Beiping, still commands more than 700,000 troops in the Beijing Garrison Command.Fu Zuoyi successively abandoned two passes on the Great Wall, Nankou in the north of Beiping and Gubeikou in the northeast, but he still had a glimmer of hope, which was to "try to ensure the smooth passage of Tianjin to the sea. It is the only sea line of communication with the southern provinces." Zhou Zhitong, 86, said.

When the 363rd Regiment of the 121st Division of the Northeast Field Army that Zhou Zhitong was in that year arrived at the designated location outside the ancient capital, he received a new mission. "At that time, the military department was stationed in Dayouzhuang, north of the Summer Palace, and the artillery regiment was stationed at Qinglong Bridge." Zhou Zhitong recalled, "The military department sent a new order in January 1949: clear the enemy stronghold fortifications on the outskirts of the northwest suburbs as soon as possible, and complete the For the reconnaissance work from Fuchengmen to Dongzhimen and the northern half of the city, prepare for the attack, and our division will take on the task of attacking the city."

After the western suburbs of Beiping were taken under control, the 121st Division invested a battalion of troops to board a train bound for the city that would stop very close to Zhonghua Gate.This raid plan was almost successful, but a small flaw was discovered by the signalman on duty at Xizhimen Station. "He found on the train timetable that there was no scheduled train passing through Xizhimen at that time in the afternoon, so he sent a signal to order the train to stop, and then called his superiors for instructions. In this way, the Kuomintang defenders found that the train had been controlled by us. They ordered the city gates to be closed and guarded strictly." Qian Haobing, who had served as a scout in the 361st Regiment of the 121st Division, participated in the special operation, he recalled.At this time, Beiping has been completely isolated by the ancient city walls, and all communication with the outside world has been completely cut off.

Fu Zuoyi didn't intend to give up resistance at the beginning. He decided to endure an ancient test of siege in the fortified city of Beiping. Qian Haobing, who climbed the city walls shortly after the People's Liberation Army entered the city, said he was overwhelmed by the unprecedented 500-year-old fortifications. "It is the strongest city wall I have ever seen: the foundation of the wall is a compacted earth surface, and the top of the wide city wall can be used as a driveway, which is half the width of the wall foundation. There are 3 floors on the gate and each corner of the city wall The tall tower guards, the solid stone walls are pierced with gun holes, and the curved tile roof is more magnificent than the walls of other cities." Qian Haobing said, "The symbolic resistance of using the city walls as defense lasted for a short time. It’s time for Fu Zuoyi to accept the peaceful adaptation in the name of the joint.”

In the days that followed, Fu Zuoyi built a temporary airport in the huge Temple of Heaven Park in old Peking. "Light aircraft can take off from this airport inside the city wall, and you can also land, but it's a bit risky," said Ma Ju, who worked as a secretary in Peng Zhen's office from 1954 to 1958. First, he recalled: "During the siege, many senior Kuomintang officials flew from this airport to Tianjin and then arrived in Shanghai. This was the fragile lifeline of the Kuomintang regime, and it was also short-lived." The People's Liberation Army's anti-aircraft guns were deployed very close to the city wall, so the emergency runway of the airport became very dangerous. Before the siege was lifted, ordinary mail could no longer enter and exit through this passage. There was a backlog of mail from all over the world. On the merchant ships of various countries on the high seas, waiting for the situation to become clear.

Outside the city, Zhou Zhitong's 363rd Regiment has begun to deploy intense siege and street fighting training since January 7, 1949.As a political commissar, Zhou Zhitong not only went to the Old Summer Palace, Heishanhu, and Yuquan Mountain to inspect the terrain every day, but also commanded his subordinates to "use the buildings and pavilions destroyed by the British and French allied forces on the former site of the Old Summer Palace to practice fortifications, ladders, blasting, and infantry. Coordination and other tactical combat actions".The reason why he chose to practice in the Old Summer Palace, Zhou Zhitong recalled, "The main reason is to use the real situation to study how to destroy the enemy and protect the cultural relics."

Zhou Zhitong said, "The soldiers and cadres have unpacked and washed cotton-padded clothes and quilts, made backpack straps 1.7 feet long and half an inch wide with new white cloth, and adjusted some equipment. The logistics supply and management personnel are also making full preparations: steaming nests Wotou, bake sorghum bread, buy vegetables, buy oil and salt, prepare horses and grass, collect living utensils after entering the city, and prepare enough food and grass for three days after entering the city. Everyone is waiting for the "siege order" to be issued." More and more people gathered outside the old Peking.In addition to the combat troops, there are also agencies at all levels waiting to be stationed, and in order to maintain social order in the soon-to-be-liberated Beiping and Tianjin, the Pingjin Garrison Picket Corps was adapted from the Infantry School of North China Military and Political University.Most of the latter two are concentrated in Liangxiang. "At the beginning of December 1948, we received an order to march from Jin County to Liangxiang on foot. There was heavy snow along the way, and we walked 80-100 kilometers every day. We arrived at Liaoshigang outside Dongguan, Liangxiang County, and were stationed on standby." Kang Pengshou, who used to be a member of the picket team in the Pingjin Garrison District, recalled, "Before we entered the city, we were mainly responsible for security tasks. The Liaoshigang Highland is adjacent to the Liangxiang Station of the Pinghan Railway in the west and the Pingshi Highway, facing Liangxiang City. It is an important position for fortification. There is a quaint Haotian tower on the high ground, and the observation hole in the tower can monitor whether there are any changes in Liangxiang City, railways and highways."