Chapter 113 5. The Li Xianzhou Group was commanded dizzy

Because Chen Cheng and Wang Yaowu had different views on the Kuomintang army's occupation of Linyi, they had conflicts in combat determination and combat guidance, which caused the Li Xianzhou Group to shrink northward and southward suddenly, and frequently mobilized. Chen Cheng was dazzled by the good news of the "Linyi Great Victory". While ordering the troops on the southern front to continue to advance northward, he ordered Wang Yaowu's troops to cooperate from the northern front to press southward, in an attempt to compress Chen Yi's troops in the Yimeng Mountains and completely wipe them out.Called Wang Yaowu and said: "Our army fought against the enemy in northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong, and wiped out a large number of enemies. The enemy's army was distracted, lacked food and ammunition, and was unable to fight our main force. Chen Yi led his main force to abandon Linyi and fled north. , There was an attempt to avoid the war on the Yellow River. It is necessary to strengthen the defense of the Yellow River, so as not to let it go north of the Yellow River, and then wipe it out in the area south of the Yellow River." Chen Cheng obtained Chiang Kai-shek's consent and issued a clearer order to Wang Yaowu : "The commander sent an army to Laiwu, and an army to Xintai to lure the enemy to attack, so as not to let him continue to flee northward. After our defenders have attracted the enemy, we will quickly reinforce them with troops, attack from inside and outside and wipe them out. .”

Wang Yaowu still did not believe that Chen Yi's army had been defeated based on his experience fighting with the communist army.He suggested not to divide the troops to go south, but to place the 12th Army between Boshan and Laiwu, guard the established positions, cooperate with the 73rd Army in Boshan, and wait for the Communist army to attack.However, both Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng disagreed with Wang Yaowu's conservative tactics. On February 13, Chiang Kai-shek urged Wang Yaowu to send troops to Laiwu and Xintai with a personal letter on February 13. His tone was firm and there was no room for negotiation.

Wang Yaowu could only carry out Jiang's order, and sent Li Xianzhou, the deputy commander of the 2nd appeasement area, as the front-line commander to Boshan to dispatch troops to the south. (Wang Yaowu: "The Annihilation of Jiang's Army in Laiwu", see the 8th series of "Selected Collection of Literature and History") Li Xianzhou, born in Changqing, Shandong, graduated from the first phase of Whampoa.He participated in the Northern Expedition and fought all the way to Jinan.At that time, the Japanese army created the "Jinan Massacre" and massacred Chinese compatriots. Li Xianzhou impassionedly called for a fight, but was stopped by Chiang Kai-shek.Chiang Kai-shek appreciated his integrity and asked him to reform the army of the old warlord.Li Xianzhou served as the commander of the 21st Division and transformed this miscellaneous unit into a direct line unit of Jiang Jun.During the Anti-Japanese War, he participated in the battles of Juyongguan and Xinkou, and was seriously injured in the battle. He still encouraged his subordinates to stick to their positions. He was commended by Chiang Kai-shek and promoted to the commander of the 92nd Army.In the later period of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Xianzhou's troops stationed in Huaibei and Lunan often provoked conflicts with the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and suffered heavy blows from our army.After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Xianzhou's troops were reorganized and his 28th Army's designation was cancelled. He was appointed as the deputy commander of the 2nd Appeasement Zone, under Wang Yaowu, who was younger than him.Li Xianzhou did not have his own old army in his hands, and was actually emptied, just in name.

On February 12, Li Xianzhou arrived at the Boshan headquarters and commanded the 12th, 73rd, and 46th armies to attack south.These three armies have not been reorganized, and their strength is equivalent to the reorganized divisions of the Kuomintang Army on the southern front.In terms of combat effectiveness and equipment, except for Han Jun's 73rd Army, which is Wang Yaowu's basic force, which is slightly stronger, the other two armies are average.Han Jun and Li Xianzhou are both first-year Whampoa students, but they haven't worked together since graduation. Huo Shouyi, commander of the 12th Army, and Han Liancheng, commander of the 46th Army, did not know each other at all.Li Xianzhou said: "In the Kuomintang army, it has become a habit to talk about historical relationships and personal feelings first." He can't command these unfamiliar troops, and he can only listen to Wang Yaowu's remote control.

At the same time, Wang Yaowu still sent a plane to scout around, and he found signs of large troops moving on the ground.At this time, the 46th Army discovered that the Communist Army was also active on both sides of Yanzhuang.Li Xianzhou telegraphed Wang Yaowu, believing that the troops going north were indeed the main force of the communist army.He judged that there was no sign of a decisive battle in southern Shandong, and central Shandong was a good base for the Communist Army, and the Communist Army would never give up. Li Xianzhou's opinion was consistent with that of Wang Yaowu. In the early morning of February 16, Wang Yaowu ordered the 46th Army to withdraw from Xintai Huiyan Village, and Li Xianzhou's headquarters and the 73rd Army withdrew from Yanzhuang to Laiwu.After the order was issued, the officers and soldiers of the 46th and 73rd Army were not satisfied.They believed the bragging of Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng, and believed that under the favorable situation of the north-south attack, retreating before contacting the communist army would be too embarrassing and damage morale.

Chen Cheng was very annoyed when he heard the news, and asked Wang Yaowu: "Why didn't you give an order and retreat without authorization!"Order the northern front troops to resume their original deployment. The 46th and 73rd armies had just started to move, and Wang Yaowu's telegram came again, and they did not move according to the original position.The Kuomintang officers were very happy, and said proudly: "Unless the New Fourth Army does not come, if it dares to come, it must make him suffer." ) On February 17, the 46th Army returned to Xintai, and the main force of the 73rd Army returned to Yanzhuang.