Chapter 207 5. Hu Jun lives, not dies

After Yichuan was besieged by the main force of the Northwest Field Army, Zhang Hanchu, commander of the 24th Brigade reorganized as the commander of the city defense, panicked and called Hu Zongnan and Liu Kan for help.At this time, Hu Zongnan had slipped back to Xi'an from Yan'an. Hu Zongnan, who was sitting in Xi'an, was not as panicked as Zhang Hanchu was when he heard the news. He believed that one-third of the Northwest Field Army was composed of guerrillas, with only five columns.After the second column crosses the Yellow River, it must first capture Hancheng and Heyang, and it is impossible to use it in Yichuan.The remaining 4 columns are now besieging Yichuan with 3 columns, and only 1 column may be used to block reinforcements.Therefore, he "in addition to deploying air force support, he immediately made the following deployments: first, the entire 24th brigade should stand by and wait for reinforcements, attracting the main force of the bandit army, as a support for our offensive; second, Liu Kan, the commander of the 29th army, immediately led The 27th and 90th divisions (actually 4 brigades and 10 regiments) marched along Luochuan, Yongxiang, and Wazi Streets to Yichuan, wiped out the bandits, and relieved the siege of Yichuan." ("National Revolutionary Army Battle History", Part 5, Volume 5)

After receiving Hu Zongnan's order, the enemy did not dare to hesitate, and immediately led the 31st and 47th Brigades of the Reorganized 27th Division and the 53rd and 61st Brigades of the Reorganized 90th Division, with more than 24,000 people, on February 26. The roads of Yongxiang and Wazi Street rushed towards Yichuan day and night. From Luochuan to Yichuan, it is about 200 li, and it takes two days to march quickly.In the afternoon of the same day, two brigades of Liu Kan's Reorganized 27th Division arrived at camp near Yongxiang. Wang Yingzun, the commander of the Reorganized 27th Division, got off the jeep and walked into the room prepared for him. Before he could sit down, the combat staff officer rushed in and reported: Near Guanting, about 50 miles northeast of Yongxiang. , found troops of the Northwest Field Army.Wang Yingzun was quite surprised when he heard that, and hurriedly picked up the phone to report to Liu Kan, but after thinking about it, he put down the phone again, and then ordered the combat staff: "Tell the vanguard to send a light battalion to go to the Guanting area in the starry night. Conduct reconnaissance."

After the light-armed battalion sent out broke into Guanting, they exchanged fire with the first column of the Northwest Field Army, and it was too late to retreat, so they fell into a heavy siege.After a melee, most of the enemy's lightly armed battalion lost, and only a few soldiers led by the battalion commander escaped back. Wang Yingzun immediately reported the situation to Liu Kan, and suggested to Liu Kan that he concentrate his efforts on attacking Guanting first, and then go from Guanting to relieve the siege of Yichuan. After Liu Kan heard this, he asked back, "Why do you want to visit Guanting first?"

Wang Yingzun analyzed that the reason is very simple. Now that the communist army has surrounded Yichuan and assembled a larger force in Guanting, it is obviously preparing to send reinforcements. If this flank threat is not removed first, they will still follow the Luoyi Highway If we go forward, not only will we not be able to complete the task of resolving the siege of Yichuan, but the siege troops themselves will also be in danger; if we capture Guanting first, we will not only be able to relieve the threat of the flanks and avoid danger, but also in terms of terrain, we can go directly to Guanting along a mountain ridge. Under the city of Yichuan, it is relatively easy to solve the siege of Yichuan.

Liu Kan is not an idiot.He was born in a poor peasant family in Chaoyang Township, Taoyuan County, Hunan Province in 1906. He later entered Whampoa Military Academy to study. In May 1945, the Japanese army wanted to disrupt the deployment of the Chinese army to retreat to the mountainous area of ​​western Henan, and more than 10,000 troops marched westward.Liu Kan, who was the commander of the 36th Army at that time, led his troops to take advantage of the complex terrain in Lingbao and Lushi to resist tenaciously, and the Japanese troops who entered Lingbao were quickly defeated. In January 1946, Liu Kan was appointed as the commander of the reorganized 29th Army. In March 1947, under the command of Hu Zongnan, he led his troops to attack Yan'an.Now, he is too familiar with the terrain around Wazi Street, and he is afraid of an ambush by the Northwest Field Army here, so he wants to go around to Guanting from the left.Liu Kan agreed with Wang Yingzun's opinion and immediately asked Hu Zongnan for instructions. Hu Zongnan called back and said: "Yichuan is urgent. According to the original plan, regardless of everything, we will go east to help." In front of you, is it okay if you don't fight? !

Hu Zongnan's order can be said to have pushed Liu Kan to the point of death.Liu Kan had no choice but to move on.