Chapter 344 3. "Northwest Joint Defense Military Conference"

On the Northwest battlefield, after Hu Zongnan's main force was wiped out, Ma Bufang in Qinghai and Ma Hongkui in Ningxia were divided, and Lanzhou and Yinchuan were in emergency one after another. Chiang Kai-shek was never reconciled to handing over the Great Northwest to the Communist Party of China. He also wanted to use all the strength of the Qingning Erma to fight the First Field Army to the death. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek, who had already left the field, hurriedly carried Li Zongren behind his back, and appointed Yan Xishan, the president of the Executive Yuan and Minister of National Defense of the Kuomintang government, to immediately convene Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui, Hu Zongnan and others in Guangzhou to hold a "Northwest Joint Defense Military Conference" to plot Northwest military affairs. Defense, planning a decisive battle with the communist army in Lanzhou.

After being appointed by Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan did not dare to neglect, and immediately called Hu Zongnan, Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and others to Guangzhou. On August 14, the "Northwest Joint Defense Military Conference" hosted by Yan Xishan was held in Guangzhou. Unexpectedly, as soon as Yan Xishan made a few opening remarks, Hu Zongnan, Ma Bufang, and Ma Hongkui started arguing.I saw 3 people coming and going, blaming each other, not giving in to each other, the more noisy the more vigorous. Seeing this situation, Yan Xishan hastily stopped it.He said: "The Northwest Defense Conference we held today is a meeting of sincere unity, a meeting of solidarity, a meeting of co-protecting Lanzhou. From now on, no one should mention the past. Right now, Peace is the most precious thing, and tolerance is the most important thing. As the saying goes, harmony makes gold, and tolerance wins everyone. If this is the case, everything will go smoothly, and thousands of auspiciousness will gather.”

Then, Yan Xishan said: "The key to the next step is the Battle of Lanzhou. Lanzhou has solid fortifications and the natural danger of the Yellow River as the basis. Our army has concentrated forces and sufficient ammunition. After a long journey, the Communist Army has been exhausted. The rear supply is difficult. Therefore, the Battle of Lanzhou, Our army can wait for work with leisure and wipe out Peng Dehuai's main force under the city of Lanzhou! It is also just around the corner to fundamentally change the situation in the Northwest battle!" Although Hu Zongnan, Ma Bufang, and Ma Hongkui all participated in this "Northwest Joint Defense Military Conference" with their own ideas, but after hearing Yan Xishan's encouragement, they were all excited about the Lanzhou battle and expressed their desire to unite , In a decisive battle with the Communist Army in Lanzhou.So, after some planning, they jointly formulated a "Lanzhou Decisive Battle Plan":

——Relying on the natural dangers of the Yellow River and Lanzhou's strong fortifications, Ma Bufang's Department attracted and consumed the main force of the First Field Army; ——Use Ma Hongkui's troops assembled in the Zhongwei and Zhongning areas and Hu Zong's southern army assembled in the Huixian, Chengxian, and Liangdang areas of Longnan to defeat the side of the First Field Army and cut off the rear of the First Field Army. Then, with a three-way attack, the First Field Army was defeated in the outskirts of Lanzhou. At the same time, they also decided to move the Xinjiang Garrison Headquarters Tao Zhiyue to the east in order to participate in operations in Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia.The Kuomintang High Command also agreed to dispatch the Air Force to support the Lanzhou Battle.

During the meeting, Yan Xishan also officially announced the appointment of Ma Hongkui as the chairman of the Gansu Provincial Government signed by the Kuomintang government on August 1 in order to try his best to coordinate and ease the conflicts between Hu Zongnan and the two horses of Qingning and Ningxia, as well as the two horses of Qingning and Ningxia. The book, and repeatedly emphasized that the interests of the party and the country are the most important, the overall situation is the most important, put aside past suspicions, sincerely unite, and cooperate with each other. Under Yan Xishan's strong mediation, Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui began to swear again, saying that they would live and die together, share adversity, and work together to defend Lanzhou, and agreed to fly back to Lanzhou together to command the battle together.

However, their vows cannot be believed at all. In the early morning of August 19, when the plane was about to take off, Ma Hongkui went directly to Yinchuan, Ningxia, on the grounds that he would go back to Ningxia to deploy troops to support Lanzhou. When Ma Bufang learned about it, she cursed angrily, "This old guy really doesn't keep his word!" But what can he do!I had no choice but to board the plane alone and return to Lanzhou.