Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Black Soil Rage

The news that the 89th Division was wiped out by the Democratic Alliance Army in the Waishi Lazi Valley reached Shenyang, and Du Yuming remained silent for a long while.He locked himself in the war room and didn't allow anyone to enter, even the doctor who saw him every day was no exception. Chief of Staff Zhao Jiaxiang was at a loss, pacing back and forth outside the war room door.Looking at the withered peach blossoms in the courtyard, he sighed, "This spring really didn't bloom well!" The orderly looked at Zhao Jiaxiang with his dinner.Zhao Jiaxiang waved his hand, without saying a word, the orderly had no choice but to retreat bored.At this time, Zhao Jiaxiang suddenly thought of Zheng Dongguo, so he called Zheng Dongguo back to Shenyang on his own initiative.

It was already 4 o'clock in the morning when Zheng Dongguo arrived at Du Yuming's mansion in Shenyang, and the guards immediately notified Zhao Jiaxiang.Zhao Jiaxiang had been waiting for news from Zheng Dongguo, and when he heard the report from the guards, he hurried to the door to greet him. The car drove into the compound, and Zheng Dongguo fell asleep lying in the car.The adjutant said: "Deputy Chief Zheng, we are here, wake up, we are here!" Seeing this scene, Zhao Jiaxiang went to the car, pushed the adjutant away, got into the car, and shouted: "Brother Gui Ting, wake up!"

Zheng Dongguo sat up slowly, rubbed his eyes, and said, "I slept so hard this time, I almost couldn't get up!" Zhao Jiaxiang knew that he had something to say, so he said: "Mr. Du is sick. He neither eats nor seeks medical treatment. The Northeast is in danger!" Zheng Dongguo got out of the car and walked into the minister's office side by side with Zhao Jiaxiang. They talked about the Northeast War situation while walking.Zheng Dongguo believed that the failure of the strategy of "attacking from the south and defending from the north" was due to the fact that the Songhua River was frozen, the troops in the north were weak, the river defense fortress was useless, and the communist army was free to come and go.Zhao Jiaxiang believes that the current crisis facing the Northeast is not caused by the strategy of "attacking from the south and defending from the north", but because the commanders in the field are passive and conservative, making it impossible to attack the south and defend the north.

Both believed that the lack of troops was an important reason why the strategy of "attacking from the south and defending from the north" could not be realized.The south could not be attacked, so the troops from the north were transferred to the south; the north could not be defended, so the troops from the south were transferred to the north.The national army went north and south, exhausted, unable to look at each other from head to tail, and suffered losses on both sides. Zheng Dongguo pushed open the door of the war room, and saw Du Yuming lying on the sand table map with small red and blue pennant flags.That concentrating look reminded Zheng Dongguo of the resolute and decisive Deputy Commander Du during the expedition to the Burmese jungle.Zheng Dongguo wondered if what Zhao Jiaxiang said was true.He believes that the person who does not eat, does not seek medical treatment, and abandons himself is definitely not Du Yuming.

Du Yuming will not collapse. "Brother Guangting." Zheng Dongguo called out cordially. "Gui Ting?" Du Yuming raised his head, "Why are you here? It's so late, what are you doing here?" "I drove hundreds of miles overnight to chat with you and relieve boredom." Zheng Dongguo pointed to the sand table and said, "It's also good to play against the sand table." Du Yuming understood and said, "Okay, I am the Communist Army, and you are the National Army." Du and Zheng fought in the sand table for 20 minutes. As a result, the communist army took the lead everywhere, while the national army was passively beaten everywhere.

Du Yuming said: "If the Communist Army launched an offensive simultaneously from the five directions west of Changchun, east of Jilin, north of Zhengjiatun, northwest of Tonghua, and Jichareliao, the national army would be in danger!" Zheng Dongguo said: "In order to cope with the crisis, the national army must increase by at least two troops." "You fly to Nanjing tomorrow, tell the old man the truth about the Northeast, and ask him to send two more armies to the Northeast." Du Yuming paused for a while, and said, "At least the 53rd Army in Rehe should be returned to the Northeast establishment."

Zheng Dongguo went to Nanjing to meet Chiang Kai-shek and gave a detailed report on the dangerous situation faced by the Northeast Kuomintang Army.Chiang Kai-shek's eyes straightened when he heard this, and he said after a long while: "I thought the situation in the Northeast was better than that in the war zones in the pass. Guangting took care of me alone, which saved me a lot of worry. I didn't expect it to be like this. I was too optimistic. The estimation of the situation in the Northeast is too optimistic!" "In order to save the crisis, the most urgent task is to reinforce the strength of at least two armies to the northeast." Zheng Dongguo said.

Chiang Kai-shek stared at Zheng Dongguo with wide eyes, as if he didn't know him.Zheng Dongguo knew that it would be unrealistic to transfer two armies to the Northeast, so he said, "At least the 53rd Army must be returned to the Northeast. Principal, otherwise, the situation in the Northeast will be out of control." "The Northeast is certainly important, but Nanjing is even more important. Chen Yi from Shandong, Liu Bocheng from the Central Plains, and Peng Dehuai from northern Shaanxi are all as difficult to deal with as Lin Biao. All the battlefields in the pass are deadlocked, and it is necessary to increase the strength of several armies to break the deadlock and overwhelm the Communist army. Where They couldn’t draw any troops, and they were all in a stalemate with the Communist Army. Now not only cannot two additional armies be transferred to the northeast, but even the 53rd Army cannot be returned to the organizational system.” Chiang Kai-shek said excitedly.

Zheng Dongguo went to see Defense Minister Bai Chongxi again. Before Zheng Dongguo could finish his sentence, Bai Chongxi said, "Last year I went to inspect the Siping front line. The situation was not what you said. The Northeast battlefield was the most inspiring. It was less than a year. How could this be? Are you exaggerating the truth?" Zheng Dongguo gave a detailed account of the evolution of the situation in Northeast China after the Battle of Siping, and finally said angrily: "If the Northeast cannot be defended, North China will also be finished, and the lips will be dead and the teeth will be cold!"

"Even if the Northeast is lost, North China cannot be lost." Bai Chongxi insisted that North China is more important than Northeast China. Zheng Dongguo understood the weight of Li Zongren, director of North China Xingyuan, in Bai Chongxi's heart, and they all belonged to the Gui family.The conversation between Zheng Dongguo and Bai Chongxi was certainly not speculative, so they broke up unhappy. The sandbox game previewed by Du Yuming and Zheng Dongguo really became a reality. On May 13, 1947, the Northeast Democratic Alliance launched a powerful offensive in five directions estimated by Du Yuming at the same time.Facing the offensive of the communist army, the national army could only do its best to cope with it.

At dawn on May 14, the main force of the 2nd column of the Democratic Alliance Army, which had been on a long-distance attack, suddenly surrounded Huaide.Liu Zhen, the commander of the second column, and Wu Faxian, the political commissar, hurried to the foot of a mountain outside Huaide City in a jeep.Hu Jicheng, the commander of the 4th Division, immediately reported: "The enemy is all huddled in the city, and there are only a few small strongholds on the outside. They are all wrapped in dumplings, and none of them escaped." "Very good!" Liu Zhen laughed, "I'm going to take him down." Wu Faxian asked: "How many enemies are there in the city? Have you figured it out?" Hu Jicheng said: "I will immediately organize a reconnaissance team to capture prisoners in the outlying strongholds." "Digging out rats is a specialty of your division's secret service company." Liu Zhen said with a smile, "Try to catch someone who is above a captain, and don't just catch someone who doesn't know anything." "Understood!" Hu Jicheng stepped on his horse and galloped away. Under the careful deployment of the division commander Hu Jicheng, the 4th Division's special agent company broke into a bunker that night and captured more than a dozen prisoners. After the first trial, it was learned that there was a captain and company commander in a nearby stronghold.So the reconnaissance company quietly went to the vicinity of the stronghold and found that the stronghold was heavily guarded.The deputy commander of the reconnaissance company ordered the attack, threw a few grenades and rushed into the stronghold.The captain and company commander were pulled from the bed. Hu Jicheng personally interrogated, and soon found out that Huaide's defenders were the 90th Regiment of the 30th Division of the New 1st Army, the 17th Security Regiment, and a part of the 2nd Cavalry Division, with a total of 5,000 people. The defenses of Huaide City were extremely strong. The moat was seven or eight meters wide and three or four meters deep. Outside the moat was a roof-shaped barbed wire fence. Liu Zhen immediately reported Huaide's enemy situation to the headquarters.Liu Yalou, chief of staff of the headquarters, replied: Xiang Dianyuan, head of the 90th Regiment of the 30th Division of the New 1st Army of the Huaide Defending Army, saw that the Communist army was densely packed outside the city, and he was flustered. On May 15, Sun Liren called from Changchun, ordering Xiang Dianyuan to lead his troops to break through.Soon, Du Yuming called from Shenyang, ordering the Huaide defenders to stand by and wait for help. The reinforcements rushed to Huaide in two ways: one from Changchun and the other from Siping. On May 15, Liu Zhen and Wu Faxian reported to the headquarters that preparations for the siege had been made and requested a quick siege.Liu Yalou reported to Lin Biao: "Mr. Lin, the 2nd Zong is ready. Do you want to order the attack?" "Wait for a while." Lin Biao said, "We have to do the math. The siege is a small matter, and the most important thing is to help." In the early morning of May 16, the 2nd Column finally received an order from the headquarters to attack the city that night.At this time, the enemy's two reinforcements were approaching.In particular, the 88th Division of the 71st Army, which Siping came to aid, acted particularly swiftly under the command of the division commander Han Zengdong, and the shells had already landed on the blocking position of the 5th Division of the 2nd Column. At 7:00 p.m. on the 16th, Liu Zhen officially issued an order to siege the city. Hundreds of cannons from the Democratic Alliance Army fired at the same time, and the defenses of Huaide City quickly collapsed.The enemy was overwhelmed by the unprecedentedly powerful artillery fire.In just half an hour, a regiment of the 6th Division of the 2nd Column rushed into the city and started fierce street fighting with the enemy. In the early morning of the 17th, after a night of fierce fighting, most of Huaide's defenders were wiped out.Only Xiang Dianyuan, the head of the 90th regiment, led more than 400 remnants of the remnants to stay in the Guandi Temple and Da Shaoguo courtyard in the north of the city.Due to the strong fortifications, high terrain, and concentrated enemy firepower, the 4th Division's two attacks were ineffective.Hu Jicheng ordered to stop the attack, and at the same time mobilized artillery to prepare for a devastating blow to the defending enemy. At this time, Liu Zhen received an order from the headquarters. Except for one regiment to continue to encircle and wipe out Huaide to defend the enemy, the rest of the troops immediately moved to the southwest, preparing to encircle and wipe out the main force of the 71st Army of the enemy who came to aid Siping with the main force of the first column. The 1st Column handed over the task of blocking the enemy who came to aid from Changchun to the 1st Division, and then quickly went south to a preset pocket position in the Dahei Forest area, preparing to encircle and wipe out the 88th Division of the 71st Army. At noon on the 17th, the 88th Division and 91st Division of the 71st Army entered the preset pocket of the Democratic Alliance Army in Daheilinzi.Han Zengdong faced the same situation two months ago. The 88th Division was almost completely wiped out in Kaoshantun. At that time, he escaped with a small number of people. Annihilating blow. The battle started at noon on the 17th and ended at 2 pm on the 18th.The Democratic Alliance Army wiped out all of the 88th Division and most of the 91st Division.More than 800 people, including Feng Zongyi, chief of staff of the 71st Army, and Han Zengdong, commander of the 88th Division, were killed and more than 5,000 were captured. When the entire 88th Division was wiped out, Chen Mingren, the commander of the 71st Army, did not know the truth and still led the 87th Division to reinforce.When Chen Mingren arrived at Gongzhuling and received a call from Du Yuming, he learned that the 88th Division had been wiped out, so he quickly withdrew his troops to the south bank of the Liaohe River. As soon as Chen Mingren left Gongzhuling, the vanguard of the Democratic Alliance Army entered the Harajuku camp of the 71st Army.A mortar bomb damaged the tires of the car at one point, and Chen Mingren jumped into a jeep and fled in a hurry. On May 20th, Du Yuming was lying in the bedroom of Shenyang Northeast Security Commander's Headquarters, his face full of frustration.He had just taken sleeping pills and wanted to rest peacefully for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep.On a sudden whim, he got up from the bed, walked to the radio, and tuned to the Harbin station controlled by the Communist Party. A friendly female voice came out from the radio: "The reporter met with General Lin Biao, Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army at a certain place on the front line. The good news from all over the front line continued to come in. Commander-in-Chief Lin took the good news that our army recaptured Gongzhuling today, and smiled. He said to the reporter with a look of recollection: "Yesterday last year we withdrew from Siping, and yesterday this year we wiped out two enemy divisions; last year today, we just left Gongzhuling, and today we regained Gongzhuling, which is exactly the first anniversary."" The radio was still broadcasting Lin Biao's comments on the war situation, and Du Yuming suddenly thought of Siping.He immediately called Chief of Staff Zhao Jiaxiang: "Hurry up and inform Chen Mingren to strengthen Siping's fortifications and shrink troops. The next offensive of the Communist Army may be Siping, no, it must be Siping." "Yes, I will notify the 71st Army immediately." Zhao Jiaxiang said, "Nanjing has sent three urgent telegrams, but there is still no reply." "It seems that the old man doesn't want to reinforce the Northeast!" Du Yuming said, "We must shrink the front line and stick to the big strategic points. Shenyang and Changchun should also make early plans to repair the city defense fortifications." The main force of the North Manchurian Democratic Alliance Army approached the suburbs of Changchun on May 21 and once occupied the airport.The sound of artillery can often be heard in Changchun City, people panic, and the American Consulate hastily evacuated.When the main force of the 1st column was attacking the Daxing Bridge in Xiguan, Changchun, an urgent telegram was received from the headquarters: On May 22, the main force of the 1st Column, the 6th Column, and the Deng Hua Column arrived at the city of Siping one after another.Chen Mingren, the defender of Siping, saw that the Democratic Alliance Army was coming fiercely, and almost all the elite troops of the 71st Army were wiped out. At that time, Siping was mainly a miscellaneous security force.Chen Mingren wanted to retreat, but leading these miscellaneous troops to flee may lead to chaotic situations that cannot be dealt with.In addition, the Democratic Alliance Army is best at long-distance raids, if intercepted on the road, the entire army may be wiped out.Compared with the two, it is better to defend than withdraw. Chen Mingren also understood Lin Biao's tactics.When besieging a city and fighting for reinforcements, the besieging force is small, but the reinforcement force is large. When besieging the city, the outer strongholds are always cleared first, the encirclement circle is reduced to a small size, and then the superior force and firepower are concentrated to attack one or two breakthroughs.If Lin Biao still uses the old way to fight Siping, then Siping will be saved.When the Democratic Alliance Army started to clear the outlying strongholds, it would take at least half a month due to the small number of troops invested. In this half month, Chen Mingren could calmly reorganize the 88th Division of the 71st Army that was wiped out, and strengthen the city defense fortifications. Chen Mingren was famous for his victories during the Anti-Japanese War.The Japanese are very good at defending the city. In order to defeat the enemy, Chen Mingren has studied various offensive and defensive tactics of the Japanese army.Now Chen Mingren wants to use the method of the Japanese army to defend the city to deal with Lin Biao. Sure enough, Lin Biao continued to use the old tactics. First, he divided his troops to attack the towns around Siping, but he didn't fight Siping alone, and Chen Mingren was given 20 days. After 20 days, the 71st Army not only regained its vitality, but also became more difficult to deal with than before.Chen Mingren placed the soldiers in a position where they could only defend and could not retreat, so that those who did not want to work hard had to work hard.This is what is said in the art of war, "put it to death and then live". Lin Biao also knew the various tactics of the Kuomintang army well, and he thought that these tactics were not worth mentioning in front of his own tactics.But he didn't expect that Chen Mingren would abandon the traditional tactics of the Kuomintang army and do what the Japanese did.It happened that Lin Biao had never fought a fortified battle during the Anti-Japanese War, and he had never seen the way the Japanese defended the city. On June 14, the Democratic Alliance Army finally completely wiped out the outskirts of Siping.Lin Biao called Li Tianyou, the commander of the 1st column in Shuangcheng, and asked him to serve as the commander-in-chief of the siege.The original time for the siege was 2 p.m., but it rained cats and dogs. The artillery positions were soaked in rain, and the soil was soft and collapsed. They had to brave the rain to reinforce their positions. The heavy rain stopped at dusk. Dusk was about to fall, and the scenery outside the city was blurred. Chen Mingren held up his binoculars to check the position of the Democratic Alliance Army for the last time. "Military seat, look at the posture, the communist army may attack the city tonight." Xiong Xinmin, commander of the 87th Division, said worriedly. "Send the order down immediately, pay attention to concealment, the communist army is about to fire." Chen Mingren put down the binoculars and said. Xiong Xinmin said: "Let's get down from the military seat too. The artillery fire of the communist army is not what it used to be. It is stronger than the firepower of the Japanese back then." "I want to see with my own eyes how fierce the communist army's firepower is." Chen Mingren said calmly while standing on the city wall. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the ground began to tremble, the sound of rumbling guns was deafening, and the dark sky was suddenly illuminated by the dazzling ballistic trajectory.Chen Mingren stood on the city wall, shells exploded all around. "Junzuo, it's too dangerous!" Xiong Xinmin jumped out of the bunker and forcibly dragged Chen Mingren away. "The artillery fire of the communist army is too powerful," Chen Mingren sighed. "I have fought for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I have seen such fierce artillery fire. Sigh! Lin Biao's wings are stiff!" Chiang Kai-shek was shocked when he received an emergency call from Chen Mingren.More than 100,000 democratic coalition forces besieged Siping, and the Kuomintang defenders had only more than 30,000 people, and most of them were local security forces with weak combat effectiveness.Siping's strategic position is extremely important. If Siping falls, it will not only cut off the middle and long lines, but also encircle Changchun, Jilin and other cities, and the consequences will be disastrous. Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent a telegram to Du Yuming, restricting him to relieve the siege of Siping before June 30. At this time, Du Yuming's condition had worsened, so he summoned Zheng Dongguo and came to the war room with his weak body.Pointing to the sand table map, he said sadly: "Gui Ting, the game we played not long ago has really become a reality!" "Brother Guangting, the principal ordered us to break the siege of Siping before June 30." Zheng Dongguo said, "If all Shenyang troops are mobilized, the South Manchurian Communist Army will take advantage of the situation and threaten Shenyang." "Yes, we must 'mop up' the Communist Army in Benxi to ensure the safety of Shenyang before we can go north to relieve the siege of Siping." Du Yuming said, "I am not in good health, and I want you to help me carry this burden, first south and then north, After defeating the Communist Army in Benxi, we went north to attack the Communist Army in Siping." "Although this plan is clever, the key lies in whether Chen Mingren can last until June 27." Zheng Dongguo said, "Otherwise, the situation will take a turn for the worse, and the overall situation is in danger!" "We can only fight with our backs!" Du Yuming said helplessly, "The bet is on Chen Mingren, success or failure depends on it." On June 20, Zheng Dongguo personally led the main force of the 53rd Army. After a fierce battle, he captured Benxi, guarded by the 4th Column of Nanman, and consolidated the portal of Shenyang.Zheng Dongguo then rushed to Tieling, deployed troops, and began to go north to relieve the siege of Siping. At the same time, Sun Liren led the main force of the New 1st Army to go south from Changchun in an attempt to cooperate with Zheng Dongguo, attack from the north and the south, and fight the main force of the Democratic Alliance Army at the foot of Siping City. At this time, the battle in Siping was in full swing, with the sound of guns and hand-to-hand combat everywhere.Corpses were piled up in the streets and alleys, and the plasma solidified under the scorching sun, like a red carpet.The tragic battle weeps ghosts and frightens the gods. According to Lin Biao's battle plan, Siping must be won within three to five days.On the first day of the general offensive, the democratic coalition forces quickly broke through the Siping city wall and rushed into the urban area. Liu Yalou excitedly told Lin Biao the battle report sent from the front: "The Siping city defense, known as the iron wall, has been broken through in one fell swoop!" Lin Biao paced leisurely, and said to Liu Yalou, "Let go and let Li Tianyou command the battle." Three or five days passed quickly, and Siping was still fighting fiercely. Li Tianyou's first column had too many casualties and had to withdraw from the battle.Hong Xuezhi, commander of the 6th column, took over the command.The 6th Column and the Deng Hua Column continued to fight.Lin Biao could no longer be leisurely, and began to frown, and asked Liu Yalou to pay close attention to and strictly supervise the troops to fight. The Battle of Siping became more and more cruel. The Kuomintang sent two reinforcements, and the north-south confrontation gradually approached.The Democratic Alliance Army had to step up its offensive, and both the enemy and ourselves suffered heavy casualties. The area west of the railway in Siping City has been completely occupied by the Democratic Alliance Army.Chen Mingren's core military position was also breached, and his younger brother Chen Mingxin was taken prisoner.Chen Mingren led the remnants to continue to stick to the Ludong area.Seeing that more than half of the 20,000 defenders suffered casualties, Chen Mingren telegraphed Du Yuming, preparing to "die for the country." The fierce street fighting has not stopped since the 15th, and Chen Mingren also has brilliant ideas for street fighting.He made people lie on the overpass and sprinkled soybeans on the street, causing the soldiers of the Democratic Alliance Army who rushed over to slip and fall.Then black muzzles protruded from the buildings on both sides of the street, so the streets were full of dead bodies and blood. Chen Mingren used this move against the Japanese during the Songhu Anti-Japanese War. The street fighting continued for 11 days without any result.Although Chen Mingren had already made plans to "die for the country", the 71st Army really couldn't stand it.But Hong Xuezhi and Deng Hua's situation is getting more and more dangerous. The two reinforcements of the Kuomintang have already caught up with the troops serving as reinforcements, and half of the city of Siping is still in the hands of Chen Mingren. Liu Yalou believes that if we persist for another day or two, the battle will turn in our favor. Lin Biao asked back: "What if Siping cannot be won within a day or two?" Liu Yalou still wanted to defend himself, but Lin Biao had already made up his mind: Withdraw! This withdrawal saved Chen Mingren's life.In fact, both Zheng Dongguo and Sun Liren were frightened by the "siege of the city" and acted very cautiously.The Democratic Coalition has enough time to give the Siping defenders the final blow. However, Lin Biao was more cautious than Zheng Dongguo. He was afraid that the whole army would be passive if he could not win Siping, so he voluntarily withdrew from the battlefield. On June 27, Zheng Dongguo, who was cautious, discovered through radio reconnaissance that the radio waves that had been very frequent in the east of Zhongchang Road in recent days suddenly stopped.From this, Zheng Dongguo judged that the main force of the communist army was shifting, so he let go of his courage and began to attack in the direction of Siping. Lin Biao was particularly proficient in retreat tactics. He withdrew from Shanhaiguan all the way to the Songhua River, and every time he was able to safely transfer the main force in dangerous situations, making Du Yuming, who was always looking for him for a decisive battle, miss every time.Lin Biao, who is not what he used to be, is even more calm and unhurried. He only feigned a shot, pretending to encircle and annihilate the New Army, and transferred Zheng Dongguo's main force.Then, the Democratic Alliance Army withdrew from the battle in batches. On June 30, Chiang Kai-shek received a telegram that Siping had been relieved, and he was pleasantly surprised: "It's a miracle! Chen Mingren withstood the attack of the Communist army six or seven times stronger than him with his inferior forces. This is the appearance of the eclipsed Huangpu generals The light of hope. Let Chen Mingren and his wife come to Nanjing, and I will personally award him the honor." When Chen Mingren and his wife went to Nanjing, the suspicious Chiang Kai-shek listened to Chen Cheng's slander, not only failed to reuse Chen Mingren, but deprived him of his military power and gave him a slack position as a councilor.At that time, someone reported that Chen Mingren and his subordinates embezzled a large amount of grain in stock.It was the time when the street fighting was in full swing. In order to resist the tide of democratic coalition forces in the city, Chen Mingren opened the warehouse in a hurry and moved bags of grain to the street to build fortifications.Some sacks containing soybeans enabled Chen Mingren to "scatter beans into soldiers".It is said that these grains were never put into storage after the war, but were distributed privately.Why did Chen Cheng seize this matter and make a big fuss? It turned out that Chen Cheng felt that the position of chief of staff was not beneficial, and he had repeatedly failed in commanding operations in the pass, so he thought that the Northeast would gain some limelight while gaining some benefits.He thought that Du Yuming and Chen Mingren were obstacles for him to become the "King of the Northeast", so he designed to "invite" them out of the Northeast. On July 8, under the blow of the Democratic Alliance Army's summer offensive, Du Yuming's condition worsened. He could not cope with the increasingly chaotic situation in the Northeast with a seriously ill body. Coupled with the pressure of domestic public opinion, Du Yuming decided to leave the Northeast and go to the United States for medical treatment. Soon after Du Yuming arrived in Shanghai, it happened to be his mother's birthday.He didn't expect Soong Meiling to go to Shanghai to celebrate his birthday in person, and being moved, he accepted Soong Meiling's retention and canceled his plan to go abroad, hoping to serve Chiang Kai-shek again on the day of recovery. On August 3, Chen Cheng formally took over Xiong Shihui's post, abolished the Northeast Security Commander's Department, and monopolized the party, government and military power in the Northeast.Chen Cheng came to the Northeast, which greatly deepened the internal contradictions of the Kuomintang army. The generals of the 71st Army were all trained by Chen Mingren.As soon as Chen Mingren left, these generals wrote letters to the old chief one after another, expressing to Chen Mingren that they would never cooperate with Chen Cheng, and those who worked for Chen Cheng in vain would not end well. Chen Cheng also successively replaced Xu Zhen, chairman of Liaoning Province, Liang Kai, commander of the 52nd Army, Liu Yuzhang, deputy commander and division commander of the 2nd Division, and commanders of various security detachments, and replaced them with his confidantes. Zhao Jiaxiang persuaded: "The chief will replace all the commanders of the security detachment, and they will lead their troops to defect to the Communist Party." Chen Cheng said firmly: "Whoever wants to vote, let him vote. If he votes today, I will hand over his gun now!" Chen Cheng wanted to expand the army, ready to show Chiang Kai-shek a look.In less than a month, he expanded the troops in the Northeast to 14 armies and 4 regiments, with a total of 540,000 people.Chen Cheng was ready to fight, and he believed that Du Yuming's biggest mistake was not clearing out the communist army west of the Shenjin line. Therefore, Chen Cheng's first battle was in the area west of the Shenjin line. On September 9, Chen Cheng ordered the 49th Army, the 43rd Army, the 50th Division, and the 22nd Division, which had just been transferred from North Jiangsu, to attack Jire, west of Jinzhou. Liao base. While Chen Cheng was expanding his army and preparing for war, the Democratic Alliance Army organized a large number of local armed forces into field troops in order to adapt to the increasingly large-scale war.By September 1947, the field forces had grown to 9 columns, 27 divisions, 10 independent divisions, and 2 cavalry divisions, and formed an artillery headquarters (commander Zhu Rui, political commissar Qiu Chuangcheng) with 4 artillery units The regiment has a total of 290,000 people, plus 227,000 local armed forces, with a total strength of 517,000.The order of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army is as follows: The Democratic Alliance Army Headquarters (commander-in-chief and political commissar Lin Biao, deputy commander-in-chief Zhou Baozhong, Lu Zhengcao, Xiao Jinguang, Huang Kecheng, deputy political commissars Peng Zhen, Luo Ronghuan, Gao Gang, Chen Yun, Li Fuchun, chief of staff Liu Yalou, Wu Xiuquan, director of the Political Department Tan Zheng) directly under the Military and Political University , Aviation School, Artillery School, Engineering School, Artillery Command, Road Guard Army, Independent 2nd Division, 4th Division, 5th Division, and Cavalry Division. The 1st Column (Commander Li Tianyou, Political Commissar Wan Yi) governs the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Divisions; The 2nd Column (Commander Liu Zhen, Political Commissar Wu Faxian) governs the 4th, 5th, and 6th Divisions; The 3rd Column (Commander Han Xianchu, Political Commissar Luo Shunchu) governs the 7th, 8th, and 9th Divisions; The 4th Column (Commanders Hu Qicai, Wu Kehua, Political Commissar Peng Jiaqing) governs the 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions; The 6th Column (Commander Hong Xuezhi, Political Commissar Lai Chuanzhu) governs the 16th, 17th, and 18th Divisions; The 7th Column (Commander Deng Hua, Political Commissar Tao Zhu) governs the 19th, 20th, and 21st Divisions; The 8th Column (Commander Huang Yongsheng, Political Commissar Liu Daosheng) governs the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Divisions; The 9th Column (Commander Zhan Caifang, Political Commissar Li Zhongquan) governs the 25th, 26th, and 27th Divisions; The 10th Column (Commander Liang Xingchu, Political Commissar Zhou Chiping) governs the 28th, 29th, and 30th Divisions. In order to strengthen the organization and command, two forward command posts were established: the front finger of the Liaodong Military Region (commander Xiao Jinguang, political commissar Xiao Hua), commanding the 3rd column, the 4th column and other troops to fight; Hua, political commissar Huang Kecheng), commanded the 8th column, 9th column and other troops to fight.This is the prototype of the Corps. On September 13, Cheng Zihua and Huang Kecheng led the 8th Column, 9th Column, and the 1st Independent Division. Using the tactic of "concentrating forces to defeat each", first annihilated the two regiments of the 50th Division, the enemy's leading force, in Lishu ditch gate.After hearing the news, the enemy's 22nd Division hurriedly turned around and fled eastward.The Democratic Alliance Army pursued and pursued them. In the middle of the night on the 15th, the 23rd Division of the 8th Column caught up with the enemy in the Yangjiazhangzi area, and immediately launched an attack while the enemy was not firmly established. Cheng Zihua ordered the 22nd Division of the 8th Column and the Du 1st Division to rush to Yangjiazhangzi to join the battle to encircle and wipe out the 22nd Division.The general offensive began at 2 pm on the 16th.That night, the 24th Division of the 8th Column also joined the battle after annihilating the enemy at Lishugoumen. Long Zehui, the temporary commander of the 22nd Division, immediately asked Chen Cheng for help.Chen Cheng ordered Wang Tiehan to lead the 49th Army to rush to the rescue.When Wang Tiehan first came to the Northeast, he had the same mentality as Chen Cheng, wanting to find the main force of the Democratic Alliance Army for a decisive battle.When the 49th Army entered Hongluoxian, the 22nd Division had already been wiped out.Wang Tiehan thought he had seized the main force of the communist army, so the supervisor rushed to the Yangjiazhangzi area and plunged into the pocket-shaped position of the Democratic Alliance Army.The battle started on the morning of the 21st. After a day and night of fierce fighting, the 49th Army Headquarters, the 79th Division, the 105th Division Division Headquarters and their 4 regiments were wiped out, totaling 12,000 people.Wang Tiehan led more than 200 remnants to escape in disguise. When Chen Cheng first showed his skills, he was slapped in the face. Not only did he fail to wipe out the Democratic Alliance Army near the Jinchen Line, but instead made the Democratic Alliance Army take advantage of the victory and cut off the Beining Line.The military and government officials who were dissatisfied with Chen Cheng made up a jingle, taking the opportunity to sarcasm: "Chen Cheng is really capable, the South Railway Station connects to the North Railway Station." It means that there is only a section near Shenyang on the Beining Line. In order to open up the Beining line, Chen Cheng asked Fu Zuoyi's troops in North China to cooperate in the operation. Fu Zuoyi immediately sent Hou Jingru to lead the 92nd Army and the 104th Army northward.Chen Cheng sent Liao Yaoxiang to lead the New Army to the south.As a result, Fu Zuoyi's troops successfully got through the Jincheng section in the south of the Beining line, while Chen Cheng's troops barely got through the Shenjin section after major setbacks. Chen Cheng went to the Northeast just to fight a few victories and show off, but he didn't expect that he would be unfavorable, and instead gave Fu Zuoyi a chance to show off. Although the Beining line was opened, Chen Cheng put himself in a more dangerous situation.In order to strengthen operations on the southern front, he transferred the New 1st Army from Changchun to Shenyang, and the main force of the New 6th Army to Jinzhou and Jinxi, making the Zhongchang Road weak, and Lin Biao's main force was nearly 300,000 near the Zhongchang Road. On October 1, 1947, Lin Biao assembled seven columns and a large number of cavalry in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 10th columns when the enemy's defense was empty on the Zhongchang Road from Siping to Tieling , The artillery unit launched the second phase of the autumn offensive. When the encirclement and annihilation battle of Yangjiazhangzi was in full swing, Lin Biao lay down on the military map and thought for a whole day.He had promised that no one should enter his room. It is rare for Liu Yalou to have the opportunity to command the battle alone. On this day, he was very happy. All the battle plans, orders, and supervision and execution were all handled by him alone.Afterwards, Lin Biao was also very sure of this, thinking that Liu Yalou was a natural military strategist. Lin Biao called Liu Yalou into the room in the evening. He pointed to the map on the table and said, "If you have no objections, please follow it!" Liu Yalou saw that the entire battle plan had been marked on the map, which was the result of Lin Biao's day of thinking.Lin Biao said in a low voice: "The strategy for this operation is to conduct a joint, secret, and long-distance raid on the enemies in the Siping and Tieling areas by means of long-distance raids and encirclement, so as to capture the scattered defensive enemies, Break them down one by one to achieve the goal of annihilating the 53rd enemy army and expanding the area." On September 27, Liu Yalou issued an order to the troops: The troops responsible for encircling the enemy's first-line strongholds must set off on the afternoon of the 29th. At dawn on the 30th, they must go to a concealed assembly 80 miles away from the enemy, and surround the enemy in the morning of October 1; Arrive at the designated location.The actions of all troops must be secret, in order to suddenly surround the enemy and then launch an attack. After the troops started to move, because the 8th Division of the 3rd Column approached the enemy prematurely, the enemies at Xifeng, Guyushu, Lianhua Street and Yehe Station fled one after another.Enemies everywhere are also on alert.In response to this change in the enemy's situation, Liu Yalou suggested that the combat time be advanced by one day. On October 1, various troops came into contact with the enemy almost simultaneously.The first to start the battle was Han Xianchu's 3rd column. With lightning speed, they launched a battle of encirclement and annihilation against the main force of the 116th Division of the 53rd Army of Weiyuanbao who was unprepared.The attack began at 2 pm that day, and the main force of the 116th Division was wiped out after 19 hours of fierce fighting. The 21st Division of the 7th Column marched for 160 miles day and night, and suddenly surrounded Faku to defend the enemy on October 1. After two hours of fierce fighting, they wiped out the 7th Bao Detachment and captured 1,700 people.The main force of the 7th Column and the cavalry unit of the Liaoji No. 1 Division attacked the railway on a large scale in the eastern section of Xinmin and set up barriers on the road to prevent the New Army from returning north. Seeing that Kaiyuan and Tieling were in emergency one after another, Chen Cheng hurriedly dispatched the Siping New 1st Army to go south by car to break the siege of Yuanyuan. At 10:10 a.m. on October 2, Lin Biao suddenly changed his battle plan and ordered the 2nd Column to go south from the northwest of Siping, and cooperate with the 1st Column to block the New 1st Army in the Shuangmiaozi area; Attacking at Gongzhuling, the other division restrained the New 1st Army in Guojiadian; the 2nd Division surrounded Changtu Station to defend the enemy, attracted the New 1st Army, and prepared to block the enemy north of Changtu, so as to cause the main force to annihilate the Kaiyuan enemy favorable conditions. On October 3, 4 regiments of the New 38th Division, the vanguard of the New 1st Army, entered the Shuangmiaozi area, were defeated by the main force of the 2nd Column, and hurried back to Siping.Changtu defended the enemy because the 2nd Division alone was not tightly surrounded, so he fled to Kaiyuan together with the enemy's 195th Division. On October 6, Liu Yalou officially issued an order to encircle and wipe out Kaiyuan and defend the enemy.In order to prevent the New Army from returning to the north, the main force of the 7th column and the cavalry troops of Zhao and Zeng were ordered to continue to completely attack the Xinmin section of the Beining Line. Liu Yalou had clearly instructed the 7th Column on September 28: "Whether the enemy's new 6th Army can quickly return to the north is related to our entire northern front operation. The 7th Column's troops responsible for the sabotage mission and its subordinate Zhao and Zeng cavalry units will start today. Be bold and quick and not afraid of exposure, and the Montenegro and Xinmin railways must be completely overturned before October 1." However, the cavalry troops of Zhao and Zeng did not complete the task, and the railway damaged by false report could not be repaired within two months.In fact, the enemy repaired it in one day, causing the main force of the New Army to return to Tieling on October 7.Therefore, the Democratic Alliance Army had to stop the attack on Kaiyuan.Subsequently, the Democratic Alliance Army on the Northern Front divided its forces and went northward, sweeping out the outlying strongholds of Jilin and Changchun. The Democratic Alliance Army on the Western Front started a new offensive on the Beining Line on October 9, and conquered Chaoyang City, known as the "Golden City Tangchi" on October 22. The autumn offensive lasted 50 days from September 14 to November 5.The Northeast Democratic Coalition Army wiped out 69,000 Kuomintang troops, recovered 15 cities, and expanded the liberated area to 38,400 square kilometers, so that Jiang's army was isolated from 24 large and medium-sized cities such as Shenyang and Changchun. After the autumn offensive, the Democratic Alliance Army began to rest.During this period, proposed by Luo Ronghuan and discussed by the Northeast Bureau, it was requested to change the name of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army to the Northeast People's Liberation Army.Zhou Enlai approved this request on behalf of the Party Central Committee. At this time, it was snowing heavily in the Northeast, and Luo Ronghuan and Liu Yalou were busy with replenishing the troops and carrying out "complaining and revenge" education. Lin Biao ignored the troops and remained shut in his room, doing his daily "homework" like a monk meditating.In order not to disturb Lin Biao's "facing the wall", Luo Ronghuan asked him to concentrate on thinking about the battle plan and shoulder all the work. Chen Cheng is also stepping up to replenish and expand his troops.He thought that winter was coming, and the severe cold weather would temporarily stop the PLA's actions and seek a respite.He seemed much more energetic during this period, with his head held high all day, and he looked a lot taller, even though he was short. Chief of Staff Zhao Jiaxiang was worried all day long, but he didn't want to tell the truth to make fun of himself.Only he knows what winter in the Northeast means!The cold weather and thick snow cannot stop the People's Liberation Army, they are a group of "desperadoes"! 赵家骧面对窗外纷飞的大雪，独自喝着闷酒。他在心里暗暗咒骂陈诚：“你这个不知天高地厚的陈小鬼，你自以为比杜聿明高明，你得意去吧！这个冬天的大雪非把你活埋不可。” 1947年12月15日，东北人民解放军的冬季攻势开始了。第2纵队、第7纵队和第10纵队第29师冒着呼啸的北风和狂舞的大雪，向沈阳外围进军，突然包围法库、彰武等城，并以一部兵力向锦州、义县地区进击。第1纵队、第3纵队、第6纵队主力分别插入新民、法库、铁岭、沈阳之间，准备打援。第10纵队主力抵昌图、开原地区，第4纵队首先奔袭歼灭辽阳、本溪间分散之敌，后进至辽中地区，会同主力作战。 12月16日，陈诚得知法库被围的消息后，异常震惊。他望着窗外在风中狂舞的树枝喃喃道：“今天的天气如何？” “西北风4至6级，气温零下20摄氏度至零下40摄氏度。”赵家骧回答道。 “共军是佯攻，还是……”陈诚仍未清醒，话如梦呓。 “杜长官马失前蹄就是在去年冬天。冬天是共军最猖狂的时候，因为我军将士要'冬眠'，而共军全是亡命之徒。”赵家骧道，“快命令新6军和新3军驰援法库吧，晚了就完啦。” 陈诚如梦初醒，亲自打电话给廖耀湘和李涛。赵家骧在一旁提醒道：“让他们在路上当心点，围城打援是共军惯用的战术。” 17日，第2纵队主力奉命转向法库东南，从侧翼进击援敌新6军第22师。当日下午2时，于法库东南之娘娘庙、沙后所一带展开激战。由于第2纵队第4师轻敌大意，伤亡900余人，而未将敌歼灭。 同时，第7纵队一部在法库以南大孤家棚子等地，歼敌新3军暂59师主力。 陈诚发觉解放军主力集结于沈阳门户，严重威胁大本营的安全，急令新1军、第71军、第53军、新5军等分别由长春、四平、开原、锦州和辽南等地，调往沈阳、铁岭、新民地区，加强沈阳外围防御。 当陈诚调兵遣将解法库之围时，解放军声东击西，以一个师佯攻法库，主力于12月23日突然包围了彰武，28日发起总攻，仅5个小时即围歼彰武守军第49军第79师共9000余人。 彰武战斗期间，毛泽东电示林、罗、刘，指出： 根据毛泽东的指示，东北解放军放弃了冬季休整，发扬连续作战的作风，立即向沈阳周围的小据点扑去。一时间沈阳四周日闻炮声，夜起战火。市内军政官员人心惶惶，议论纷纷。 为了安定民心，给部下打气，陈诚在1948年元旦发表《告东北军民书》，声称：“……作战准备完成，东北危险时期已过。” 陈诚的声明并非吹牛，他是受到了“自作聪明”的愚弄。根据飞机侦察和特务提供的情报，得知解放军第2纵队、第7纵队夺取彰武后，留在原地未动，自以为解放军在彰武之战中遭受重大损失，无力再战。因此，他的“作战准备”在元旦以前确实已经完成。当然，对于国民党来说“东北危险时期”不是“已过”，而是正在加剧。 1948年1月1日，陈诚为了解除沈阳面临的威胁和法库、新立屯之围，调集5个军共15个师的兵力，在近100公里的正面呈扇形向沈阳西北推进。兵分三路：以新3军、新6军主力为右路，由沈阳、铁岭向沈阳西北进击；以第71军、新1军主力为中路；以新5军第195、第43师为左路，由新民向法库进击。三路大军，齐头并进。 刘亚楼建议集中优势兵力，围歼敌较弱的左路，林彪点头默许。 1月2日，新5军在第6纵队的引诱下进至公主屯地区。节节后退的6纵，突然组成一道坚固防线，在公主屯顽强抗击敌步、炮、空的协同攻势。新5军猛攻三天，仍然无法前进一步。这时解放军各纵队纷纷赶来。新5军军长陈林达见势不妙，向陈诚紧急电报，要求放弃原计划，退守巨流河。 陈诚对改变原作战方案优柔寡断，举棋不定，耽搁了整整一天时间。郑洞国在一旁摇头不语，他已经看够了主帅的“英明果断”。只有赵家骧一个人干着急。 当陈诚终于被赵家骧说动，采用退守辽河的方案时，新5军已陷于解放军的重重包围之中。 在天罗地网中挣扎的陈林达，一遍又一遍地向陈诚、廖耀湘、刘安琪等求救。但廖耀湘虽离新立屯不远，却畏缩不前，不敢前去解围。 刘安琪率第71军向左翼疾进，却遭解放军顽强阻击。解放军将雪堆起来，打结实，浇上水，构成“冰坝”，以此为阵地阻击援军。 5日14时，第2纵队、第6纵队、第7纵队同时对敌发起猛攻，第3纵队切断后路。至6日黄昏，新5军大部被歼。陈林达率残部几千人逃至温家台妄图坚守待援。 第2纵队第5师师长钟伟得知这一情报，用电话报告纵队指挥所。吴信泉和李雪三商量，反正陈林达已成瓮中之鳖，几千人龟缩于一个村庄，夜间攻击，易将敌人打散，抓不到俘虏，不如稳住敌人，连夜调集兵力严密包围，天明后抓俘虏。 吴信泉将计划上报纵队司令员刘震、政委吴法宪，当即得到批准。 7日凌晨，钟伟请示要求发起攻击。吴信泉见温家台浓雾弥漫，炮兵无法瞄准目标，于是命令继续做好战斗准备，不可盲目冲锋。8点以后，大雾散去。60门大炮迅速校正射击诸元。8点40分，吴信泉一声令下，炮弹在敌群间不断爆炸，温家台乱成一团。李雪三趁机发起强大的政治攻势，喇叭队一齐喊话：“缴枪不杀，优待俘虏。” 新5军军长陈林达见大势已去，继续顽抗只会作无谓的牺牲，于是下令投降。 公主屯战役于7日下午结束，东北解放军一举全歼新5军第195师、第43师，共20，200人，其中俘军长陈林达以下13，000人。 新5军被歼使蒋介石极为震惊。1月10日，蒋介石飞往沈阳。陈诚将责任推到部下身上，说将领不服从命令，要求惩办第9兵团司令廖耀湘和新6军军长李涛。 当日晚蒋介石召开紧急军事会议，师以上军官全部参加。蒋介石满脸怒容，痛斥廖耀湘、李涛：“你们不服从命令，不顾国家民族利益，新5军被围，你们近在咫尺，却按兵不动……” 蒋介石气得声音发抖，说不下去。廖耀湘、李涛惊恐异常，他们没想到陈诚会拿他们作替罪羊。于是当即站起，申辩道：“校长，我们并没有接到援救新5军的命令呀，这实在太冤枉啦。” 陈诚也站起来，三人相互争吵。到最后陈诚理屈词穷，只好无可奈何地说：“新5军被消灭，责任完全在我，不怪各将领，请校长按国法军纪惩办。” 蒋介石见状，生气地说：“功过是非俟战争结束再评，现在仗正打着呢！” 蒋介石离席后，陈诚为了表示他对党国的忠诚，信誓旦旦地说：“我决心同沈阳共存亡，如果共军攻破沈阳，我将以手枪自杀。” 蒋介石离开沈阳后，陈诚认为东北的局面已经无法收拾，他想尽快脱身，跳出东北这个坑死人的冰窟窿。他让夫人谭曼意去南京走“内线”。谭曼意是宋美龄的干女儿，两个女人私交非常深。宋美龄经干女儿一缠，心动了，对蒋介石说：“辞修（陈诚的字）已经病得没法起床了，东北局面这样乱，赶快换个得力的人去应付。” “陈诚很令人失望，在东北跟各将领关系不和，是该换了。”蒋介石道，“可谁能扭转东北的危局呢？” “你看卫立煌怎么样？”宋美龄说。 “看来也只有他了。”蒋介石叹道，“可卫立煌是个不听话的人。” 卫立煌被召回南京，蒋介石让他去东北替换陈诚。卫立煌当即推辞，说：“东北非陈总长难以力挽狂澜，我何德何能，敢当此重任？” 蒋介石见卫立煌推辞，便让张群、顾祝同等人当说客。卫立煌在各方压力下，只好说先到东北看看再说。 谭曼意三番五次跑到卫立煌家，催他早日赴沈。 “共军在东北凶得不得了，辞修卧病在床，无法应付，请卫将军早日起程接替辞修。” 卫立煌的夫人韩权华非常反感，背后说：“有利有权你们就争，弄得不可收拾了就让别人去，这是什么心理？” 1月22日，卫立煌飞抵东北。陈诚于2月5日带郑洞国一起飞往南京，让郑洞国在蒋介石面前做证，说东北的危局是因各将领不服从命令造成的，并非他陈诚指挥无能。 陈诚逃离东北战场引起舆论哗然。特别是东北的高级军政人员和地方知名人士议论纷纷：“陈诚初来东北不可一世，到了紧要关头就溜之大吉，真是个大草包。” “他说与沈阳共存亡，沈阳陷落就以手枪自杀，原来是骗我们自杀，他才不自杀呢！” 南京的舆论也越来越对陈诚不利，他只好请假到美国治病。刚到上海，正逢国民党召开国民大会。白崇禧做军事报告时，台下代表纷纷站起，大喊： “杀陈诚以谢国人！” “不让陈诚逃往美国！” “到上海把陈诚扣起来，解京法办！” “中央'戡乱'采取老鼠战略，如果东北失掉，华北失掉，华南也不保，难道都像陈诚一样窜到美国去吗？” 在台上做报告的白崇禧见状，高兴得笑了起来。近来美国人对蒋介石大失所望，正在培植第二势力，桂系的李宗仁、白崇禧早就被美国人看好。蒋介石对桂系势力的日益膨胀也非常警惕，曾私下对嫡系将领说：“共产党想要我的命，可是李宗仁、白崇禧不仅想要我的命，还想要我的钱。” “国大风波”吓得陈诚不敢出国，只好躲进上海联勤总部陆军医院，治他的老毛病十二指肠溃疡。 此时，杜聿明也在上海治病。他还是老习惯，每天收听共产党电台，还让人收集共产党的报纸。他要知己知彼。现在他突然心血来潮，想了解一下共产党对陈诚离开东北的看法。 于是，他就看到了这篇由罗荣桓亲自修改敲定的《教师爷滚蛋了》： 杜聿明看完署名“东北新华社记者”的文章，对夫人曹秀清说：“你们共产党的文章，还是能抓住点子的。” “你这个人怎么抱着老皇历不放，我早就脱离共产党啦！”曹秀清不满地说。 “我是开玩笑。”杜聿明笑道，“我和陈诚都栽在了东北，这回看卫立煌的啦。” 卫立煌来到东北的第三天，第49军第26师在新立屯被解放军全歼。当时，陈诚还没将权力移交给他。陈诚离开沈阳的第二天，解放军攻占了辽阳，全歼暂54师。随后，解放军乘胜进攻沈阳南郊白塔堡，守军第49军第79师弃阵逃往沈阳。 2月19日，解放军连克法库和鞍山，全歼新6军暂62师和第52军第25师。 卫立煌到东北前后不到一个月，就丢掉了5个整师。 2月27日，蒋介石命令卫立煌枪毙擅自弃阵而逃的第72师师长文礼。卫立煌心里明白文礼弃阵而逃并非坏事，起码保存了实力。而辽阳、法库、鞍山守将妄图坚守待援，结果全被解放军吃掉了。当解放军围攻以上各城时，蒋介石命令卫立煌派兵解围。卫立煌一概置之不理，他将部队集中在沈阳周围按兵不动，让各城守军陷于绝境。 卫立煌当然不是胆小怕死之辈，他也是赫赫有名的抗战名将。忻口战役和打通印缅交通线两仗使他名震中外，日本人称其为“支那虎将”，美国人也非常欣赏他的才干。卫立煌见死不救有他自己的理由：“共军的目的和战术是围城打援，我们不能上共军的圈套。” 卫立煌的战略是收缩兵力固守大据点，一旦时机成熟，在确有把握的情况下再打通各点之间的联系，之后扩大占领区，即所谓“固点—连线—扩面”。 蒋介石一心想打通沈锦线，将沈阳主力调往锦州。他的理由是：锦州靠近华北，一旦出现危机，可与华北傅作义的部队互相支援，进可再夺东北，退可撤往关内，不会让共军堵在东北腹地吃掉。 卫立煌却要坚守沈阳，保全东北。他的理由是：解放军在沈阳周围大量集结，加上天气转暖，江河解冻，道路泥泞，不利于机械化部队行动，有被解放军围歼于半途的危险。这是表层意思，深层意思其实是怕担丢掉东北的罪责。因为沈阳主力一旦撤往锦州，沈阳、长春将不保，即使能守住锦州，毕竟东北基本上丢掉了，将会受到全国舆论的压力。 为了说服蒋介石，卫立煌派郑洞国到南京当面申述利害。蒋介石一听勃然大怒：“革命军北伐时，靠的是以少胜多。当年樊钟秀才一万人能从广东一直打到河南。我们黄埔军队如今有炮兵优势、空军优势，为什么不能从沈阳打到锦州？” 郑洞国无法说服蒋介石，只好回沈阳复命。卫立煌召集高级军事会议，结果各将领一致赞成卫立煌的计划。特别是廖耀湘、赵家骧、罗又伦认为蒋介石的计划行不通。于是，卫立煌再派赵家骧、罗又伦到南京说服蒋介石。这期间，解放军攻占了开原，华北聂荣臻的部队向锦州至山海关交通线进攻。 蒋介石终于同意暂时放弃打通沈锦线的计划，让卫立煌加紧整补部队，一俟整训完毕，再分别由沈阳、锦州南北对进，打通交通线。 卫立煌为了“固点”，将吉林守军撤往长春。由于第71军主力调往了新民，四平防守空虚，解放军于3月9日进占吉林，13日攻克四平。 仍在上海养病的杜聿明昼夜牵挂东北的局势。夫人曹秀清将共产党办的《新华日报》《东北日报》从地毯上拾起，揉成一团，说：“卫立煌比起你也高明不到哪里去嘛，他的日子恐怕更难过。” “林彪的冬季攻势刚结束，东北只剩下沈阳、长春、本溪、锦州、抚顺几座'孤岛'啦！”杜聿明感叹道，“卫将军当了陈诚的替死鬼，我真为他捏着一把汗哟！” “你安心养病吧，别人升官发财也好、天灾人祸也好，都挨不着你的边，管他干什么？”曹秀清说。